Vision Statement & Top level summary of your game idea

Rescue Rangers is a fast-paced, cooperative card game where players work together to save endangered animals from cruelty and habitat destruction. Set in a world on the brink, each player faces the urgent task of rescuing animals while managing limited resources to keep the escalating cruelty level at bay. With each turn, players make critical choices balancing immediate rescue efforts against long-term impact as they strive to protect as many animals as possible before time runs out. The game’s transformative theme promotes empathy for wildlife, offering players an engaging experience that blends strategy with a meaningful cause. By the end of the game, players walk away with a sense of urgency and a renewed awareness of real-world animal welfare challenges.

Player experience goal(s) + atmosphere users should experience 

What?

The primary experience goal of Rescue Rangers is to instill a sense of urgency, empathy, and responsibility toward protecting animals. We want players to feel both invested in the animals they are rescuing and deeply aware of the stakes each decision holds. The atmosphere is meant to be both intense and uplifting, balancing tension as players try to beat the rising cruelty level with moments of relief and satisfaction when they successfully rescue an animal. This experience should evoke emotions of “People Fun,” where cooperative strategy and mutual support lead to a shared sense of accomplishment and purpose.

Why?

This experience benefits players by creating a memorable and meaningful game that encourages them to reflect on animal welfare and human impact on wildlife. By investing in the well-being of the animals represented in the game, players gain a sense of connection and compassion that can translate to greater awareness and responsibility toward animal rights in real life. Through cooperative gameplay, players experience a deep sense of “People Fun,” building camaraderie and support around a shared compassionate goal. The satisfaction and connection from successful teamwork and critical decision-making give players both enjoyment and insight into animal welfare issues.

How?

The game’s mechanics intentionally build this atmosphere of empathy and shared purpose. The Cruelty Level mechanic introduces stakes and urgency, making each choice critical and keeping players aware of the broader consequences of inaction. Cooperative resource-sharing and strategic planning encourage teamwork, creating moments where players can rely on each other for successful rescues, evoking “People Fun” and collective joy. Additionally, realistic animal rescue cards, with details on each species’ plight, deepen emotional investment, as players encounter real-world information about each animal they’re trying to save. Rescue Rangers provides a challenging, impactful, and rewarding experience for all players by intertwining urgency, teamwork, and emotional depth.

Addressing the Transformative Game Design Challenge

• Underlying Challenge: Addressing animal cruelty and habitat destruction to foster a compassionate, informed society that values wildlife protection.

• Background Research: Studies show games can teach morality and empathy, significantly impacting players’ reasoning and decision-making skills.

• Team Motivation: We believe in fostering compassion and awareness of wildlife challenges, hoping to inspire others toward sustainable, humane actions.

• Desired Transformation: Encourage empathy and responsibility toward wildlife, inspiring players to consider their impact on animal welfare.

• Impact Assessment: Feedback on emotional engagement, decision-making, and reflections on real-world animal issues.

Why Your Project is Innovative

• Innovation: The game integrates animal rescue with an emotional, morally engaging framework beyond simple winning or losing.

• Relevance: Addresses growing awareness of animal welfare and environmental impact, offering an informative and emotional gameplay experience.

• Selling Points: Educational and transformative, blending strategy with moral engagement for an impactful, enjoyable experience.

Game Introduction

Premise & Theme

The game is set in a world where players must work together to combat animal cruelty by rescuing animals from dangerous situations. With each turn, they face tough decisions that reflect the challenges of protecting animals from harm, focusing on the consequences of inaction.

Setting

The game unfolds in a fictionalized environment that mirrors real-world challenges animals face, representing various scenarios of animal cruelty and neglect. Each drawn card reveals a new challenge or rescue opportunity, adding urgency to each decision.

Game Objective

The main objective for players is to prevent the Cruelty Level from reaching its maximum by rescuing as many animals as possible. Players lose if the cruelty level hits 20, making every rescue critical to winning.

Core Gameplay

Each round, players are randomly assigned an animal card that they must try to save. Players take turns drawing cards from a combined deck, with each turn allowing them to perform up to two actions: drawing a card, placing resources to rescue an animal, or trading resources with other players. Resource cards are used to either counter cruelty effects or help rescue animals, while cruelty cards introduce penalties that increase the Cruelty Level.

During their turn, players must advocate for their animal’s rescue by encouraging other players to trade or donate resources. This can be done through strategic trades with other players, where each player offers resources they hold in order to help rescue the animal in question. If the animal receives the necessary resources, it is successfully saved and goes into the player’s hand as a rescued animal. If it doesn’t get the attention it needs by the end of the round, it is lost and placed in the "grave."

Resource Trading and Strategy:
Players can trade resources with each other, but the twist is that the resources are not openly known. Each player holds colored resource cards, and part of the strategy lies in figuring out who has what resources in order to gather the necessary items for their animal rescue. This adds a “puzzle” element to the game, where players must use their judgment and strategic trades to acquire the right resources.

Sacrifice Mechanic:
Some animals may require a sacrifice of other saved animals in order to be rescued. Players must decide whether to sacrifice an old saved animal from their hand to help rescue a new one, creating tough decisions and strategic choices throughout the game.

Global Events:
At the beginning of each round, a global event card is drawn, adding an unpredictable twist to the game. These events can include natural disasters that make resources scarce, economic issues that affect animal rescues, or other challenges that impact both the animals and players’ resources.

Cruelty Meter & Win Conditions:
Every time an animal fails to be rescued, the cruelty meter increases, moving players closer to losing the game. If the cruelty meter reaches 20, the game ends in a loss for all players. However, if a player successfully rescues an animal, the cruelty meter decreases. If the meter falls below -20, the players win. Alternatively, the game can be played with a competitive twist where the player who rescues the most animals or accumulates the most wealth from animal rescues wins, creating different types of player investment.

Cooperative vs. Competitive Play:
Players have the option to choose whether to play cooperatively, working together to lower the cruelty meter, or competitively, where they strive to rescue the most animals or accumulate the most wealth. This flexibility allows for different playstyles and motivations, keeping the game engaging and replayable.

Unique Elements

What makes this game unique is its focus on empathy and moral choice, using animal rescue as a meaningful gameplay objective. The Cruelty Level mechanic introduces constant tension, making every turn impactful. Players experience both the joy of successful rescues and the responsibility of managing limited resources to prevent cruelty.

There is no strong narrative/story element to the game

Game mechanics

Number of players: 3-4

Targeted audience: Animal advocates and lovers

Game setup: 

1. Shuffle resource cards and global events

2. Set cruelty level to 0

3. Determine starting player.

4. Each player gets starting funds of 5 coins. 

Gameplay procedures:

• At the beginning, a global event is announced. Flip over a global event card to figure out which types of resources/animals are impacted.

• Each player starts with 3 resources from the resource deck. 

• Each player gets an animal card which they are trying to save. This animal card has needed resources as well as funds.

  • During a player’s turn, they have to advocate for their animal, and people can donate their coins to different animals. 

  • They can perform up to 2 actions from below:

  • Place resource action towards rescuing their animal

  • Trade a resource card with another player

• If the animal receives its amount of resources and funds, it goes into the player’s hand as a saved animal. It also brings down the cruelty level by - 3

• If the animal does not receive needed resources and funds, it goes into the graveyard and affects the cruelty level by +3

• If cruelty is above 20, game over. If cruelty is below 20, players win the game.

Rescue Rangers requires players to use strategic skills to manage resources, negotiate with teammates, and make calculated decisions to rescue animals. These decisions are driven by players' abilities to assess risks, anticipate needs, and collaborate effectively. However, there is a notable Chance element due to the randomized draw of resource and event cards. These add unpredictability, requiring players to adapt their strategies to unexpected challenges or resource shortages.

The game heavily emphasizes Mental Calculation. Players must analyze and decide how best to allocate resources, when to trade, and how to respond to event cards. Strategic thinking is essential to manage limited resources and maximize rescue efforts. Physical Dexterity is minimal, as gameplay primarily involves drawing and playing cards, which don’t require precise physical skills.