COVER PAGE

Maverick Hunters
Presents

BLACKBEARD'S LEGACY
(Version 2.3, 8/16/14)
Jose Sanchez
Richard Smith
Kyle Stanton
Tanner Robillard

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Table of Contents
COVER PAGE..............................................................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................2
DESIGN HISTORY........................................................................................4
VERSION 1.10................................................................................................................ 4
VERSION 1.2.0............................................................................................................... 4
VERSION 1.2.5............................................................................................................... 4
VERSION 2.00................................................................................................................ 5
VERSION 2.2.0............................................................................................................... 5
VERSION 2.2.2............................................................................................................... 5
GAME OVERVIEW.......................................................................................6
WHERE DOES THE GAME TAKE PLACE?................................................................................. 6
WHAT IS THE STORY?....................................................................................................... 6
WHAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS?................................................................................................ 6
HOW MANY CHARACTERS/UNITS/PIECES DOES THE PLAYER CONTROL?.........................................6
GAME THEORY................................................................................................................ 6
FEATURE SET.............................................................................................7
GENERAL FEATURES......................................................................................................... 7
GAME COMPONENTS......................................................................................................... 7
RULES & MECHANICS.................................................................................8
GAME SETUP.................................................................................................................. 8
TURN SEQUENCE............................................................................................................. 9
GENERAL RULES............................................................................................................ 12
DETAILED RULES FOR SPECIFIC PIECES............................................................................... 12
DETAILED RULES FOR SPECIFIC PIECES (CONTINUED)...........................................................13
FLOWCHARTS................................................................................................................ 13
FLOWCHARTS (CONTINUED)............................................................................................. 14
FLOWCHARTS (CONTINUED)............................................................................................. 15
END GAME CONDITIONS.................................................................................................. 15
RULES QUESTIONS......................................................................................................... 16

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Design History
In this paragraph, describe to the reader what you are trying to achieve with the
design history. Its possible that they dont know what this is for and you need to
explain it to them. In a nut shell, the design history should give readers a good view of
how your design has changed over the course of the design period, including rationale
for the changes made. How many versions you do is up to you, but you should have at
least a couple for Week 2 and a couple more for Week 3 (for when you do the revised
GDD). Make sure to be specific, and give rationale for why you made the changes.

Version 1.10
Version 1.1.0 includes some tuning and tweaking after making the initial pass at the
design. Here is what was changed.
This version took the core concept we'd chosen and started to look at the various influences
that could offer more to the game.
1. Added movement rules for individual units
2. Added an 8th piece for path building
3. Opened testing up to various board sizes (8x16, 9x15, 9x14, 11x11)
4. Implemented a baseline approach to card-drawing in the form of Trap/Treasure nodes
on the board

Version 1.2.0
For this version, we were getting closer to a more concrete idea but rather than seek to cover
glaring weaknesses, we decided to expand on the gameplay strengths and then come back to
weaknesses. This may have been a smart move.
1. Created a story for the game and the name of the game was born.
2. Card effects were improved to include effects that were more within the player's
control.
3. Rebalancing of the game board size. 9x14 final size.
4. Attempted to redesign path-building counters. No current change has been
permanent.
5. Implemented Captain Abilities as a one-time use. Changes the dynamic of fair play.
Captain abilities determined to require 1 skill to help the player and 1 skill to
affect the opponents. Only one of the two can be used per captain.

Version 1.2.5
Issues with a No-Win condition have caused a redress of certain building processes.
1. Removed 8th Path shape. Replaced with Wildcard option to counteract situations
that could effect a no-win condition.
2. Wildcards introduced to the game. These Path cards will allow the player to build
custom shapes up to 4 blocks.

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Design History (Continued)

Version 2.00
After careful review and some play-testing, the specific values of the game effects are
determined and a rebalancing occurs for certain game-breaking abilities. Herein, the
method of play remains the same but the player turns take a drastic change of pace
1
2
3
4

Path cards will now control the draw of the Treasure or Trap cards
Treasure and Trap cards are no longer combined, and their ratio has been
changed to 18:7
Card effects have been finalized. Power balance has affected how movement
is perceived.
Corrected and finalized rules on certain aspects of Path building and endgame conditions.

Version 2.2.0
1. Re-designed movement in regards to interrupted paths. Units are now
hindered when traveling along a broken path.
2. Changed maximum hand size to (3) and initial card draw to (1) to
compensate for limited cards.
3. Trap cards are now drawn once per unique shape Path card for a total of 7
Trap cards.
4. Confirmed turn order selection method.
5. Created Captain cards.

Version 2.2.2
Implemented Trap and Treasure chaining rules. Trigger cards are the only cards that
can chain upon each other. Normal card game rules apply: First In, Last Out.

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Game Overview
Where does the game take place?
Blackbeard's Legacy, as the name implies, centers around the era where Blackbeard
the Pirate, lived. 1777 and now 4 ship captains are looking for the buried treasure left
behind by Blackbeard. Their search has led them to the Caribbean where rumors have
it that Blackbeard had left all his treasure in one piece on a deserted island.

What is the story?

A British Naval Commander, a French Legionnaire, an Admiral of the Spanish Armada ,
a swagger pirate, and their crews have arrived on an uncharted island teeming with
wildlife. The caves of the island whisper of buried treasure with enough gold to make
kings of any who can find it and claim it for themselves. Who will be the one to claim
Blackbeard's Legacy?

What is the main focus?

The island is no safe ground for passage. Each captain will have to direct their crew to
pave a way to the caves of the island and have a collection crew take the path that's
created. Being mindful that the other captains are also moving towards the caves,
each captain will do what they can to prevent the others from moving forward by
building in their way, or even sacrificing some of their own path to destroy an
opponent's progress with a bombardment.

How many characters/units/pieces does the player control?

Each player will control a single unit that will represent the collection crew that is
traveling along the path that the builder crew creates. This path will be represented by
the glass counters the player will place on the game board. Finally, the player will also
be collecting cards of two natures: Path cards will determine what kind of shapes can
be built upon the game map; trap and treasure cards will determine what effects the
players can use during gameplay.

Game Theory
Blackbeard's Legacy is an asymmetrical game with imperfect information presented to
all players. The zero-sum game concept means that at its core, there is a competitive
nature even if players choose to forge alliances during gameplay since there can only
be one winner.
Each player is given the same opportunities to affect the game board based on the
cards drawn and the strategy employed in building their paths, however, the initial
setup and starting positions can be critical to how well a player can progress towards
the goal. While it's easy to look at the game and say the shortest distance between
two points is a straight line, the imperfect information presented to players means that
not only does each player have to plan for efficiency, but also expect their opponents
to react in ways that cannot be predicted. The Treasure and Trap cards that players
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draw have unknown or immediate effects which cannot be planned against. Most
competitive games allow for only two options when given imperfect information:
advance your own strategy or respond to an opponent's. For that reason, Blackbeard's
Legacy becomes an extremely competitive game when it's 4 players with imperfect
information against each other.

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Feature Set
General Features
Building
Players will create a path from the bottom of the 9x14 grid using their glass
counters; restricted in shape by the Path cards drawn each turn.
Racing
Players are racing towards the top of the board using every card effect,
obstacle, and strategy they can to slow down their opponents or improve their own
situation.
Territory Control
Strategy plays an important role in Blackbeard's Legacy as each player can
build paths that prevent others from having an uninterrupted path to the goal. With
players able to punish one another for building in certain ways, the goals of the game
constantly change as advantages are stolen or created with each new turn.

Game Components
Pieces:
25 Path Cards
3 copies of 7 different shapes
4 wild cards that allow the player to create their own shape that uses up to 5
spaces.
25 Trap/Treasures Cards
4 Captain Cards
120 colored counters
30 Clear, 30 Blue, 30 Red, and 30 Green
3 Dice (D4, D6, D8)
1 Square Grid Game Mat (9x14)
4 custom-made unit pieces
One for each player
Sized to fit on a 1"x1" square
Colored to match the glass counters used.

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Rules & Mechanics

Game Setup
1. Place the 9x14 (9 columns, 14 rows) grid Game Mat on a flat surface
3. Shuffle and place each of the card decks face down on their respective zones
(Path Cards, Treasures, and Traps)
4. Using any of the included dice, roll to determine Player 1. Turn order will
proceed to the left of that player.
5. Starting from player one, each player will:
Choose a captain to play as
Choose a starting position on the bottom row of the game grid
Place a single counter on their elected starting position
Draw 1 Treasure card
Hereafter, Player 1 begins their turn.

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Turn Sequence
Each player's turn consists of 3 possible actions for that player, and 1 possible reaction
from any given player. Excepting Turn 1, any player who has not yet used their
Captain's Ability can do so at the start of their turn. This is a one-time use ability. The
following actions may occur in any order during a player's turn:
Activating a Treasure
A player's "hand" will contain Treasure cards which have unique abilities that can be
activated at any point during that player's turn. Certain Treasure cards will have a
"Trigger" condition that will allow them to be used outside of their owner's turn.
Building a Path
A player may draw a Path card from the Path Cards deck and reveal it. The Path card
will advise the player if their construction efforts earn them a Treasure or a Trap card.
Treasure cards go to the player's hand, while trap cards are revealed and their effect is
activated immediately.
These Path cards will also indicate the shape a player is permitted to build during the
turn. The shape can be flipped or rotated in any way but must conform to the game
map's grid layout: i.e. Shapes cannot be built diagonally, cut short, or formed into
other shapes. The number of counters used to build the shape must match the number
of blocks on the Path card itself.

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Building a Path (Continued)

If a player builds a shape that makes one or more rows become completely paved,
those rows get destroyed and all counters are removed from those rows. Thereafter,
the player may build one more shape of the type last constructed. This rebuilding
effort can only occur once per row destruction event, not once per individual row
destroyed.
Any shape used to build a path must not overlap with any other pieces already on the
board, but must be laterally adjacent to another counter. Paths do not need to connect
the same colors, but progress through a path of a color different from the Unit is not
allowed.

Moving a Unit
Movement is an optional choice during a player's turn. If a player decided to move
their unit along their path, he or she may roll a standard D6. The result will be the
maximum allowable spaces the player may move their unit ahead on their own colored
path. Players may move their unit up to and including the number rolled by the D6 but
may also opt to move 0 spaces forward. Players may not move backwards in this
manner.

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Movement is limited to traveling on paths of the Unit's color. Travel on a path that is
disconnected from the base row will hinder the unit's movement, causing any
movement rolls to be halved and rounded up. This is considered cut lines of
communication and thus forward progress is limited until those lines can be reestablished.

Responding
Many Trap and Treasure cards affect not only the player who activates them but also
one or more other players. To this end, Trigger cards can be used in response to the
activation of a Trap, the effects of a Treasure card, or even the destruction of a row.
Captain's Abilities cannot be responded to.

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General Rules
A card's instruction supersedes the normal game rules.
A card that allows moving ahead any spaces cannot be used to fulfill the victory
condition.
Ex: If a card allows a player to move up to 3 spaces ahead and their Unit is only 2
spaces from the top row, that player may move their unit up to the top row but must
use a turn's movement option to cross the row.
If a row is destroyed, all Units on that row are moved back a number of spaces equal
to the number of spaces they lost on that row.
Ex: A RRGGGBBCC row that is destroyed would force a Blue Unit back 2 space or a
Green Unit 3 spaces.
Wildcard shapes must have every block connected to a side of every adjacent block.
As with all shapes, wildcards cannot include diagonal transformations.

Detailed Rules for Specific Pieces

Treasure Cards (Maximum of 3 in hand by end of turn)
1. Move opponent back up to 3 spaces.
2. Target player moves ahead up to 3 spaces. TRIGGER CARD
3. May move on an opponent's track this turn.
4. Roll an additional D6 for movement this turn.
5. Take one card from an opponents hand. TRIGGER CARD
6. Stop the activation of one trap card. TRIGGER CARD
7. Make any player of your choice Hindered this turn. TRIGGER CARD
8. Destroy any one of an opponent's pieces.
9. Stop one piece from getting destroyed. TRIGGER CARD
10. Choose a new target for a trap card. TRIGGER CARD
11. Target opponent cannot build on their next turn.
12. Change any one piece on the board to another color.
13. Reverse turn order. x2
14. Target opponent cannot move next turn.
15. Build on any one open space on the board where you could build.
16. Draw a Treasure card- x2
Trap cards (Activated as soon as they are drawn)
1 Move your unit back 3 rows.
2. Destroy a number of your spaces equal to the number on your movement card.
3. Until your next turn players can move through your path.
4. You cannot build on your next turn.
5. You cannot move on your next turn.
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6. Give target player 1 card from your hand .

7. Discard 1 Treasure card.

Detailed Rules for Specific Pieces (Continued)

Captain's Abilities (Can only use one and only once per game)
Frenchman
1. Take an extra turn after this one.
2. Skip target player's next turn.
Spaniard
1. Shuffle your treasure cards back into the deck and draw that many again +1
2. All opponents discard all cards.
Brit
1. During your turn build two copies of your movement card.
2. Until your next turn opponents can't build
Pirate
1. Draw 3 Treasure Cards
2. Each opponent activates a trap card.

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Flowcharts

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Flowcharts (Continued)

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Flowcharts (Continued)

End Game Conditions

Players will win the game by reaching the top row of the game board and using a
movement roll to cross that final row. In a perfect game, a player would start on Row 1,
move steadily to Row 14, then roll once more to cross into the area holding
Blackbeard's Treasure.
EX: a Player on Row 12 with a direct path to Row 14 can roll a 3 or more on their
Movement roll to move up to and past Row 14, earning them a victory.
Only one player may win each game.
Victory cannot be achieved through card effects that move a Unit forward.

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Rules Questions
1. Can my path overlap with someone else's?
A: No, you may only build a path on unused spaces in the game grid.
2. Can I build in an area that doesn't connect to my own path?
A. You can build anywhere on the board as long as it connects to another path. You are
not required to connect only to your path.
3. If I use a Wildcard and destroy a row, can I choose a different shape for my next
path?
A: When creating any additional path's due to a row's destructions, you must use the
same shape you last used, regardless of how that shape was determined.
4. A card tells me I am "Hindered?"
A: Hindered is a Unit state that limits movement. In a Hindered state, all dice rolls for
movement are halved (rounded up).

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