Avoiding analysis paralysis

April 24, 2014 6:22 AM

Chess Clock Jenga
posted by a snickering nuthatch (23 comments total)

Fun!

Although as with the disappearance of corded phones, the touch-screen based chess clock just doesn't feel complete without that ability to really slam it at the end of your turn.
posted by gwint at 6:28 AM on April 24, 2014 [5 favorites]

I am so going to use this to up the tension when running Dread.
posted by ursus_comiter at 6:40 AM on April 24, 2014 [4 favorites]

Magnificent. And those guys are so happy. My day is brighter just having watched that.
posted by The Bellman at 6:44 AM on April 24, 2014

that ability to really slam it at the end of your turn
I also prefer the ticking of a classic BHB over these silent ones. Adds to the tension.
Even better, the Jantar, for that evil Soviet-era ambiance.
posted by MtDewd at 6:48 AM on April 24, 2014 [2 favorites]

I've still got my BHB! Complete with "Made in West-Germany" on the back.
posted by gwint at 6:54 AM on April 24, 2014

I'd like to take this opportunity to share that I am up for Jenga, of any kind, at any time and place, with anyone. Just so you know for future reference.
posted by Poppa Bear at 6:56 AM on April 24, 2014

I'd like to take this opportunity to share that I am up for Jenga, of any kind, at any time and place, with anyone. Just so you know for future reference.

Take it to MeFight Club!
posted by The Bellman at 7:44 AM on April 24, 2014

This is an awesome idea. What I wasn't sure about, though, was what compels you to go quickly. In other games, like speed chess, don't you get ahead by going quickly, and that doesn't actually happen here? Going quickly here creates an increasing disadvantage for both players, rather than an advantage for either. So, wouldn't the best strategy just be to run the clock down while the pickings are easy, and hope that the other person doesn't have enough time to make the next move?

I'm actually not cynical, I'm just wondering if there are ways to further adapt the rules to make it more compelling.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:00 AM on April 24, 2014

Although as with the disappearance of corded phones, the touch-screen based chess clock just doesn't feel complete without that ability to really slam it at the end of your turn.

More than made up for by all the people who aren't thinking, "That looks fun enough to be worth dragging out the old Jenga set, but I'll never own a chess clock so, oh well."
posted by straight at 8:03 AM on April 24, 2014

What I wasn't sure about, though, was what compels you to go quickly.

Since the clock tracks time separately per player, if you spend time not moving, your time is running out and your opponent's is not. When your time runs completely out, you lose.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:03 AM on April 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

Except that you lose if you run out of time first. So, if one person runs their clock down and the other goes quickly, then the person going slower loses from running out of time.
posted by MythMaker at 8:04 AM on April 24, 2014

I like to play with house rules for Jenga where you have to hold your breath for your whole turn. It forces people take their turns quickly, like this does, but it doesn't permanently put you at a disadvantage if you have one bad turn. It also doesn't require chess clocks or phone timers. By having the timer be a totally essential vital function it really raises the stakes in an interesting way. Also it's fun to watch people get more and more reckless and desperate as their brain cries out for oxygen. Easy mode is where your turn, and breath holding, starts when you first touch the tower or whenever you're ready. Hard mode is when your turn starts as soon as the previous player lets go of their block.
posted by metaphorever at 8:12 AM on April 24, 2014 [14 favorites]

I'm waiting for Chess Clock Twister.
posted by 4ster at 8:13 AM on April 24, 2014

I thought the video was awesome until I read the rules for metaphorever's game, which are better IMHO due to the lack of technology involved.

Now, I'm just wishing I had more friends over.
posted by danep at 8:24 AM on April 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

metaphorever's variant is really cool, but one weakness of it is that you can't post youtube videos in which you explain what you are playing as you play it :) . It sounds even better for playing Dread with.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:29 AM on April 24, 2014

This would be even more exciting if the loser was disintegrated in his chair as in the classic Blake's Seven episode 'Gambit' variation on Speed Chess.
posted by biffa at 9:14 AM on April 24, 2014 [2 favorites]

So, the player on the left cheated by hitting his clock on the last move with a different hand than he removed the block with. I didn't re-watch to see if they (both) did this earlier on or not. But generally in speed chess, you are required to hit the clock with the hand you use to move. White gets to go first, so Black gets to decide which side of the board the clock is on (usually the right unless left-handed).

I think Blitz Jenga could be improved by having the clock set so that you get an extra 5 or 10 seconds every time your turn ends with your clock showing a time above zero. So both clocks count down, but when you hit your clock to start the other players turn, it adds some constant interval to your time. So if you move in less than that amount of time, you gain time for the turn. This is a common chess variant, and I think it would work well here. In chess the add is usually 3 to 5 seconds, but moves here take a little longer than chess moves, so I think 5 to 10 seconds would be a good place to start experimenting.

All that said, I just moved and chucked my Jenga set. So I won't be playing this anytime soon, but it does look fun.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:15 AM on April 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

Fun fact: this is the same Tom Scott that explained the madness of time zones to us a while back.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 10:34 AM on April 24, 2014

Well, I took it to MeFight Club, but I don't see how anyone does any real-life game playing through the site. But thanks for the hook-up!
posted by Poppa Bear at 11:15 AM on April 24, 2014

Chess clock Jenga is cool and all, but what I really want to know is, why do those guys look so familiar?? Did I go to school with them? Were they in a movie I saw? It's one or the other.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 12:50 PM on April 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

I wonder if people would play Rummikub with me more than once if a chess clock was involved. The last time was New Year's Eve 2011, and I managed to annoy my wife, my brother, and his wife with complicated strings of moves while drunk off my ass on sake.
posted by Foosnark at 1:05 PM on April 24, 2014

Although as with the disappearance of corded phones, the touch-screen based chess clock just doesn't feel complete without that ability to really slam it at the end of your turn

You try slamming down on the table after each move in a game of Jenga, and see how that goes.
posted by aubilenon at 3:54 PM on April 24, 2014 [4 favorites]

As long as it's your opponent's clock running by the time the tower falls over, it's all good.
posted by flabdablet at 4:14 PM on April 25, 2014