Tuesday 27 November 2012

Farm Phresh!!

The Farm Phresh Map!

We finally made it!  For our last board game, we were required to construct a game that would teach the players about which fruits and vegetables were in season.  To complete this task successfully, my group members and I were required to conduct research online about which fruits and vegetables were in season in Ontario.  Luckily for us, there were many resources available and we were able to compile an extensive list that revolved around the four seasons.  One re-occurring problem we noticed while creating our game, was the a wide variety of vegetables are grown in multiple seasons.  To eliminate this problem, we decided to have a yearly list of vegetables that were not worth as much in our final game.  After many long hours of working on card designs and different prototypes for our game board, we finally came up with our amazing game, Farm Phresh!

The Cards used in Farm Phresh!

Out of all of the board games Oiram has created this year, I personally believe that Farm Phresh is one of the most unique ones we have created.  This was one of our first games where we included end game bonuses that players can work towards, much like an achievement of Xbox 360 games! Listed below are the rules to help teach you how to play our the game!


Players: 4 or more
Dominate the market in this all-out battle for farm produce domination! Compete to win the most money by growing and selling a variety of fruits and vegetables - or even trading for what you think could be the produce that rockets you to the top!

Set-up:
-Each Season Deck must be shuffled separately and placed next to their respective Season on the board.  Farm Cards (White Cards) are also shuffled and placed off to the side.

-Each player receives $25 (each money piece is worth $5).

-The spinner is then set to “Spring.”

-Players can decide who goes first however they please.

Gameplay:
-At the start of a players turn, the player has the option to purchase a Farm Card by flipping over a Farm Card – your first purchase costs $10 and each subsequent purchase costs $5 more (2nd is $15, 3rd is $20, etc.)

-Players may also trade any Farm or Produce cards with other players before beginning their turn.

-The player then flips over a card from the current Season.

-The player collects the money listed on the Produce Card – the rarer the card, the more money its worth. PLAYERS KEEP THE PRODUCE CARDS.

-If another player has a Farm that produces the turned over card, the player who flipped the card must pay the Farm owner half of what they would have received. (Minimum of $5)

-After one whole round (e.g., when the first player begins their next turn), the Season changes to the next one in a clock-wise fashion.

-After all four seasons have been played through, a new year begins.
-Play ends after the end of the 5th year.
-Players tally up all of the money in their hand at the end of the game.  The player with the most money wins the game!
-Players must also consider the End-Game Bonuses before confirming who wins:
:Most Vegetables: $20
:Most Fruit: $20
:Rock a P (2 Peaches, 2 Pears and 2 Plums): $25
:Garden Salad (1 Lettuce, 1 Carrot, 1 Cucumber, 1 Onion, 1 Mushroom and 1 Tomato): $35
Farm Cards!
 Although this game was fairly challenging to create, it was still interesting to research the different produce cycles that occur in Ontario.  Hopefully when people play Farm Phresh they won't just have fun playing, but they will also learn how to eat local and support local farmers!

Thursday 22 November 2012

Bollywood Dance Party Extreme!!

Chaiyya Chaiyya Dance Scene in Dil Se!
For third and final prototype, we were tasked with creating a new and innovative game centered around the Bollywood dance scene.  Although it seemed like a pretty straightforward task, we had to make this a game that had the players get up and physically dance along with the game! Suddenly, this easy assignment didn't seem as easy.  My group and I took a lot of time determining the best way to get the user up and moving, while still keeping the Bollywood essence that Dil Se portrayed so amazingly.  If we were to portray the Bollywood feel through our game, we decided that we would need up beat music and constant movement that kept the player coming back for more.  After many hours of planning and tweaking our game, we created Bollywood Dance Party Extreme!

Our final Game Board!
Not only does our game include dance moves from the song Chaiyya Chaiyya, it also includes moves from other famous films such as Slumdog Millionaire!

Even Jamal can't stay away from BDPE!

To allow our game to function properly, we payed very close attention to the rules and how the scoring system for the players would work.  We made sure to make things even, while still entertaining the players.


Setup

-  To begin a new game of Chaiyya Chaiyya Party Extreme, both the Easy Dance Deck and the Hard Dance Deck must be shuffled separate from each other.

-  From here, the easy deck and the hard deck are placed on the game board inside their designated areas

-  Determining which player goes first is simple.  The owner of the game goes first and then determines the order for the game.



Game Play

-  The Gameplay phase begins when the first player picks up either an Easy or Hard Dance Card

-  After choosing their card, the player will read off the card details to the other players of the game

-  On each card are three details: The Song Indicator, The Dance Move, and the Score Modifier

-  After the details have been revealed to the other players, the dancing player must find their corresponding dance move in the dance list

-  The player will be able to view the dance move twice before they are allowed their one chance to complete three consecutive repetitions of the move.  Dancing will be completed with the three songs provided.

-  The other players will judge whether the player has completed their move successfully

-  If the move was completed, the player gets to corresponding score and they keep add that dance card to their hand. If the move was not completed, the card is inserted back in the deck

-  Each player may only have a maximum of four cards in their hand at one time. The player may pick up a Dance Card and perform for their score however, they must discard before a new card can be added to their hand

-  Whenever a player has more than one card in their hand, they may attempt a Combo Dance!  This means that the player may try and perform all of their dances in one performance to earn all of the score modifiers combined! 

-  To win, a player must reach a score of 1000 points, or a player can win through the Special Combo Dance.  A Special Combo Dance is when the players four cards are all from the same Song Indicator.  If the is able to complete the Special Combo Dance for the duration of the songs provided!

Although this was a very challenging prototype, it really made my group and I think outside of our comfort zones.  I feel as though we accomplished that and made one of our best games yet.  Have fun playing!



Tuesday 6 November 2012

Thomas "Tomahawk" Evans: The British Ace

Tomahawk's Plane of Choice

Thomas Hawk Evans, is a man in the prime of his youth, hailing from the Northern regions of the Canadian wilderness.  Many people believe that he is originally from an southern region of Quebec, as he speaks with a slight french accent, this is unconfirmed however as he only spoke of living in Canada.  Thomas was born on November 21 1920 to his single mother Jeannette Evans, who died giving birth to Thomas forcing him into an orphanage from birth.  Thomas was a very patient and well-rounded child when it came to his studies in the orphanage, but when it came to human interaction, Thomas would become easily irritable and push people away.  Among all people, Thomas would only interact with the kindly old cleaner who visited the orphanage twice a week, Bernadette.  Being the only motherly figure Thomas had ever known, Thomas told her of his love for planes and how one day he would find a way to fly for the Royal Air Force. In 1939, when World War II had become a global war, Thomas made several attempts to join the Canadian Military, in hopes that he could one day join the Air force  After several rejection letters on account of his inability co-operate with his CO's, Thomas went to see Bernadette to vent his frustrations.  Thomas found an ambulance and paramedics outside her home, who informed Thomas that she had passed away in her sleep.  Knowing that he had nothing left for him in Canada, Thomas boarded the first ship to Britain to chase his dreams.

Thomas spent a year in Britain attempting to join the Royal Air Force, however his lack of people skills made his unfit to join any form of military force.  After his year on the streets and his constant attempts at enlisting, Thomas was finally allowed to join the military, as a cleaner in the Dining Hall of the Royal Air Force.  Although this made Thomas furious, he knew it was something he would have to do to get off the streets and work his way up in the Military.

On a stormy night in April, 1941, Germany attacked the base where Thomas was stationed.  After being awoken by gunfire, Thomas sprung out of bed and ran to the airstrip to see what  was happening.  Hundreds of German fighters and Bombers were circling the air field destroying buildings and air craft wherever Thomas looked.  Before he realized what he was doing, Thomas jumped into an aircraft and took to the skies.  That night, Thomas along with five other fighters, shot down a total of 183 aircraft, with Thomas taking down over half of that number by himself.  Any fear Thomas had of dying that night was lost as he dodged through the alien looking German fighters.
The Fighters who Fought with Thomas

The men who fought with Thomas describe him as an unnaturally skilled pilot who can almost sense where the Germans were.  Thomas feared that he would be scolded upon landing the stolen aircraft, but instead he was met by his fellow soldiers chanting his new call sign "Tomahawk! Tomahawk! Tomahawk!".  From that point on Thomas was a valued member of the British Royal Air Force and he continues to fly with the same five fearless members that helped him repel the invasion on that night in April.  As it is the only thing that makes him happy, Thomas tends to spend more time in the air than he does with his feet on the ground.  He is truly one of Britain's greatest flying Ace's.