Minimal Conquest by manax

[raw]
made by manax for LD26 (COMPO)
It's not a strong thematic entry, but it is a game (unlike my entry in LD23, which was more of a "sketch").

The AI is strong, so I really recommend "easy" if you're playing any map size bigger than "Small"...

I should add a volume control... but not gonna. Not sure how loud it is for you, so be warned.

Enjoy!

20130508: Just for reference, I just beat it on "normal" 5 of 8 times. Doing good moves in the beginning makes the endgame much easier.

Ratings

Coolness 71% 3
Overall 3.08 653
Audio 2.20 848
Fun 3.00 538
Graphics 2.47 993
Humor 2.05 690
Innovation 3.05 617
Mood 2.43 984
Theme 3.44 657

Feedback

GAFBlizzard
29. Apr 2013 路 07:10 UTC
I like this entry, but it is very difficult even on easy. I'm not sure the AI actually needs a 2-piece advantage on easy. :P

Also, having a restart key would be nice since I kept having to press enter in the URL bar to reload once I realized I had messed up the first few moves.

Lastly, is there an element of randomness to this? I felt like sometimes territories would go neutral or not be captured as expected, but I suppose I am wrong.
omaromeir
29. Apr 2013 路 13:15 UTC
Hey, nice game. Too difficult as mentioned above but I enjoyed it nonetheless :).
Flai
29. Apr 2013 路 14:43 UTC
Great game but way too hard :(
馃帳 manax
29. Apr 2013 路 14:56 UTC
No randomness. The 2-piece advantage is because the first player gets a significant advantage. (Although yes, 'easy' is still pretty challenging.)

Adding an "I give up" button would be good, but you should finish the game, even if you lose! *hint hint*

When you select a hex, all adjacent hexes are evaluated, and if there are more grey or red hexes around THAT, then they are flipped. More metaphorically, you attack a hex, neighbors are distracted, and so THEIR neighbors can take advantage.
Kyle Bolton
29. Apr 2013 路 17:56 UTC
I like this entry, but I'll agree with the others and say that this is a bit challenging (this could be me, as I tend to struggle with this genre). On easy, maybe the AI should occasionally make bad moves?
馃帳 manax
29. Apr 2013 路 18:57 UTC
The AI actually picks a move based on a randomness, so the difficulty setting is just a constant. I'll add a "very easy" setting in a few hours, disclosing that I don't think this violates the spirit of LD, and hoping others agree. I won't tweak anything other than the constant, so if that isn't enough to make it easy... I guess we'll have to live with it.
JimmyLord
29. Apr 2013 路 19:44 UTC
This is great, managed to beat it on easy, tried normal and failed. Easy isn't too hard once you understand the rules, but it's certainly not easy.
Gaeel
30. Apr 2013 路 11:57 UTC
Has an othello vibe, would have been nice to have some little soldiers or something to give a bit of story to what's happening
RealyUniqueName
30. Apr 2013 路 11:58 UTC
Idea is interesting, but gameplay is too hard even on normal
zinfandel
30. Apr 2013 路 12:00 UTC
Very good gameplay!
A bit difficult to figure out how the math is being done.
Atridas
30. Apr 2013 路 12:09 UTC
It's hard to get used to the rules, but once you get, it's quite a fun game!
Roan Contreras
30. Apr 2013 路 12:14 UTC
This game's challenging but it's a great game :D
sboerwinkle
03. May 2013 路 20:03 UTC
Pretty good. Rules for capturing territories could be a little better explained, but I think I got the hang of it. Still tricky after several games, so good job there.
nddrylliog
04. May 2013 路 21:08 UTC
Tried to rate it, but the page only had a blue canvas with nothing happening :/ did it break recently?
馃帳 manax
04. May 2013 路 22:46 UTC
Oops, started work on another project and accidentally released it on top of my ld26 entry! Thanks!
EatenAlive3
05. May 2013 路 16:28 UTC
I liked it! I'm not very good at strategy games, but I am good at getting potatoes apparently!

Outsmarted at Easy every time :/
Cosine
06. May 2013 路 02:36 UTC
Great game. Loved it. Perhaps one of the best basic strategy games I have played ever, definitely best LD strategy game I've played.
ovenchips
07. May 2013 路 23:26 UTC
Man, that is super-punishing. The guest appearance by the potato was sublime. :)
little_polygon
08. May 2013 路 02:39 UTC
Easy is still pretty haaaaard :P
stqn
09. May 2013 路 00:37 UTC
Rules of the game would be nice.
馃帳 manax
09. May 2013 路 02:55 UTC
@stqn Err, they're on the webpage, below the game...
Beldarak
10. May 2013 路 03:47 UTC
I suck so hard at it :D

But it's a nice game you got there.
Tater_hater
13. May 2013 路 23:01 UTC
potato...
Gremlin
13. May 2013 路 23:03 UTC
Switching between mouse and keyboard is kind of annoying, but you knew that already. And the problem with the sounds isn't so much the volume but the repetitiveness.

I like the general idea of the game, though it's really hard to win.