I previously attempted to start a forum game of this paper and pencil game, but was unsuccessful, likely due to my less than thrilling post about it. I will do better this time!
I am attempting to rally players for a game at
http://games.ravenblack.net/You can play for free and don't even have to give your email; if you pay the site owner $8 you get registered status, feel self-satisfied, and are allowed to play in more than 3 games at the same time.
So, Waving Hands involves writing down sequences of gestures that you are performing with your hands.
The game is simultaneous; each round, all players write their gestures down and they are all revealed and resolved simultaneously.
Different sequences cast different spells, e.g. DPP is amnesia, causes the target to repeat their previous two gestures.
If you were trying to cast WPFD cause heavy wounds (deals 3 damage) and were hit by amnesia on your F, you would instead do WPFF, which is useless. However, if your other hand did WWS counterspell (target is affected by no other spells this turn), you could proceed with cause heavy wounds normally.
Some spells are longer and more powerful, like PWPFSSSD finger of death (instant-kill, isn't blocked by counterspell).
Others are short, but require gestures from both hands, like C(w Magic Mirror (all spells targeting the target except for magic mirror target the caster instead). (lowercase means that the gesture must be performed by both hands. C, or Clap, is always two-handed, except for zen buddhists.
You might notice that the spells don't really resolve simultaneously, because that would make counterspell useless. The order of resolution is at
http://games.ravenblack.net/rules/1/quickref.html, along with the full spell list.
The great fun in this game comes from two things:
1. Weaving your spells together even through opponents' disruptions:
PSDFFDD can cast shield (P), missile (SD), charm person (PSDF), and lightning bolt (DFFDD) with only 7 gestures.
2. Anticipating your opponent:
In a recent game I was really pushed against the wall, basically dead next turn unless I cast Cure Heavy Wounds on myself, but my opponent had a counterspell (WPP this time) ready. Fortunately, I had charm person on them, so I could choose for them to do nothing instead of the last P for counterspell, allowing me to successfully cast cause heavy wounds. However, I knew that they would be trying to gesture P for counterspell. Gesturing P with both hands (two proffered palms) makes you surrender, so I instead used my charm person to make their other hand do a P gesture, thus winning the game.
Other stuff and things to remember:
1. You can also stab people (>) but you only have one knife.
2. Don't do P with both hands accidentally—you'll surrender.
3. When summoning monsters (which you can order to attack stuff), cast the spell on yourself, or one of your monsters. Otherwise, you will not be able to control the monster.
4. I like to play with a self-enforced rule off no more than 5 F's in a row, because FFF (paralyze) kind of makes the game boring. (It's a bit broken since you can spam it forever)
5. This game is really fun.
6. Resist Heat and Resist Cold generally aren't worth it in duels.
7. Clapping and stabbing are generally not so good, as they interrupt your sequence.
So, if you're interested in a game, get an account at
http://games.ravenblack.net/, and post your interest in this thread!
DSF
If you are confused (as you likely are), you can read the official rules at
http://games.ravenblack.net/rules/0/index.html,
and if you would like to know a little more about what a game is like, I will soon post one of my recent games with commentary.