Tanks!

About Tanks

Tanks is a tank-battle game. Each side starts with a number of tanks (usually 5), and the object of the game is to destroy all the other guy's tanks.

Tanks is designed for two players, though I remember playing solo games (playing both sides) when I was bored. More can play if you have different color pens.

Anyone who can count to five, and has sufficient hand-eye coordination to write with a pen or pencil should be able to learn to play.

Equipment

• A pen or pencil (preferably one for each player).
• Some paper (8.5x11" is fine, ruled or blank doesn't matter).
• A flat playing area (desk, table, floor if you're young and flexible).
• A sense of fair play.

That's it. No dice, no rulers, no hex grid.

Rules

Here's a sample map:

In order to ensure the fairness of the map, there are two methods of setup.

• Method 1: One player draws the map, the other player picks which end he will start on.
• Method 2: Fold the paper in half. Each player draws his own side's terrain.

  Tanks are represented by small circles, either open

  

  or filled

  Each side gets five tanks, set up together at one end of the sheet of paper.

  

  Tanks have a movement allowance of 5 dashes.

  

  Dashes should not be overly long, maybe about 1/4" or 5mm. It should be obvious when someone is "pushing" their movement (making overly long dashes). Such actions should be met with a cry of "Hey! What do you think you are doing?" (This is one of the places the sense of fair play comes in.)

  Dashes do not have to be straight.

  

  After you have moved some, all, or none of your tanks, you get to fire. Firing is done as follows: place your pen on the edge of one of your tanks, and flick your wrist/twist your hand as quick as you can, to make a quick pen stroke at the enemy tank.

  

  Alternately, if you find this too easy, instead make the players fire by placing the pen on the edge of one of your tanks, with only 1 finger holding pen, pressing down on top. Slowly tilt away from the direction of the target, while pressing down on the top of the pen, until the pen slips.

  If the shot does not hit a tank, it missed.
  If the shot passes through a tank, such that there is tank visible on either side of the pen stroke, the tank is destroyed.

  

  At this point, the tank should be scribbled over while the player makes appropriate explosion noises.

  

  If the shot mearly grazes a tank (the pen stroke touches the tank, but no tank is visible on the other side of the stroke),

  

  the tank is disabled, and can no longer move, though it can still fire. A smoke squiqle should be drawn next to the graze, while making a "Sizzling" sound.

  

  Shots that hit a rock before hitting a tank are blocked, and considered misses.

  

  The game ends when only one side remains, or when all remaining tanks are disabled but unable to shoot each other due to intervining rocks.

  ZZ Tanks! (or Tinks! ?) Pen and paper game Doodle battlefield 5 tanks 10 space moves quick pen stroke fire graze=immobilized July 27 1999 initial writeup