Cequis the Main Game HistoryThe rules for the main game of Cequis have already been given in the Rules of Cequis page, so I won't bother restating them here. What I would like to do though is take a bit of time and, if you're interested, let you in on the history of this great game. Interestingly enough, Cequis has always been designed as a game, however it was not always intended to be a board game. In 2002, Evan Drury was working on a concept for a new real time strategy video game that was to take place on a world that was divided into hexagon grids. The goal of this game was to use and expand your forces to take over all the available land. Having experienced the creation process before, he knew that the best way to test out such a game before investing time and effort into creating it would be to create a paper prototype to see how the game mechanics would work out. After some models and concepts were created, an 8x7 grid was decided on for the hexagon playing field that would test the strategy needed for the video game as this created an equal playing field for both sides. Originally, instead of the three groups of three pieces that are in the current Cequis game set, both sides given a large number of small pieces in three different colours. Three small pieces were placed in each hexagon a player ‘owned’ and each colour had an advantage or disadvantage when pitted against the other colours. When trying to take over an opposing hexagon, the colours of the pieces had to have their pros and cons weight against each other to decide on the final result of the attack in order to… well, you get the idea. It was getting out of control and way too confusing. Since the basis for the video game was based on that concept of multiple attack types facing off, that was pretty much the death of the video game concept. However there was something about the basic principle of the game that still held Evan’s attention enough to give it more consideration. After some thought, he scrapped the plethora of pieces and reduced the number down to three groups of three for each player, using the three colours from the original prototype’s pieces (orange, blue, and grey). From that foundation, he learned from the first prototype that complicated is not approachable and so kept simplicity in mind when deciding on the basic piece movements: Move one piece, or a group of pieces, in a straight line. A piece is gone if it’s surrounded on four or more sides by an opponent. This new, simpler version was a lot more fun to play, and a lot easier to learn how to play. The only problem was that when the two teams met in the middle of the board. It was like rush hour grid lock. It was then that the final piece to the puzzle was discovered. In keeping with the simplicity of this new design, it was found to be acceptable for a player to use a piece belonging to a group to be able to create a sequence in a straight line that allows a player to take over an occupied hexagon. This was the final piece that was missing to create a living game board that’s always changing. After years of refinement and improvement, Cequis is now offered as a unique game playing experience that’s quite unlike any other.
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Three Player