Sprawl
| Sprawl | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brandon W., Dave ?,
Jon Leistiko, Valerie W. | ||
| Competitive city building | ||
| Players: | 3 - 8 | |
| Length: | Long | |
| Complexity: | Medium | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 1 per player | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Chessboard | ||
| Setup time: | 1 minute | |
| Playing time: | 20 minutes - 60 minutes | |
| Strategy depth: | High | |
| Random chance: | None | |
| Game mechanics: | Building, Attacking | |
| Theme: | City building | |
| BGG Link: | 19152 | |
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2003 | ||
Sprawl is a game in which each player is building part of a city. Towers rise into the sky. Branches snake from towers, attacking other players' towers, neutralizing them. When no more moves can be made, points are awarded for unneutralized pieces. Play style is halfway between Icehouse and Branches & Twigs & Thorns.
Sprawl won the the first Ice Game Design Competition.
Strategies[edit | edit source]
- Beware the two-square kill zone! At the start of the game, each player's first move will be to place a tower. The first player has the liberty of placing their tower anywhere on the board, but subsequent players have strategic restrictions on tower placement. Do not place your first tower two squares orthogonally from another player's tower! If you do so, then the other player will branch from their tower, pointing at your tower and most likely neutralize your only piece, and you will be out of the game after only one turn! Any size piece can branch from a tower, so your first tower will not be safe in this position regardless of its size.
- Keep your enemies close. Your towers are actually safest close to other towers, adjacent orthogonally or diagonally. Branches have limited turning ability, which makes it difficult to neutralize a tower that's right next to your tower.
External Links[edit | edit source]
- Rules for Sprawl are available online at Invisible City or at SuperDuperGames.
- Sprawl could be played online at Super Duper Games.
- Rules available in French in pdf format at www.jeux-icehouse.com
| Entered in the Icehouse Game Design Competition, Summer 2004 |
|---|
| Winner: Sprawl 2nd: Missile Command 3rd: Turning Points 4th: Moscow Ice |
| 5th: Breakthrough 6th (tie): Martian Shogi and Venusian Bowling |
| 8th: Antshouse 9th: Limn 10th (tie): Arena and the Icehouse Null Game |