betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry) (09/05/85)
Not all strategic boardgames are wargames!
My favorite modern board game is "Survive!", the only board game I've
ever bought blind (without having played it first) and liked.
In "Survive", there is an "island" made of hexagonal tiles in the center
of the board. Each player has several "natives" who begin the game on the
island. As the game begins, a cataclysm is overtaking the island; the
object of the game is to get all your natives to the safe reefs
on the edge of the board before the island is completely destroyed.
One turn of the game goes as follows:
1. The player "sinks" one tile of the island. Any natives living on that
tile are dumped into the ocean and must swim to shore; they cannot climb
back on to land. Only tiles bordering water on at least one edge
may be sunk.
2. The player moves a monster; he rolls a die to select which monster
may be moved, then does as much damage with that monster as he can.
Monsters include:
Whales (which destroy boats, but leave the passengers unharmed)
Sharks (which eat people in the water, but leave boats alone)
Sea Monsters (which eat boats , people, and boats containing people.)
3. The player moves his natives and the boats containing his natives.
It's a wonderful game, with nicely designed pieces (the whale,
for instance, is represented by a set of flukes standing above the waves),
and full of opportunities for strategy and malice.
I don't remember the publisher, but it's someone major; Parker Brothers,
perhaps?
--
Elizabeth Hanes Perry
UUCP: {decvax |ihnp4 | linus| cornell}!dartvax!betsy
CSNET: betsy@dartmouth
ARPA: betsy%dartmouth@csnet-relay
"Ooh, ick!" -- Penfold