YORKTON - Some games are created not so much as something that is completely new but instead finds way to create a fresh approach to an old idea.
That is the case with SUM8 a new game by Canadians Iles Guran and Leanne Gray.
The game is very much a ‘domino’ game, or at least its roots appear to be deep in dominoes which dates back to around 1500 and which allows for a rather substantial catalogue of games to be played, most with fairly simple rules making dominoes a rather relaxing social undertaking for most.
Yes, in SUM8 the shape of the dominoes have been given a curvy wave design – very nice I might add, and good quality too – but when opening the canvas bag the pieces store in, the immediate thought was dominoes. And, like traditional dominoes each end has a number of pips.
You place the pieces onto a circular pattern grid, the board ‘disks’ you arrange fit in the canvas bag too, so in the end the package is hugely portable. In this case you are trying to match pips so if the numbers do match you gain one point. If they add up to eight, well that’s better as it’s two points. Pieces laid must meet one of the scoring criteria.
Note there is a lot of scoring here, so pen and paper will be busy – although grabbing the always handy cribbage board can make scoring easy too.
You basically place a tile each turn from one of eight in your hand then replace that one with another from the reserve. Play continues until neither player can play, you then minus the total of pips in-hand and the winner is the one left with the greatest score.
There are a few additional rules – for example you can move a tile instead of playing one under certain conditions – but overall it’s a pretty easy ruleset to grasp.
The rulebook was actually what the designers said was the most difficult aspect of designing the game – writing it so that other people understand exactly what they meant and finding the right words, pictures so people can play easily. This makes up a huge part of the game even though it doesn’t seem like it, they said.
For Leanne Gray, games have always been part of her life.
“I grew up playing lots of games with my family. Board games, card games, puzzles – we played it all,” she said in a recent interview via email. “At all family gatherings we played a game. Once we got older, we still played games every time the family got together – and continue to do so.
“Iles and I alone were not big game players at home. Not until the pandemic. Then we started looking for two-player games and found a few that we really liked. We were surprised though that there were so few that were shorter two player games that were not older games. My favourite game is Boggle, but nobody will play with me anymore because I love words so much.”
So maybe it was no surprise they would eventually try to design something themselves.
“I was trying to make a puzzle with numbers,” said Gray. “Kind of like a Sudoku in puzzle form. I wanted the pieces to have a different shape and form into an eight. I tried to draw it out on paper – but it was not pretty!
“Iles started to play with shapes and connections and gave me a bunch of options to play with. The one shape stood out to us and we started laying them out on the table and connecting them in different ways. We tried line connections and numbers, and then went to pips like dominoes and SUM8 was created.”
Gray added, “we wanted the game to be strategic, but not difficult to understand. We also wanted anyone to be able to play it, without so many rules that you must refer back to a rule book.”
The game actually developed rather quickly, with the original idea in May of 2021.
“Once we had the shape the development became easier – it seemed to flow and come together very quickly,” said Gray. “We had our first physical prototype by July. Making the rules was the hardest part! Change one rule and we would need to replay the game again. That would make another issue come up, so we had to change a rule again and then replay the game. Repeat until we did not come up with any issues. We then sent the game to about 25 play testers. They gave us great feedback and we ended up adjusting some rules based on it. During this time, we were also investigating how we could get it produced and getting our costs together.
“This took us to January 2022, when we started working on our Kickstarter Campaign. “
So what in the mind of the designer is the best element of the game?
“I think the fact that the strategy has levels is the best element of the game,” said Gray. “You can play it with your kids, and it can be easy going about getting a tile in the right spot and more like a puzzle. Then you can play it with a friend and it becomes more of a chess game – making the best decision, making moves just to block your opponents move.”
As for a best aspect Gray pointed to the multiple options for the game which she said are not found in every game.
“The disks change the layout, you could play freestyle without the disks, and there is a solo play that is like a puzzle. It is also truly portable so you can take it anywhere,” she added.
“I think that the ability to move a tile that is not in a closed circle is the most unique. It adds an element that can be unexpected, that gives you a chance to seize a move that your opponent might not have seen. It opens the possibility that if you don’t draw a certain tile, you may still be able to use it to your advantage if it is on the board.”
The ability to move a piece, especially if an opponent lays the third piece of a circle leaving only one more needed to complete a ‘big 8.’ It’s likely they have the piece in-hand to get the big score next time, so moving is good.
But, if you can’t ‘lock it’ down by adding a piece on your next turn they can just move it back and you have essentially wasted a turn.
And, getting the scores for a ‘big 8’ are the core of the game. While a move usually scores one, two, or three points, with players crawling along points wise, a big 8 adds four and usually results in a jump of six or seven, and on a rare occasion eight points, which is huge.
Comebacks, especially on a smaller board – nine circles – is typically daunting.
When you play all 16 circles as a board there is greater chance for comeback and the likelihood all pieces will play, not so on a smaller board.
It also doesn’t state if a player uses all their pieces and there are none left in bag, that the game is over – a rule that will likely be house-ruled by many.
In the end this is a game that will make domino players smile as something just a little different to explore—although whether it offers enough difference to recommend has my better half and I on the fence.
It’s also a very nice-looking two-players game to relax over for a coffee – right in there with a good game of Rummy or Cribbage or Quixo.
Granted SUM8 is not the most complex of games, but there are advantages to thinking a bit ahead, and watching for when moving a piece might be to the best advantage. Yes, luck plays a big part – but for a ‘chill’ game that isn’t always so bad.
A definite coffee break option, a holiday camper take-along, and a solid gift for couples so check it out at turnupgames.com
