Round & Revel / Capacity-limited network routing

Narrowway Dispatch

The shortest-looking route may use the space another parcel needs.

2–6 players cooperating; no non-playing hostEstimated 25–40 minutes for three challenges; not live-playtested

Original authored print-and-play game. Time is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.

Good for: A puzzle group that enjoys drawing routes and checking a shared constraint.

What you need

One public directed-link reference
Practice ND00 and eight dispatch cards, each with link capacities and three delivery records
Route paper, pencils, eleven link-usage boxes, and covered answer guide

How to play

Find room for every delivery

Three deliveries, P, Q, and R, need routes through a small directed network. Each delivery has a start, an end, a size, and sometimes a required visit. Every link can carry only its printed total capacity across the whole plan. The group succeeds by routing all three without overloading any link. Routes may share nodes freely; the narrow links between nodes create the puzzle.

Read the directed map

The network has nodes S, A, B, C, D, E, and T. The public reference lists every allowed arrow. S>A means travel from S to A, never from A to S. A crossing of drawn lines is not a junction unless it is a named node. The written link list is authoritative, so a decorative or hand-drawn diagram cannot add a shortcut. All paths follow arrows toward T.

Prepare the dispatch desk

Use ND00 for practice, then select three different cards ND01–ND08 and cover their answer guide. Copy eleven usage boxes labelled with the link names and set them to zero. Write a separate route row for each delivery. Everyone can see the current card and reference. Choose a first route planner; keep the clockwise order moving across all challenges. You may draw the node diagram if it helps, but it is optional.

Understand the load on a link

A size-2 delivery consumes 2 capacity units on every link it uses. It remains a single delivery: you cannot divide it between two routes, send half now, change its size, or transfer its load to another delivery. Add the sizes of all deliveries using a link. That total must be no greater than the card’s capacity. Capacities do not refresh with turns or time; this is one combined dispatch plan.

Follow the full delivery record

A route begins at its printed START and ends at its END. If VISIT names C, D, or E, that node must appear somewhere in the route. NONE adds no visit condition. Passing through extra permitted nodes is allowed. A route may not visit a node twice, reverse an arrow, teleport, stop early, or begin at S when its printed start is A or B. Deliveries do not pick up or drop off capacity along the way.

Build and revise in turns

On your turn, propose a complete route for one delivery, replace one existing route, remove one route, or pass. Read its nodes in order, then let the next player update the affected link totals. All tentative routes can be changed freely, and everybody may discuss them. Before giving a quick recommendation, invite a player who has not spoken to check one link. The current planner makes the physical revision or asks a helper to write it.

Audit the whole network

Temporary over-capacity plans are allowed while experimenting, but mark their overloaded links clearly. Before submitting, verify all three delivery records and recalculate each link from the routes, rather than trusting an old running total. An unused link has usage zero. Every delivery must have exactly one route, and all three must be considered together. Reading each route aloud while another person points to its arrows is a useful final audit.

Lock, score, and start fresh

When everyone is ready, lock the three routes and their usage totals, then reveal the key. Earn 2 shared points if all three deliveries are legal together. Earn 1 if the submitted routes are arrow-legal and visit-correct and some two of the three deliveries fit together, but all three do not. Earn 0 otherwise. For the two-delivery check, ignore the omitted delivery’s route entirely and recompute capacity. The answer guide can help verify an alternative, but only submitted routes may count.

Finish and handle alternatives

Play three cards for a maximum of 6 shared points, with no individual winners or tiebreakers. Several complete plans may work; the guide’s witness is not the only acceptable answer. Every supplied card has at least one all-three solution. Fix copying mistakes before locking without penalty. Use a large route list, a shared scribe, or spoken node sequences if drawing is awkward. There is no time limit, and unused cards supply future sessions.

A worked example

For practice ND00, route P along S → A → D → E → T; Q along S → B → C → E → T; R along A → C → T. Add each delivery’s full size to every link on its route. The resulting usages in the printed link order are 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 0, 2. Each stays within capacity, and the required visits are included, so this plan would earn 2 points. Taking turns did not reset any capacity.

Printable materials

Print one public reference and one copy of each full-width dispatch sheet. Keep each capacity table with its matching delivery table. Cutting is unnecessary. Print the separate guide only for checking after routes are locked.

ND-LINKS

Public arrow reference

All permitted links: S>A, S>B, A>C, A>D, B>C, B>D, C>E, D>E, C>T, D>T, E>T.

Read > as “to”. There is no reverse travel. Suggested drawing: S at the left; A and B next; C and D next; E next; T at the right. The written arrows override drawing placement.

ND00