Game Challenge #1: Russell, Come Home!

I have not forgotten about the game!

But in case you have, YJ posted the following art assets as the first game design challenge for me, constrained by her art choices.

So here's the game rules, at least the first iteration.

The title of the game is: Russell, Come Home!
There are 3 teams: The Little Boy, the Parents, and the Environment.

The goals of the 3 teams are as follows:
The Little Boy wants to stay out as long as he can, without getting trapped or without running into his parents. If he stays out for 7 turns, he wins.
The Parents want the boy to come back as soon as possible. If the Little Boy comes back before 7 turns, they win.  Alternatively, if he runs into them, they win.
The Environment wants to trap the little boy from going home.  If the Little Boy is trapped, he wins.

The way turn order is determined is that the cards that is drawn determines whose turn it is.  The cards are shuffled and drawn from the top.  The cards are placed in a discard pile after being used.  When the deck is empty, reshuffle all the cards in the discard pile and draw again.

  The environment plays the Tree, Fly Trap, and Clouds.  The Little Boy plays on the Blank card.  The Parents play on the Ladder.


The cards are played as follows:

Tree: The Environment places a tree anywhere on the game board except for the Little Boy's position.  That Tree is now permanently placed there.  There can be an unlimited number of trees.

Fly Trap: The Environment places a Fly Trap anywhere on the game boards except for the Little Boy's position.  The Fly Trap disappears after a turn.

Rain:  The Environment moves the Rain from it's current space to any adjacent space. The Rain Cloud forces the Little Boy to lose one turn each time the Little Boy enters a space that has a Rain Cloud on it because it takes longer for him to travel through that space. 

The Ladder can be placed anywhere on the map by the Parents and spans across three spaces on the board. This makes any unpassable terrain passable.  Only one Ladder is in play at a time.  Placing the Ladder in a new location removes the previous placement of the Ladder.

The Blank Square lets the Little Boy run to an adjacent space in a direction they choose.

Starting positions: The Little Boy starts at the top most row (the row farthest from the green row).  The Environment places a Tree anywhere in the game board.  The Parents place a Ladder on any valid space.

Notes:
Yes, I do realize that there's a 3:1:1 turn advantage for the Environment.  That should ideally bring some sort of urgency for the Boy and his Parents.

So I found out from YJ that the two creatures at the bottom were intended to be bullies, not parents.  I think I could have guessed that from the fact that they're identical (meaning that neither of them are decidedly matronly or fatherly), but I think I'm carrying a lot of baggage.

There's a thought to make the teams into the Family vs the Environment.  In which case, the Family wins more points for staying out longer.  Perhaps it's played twice, with the players swapping sides.

No chance to play test yet, just a first blush pass.

Viricide

A shooter of the style of Geometry Wars, but it fleshes out that 4th part of the diamond, the story.

Play Viricide

I Can Hold My Breath Forever

While I work on YJ's challenge, here's a little something interesting to play. 

Play "I Can Hold My Breath Forever"