Snatch the Pebble

Snatch the Pebble lets you walk a mile in the sandals of a humble seeker, roaming a strange land in search of that most elusive of all goals: enlightenment. Starting from your favorite noodle shop, you will set out with little more than your rucksack and a map lent to you by a friend. Traveling in whatever direction suits your fancy, you slowly reveal the contours of a mystical world, fully open to whatever wonders or dangers may cross your path. Empty yourself of desires by chopping wood and carrying water, meditate at the wall of harmony, discover a fountain of qi, confront ghost demons, help a fallen monk regain the way, and much more.

Designed for solitaire play from the ground up (but every bit as fun with two planning their moves as a team), Snatch the Pebble is utterly addictive. With its intuitive mechanics and simple setup, newcomers will find themselves quickly engaged, while seasoned players will continuously rethink their approach as they uncover the game’s tactical and strategic possibilities. Starting from a single clearing, the landscape forms in whatever direction the player chooses. Yet, what appears simple on the surface turns out to be endlessly surprising, even maddening at times, as the board inevitably turns into a beautiful puzzle that tests your wits at every turn. Won games go sour, while hopelessly lost games are salvaged by creative and clever maneuvering—almost as if the game itself were the ultimate koan.

Click here to play introductory video:

Snatch the Pebble - Rumble

Gameplay

For those who want all the nuts and bolts, check out the complete rulebook now, free to download as a PDF over on the right (a full color printed copy of the same book is included with the game itself).

That said, here’s a quick overview of how the game works. Player begins on a single clearing, the Noodle Shop. Each turn has 6 phases:

(1) Explore Phase: Explore the area around the current clearing.

(2) Obstacle Phase: Reveal some of the dangers lurking along nearby roads.

(3) Power Phase: Use a combination of skills and power objects to deal with trouble along the chosen path.

(4) Move Phase: Move to the chosen clearing.

(5) Restore Phase: Sort out used power objects and restore depleted skills.

(6) Pack Phase: Take advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves at the new clearing.

That’s it. To win, just snatch four pebbles from the hands of four masters and deliver them to the home temples of those masters. All you have to do is avoid getting lost amidst the everchanging pathways, only to realize that the road you are wandering has become a dead end.

Parts List

☯ Rulebook (full color, printed, 12 pages, 8” x 10”)

☯ Player Pack (gamebox bottom)

☯ Player Avatar (1)

☯ Pebbles (4)

☯ Lightning Bolts of Sudden Insight (4)

☯ Clearing Cards (31)

☯ Obstacle Cards (17)

☯ Path Cards (54)

☯ Item Cards (18)