Button Men

QuikSand · 11-17-2010, 08:20 PM

References:

The original Cheapasss Game (site and information): http://www.cheapass.com/bpu/start.html

An online version: Button Men Online Web Game

The iPhone app website: Button Men - Beat People Up

I have been playing this game a little bit recently when I have down time with iPhone in hand. I am really digging it -- might not be a deep, deep experience, but for killing ten minutes at a time and having a little bit to think about as you do it, it's really nice.

Thought there might be enough to this game to make it worth discussing a bit.

QuikSand · 11-17-2010, 08:25 PM

For what it's worth, right now my personal pursuit is playing with as low-dice characters as I can muster (usually Stark, with X=4). It makes for an interesting and much more mathematical game than just big-after-big.

For the moment, I really haven't gotten into playing characters with the stealth or poison dice. I'm sort of saving that for another stage or two down the road.

Raiders Army · 11-17-2010, 08:31 PM

Hmmm...I just bought a lot of iTunes stuff this past weekend, but I'll pick it up. Funny, I was just in the iPhone apps thread and I saw your recommendation for Ra, and it didn't turn me on. The Button Men, on the other hand, looked interesting the first time you posted it. This thread makes it a buy.

Vince, Pt. II · 11-17-2010, 09:14 PM

It's worth it. Great little game, with a lot of room for mental flexibility. I've been toying around with a few different characters, and I think I'm going to give your low-dice characters a shot. I've played around with the poison dice a bit, but the AI seems to be pretty bad with them. I'm going to give it a little more time before I write off the AI, but so far it seems really easy to make the computer eat the poison dice.

Marmel · 11-18-2010, 08:29 AM

I have the iphone game. Its pretty good, but the lack of any stat tracking hurts the overall product. I've gotten pretty good at it using all types of dice. When you get involved with the shadow and poison dice, having the x=4 is sometimes easier....

Passacaglia · 11-18-2010, 08:37 AM

Went to the online web game. How to play button men -- page not found.

EDIT: Found it in a different area.

QuikSand · 11-19-2010, 10:11 PM

Heh, from a section of the Cheapass site, talking about the game's original set of characters (the first two sets in the iPhone app):

"Button Men: Soldiers was the original experiment to create a dice combat system in which every size of die was relatively equivalent. It wasn't a perfect system: although the differences are slight, certain characters from Soldiers have proven stronger against each other and the rest of the system. For heavy hitters, Bauer and Hammer are the hands-down favorites. Hardcore players are big fans of Shore and Stark. New Cheapass expansions are typically playtested against the trio of Bauer, Shore, and Stark. "

Sort of funny. Independently, and without a ton of deep thought, I probably would have ranked my favorite characters to play as those last three, maybe even in that exact order (though I might rank Shore first).

QuikSand · 11-19-2010, 10:16 PM

Playing with larger dice seems to evolve nearly every game into "who wipes out the other's dice first." But when you start playing with more small dice, the subtleties of winnign on points even while leaving one or two opposing dice in play is pretty shifty, and can call for some intriguing counting-ahead exercises.

I played a couple of games with the all-shadow dice (Midnight?) character, and in even that limited exposure, I think I had multiple rounds where both characters had to pass with multiple dice still in play. That's kinda weird... I'm back to playing Stark now, and pacing myself.

Raiders Army · 11-20-2010, 05:32 AM

It's a pretty good game, just as you described. It's easy to pick up and play and a good time-killer during commercial breaks, etc.

11-18-2010, 08:29 AM	#5
Marmel Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Manchester, CT	I have the iphone game. Its pretty good, but the lack of any stat tracking hurts the overall product. I've gotten pretty good at it using all types of dice. When you get involved with the shadow and poison dice, having the x=4 is sometimes easier.... __________________ 81-78 Cincinnati basketball writer P. Daugherty, "Connor Barwin playing several minutes against Syracuse is like kids with slingshots taking down Caesar's legions."

11-18-2010, 08:37 AM	#6
Passacaglia Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Big Ten Country	Went to the online web game. How to play button men -- page not found. EDIT: Found it in a different area. Last edited by Passacaglia : 11-18-2010 at 08:37 AM.

11-17-2010, 08:25 PM	#2
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	For what it's worth, right now my personal pursuit is playing with as low-dice characters as I can muster (usually Stark, with X=4). It makes for an interesting and much more mathematical game than just big-after-big. For the moment, I really haven't gotten into playing characters with the stealth or poison dice. I'm sort of saving that for another stage or two down the road.

11-17-2010, 08:31 PM	#3
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	Hmmm...I just bought a lot of iTunes stuff this past weekend, but I'll pick it up. Funny, I was just in the iPhone apps thread and I saw your recommendation for Ra, and it didn't turn me on. The Button Men, on the other hand, looked interesting the first time you posted it. This thread makes it a buy.

11-17-2010, 09:14 PM	#4
Vince, Pt. II Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Somewhere More Familiar	It's worth it. Great little game, with a lot of room for mental flexibility. I've been toying around with a few different characters, and I think I'm going to give your low-dice characters a shot. I've played around with the poison dice a bit, but the AI seems to be pretty bad with them. I'm going to give it a little more time before I write off the AI, but so far it seems really easy to make the computer eat the poison dice.

11-19-2010, 10:11 PM	#7
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Heh, from a section of the Cheapass site, talking about the game's original set of characters (the first two sets in the iPhone app): "Button Men: Soldiers was the original experiment to create a dice combat system in which every size of die was relatively equivalent. It wasn't a perfect system: although the differences are slight, certain characters from Soldiers have proven stronger against each other and the rest of the system. For heavy hitters, Bauer and Hammer are the hands-down favorites. Hardcore players are big fans of Shore and Stark. New Cheapass expansions are typically playtested against the trio of Bauer, Shore, and Stark. " Sort of funny. Independently, and without a ton of deep thought, I probably would have ranked my favorite characters to play as those last three, maybe even in that exact order (though I might rank Shore first).

11-19-2010, 10:16 PM	#8
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Playing with larger dice seems to evolve nearly every game into "who wipes out the other's dice first." But when you start playing with more small dice, the subtleties of winnign on points even while leaving one or two opposing dice in play is pretty shifty, and can call for some intriguing counting-ahead exercises. I played a couple of games with the all-shadow dice (Midnight?) character, and in even that limited exposure, I think I had multiple rounds where both characters had to pass with multiple dice still in play. That's kinda weird... I'm back to playing Stark now, and pacing myself.

11-20-2010, 05:32 AM	#9
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	It's a pretty good game, just as you described. It's easy to pick up and play and a good time-killer during commercial breaks, etc.

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