Gamers Alliance Quarterly
Fall 2000
Herb Levy
USA

Being marooned on an island has taken on a certain cachet the likes of which has not been seen since Daniel Defoe committed "Robinson Crusoe" to paper. Credit this interest to the hit show Survivor that captivated television audiences with the same fascination as staring at a car wreck. Although not tied in to Survivor, Shipwrecked comes along at just the right time to take advantage of the interest in this theme.

In Shipwrecked, original concept by Matthew Kirby with game design by Mark Alan Osterhaus, players are stranded on an island and, to survive, must compete to obtain the needed food, shelter, water and friends.

Shipwreck's small box holds 24 bid cards, 20 resource cards, 4 hidden resource cards, 65 gemstones and a nicely written and illustrated rulebook. The game for two to four players, ages 12 and up, takes 20-40 minutes to play.

Everyone receives a set of bid cards in the color of his choice as well as some gemstones (the currency of the game), 11 to 15 depending on the number of players. When the resource and hidden resource cards are shuffled together and stacked next to the starting player, you are ready to begin play.

The top resource card is exposed and players may now bid to acquire it. Each resource card belongs to one of four groups (Food, Shelter, Water or Friends). Each card is worth a certain number of points (from 10 to 50), is able to generate income (paid in gemstones at the beginning of a turn), and has a value (which can convert to gemstones when sold to the bank). What separates this game from the pack is the unique bidding system.

Players bid with their color-coded bid cards. Each identical set consists of 3 Pass, 2 Stop and 1 Strike. In the first round, each player chooses one of his cards and places it face down, forming the first row of cards. If someone has played a Stop card, he may stop the bidding at that point. Otherwise, the first row remains face down and another row of cards, one from each player, is placed above the first row. This continues for up to six rounds until someone announces that he has played a Stop in the current round. Then, all bid cards are exposed to determine who has won the auction.

Only a player who played a Stop card can stop the auction. However, a single Strike card played in the last round of bidding always wins! So the bluff/timing element is critical. Otherwise, a single Stop card in a round wins. If there is more than one Stop card played in the round, the tie is broken with the player who played the most Pass cards up to that point winning the bid. If there is more than one Stop card played in the round, the tie is broken with the player who played the most Pass cards up to that point winning the bid. If a tie still remains, a "bidlock" is declared and the tied players (and only the tied players) rebid from scratch. (As a penalty, however, they must pay the value of the bid as if they had won it!) The cost of winning bids for resource cards decreases as the rounds increase, costing 5 gemstones if won on the first round down to 0 gems if won on the sixth and final round.

The first player to earn 100 points from one group of 150 or more from any combination of groups wins!

Shipwrecked is the kind of game that serves to admirably fill the slot at the beginning of an evening of gaming when you're "warming up". It can also serve as an "evening ender" when winding down from a long gaming session. The basics are simple but the second guessing/predicting/strategizing of the bidding process elevates play to a higher level. And let's not forget the John Kovalic box and card artwork that is consistently charming and lends atmosphere to the proceedings. Shipwrecked is most definitely a game that can rescue you from a dull evening.

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