Description

ScatterLand is a game of strategy and deduction for 2-4 players. It takes roughly 30 minutes to play.

The basic idea is that players are exploring an archipelago in search of islands. The game board consists of a 9×9 array of 81 squares, further divided into nine 3×3 boxes. There are 18 islands total, but these islands aren’t distributed randomly; instead, they are arranged so that two islands occupy each 3×3 box, each row, and each column. What's more, these islands are initially hidden from view.

Players claim one square per turn. A player either places an island of her color in the region (if there's an island there) or a boat of her color in the region (if there isn't). Players are trying first to discover and then to connect together as many islands as they can: the more islands they connect together, the more points they receive at the end of the game.

Players use logic to determine where the islands are likely to be, but logic alone is not enough: players must also think tactically and strategically in order both to foster their own growth and limit the growth of their opponents.

ScatterLand takes no more than five minutes to learn (or to teach), but its gameplay is surprisingly deep. There are a lot of things to try to balance when deciding where to play: do you want to claim a new island as your own or try to connect two of your islands together? Do you want to try to consolidate your own position or be the first to explore a given area? Do you want to focus on expanding your chains or trying to cut off your opponents?

Two versions of the game are included: the basic version (described above) and the advanced version (which limits the number of exclusive islands any one player can claim).

ScatterLand can be found at http://boardgameforge.wordpress.com/scatterland/ -- just click the links toward the bottom of the page for both the rules and 20 additional boards.