Update #7 - Stretch goal and timeline update
over 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 12:15:37 AM

6 Days to go

With 6 days to go we are almost at the end of this campaign! Funded almost 300% and it continues to grow! Are we still going to reach stretch goal #2? Spoiler alert: yes. We may not get the full amount in the end, but we're so close that I'm going to unlock it at the end of the campaign anyway.

And frankly, I'm considering the same for stretch goal #3: the half size field on the back of the board. This one has no influence on the production costs, while it still gives the game some extra possibilities. I'd love to hear your response if anyone agrees or disagrees.

The other stretch goals do have significant effect on production costs and cannot be achieved at this funding level.

Rule book

The rule book is almost ready. The editor is reading it one last time and then the digital version is added to the campaign page. Of course I will inform you with an update message so keep an eye on your mailbox!

Timeline update

We are ahead of schedule! 

The advantage of smaller volumes and the omission of stretch goals is that the project can also be realized faster. In addition, we hear many troubled stories about delays and chaos in the transport world. Since the rest of the work is almost done, we can start production earlier. We will therefore try to have everything on the ship before the Chinese New Year on the way to our fulfillment partners! Hopefully this will give us some leeway to absorb any setbacks later.

Maarten Krijgsman

Update #6 - Solo mode
over 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 07:11:33 PM

Snake - The Board Game can now also be played in solo mode!

In solo mode you fight against 1, 2 or even 3 automated robot snakes. These robotic snakes, with a fixed length of 5 segments, have only one goal: to block you. They move according to fixed rules. 1) With each step they try to make the distance to the head of your snake as short as possible and 2) with the same distance they prefer to move straight ahead, then left and then right. 3) If a robot cannot take a step, it will skip its turn or restart if it is stuck. They are not interested in apples: any apple that gets in their way is 'digested' to the end of the snake.

For you, apples can be the savior. When you place an apple back, you get one extra turn. This number of extra turns can be increased or decreased when the dice coordinates point to an occupied field. You can decide for yourself when you put the apple back, so you can also save it for more difficult times.

You win by growing to a length of at least 15 segments and biting the robots to scrap.

The solo mode has been tested in real life as well as with the computer model and is challenging from the start, although it still needs some fine-tuning. The difficulty level can be adjusted by adding snakes and rocks. This game will not be available online so as not to spoil the fun.

Maarten Krijgsman

Update #5 - Halfway
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 01:08:36 AM

With 14 days to go, we are halfway through the campaign. 260% Funded, 216 backers and stretch goal #2 is within reach! Thank you so much for your responses and support! It is a lot of work to make a board game but this makes it well worth the effort.

Statistics

As indicated in the campaign story, in addition to many, many real live games, computer simulations were also used extensively. The main reason for using this was to make sure that the game was challenging, balanced and non-trollable. In addition, the results of the simulations provide interesting insights.

Below for example the total number of snake moves for 1000 games (2 AI players, no rocks/wormholes/infinity field, intermediate level).

In most games, between 200 and 400 steps are taken (100 to 200 per player). If you assume that in real life each step takes ~5 seconds and rolling the dice takes ~10 seconds, the length of the game can be determined from this.

These simulations show that a game usually lasts 25 to 45 minutes on average. This corresponds quite well with practice. But it also turns out that sometimes it can be much shorter or longer. If you don't pay attention, you can be out of the game very quickly.

The two graphs below show the length of the snakes of the winner and the loser. This shows that in ~98% of the simulations, a snake does not grow longer than 40 segments. When playing with 2 players and the players use different colors pieces, 100 of them are more than enough. However, with 4 players it can happen that 2 players end up with long snakes of the same color combination. In that case it is conformable to have 60 pieces of the same color.

Finally, the last graph shows the difference in snake length between the winner and the loser. This shows that a longer or shorter snake does not have a clear advantage or disadvantage. However, the influence of the "bite rule" can be seen: a snake that is 10 segments longer (12 in the simulation below but is now 10 in the rule book), may bite the shorter snake.

Keep sharing!

Visitors coming from Kickstarter seem most likely to pledge, so keep sharing this project and the online game as much as possible, and especially with other superbackers!!  

Maarten Krijgsman

Update #4 - First stretch goal unlocked
over 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 10:59:35 PM

8 Rocks in every game

Yesterday the first stretch goal was unlocked! As of now, all editions contain 8 rock pieces.

And because it was still very far to the next stretch goal, the levels of the other stretch goals have been lowered a bit. Hopefully we can unlock the next stretch goal soon!

Maarten Krijgsman

Update #3 - 200% funded!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 08, 2021 at 08:00:18 PM

Status update

Yes! We have over 200% funding and we are approaching the first stretch target! I get a lot of enthusiastic and positive feedback that makes me walk around with a big smile on my face all week! Well... almost then...

Now that we are certain that the project can go ahead, preparations for production are in full swing. For example, quite a few molds are needed for all parts. At this point, the molds for the snake parts and the round abstract apples have already been created. A few weeks ago I also ordered to make the mold for the rocks and they are almost ready. Soon I hope to receive the first samples, which I will of course show you right away. Now that the Deluxe edition also continues, I'm going to give the assignment for the golden apples this week. To be clear: not real gold. The material used is zinc with a gold-coloured layer.

The production of a mold takes about 4 weeks, so it is useful for planning when this has already been done. 

Boring?

I've had the reaction a (very) few times that people think it's a super fun idea, they also love the online game, but that they are afraid that the game is too boring and too slow in real life.  Those who have had the chance to play the prototype, however, are positively surprised by the gameplay and the pace. This is because moving with the snake is quite fast when no apples are eaten, so that the moments between the action remain short. But also because playing against human opponents is much more fun than against a calculated computer AI. People make different choices and are more guided by emotions, so that the game often remains very different and unpredictable and there are more narrow escape situations. Each time, the game gets its own character and different plot twists.

Teams Mode

Last week I did a very short game. We played Snake TBG with 4 people, without Teams Mode and added all 8 rocks for spectacular effect. While I was still explaining the rules of the game, all 3 snakes turned against me and I couldn't take another step while my snake was only 4 segments long. With such a full playing field you really have to pay attention and look far ahead, otherwise the game can become very short indeed. The 'Teams Mode' prevents these kinds of overwhelming attacks a little. Players then work together in teams so that they can protect each other or build up a coordinated attack. And besides, it's also good to know who your enemy is and who isn't.

Keep sharing!

There is currently a steady growth of the fund, which means that stretch goal #1 is very likely to be achieved. But it's going to be a long way to stretch goal #2, so keep sharing this project and the online game below as much as possible in your network ! Meanwhile, a small Facebook campaign is launched today. Hopefully this one works better than in the previous campaign :-)

Maarten Krijgsman