Proteus
Description
From the Kadon website:
"Background :: In ancient Greek mythology there was a sea god named Proteus. His most notable characteristic was that he could change his shape at will, from a man to a fish, a whale, a bird, or anything else. This most useful skill against opponents gave rise to the expression of being in a "Protean struggle." The Proteus game set is so named because the game can change its form — not its physical form, but rather the game rules themselves."
Michael's concept was to create a meta-game that allowed for rule-changing but had a fixed slate of rules, unlike the fluid game of Nomic. The rules on 9 wood tiles determine how the players may move their pieces, trade the tiles, or even win. A rule is activated when a player's piece enters a correspondingly shaped tile, and the previously active rule is turned off. A placement phase precedes the movement stage. Experienced players can sometimes win even before movement begins. The strategy is intense because long-range moves are not calculable. For two players, Ages 12 and up.
On Omni's list of best new games, 1983.
Online Play
- Boardspace.net (real time or turn based, AI option)