Publisher Valley Games has announced the upcoming release of my first published board game, Two by Two. The cover art is by Calgary-based illustrator, Patrick LaMontagne, who quietly let the news slip last September. The origins of the game go back to November of 2006 when I first started sketching out the rules and putting together my initial prototypes. The components and rulebook are almost production-ready but it will still be a while before the game actually makes it to store shelves later this summer or fall.
So what's the game like, you ask? Well, it was originally called Noah's Ark so the theme should be pretty familiar to most. As the raindrops fall, the players are tasked with moving their arks around the outskirts of the steadily deteriorating landscape, rescuing pairs of animals from the rapidly rising floodwaters. When the game ends, the rarer the pair, the higher the score. Much of the tension of the game stems from the fact that players control where the raindrops fall. Do you carve a path inland to reveal more animals and extend your ark's reach? Do you flood the outskirts to maximize the points you receive from water placement? Do you plonk it on top of the poor unicorn your opponent is about to claim, relegating the lonely pair to the sad realm of myth and legend? Despite the cover's rather whimsical appearance, it can be quite a vicious game if you choose to play it that way.
