Wild Space
A crazy race that’s never the same. But why run when you can be the only one left?
What is wild space?
Wild Space is a race, much like Snakes and Ladders. However, unlike Snakes and Ladders, it’s rather chaotic.
Players will use dice rolls to move along the board that is procedurally generated through the use of randomly selected and orientated tiles. Each tile is around 20 spaces long, although with different paths that intertwine and through different orientations, your path is always one of many opportunities.
The dice economy of Wild Space turns this from a foot race into a war, with players stealing each other’s dice and removing dice from the pool. As dice act as lives, locking your dice to save rolls is always a risky choice.
Almost every single space has an outrageous effect that could change the game through rotating and even moving around the tiles of the game.
Truly, anything can happen in Wild Space, so don’t believe you’re winning for a second until you’ve crossed the line or eliminated your opponents.
want to test wild space?
Contact me if you wish to help develop Wild Space by play-testing the game and providing feedback.
Reach out here: aidanlambournecreatesstuff@gmail.com
my favourite wild space features
Wild Space has a lot of room for chaos and madness, and here are a few of my favourite features.
reserve dice
When rolling to move, players have the choice instead to save their dice for later. This can prevent you from landing on an undesirable space, and can come in handy later when you want to land on a specific space.
Be careful, however, as when you spent this dice to move on a later turn, it joins a shared pool of safe dice where someone else can grab it and use it.
crazy spaces
There are some truly wild spaces for you to land on. My favorite has always been the one that rotates a tile, completing changing the rankings of the players.
Another awful space is the teleport. If you’re ahead and land on it, then you’re instantly pushed back to a previous tile. Otherwise, you’re pushed up, allowing for huge falls and leaps.
tile effects
Some tiles will have a persisting effect that applies for every player currently on that tile. Some tiles are calmer, merely reducing the value of player’s rolled dice. Others, however, are much more aggressive.
Tiles can introduce new rules and modifications to existing spaces. Using these to your advantage to thwart your opponents can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Wild space development journey
Me and my partner have a history of playing Snakes and Ladders on the phone whilst on public transport. In August this year, we played a game of Snakes and Ladders that contained power-ups, and I was instantly struck with an idea. “procedurally-generated Snakes and Ladders.”
The next day, I cobbled up five tiles and immediately began play-testing.
As it stands, Wild Space is in a perpetual play-testing stage. As there is so much room for new spaces and rule modifications, lots of testing is needed. Additionally, I wish for there to be many tiles to randomly draw, so the process of making batches of Tiles is a long process, and each new batch needs to be tested.
It’s a lot of work, but ultimately a very fun time.
When and where will wild space be available?
Wild Space has just begun its journey, although I’d like to have a game with a complete set of 20 to 25 tiles ready sometime next year.
What happens after that is unknown.
Wild Space is highly enjoyable, and I’d love to get it published if I could. However, I’m keen on the idea of making a free print-and-play game, like The Trenches.
Games that were released as print-and-play have later become officially published board games, and I’m hoping for the same future for Wild Space. Hopefully, before long, people can simply download the game and play it for free.
The game getting picked up by a publisher would be a dream come true, though.
want wild space sooner?
If you can’t wait to play Wild Space, then you can pester me with an email. With so much potential it’s difficult to find the line between “innovation” and “too much.”
I’m thoroughly enjoying play-testing Wild Space and can’t wait to make it officially public.