Our step-by-step guide to the rules of how to play Gridopolis board game. The game is 3D Chess meets legos at its base, but under everything is an incredibly modular system that is only limited by the user’s creativity. The idea is that the board can be built in many different ways, both initially and during the game, and there are a variety of different rules that can be implemented. The game is for 2 – 4 players at ages 8+. The rules for how to play Gridopolis are very easy.
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HOW TO PLAY GRIDOPOLIS – WHAT IS IT?
Start by building the 3D gridset. You can use any of our designs or make your own. Win by capturing your opponents until you are the last player standing. Or, play a timed game and win by having the most points when times runs out.
In Gridopolis, you capture others by jumping over them in any direction – or dimension! You can move horizontally, vertically, and diagonally – and across multiple levels. Unlike other games, the grid-set (your 3D playing arena) is dynamic and changes during play. Any marker that gets jumped over is captured and comes out of the game.
HOW TO PLAY GRIDOPOLIS – STEP BY STEP
Time Needed: Approximately 15 – 90 minutes.
This is a step by step guide for how to play Gridopolis the innovative 3D strategy game and system. Additional notions and special rules can be found below the list. These will be referenced for your convenience.
1. SETUP | Construct Your Game Board
To kick off how to play Gridopolis you need to setup your game board. This is part of the fun because it is up to you to build whatever you want. You need to take the orange discs and connect them to the silver connectors to form a level and the silver posts to stack them on top of each other. The “matrix” is the base board which has a 1st and 3rd level of 3×3 and a second level with the same 3×3 middle, but then 2×6 offshoots moving outward from the center. You need this for each player so 4 would have this on all four sides, but two players only need these across from each other.
2. SETUP | Hand Out Player Materials
Each player needs their six colored player pieces (large circular things smooth on the top and ridged (king side) on the bottom. There are also three markers that go in the orange play area discs to indicate the player’s controlled row.
3. SETUP | Place Starting Pieces
Each player takes one of the extruding sections of the 2nd (middle) level. To mark that it is their row, add the three colored indicators to the back three spaces of the row. Take your six player pieces and places them in the six spots of the 2×3 extruding area that is your space.
4. SETUP | Add Jump Modules
One of the optional things that are encouraged is to add jump module pieces. These are the silver pieces that look like springs. These allow a player to teleport between them. So if a player moves on to one, they get to move their piece to any other one on the board. A base setup with these is putting one in the center of the middle level and then opposing corners on the top and bottom (5 total).
5. SETUP | Determine Starting Player
The last setup step of how to play Gridopolis before getting into gameplay is to determine the starting player. Use your randomizer of choice to decide.
6. GAMEPLAY | Move A Piece
A player moves any one of their pieces in any one direction except backwards toward their player row (with their three indicator pieces). This includes 3D moves, so going up or down levels. All rules apply, you just need to go in a straight line and in one move.
7. GAMEPLAY | Teleporting
If your move ends you on one of the “jump” modules, you get to move that player piece to any of the other modules on the board. Move your piece and end their turn in the new position.
8. GAMEPLAY | Eating Another Player Piece
For your one move, if you are near another player piece, you can instead “eat” it by jumping over it in a straight line. This works just like moving except since you are jumping over an existing piece, your final position will be the spot behind the piece you are jumping over. This can also happen in 3D, the same rules need to apply, a straight line only.
9. GAMEPLAY | Building
Instead of moving a player piece, you can instead build one thing. This means you get to take any one construction piece and tack it onto the board. Maybe it is one tube adding another level, or a new orange disc to expand horizontally, customization is key. Once something is built, in can immediately be used as part of the places a piece can move to.
10. WINNING | Pass & Repeat
After a player has made their one move, their turn is over and it passes to the next player clockwise. This continues, moving round and round, until the game ends.
11. WINNING | Last Player Standing
Once there is only one player color left on the board (because all others have been eaten), that player wins. There are other game modes like capture the flag like things and others, but this is the basic win condition.
HOW TO PLAY GRIDOPOLIS – KEY INFORMATION
INCREDIBLE CUSTOMIZATION
Gridopolis is not just a game. It’s a system! That means you can use the same basic parts to build any grid-set. Tweak the rules, add new parts, and even create your own original game from scratch.
GAME CONTENTS
- 16x Posts
- 63x Pads
- 88x Links
- 24x Player Markers (6x of 4 colors)
- 12x Kingerizers
- 6x Teleporters
- 8x Blocker-Boxes
HOW TO PLAY GRIDOPOLIS – IN CLOSING
We hope you can now say you know how to play Gridopolis, or at least one of the many versions that the game can be. This 3D chess meets legos game is something players of all ages can appreciate but it does have some additional benefits for younger kids, promoting STEM learning. Once you use your creativity to create a game board, the play that happens has plenty of strategic bite but is lively and breezy. Learning how to play Gridopolis is quick and easy so you can spend your time building your creations and exploring the different options out there.
