TOM FRANCIS
REGRETS THIS ALREADY

Games Successfully Developed At Stugan 2016 So Far

I’m in a cabin in the woods in Sweden for seven weeks, with 20ish other game developers, all working on our own games. This is Stugan. None of us have finished yet, but we have successfully developed the following non-digital games along the way, and I release them to you now:

Throw A Rock As Far As You Can

Players: 1+

Select a rock.

Throw it as far as you can.

 
Notes:
Probably best to do this at the lake.
The reeds in the lake serve as good distance marker.
It is interesting to determine the optimal size of a rock for distance.
It is somewhat interesting to determine the optimal throwing angle.
The random nature of available rocks makes true scientific assessments of adjustments in method tricky.
Although Throw A Rock As Far As You Can can be played with others, the true enemy is the prison of your mind.

Catchy Pinecone

Players: 1

Throw two pinecones in the air.

Attempt to catch them overhand, one in each hand.

 
Notes:
This is easier when your throw is very symmetrical and your two hands can do the same catching action.
It is slightly more interesting to intentionally avoid this.

Super Catchy Pinecone

Players: 2

Player 1 faces away from player 2.

Player 2 counts 3-2-1-go and throws the pinecone on go.

Player 1 must turn around, visually acquire the pinecone, and catch it all in its short flight time, in order to look like a cool person.

Regardless of whether coolness was achieved, Player 1 now throws the cone.

Catchy Highcone

Players: 2

Player 1 throws a pinecone to Player 2, but much too high to catch without jumping.

Player 2 jumps and attempts to catch the pinecone.

 
Notes: this is not as good as Super Catchy Pinecone, which is reflected in its name.

Throwy Pinecone

Players: 1+

Throw a pinecone at a canoe.

 
Notes: this is weirdly hard.

Shit Dice Game

Players: 2+

Take one die.

All players guess the outcome.

Roll the die.

Whoever is closest without exceeding the value wins.

 
Notes: the ‘closest without exceeding’ thing I am half remembering from something else, and it ruins this already fairly weak game.

Dice of Havoc

Players: 2+

Take a large handful of assorted dice.

All players guess what the summed total of the results will be.

Roll them.

The closest wins.

 
Notes: the first round of this is the best, before everyone has established how many of what kinds of dice are involved, because no-one has a good ballpark of what the value might be. We guessed in the hundreds and the value was sixty something.

Buoyancy Ball

Players: 1+

Take a cheap plasticky football into a pool.

Push it under the surface and attempt to stand on it.

If you succeed, jump up and down on the ball.

The person who can jump highest and still return to a balance position afterwards is the winner.

 
Notes:
Getting into the balance position seems very hard at first, but can usually be mastered quickly.
If you are light enough for the ball to counteract your water weight, this game may be impossible.
If you want to get technical, as anyone having fun in a pool naturally would, jump height should be measured relative to the person’s standing height, to control for player height.

Super Buoyancy Ball

Players: 2+

Take a cheap plasticky football into a pool.

Push it under the surface and attempt to stand on it.

Now try to pass it to another player with your feet.

The other player must take control of the ball and attain the balance position before the pass can be considered successful.

Shooty Balloon

Players: 2+

Take some balloons and some water pistols into a pool.

Knock the balloons around, not letting them touch the ground or water.

Every player must shoot every balloon between every time it is touched.

 
Notes: with enough balloons and guns this quickly becomes impossible, but involves so much shooting that it’s hard not to enjoy.

Monsoon Balloon

Players: 2+

Take two balloons into a pool, and give everyone water pistols.

Players divide into two teams, each with a ball in front of them.

Players must propel their team’s ball to the other side of the pool only by shooting it.

Players may not move from their starting position.

 
Notes: this is awesome.

Catch or Die

Players: 2+

Player 1 stands in the pool facing away from Player 2.

Player 2 throws the ball to Player 1.

At or shortly before the opportune time to catch the ball, Player 2 advises Player 1 to ‘Catch!’

Player 2 attempts to catch the ball without turning around.

 
Notes:
We tried ‘3-2-1-go’ but it doesn’t work well as the thrower does not know in advance when the best time to catch will be. We saw best results from just saying ‘Ready’ shortly before throwing, so the catcher has a rough notion, but still relying on the precise timing of the ‘Catch!’ for success.
I guess there is no special reason this game needs to be in a pool.
If the catch fails, it is not strictly necessary to die, but it is against the spirit of the game to go on with your life.

Armel adds:

Frisball

Players: 2+

Put an american football inside a ring frisbee

Players must stand in a circle, each separated by at least 5 yards

Throw the Frisball at each others without it loosing its integrity

Notes:
The building phase of the Frisball itself is underrated, as playing with a carefully made Frisball drastically improves the chance of it not falling apart after even the lightest throw.
Some purists say the real game only begins when someone else asks what the hell everyone is doing and you have to think of a clever explanation.