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My Survival Plan
Survival Camp came into being on a Wednesday evening when my better half went to bed early and I elected to stay up and doodle for a bit. As I scribbled, my mind wandered. We have discussed our own "survival plan" on several occasions. What would we do if zombies came? Would we head for the hills? Why stay in chaos when we could carry a tent and head upward? This discussion has really been a series of talks. Who do we want on our "survival team"? Re-runs of The Walking Dead didn't help the situation. We needed a Daryl. Who would be ruthless? Cunning? And who would be strategic in an emergency to know which tools to grab?
Well, on this particular Wednesday night I asked myself, "Are there any games about survival of the fittest? About starting over and surviving in a post-apocalyptic time?" Anyone who has said you spend too much time playing a good board game is wrong. Game time is productive, with a game like this having real "what ifs". This game would be perfect for my survival plan. All of our survival questions would be answered. I'll pick my real life survival team based on game play!
As I decided on the game's objective, I thought about a zombie outbreak. Survival Camp sets you in a time when zombies have already taken out the majority of the population. They are approaching your house, and it's time to run for the hills. You'll never return home. You've accepted this as your fate.
Building Camp
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As you head for the hills, you create your checklist. You'll need defense, shelter, fire, water, and food. Thus the first cards created for the game were the task cards, one of which is shown at right. You need to be organized to set up camp, and task cards are your checklist. Complete four out of five tasks before any other player, and you win. (Sounds easy enough, right?)
As you lay out task cards in front of you, you are given five resource cards to start your hand. Resources are not going to be abundant in a forest. I chose several resources that would multitask in a zombie / camp scenario. Each task card has icons that represent their respective resources. Resource cards are multifunctional. Stakes, axes, matches, canteens, tarps, shovels, seeds – all can be gathered to complete several tasks, each of which requires 4-5 resources to complete. I tried to make each task as sensible as possible: To build a fire you need two stakes, an ax, and matches; to build up your defense, you need anything sharp or made of metal.
Playing the Game
While set collection would be simple with a draw and discard mechanism, the game needed a bit more. A die was added for more uncertainty as each number has its respective move you must carry out before completing camp tasks. The most anticipated roll is a 3, which allows you to steal from another camp. Card hoarders dread a 1 as it requires them to blindly trade resources they've worked so hard to collect. And a 6 (lose your turn) often seems to be rolled right before a player is about to win – but don't laugh too quickly at them falling prey to the zombies because you'll probably lose time, too.
Trying to stay true to the zombie theme, there had to be obstacles. Starting over in the middle of a zombie outbreak can't be easy. Ambush cards came to life. Certain ambush cards will cause you to lose specific resources. Others will destroy a task entirely. Just when you are close to a task completion, your opponent directs an ambush at you and you can lose it all.
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As if zombies aren't enough to worry about, natural perils had to come into play. Snow will give your crops frostbite, and sweltering heat will dry up your water.
In every good survival movie there are characters of all sorts. You've got your standard "jock", "geek", "diva/Hollywood" types – all characters with special attributes that will prove necessary in survival mode. Your character card will give you advantages based on the ambush and weather cards drawn, proving that everyone has something to contribute when in survival mode.
Adding to more ruthless player combat, survival cards allow you to steal during any turn, block others from stealing from you, and allow you to redirect ambushes to another camp. I cannot emphasize enough that this is survival of the fittest. Once you're fighting to start a fire in the woods, you'll realize Grandma isn't as sweet as you thought.
Testing
The game was made to appeal to a wide audience. When we have game night, we play for two hours at most – and picking the game that appeals to everyone is the hardest part. Game play in Survival Camp runs from 25 minutes for two players up to an hour for five players. Set building captivates the strategy lover, but there is no one way to approach this game. Hoarding resources in hand isn't a safe option, and a delicate balance of building camp and holding cards is required.
Completing Camp
I knew instantly I was going to go to Kickstarter for Survival Camp. Kickstarter offered the perfect platform, and all I needed to do was find my printer and set my budget before my application was completed.
Finding a manufacturer for the deck, and a box custom to my specifications with low minimums has been a challenge. I've stayed up late nights chatting with overseas manufacturers and getting quotes from U.S. companies and middlemen. Learning about varied paper, spot printing, full color, and custom dice has been quite the education! After time spent with spreadsheets and numbers, I've narrowed it down and am ready to see this game go big!
Waking up from a roller coaster dream, here we are at the end of the story for now – well, not so much the end, but rather the beginning of the middle. Survival Camp is live on Kickstarter through mid-December 2011 and will hopefully become a reality with your help.
Get ready. They're coming...
Thank you,
Valerie Salazar
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