Description

Grid Snakes is a quick-playing game with some real-world dexterity elements for two, four, or six players (with variant rules for three, five, and seven to twelve players). You’re a digital snake, trapped in an arena with several other snakes. As you move, you leave body segments behind you. Your goal is to eliminate your opponents by forcing your opponents to crash into the edge of the board or and section of any other player.

Play is simultaneous (so there's no down time) and proceeds through the following phases: plan, challenge, resolve. During planning, you have a just a handful seconds to pick a direction and a speed for your snake. When all instructions are revealed, any player may spend a token to challenge another player. If you're challenged, you have to flick a token onto a chart; where it lands dictates your speed for the turn. During resolution, you move the snakes, add body segments, and check for collisions.

Grid Snakes uses a large and a small custom board, several small custom decks of cards (eight cards each), some nickels or quarters, and a lot of colored glass beads (or other small tokens). The rules and cards are available at: http://www.invisible-city.com/file_download/165/

Grid Snakes has fairly simple rules, but requires quick decision making and planning. Grid Snakes is appropriate for ages 12 and up. If you eliminate the timer, you could probably play this game with slightly younger children. If you allow multiple attempts on reflex challenges, you could go even younger. A four-player game takes 30 minutes or fewer to play. A six-player game takes 40 minutes or fewer.