Sunday, November 15, 2009

New rules for Motion and Friggat created at Sunday Brunch


Image Credit: Nic McPhee


Today's Sunday Brunch Games were another huge success; 10 players, three games, and four hours of play. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of everyone, we were able to work on some improving two of the games that we'd created, namely Motion and Friggat.

In addition to the rules described here, we've added these:

Motion:
1. No traveling. That means that if you are dribbling the ball and stop, you must pass it to another member of your team. Kicking the ball was not allowed in the last game, except on the "kickoff." Otherwise you had to dribble the kickball or pass it.
2. A disc that hits the ground is a turnover. I go back and forth on this rule, because I'm afraid it will cause the disc to remain stationary for too long. But we played it both ways (with dropped throws being turnovers and with them not being turnovers) and each had their pros and cons. More experimentation will determine whether this is a good rule or not.
3. An odd number of players per side works out best. 5-on-5 is probably the perfect number.
4. You can play zone defense or man-on-man defense. In practice, zone defense means that a couple players on each team focus on the ball, and a couple on the disc. Man-on-man means you pick a player on the opposite side to shadow.

As you can see, this game is evolving. Today was one of the best versions of the game yet. The same is true for what is proving to be a perennial favorite, Friggat. We usually end up playing Friggat last, when we're tired. But new additions to the rules may make this game more rigorous.

Friggat:
The idea we've been toying with is using multiple team members to run bases or interfere with fielder's attempts to tag-out the runner. A runner, heading for home, can tag or pass an object (we used a baseball) to another member of his team, and then the fielder must try to tag this new player in order to get the out. Since there are no baselines, a runner can run anywhere within the triangle area created by "The Line" and home base. It turns what was a footrace to home into a game of tag within the boundaries, with players constantly changing.

There was a lot of playing today, as well as a lot of working on the rules of these games to make them better. I think making the game up as we go adds another aspect to the "play" that is Obscure Games. And the idea is starting to spread; players are starting to generate new ideas for games (keep an eye out for a soccer/marble-type game being worked on by Skory). Do you have an idea for a game? Then tell us about it! We'll help develop it to make it playable and fun.

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