Sons of Noah! The Action filled Collection Game!!

Sons of Noah!

For this weeks exciting board game assignment, we were tasked with creating a Collection style board game.  This was a difficult task to complete, as we had to avoid all of the "Race to the Finish" elements and create a pure collection game.  An example of a pure collection game is Life, where the goal is not to reach the end first, but to have the most money by the time you finish your game.

Our game idea came from Divakar, who after a long day working at an animal shelter, suggested that we do an animal rescue game.  Our original idea was to build an animal shelter style game board, where the player must save stray cats and dogs.  We expanded on this idea by having the player save all types of animals in various Biomes.  Our final thought, was to have the player be part of a secret project called "Project Noah". An organization whose goal is to save the worlds animals before the apocalypse begins.  Since the player is a "Project Noah" recruit, they are given the title of "Son of Noah".  Since these events take place in a futuristic society, the player will only need to collect one species from each Biome.  Only then will they be able to enter their spaceship and leave their crumbling planet behind.    

The Temperate Forest Biome!

Set-up: Players shuffle the animal cards and put each pile into its respective zone. Players then roll for the highest number to see who goes first.  Players may start in the Biome of their choice.  The only restriction is that they must start on the corner of the Biome.

Play: Players take turns going around the board to the different zones while trying to collect matching pairs of animals. Movement is made by rolling the die. There are 5 zones present for the players to explore.  These zones are Desert, Tundra, Temperate Forest, Rain-forest, and Ocean.  Players may move clockwise or counter-clockwise around the zone.  If a player wishes to move to another zone, they must move to where the two zones overlap.  This is the only way to transition from one zone to the next.  Players must collect a pair of animals from each Biome, before they can take off in their ship and escape the end of the world. Players must land on an animal space in order to pick up a card from that zone’s pile.  Players may also land on a space that penalizes their game. These spaces range from missing a turn, to losing an animal of the player’s choice.  If a player lands on an advancement space, they must move in the direction specified on the board.

The Animals of Sons of Noah!

Before a player rolls, they have the option to attempt to trade animals with another player. There is no ratio on trading animals, i.e. a player can attempt to trade 3 animals for only 1 from another player. A player can deny any trade without question. If a player’s trade is successful, that players turn ends. However, if the trade is denied, then the player may roll and continue their turn as normal.