Thanks alot! I might update this game at some point so these features are not out of the question 😃
These ancient boardgames are very interesting and you managed to give it the proper atmosphere. I'd love to see a similar treatment for Senet and Kalaha. A collection of such more or less obscure games from the early dawn of mankind, prepared in such an atmospheric way, would surely fill a nice niche and could sell well. I'd definitively buy them all. :)
Unfortunately I don't know, no. I played this one some years ago and found it rather intriguing. It does not have the same strong atmosphere as your game does however: https://store.steampowered.com/app/391580/Egyptian_Senet/
There are many such ancient games which would deserve a revival. The game of Knossos for example: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6138/knossos.
I'm sure there are many more. I'm just discovering them myself. :)
Absolutely, I can feel what you mean, it really seems to connect us to these ancient people.
By the way, playing your game made me purchase a replica of the game over on Etsy. It's a stunning work, I've never seen one so meticulous and detailed. It costed me some money but it was worth it. It feels like an ancient piece from millennia ago.
I wondered if you could share how the AI in your game works and decides its movements. I'm very interested in it as I'm trying to make an (offline) solo mode with different difficulties myself at the moment.
So 2 years later :D
The AI looks at all possible moves.
Then it adds a score to possible moves based on
1. Can I bop a player with this move.
2. Can I land on a roll-again this round.
3. How likely it is to land on a roll again next round
4. How likely it is to bop a player next round.
(Knowing how likely it is to get a 1,2,3, or a 4 on each turn)
Then it also checks and adds value to a move if
1. This piece is in danger of being eaten
2. This piece can advance me on the board safely
And how an AI values each of this things is their personality. So Irvin and Leonard value different things but they do the same queries.