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Pool GAMBIT's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameplay/Fun | #3 | 3.118 | 3.118 |
| Innovation | #5 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Art Style/Visuals | #7 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Audio/Sound Design | #9 | 2.971 | 2.971 |
| Overall | #11 | 2.876 | 2.876 |
| Theme | #49 | 1.824 | 1.824 |
Ranked from 34 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Game Engine / Tools
Unity
How does your game fit the theme?
I decided to understand the theme in my own way for the sake of new creative discoveries. I broke the concepts of classic chess and billiards to create a new concept of the game. How many millions of games have been played in these great games? It's time to break this loop) In how many games can you beat the game engine?
Self-made & used stuff
Assets (e.g. free or owned)
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Comments
An interesting and unique concept combining pool and chess!
It was fun to play this chess game with a pool twist—it gave both games a fresh perspective. The concept was well-executed, and the visuals looked good and the game felt polished.
The controls worked smoothly, and the audio had a nice cool jazzy beat to it. The SFX fitted pool and chess well also.
The theme felt a bit of a stretch, could be a bit more, but that didnāt take away from the overall enjoyment.
Maybe the AI and balance could be a bit more tweaked to make it even more a challenge, but for a jam game this was nice.
A solid jam entry—well done! š±āļøš®
Wow, such a unique game! This combination of game concepts is really well done. Iāve never seen anything quite like it.
The visuals and sound design were exactly what they needed to be, really good. Your take on the theme was clever, but overall, the game itself didnāt quite fit the theme.
This has the potential to become a great mobile game with some added levels, like situations where you have to defeat the AI with limited movements.
Speaking of the AI, it could use some improvement. For me, it seemed to act randomly and didnāt really try to beat me.
Overall, great work with lots of potential!
Finally a chess that I can win! I have never seen a game like this one, definitely a unique game. The mechanics are well implemented. I love how different pieces have different ranges, sometimes i forgot that tthis is a chess too. Theme wise, it is not there. The game could also do a little bit more work. My pieces go over the board rail, prolly some collision issues. The black screen on the right also confused me at first, maybe place something there so that players will know its purpose upon running the game. Aside from that, great job on this one. Clearly a unique game that could go well in the market.
Thanks, I'm not a chess expert either) The physics in the game really need to be improved. I think I'll spend some more time on it and make web release + if everything goes well, I can try porting it to mobile.
Never thought I would be playing pool and chess at the same time. I like how the AI was smart enough to go for kills instead of randomly shooting in whatever direction. Although, the AI ended up killing their own King by trying to sink my piece.
Thanks, yes, the AI needs some improvement :)
Great, I love such video game genre mashups, I love how you merged the mechanics of both games in a thoughtful way. That being said I'd still do a bit of balancing in terms of the gameplay. Shots feel way too weak for pool, you can never get the same satisfaction as with that first pool shot breaking the triangle and sending balls flying everywhere... and one more thing bothered me, that the indicator of your shot didn't show collision with other pieces if it was very close a piece but not directly intersecting; this ruined some of my shots.
So yeah, it was excellent but for my taste not chaotic enough, too controlled.
Thanks for the feedback, this is a very interesting comment. The power of the blows is difficult to properly balance (there are a lot of pieces on the chessboard and if you make the power of the blow too big - each move several pieces will be uncontrollably lost, which is not very good + it will eliminate the element of planning an attack strategy). But I think i can try to add a mode where, for example, there are fewer pieces, but more power of the blow, so that the billiards element is felt better. After the jam is finished, I may make a patch where I will try to implement this + fix the sight and a few small bugs
Really clever game idea! I like how the theme is interpreted here—breaking the loop by breaking āstandardā game rules. The twist of keeping a figureās known strength for its āfittingā path is such a unique take, and I really appreciate that level of thought! It would be great to have the option to abort an action (or did I miss it?) , and refining some of the figure collisions to feel more ālogicalā would improve the experience. Overall, itās a super fun and well-thought-out concept. Great work!
Thanks for the feedback. It's cool that you got my idea! You can interrupt the action by pulling the mouse back. And the physics of the pieces really needs to be improved, thank you for noticing this!
Ah, I see. This would be a very funny mbile game, while you also could put some 'puzzle-based' levels. Locking forward to see more games made by you :)
i didn't understand clearly my objective, and how the game works. the graphics is fine, and overall an interesting idea. but i have one big critique about this game THE THEME!!! the whole point of a game jam is to follow a theme, and the reason why is very important. it's to avoid people making a game before the jam! if you are saying that you don't want to follow this theme because of "creative discoveries" you are not only denying the point of the jam, but you are activley breaking not a loop but the rules.
I'm sorry, but for me this cannot be rated :(
It's a pity that you didn't understand the game (definitely my mistake). As for the theme, yes, I am one of those people who recall the theme and the initial idea of the game a couple of hours before the completion of the project)) For me personally, the point of game jam was to get rid of depression and procrastination, I just wanted to make a project for the soul, trying to implement an idea that would fit the topic, but I didn't have time to do it because I spent most of the time working on the basic mechanics and logic of the code.
As a chess lover I really like the game ^^
Thanks, I recently became interested in chess myself (I treat it as a hobby) and decided to reflect this in the concept of the game :)
Theme didnāt resonate with me at all. Unless pool is just loop backwardsā¦ dun dun dun
I really liked the gameplay, I just donāt like that the hitbox and dashed line donāt match, meaning the line can go between 2 pieces but you canāt actually go between them. I also encountered a bug where my knight became unclickable, I couldnāt shoot it or recharge it.
Chess itself is one of my favourite games ever. Bonus points for that.
The gameās art was really well polished. I loved the designs.
THe AI is surprisingly smart. No match for me because Iām a pretty strong chess player (not a master, just someone with good experience and knowledge), but like the AI in my own game, it isnāt entirely silly, though it does love to pawn storm at me and not use its queen.
The music was decent, but it didnāt resonate with me due my hyperspecific taste. However, the SFX were good enough to bump it back.
Game is overall good.
Thank you for such a detailed answer. And what you wrote about the bugs that you've encountered will help me a lot in development!
Interesting concept
Thanks!
Really cool and unique concept! This game is so polished and clean, I feel like I just played a game that took months to code. Everything is well thought out - from the core concept, to the simple art, and the fun jazzy music that is playing in the background. I really enjoyed playing, thanks for making this game!
Thanks, for the last two days I've just been playing a game with a friend and polishing off all the minor bugs
Very creative and innovative idea! The feel of pulling back on a piece and letting it fly was very well implemented. This could definitely be turned into a game I could see on Steam.
Thanks, special attention was paid to the impacts in the game) As for the steam, I still don't know,but if the game becomes really popular, then maybe I'll do it.
Very fun game, chess and pool somehow work very well together
Thanks, I've heard some people call pool - Ā«chess in motionĀ»)
First of all very fun to play, but as others have said i feel the idea a little far fetched for this theme. But having an idea and sticking with it is valuable as well, in the end you join the jam for yourself
Thanks, yes, maybe during development I got far enough away from the topic to make a fun gameplay))
Definitely not the kind of game I was expecting for the theme, but the game itself is very well-made! The power-ups are so much fun to use. I tried to stack the charge piece multiple times on the same piece but I didn't notice a difference so maybe I just wasted all my points :)
Thanks, yes, power-ups don't stack (it breaks physics))) But it's interesting that you decided to try to do this, maybe I'll add something like that with updates)
I like the game but I feel it was made with the theme of "combining genres" of the theme poll in mind.
In the other hand the game is awesome and fun. I love the jazzy music and the feeling of pieces clashing with each other is fantastic.
Thanks, yes, I was thinking about the topic of "combining genres" before I started, but the concept itself appeared after 2 hours of thinking after the topic was announced)
I really enjoyed your take on the theme! :)
Your game feels polished and well-crafted. You did a great job focusing on the core gameplay ā itās clear and easy to understand. You can jump right in and start pushing the chess pieces around the board, which is fun. I absolutely loved the aesthetic, and the music fits perfectly.
Thanks!
damn, really good game, but it doesn't fit the theme really much
Yes) Initially, I wanted to make a roguelike with similar mechanics (+ add a narrative related to the topic). But I realized that I would not have time - so I decided to show the gameplay idea. I think it is better to show a completed idea with good gameplay and if the game becomes even a little popular - implement the original idea
Ok, seriously, Maybe I your interpretation of "breaking the loop" is pushing it a bit, but I gotta admit, I had FUN!
This is what some of my favorite jam games are about! Short and sweet, with really innovative idea behind it!
As for presentation, it feels totally inspired by Balatro, which definitely works for this game.
One more thing- the title! I really like those titles, that make you go "what the...". This one does that, and also describes what you made pretty well :)
Oh, thanks for the review! Yes, the theme is indeed, perhaps, not very well developed - just suddenly an idea for gameplay arose, and I decided to implement it)
I will definitely play your game!