pattern building

The second game from Fragor Games, featuring a flock of sheep and their attempts to be in the right place at the right time. Much gambolling, some tupping, lots of shearing.

Publisher Blurb:

"'The Best Game Ewe Ever Herd!'

Ah, do ewe long for the life of a sheep? Bright summer days filled with games of tag and attempts to flock closer to Roger, the Heartthrob Ram? But, Watch Out! The shearer wants to drag you away from all the fun and games!

In Shear Panic, ewe maneuver your ewes to score points, playing tag, standing close to Roger, or trying to avoid the shearing scissors! Will your brave sheep score the most points, or will it be "Off with the wool" for ewe?"

The game includes eleven small figurines (which are somewhat fragile): Two each of four different colors, one black, one 'Roger', and one 'Shearer'. Also included are four player mats in different colors; a timing/scoring mat; 48 mutton buttons in four colors; four scoring markers; one flock marker; and two special six-sided dice.

There are two separate play areas: The one where the flock of sheep figurines are clustered; and the combination timing/scoring mat. (The timing mat is two-sided for 3 or 4 players.) Actions by the players each turn cause the timing marker to move faster or slower through each of the four fields, and the scoring is different in each field.

Field 1 is Team Tag. Players score higher for keeping their sheep closer together. Field 2 is Roger’s Field, where players score more the closer they are to Roger (the ram). Field 3 is Black Sheep Tag, and players score higher the closer they are to the black sheep. Field 4 is the Shear Panic Field, and the row of sheep closest to the shearer figure are eliminated each turn, while the remainder are scored individually. The timing marker indicates which Field the sheep are currently “in”.

Players have a total of twelve actions they may take during the course of the game, and as each one is used, a “mutton button” is placed over it, eliminating it from future use. Also, the more powerful the action, the farther (faster) the timing marker will move. If the timing marker lands on a red spot, the active player executes a free “lamb slam” by rolling the Panic Die and moving a sheep of the color rolled one space in any direction. If the Panic Die rolls white, the entire flock does a “ewe turn” ninety degrees in a direction of the active player’s choice.

Since all the player mats are visible to everyone, players need to keep an eye on what moves are still available to their opponents.

The game is intended for three or four players, but rules for a two-player variant are included.

Starting player is the person who most recently was sheared (had their hair cut).

Anyone who knows a little about Reiner Knizia’s games will know that the good Doctor loves games that deal with trying to get points in various different categories and then only score that category in which the player has the fewest.

The game is played on a hex board. 120 equally sized pieces, each consisting of two joined hexes, come with the game. There are symbols on each hex that make up the piece – some pieces have two identical symbols, some have two different symbols (not unlike dominoes). The goal of the game is, through clever placement, to obtain points in the different symbol colors. Points are claimed by placing a piece such that the symbols on it lie next to already-placed pieces with the same symbol.

The game ends when no more tiles can be placed onto the board or when a player reaches the maximum number in every color. Now each player looks to see how many points they scored in the colour they 'scored the least'. Whoever has the most points in their least-scored colour is the winner. Simple.

The author of the game has also come up with solitaire and team play, in which two teams of two play with each player not being able to see his partner’s tiles.

[From a preview by Spielbox]

Other Versions:

Ingenious: Travel Edition

Pente is an abstract strategy game. Players place glass markers on intersections of a 19-by-19 grid (the same as in Go). The object of the game is to get five of your own markers in a row (4 with more than 2 players) or capture five pairs of your opponent's pieces. The first to do either wins. Capturing takes place when exactly two pieces are sandwiched between pieces of the opposite color. There are multiple variations of the game for greater challenge and complexity. The 20th anniversary edition is a deluxe version of the game with a large color game instruction book, quality game board, and six sets of different colored glass markers that allows play with up to 6 players.

Other five-in-a-row games include Go-Moku and Renju (which do not feature capturing), and Ninuki-Renju (which does).

Similar to:

CIRQUE
5ive Straight
Take 5
5 in a Row
Go-Moku
Renju

In Cathedral, each player has a set of pieces of a different color. The pieces are in the shapes of buildings, covering from one to five square units. The first player takes the single neutral Cathedral piece and places it onto the board. Players then alternate placing one of their buildings onto the board until neither player can place another building. Players capture territory by surrounding areas that are occupied by at most one opponent or neutral building. A captured piece is removed and captured territory becomes off-limits to the opponent. The player with the fewest 'square units' of buildings that can't be placed wins.

In Asara, you take on the role of a wealthy builder competing to bring the most prestige to your name through constructing the largest and most ornate towers in the city. The game is played over 4 rounds (years), during which you will be acquiring the pieces for your towers and assembling them.

Players are given a hand of cards with different colors. On their turn, players play a card from their hand to an action space on the board. These spaces allow players to acquire tower pieces, get money, build a portion of their towers, etc. Once a card has been played in one of the action spaces on the board, all subsequent cards played in that area have to follow the original card’s color. Turns continue around the table until all players are out of cards for that round.

Scoring happens at the end of each round based on the number of towers a player has and the ornamentation present on those towers. After the scoring at the end of round 4, a final scoring occurs and bonus prestige points are given to the players with the largest towers of each color, the most towers, and the largest tower overall. The player with the most prestige points is the winner.