It’s a game about nothing! Or at least that is what a blink would tell you from it’s perspective. That is because if any input is received by the blink it dies and it’s game over. This absurdly simple concept serves as the basis for eighteen new blinks games outlined below, as well as new “cameos” which allow players to modify other games in their existing blinks library. Feel free to modify the rules of these games as you see fit and make them your own. Use this concept to make your own new games, or even to remix existing blinks games. The possibilities are endless….
Players can play the following games in either Free Play or Party Mode.
Free Play Mode - Players select games to play as they wish.
Party Mode - Players compete to be the first to score a certain number of game wins (3, 5, 10). Games are selected randomly through the game selector which is accessed by long pressing a blink. The selector will show both a color (Blue, Red, Yellow) and a number (1-6) which will be used to pick a game. If the current number of players is greater than the number of players needed to play a game have all players roll the game selector and the individuals with the lowest number scores sit out. If the current number of players is less than what is needed simply re-select the game. To determine which player or team starts a game have each player or team active a game selector. The player / team with the highest number starts. To decide teams, all players activate game selectors. Players who roll the same color are on the same team. Once a team fills up it is locked and all other players keep rolling until all players are assigned.
B1. Firing squad - One player holds their finger on top of a blink in the middle of the table. They can move it, but only gently enough to not activate a button press. All other players slide blinks from the edges of the table trying to kill the center blink. Whoever lands the killing blow takes the new place in the center. Player can play as long as they want, or set a limit of first player to dodge 25 blinks wins.
B2. Ninja - Players hold a blink between two fingers in one hand and place it flat on the table with the top button easily accessible to be pressed. Turns go clockwise around the table. On their turn, players can either reposition their blink on the table, or use their other hand to lunge at another players’ buttons. Lunges must be in one motion and can not change direction. A player being attacked can try to dodge, but only after the attacking player is closer than half the distance from where they started. Once a player lunges they are frozen at the end of their lung until their next turn. The next player in the rotation can then take their turn immediately after so game play is lightning fast. Players are eliminated when their blink is pressed. The last player alive wins.
B3. Minefield - One player closes their eyes while the opposing players arranges all blinks on the play space in any configuration that they want. The blind player must then quickly press anywhere on the table and hope that they don’t hit a mine. Players keep track of how many presses that they can make before detonating a mine and then alternate roles. The player with the highest score of safe presses wins. If playing with 1-9 blinks play in an area the size of a table cloth. If playing with 10-15 blinks play in an area the size of two table cloths. Finally, if playing with 16+ blinks utilize the entire play space on the table.
B4. Dodge Ball - A childhood classic re-imagined for blinks. Divide your table or play space into two sides and players into two teams. It is recommended that you place a piece of tape or other small item in the middle of the play space to mark the center line. Separate out one blink per player and place the rest on the center line to use as balls. Players hold their finger on top of their player blink and can move it around being careful not to initiate a click. Players use their other hand to grab the remaining ball blinks and slide them at the opposing team’s players to make connections. Players can not cross the mid-line of the play space, or use their hands to block incoming blinks. If a players blink goes into death mode they are eliminated. The last team with players alive wins.
B5. Blink Blitz - Place blinks in a line one inch apart and try to tap your finger back and forth between them as fast as you possibly can until you trigger a blink. Think those crazy finger knife dodging videos on YouTube. At least here everyone can leave with their fingers intact! Alternate modes - Arrange 4 blinks in a Y configuration and tap quickly between each side. Arrange 6 blinks in a zig-zag pattern and tap on the gap spaces. For competitive play, two players play at the same time starting at opposite sides. The first player to run the course back and forth five times wins. If playing with more than two players, play a single elimination tournament to decide the winner.
B6. War of Tugs - Start the game by placing all blinks together in one group at the center of the table. All players count down together from 3. Once they get to zero everyone places one finger on the blink pile and pulls to separate as many blinks as they can to add to their pile. Players then take turns setting their own blink piles in the center of the table. Everyone then counts down again from 3 and lunges at the pile to pull away as many blinks as they can with one finger to add to their piles. Lunges must be in one continuous motion and if someone misses they do not get another chance. The player whose stack is in the center starts with their finger on the pile and can try to move it as much as they can to dodge finger lunges at the end of the countdown. A round is over when every player at the table has their turn in the center. Whoever has the most blinks after 3 rounds of play is the winner. If you ever run out of blinks before the end of the game you are eliminated. Rounds always start with the player who has the most current blinks and goes clockwise.
R1. Tractor Pull - The goal of this game is to pull as many blinks as you can across the table without them separating. To start, players can use as many blinks as they want and any configuration that they want to build a “trailer”. 3D structures are allowed. After construction, the player grabs a non-trailer blink to use as a tractor. Players grab the tractor with two fingers and connect it to any point on the “trailer” that they want. Players then try to drag the “trailer” from one side of the table to the other. If at any point during the pull any of the blinks separate it is game over. The winner is the player who pulls the “trailer” with the most blinks across the table with none separating.
R2. Hide and Seek - Select one player to be the hider. If no one volunteers select someone with the game picker. The rest of the players will be seekers. All of the seekers must close their eyes while the hider places a blink on its side somewhere in the room with it’s glowing side facing the players. The blink must be in a location that is accessible by all players and it needs to be at least 50% visible. Once the hider has made their placement, they count down from three and then press another nothing blink to activate death mode and use it as a 10 second timer. Once the three second countdown is completed players open their eyes and have 10 seconds to find the hidden blink. The first player to find and tap the hidden blink wins. If no one can find and tap the hidden blink before the timer expires then the hider wins.
R3. Red Light / Green Light - Place a nothing blink on its side in a clearly visible location with its LEDs facing the players. All players line up on the opposite side of the room. Players can only move when the lights on the blink are green. If a player gets caught moving when they light isn’t green they are eliminated. Whoever gets to the blink first and presses it wins.
R4. Egg Toss - Separate the players into pairs and connect two blinks together for each pair to be the “egg”. Pairs can either stand two steps apart, or sit on opposite sides of a table. Pairs must gently toss the connected blinks back and forth without the death states being activated by either accidental disconnection or button press. If the egg is dropped the team is also out regardless of if the death state triggers. After every two succesfull tosses, the players add a blink to the egg growing its size and making it harder to avoid an accidental button press or disconnection. The team that lasts the longest wins
R5. Big Bad Wolf - Players take turns building the tallest structure they can by using as many blinks as they want from the number of blinks available. Not all blinks have to be connected using the magnet faces, but there must be a path of “correct” connections from the blink at the tallest point of the structure to the ground. After construction is complete all other players get an opportunity to try to blow the building over from any side. If during this phase any part of the building falls the building player loses. The winner is the player who makes the tallest building that withstands the blow strength test. If there is a tie, the building built with the least amount of blinks wins.
R6. Color Coordinator - Single player - All blinks are combined into one large grouping. Activate dead states strategically to get all blinks on the same color dead state at the same time. Multiplayer - All blinks are combined into one large grouping. Before the game, players choose a color to represent them during the game. Players then count down from three and start the game. Players strategically activate blinks to try to get as many blinks set on their selected color death state as possible. The game ends once all blinks are in death state. The player who has the most blinks in their death state color at that time wins.
Y1. Tag - Use the game selector to determine who starts as the tagger. All players have one blink and place it on the table with one finger on top. Players can move their blinks around the table with one finger being careful not to press down hard enough to trigger a death state. Blinks must stay flat on the table at all times. The initial tagger counts down out loud from three and the game begins. The tagger clicks their blink to death state and has 10 seconds to connect their blink to another player’s blink before their time expires. If they successfully connect their blink to a new player, that player becomes the new tagger when their blink changes to death state. They then have 10 seconds to tag the next player. Players are immune from being tagged back after tagging another player until their death state timer expires. If a player is unable to tag another player before their timer expires they are eliminated and the previous tagger that got them becomes the new starting tagger. The last player remaining is the winner.
Y2. The Name Game - Separate players into two teams. Create three two blink groups and place them on the table. Each pair of blinks should be placed in between the teams with one blink each for the two teams to press. Each team then selects a topic and assigns it to one of the blink pairs. The third topic must be mutually agreed upon by both teams and assigned to the final remaining pair. Topics can be anything, but should be something familiar to players on both teams. Examples include vegetable names, country names, zoo animals, etc. A representative from each team plays a quick game of rock, paper, scissors with the losing team starting. The starting team clicks the blink on their side of the furthest left pair and gives an example of that topic. For instance on vegetable names you could say carrot. The opposing team then waits one second and clicks on the opposite blink of that pair and gives another example. The starting team waits another second and the process is repeated for the center blink pair topic and then the final blink pair topic. Every time the death timer expires on a teams side, that team must give a new previously unsaid example of that category and click the blink to reset the timer. If a team is unable to immediately provide a new example of that topic and reset their side of the pair that team loses.
Y3. Blink Bowling - Arrange 6 or 10 blinks in a triangle formation so that the rows are either 3-2-1 or 4-3-2-1 depending on the layout selected. Place this formation on one side of the table. Players slide a blink at this formation from the opposite side of the table and remove each blink that it connects to each time. Be sure to keep track of the number of slides attempted. Once all blinks have been eliminated the player’s turn ends. Whoever can eliminate all blinks from the formation in the least number of slides is the winner.
Linked - Team based games where players are linked via two connected blinks. These games comes in three varieties:
Y4. Battle Royale - All players form groups of two. Each player holds on to one blink and connects it to their partner’s blink. If at any time a player let’s go of the blink or the blinks become disconnected that team is eliminated. Players can use whatever means necessary to eliminate the opposing teams. The last team remaining wins.
Y5. Race - All players form groups of two. Each player holds on to one blink and connects it to their partner’s blink. A single blink is placed on one side of the room as the finish line and the players line up on the opposite side of the room to start. Teams count down from three and then are in a race to see which pair can press the finish line blink first. If players lose hold of their blink, or lose connection to their partners they are eliminated.
Y6. Blinks Lead the Blind - All players form groups of three. Two of the team’s players each hold a blink and connect them to their partner’s blink. They then close their eyes. A blink is then placed somewhere randomly in the room to be a goal. The third player must guide their two teammates to the blink placed in the room so that they can press it. The two linked teammates must also communicate to ensure that they do not become disconnected. The first team to click the goal blink without disconnecting wins.
Cameos:
Flic Flop - Use Nothing blinks as skill obstacles to be avoided when sliding the blinks towards the flopper. Any accidental connections with a Nothing blink costs the team one point.
Astro - Place Nothing blinks amidst the asteroid field to create black holes. Any players or asteroid that connects to a nothing blink enters its pull and becomes unavailable to use the rest of the game.
Heist - Place Nothing blinks around the vault. They should be close, but not attached and will act as security guards. Any player that accidentally alerts a security guard by connecting to them loses one gold piece.
Dynamo - Power Struggle Remix - Players must find a way to hold a Nothing blink in the same hand as the Dynamo blink while playing power struggle. The normal rules apply, but if the Nothing blink gets triggered or connects to the Dynamo blink the player also loses.
Group Therapy - Anxious thoughts keep interupting the group therapy session. Place blink anxiety bombs (Nothing blinks) around the outside of the group therapy cluster, but not directly attached. When seperating out the introvert and extrovert blinks the anxiety bombs must be avoided. If any blink accidentally connects to an anxiety bomb you lose.
Reset - To bring a blink back from death mode or game selector, simply don’t touch, connect, or separate it for 10 seconds.
Special thanks to @jrcwest for encouraging me to develop this concept further! Be sure to let me know what games or cameos you come up with, and as always have fun!
Only issue with the code (in both original and the changes) are some missing parentheses on line 22, for the “aliveDisplay” call. Without that it seems to just be stuck in the dead state from the get-go.
