You can play this game almost anyplace: with darts on a dartboard, lawn bowling (bocce) balls on a grass field, or even pebbles thrown onto the ground. Or any objects you choose thrown onto any sort of "field" you desire.
This is a game for 3 players. Each player gets 3, let's say beanbags. Players takes turns throwing one beanbag onto the floor. The object is to "stake out" as large a triangle as you can with your beanbags, without having anyone else's beanbag be inside your triangle.
After all 9 beanbags have been thrown, any player who has an uninterrupted triangle earns points equal to the area of his triangle. (Use Hero's Formula to calculate the area of the triangle from the lengths of its sides. -- see below). Everyone else scores nothing. Players must decide if they should use their final beanbag to complete their triangle, spoil someone else's, or possibly find the magical spot on the field which would accomplish both -- if they can hit it!
Play 6 rounds, one round for each ordering of the three players. (i.e. 123, 132, 213, 231, 312, 321). Highest score after 6 rounds is the winner.
NOTE: Hero's Formula is: Area = SQRT [s (s-a) (s-b) (s-c) ] where s = (a + b + c)/2. Sides can be estimated (e.g. with footsteps), but be sure to bring a calculator.
NOTE 2: In the beanbag or lawn bowling versions, there should be a line on the field that you have to throw your marker beyond in order for it to count. Otherwise you can place your markers too precisely, and that takes the randomness out of it.-- phundug, Dec 14 2004 EyeToy http://www.eyetoy.com/english/(Website requires Flash player) [krelnik, Dec 15 2004] "Fencing", in "A Shockwave Rider" by John Brunner http://www.karljone...m/games/fencing.aspReminded me a little of this. [jutta, Dec 15 2004] It sounded like fun until you asked me to deal with maths.-- Pericles, Dec 14 2004 I'd like to see a computerized dartboard that will automatically display the areas for you. Until then, maybe one player can bring along a laptop.-- phundug, Dec 14 2004 Yeah, you need to bring a geek with you that can either do the mental arithmetic, or has a palmtop with an app on it. (ah, phundug beat be to it)
Possible variant: Each player throws four beanbags then removes one before scoring.
Possible scoring variant: work on perimeter rather than area -- makes the game easier to score.-- st3f, Dec 14 2004 Not keen on the perimeter - it's too easy to make long thin ones and I don't want to encourage this sort of behavior.-- phundug, Dec 14 2004 Shame on those long, thin, triangle makers. :o)
How about adding the two smallest sides together, instead?-- st3f, Dec 14 2004 Mortar shells, anyone?-- Cuit_au_Four, Dec 15 2004 I agree the math part would suck the fun out of this. How about a camera phone app that can measure the triangles automatically? If the beanbags were brightly colored, and each set different, it might not be too hard to implement.
Alternately, this could be an application for the EyeToy camera attachment to Sony's home game console.-- krelnik, Dec 15 2004 BTW, I did play this game 15 years ago (I had to play all three sides by myself), and part of the fun was running into the computer room and typing the three lengths into my Apple IIe to see what the final area would be.-- phundug, Dec 15 2004 Seems somewhat interesting, especially considering that someone who can throw accurately could bust up someone else's triangle while scoring a good one of their own (it would also be possible for two or three people to score very large overlapping triangles).-- supercat, Dec 15 2004 //I had to play all three sides by myself// and //part of the fun was running into the computer room and typing the three lengths into my Apple IIe// I have rarely read anything sadder on the Halfbakery, so much so that I had a tear in my eye. In a completely non-sexual sense [phundug] ...do you need a hug? At least, take this spare bun.-- ConsulFlaminicus, Dec 16 2004 This could work on a snooker table. Nine coloured balls, one white, toss for break. Triangle sizes added to your score throughout the game. +-- cromagnon, Dec 16 2004 Also, "Musical Triangles" - Three teams of three people run around, trying to maintain nice triangle shapes while avoiding having anyone else from one of the other teams in their triangle. When the music stops the triangles are judged according to [phundug]'s rules.-- hippo, Dec 16 2004 Cool, [hippo]!
I was fine, [cf]. I was introverted back then and enjoyed such games. If I think something's cool, I'll do it, even if I'm alone.-- phundug, Dec 16 2004 I would think it would be virtually impossible to complete an unspoiled triangle. There are twice as many against as for. By the sixth or seventh bag toss, maybe one of the three players might still have a shot at it remaining, and with the other two having no other goal left but to ruin that chance, will do just that.-- waugsqueke, Dec 17 2004 //Players must decide if they should use their final beanbag to complete their triangle, spoil someone else's, or possibly find the magical spot on the field which would accomplish both//
Please draw a picture of the "both" situation.-- Detly, Dec 17 2004 x------x -o------------o x --------o
waugs--think smaller triangles till you don't think that anymore.-- yabba do yabba dabba, Dec 17 2004 Oh, right. I understand now. A picture is worth a thousand re-readings.-- Detly, Dec 17 2004 How about if one "beanbag" of each players set had a laser measuring device in it and controller, and the other two bags have a receptor tuned to that particular controlling beanbag and their own lasers. The bags themselves then check first to see if there is an un-interrupted triangle, then measure and figure the area of that triangle if it exists.-- Noexit, Dec 17 2004 I played Fluxx once and found it to be ill conceived, humorless, and dull. It might have been cute if the cards were all fun things like "cookies" and "milk". But once they stuck death and taxes in there, who wants to be bothered? I already have a job.-- phundug, Dec 19 2004 // --think smaller triangles till you don't think that anymore //
As long as spoiling the triangles of the other players is part of the game strategy, one never arrives at that point.-- waugsqueke, Dec 20 2004 [waugs] - consider also that, in some incarnations of this game, it would require not just skill but chance to really get a token exactly where you wanted it. For example, playing on a golf course or with tiddlywinks. Or both. Even if a player wants to spoil anothers triangle, it's not necessarily given that they can.-- Detly, Dec 20 2004 Yeah, as long as skill is involved, you do reach that point. It's not like you're setting them precisely where you intend to.-- yabba do yabba dabba, Dec 20 2004 random, halfbakery