By Diamond Mike Watson
Slyyde began with a piece of paper and time alone.
During the isolation of COVID, I would sit in solitude and let my mind wander on an infinite adventure. One day, I began drawing a square spiral, which would eventually become a game board. The destination would be the center.
Being in the diamond business, I imagined the ultimate prize waiting there: a large, flawless white diamond. But as the game developed, I realized the journey was so much fun that it didn’t need a diamond or any other theme. Reaching the center was the reward.
I spent hours redrawing that spiral, adding obstacles, removing others, and exploring what might happen along the way. I played the parts of two, three, four, and even six players at once, feeling each player’s excitement as the race unfolded.
I rolled a die dozens of times, then hundreds, then thousands. I wanted to understand how each possibility affected each player’s destiny.
Bouncing the dice on a loud table in the middle of the night, I would suddenly shout, “I won!” My wife thought I was crazy, asking me how I could win when I was playing by myself. But in my own world, I was having a wonderful time. Even before I shared the game with anyone, I found enormous pleasure in being both players. A player who seemed hopelessly behind could suddenly scoot ahead and win the game.
Those surprises kept me playing.
The early games were incredibly fast. Two players would declare a winner in less than two minutes. As weeks passed, I added another ring of squares, bringing the board to its current 100 spaces. That added about another minute to the journey while giving the race more room to unfold.
The sliding motion became the games signature. There is an unusual pleasure in slyyding inward—a feeling of progress toward something within sight. There is just enough strategy to keep your mind awake, and always the anticipation of reaching that center square.
When friends and family began playing, I realized I wasn’t alone in feeling that childhood excitement. My players have ranged from small children to great-grandparents. The game is quick to learn, and the desire to win seems to have no age limit. With friends, one round often becomes another, then another. For some, it has even lingered in their dreams.
After the excitement of that first prototype, I had one vision: for every person in the world to play the game now called Slyyde™. Today, that is possible. It all began with a quiet moment, a piece of paper, and a spiral leading toward a center square.