The Fantasy Trip cannot be played by post

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

I find it more important to number hexes on a strategic map than a tactical. That's because there's usually a lot more hexes on a strategic map, and often a shortage of names. "So if I understand right we're in 4113. I say we ride these frogs we've captured downriver to 3713, overland to the port in 3612, get a wormship or whatever to 3306, walk to 3308, kill the evil princess and rescue our friend the ogre." If the hexes themselves are too small for numbers then having axes along the map edge is usually enough.

In my games, you don't have a copy of the actual world map. You have whatever your map shows, which is a special effect and likely doesn't use hexes, and probably does not show particularly accurate spatial orientations nor complete terrain. i.e. a lot of the game is about having to figure out what's in the world and where you are in it. (If the evil princess' stronghold isn't next to a major landmark, that's probably for a good reason.)

[stefanj]

My Wizard map is numbered, in SPI-ish style.


I once played a PBM game with a friend, so I assume we shared the same numbering scheme; not sure if it was published somewhere or if I came up with it.

[the1weasel]

Originally Posted by ParadoxGames

Yes, even as I made the map, I realized that some of the hexes' names on these maps open themselves up to joking!

Kudos for putting forth the effort to accommodate the users of the discord server.

[Chris Goodwin]

I was thinking just now about hidden movement in a PvP game of Wizard, and that a standardized notation for keeping track of that might be useful. And then I realized that this would also be useful in a not-hidden fashion for play-by-post.

Without numbered hexes, you could label starting hexes (i.e. A, B, C, etc.), and give each map a standardized "compass rose"; I recommend having it marked somewhere on the map. Directions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. If the grain is north-south, then 6 is north, and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are clockwise from there. If the grain is east-west, then 1 is east, and 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are clockwise from there. Players issue written orders for their movement. Bob's movement orders might look like this:

Bob: 1-1-1-6-6-1-x

From Bob's current position, he moves three hexes in direction 1, two hexes in direction 6, and one more in direction 1. x means Bob stops in that hex.

If there's a GM, the GM might send Bob's player back a marked copy of the map with his path as they both understand it, and the player confirms or corrects if that's not. Then the final map is updated, and play continues.

If the hexes are numbered, or are given coordinates, then the order string could end with the hex the figure ends up in, like so:

Bob: 1-1-1-6-6-1-x; 1227

or

Bob: 1-1-1-6-6-1-x; D7

For hidden movement, this would be kept track of in a log sheet or file, and after the battle the other player should be offered a chance to audit the movement, if desired.

Alternately, each step could, instead of a direction, be a hex coordinate or number. Example:

Bob: B2-B3-B4-C5-D6-D7-x; D7

That might be unwieldy, though.

[Terquem]

That's a good method Chris, may I steal it?

Anyway, mostly wanted to say that I meant the original post more in humor and to get a dialog started about ways to run PbP versions of TFT, and not to say that there must be a way that is codified, I didn't mean to imply that anyway.

thank you.

[Skarg]

When playing with a GM, it has worked well for me for the GM to mail out a map, and for each player to describe what they want to do, then the GM resolves the turn (asking clarifying questions if needed), describes it in prose, and sends out another map with the updated position. It was worked well. A player describing their own intended move can usually do so without a coordinate system, though one can of course be used.

In a two-player game (or any type of game) players may want to set up their own copy of the map.

Computers and/or camera-phones can be a big help here. A player can either edit a digital map to show their intended move, or move counters on their own physical map and then email a photograph of the map showing their move to the other player(s).

[platimus]

Those are great methods, Chris. The second (lesser of the two) was where I was going with my comment about not needing to label/number every hex on the map - just the edge hexes. You still have a coordinate system. This is important to me. But the map isn't mucked up with a bunch of letters/numbers.

Your movement notation is an excellent idea I'd never thought of. I would prefer the option that states the ending coordinate at the end of the movement notation. Just to be clear.

It's still VERY good to have the coordinate system so you can "pause" the game, save the "state", and "restore" the game days later.

[Chris Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Terquem

That's a good method Chris, may I steal it?

You can't steal what is freely given. Please use it if it works!

Anyway, mostly wanted to say that I meant the original post more in humor and to get a dialog started about ways to run PbP versions of TFT, and not to say that there must be a way that is codified, I didn't mean to imply that anyway.

thank you.

I totally got that. :) And when I was reading my shiny new Wizard PDF, I got to the part about hidden movement, and started thinking... I was going to start a new thread for it, but it was essentially a way to keep a record of where someone is moving to, so that it could be verified afterward if desired. And that's exactly what you need for play by post, so...

Originally Posted by platimus

Those are great methods, Chris. The second (lesser of the two) was where I was going with my comment about not needing to label/number every hex on the map - just the edge hexes. You still have a coordinate system. This is important to me. But the map isn't mucked up with a bunch of letters/numbers.

Your movement notation is an excellent idea I'd never thought of. I would prefer the option that states the ending coordinate at the end of the movement notation. Just to be clear.

Thanks! It's still a work in progress. Actually, it's not even that, just an idea that I had that I fleshed out quickly. I can already think of improvements, like a note for the figure's facing, post-move.

It's still VERY good to have the coordinate system so you can "pause" the game, save the "state", and "restore" the game days later.

Absolutely! The idea came from chess move notation. Which is intended for asynchronous and remote games. Play by post, in other words. :)

[platimus]

Yes! That is exactly where and why I got my idea for the coordinate system!