Since the response to this month's challenge was limited at first, rather than run this like a contest with voting I have decided to simply post the entries and immediately open the Critiques thread.

Some of these entries are a bit long, but they've all got some neat ideas in them. I look forward to seeing some good discussion on this one, and I'd be delighted if the community could develop one of these (or a similar) ideas into something I could give my teacher friend to try in his class!

Thanks,
Seth

For All Ages - A Classroom Civ-building Game

In "For All Ages" each student (yes, individually) begins the game representing a tiny, isolated civilization, starting at points evenly distributed around the map. As the semester goes on, these civilizations expand both spatially and culturally, spurred on by the success of their leaders, the students themselves.

Assignments grant one of several types of rewards, which are selected by the instructor before the assignment and kept secret by the student once received. Bonus assignments carry the benefit of giving ANY KIND of rewards, but with diminishing returns the more times in an "Age" the bonus assignments are completed. The types of rewards are as follows:

Expansion - When spent, the player's civilization moves into an adjacent empty square on the map. The reward is then lost. The player can choose when to spend this reward.
Might - These rewards represent types of military technology. More "Might" cannot be developed until there is a need for it; A civilization can only USE as much might as they have had conflicts in the past. More MIGHT rewards can still be collected for future use.
Culture - These rewards represent cultural and artistic achievement. The number of your Cultural rewards in OTHER PLAYERS POSSESSION at the end of the game is worth points... they can be traded with other players, or given to attackers when attacked, who have no right to refuse.
Development - These rewards represent different resources, which can be traded or used to activate technologies.
Technology - These rewards represent special powers. Developing them takes some time, as each technology may represent only a small part of an engine, and requires some resources to make it active, but once developed, they can be used to great effect to influence the outcomes of conflicts.

"Ages": At the end of each "age" (after each major exam) several things happen; First, there is a Global Event that each culture must deal with. This event can be defeated through military might, culture, or technology... if a civilization cannot weather the changing tides, they must relinquish some territory. Additionally, each shared border between two civilizations becomes the site of a CONFLICT.

Each civilization may secretly place a number of their rewards at stake. Both are revealed at the same time. Whoever placed the higher number of MIGHT rewards may take rewards from the other player's stack equal to the number of OTHER rewards they placed. The loser must then move their civilization to maintain a 1-square border between them and the victor. For example: Player A places 3 Might and 6 other rewards, attempting to scare the opponent and reap a huge reward. Player B simply places 4 Might. When revealed, B wins the conflict, but takes nothing other than forcing his opponent back from the border.

At the end of the semester, after the final "age", whichever player has the most cultural significance (territory + cultural rewards in other players' hands) is the winner. The way the mechanics are constructed, I think it's quite likely that spreading one's culture is as viable a strategy as just trying to take over the map... this is intended as a way to allow more diplomatically-minded (or devious) players a way to subtly win.

(This is a long one!)

DAWN OF THE WANDERERS

By Kris Whinery Dedicated to Marco Polo, Ibn Battutah, Herodotus and those who walked before them

Historical era - Neolithic 20 to 40 Players and 1 Facilitator Duration – 30 or more game turns. One turns per day, three days a week for 10 to 16 weeks.

GOAL

Players are split into two sides, Citizens and Nomads. Each side is split into teams. Be a member of the side which scores the most points AND scores the most points for their side.

Points are awarded for: - Cultural Score points for skills. - Population - Territory – One Territory Point per controlled hex. Uncontrolled territory points are awarded to the Nomad SIDE.

COMPONANTS

• 210 Corsage Pins 2” long. 120 white, 60 red and 30 green
• 15 boxes T-Pins 1 1/2” long (1,000 per box)
• 5000 black-headed Map Pins 3/4” long
• Tape which can be written on for flags
• Wall style bulletin board.
• Large Hex paper. 1” hex paper to cover bulletin board. 1800 to 5000 hexes.

PREPERATION

Facilitator Set-up

• Determine age appropriate curriculum. Land area and years covered dictated by the curriculum. Outline brief lectures outlining 3 to 6 Cultural Skills for each turn. Facilitator, with players, will number hexes to uniquely identify each space. Players will sketch land features as each team explores. This is the game map.

Student Set-up

• Sides Students split into two equal sides, NOMADS and CITIZENS.
• Teams
• Nomads split into teams of 2-3 players.

• Citizens split into teams of 4-6 players. Make the most number of teams possible. Avoid starting close friends on the same team.

• Flags Each team is responsible for creating a team symbol for their Cultural Core and Territory flags. Team names, colors, slogans, etc. should be encouraged. Red pins for Nomads, Green pins for Citizens. White corsage pins with white flags indicate Wanderers, to be covered later.

• Cultural Core flags Three large corsage pins per team. Each team should create 3 flags, 1, 2 and 3+. Cultural Core flags indicate where the team is camped.

• Territory flags Make as needed. Each team must draw their symbol and color on tape and attach them to T-pins as flags indicating territory passed through.

Placement

The Facilitator places #1 Cultural Core flags on the map more than 5 hexes apart and gives each team geographical information on the hex where they are camped and adjacent hexes. - Rivers follow hex edges. Lakes and sea coast should cover an edge of a hex and continue into the hex beyond it. - Color in the hex or use stickers to indicate rough geology: Plains, hills, marsh, mountain, etc. - SGF - Special Geological Features: Volcanoes, geysers, cave systems, tar pits, mountain peaks, etc. The first team to discovers any SGF may name it. This feature enters their cultural mythology and remains a SGF resource for them throughout the entire game, even if blocked. Other resources in the same hex are handled normally.

STEP ORDER

Each turn models 500 to 2500 years of development of human civilization in six steps. Generally, turns later in the game cover shorter lengths of time. 1. Discussion / Facilitator Lecture and New Cultural Skills 2. Team movement (Wanderers / Nomads / Wanderers / Citizens / Wanderers) 3. Hunt and Harvest / Search for Resources (Citizens / Nomads) 4. Discover Cultural Skills / Trade Skills (Citizens / Nomads / Wanderers) 5. Redefine Teams (Wanderers leave or join teams, merges completed, members of disbanded teams become Wanders) 6. Redefine Borders (Citizens / Nomads)

GAME SPECIFIC CONCEPTS

++

Throughout the rules “++” means “Except as noted on certain Cultural Skills”. Cultural Skills allow teams to adjust game rules, usually in their favor. Some Cultural Skills have both negative and positive effects. Some effects are only triggered when the skill is used.

Borders

No team may move through a border, not even one they themselves constructed. ++ Wanderers ignore borders.

Genius Rolls

Some Cultural Skills are the result of a singular mind amongst the people. Wanderers do not need to make Genius rolls and can be the best way to gain Genius Skills.

The Genius Roll: No Hunt or Harvest occurs, no territory is marked and no other cultural skills may be gained by this team this turn, including through Wanderers.

Verification Criteria: The Facilitator must be watching and give the OK to roll 3 six sided dice. On a roll of 18 the Genius Skill is gained.

There may be only one successful Genius Skill gained per turn throughout the Civilization. Once any Genius Skill is gained by anyone, including Wanderers, no other Genius Rolls are allowed. Teams that announced their intention to make a Genius Roll but are no longer able to roll gain no Cultural Skills this turn.

Negotiation

All in-game negotiations must be completed within one minute. Any in-game negotiations not completed before the end of turn fail.

Wanderers

Either by choice or civil unrest individuals may leave their team to become Wanderers. Wanderers are not eligible to win the game.

On step 5 of any turn any player may chose to become a Wanderer and Wanderers may join another team. Players may not both leave and join a team on the same turn.

When a player becomes a Wanderer - Choose one Cultural Skill from their former team to retain. The former team does not lose this skill and other Wanderers may also choose it. - Make 3 White Corsage pin flags with a unique symbol or name, numbering them 1, 2 and 3+. - The Facilitator then places the number 1Wanderer flag in some empty hex nearest one of his former team’s flags.

Wanderers ignore all Borders and can not make Borders. They may not enter hexes controlled by their former team.

On their third turn as a Wanderer players may trade their current Cultural Skill for any one available Cultural Skill. No other conditions for receiving that skill need be met, not even Genius rolls. Use 1, 2 and 3+ flags to indicate how long since the Wanderer traded skills.

Wanderers may negotiate joining a team, changing sides or even rejoining the team they had left. They must end their movement adjacent to or in a hex with the team’s flag and tell the Facilitator their intentions and return excess white flags. At the end of the movement step the Facilitator must announce to the entire group that the Wanderer has joined that team and remove the Wanderer flag from the board.

Once a player joins a team they are no longer a Wanderer. The team they join then has full access to the Cultural Skill brought to them by the Wanderer. The team will retain this skill even if the player becomes a Wanderer again on some later turn. Wanderers may not combine to make a new team.

DETAILED RULES BY STEP

Step 1. Discussion

The object of the group discussion is to introduce clues necessary for teams to discover resources and skills needed to prosper. - Each turn begins with a facilitator lecture on aspects of human civilization. The facilitator will discuss 3 to 6 Cultural Skills. - The discussion will end with the facilitator handing out a list of Cultural Skills discussed that day and the in-game stats. These skills are now classed as ‘available’. - The facilitator announces potentially disbanding teams at this time.

Step 2. Team Movement

(Wanderers / Nomads / Wanderers / Citizens / Wanderers) The object of team movement is to extend territory and get resources and attain Cultural Skills. Teams must go around borders and may not enter blocked hexes. - Teams direct the Facilitator to remove their own Territory flags from the map - Wanderers may move a total of 20 hexes split between 3 phases. - Nomad teams may move 10 hexes - Citizen teams may move 3 hexes

Remove Flags from Map Each team must reduce Territory flags on the map to less than the number of players on their team, multiplied by 1 plus the total points in Cultural Skills Points they currently hold. ++

Each team gives the Facilitator a list containing: - Date and turn number. Team name and names of current team members - Current Cultural Skill points and relevant multipliers - Number of each hex in which their team has Territory flags and count of flags per hex. - Count of flags to remove from each hex The facilitator removes flags after all lists have been received. If the count of Territory flags on the Map exceeds a team’s limit then the Facilitator now removes the excess and returns all flags. Flags may not be removed by their own team at any other time. ++

Sides must move in the phase order listed below and teams move in a randomly determined order, each turn. ++ Playing cards might be used to determine order.

• Wanderers Wanderers may split their movement into three phases - before Nomads, between Nomads and Citizens, and after Citizens. They may not move in the middle of a side’s phase.

Wanderers must stop in any hex with three or more flags of any type. They may resume travel on their next phase. Wanders may not add or remove any flags. Wanderers ignore Borders.

• Teams No Team may enter a hex marked with another team’s Cultural Core flag. ++ No team may pass through a line between hexes marked with a Border (a black headed pin).

The Cultural Core flag marks movement of each team as a whole. The number on the flag indicates how many turns a team has been in the same hex. When a team has been the same hex 3 or more turns Citizen groups gain and Nomad groups lose certain abilities.

On any turn when a team moves switch to the number 1 flag. A team may choose to camp instead of moving, in which case they switch their Cultural Core flag for the one higher.

Count hex sides passed through for movement. Teams may optionally place their Territory flags in any hex they pass through. Hexes may have multiple Territory flags. Any team with a flag in a hex has access to resources available there.

• Territory Blocks and Removing Territory Flags The number of Territory flags and side they belong to may affect movement through a hex.

Nomads may not enter, nor may they end their turn in, a hex with 3 or more Citizen Territory flags unless there is already a Nomad flag in that hex.

A Nomad team ending their turn in a hex may remove any one flag from that hex. This ending hex is blocked as their territory until they move again. Nomads who camp in any hex 3 consecutive turns may not search for Cultural Skills.

Each Citizen team passing through a hex with three or more Citizen Territory flags may remove one Nomad Territory flag. If there are no Nomad flags in the hex then a Citizen team passing through may remove another Citizen team’s Territory flag OR leave one of their own. Citizen teams that camp may remove one other flag from their hex AND add one of their own. If the Citizen Team remains in that space 3+ turns they may add their own or remove another team’s Territory flags one hex immediately adjacent to their Cultural Core.

• Blocking Territory Any hex containing a team’s Cultural Core flag is blocked. Any hex with 3 or more Territory flags from the same Citizen team AND no other flags is Blocked. As long as they have 3 or more flags in that hex no other flags may be added or removed by other teams.++

Return any removed flags to the proper team at end of movement.

3. Hunt and Harvest / Declaring Intention to Search for Resources

Food is necessary to survival, and cultures spend a lot of time meeting that need. All but one member of each Nomad team and two members of each Citizen team must spend this turn hunting or harvesting. ++ Other team members are available to search for skills.

Declining To Hunt or Harvest A team may decide to not hunt or harvest this turn, making their players available to attempt to gain Cultural Skills. - Remove any Territory flags placed this turn. - Nomad teams change their Cultural Core flag to one greater than what they had after movement. If they already had 3+ they may not decline to hunt this turn. - Citizen Teams change their Cultural Core flag to one less than what they had after movement. If they already had 1 they may not decline to harvest this turn.

A designated player from each team announces which Cultural Skill they intend to gain. Once announced this may not be changed, even if gaining the skill becomes impossible.

Wanderers do not need to announce whether they intend to trade for a skill or what skill they intend to trade for.

4. DISCOVER CULTURAL SKILLS

In turn, Wanderers, each Citizen team then each Nomad team, states what Cultural Skill they are attempting to gain and must verify with the facilitator that they meet conditions needed to win it. The instant the facilitator verifies that they have the skill all benefits and drawbacks of that skill take effect.

1. Wanderers
2. Citizens
3. Wanderers
4. Nomads
5. Wanderers

Wanderers must be displaying their +3 Cultural Core flag in order to be eligible to trade. Wanderers may trade on one of three phases: before Citizens, between citizens and Nomads, or after Nomads. They may not break into either side’s turn to trade. If there is more than one Wanderer eligible then use the random order established for movement. On each phase the facilitator must ask each eligible Wanderer whether they wish to take their turn now or wait for the next phase. Once a Wanderer has declared they will wait the next Wanderer may trade or wait as they see fit.

Cultural Skill Data List Each Cultural Skill needs certain data to describe it. Included data will be: - Name: - Turn / Era: - Discovery Criteria: - Failed Attempt Results: - Benefit: - Drawback: - Use Resource or Prerequisite: - Cultural Score Points: Most skills add to team Cultural Scores. A few do not. Cultural Skill Value is between 10 and -5.

MEETING CULTURAL SKILL DISCOVERY CONDITIONS Wanderers may trade all Cultural Skills they have for any one skill available.

Nomads and Citizens must meet criteria specific to the skill they hope to gain. Skills in the same basic categories tend to have the same sorts of discovery criteria. Sample Basic Categories: Material Resources, Necessity, Tool Making, Social and Genius.

MATERIAL RESOURCE People have a habit of using things they find nearby. All Material Resources Skills can be discovered by any one team member searching a hex containing that resource after the applicable Cultural Skill becomes available. The hex must have that team’s territory flag.

Examples: Name: Leather Working Turn / Era: Turn 1 / Early Neolithic Discovery Criteria: Search and find Material Resource – Game Animals Failed Attempt Results: None Benefit: Food Storage Method decreases team members needed for Harvest by 1. May not reduce Harvesters below 2 Drawback: None Use Resource or Prerequisite: Material Resource – Game Animals Cultural Score Points: 1

Name: Ceramics Turn / Era: Turn 2 / Late Neolithic (30,000 BCE) Discovery Criteria: Search hex containing clay when Ceramics is an available skill Failed Attempt Results: Not applicable Benefit: One less team member needed for harvest. Drawback: None Use Resource or Prerequisite: Clay Cultural Score Points: 3

Samples of other resource based Cultural Skills: Fresh water springs, Deer herds, Fishing shoals, Fruit trees, Fruit bushes, Salt flats

NECESSITY SKILLS “…Is the Mother of Invention”. A serious problem may invigorate creative minds in search of solutions. What is a crisis on one turn can turn into a new Cultural skill on the next. Starvation - Leather Curing Methods or basket weaving Predator Beasts – Compounds surrounded by walls Foul Weather - Sheltered cave or protected cliff side

SOCIAL SKILLS As cultures expand interrelationships between members become a critical issue of survival. Cultural skills that smooth out social issues become valuable. Gaining social skills are gained through a coordinated effort of all members of a team such as reciting a limerick in unison or tossing a ball from member to member in a pattern. Examples: Elder care, Slavery, Courtship rituals, Moiety clans, Leadership, Dictatorship, Criminal code, Story telling, Song.

TOOL MAKING SKILLS Tools require both a need and a resource that can be adapted to solve the need. All tool making skills have prerequisites. If a prerequisite skill is somehow lost the Tool Making skill is also lost. Tool Making skills can not be held as a single skill. Examples: Smelting ore, Irrigation, Monumental Architecture, and Water transport.

GENIUS SKILLS All team effort for one turn towards achieving Genius. Roll 18 on 3D6. Wanderers may gain skill without rolling.

5. SECURING BORDERS

A combination of territory flags and borders can establish safe environs for cities and migration routes for Nomads. Poorly designed networks of territory and borders may stifle trade and cultural advancement.

Border flags – small, black-headed map pins pinned into the line between hexes bans direct movement between them. Teams may NOT move through a border. They must count hexes passed through to circumnavigate a border as part of their allowed movement.

Take turns in the same order established in the team movement phase. NOMADS - Each player of each Nomad team may remove one border and each Nomad team as a group may construct one border within 3 hexes of their team’s camp.

CITIZENS - Each player of each Citizen team may construct a border and each Citizen team as a group may destroy 1 boarder within 5 hexes of their camp.

Wanderers do not construct, remove or interact with any border. At best they might try to get a postcard of it to send to their coworkers back home.

IRREGULAR ACTIONS

MERGING When merging all current cultural accomplishments are transferred. Players are allowed a brief time to negotiate a merger with another team, combining all Cultural Skills and territory. All team members who do not become wanderers must join the same city. Nomad teams must merge with Nomads. Citizens must merge with Citizens.

DISBANDING TEAMS The intention to disband must be announced by the facilitator after the discussion. Disbanding comes into effect at the end of the class’s game time for that day. If, during the course of game play, a team decides to disband it will be announced on the next turn and take effect then at the end of that turn. Players may negotiate between turns to prevent disbanding. In-game negotiations must be completed within one minute.

**Disbanding is a really , really , really bad idea. ** If a merger is necessary to maintain minimum team size and 2 or more members of a team refuse to merge into the team that 2 or more other players insist on merging with then civil war has erupted and the team disbands.

Territory once controlled by the disbanded team becomes uncontrolled. All of this team’s territory flags are removed from the board.

All Cultural Skills are distributed equally by mutual agreement or are discarded. The Cultural Skills are distributed evenly between the remaining players and those players must join other teams immediately or become wanderers. Once a player has declared her or himself a Wanderer he has no say in the distribution of remaining assets. If 2 or more players demand the same Cultural skill then that skill is discarded.

No skill may be given to more than one player. No disbanded team member may retain more Cultural Skills than any other member. Remaindered skills are lost. If there are fewer skills available than disbanded member none of them gets any skills, and they may not trade for or earn new skills as Wanderers.

Thank you for reading this game design.