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Physical Hackathon Kit

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Dominique Devereaux edited this page Aug 23, 2026 · 1 revision

Physical Hackathon & Game Jam Kit

A guide for anyone who wants to host a Veiled Dominion physical playtest, hackathon, or game jam in their own city. No prerequisites. No gatekeeping.

The Board

Standard 8×8 chess board. The game runs on standard chess geometry — no custom board is required to host an event.

Recommended:

  • Black vinyl roll-up boards ($10–15 each) — portable and thematic
  • Laser-engraved obsidian-look boards (Etsy, $40–80) — for an event centerpiece
  • If your venue has laser engraving equipment, board decoration can be a live activity at the event

The Pieces

Two sets per board, one per side. Piece identities map as follows:

Standard Chess Veiled Dominion
King Death — uncapturable, structurally irrelevant to winning
Queen Rebirth — the win condition; protect her agency
Rook Rook
Bishop Bishop
Knight Knight
Pawn Pawn — promotes to Rebirth (capped at one per side), then Knight, then Bishop

Purchase options:

  • Black marble-effect resin sets — matches the obsidian aesthetic without painting; ~$30–60 per set (Amazon, Etsy)
  • Raw unfinished wood sets — paint at the event as a Make track activity; ~$15–25 per set

Search terms: "unfinished wood chess set," "raw wood chess pieces bulk," "resin black chess set"

Painting Pieces at the Event

The design language: matte black for Death, amber/gold crown treatment for Rebirth, grey wash for pawns. No airbrushing. Shading via dry brushing only.

Supplies needed per table:

  • Acrylic paint: matte black, amber/gold, blood red (sparingly), grey
  • Small detail brushes: size 0 and 00
  • Matte varnish spray for sealing finished pieces
  • Palette paper or disposable plates
  • Paper towels, water cups

Sealed Deck Card Making

Participants draw or paint face card characters from the Sealed Deck system. The four suits and their roles:

Suit Role Playstyle
Spades Conquest Aggression and tempo
Hearts Restoration Sustain and HP recovery
Diamonds Intelligence Information and fog counters
Clubs Fortification Defense and board control

Supplies needed per table:

  • Blank playing cards — 54-card white blank decks, $8–12 per 12-deck bulk pack; or black-core blank cards ($15/deck) for the premium monochrome look
  • Gold paint pens (Posca or Molotow) — amber/gold line work on black-core cards
  • Fine-tip black markers — Micron 01/03 for hatching and stippling line work
  • Small ink wash sets — grey wash for shading; no airbrushing
  • Reference sheet: one per table showing each suit's characters, abilities, and the design direction (woodcut/pen-and-ink, monochrome + amber accent, no gradients)

Rules Card (Print or Handwrite — One Per Board)

These are the only rule deltas from standard chess a first-time player needs:

Win condition: The game ends when your opponent's Rebirth becomes veiled AND is adjacent to your Rebirth — not checkmate of Death.

Veil: A piece ending its turn within a radius of the enemy Rebirth becomes veiled — reduced to one-square-forward, non-capturing movement for a fixed number of turns. The player's own Rebirth is NOT exempt — she can be veiled.

Sanctuary: The area near Death blocks veiling. Rebirth near Death cannot be veiled.

Promotion cap: Only one Rebirth per side. After that cap: promote to Knight if fewer than 2, then Bishop if fewer than 2, then no further promotion.

Promotion framing: Promotion is a birth/creation event — not an upgrade.

Table Setup

Event Structure (One-Day Format)

Time Activity
10:00 AM Doors open, boards set up. 15-min intro: what Veiled Dominion is, what we're testing, how to contribute
10:30 AM All three tracks open simultaneously
12:30 PM Midday showcase — share what's been built, painted, played
1:00 PM Second session — continue tracks, rotate players
3:30 PM Final round of games, card art reveal
4:00 PM Feedback collection, closing — what changed the design, what goes into the wiki
4:30 PM Close — photograph finished pieces for lore.farm and Bluesky

Three Tracks

Play — Anyone sits down and plays Duet on a physical board. Rules card provided. Feedback collected in real time. This is the primary playtest function of the event.

Build — Participants contribute to the game engine, lore, or Sealed Deck card system. Open source, all skill levels. Game accessible at duet.loptrlab.com.

Make — Participants paint pieces, draw card faces, engrave boards. Finished pieces are photographed and contributed to the lore.farm world canon entry for the event.

What to Observe During Playtest

Open design questions physical play will surface faster than digital:

  • Does the win condition feel legible without explanation?
  • Does the Veil mechanic read as strategic or punishing?
  • Does the Sanctuary near Death create interesting positioning decisions?
  • Does the promotion cap feel natural or frustrating?
  • Does the game feel complete at Duet level before Fog Mode is introduced?

Collect feedback in writing. Post it to the wiki after the event.

What Physical Play Cannot Test Yet

  • Fog Mode (requires the digital elevation/vision radius system)
  • Sealed Deck abilities (not yet implemented in the engine)
  • The isReadyToAdvance() readiness signal (digital only)
  • ACPL stat tracking (digital only)

Sponsor Pitch Template

If you are pitching a local sponsor to host or co-fund your event, the offer structure is:

  • Logo on printed materials and QR code stands
  • Named in the post-event Rift Report dispatch on Bluesky
  • Co-credit on the lore.farm event canon entry
  • GitHub SPONSORS.md credit in the repo
  • First right of refusal to sponsor the next event in your city

The ask: venue co-sponsorship or in-kind supply support (art materials, chess sets, printing). No cash ask required to run the event — the minimum viable kit is two chess sets, printed rules cards, and a space with tables.

After the Event

  1. Photograph all finished pieces and card art
  2. Submit a lore.farm canon entry for your event: lore.farm/worlds/veileddominion.loptrlab.com
  3. Post playtest findings to this wiki under a new page: Playtest-[City]-[Date]
  4. Share on Bluesky with #VeiledDominion #ATmosphere #GameJam
  5. Tag @the-rift.bsky.social — the event may appear in a Rift Report dispatch

Related Pages

Clone this wiki locally