Devils & Black Sheep (2016)

Devils & Black Sheep is a tabletop nanogame: small, light, quick, and easy. Turns last about 1 minute, and a game lasts 30-45 minutes. It is designed as a two-player experience, but it scales well and could be played with 3-4 players if you combine two games.

Players control outlaw crews zooming from battle site to battle site in deep space. The goal is to be the first to arrive, pick through the flotsam and derelicts to find the salvageable wreckage, and escape back to the nearest planet. There are shady deals and scams to be run on the side, too.

Navy patrols wander the area, intent on keeping pirates, bandits, and smugglers in line. The patrols monitor each player's "wanted level." When a player has a high enough bounty or is caught with contraband too many times, the patrols will chase them down and exact revenge. Sometimes a ship's own activities will make them more wanted; sometimes a reliable tip off from a rival crew will do the trick.

This game consists of three components:

Cover & Rules - 80# text paper;
Board - 16 pt cover stock;
Counter Sheets - 38 pt die cut chipboard.

Devils & Black Sheep has a simple 3-part turn sequence.

1. Place New Wrecks: This is accomplished by rolling the die and following a placement matrix to determine where rumors of wreckage will lead you.

2. Navy Patrols Act: This will be a tame part of the game early on, but as your Wanted Levels increase from all your shady activities, it could get nasty.

3. Players Act: Choose one of the following actions:

Bribe: donate to an election campaign in exchange for a reduction in wanted level
Bounty: place a bounty on a ship to increase its wanted level
Fence: sell some of your loot to the local chop shop
Raid: attack an opponent and steal some of their stuff
Salvage: explore nearby flotsam for something of value
Move: pretty self explanatory
Smuggle: sell dark energy on the black market ... VERY illegal stuff

Degrees of Success - After choosing an action, players roll to see how well their action succeeded. The roll determines how successful your action was. This game specifically avoids the polarized success/failure result that commonly turns choices into all-or-nothing deals, and instead replaces it with a gambling mechanic.

Players roll the dice at the beginning of each turn to determine whether new reports of a recent battle reach the rumor mill of the local cantina. The rolls determine how much wreckage is rumored (some battles are larger than others, of course ... just as some rumors are more outlandish than others), and the sector and distance from the planet. These wrecks are derelict ships abandoned or destroyed in a recent battle. Every wreck has the potential to be salvaged for valuable (ish) flotsam, but the actual amount of salvageable junk won't be known until you arrive and check it out.

The local Navy Patrols then roll to see whether they are ordered to bring any of the outlaw crews to justice. Sometimes the patrols will simply move around and harass players. Sometimes they will bring the full might of their patrol to bear.

The higher the player's "wanted level," the more likely a patrol will take notice and give chase. Wanted levels can increase by getting caught in your illegal activity, and can also be increased by other players placing bounties on your ship. Your wanted level decreases by either being attacked by the local patrol, or by bribing officials to reduce it.