
Tidepost — Solo Sea Mail Puzzle (Free Prototype 0.2)
Published 24 October 2026 · On Quisicosas since 25 October 2026
Featured in the newsletter of
25 October 2026 (on Substack)
What it is about
Three mailbags need to reach three islands. Your boat has room for two. Each turn, roll two dice and assign one to sailing and one to postal work. Will you leave now with the urgent bag, or spend another turn loading a second? Two Favors can help when a roll falls short, but they will not last the whole journey. Tidepost is a solo routing and dice-allocation prototype. There are no battles, campaign rules or components to cut out. Included in the free download • One page of English rules. • One black-and-white map sheet with six islands, a turn tracker and a mail record. • A two-page PDF in US Letter format; use fit-to-paper when needed. You supply Two ordinary six-sided dice, one boat marker, a pencil and an eraser. Prototype status Version 0.2. A free print-and-play prototype. Feedback welcome If you try it, where did you hesitate? What was your score, and would you choose a different route next time? Please include how long your first game took.