Description
Players use a finger or cue to strike a token and propel it toward a target.
Discussion
Flicking games sit on the line between toys, games, and sports. Flicking is an essential technique with no single or settled definition of what constitutes a flick. Crokinole is among the oldest flicking games that remains popular today. It can be played with either fingers or cues, with cues winning out over fingers in high-level play. It is a specific example of RES-10, Physical Action. Flicking games test a player’s accuracy, power, and control in various ways. In PitchCar, players flick a round disk representing a race car. Players seek to traverse the course as quickly as possible, which calls for powerful flicks. On the other hand, players must also keep their disks on the board, which requires control. In many instances, players must navigate their disks through small openings, or carom their disk at a specific angle off of a barrier, or even another player, which requires excellent accuracy. Flicking introduces dynamism to the game that is unusual compared to most board games. In many flicking games, players stand and move around the play surface to find the right angle from which to take their shots. The
drama of flicking makes games more suitable to spectators, and the atmosphere of flicking games is more social and celebratory than is typical for tabletop games outside of the party genre. Because flicking is a learnable skill, there can be a sharp skill gap between players, similar to the skill gap in classic abstract games. When novice players play, flicking introduces randomness in the game’s outputs, because players don’t typically succeed in flicking as precisely as they intended. However, when experts play, there is very little randomness, and thus, it is near-certain that a skilled player will convincingly defeat beginners. The most important aspect of flicking design is the physicality of the game. The object being flicked, the method of flicking, and the surface being flicked on must be carefully selected and manufactured. Ascending Empires, a 4X game, had players flicking ships across a puzzle-cut board to travel through space. Unfortunately, the production was marred by a warped board. The jigs of the puzzle would sometimes ride up in their pockets and create seams that interfered with the smooth travel of the ships in unintended ways. Cosmic Kaboom took this lesson and had players flicking across their own tables or any other surface of their choice. ICECOOL went in the other direction, creating several nested cardboard boxes that are laid edge-to-edge and clipped together to create a large and consistently smooth surface. Mars Open: Tabletop Golf uses a novel approach by creating a folded chipboard component that is flicked into the air. Flip Ships has players flicking ships through the air from an elevated platform. Players can create courses on their tables or throughout their homes simply by placing the tee box in one place and the green somewhere else, and letting players navigate their way to the hole. Sorry Sliders provides chipboard ramps with plastic rails that create a level surface and help keep players from making invalid flicks. The characteristics of the flicked object are another opportunity for creativity. ICECOOL’s ball-bearing-mounted penguins can be flicked to consistently make them curve and jump, allowing for impressive shots and hilarious goofs. The Mars Open folded chipboard golf “ball” can similarly be manipulated to hook or draw shots, as in real golf. In Flick ’Em Up, players flick a larger disk to move their cowboys around and a smaller disk to simulate shooting. In Tumblin’ Dice, players flick the eponymous dice down a tiered set of platforms. The dice bounce in surprising ways as they tumble, making for an unpredictable and thrilling experience. Some games use flicking for its destructive capacity rather than to traverse a distance accurately. Crossbows & Catapults asks players to launch disks to
knock over their opponents and their fortifications. Flicking and knocking over opponents as an abstraction of shooting or striking enemies is common to several games including the aforementioned Flick ’Em Up, Catacombs, and SEAL Team Flix.
Sample Games
Ascending Empires (Cooper, 2011) Catacombs (Amos, Kelsey, West, 2010) Cosmic Kaboom (Loomis, 2016) Crokinole (Unknown, 1867) Crossbows & Catapults (Frigard & Sala, 1983) Flick ’Em Up (Beaujannot & Monpertuis, 2015) Flip Ships (Klenko, 2017) Furnace (Lashin, 2021) ICECOOL (Gomez, 2016) Mars Open: Tabletop Golf (Hoyle, 2018) PitchCar (du Poël, 1995) SEAL Team Flix (Ruth & Tomas, 2018) Tumblin’ Dice (Grayson, Nash & Soued, 2004)
描述
玩家使用手指或球杆击打代币并将其推向目标。
讨论
弹指（Flicking）游戏介于玩具、游戏和运动之间。弹指是一项基本技术，对于什么构成弹指没有单一或固定的定义。《Crokinole》是至今仍流行的最古老的弹指游戏之一。它可以用手指或球杆玩，在高水平比赛中球杆胜过手指。这是RES-10物理动作的一个具体例子。弹指游戏以各种方式测试玩家的准确性、力量和控制力。在《PitchCar》中，玩家弹射代表赛车的圆盘。玩家寻求尽可能快地穿越赛道，这需要强有力的弹射。另一方面，玩家还必须将圆盘保持在版图上，这需要控制力。在许多情况下，玩家必须让他们的圆盘穿过小开口，或者以特定角度从障碍物甚至另一个玩家那里反弹，这需要极好的准确性。弹指为游戏引入了与大多数桌面游戏相比不寻常的活力。在许多弹指游戏中，玩家站起来并在游戏表面周围移动，以找到合适的角度进行射击。
弹指的戏剧性使得游戏更适合观众，弹指游戏的氛围比派对类型之外的典型桌面游戏更具社交性和庆祝性。由于弹指是一项可学习的技能，玩家之间可能存在巨大的技能差距，类似于经典抽象游戏中的技能差距。当新手玩家玩时，弹指会在游戏的输出中引入随机性，因为玩家通常无法像他们预期的那样精确地弹射。然而，当专家玩时，随机性很小，因此，熟练的玩家几乎肯定会令人信服地击败初学者。弹指设计最重要的方面是游戏的物理性。被弹射的物体、弹射方法和被弹射的表面必须经过精心选择和制造。《Ascending Empires》是一款4X游戏，玩家在拼图切割的版图上弹射船只穿越太空。不幸的是，生产受到版图翘曲的影响。拼图的夹具通过有时会在其口袋中骑起并产生接缝，以意想不到的方式干扰船只的平稳行驶。《Cosmic Kaboom》汲取了这一教训，让玩家在他们自己的桌子或他们选择的任何其他表面上弹射。《ICECOOL》走向了另一个方向，创造了几个嵌套的纸箱，边缘对边缘放置并夹在一起，创造了一个大而一致的光滑表面。《Mars Open: Tabletop Golf》使用了一种新颖的方法，创造了一个折叠的纸板组件，将其弹射到空中。《Flip Ships》让玩家从一个升高的平台上将船只弹射到空中。玩家只需将发球区放在一个地方，将果岭放在其他地方，就可以在桌子上或整个家中创建球场，并让玩家导航到洞口。《Sorry Sliders》提供带有塑料导轨的纸板坡道，创造一个水平表面，并帮助防止玩家进行无效的弹射。被弹射物体的特性是创造力的另一个机会。《ICECOOL》的安装有滚珠轴承的企鹅可以被弹射以始终如一地使其弯曲和跳跃，允许进行令人印象深刻的射击和搞笑的失误。《Mars Open》折叠纸板高尔夫“球”同样可以被操纵以像真正的高尔夫一样打出左曲球或右曲球。在《Flick ’Em Up》中，玩家弹射一个较大的圆盘来移动他们的牛仔，弹射一个较小的圆盘来模拟射击。在《Tumblin’ Dice》中，玩家将同名骰子从一组分层的平台上弹下。骰子在翻滚时以令人惊讶的方式反弹，带来不可预测和惊险的体验。有些游戏利用弹指的破坏能力，而不是为了准确地穿越距离。《Crossbows & Catapults》要求玩家发射圆盘以
击倒他们的对手及其防御工事。弹指和击倒对手作为射击或打击敌人的抽象在几款游戏中很常见，包括前面提到的《Flick ’Em Up》、《Catacombs》和《SEAL Team Flix》。
游戏范例
Ascending Empires (Cooper, 2011) - 《Ascending Empires》 Catacombs (Amos, Kelsey, West, 2010) - 《Catacombs》 Cosmic Kaboom (Loomis, 2016) - 《Cosmic Kaboom》 Crokinole (Unknown, 1867) - 《弹指棋/克罗基诺》 Crossbows & Catapults (Frigard & Sala, 1983) - 《Crossbows & Catapults》 Flick ’Em Up (Beaujannot & Monpertuis, 2015) - 《Flick ’Em Up》 Flip Ships (Klenko, 2017) - 《Flip Ships》 Furnace (Lashin, 2021) - 《Furnace》 ICECOOL (Gomez, 2016) - 《冰酷企鹅》 Mars Open: Tabletop Golf (Hoyle, 2018) - 《Mars Open: Tabletop Golf》 PitchCar (du Poël, 1995) - 《PitchCar》 SEAL Team Flix (Ruth & Tomas, 2018) - 《海豹突击队》 Tumblin’ Dice (Grayson, Nash & Soued, 2004) - 《Tumblin’ Dice》