Turkey Chase

A game for four players by Allan Stagg, from an idea by Paul Scott.

Scenario

Turkeys are loose in the cornfield, eating the corn. The farmers are trying to catch them - but each farmer owns two of the turkeys, and would like to see his turkeys eat as much as possible before they are caught.

The Board

  A B C D E F G H I J K
1 1 1 1 1 1 aa 1 1 1 1 1
2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
3 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1
4 1 2 3 5 5 5 5 5 3 2 1
5 1 2 3 5 7 7 C 7 5 3 2 1
6 bb 2 3 5 7 D 10 7 B 5 3 2 dd
7 1 2 3 5 7 7 A 7 5 3 2 1
8 1 2 3 5 5 5 5 5 3 2 1
9 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1
10 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
11 1 1 1 1 1 cc 1 1 1 1 1

The cornfield is depicted above, with the starting positions of the farmers (A-D) and the turkeys (a-d) shown. The number in each square represents the amount of corn there, and the number of points a player will score if his turkey feeds in that square. The most valuable squares are those at the centre of the cornfield.

The cornfield is surrounded by an external fence, which is broken at four points bordering A6, F1, F11 and K6). There are also four internal fences, represented by thick lines within the cornfield. These are described by referring to the cells they border - e.g. A6B6, F10F11 etc.

The Turn

Each turn a player may order his Turkeys (e.g. a) and/or his farmer (e.g. A) to carry out a number of actions. These actions cost a varying amount of points, as detailed below. Each player has 5 points to spend each turn.

Bird Feeds (2 pts) A player orders his bird at a specified location to feed. The player gains a number of points corresponding to the value of the square, and the square's value is now set to zero, so no other bird may eat there. If two or more birds feed in the same square on the same turn, the points gained are shared between the players concerned.

Destroy Fence (2 pts) A fence adjacent to a player's farmer or bird may be destroyed (the bird pecks through the fence, the farmer pushes the fence down). This is a multiple action.

Build fence next to farmer (1 pt) A player may order his farmer to construct a fence on the border of the cell where that farmer is located. This is a multiple action.

Build fence elsewhere (2 pts) A player may order a fence to be built anywhere else in the cornfield. This is a multiple action.

Bird moves 1 space (1 pt) A player may order one of his birds to move to an adjacent space. The adjacent space will be above, below, or to left or right - not diagonal to the starting space. The bird will not be able to move if there is a fence between the two spaces. A bird may not move twice during the same turn, although a player may order both of his birds to move in a turn. A bird may not move out of the cornfield. If a bird moves onto a farmer, it is captured and takes no further part in the game.

Farmer moves 1 space (1 pt) A player may order one of his farmers to move to an adjacent space. The adjacent space will be above, below, or to left or right - not diagonal to the starting space. The farmer will not be able to move if there is a fence between the two spaces. If a farmer moves onto a bird, the bird is captured.

Farmer moves a second space (2 pts) A player may order one of his farmers to move a second space.

New Farmer (4 pts) A player may introduce a new farmer in any space adjacent to a gap in the external fence. This order may only be given from the 4th turn onwards.

The order in which turns are processed and the format for each order, is:

  1. Birds feed, FEED A4
  2. Fences are destroyed, DESTROY A6/B6
  3. Farmers 1st move, MOVE F4-F5
  4. Birds move, MOVE F6-F7
  5. Farmers 2nd move, MOVE F8-G8
  6. Fences Built BUILD H1/H2
  7. New Farmers arrive NEW A6

In the event of an NMR, a player's birds and farmers will not move.

The game continues until all birds have been captured. The player whose birds have amassed the greatest number of points will be declared the winner. If only one player has any birds left, and that player already has the greatest number of points, the GM will end the game and declare that player the winner.

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