07-04

Escape

Made by Yazzie Sarkees, Austen Herlihy, Matt Lehoiski, and Shreyas Ravichandar

General Overview

Escape is a luck and skill based board game set in the cold forests of Nova Scotia where a plane has crashed. You and your friends will play as the survivors of this plane crash who are competing to be the first to escape the deadly cold grips of the forest, and win the game.

2-4 players

Ages 10 and up

Required: Cardboard, Computer, Arduino kit, printer, paper, tape/glue, and scissors/knife. (one board and one Arduino required per player)

Estimated Set Up Time: 30-40 minutes

Estimated Play Time: 45-60 minutes

Set Up

Preface - Everyone playing has to make the board themselves - the game is played over zoom and each player has to make it clear to the others playing what moves they are making. We recommend typing your moves into the Zoom chat so that way everyone can see them. (For example “I move 1 unit left and 1 unit up”.

1. Print the provided outline of the board game and game pieces on paper. Each piece of the board is labelled as “top left”, “bottom middle,” etc. to make the process easier.

2. Players can either attach the board pieces to a large piece of cardboard (or several smaller pieces and fit them together), or they can simply tape the papers together. Using cardboard is sturdier but setup will take longer.

3. Ensure your Arduino kit is working, and set up your zoom meeting so that your camera shows your board in live time (to ensure that everyone makes the same moves).

(Arduino wiring diagram can be found below).

4. Find some small objects that can fit in the board’s squares, or cut your own out of cardboard, and use those as the game pieces. (Make sure you know whose piece is whose). We don't have specifically set game pieces to make set up easier and to insure that there are less material limits.

5. Enjoy!

IMPORTANT: Make sure that the buttons on the Arduino go from top to bottom (edge of breadboard towards the center) in the order RED then GREEN.

Aspects of the Board

Chance Spots (described below)

Obstacles (described below)

Empty spots (just normal spaces nothing special)

Victory spots (First to be on one of these spots wins)

Starting the Game

Each player starts in the same corner of the board, labeled ‘START.’ To determine who goes first, simple roll a die for everyone and whoever has the highest number wins. During their first turn, players may exit the start region on to any of the adjacent squares.

Turn by Turn

• Each player's turn will have the same relative structure.

• First, press the RESET button on the redboard to run the code from the beginning. The Arduino’s LCD screen will display a random number, 1-5, to indicate how many spaces you should move. You may move on to any adjacent space that is not occupied by an obstacle, including diagonals.

• Next, you make your moves in accordance with what you roll.

• The Arduino will then ask you if you want to initiate a battle. Follow the instructions on the LCD screen to indicate yes or no.

• Finally, the arduino will ask you if you landed on a chance spot. Follow the instructions on the LCD screen to indicate yes or no.

• The LCD will tell the player to reset the board on the Redboard in order to roll again at the beginning of your next turn.

• If you are remote, make sure to narrate your moves so your group members know where you are on the board!

• NOTE: Sometimes, the board does not read the button push. If you push a button during a battle or chance spot and nothing happens, just push again, and it should work.

Chance Spots:

Players have the opportunity to use chance spots during gameplay. Players may land on any chance spot on the board. The chance spots are signified on the board by a green square as can be seen in the game board pdf below. If, during their turn, a player chooses to land on a chance spot, an outcome will be randomly selected for the player. The outcome may be positive or negative, and there is no way to know or predict the outcome. The possible outcomes are as follows:

1. You found a horse. Double the value of your next roll.

2. You found skis in the woods! You may now pass through mountains.

3. You found water! You now have enough energy to move 4 spots for the next 3 turns.

4. Sprained ankle! Skip your next turn to heal.

5. You’re dehydrated! Move to nearest lake or stream.

6. Sleep deprived! Skip your next turn to catch up on sleep.

7. You found a map! You may now pass through forest spaces.

8. Thunderstorm! Shelter in place and skip your next turn.

9. You found a raft! You may now cross rivers and lakes and travel along the length of rivers.

10. You found food! You now have enough energy to move 5 spots for the next 3 turns.

11. Move to nearest player on the board and battle.

12. You found a weapon! You have an increased chance of winning your next battle.

If a player lands on a chance spot and receives an advantage that they are already currently in possession of, they cannot receive a duplicate advantage. In other words, each player may only be in possession of 1 weapon, 1 raft, 1 pair of skis. However, players may possess multiple different advantages at one time—for example, if a player is already in possession of skis, they may still acquire a map and use both advantages. Players may use the food advantage multiple times, provided that they are not within the 3 allotted turns the second time they receive the advantage. There is no limit to how many disadvantages a player may receive.

Battles:

If a player lands on a space adjacent to the space of another player, they have the option to battle with the other player. Should both players decide not to battle, gameplay continues unaltered. If one or both players chooses to battle however, the battle must take place.

• The default state is that each player has a 1 in 2 chance of winning the battle.

• The player that starts the battle follows the directions on the LCD screen. The code will determine the outcome through random number generation and display who wins the battle.

• If the difference between the two numbers drawn is less than 5:

  • the player who loses must skip their next two turns in order to heal. After two rounds have passed, the player may resume gameplay.

  • The winning player may move 4 spaces before regular gameplay resumes

• If the difference between the two numbers is 5 or greater:

  • The losing player must return to their starting point

  • The winning player may move 6 spaces before regular gameplay resumes.

• If one player is in possession of a weapon, then the random number generator will assign them a number between 5 and 15. The other player will be assigned a number between 1 and 10. The rest of the battle proceeds in the same way.

  • If both players are in possession of a weapon, then the battle proceeds in the default manner, with both players receiving a number between 1 and 10.

ARDUINO DIAGRAM

ARDUINO CODE