RokenSumo

RokenSumo is a game of strength, speed, and agility played on an elevated platform. It can be played with 2-4 vehicles either as a grand melee where each player competes on their own, or by two teams of two where you compete as a team to disable the opponents.

We played this game during halftime at a SuperBowl party and lost interest in the football game and for the rest of the SuperBowl most of the people at the party watched or played RokenSumo. Thanks to Mike Caprio, Harrison Ripps, and many others for playing this, giving suggestions, and providing some of the controllers and vehicles to allow this to work.

Setup

Requirements

Players: 2-4
Time: Less than 5 minutes
Pieces: Extra beams & plates & some padding (if you are not playing on carpet)
Vehicles: 1 per player
Controllers: 1 per player

Build the arena

The basic arena is assembled from 24 7-beams, 28 red connectors, and 12 3-beams. The covering is 9 7x7-plates. Optional additions are 4 3x7-plates, 4 to 8 more 3-beams and 4-8 fences/braces.

The top of the arena is made by making a grid from the 24 7-beams joined by 16 of the connectors as shown in the following picture.

After assembling the top, place connectors on one end of the 12 3-beams and connect the other end of four to the connectors surrounding the center square. Connect four more to the outside corners and the remaining four to the middle of the sides. The result should look like the following.

Now place the 9 7x7-plates on the top of the structure to complete the basic arena.

I strongly recommend padding the area around the ring with a magazines or newspaper or cloth of some kind if you are not playing on top of carpet since the vehicles can fall off with some force even though the drop is only 4 inches. I have played on a solid floor for a while and never broken anything (the vehicles seem quite tough) but controllers often get knocked out by the impact and they sometimes make a big bang. So be safe and pad the impact areas a bit.

Rules

Objective

In the melee game the objective is to be the last person standing. In the team game, the objective is to eliminate the members of the opposing team.

Definition of Disabled

An opponent is disabled if he can no longer move his vehicle in the arena (i.e. it has been tipped on its side, the controller has been knocked out, or the vehicles has been knocked out of the arena). In the next picture the transgripper is trying to push the loader off the edge, or knock the control block out of its seat.

Starting Position

The vehicles should start in opposite corners of the arena if there are two vehicles (as shown by the following picture). If there are more vehicles then the remaining corners will be occupied. For the team game team members will start in opposite corners.

Vehicle Notes

So far I would say that the vehicle choice only makes a minor difference in the standard arenas (however some vehicles are better if the arena has pits or barriers and some are very challenging to use if there are barriers or pits).

Loader	Strengths: This vehicle performs well in general. With the scoop all the way down it acts as a wedge and can be used effectively to reduce the traction of the opponent by lifting the weels slightly. This is most effective when charging the opponent to gain increased force. Once the opponent is sliding their friction is further reduced making this a good attack. In confined areas the scoop can be raised to effectively shorten the vehicle to allow for increased mobility and agility. Weaknesses: The scoop is not powerful enough to lift opposing vehicles so it must be used as a wedge as described above. This tactic requires you to charge the opponent so can be challenging in close melee. Also the wheels rather than treads may lead to reduced traction (but I am not entirely convinced). Summary: A good all round vehicle. No serious weaknesses, but no overwhealming strengths.
Transgripper	Strengths: The gripper is an excellent close up weapon. It can be used to grab the control block out of the opposing vehicle, or to grab an extremity such as the "antenna" or loader arm and pull the vehicle over. The tractor treads rather than wheels may give increased traction on the surface but I have not seen a substantial difference in grip between the tractor treads and the wheels. However, the treads do make working on broken surfaces much easier since the whole length of the tread can support the vehicle rather than the limited contact areas of wheeled vehicles making the treads a good choice for arenas with pits or bridges. Weaknesses: The gripper is less effective in a charge since it can not be used as a wedge but instead must be used either to push the middle or bottom of a vehicle (preferably from the side) or up high to try to tip the opponent onto their side. Since the transgripper has a low back it is possible for an opponent to knock out the control block by ramming the back or the side whereas all of the other vehicles must be attacked from the side to disable the controls but this is a tough attack in general. If there are posts in the field the gripper must be raised above them or the increased length makes manuvering very challenging; however, this leaves the transgripper prone to tipping forward which can be exploited by using the scoop on the loader in an attack on the rear of the gripper. Often just lowering the arm will right the transgripper, but it leaves you vulnerable to attack while you are tipped forward since you have substantially reduced tracton. Summary: Excellent in close combat, not so good at charging, and the treads give an advantage in broken terrain.
Dozer	Strengths: The Dozer is very light and has treads making it phenominal over broken terrain. It can literally spin over some holes without worrying about falling in. It does not disturb the half plates when they are placed into the arena (like in the Bridges scenario below). Weaknesses: Unfortunately the light weight of the Dozer makes it easy to push around and makes it tough to push the other vehicles. Summary: Excellent on broken terrain. Terrible in an unbroken arena.
Power sweeper	Strengths: This is equivalent of a 300 pound sumo wrestler in the ring. The added weight makes it easier to push around the other vehicles. I have not yet found a way to use the sweeping attatchment in combat but I have not played this vehicle much. Weaknesses: The added weight is good, but you pay for it with a raised center of gravity which makes you a little easier to tip and reduced manuverability due to the considerable extra length of the vehicle. So the other vehicles can usually dance around your attacks. The added weight is an even greater disadvantage if there are bridges in the arena since you will usually knock them out the first time you drive over them (sometimes even while you are driving on them). The added length leads to extreme difficulty if there are posts since it is almost impossible to manuver with the sweeper down, and with it up you are even more top heavy and prone to tipping. Summary: This is a tough vehicle to use and is recommended only for experts. The weight can be devastating if used right, but if you are careless you can easily be destroyed.
Emergency Speedster	This review by Kazooie486@aol.com Strengths: From what I have noticed, the ES can be a very distracting machine. When you are playing in teams, you can easily advert your opponent's attention by quickly sounding off the beep when they are least expecting it. This could give your teammate a split second to push them over. Also, with its quick speed and easy manuvering capabilities, it can be very frustrating for your opponent to try to keep up with you. However, this could send you flying off the edge if you are not careful. Weaknesses: The most obvious disadvantage is the fact that the ES is so lightweight. Nearly any other vehicle, including another ES, could quite easily tip it over. Also, with its very square body, there is an evencenter of gravity. Surprisingly, this can just make it worse when going into head-on combat. Summary: A good vehicle at teaming up when trying to advert the opposing team's attention, but awful at 1-on-1 close combat.

Variants

The basic game can be varied greatly by changing the arena. The following illustrates some of the possibilities and discusses how it affects the basic game.

	Bridges Notes: The 3x7-plates add an extra degree of difficulty since they are prone to flipping as people drive over them which will soon render them impassable. This makes the match even quicker. Construction: Replace 4 7x7-plates with 3x7-plates
	Corner Posts Notes: The corner posts make it easier to defend the corner positions since you can brace against the post in case of a concerted attack. This makes the match take a little longer (but not much). Construction: Add four 3-beams to the corners.
	Fences Notes: The fences make it easier to defend the sides since you can brace against the fence in case of a concerted attack and the added width of the fence makes it much harder for your opponent to push you around it (unlike the corner posts). This works well with the corner posts added. This makes the matches take longer and it takes a little more skill to defeat the opponents. Construction: Add a fence or brace to the middle of each side.
	Center posts Notes: The center posts make it more difficult to maneuver (I advise raising the dump truck's scoop up above the vehicle to gain maneuverability, and raising the fork on the forklift up can also be helpful). If you can get into the middle square then it is much harder for your opponents to push you around, but as a tradeoff it is harder to push them off the corners. This works well with fences. This makes the game a little longer. Construction: Add four 3-beams to the connectors in the middle of the arena.
	Center pit Notes: The center pit makes it harder to get at the opponents, but greatly increases your chances of falling off the edge. It is a tricky variant since it is harder to get behind or to the side of your opponents to push them. Also once a vehicle has fallen in the center it is sometimes possible to drive over them. The game is much quicker. Construction: Remove the center 7x7-plate.
	Center pit & center posts Notes: This combination makes it harder to fall into the middle, but is in general a tough course. Construction: Remove the center 7x7-plate and add four 3-beams to the connectors in the middle of the arena.
	Fences & center posts Notes: This combination makes it harder to fall off the edges but also reduces maneuverability to make for a longer game. A different variant is to move the center posts out to the corners of the arena. This makes it much more challenging to knock off an opponent but leads to a good game. Construction: Add four 3-beams to the connectors in the middle of the arena and add a fence or brace to the middle of each side.