Pew Pew, Die is the martian equivalent of Rock, Paper, Scissors typically played using a specially marked cube often passed through the ages from one family generation to the next.
The game piece, often known as a pyramid die (or colloquially a “pew-pew die”) is marked on each side with one or two triangular symbols, each named uniquely:
| Face | Name |
|---|---|
 |
puppy |
 |
philosopher |
 |
brute |
 |
<strike>minotaur</strike> |
 |
catoblepas |
 |
juggernaut |
The power ranking for each of the die faces starts with the puppy and ends with the juggernaut. What this means for gameplay is explained below.
Each players starts with the pew-pew die in his or her hand and mixes it around in their palm before starting. Facing one another, the players open their hands revealing the die faces. Each player can then twist their die up to 90-degrees either clockwise or counter-clockwise to orient the faces into a desired attack and defense configuration.
The players then determine the result of the initial round and then make moves from this initial setup to conclude the game. For each round thereafter a player's die can only be changed in the following ways:
Play proceeds for as many rounds as the players desire, up to a pre-determined number of wins -- typically three works best. Details of attack and defensive mechanics and “life-points” follows.
The motivation behind the original creation of the pew-pew die faces has been lost to the rust-red dust-bin of Martian history. However, the layout is interesting from a game perspective in that rather than only signifying a magnitude of power it can also represent a direction of force -- and this is the basis of how Pew Pew, Die is played and scored.
Take for example for the brute pew-pew die, shown below:
The brute above is projecting 3-points of power eastward. On the other hand:
The brute above projects the same power southward.
Now, observe two pew-pew dice oriented in such a way that their power projects toward each other:
| Left player | Right player |
|---|---|
| |
 |
In the game of Pew Pew, Die such a condition would be a draw because both dice project the maximum amount of power that each can take toward one another -- this is a condition of mutual destruction. However, observe a different layout:
| Left player | Right player |
|---|---|
| |
|
The dice above are both facing in the same direction, but only one (the left-most) projects its power toward the other. However, this condition is also a draw because when the flat end of a triangle is oriented toward an opponent die then that is what is known as a shield. Therefore, the right-most die absorbs all 3 points of power projected from the left-most.
However, often in Pew Pew, Die the orientations and power protections are asymmetric. A simple example is the case where a die is facing entirely in the wrong direction:
| Left player | Right player |
|---|---|
| |
|
As shown, the right-most die is facing in a northward direction neither projecting power at its opponent nor presenting a shield. Therefore, in this case the left-most die will win this battle as its 3-points of power are sufficient to destroy the other die.
You'll notice that many of the die faces have two triangle on them. These faces provide a combination of attack and defensive capabilities, as shown below:
Depending on the orientation of the above juggernaut in relation to an opponent will determine its offensive and defensive capabilities. For example:
| Left player | Right player |
|---|---|
| |
|
The dice above are oriented in such a way that the left-side die projects 3-points of power toward the right-side. However, the left-side die has a 2-point shield facing the attack thus absorbing 2-points of power leaving only 1-point remaining, not enough to destroy it. At the same time, the left-side die projects 3-points of power which is enough to destroy the right-side die. Therefore, the left-side die wins this match-up.
The life-points for a given face are defined as follows:
Enjoy!