Ntropy
Stick-based sculptural fun
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From Jenga and KerPlunk to Operation and Buckaroo, games involving a steady hand have always captured the public's imagination. The glorious suspense they elicit is lip-bitingly addictive, and the spectacle of watching things fall apart following an error of judgment is always a joy to behold. Especially when it's your opponent's fault! In game-paying circles we believe this phenomenon is known as 'laughing your head off at other people's bad luck and incompetence'.
Best of all, games of balance have very few rules to learn, so anyone can play them. The latest entrant into this entertaining field of gaming is Ntropy. Why the makers have named the game after a scientific word meaning 'a measure of unavailable energy' is anyone's guess. Then again 'Balancing Big Wooden Sticks' doesn't really have the same ring to it, does it? But that's exactly what this highly entertaining game is all about.
Ntropy is a game of creative construction, calculated risk and cool nerve - there's even an element of modern art in there somewhere. Possibly. Players start with an equal number of drumstick-like sticks which they place in turn on the developing structure. Rolling a die determines how you must balance your stick, and if any sticks fall off during your turn, they are added to your collection. The first person to get rid of all their sticks is the winner - unless of course the whole thing comes tumbling down.
Some of the bizarre structures formed while playing Ntropy are worthy of placement in a museum of modern art (then again, so are dung-covered statues), as the sticks often seem to defy gravity. In fact, Ntropy is one of those ingenious games that can be played without being played, if you catch our drift. Indeed, we reckon Ntropy is a classic in the making since its simplicity to skill ratio and one-more-try factor are completely off the scale. Go ahead, stick it and see!
Best of all, games of balance have very few rules to learn, so anyone can play them. The latest entrant into this entertaining field of gaming is Ntropy. Why the makers have named the game after a scientific word meaning 'a measure of unavailable energy' is anyone's guess. Then again 'Balancing Big Wooden Sticks' doesn't really have the same ring to it, does it? But that's exactly what this highly entertaining game is all about.
Ntropy is a game of creative construction, calculated risk and cool nerve - there's even an element of modern art in there somewhere. Possibly. Players start with an equal number of drumstick-like sticks which they place in turn on the developing structure. Rolling a die determines how you must balance your stick, and if any sticks fall off during your turn, they are added to your collection. The first person to get rid of all their sticks is the winner - unless of course the whole thing comes tumbling down.
Some of the bizarre structures formed while playing Ntropy are worthy of placement in a museum of modern art (then again, so are dung-covered statues), as the sticks often seem to defy gravity. In fact, Ntropy is one of those ingenious games that can be played without being played, if you catch our drift. Indeed, we reckon Ntropy is a classic in the making since its simplicity to skill ratio and one-more-try factor are completely off the scale. Go ahead, stick it and see!
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Instructions
Contents
Please note:
- Start the game by erecting the base and divide the wooden sticks equally between the players.
- Roll the die, and take it in turn to place your sticks on the developing structure. Use your imagination, but be careful, things are not always what they seem!
- Be bold or play it safe, the choice is yours, but if any sticks fall off during your turn they're added to your collection.
- The first person to get rid of all their sticks is the winner, unless the whole structure falls over first...
Contents
- 60 Wooden sticks
- 1 Ntropy sphere
- 3 Legs
- 2 Notched sticks
- 1 die
- Instructions
Please note:
- All wooden components are from sustainable sources. Wooden components are affected by changes in temperature and humidity, and in some instances this can cause them to bend. This is a natural feature of the game.
- Contains small parts.
- Not suitable for children under 36 months.
Reviews
Visitor Reviews...
Easy there Kate, we're not all statistical physicists. The term entropy is used in virtually every branch of science (meaning different though kinda similiar things). In information theory or molecular biology this game is aok.Tim, Adelaide - Feb '07
Not exactly sure what all the scientific stuff is about but, this is a great game. Bought it for my older brother for xmas. He looked a bit disappointed when he opened the box but after 5 mins of playing he was well and truely hooked! After another 10 mins my bf was hooked and after a while the whole family we playing doing tower towers and oner up and unders all night. A fantastic family game although my bro has turned it into a drinking game ie; knock so many sticks of and you have to down a shot! Try blancing yourself up after knocking a few sticks off let alone balancing a small thin piece of wood on an already wobbling tower!! Two thumbs up recomend this one to all!Mandi E, Birmingham - Jan '05
Entropy as a measure of disorder is only applicable to microscopic systems which are under constant thermal motion according to the Boltzmann distribution. Therefore the example of an untidy room, tho often quoted, is NOT an example of increasing entropy. It takes the same amount of energy to move everything in a room to an untidy place as it does to move the same things to a tidy place, the reason rooms tend to untidyness is simply that the number of 'untidy places' for an object (under bed, on floor, behind bookcase ect. ) is much larger than the number of 'tidy places' - on shelf, third from left. Sorry this review seems to have turned into physics corner... Kate xxKate, Bristol - Dec '04
Ahh, at last someone has come up with a human version of the vulcan game Kal-tow. Definitely for brain boxes as kal-tow is to chess as chess is to tic-tac-toe.
Lots of steady handed fun!Vicky, Sunderland - Nov '04
"Why the makers have named the game after a scientific word meaning 'a measure of unavailable energy' is anyone's guess."
Although A-level physics was a long time ago, I recall learning that entropy - a measure of order within a closed system - will naturally tend towards zero; i.e. things become more chaotic, less ordered.
Entropy can only be increased by expending energy.
All this is generally applied to the universe, but it also works in other cases. For example, a bedroom will naturally become more chaotic and untidy if you don't do anything about it. Expend energy (tidy up) and you increase the entropy of the "system" (the room).
The designers of the game must have looked at the principle of expending energy to stack the sticks (which increases entropy), whilst the whole thing is trying to naturally reduce entropy to zero, by collapsing - becoming more chaotic.
Sounds like quite a cool game - it's just a shame that it reminds me of physics lessons! :-)Mark P, Isle of Man - Oct '04
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