uncertainty

gameplay

uncertainty is a two player strategy game that can be played across a table or across the world.

at the start of the game, players secretly assign identites to each of their stones, which can be arranged in any order.

players take turns moving, and optionally attacking with, one stone per turn.

whenever an attack occurs, the identity of both stones are revealed to both players.

only the attacking stone deals damage. if the attacking stone's attack strength is greater than the defending stone's defense strength, the defending token is captured (removed from the board).

the first person to catpure the opponent's king wins!

characters

each character has an attack, defense, and speed of 0, 1, or 2, and a cost of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.

the identity of each of your stones is hidden from your opponent until it attacks or is attacked.

characters may also have the following abilities:

promotion: pawns that reach the opponent's first row can be promoted to any character
cloaking: if a revealed stone has cloaking, it will only show that it's a cloaked character
explosion: mines cannot attack but will explode and capture any stone that attacks it (removing both from the board)
flying: can only be attacked by flying or ranged stones and can fly over water, lava, and other stones
ranged: can attack from a tile away and can attack flying stones
miss: are always missed the first time or a percentage of the time they are attacked
never miss: archers never miss their targets when attacking
counter strike: knights always counter strike when attacked (except from ranged attack)
first strike: serpents always strike first before any damange is dealt to them when attacked (except from ranged attack)
jumping: knights can jump over water, lava, and other stones
haul: other stones can be stacked on top of stones with haul, allowing the stone with haul to carry them
bunker: elephants protect and cloak stone's they are hauling so they are always missed and appear cloaked
lullaby: larks can be stacked on top of opponent stones, which cannot be moved as long as the lark is on them

maps

games are played on a 5x9, 9x15, or custom sized board.

maps add a whole extra layer of strategy to uncertainty:

only flying / elephant stones can “land” on a water tile. knights can jump over water but cannot land on it.

only flying / knight stones can jump / fly over a lava tile, but cannot land on one. only dragon stones can land on a lava tile.