Scurry v1

Scurry is two-player, abstract strategy game of network connections with wild swings in material that is themed based on squirrels preparing for winter. (See the video below.) Acorn tiles are placed on the board, then squirrel tokens scurry around in an effort to be the last to visit every acorn and cache them as the own. It is a sneaky game of hide and seek, and the end game is always a puzzle to be solved and tense as either player could win at any moment.

In a nutshell, the game board is prepared with acorn tiles, half belonging to each player. Brown is first player and places a squirrel token then Gray does the same. Player turns then alternate as follows.

On a turn, which will consist of multiple token moves, a player must perform the following actions in order:

1. To start a turn, place an acorn tile, opponent-side up, on any empty space of the board.

2. Next, repeatedly move his or her squirrel token to an opponent-side-up acorn tile, using line-of-sight, and then flip the tile over to claim ownership. This move action must be performed at least twice, and must be performed as many times as is possible. Players may choose whichever trial they wish to follow when multiple acorn tiles are in sight. However, a player loses if unable to move at least twice.

3. Finally, when moving is no longer possible, the last visited acorn tile is comsumed, (i.e., removed from the board).

At the end of a turn, if a player owns all the acorn tiles on the board, that player wins the game. Otherwise, it is the next player's turn.

Detailed rules follow.

Components

The game of Scurry requires the following:

One 6 x 6 hex-hex game board. Shorter games can be played on a 5 x 5 hex-hex board, using the interior cells.
Two squirrel tokens, one brown, one gray
30 double-sided acorn tiles, with brown and gray sides

Set Up

The double-sided acorn tiles and squirrel tokens are placed by the board within easy reach of both players. This reserve pile is referred to as the tree.

Players choose a color and take the corresponding squirrel token.

The board is “seeded” with acorns as indicated in Figure 1. This is the standard setup. If playing on the 5 x 5 hex-hex board, eliminate the acorn tiles on the border cells. Players may experiment with the initial board set up. Random and other symmetrical setups work well also.

Following the placement of the acorn tiles, the Brown player replaces any brown acorn tile with her squirrel token. The acorn tile is returned to the tree reserve for reuse later. The Gray player does the same with his gray squirrel token. See Figure 2.

Figure 1. Standard Setup. When experimenting with other setups, acorn tiles may not be adjacent to each other and may not be placed on the center cell.

Figure 2. Completed Setup for a 5 x 5 hex-hex game.

Game Play

The Brown player moves first. Players then alternate turns. No passing.

On a turn, players perform the following actions in order:

1. Place an acorn tile from the tree reserve, opponent-side up, on any empty cell of the board. Adjacent placement is allowed during game play. See Figure 3.

2. Players must move their squirrel token according to the movement rules below.

3. Consume/remove the acorn tile at the squirrel token’s final location.

Figure 3. Brown places a gray acorn tile on the highlighted cell, c3. The acorn tile does not have to be in the squirrel’s line of sight nor does it have to be visited on the turn it was placed. It can be used to block the opponent’s next move!

Figure 4. Line of Sight – A squirrel’s LOS is always along the six standard directions and can be blocked by any acorn or the opponent’s squirrel token. The highlighted acorn tile at b4 is not in line with the brown squirrel. Green arrows indicate legal moves for the brown squirrel.

Movement

A squirrel token must move, at least twice and multiple times if possible, to any opponent-side up acorn tile in its line of sight, that is, in any one of the standard six directions from its current location and that is zero (adjacent) or more empty cells away from the squirrel’s current cell. See Figure 4. Squirrel tokens may not jump over any acorn tiles or the opponent’s squirrel token during movement. Upon reaching an acorn tile, the acorn tile is flipped to own-side up to indicate which player was the last to visit the acorn tile. The squirrel token must continue to move as long as there is an opponent acorn tile in the moving token’s line of sight from its new location. The moving player can choose freely if there are multiple opponent acorn tiles in view. See Figure 5. If a player’s squirrel token is unable to move at least twice that player loses immediately.

Figure 5. One of many scurry paths that the brown squirrel can take. Acorn tiles are flipped to own-side up when the squirrel reaches a cell and so the cell may not be revisited during the current player turn.

Figure 6. This is the board position after the Brown player’s turn. The Brown squirrel ate the acorn at c7. The acorn tile goes to the tree reserve for reuse.

Puzzles

Scurry games end with challenging puzzles.

Puzzle 1. Brown to place and move to win. (Two solutions) See Puzzle Solutions at the end of these rules.

Puzzle 2. Gray to place and move to win.

Puzzle 3. Brown to place and move to win. (Three solutions)

Consume an Acorn

If there is no opponent acorn tile in the moving squirrel’s line of sight, the squirrel consumes the acorn at its current position (the acorn tile is returned to the tree reserve for reuse later) and the player’s turn ends. See Figure 6.

Winning the Game

A player can win in two ways.

1. If, at the end of a player’s turn, all acorns are own-side up that player wins the game.

2. If a player’s opponent was unable to move at least twice, the player wins.

Puzzle Solutions

Solution 1. Brown places an acorn tile at c4 and wins in 11 moves. Placing an acorn tile at e6 also wins.

Solution 2. Gray drops a Brown acorn tile at f5 and wins in 14 moves. Notice that the path crosses the Gray squirrel’s starting location twice!

Solution 3. Brown places an acorn tile at f5 and wins in 21 moves! Placing an acorn tile at c2 or d3 would also work.

Please note these game rules may be duplicated and distributed via the web. All rights are reserved. Those that wish to program or sell this game in any form should contact the author at philleduc.pled@gmail.com for permission or a license to do so.

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