Ditsö: Legado de Nuestra Tierra (2012)

Ditsö is a strategy game of skirmish battles for all the family, that shows native Costa Rican mythology, language, customs and traditions.

The game recreates the fight among gods and other magical beings to take over Tisingal, the place where, according to the legend, lay the lost gold mines of Talamanca.

With Ditsö the player get used to the Bri Bri language and learns about the importance of some symbols of great value for our ancestors, like the fact that Sibö is the creator according to the Bri Bri, Cabécar and Brunca mythologies,or the meaning of fur or feathers for the indigenous warriors.

The name of the game itself was thinked with this purpose. Ditsö means "group" or "clan", which is represented by character cards that each player chooses to form his/her tribe. Each card has an explanation about what each character means in the native mythology, and the locations and unique figures keep their indigenous names.

In terms of gameplay, Ditsö is played like a miniatures game, althoough it uses cards (folded in the middle so they can stand) instead of miniatures. Each player or team has a certain amount of points (100 points in a standard game) to recruit an army; each card has a value. It is allowed to recruit as many green cards of the same type as whished, but only one golden card of the same kind may be recruited.

Then players set their armies in the predesignated start zones and the game begins. Depending of the charactes chosen, they may have special abilities, but normally the options will be to start a melee combat, a ranged combat or just to move (some characters have the ability of flying). There is also the chance to counter attack, but the character should have this ability to do so.

The first player of team to destroy his/her opponent wins the game.

Ditsö won the 2011 Ideas Innovadoras Award in the social innovation cathegory, and is an attempt to rescue Costa Rican roots in a fun and familiar way.