Episode 308: The Sheep

In The Sheep (designed by Luke Schwanger, Jeremy Stark, and Kyle Talbert published by Zero Strategy Games) Sheep have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. The players are taking on the role of Shepherds tasked to protecting Caravans as they travel through the wilderness. This is a coop game with one way to win and multiple ways to lose. The game has a day phase and a night phase and though there is no set amount of turns, as the game continues it becomes harder and harder. Each Shepherd gets a player board that they use to track actions, experience, corruption, and unique abilities to that shepherd. During the day, the caverns come onto the board or move on the board if they are already present. Each cavern has a unique power that activates during the day as well. Like healing, killing sheep, offering up gear, etc. Each caravan also has a limited amount of gear that can be purchased using essence tokens. During the day, the shepherds can buy said gear, move up to 3 spaces, use a unique ability, or kill sheep. Killing sheep during the day is easier, but gives you no rewards. The night is when most of the game takes place.

At the start of the night phase and event occurs, usually bad stuff. It also raises the pollution track. Depending on where the marker is on the pollution track, the players are required to collectively exhaust a certain amount of lanterns. Each player gets 3 lanterns at the start of the day phase and they are used to do various actions throughout the game. Exhausting these for this track is costly. If the shepherds cant or chose not to spend the lanterns the track resets and a minor pollution tile comes out. These also do bad things. At 3 minor pollution tiles, they get upgraded to major pollution tiles, at 3 major ones, the game ends. At the end of the pollution step all pollution tiles activate.

Then you have the flock step, which tell you what powers all the sheep have in the night, how many come out, and where they are placed. Then all the sheep move, the shepherds then may attack, and the sheep attack the caravans if possible. If any caravan loses all of their health, you lose the game. Sheep might also attack the shepherds. Instead of damage they take corruption. At one point, if their corruption track fills up it resets and the shepherd gets a curse. The curses are powerful abilities that cost essence to use. If a shepherd ever has a certain amount of curse they die. This is player elimination, so the other players can play on. At night the shepherds can spend those lanterns to move and fight sheep. Killing those sheep at night gets you essence. Which is used to buy gear, power curses, or to level your shepherd awarding you additional unique powers.

Rinse and repeat until all caravans cross the finish line or something horrible happens to the shepherd.

Now lets head back the table to see if I cant herd the rest of the Pegs to give this game a rating.