Splook for BeOS

Variants

Now that you've mastered basic game play (perhaps without even playing) we'll tell you why we called it 'basic.' You want variations on game play? We've got 'em. Some are relatively minor and just alter the feel of the game a little. Most add some element of randomness in varying degrees, and some - to the novice player - make the game completely arbitrary.


Game Variants

We'll start off with a couple of easy ones. These variations on the basic game give you a little more freedom to work.

Large Board
This is the simplest of the variations. All it does it expand the board to a 9x9 playing area. Note that this is about a 65% increase in board size, so some strategies that you develop for a small board may need modification. Overall, though, very tame.
Timed Game
Here's the other tame one. In the standard game, each player is given 100 seconds to make all of their moves. This option lets you turn off the turn clocks, eliminating any necessity to rush through a move. See Hourglass in the Treasures section below for related information.


Weak Floors

The simplest major variation involves the addition of weakened floors to the board. One or two spaces on the board will be too weak to support a glob. If you move onto one of those spaces the glob will fall through, leaving a gaping hole in the floor. No capture of opposing globs is made. Once a floor is broken, it is generally not a legal destination for a move. Weak floors add a small amount of randomness to the game. See Weight Loss and Potion of Levitation in the Treasures section below for related information.


Dead Blocks

If weak floors are too tame for you, we also have a group of variants that affect the behavior off the dead blocks - the spaces that can't be occupied by globs. These add more randomness to the game and will sometimes turn the tide of victory in a single turn. These are still comparatively tame against the next set, though.

Sliding Blocks
When sliding blocks are turned on there is a chance, after any move, that a dead block will slide from the space it's in to any (empty) space with which it shares a side. That space is now unoccupiable, and the original location is likewise a normal square. The mass of dead blocks is distributed enough around the edges that it will not break through a weak floor, and they can even slide onto a square which has an existing hole in it. On the other hand, it may also have been covering a weak space....
Teleporting Blocks
Somewhat more random than sliding blocks are the ones that can teleport from one space on the board to another. Since they don't need an adjacent space to move into, they are harder to predict or control. Other than that, they're basically the same as sliding blocks.
Columns
ColumnThis variation lets dead blocks grow into columns or shrink back to normal. A column cannot be jumped over if it is directly in the path of the move. Additionally, two adjacent columns will prevent a knight move over them.
Troll
TrollIf you select this option, one of the dead blocks will house a ravenous monster. Every so often, if there is an adjacent glob, the troll may reach out and grab a snack. The block housing the troll is normal in every other respect, and if it moves, the troll goes with it. See Vaccination under Treasures for related information.


Spaces

We're starting to get into the options that can really impact game play. This group represents a collection of powerful items or forces hidden under the squares on the board. When a glob lands on a space holding an artifact, it will be found and activated.

Mines
You can choose to have mines placed under one or two of the squares. Most often, they will go off when a glob or moving dead block lands on top of them. Sometimes a glob may not set it off immediately. In those cases, it will almost definitely go off if the glob jumps off of it. There's a small chance that a mine will be a dud. When a mine explodes, everything on the surface of its space and the eight around it will be destroyed in the blast. In addition, the shock wave will cause the other mine to go off and weak floors to collapse if they are nearby. Once a mine explodes or turns out to be a dud, it is gone. Related information can be found at Weight Loss in the Treasures section.
Medusa
MedusaThe Medusa square, like the gorgon of myth, will turn any glob landing on it to a dead block. A glob which has turned into a dead block is an entirely normal dead block thereafter, and any related variations apply equally to that one. If the dead block moves, Medusa can strike again. Vaccination under Treasures has an impact on this artifact.
Disruptor
DisruptorThe disruptor is a tool of great power. When found, it can greatly affect the outcome of the game. The player who finds this may select any dead block on the board (by clicking) and disintegrate it immediately. The downside is that you have to choose quickly. If you take too long this artifact will blow up with the same result as a land mine. Once found and used up, it is lost to the world forever - or until the next game.
Sphere of Annihilation
SphereThe sphere is a potent tool, indeed. When found, the glob that discovered it can hurl it in any of the eight primary directions by clicking in an adjacent square. It will travel in a straight line and potentially destroy every glob or dead block it encounters. Every time it destroys something, it loses a little potency, and may eventually fail. Otherwise, it reaches the edge of the board and disappears. Like the disruptor, the sphere is a single-use artifact. Vaccination is a related treasure.
Inverter
The inverter is quite powerful. Every glob which lands on this square will, before making captures, change to the opponent's color. Simple, but potentially massive in impact.


Tornado

This is the silliest variation in the game. If the players take too long to resolve their issues, a tornado will appear to prod them along a little. The tornado will sweep across the board and turn everything in its path into something else. Note that "something else" may even be something which wouldn't normally appear in the game.


Treasures

Some of the variations discussed above cause the placement of treasures in the board. Like artifacts, these are buried under the board and found by the first glob which lands on them. Most give the glob some attribute which is related to the selected variation. When a glob with some mutation grows, the mutation is passed on and lost by the parent. Globs don't believe in Darwin.

Hourglass
HourglassWhen a timed game is started, one or two spaces on the board will have an hourglass buried underneath. When an hourglass is found, the player whose glob found it gets an additional ten seconds on their turn clock.
Weight Loss
ScalesThe glob finding this will become lighter than normal. A light glob will not break through a weak floor or set off a mine.
Potion of Levitation
PotionThe glob which finds the potion of levitation will rise up into the air. A floating glob will not break a weak floor or find any other artifact or treasure, but has the advantage of being able to move onto a hole as if it was a normal space.
Vaccination
SyringeA vaccinated glob is immune to many of the problems that might befall its comrades. It will destroy Medusa if it finds her. The sphere of annihilation will bounce back at its thrower. The troll will still eat the glob, but will get such indigestion that it will not attack during the current game.

Copyright 1998, Bastion Products

Bastion Products and Splook are trademarks of Gregory Weston
BeBox and BeOS are trademarks of Be, Inc.

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