Influence
Games
board game
SHOW HN2021
379points
112comments
#83of 2,533 in 2021
Top 4%of 2021 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
24 positive, 27 neutral or asking, 11 mixed, 12 critical, out of 74 comments about the project. Thread score +0.13.
Design: 7 for, 4 againstIdea: 5 for, 2 againstDocs: 5 for, 1 againstExecution: 1 for, 2 againstPerformance: 0 for, 3 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fun and addictive, quick to play
From 3 comments
Love it! Got through easy AI pretty quickly, still working on medium, only a few rounds in. Echoing/jumping off of a few comments: - I love the hex grid. Hexagons are bestagons…
kortex on HNSuper fun! Is there a public repo for the code?
who23 on HNAddictive, fun, quick, yet interesting and subtle if you're into strategy games. I think you have a potential winner on your hands. Some polish and tweak may be needed based on…
donmatito on HN
Hex grid choice and visual elegance
From 3 comments
I really like the idea of this. Some thoughts: 1. It's difficult for me to tell which spaces are open for play and which aren't -- the border is hard to parse. (Is that this…
ianthehenry on HNLove it! Got through easy AI pretty quickly, still working on medium, only a few rounds in. Echoing/jumping off of a few comments: - I love the hex grid. Hexagons are bestagons…
kortex on HNFun game! It wasn't always immediately obvious where exactly I could play, but I imagine the more you play the more it clicks too. I also agree with your decision to not use…
chewmieser on HN
Objections
Rules are unclear, especially influence and thresholds
From 3 comments
Hi, a couple of comments. First, I understand you were trying to make an approachable presentation, but the rules as you presented them are incomplete (how does influence work?…
qsort on HNAs other commenters said, it is not clear what the rules exactly are. I don’t understand when I can capture, or when I have an eye (in Go’s parlance). It’d be cool if you could…
baby on HNWorks well on Firefox on my phone. Good job. I, too, would like to understand the game mechanics better.
Buttons840 on HN
Influence is hard to read and predict; no numeric indicators
From 3 comments
Interesting. Instead of just using shades or green and blue, would you consider displaying numerical values too? I was confused about how close the tiles were to flipping to my…
SimonDorfman on HNNeat. While it would draw away from the visual elegance, the game would be bit more playable if it had numeric indicators, both for current level of influence and the change for…
zokier on HNFun and addictive game - I’m also at 27-23 now :) Uncertainty regarding piece state is also my number one feedback. Maybe rather than numeric, make that states visibly discrete…
3np on HN
Animations are slow and cause missed clicks
From 2 comments
The animations are a bit sluggish. I kept missing clicks on tiles that were finishing animations from a previous turn. Maybe I was playing faster than I should have been but it…
cdubzzz on HNObservations: 1) Somehow I can actually play and enjoy it. I'm usually really bad at these sorts of games (Go, Viking Chess, etc.). But I find I win a good portion of medium…
minxomat on HN
Mouse movement off the board selects tiles unintentionally
From 2 comments
It seems like there's a bug if you drag your mouse from the board area, off the board, then back on; it will automatically select the first unclaimed tile the cursor hits. I just…
scrooched_moose on HNObservations: 1) Somehow I can actually play and enjoy it. I'm usually really bad at these sorts of games (Go, Viking Chess, etc.). But I find I win a good portion of medium…
minxomat on HN
Requests
Numeric or clearer visual indicators of influence and lock state
From 3 comments
Interesting. Instead of just using shades or green and blue, would you consider displaying numerical values too? I was confused about how close the tiles were to flipping to my…
SimonDorfman on HNFun and addictive game - I’m also at 27-23 now :) Uncertainty regarding piece state is also my number one feedback. Maybe rather than numeric, make that states visibly discrete…
3np on HNSuggestions: * Visually show which tiles will lock or unlock next turn * Show a total influence growth per player as a running score - useful to help beginners learn strategies
moconnor on HN
Online multiplayer and mobile app
From 3 comments
This was fun, I would really like a online-multiplayer version to play quick games against friends. Create a "private" board, send the link to a friend and the game is on.
qzio on HNAddictive, fun, quick, yet interesting and subtle if you're into strategy games. I think you have a potential winner on your hands. Some polish and tweak may be needed based on…
donmatito on HNAt the end of every turn, each tile influences its neighbors and imparts some of its color. Tiles with a dark border can no longer be selected. The rules are simple but it takes…
jawslouis on HN
Larger board sizes and map variety
From 2 comments
This is fun. a bigger field maybe even more!
dddw on HNA good concept, though I think the game name need to be more unique. Additional idea, make some variety of maps for fun.
fendy3002 on HN
Replay system or live score display
From 2 comments
29 (me on gree) - 21 (hard AI). Took me many tries! I think I'm starting to understand though. Might be fun to have a "replay" system like on hateris -…
ALittleLight on HNgenius, great animations. would love the current score somewhere prominently. couldnt see it on a phone
tyrex2017 on HN
Questions
How does the influence calculation work exactly
From 2 comments
Hi, a couple of comments. First, I understand you were trying to make an approachable presentation, but the rules as you presented them are incomplete (how does influence work?…
qsort on HNAs other commenters said, it is not clear what the rules exactly are. I don’t understand when I can capture, or when I have an eye (in Go’s parlance). It’d be cool if you could…
baby on HN
Is there a public repo for the code
From 1 comment
Super fun! Is there a public repo for the code?
who23 on HN
Alternatives named
Hexxagon
From 2 comments
So basically https://hexxagon.com/.
throwaway58670 on HNNice! Gave me that old school Hexxagōn vibe
falcor84 on HN
Go
From 2 comments
Hi, a couple of comments. First, I understand you were trying to make an approachable presentation, but the rules as you presented them are incomplete (how does influence work?…
qsort on HNWild, I made something extremely similar a couple years ago (also inspired by Go) called Quagen (https://quagen.io). I like your use of hex and the UX better than mine. Nice job!
sundaypancakes on HN
Quagen
From 1 comment
Wild, I made something extremely similar a couple years ago (also inspired by Go) called Quagen (https://quagen.io). I like your use of hex and the UX better than mine. Nice job!
sundaypancakes on HN
Virus game (7th Guest)
From 1 comment
I would classify this as a variant of the Virus game (where you change all neighbouring enemy colours into your own). If I remember right the first version I played of that would…
animal531 on HN