Can't Stop: Advanced

[eclectic_boy]

Noda and I just had a hectare of fun inventing the advanced version of the dice-rolling, risk-assessing classic, Can't Stop. An alternative name for our version might be Big Can't Stop, since it is to CS what Big Boggle is to Boggle: increase a single variable for a richer experience and a greater challenge. The two games of it we just played were definitely the most effort I've put into a Can't Stop game in years, and the most fun I've had at it.

This won't make much sense to those who don't already know the game, sorry, but what we did is change the number of dice from four to six. On each roll you couple them into three pairs. You still have three active columns, as in regular CS, but now you suffer a turn-ending, progress-losing crap out if you aren't able to make at least *two* of your three pairs advance an active column. Moving the same pawn twice fulfills the requirement, but for example if you're one away from topping out in the 6 column and your dice roll all threes, you blew it, because you've just made three pairs of 6, and only one of them can result in a pawn moving.

That's a very rare case, of course. What the game much more commonly consists of is mulling over how best to choose from the now-much-greater space of possible combinations. Turns tend to be slightly shorter, and crapouts a little more frequent, meaning it's tougher than regular Can't Stop. For a while we considered adding a fourth pawn, but in the end decided this version is the right level of challenge. Come over sometime and play!

Comments

[uncleamos]

This is clearly a big improvement. You get to roll dice and hope you get lucky!

[creed-of-hubris.livejournal.com]

Hmm. With more dice/2 moves needed I feel like the end columns become weaker while a strategy involving several mid numbers becomes much more powerful, but you'd need to run some sims to find out.

[wayman.livejournal.com]

By "progress-losing crap out" you still mean "take any one column back to zero", yes? Or do I misremember Can't Stop?

[glassonion]

You misremember. Progress is made in turns, so you have coloured tiles on the board indicating your score, and then use white markers to indicate the additional progress you've made this turn. If you choose to stop rolling, you can replace your white markers with coloured tiles, adding the progress you've made this turn to your score. If you crap out before you choose to stop, you simply lose everything you gained this turn.

[gallusgallus.livejournal.com]

http://gamersalliance.com/cantstopbet.htm

[zorblak.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting, but I can see this possibly causing it to drag in the endgame. In a four-player game, if you figure that 6-7 columns are already closed, it's going to be much harder to make 2 of your 3 pairs into usable columns.

Of course, that's just theory. How did this pan out in practice, in terms of early vs. late game?