Riddle Me This?

Benoist · November 30, 2010, 12:56:15 PM

That completely depends. I mean. If I know there is a huge sudoku fan amongst the players, I might actually do this! If no one's particularly interested in sudoku, then I won't pull it off.

Me, I'm not a fan of those. So that would be really hard on me.

My bottom line is: know thy players. Design challenges that engage them and immerse them into the action of the game. If someone likes chess and you think that would be a cool addition to the game (a chess room in a D&D game, for instance), then go for it. If you don't know, investigate first. If your players aren't particularly interested in these types of challenges, avoid them.

It's all about the particulars of the group, IMO.

Werekoala · November 30, 2010, 01:00:59 PM

I personally wouldn't mind something along those lines (I liked the "hacking" mini-game in Bioshock, for example), but I know my players would string me up if I tried it as GM.

What can I say, I like trying new things occasionally. Stagnation sucks.

Cranewings · November 30, 2010, 02:25:07 PM

Quote from: Werekoala;421317I personally wouldn't mind something along those lines (I liked the "hacking" mini-game in Bioshock, for example), but I know my players would string me up if I tried it as GM.

What can I say, I like trying new things occasionally. Stagnation sucks.

I agree. I don't see anything wrong with it, especially if you take it to scale. "Your character has about as much difficulty hacking the terminal as you will have with this easy Sudoku."

When I've had demons want to play a board game, like Go, or something in my game, I've pulled out a 9x9 board and made people play it with me.

I played in an Exalted game with this theater kid, back when it first came out, hid tokens around the game store to represent our characters actually looking for something. It was silly, but funny. No one busted his balls for it.

I think people should put on their try-hards, play the game, and stop bitching so much about their GMs attempts to spice things up.

Insufficient Metal · November 30, 2010, 02:57:52 PM

Quote from: Werekoala;421317I personally wouldn't mind something along those lines (I liked the "hacking" mini-game in Bioshock, for example), but I know my players would string me up if I tried it as GM.

What can I say, I like trying new things occasionally. Stagnation sucks.

I like those too, but I don't have five other people sitting around the table waiting for me to solve it. That's the big difference to me.

Werekoala · November 30, 2010, 03:04:39 PM

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;421386I like those too, but I don't have five other people sitting around the table waiting for me to solve it. That's the big difference to me.

Ture, and again, that's why I said my guys would string my up if I tried it. I, personally, wouldn't mind it a bit.

VectorSigma · November 30, 2010, 08:43:59 PM

I do this shit all the time. A minigame or puzzle every few sessions. However, I know my players dig it, and 95% of the time completing the puzzle/minigame gets 'em something extra (so it's worth trying with good faith) above and beyond the success.

I've never used Sudoku, but we've had mazes, tangrams, tons of word puzzles and the like, cryptograms, and more.

I don't think I would use a minigame as a substitute for a "normal" skill use, though - no Tetris in lieu of picking a lock. Weird puzzle to represent the magic puzzle box? Sure.

I mean, seriously. When you guys get to the chess-puzzle-room in the old-school dungeon, do you just ask if you can roll under your INT or what? Sheesh. Play the game, man.

ColonelHardisson · November 30, 2010, 09:23:22 PM

Quote from: VectorSigma;421511I do this shit all the time. A minigame or puzzle every few sessions. However, I know my players dig it, and 95% of the time completing the puzzle/minigame gets 'em something extra (so it's worth trying with good faith) above and beyond the success.

I've never used Sudoku, but we've had mazes, tangrams, tons of word puzzles and the like, cryptograms, and more.

I don't think I would use a minigame as a substitute for a "normal" skill use, though - no Tetris in lieu of picking a lock. Weird puzzle to represent the magic puzzle box? Sure.

I mean, seriously. When you guys get to the chess-puzzle-room in the old-school dungeon, do you just ask if you can roll under your INT or what? Sheesh. Play the game, man.

That's a great answer. I recall doing similar things early on in my D&D-playing days. All of us enjoyed the occasional maze or word puzzle. I recall the Rubik's Cube getting some use, too. You're right about not using such things as substitutes for regular skill checks, but hell, the version of the game I played didn't have a skill system.

Nazgul · November 30, 2010, 09:30:39 PM

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;421164If your character was hacking a terminal in some scenario and you the player weren't as smart at such things as the character and the GM whipped out a Sudoku or some such to rerpesent the problem in order for you to roleplay the attempt, what would you do?

Say "Sure" and do it. Then the next time I'm at a bar(in game), I'd expect him to provide me with booze(in the real world) "to represent my character getting drunk" and a blow job(irl) when I make my seduction roll.....

RPGPundit · December 01, 2010, 12:25:37 PM

I'd tell them to go fuck themselves.

RPGPundit

Pseudoephedrine · December 01, 2010, 12:32:52 PM

Sudoku is too distant from the task itself.

On the other hand, I have had to solve anagrams and crack codes when these existed in game (like there's a coded message we find on an enemy's body or something). No skill check allowed, or maybe just to get a clue or two.

KenHR · December 01, 2010, 12:44:57 PM

I'd insist on using Jenga instead.

Wereturkey · December 01, 2010, 11:19:11 PM

Quote from: KenHR;421780I'd insist on using Jenga instead.

Have you ever considered the psychological horror themed, mechanics light RPG called Dread?

Instead of dice you play with a game of Jenga with tower collapses representing nasty plot twists, character deaths and the shit generally hitting the fan in some capacity or another.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11974.phtml

As for the original question, unless the sudoku was seamlessly integrated I'd have to explain about breaking story flow, why minigames are for single player video games and suggest that it would work better in something more LARP-ish.

Planet Algol · December 02, 2010, 12:00:51 AM

Frankly I'm surprised by the overwhelming negative reaction; I'm going to have to throw some real-life puzzles into my dungeon now.

Cole · December 02, 2010, 12:07:12 AM

Quote from: Planet Algol;422111Frankly I'm surprised by the overwhelming negative reaction; I'm going to have to throw some real-life puzzles into my dungeon now.

I would be less bothered by "you enter a room with this sudoku on the floor" (i might still groan a little) than "to find the file you need to hack this computer : therefore do this sudoku." I'm not sure why, because, really I wouldn't object to a word puzzle even though in theory the PCs aren't speaking english (but then maybe in some weird, Worm Ouroboros type way, they are). I guess the distance is just enough to shake the concreteness of the gameworld.

Spinachcat · December 02, 2010, 01:05:33 AM

Its a cool idea...if the whole group can participate. I would not give a time-consuming task to a single player that would hold up the game.

However....

It might be cool if the hacker had to do the puzzle while everyone else was in combat against something nasty. Thus, the players would want the hacker to be quick and there would be tension, but meanwhile the other players would be fully engaged in the game.

"Live Dungeons" regularly have these type of puzzles. They can be fun, or annoying, depending on the puzzle and the players.

Riddle Me This?

Cranewings