This week, The Meeple Guild is taking a break from the gaming table and heading outside, where we gave a new backyard game a whirl.
There are many great backyard games out there, from the somewhat overlooked heritage game of horseshoes to bocce, cornhole, and washers. Many of these games cross over into the world of sports, meaning that with practice you can improve your skills and, in some cases, even progress to national or international competitions.
POCK is probably not destined to become a competitive sport. It is essentially a dice-chucking game where luck plays a major role.
That does not mean POCK is not a lot of fun.
The game consists of two “Maro” dice, which act as targets. Depending on the face showing when they are tossed onto the playing field to start a round, the Maro dice can impact how the game is played.
Once the Maro dice are in place, players take turns throwing four wooden dice. You can play as individuals or in teams of two.
At the end of each round, the die closest to each Maro die scores its number of points multiplied by the value showing on the Maro die, assuming the Maro die is displaying a point value.
Specialty faces add some interesting twists. Some can score immediate points when hit, while others remove a die from play, adding a bit of strategy to each round.
That said, there is no reason to overthink POCK. You are throwing chunky wooden cubes that tend to go wherever they want. A perfectly straight throw can suddenly bounce away from an expected target, veer left or right, and sometimes work out brilliantly for the thrower, while other times creating disaster.
So, if you are looking for a backyard game where skill consistently beats luck, POCK may not be the game for you.
But if you want a simple, accessible summer game that comes in a relatively small box, is easy to take to the lake or a picnic, and can be enjoyed by almost anyone, POCK is worth checking out.
We had a blast playing it.
POCK comes from iello games via ilo307 in Canada.
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Your First Place For Comics News since October 18, 1998
Backyard Fun with POCK
There are many great backyard games out there, from the somewhat overlooked heritage game of horseshoes to bocce, cornhole, and washers. Many of these games cross over into the world of sports, meaning that with practice you can improve your skills and, in some cases, even progress to national or international competitions.
POCK is probably not destined to become a competitive sport. It is essentially a dice-chucking game where luck plays a major role.
That does not mean POCK is not a lot of fun.
The game consists of two “Maro” dice, which act as targets. Depending on the face showing when they are tossed onto the playing field to start a round, the Maro dice can impact how the game is played.
Once the Maro dice are in place, players take turns throwing four wooden dice. You can play as individuals or in teams of two.
At the end of each round, the die closest to each Maro die scores its number of points multiplied by the value showing on the Maro die, assuming the Maro die is displaying a point value.
Specialty faces add some interesting twists. Some can score immediate points when hit, while others remove a die from play, adding a bit of strategy to each round.
That said, there is no reason to overthink POCK. You are throwing chunky wooden cubes that tend to go wherever they want. A perfectly straight throw can suddenly bounce away from an expected target, veer left or right, and sometimes work out brilliantly for the thrower, while other times creating disaster.
So, if you are looking for a backyard game where skill consistently beats luck, POCK may not be the game for you.
But if you want a simple, accessible summer game that comes in a relatively small box, is easy to take to the lake or a picnic, and can be enjoyed by almost anyone, POCK is worth checking out.
We had a blast playing it.
POCK comes from iello games via ilo307 in Canada.
About Author
First Comics News
Your First Place For Comics News since October 18, 1998
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