Closed Fists
A downloadable game
A small, simple, and fast game about resolving conflict with violence, technique, and luck for 2+ players.
Set the scene, create fighters, pick techniques and roll dice to see who comes out on top.
Inspirations
Kitchen Contest by Hans Chun
Street Fighter Mas by Kamasi Washington
Shadow (2018)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
A collection of Safety Tools to aid development of a safe play environment to healthy creativity and play. Look them over, find those that work for your & your group for the game, and use them.
https://bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit compiled by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
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Community Copies
If you are interested in Closed Fists and cannot pay the listed price at this time feel free to grab a Community Copy made available with each purchase of the game.
Development log
- Closed Fists 1.2May 24, 2020
Comments
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I love this
me and my brother will still occasionally play this together
That’s so cool to hear! Never thought this game would be in anyone’s mind besides my own this long.
Thanks so much for sharing, hope you and your bother keep playin 💛
Closed Fists is a simple but tightly designed 1 v 1 fighter that relies on intuition, reading your opponent, and luck (or subterfuge.)
I don't think I can emphasize enough how well explained this game is. It's all smooth, stuff doesn't repeat, there's even a flowchart right out the gate.
The writing's super engaging as well, and it startled a laugh out of me at one point.
I think as optional changes, I'd recommend picking 2 Techniques at the start of a match (to allow character builds) and instead of rolling your Hand, spend 10 points to build it out of three or more dice. This makes it less about luck and more about build + mind games, but the game's also plenty fun without making any changes.
It might also be worth having Techniques be played face down, and then revealed with the dice, because otherwise if someone openly declares they're using Juice (+3 this round, -3 next) there's nothing to stop their opponent from just hard countering it with Fortune's Reversal (1s are high, 6s are low) assuming both parties took those Techniques.
Overall, this is an excellent bite-sized game, and kind of perfect for camping, journeys by train, basically any situation where you've got five minutes to kill and a flat surface between you and someone else. I would absolutely recommend anyone who likes fighting games (ttrpg, card, or video) buy a copy.
Thank you very much for the kind words! Very glad you enjoyed the game :3 and I appreciate the feedback as well!
Definitely some really good ideas to simmer on esp the character builds and suggestions.
I do hope to revisit/follow up this game with a tournament style option and that might work out better for that longer format.
I played this with a friend recently and it was a great time! Simple, straightforward, and we got a good deal of dramatic moments out of it. That said though, I do have a few questions regarding the game:
- Most techniques read like they can only be used once, but some others read a little like that could be used more than once? Are techniques single use only? For example Fortune's Reversal and Southpaw seem like they could be more than single use.
- 1's are low and 6's are high - is that meant to be read exactly as 1 is the lowest and 6 is the highest and that the value of dice increases in ascending order?
Thank you for making this. I'm looking forward to playing more of it!
I'm so glad you had a good time with the game! I'd be happy to clarify~
Re Techniques. They are intended to be used only once per Match. The phrasing could be worded clearer and is likely a carry over from an earlier state where the 1 use/match rule was not cemented yet. I'll make a note to punch each of those up for clarity.
Re 6's High & 1's Low. You got it! Normally with 6's high the hierarchy would be 6>5>4>3>2>1. But in rounds when Fortune's Reversal is used the hierarchy reverses with 1's high like so 1>2>3>4>5>6.
Appreciate you letting me know your thoughts and speed-bumps with the game! Hope you're able to have some more good fights with it <3
It's a bit...short? Some examples and a bit of fluff would be helpful.
It's intentionally short to keep it light & punchy. Where do you feel examples and fluff would be helpful?
Alright, this might be long, but it will be helpful. Keep in mind, I'm a boardgame designer, not a TTRPG designer, so that will color my perspective considerably.
1.The second page can be removed entirely. It's not helpful to the game itself. Replace it with a description of the game-play. Specifically, what type of game this is. 'Is this a role-playing game? An improvisation game? A negotiation game? A 'take-that' luck driven game? A tactical combat game? A bluffing driven fighter game?
2.Flow of play is good. Solid. Simple. It has a few steps which need better explanation.
3.What is a 'Safety Tool?' and why is establishing that important enough to be step one?
4.This book assumes that someone has played a similar game to this in several places. Never a good assumption.
5.Give us an example of play between two players. The final page can be taken up with an example of play.
6.Reformat the 4th and 5th pages with bullet points alongside each set of instructions or such that each paragraph is a paragraph. It's presently very difficult to read.
7.Is there a ref? Do all the players describe their playing environment? Does just one player lay the scene for the fight and then everyone else fights there? Do you all agree on a location?
I like your concept here, but it needs some simple editing. It's a GOOD IDEA and seems mechanically sound, but formatting will help your vision come through.
A couple of the things you've pointed out do need addressing. I'll get around to making an update as soon as I'm able. Thanks for the feedback.