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Winds of Nagual
2015-03-16, 12:46 PM
I was playing 'Jenga' this weekend and became inspired. Has anyone used actual physical games/puzzles to add to a role-playing session? Like - add five layers to a Jenga tower in 2 minutes or face some consequences. Monster attacks, acid spray, etc.

Or solve this rubics cube (depends on your players) or knock 10 blocks out of a 'Don't Break the Ice' board. Solve this for checkmate in three.

Something that the PCs must physically deal with. Preferably with a time limit.

Cheers!

Thrudd
2015-03-16, 12:54 PM
I was playing 'Jenga' this weekend and became inspired. Has anyone used actual physical games/puzzles to add to a role-playing session? Like - add five layers to a Jenga tower in 2 minutes or face some consequences. Monster attacks, acid spray, etc.

Or solve this rubics cube (depends on your players) or knock 10 blocks out of a 'Don't Break the Ice' board. Solve this for checkmate in three.

Something that the PCs must physically deal with. Preferably with a time limit.

Cheers!

Unless the puzzle is closely related to what the characters are supposed to be doing, I would say don't do this. It would be a completely immersion breaking activity.

If the characters have a similar puzzle to solve, then giving the players a chance to physically work the puzzle is a great immersion enhancing activity.

For example: the characters find a rubics cube-like device and need to solve it in order to retrieve an artifact. Hand the players a rubics cube and let them work on it. That would be great.

kaoskonfety
2015-03-16, 01:11 PM
there was a game... Tower of Terror, that was it...

Specifically Jenga tower.

Pretty free form rules light horror game. To succeed at an action the story teller feel warrants a "check" you have to take a block from the bottom and put it on top.

Tension rises, moves get harder, you need to pick and choose "actions" increasingly carefully... blocks fall: everybody dies. I'm sure this pun is why the game exists.

I've seen a few visual puzzles on maps and floor plans - thats the closest I've seen to what you are outright describing. A few actual riddles for the players to solve (back before the internets gave all the answers forever). Always found the "chess problem in a dungeon" thing a bit more than cliche - part due to my "just shy of master ranking" skill level, leaving the puzzles all either "laughable trivial" and/or "nearly impossible for the vast majority of role players"

I might do something on these lines with a heavy 'puzzle solving' focused group - but I've never really had one.

Winds of Nagual
2015-03-16, 01:37 PM
I am completely thinking a physical model of what the PCs are going through. Something to increase the immersion of the game. I hid pieces of a map in a in-game library once - then they had to physically manipulate the cardboard pieces to show what country was represented along with where the missing tomb was.

Geostationary
2015-03-16, 02:13 PM
there was a game... Tower of Terror, that was it...


You're thinking of Dread (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/83854/Dread). But yeah, rules-light horror rpg that uses a Jenga tower for resolution and loaded questions for character creation. It's pretty cool.

Winds of Nagual
2015-03-16, 03:11 PM
Not really a bump. Does anyone remember the old 'Perfection' game? Put the pieces in place before it pops? Give anyone who wants a try 30 seconds + int + dex (Pathfinder here) to put the pieces together before 10d6 fireball goes off. Only way to get to a hidden key.

Thrudd
2015-03-16, 04:30 PM
Not really a bump. Does anyone remember the old 'Perfection' game? Put the pieces in place before it pops? Give anyone who wants a try 30 seconds + int + dex (Pathfinder here) to put the pieces together before 10d6 fireball goes off. Only way to get to a hidden key.

Lol awesome. You should do that, if you've still got the game.