True Colours Game - Communal Contributions

The cardset below was inspired by a theme of wizard's using psychic powers against each other in fantasy battles. The wizard was created by Jon Rohde (Sydney, NSW). Thanks Jon! Download a pdf of the original Wizard's Crystal game rules to create your gameset. Print double sided and then staple to make a booklet. The gold sigil has a white background so you can choose your own colour for your card backs.

Probably the most popular home made tokens are those conceived by Roger Campbell (Lauriton, NSW). He simply combined Rhinestones with pieces of a plastic pen he cut up. The use of metal tubes expands on his original idea. Thanks Roger!

True Colours is being translated in to a Virtual World Expereince on a fire-walled OpenSimulator Server. The terrain and most cosmetic features are now nearing completion with game mechanics the current priority.

I am very pleased to announce that my virtual world is being made available for invited researchers of Artificial Intelligence and Psychoanalysis (especially research into the Proteus Effect and it's applications to mental health issues and possible treatments).

My "tree hugging hippy" friends in the hills behind beautiful Byron Bay (only 2hrs drive south across the QLD border into Northern NSW) always favoured a cloth board they could take anywhere in their shoulder-bags, so here is a photo of their arena drawn on calico and coloured in by the kids (young and old). As you can see they use Roger's rhinestone tokens and small brass saddler rings. Thanks everyone!

. Mirrored Arena

Inspired by a beautiful piece of artwork called "Conelot" by a student at the local Brisbane College of Art, this mirror version of the playing arena employs tapered aluminium cones as player tokens. It generated huge interest at the 1986 Queensland Inventor of the Year Awards. Player tokens seem to float like diamonds in space bisected by a colourful, transparent and somewhat ethereal plane. This is a great arena to play True Colours under candle light as your opponents' faces seem to glow within the arena. Offering a real sense of "As Above, So Below" .

This photo of John Brandt, Queensland Director of the Inventors Association of Australia, appeared in the local newspaper.

I am currently experimenting with an an arena for visually impaired or blind people. My skills with a wood router are laughable but I am perservering with attempts to score a sheet of timber with the outline of the arena, then score a trail with peg holes at each arena position. How I represent each colour to a blind person is quite a challenge. It is encouraging to read of recent scientific research into providing blind people with some sensation of colour differences through tactile patterns. Braille cards can be made but they are very expensive. The interim solution is to employ existing braille bridge or poker suites and allocate functions to different cards within the deck. I am assured Braille dice are available already.

I shudder to think what it would be like not to be able to see our beautiful world and wondered what it would be like for a visually capable person to share a game with others not so fortunate. Without wanting to sound crass and insensitive, I think it would be a real "eye opener" for able-sighted folk to indulge in such a game.

Not yet finished, this exciting new arena should prove interesting to play on. I have an idea to build the arena out of leadlight glass so that it can be illuminated from below. By inserting small magnets within the player tokens, any position upon which a token rests can be made to “light up”, in vivid colour, by incorporating the design suggested to the right. It is further suggested that should two player tokens occupy opposing red battle positions, centrally located bulbs would “illuminate the central crystal”, indicating that battle was possible. As a player’s token is moved around the pathway as the result of a “die roll”, each position that the token passes over will light up as well.

Incorporating high resolution colour graphics and dramatic sound effects, True Colours would be an exciting and highly animated computer game.

The program is envisaged to be one that will incorporate different forms of software action. The player will view a high resolution, vividly coloured plan view of the arena and have keyboard control of the game’s action. The computer will list all “Powers” possessed (preferably in selectable menu format), perform die rolling, and immediately reposition players on the Arena whenever the die is “rolled” or “Powers” are used . Battles, however, will be enjoyed in 3-D graphics with exciting and colourful action and sound. It is envisaged that for full impact, players engaged in battle will see on screen what one would propose they would see if they were really on the Arena facing an opponent. Weapons will travel to and from the opponent, with appropriate sound effects, and Shields will automatically manifest if possessed by defendants (filling the entire screen in the case of the player). Rings, won in battle, will glide to the victor before the player is returned to a plan-view of the Arena. The general effect will therefore be one of the player moving in and out of the “Crystal” to engage in active battles with opponents.

A player would be able to review the rules upon keyboard command and choose the number of opponents for any one game. The computer would play the game for each of these opponents. Players linked into a network system (LAN or Internet) from remote terminals could also share a game.

I have no coding skills but have recently discovered the freely shared software package GUB or "Generic Universal Boardgame" and hope to make further progress with this project as time allows. Feel free to offer the world something of yourself if you have the skills and the inclination.

True Colours may be enjoyed as a gambling game solely between its players - or as a House game - if it is played according to the following rules. Thanks to "those who do not wish to be named" for the development of these rules. If you share their passion for a wager or two or more then click here to discover more.