Gemmea is a board game designed and created for our first semester project, during our first year at ICAN.
We had to take a board game from before the 16th century, and reuse its components with new rules and mechanics.
Our board game of choice was the Pachisi.
Rules
Gemmea is a two-players game, one versus one.
Each player controls a team of four Minecarts (Sapphires or Rubies), and has access to four Boost/Block tokens.
Their goal is to lead their minecarts to the center of the game board before their opponent, by using Movement Tiles that they randomly draw out of a common pile.
Components
- 1 game board, in the shape of a cross, with each side being a 8x3 grid.
- 8 Ruby pieces: 4 Minecarts and 4 Boost/Block tokens.
- 8 Sapphire pieces: 4 Minecarts and 4 Boost/Block tokens.
- 4 Perimeter Rails.
- 7 double-sided Movement Tiles.
- 1 cloth bag.
Setup
Place the game board in-between the two players, then place the four Perimeter Rails at the corresponding corners.
Each player takes all the pieces of one of the team, then places their Minecarts on the corresponding starting squares, at the end of each side.
Win condition
If a player manages to lead all their Minecarts to the center of the game board, they win.
Turn structure
Draw phase
The active player draws Movement Tiles until they have two in their hand. After seeing them, they can decide to put them back in the pile and skip the rest of their turn.
All the double-sided movement tiles available.
Placement phase
The active player can take one of his Boost/Block token and place it on the board. They can either:
- Place it on the Boost side, anywhere on the board.
- Place it on the Block side, on any Boost token already on the board.
Movement phase
The active player can move their Minecarts by placing Movement Tiles on the board, and combining them to form a path.
They can use as many tiles as they want, as long as they are connected, but only one Minecart can move per turn. Movement Tiles cannot partially hang off the side of the board, and cannot be placed on top of walls, Boost/Block tokens, Minecarts, or the center space.
The walls on the game board block Minecarts, meaning that they cannot move into a wall.
If a Minecart would move into another Minecart, it pushes it forward if it can (if it can’t, the movement is forbidden).
If a Minecart moves into or is pushed out of the board, it follows the Perimeter Rail to another side.
If a Minecart moves into a Boost token, they jump two squares in the direction of their movement.
End of the turn
All the used Movement Tiles go back into the pile, then it’s the turn of the next player.
Physical prototype
Board
Textures of the inside and outside of the board.
WIP photos of making the board prototype.
Minecarts
Base concepts for the minecarts.
Sketch of the minecart, for reference in 3D modelling.
Renders of the minecart’s 3D model.
Test 3D prints of the minecart.
The final minecarts, printed and decorated.