A newsletter for Icehouse players

An Introduction by Dr Cool

Hey folks! The Doctor's got some great news! Icehouse isn't bankrupt. In debt, maybe-, but not bankrupt. Wait. That's not the news. I mean, it's good news, but it's not The Great News. (Cue the trumpet fanfares, drum rolls, etc ... ) The Great News is that wooden Icehouse sets are available! Yay!

Yeah, we thought it was an impossibility, too. But they're here, and at reasonable prices, as well (if you're employed). Check out the enclosed flyer for details and damages.

Andrew Looney's book, The Empty City, is also for sale. This is quite a different (and larger) book than the History book from the original plastic Icehouse game sets. The Empty Cit visa full length novel. It's a pleasant read, and also has its place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only novel which has characters fiddling with both Icehouse pieces and atomic bombs. (Of course, around here we do that all the time.) Again, look at the enclosed flyer for details.

By the way, our main method of advertising lately is... flyers! We've got lots of flyers. So, if by any chance you would like to assist us in our effort to spread those pointy little game pieces around the world like a vicious virus, just give us a buzz. We'll send you a bucket o' flyers (well, maybe a stack) to hand out to unsuspecting future addicts.

Take the enclosed sticker. Use it wisely and to the best of your advantage. I Ise it only for good, never for evil. If you require more, ask.

Another thing you hard-core tournament icers might give us a call about has to do with Wall Rules. We've decided that since Icehouse works fine without them, from now on Walls will be a variation instead of a standard rule. This makes teaching and judging games a little easier. Just to make sure everybody gets the message, I'll boldly make an

IMPORTANT NOTE: the Walls rule-to-variation update is official, and this change is reflected in the latest official rulebook. Pass the word. If you enjoy playing with Walls regularly, then by all means, continue. But you might consider riot mentioning Walls when teaching Icehouse to beginners. Since I often find myself instructing brand-new icers, I am already reaping the benefits of this rule change. My students learn twice as fast, because I'm not spending twice as long lecturing on the philosophies and technicalities of Walls. An issue we (the judges of the annual Icehouse tourney) have yet to resolve is whether or not the Walls variation will be used in the next tournament. (So far most of us are against using them.) Feedback from anybody is strongly urged and would be appreciated.

Two variations are included in this issue. Power Icehouse is, in essence, the standard game with a different method of scoring (that some players find easier to handle). Casino Icehouse is an extension of Power Icehouse that lends itself very nicely to gambling. The first major playtest of Casino Icehouse took place in a secluded back room at Fuchsia Shock, the space-time nightclub you've all undoubtedly heard about. The games were exciting and intense, with many chips changing hands. Our thanks goes out to the management of Fuchsia Shock, and the bartenders. And the bouncers. And the losers. Incidentally, we hope to be playing some Casino Icehouse at Balticon, so look for us there.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Please read the enclosed postcard. It's important! Hypos are still free (and will remain so as long as I can help it), but in order that we can continue to send them out once in a while, we need to cut down on volume. So, if you don't call or write, we must assume you no longer want a subscription. If you send in the card and you have some extra time, please add a note and let us know how you are, what you're up to, and anything else related (or not) to Icehouse. I will try to respond directly to you, or through this lovely newsletter. Thanks.

DOC

Q What happened to the manufacturing deal?

A If you've been an Icehouse player for more than a few months (or if you're one of our friends or relatives) this question probably popped into your head as soon as you read about our new wood sets. If so, here's a brief history of our ongoing (and constantly changing) efforts to get an Icehouse game set into the games closet of every house in America.

After producing a hundred or so plastic sets by hand, we got really sick of it and decided to try to find some other way of getting Icehouse produced, For awhile we thought we might be able to get a major game company to pick it up, but we soon teamed the basic rule of the game manufacturing world: Game companies don't accept outside ideas. So we decided to make a go of it on our own.

We tried to find an outside company that could make plastic Icehouse pieces for us, so that we could just package them up and sell them. But this turned out to be a bigger job than we thought. None of the various methods of manufacturing plastic pans seemed feasible (or at least cost effective) except for injection molding, and man) of the companies we spoke to said even injection molding would be difficult if not impossible if we wanted solid pieces. We did finally get a few companies to quote on the job, but the price tag was hefty it would cost us at least 10,000.00 just for the mold, not to mention the cost of cranking out the pieces, This meant we'd have to do a run of at least 5000 sets in order to make it cost-effective

So we developed a grand plan for producing an initial run of 5000 sets. In addition to the injection-molded plastic pieces, these sets would feature professionally printed and bound copies of The Icehouse Handbook and The Empty City, and a really cool package/carrying case: a hollow, clear plastic tube with rubber endcaps. We had detailed quotes from different manufacturers for all of the various components, and advertising plans and ideas, and a budget that would allow, us to produce 5,000 sets and make enough money on the first run to pay back the loan as well as funding a second run. All we needed was $60,000. So we wrote it all up in a splendid business plan, and went looking for lenders.

Unfortunately, it ain't exactly easy to borrow 60 grand. We tried to get a business loan from a couple of banks, but they turned us down. It wasn't that they didn't like our business plan, but simply that we were a start-up company with no real assets to speak of, and plus there's this recession thingy, and unfortunately, at this time we're blah blah blah blah blah.

For a long time, we sat around feeling sorry for ourselves and hoping that we'd win the lottery. Then, a week before last year's tournament, we had the idea of making super-cheap die cut cardboard sets, and this at least gave us a basic product to keep us going until we figured out something better.

Now, finally, we have found a way of producing Icehouse in smaller quantities. Wood pieces. It took a lot of searching, but we finally found a company that was able to make Icehouse pieces out of wood, and at a cost that wouldn't make a complete set more expensive than a CD player. (Free plug: the company is Premium Wood Products in Chicago. They did a great job on our first batch, so if you're in need of wood manufacturing, give them a call.)

So where does that leave us? Well, we've put the 5000 set plan on the back burner indefinitely. Our new Xyloid Icehouse sets are our main product now, and we expect this to be true for a long while. With the wood pieces, we can do nice small runs of game sets and sell them at our own pace. Arid we only had to borrow a small fortune (instead of a big one) in order to get going.

Will we ever follow through with the 5000 set plan? Hopefully, yes - someday. After all, one of us might still win the lottery! Or perhaps Icehouse will gain so much popularity that a major game company will notice us and make a real sweet licensing offer. And if that ever happens, we'll dust off our old business plan and say "Here's how we want it produced!" But in the meantime, can we interest you in a Xyloid set?

Q What happens if you set out a piece and it ends up resting partly ON TOP OF another piece, like if you're trying to block an attack with a prisoner and the prisoner winds up sitting on the tip of the attack piece?

A All pieces played must sit completely on the playing field. Playing a piece so that it's sitting on another piece is illegal. Such a play, if it doesn't cause a crash, must be taken back. This is important to remember when two people are trying to place pieces at the same time in the same spot, as in the case of one player attempting to ice a piece while another player is attempting to block the attack with a defender. If the blocking player is too late, they'll be trying to place their piece on top of the tip of the attacking player's piece. Since this is an illegal play, the blocker would have to yield to the attacker.

POWER ICEHOUSE

Power Icehouse is a great variation because it makes a distinction between simply participating in an attack and being the dominant force in the attack. The player who has the greater amount of strength in a joint attack has control over the attack, and this control gives the player POWER (hence the name). The variation is also good because the scoring method is more definitive and less prone to accounting mistakes.

The difference between regular Icehouse and Power Icehouse has to do with the scoring. In Power Icehouse, you only get points for standing pieces. You get points for pieces of your own that were not successfully iced, and you get points for other player's defending pieces, if you CONTROL the attack on them. To control an attack, the attack must be successful, and your color must have the majority of the attack points. For example, if a 3 point red piece is iced by a blue 3 pointer and a green I pointer, then blue controls the attack and gets points for the red defender. However, if the 3 point red piece is iced by a blue 2 pointer and a green 2 pointer, then neither color controls the attack and so neither color gets points. (Red still doesn't get any points, since it's iced either way.)

Also, in Power Icehouse, scores are not tallied up immediately at the end of the game. Instead, you actually pick up the pieces for which you get points, and you put them back on your stash pad. This phase of the game is called the Conquering Phase, and the pieces which end up on your stash pad are called Conquered Pieces.

To score the game, each player in turn examines each of their pieces. When the player finds a free standing (not iced) defender, he picks it up and puts it on his pad. When he finds an attack he controls, he puts the conquered piece on his pad and puts the attackers (his own as well as any others involved) on the Dead Pile. The Dead Pile is a spot on the edge of the playing field where non-scoring pieces are placed.

The conquering process requires a bit of patience and care. Don't rush, and don't try to do more than one player at a time. Make sure that whenever you conquer an iced defending piece, you put all involved attackers on the Dead Pile. Make sure that the Dead Pile is well defined, so that pieces from the Dead Pile don't accidentally get mixed in with pieces on stash pads or with pieces in the playing field that haven't yet been processed. And avoid crashes! There's no penalty for moving other pieces if it happens during the scoring phase, but it can lead to confusion, so be careful. And remember, the only pyramids you may pick up are 1) your own un-iced defenders and 2) enemy defenders that are iced by attacks that you control. All other pieces go into the Dead Pile.

When all of the pieces in the playing field have been placed on stash pads or condemned to the Dead Pile, everyone counts up the total point value of the pieces they have. The player with the most points wins.

As in normal Icehouse, a player who is put in the Icehouse gets 0 points.

CASINO ICEHOUSE

Putting some money down on a game can make any type of contest more interesting. However, unless you desire a winner-take-all sort of wager. normal Icehouse doesn't really lend itself to gambling. That's why this variation was created.

To play Casino Icehouse, you first need to know how to play Power Icehouse. You should also know how to use the Kidnapping rule, since this variation works best with Kidnapping. And third, when money is on the line, players tend to be more argumentative about details that can ultimately cost them cash. We therefore recommend that you do not use any Wall rules and that, for a crash to be recognized, it must be witnessed by two players (unless the offending player pleads guilty).

You are also going to need some chips. Poker chips will do fine, but if you can think of something more exotic to use, then feel free. If you plan to wager with real money, instead of just for sport, then each player should buy into the game with each chip having a value of a nickel, or a dime, or maybe even a quarter if everyone happens to be loaded.

Play Power Icehouse in the usual way. At the end, each player will have a selection of conquered pieces on their stash pad. Instead of just counting up and seeing who has the most, players will redeem an opponent's pieces for chips. You'll get a pay-off from an opponent, but you'll also have to pay someone off. If you've played well, you'll get back more than you paid out.

You can only collect chips from one opponent. If you have 6 points worth of blue pieces, then the blue player would give you six chips. (Note that it's total point value, not total number of pieces.) But that's not all! You can also collect chips for any pieces of your own that you can match up against the blue pieces. For example, if the blue pieces you have consist of a 3 pointer and three I pointers, and you have a 3 pointer of your own, you can also collect three chips from the blue player for your own 3 pointer, giving you a total income of nine chips.

Pieces of your own that you match against enemy pieces must match EXACTLY in size. You cannot match a 2 pointer of your own against a pair of I point enemy pieces. You don't get anything for pieces of your own color that cannot be matched against enemy pieces belonging to the player you are going to collect from.

Another example will help clarify this. You're green. You have a green 3 pointer and a pair of 2 point green pieces. You also have a red 2 pointer and 3 small red pyramids, and you have a yellow 3 pointer. You could collect 6 chips from yellow (3 points of yellow plus a 3 point match in green) or 7 chips from red (5 points of red plus 2 points of matching green). But you can't collect from them both! You must choose one (and only one) player to collect from.

Before you cash in, however, all players may engage in trading. By trading your captured pieces with those of other players, you may be able to increase your position in a certain color and get a better payoff. You might also get back pieces of your own that will give you more matching ability. In trading, any type of trade is legal. A player may offer cash incentives to sweeten a deal, or may even buy a piece outright. ("I'll give you a chip for that I point red piece.") Trading may go on for an extended time or it may end very quickly. Trading continues until all players stop attempting to negotiate trades. At this point, all players must settle up.

Deals involving chips may also be made during the playing of the game. As an example, a player might offer a chip to convince another player to over-ice a certain piece, of to play a prisoner in a particular way. In Casino Icehouse, you may even buy a prisoner from another player. Players holding prisoners may charge ransoms, or hold auctions.

If any players get put into the Icehouse, they don't get to pick up pieces during the conquering phase. But they may still engage in trading (even though they must start with no pieces to trade; only chips). Of course, all players, including any who have been put into the Icehouse, must settle their debts at the end of trading, If a player comes up short on chips, it is up to the players involved to settle the matter.

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL ICEHOUSE TOURNAMENT

Last May, we held the 3rd annual Icehouse tournament and it was the best one yet. The tedious stagnation that plagued games at the 2nd tournament was no longer a problem, since all games were run on a 20 minute timer. This proved to be a good time limit for a game, it being short enough to motivate action but long enough to allow all but the most sluggish of games to finish normally. Also, the level of playing skill seen at this year's tournament has improved greatly since the 1st tournament - when most of the competitors barely knew the rules. Indeed, the competition was fierce! As you can see from the scoreboard, Keith Baker emerged as the winner and new world champion. Coincidentally, Keith was also awarded the coveted "Cooler Than Ice" T-shirt just prior to the final match. It should be noted that the scoreboard only shows the names of the player's who were not eliminated by Saturdays qualifying round; 14 other players participated but failed to qualify.

THE SLANTED ATTACK

The way you position an attack piece can sometimes determine whether or not an attack gets over-iced. If you are making an a attack and you don't want the victim piece to get over-iced, try slanting the attack (as shown). Head-on attacks can be over-iced, which can sometimes result in the squandering or capturing of your attack piece. Slanted attacks, on the other hand, are sometimes safer.

Note however, that while some strategic situations call for the slanted attack, you should NOT get into the habit of making all of your attacks slanted attacks. This type of piece placement requires exact precision and is easy to screw up. If you slant the attack too much, your line of attack can end up missing your victim piece entirely, and your attack piece won't be pointed at anything. Because of this, slanted attacks tend to create confusing attack configurations which can lead to arguments about what's really being attacked. Also, it's a lot easier to crash while attempting to play a slanted attack. And finally, there's really no point in positioning your attack piece in this way unless the situation calls for it, and doing so just makes things needlessly complex. Unless you are able to block off all potential over-ice locations, don't bother with the confusion of the slanted attack. Attacks made on pieces standing out in the open, for example, should never be slanted.

DRAWING ENEMY FIRE

If you've got a prisoner or two and nothing much is going on, try playing a couple of your pieces defensively, out in an open area. After your opponents fall for the trap and ice these "target" pieces, you can use your prisoners to restructure the enemy attacks and rescue your targets. This can work extremely well if your opponents don't have much firepower available.

OVER-ICEM INTERRUPTUS

This is any action which abruptly halts over-icing maneuvers by another player. For example, suppose an opponent of yours is busily restructuring an attack that will ultimately cost you points. You have one piece on your pad, and the prisoner your opponent is using for his over-icing maneuvers is the only other unplayed piece in the game. If you play your piece, your opponent's prisoner will be the last piece, which means he'll get stuck in the middle of an over-ice maneuver he can't finish. (Remember that the game ends when the last piece is played, and no more over-iced pieces can be captured at that point.)

Another way of interrupting an over-ice maneuver is by dropping a defender in front of a retreated attack piece. Frequently when someone is restructuring an attack, there'll be a moment when an opponent's piece is over-iced and one or more of the attacking pieces are positioned at a distance from the victim. You have to act quickly, but you may be able to halt your opponent in his tracks by sacrificing one of your own pieces. Pop your piece in front of one of the redundant attacks just as your opponent is reaching over to re-capture it. His piece will then no longer be over iced, and he won't be allowed to take the prisoner. Considering the enormous usefulness of prisoners, it is often advantageous to force a mutual sacrifice of a piece of your own and an enemy prisoner in this way.