Two players draw their battalions on opposite corners of the paper, both with the same number of outward facing tanks. Player 1 places a pen on one of their tanks and then an index finger on top, like you see in the comic. You then flick the pen and try to get it in the other player’s ass. However far it gets, you mark the end and then it’s the other player’s turn.
Cool! Thanks for the explanation. I thought maybe each player got a certain set linear distance per move and the objective was to intercept or evade to engage.
There's a pen-and-paper game called Racetrack, in which people can move the 'cars' a certain amount according to acceleration/braking, turning and inertia. It simulates the physics of actual racing remarkably well, better than many video games. There are both web and mobile implementations of the game.
Remarkably, apparently either the server or the client replace backslashes in Markdown links with forward slashes, which is completely bogus and nonsensical.
This might be true perhaps; but the crux of the matter is that I shouldn't do more than the traditional human-oriented escaping of the addresses, which relies extensively on plain and friendly backslashes, instead of devilish and time-consuming machine-produced percent-codes.
Never saw that flick method before. When I was young, you had to hold the pencil/pen with one finger on the top against the paper, then by increasing pressure and tilting the angle it would eventually slip and draw your shot. Sometimes a very long shot. Was a fun game.
We used to be a lot more complicated than that. We'd draw X's around the paper for mines and sometimes a river in the middle with bridges across it. Your tank didn't explode if you hit the river but you got stalled there until you would back up and cross the bridge. Hitting a mine was the death of the tank. At one point I was thinking about making a book of Tank maps to sell but then video games took over.
My dad taught me this game when I was 7; One of the first times I had ever even met him, let-alone got to stay with him a few days by-myself. On my next trip or so, he had forgotten the game entirely, was dis-interested, and I never met anyone else who knew it before I taught them.
Don't know its correct name, but we called it Paper Asteroids or Pen Wars? 🤷♂️
It works by placing a ballpoint pen (eg. a Bic) vertically on the paper held up by a fingertip, then moving your finger back and away from the direction you're aiming until the pen tip slides/rolls itself and the pen drops onto the paper. You draw a small 'x' where there resulting line ends.
Your opponent then does the same thing. And you repeat from your previous 'x'. You'll each end up with a series of —×—× over the page.
I seem to recall there being two ways to play:
Have your line hit the other player's leading/current 'x'. I think this is the normal way, but it's hard.
Have your line hit any mark the other player has made. Much easier, but doesn't make much sense.
Either way, it was a fun and cheap way to entertain yourselves during a class break years before everyone had dopamine slabs in their pockets. 😄
51 Comments
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 172 pts · 313d
Okay. What is this game and how is it played? I need to know.
kinkles@sh.itjust.works · 134 pts · 313d
Two players draw their battalions on opposite corners of the paper, both with the same number of outward facing tanks. Player 1 places a pen on one of their tanks and then an index finger on top, like you see in the comic. You then flick the pen and try to get it in the other player’s ass. However far it gets, you mark the end and then it’s the other player’s turn.
Salamanderwizard@lemmy.world · 131 pts · 313d
Wait... the other player's ass? Now, this sounds like my type of game
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 54 pts · 313d
You should use blunt objects like canning jars for safety reasons.
zqwzzle@lemmy.ca · 29 pts · 313d
Don’t forget the flared base.
M137@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 313d
The whole thing is a flared base!
crazycraw@crazypeople.online · 17 pts · 313d
make sure you record the crunch and shriek like the OG then
Tracaine@lemmy.world · 49 pts · 313d
Ass? Try to get it in...their ass?
RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz · 37 pts · 313d
You heard the guy
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 312d
I used to play this all the time in grade school. One day I had like 12 pens sticking out of my ass.
Old_Fat_White_Guy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 312d
Once the pen is too easy then you move up to Sharpies.... it gets exciting from there.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 26 pts · 313d
Cool! Thanks for the explanation. I thought maybe each player got a certain set linear distance per move and the objective was to intercept or evade to engage.
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 313d
There's a pen-and-paper game called Racetrack, in which people can move the 'cars' a certain amount according to acceleration/braking, turning and inertia. It simulates the physics of actual racing remarkably well, better than many video games. There are both web and mobile implementations of the game.
ptu@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 313d
Link doesn’t work
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 313d
Remarkably, apparently either the server or the client replace backslashes in Markdown links with forward slashes, which is completely bogus and nonsensical.
The correct link is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_(game)
Also interesting that you're the first person to raise this issue after two hours and ten upvotes.
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org · 6 pts · 313d
You can still make a hyperlink by escaping
()as%28%29.Racetrack (game)
SlurpingPus@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 313d
This might be true perhaps; but the crux of the matter is that I shouldn't do more than the traditional human-oriented escaping of the addresses, which relies extensively on plain and friendly backslashes, instead of devilish and time-consuming machine-produced percent-codes.
yermaw@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 312d
It had a link to search for "racetrack (game)" that then went to the actual article. Seemed weird but I got there and assume others did
ptu@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 313d
Sweet, that was racing fast
NichEherVielleicht@feddit.org · 45 pts · 313d
Here you go.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca · 30 pts · 313d
Never saw that flick method before. When I was young, you had to hold the pencil/pen with one finger on the top against the paper, then by increasing pressure and tilting the angle it would eventually slip and draw your shot. Sometimes a very long shot. Was a fun game.
KiwiTB@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 313d
This is correct, flicking isn't involved
Sxan@piefed.zip · -9 pts · 313d
Þat is how I remember it. Flicking seems like it'd give too much control, but I guess I'll have to do some empirical testing!
johsny@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 313d
Nothing to do with pat.
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 312d
STOP TRYING TO MAKE THORN HAPPEN
certified_expert@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 312d
I've seen the thorn guy around on other posts. It bothered me at the beginning, but now I'm like "hey! It's the thorn guy! I know him!"
Next time I find him, I think we are gonna be friends or something.
Also, this the fediverse, we don't yell at each other for these little things :)
thermal_shock@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 313d
Looks like it's about to get flicked into dudes eyeball
Sxan@piefed.zip · -3 pts · 313d
A little known power move and finishing blow: Þe Eye Pen
RunJun@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 313d
Wild way to hold a writing utensil.
felbane@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 313d
https://web.archive.org/web/20220521003753/https://folklore.usc.edu/tanks-a-pen-and-paper-game/
CaptainBlinky@lemmy.myserv.one · 15 pts · 313d
We used to be a lot more complicated than that. We'd draw X's around the paper for mines and sometimes a river in the middle with bridges across it. Your tank didn't explode if you hit the river but you got stalled there until you would back up and cross the bridge. Hitting a mine was the death of the tank. At one point I was thinking about making a book of Tank maps to sell but then video games took over.
JargonWagon@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 313d
I say still do it! I think pen and paper games will make a comeback.
Landless2029@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 313d
Yeah I feel totally left out. Only paper game I can remember that was fun was paper football.
Quexotic@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 312d
I did dots and boxes. Similar feel to Go. There's some deep strategy there.
ameancow@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 312d
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 2 pts · 312d
Neat, and as a bonus it serves as a nice introduction to reflective symmetry. I can dig it.
ameancow@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 312d
Quexotic@infosec.pub · 7 pts · 312d
https://www.wikihow.com/Games-to-Play-on-Paper
https://www.papier.com/us/thefold/articles/the-best-games-to-play-with-pen-and-paper
https://archive.org/search?query=paper+games
I live to serve. 💛
ameancow@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 312d
Quexotic@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 312d
Found more
https://archive.org/search?query=paper+games
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 1 pts · 312d
That is a good question. This is the Internet, surely... Ah. Sprouts sounds like good fun.
MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de · 54 pts · 313d
My dad taught me this game when I was 7; One of the first times I had ever even met him, let-alone got to stay with him a few days by-myself. On my next trip or so, he had forgotten the game entirely, was dis-interested, and I never met anyone else who knew it before I taught them.
Brewchin@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 313d
Used to play this in primary school. First time I've ever seen it mentioned anywhere outside of that time and place. 😄
Psythik@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 313d
What is it?
Brewchin@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 312d
Don't know its correct name, but we called it Paper Asteroids or Pen Wars? 🤷♂️
It works by placing a ballpoint pen (eg. a Bic) vertically on the paper held up by a fingertip, then moving your finger back and away from the direction you're aiming until the pen tip slides/rolls itself and the pen drops onto the paper. You draw a small 'x' where there resulting line ends.
Your opponent then does the same thing. And you repeat from your previous 'x'. You'll each end up with a series of —×—× over the page.
I seem to recall there being two ways to play:
Either way, it was a fun and cheap way to entertain yourselves during a class break years before everyone had dopamine slabs in their pockets. 😄
Jumi@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 313d
We played a pen and paper racing game in school. You could accelerate or decelerate 1 square per turn and turn 1 square per turn. It was good fun.
FatVegan@leminal.space · 8 pts · 312d
I just had an insane flashback. We absolutely did that.
JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social · 3 pts · 312d
Did you know that the concept was expanded as a formal game in 1980?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Wars
It also tended to correspond with the popularity of the Mad Max movies. Good times.
@fatvegan@leminal.space
lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 312d
Pretty much a pen-and-paper game of the tank battle portion of the Atari game Combat.
dorumon@lemmy.cafe · 7 pts · 313d
I remember playing this with my classmates in middle school.
eestileib@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 313d
Oh yeah, many hours.