Introduction

On 10-30-2014 everyone in the team met and introduced themselves. Waqas's game "Scavengers" was chosen as the game that the team will work on for the next half semester.

The game's premise is that animals are gathering resources before winter to hibernate. The objective of the game is to gather resources and involves direct conflict with other players in the game.

We look forward to the development of the game. A summary of the game is available below.

"Game design can be a difficult but highly rewarding process. Creating something that others can enjoy is one of the best projects anyone can work on. Over the course of several weeks I have learned a great deal about card games, but have just began touching upon board games. My original board game idea was a direct combat concept, along the lines of Risk. However, as I played more and more, I realized that the best games involve the action of collecting resources and then using them for other tasks. I combined this concept with my original idea to conceive the game Scavengers. Unlike other board games that I played, this one focuses on destruction rather than building. Scavengers incorporates direct combat and resources to generate a strategic and fun playing experience.

            Winter is approaching and the forest animals must collect resources to prepare. They will work together with members of their own community but must fight off other communities to gain an advantage over the limited resources. It will not be uncommon to observe a squirrel working together with a bear to obtain resources for their community. Players will take on roles as community leaders. This will put them in charge of their area and the members that inhabit it.

            Upon starting out, players choose a location to place their tree, or home base, within their quadrant. They must be careful to choose a defendable location, but having it too far may prevent them from getting to resources quickly. Each player will also start out with two units: a squirrel and a jaybird. When a player chooses to spawn a unit, including the starting units, they must spawn it in a space touching their home base. There will be three card decks: food cards, wood cards, and mystery cards. Food and wood cards are resources and mystery cards have particular actions that are performed when they are played. The game can be played with four players, as either a free-for-all or two vs. two.

            There are currently five types of units: squirrel, bear, jaybird, woodpecker, and hunter. Squirrels are the standard units, with 2 attack and 3 defense. They also have a ranged attack of up to 3 spaces away, and themselves can move up to 3 spaces. Bears are heavy duty, with 3 attack and 5 defense, but they can only attack adjacent spaces and can only move one space at a time. Jaybirds are the medics of the game, so they can heal units or the base if they are adjacent to the space. They can also move up to 3 spaces like the squirrels. Woodpeckers only have 1 attack and 1 defense, but they can move up to 5 spaces. Hunters only have 1 health, but they have a ranged attack of 3 that can be used up to 5 spaces away.

            Players will take turns one at a time, starting with the last one to place their tree. Each player may do up to two things. They can move a unit, attack/heal, draw a card, play a card, or spawn a unit. Movement distance and attack/defense will depend on the type of unit. Players may attack opponents’ units or tree base. Bases will have a certain defense that the attacking player must diminish in order to successfully destroy the base. When a base is destroyed, the player who owns the base loses all resource and mystery cards they have in their hand and can relocate their base if they wish. Players may also draw a mystery, food, or wood card on their turn if they are on the corresponding space. For example, if I have a squirrel on the food space, I may choose to collect a food card if I wish. Players can also choose to play one of their mystery cards, and the action will be performed as soon as it is played. Spawning units will cost the players a certain amount of each resource, depending on the unit they wish to spawn. More powerful units will obviously be more expensive. If a player is occupying the center star, they may also choose to trade in five wood and two acorn for a victory point. Players also gain one victory point if they successfully destroy an opponent's tree base.

            The game will end once a player or team reaches 7 or 12 victory points, respectively. Some mystery cards may cause a player to lose some or all of their resource cards, but victory points are unaffected by any mystery cards. Even destroying a player’s base will not take away their victory points. This is a good way of pushing the game forward and providing players with a safety net for their resources. The different aspects of the game work together to compose an intense but enjoyable experience. Scavengers is a concept that will develop into an excellent strategic game."