Overview

Building on the classic board game Up the River, I made changes to the mechanics and theme to give players more choices when playing the game. I ran 3 playtests and iterated on the game’s mechanics and explanations each time.

Building your fleet

My biggest issue with the original Up the River game was that players had very little influence over the outcome of the game, they were completely at the mercy of the dice. On the other hand, randomness can make for a more family friendly experience, giving younger, less experienced players a fair chance at beating their parents/older siblings/etc.

So my main alteration to the game intended to keep the randomness while giving players the ability to build their fleet of ships with slightly different stats before the game begins. To me, this adds much needed player fantasy to the game; will your fleet be the scourge of the high seas, plundering any vessel that dare cross your path? Perhaps you’ll choose a sleek group of speedy schooners, weaving between the kraken’s tentacles? Maybe a shrewd combination of the two? I saw players get excited about putting together a build before the game, and would ruminate on what they would do differently next time.

In the playtests I ran, it seemed that the randomness of the dice was still the largest influence on the outcome of the game, no single build reigned supreme. But to me its the illusion of strategy that works well here, and the mechanical and textural differences of each ship.