Age of Survival: 'The Caveman' Board Game Concept
With board games and table-top games becoming ever more popular and varied again (and with working on our development table-top musical) we decided to come up with a concept for our musical 'The Caveman' if it were adapted to a board game format!
Think of this as the musical adaption board game of a '#SettlersOfCatan' type game.
Idea
This is a strategic competitive resource management caveman-infused board game set after the last ice age about proving once and for all who is the top of the food chain for 3 to 4 Players.
Basic Structure
This game begins in the AGE OF SURVIVAL. Each player takes control of a clan marker on one corner of a randomized tile playing board. Each player gets THREE OF EACH food resource at the beginning of the game. Food Resources are: MEAT, WATER, and GAINKU (the show's word for 'apples'). Each player also gets TWO OF EACH utility resource. Utility Resources are: STONE and WOOD. Turn order is determined by age of the players. Oldest goes first. Respect your elders. At the start of a turn a player gains the resources of the tile they are in as indicated from the tile on the board. Players then must move one tile. When a tile is moved into for the first time it is flipped over and the area is revealed. At the end of the player’s turn that player losses ONE MEAT or ONE GAINKU (must alternate each turn) and ONE OF EACH OTHER RESOURCE. If a player does not have MEAT or GAINKU to lose then the clan starves to death (That player is eliminated from the game). Each player does this until win condition is met.
In exchange for (x) number of specific resource cards a player may up exchange them to upgrade to the AGE OF THE CLAN. This gives the player another clan marker in the same tile that they are currently in. A player may move both markers during their turn (resources are NOT doubled for having two clan markers in one tile). After the whole board is revealed, reaching AGE OF THE CLAN, and in exchange for (x) number of specific resource cards a player may ascend to the AGE OF THE FAMILY. This places a third clan token on the board in your original starting location. At this time, the three clans must then all meet on one tile. The first player to do this has ascended past the dark days of being nomadic and has become a settled agricultural community. That player wins.
MEAT resources can be used if a clan runs into predators. A player may expend a MEAT resource in exchange to flee from predators. If a player cannot flee from a revealed predator they are eaten. If they have only one clan and that clan is eaten they that player loses ALL of their MEAT resources.
GAINKU resources can also be used to hunt wild beasts. A play may expand a GAINKU resource to hunt a MAMMOTH HERD when revealed. The amount of MEAT gained is always ONE less than the amount of GAINKU expanded in this effort. If a player does not have GAINKU to tame the MAMMOTH HERD then they are trampled. That player loses ALL of their GAINKU resources.
If a player enters the same tile as another player two things may happen: 1) Trade, players may trade resources however they see fit. 2) Battle, either player may decide to attack the other player on the tile. The player with the most STONE and WOOD wins but loses all but ONE of each of those resources in the process. The losing player however gives up ALL BUT ONE of their MEAT, WATER, and GAINKU resources to the player they have just lost to.
This is simply a fun rough concept for a game that seeks to hit at the point of our show. Board games and table-top games, like theatre, bring people into the same room to see and engage with one another. These two mediums strive for the game goals of community and creation of a family. If we can all get in the same room and roll some dice or sing some songs I believe that people would find more similarities in each other than differences. That is one of the beautiful elements of games and musicals, they bridge gaps and make connections.
Build your community
Find connections in art
See with more than just your eyes