In Cogs and Carts you and up to three of your friends race to collect diamonds in a maze of rotating interconnected cogs.
All cogs are mechanically linked and turning a single cog will rotate all the cogs on the board – changing the maze in dramatic and meaningful way. At any point in time there are 8 versions of the board that exists simultaneously; they are accessible by simply rotating the cogs.
A game of Cogs and Cart begins with empty board; each turn a player flips over an empty cog to the track side, growing and creating a unique puzzle every time you play. The location of the diamonds also get randomised at the beginning of the game to shake things up.
Cogs and Carts is a culmination of two distinct goals – one is to play a game that make use of a gear or a cog in a meaningful and mechanical way just like one of my favourite Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar. The other is the desire of wanting to play a more tactical and less luck dependent version of Tsuro; an aesthetically beautiful tile laying game.
The final result being a quick to learn fun little game that takes about 5 minutes to learn and plays in about half an hour. With each turn revealing a new fun puzzle to solve but not so disruptive that you cannot plan your move in advance. Finding clever route that net multiple diamonds per turn feels rewarding, just as snatching the ones your friends are aiming for right from under their noses.
