A package arrives one day and inside is a rather delightful find in terms of a new board game.
Tripped is a game soon to be launched on Kickstarter by Canadian designer Éric Boutilier, and the offering impressed from the moment the wrapping paper came off.
How could it not with a game box made to look like a suitcase – complete with a carrying handle and snap closures? It will look great on a store shelf – always a marketing positive.
Inside, the first thing you are drawn to is a large game board that immediately reminds you of Ticket to Ride – which is a good thing in the sense it reminds you of a true gaming classic.
The map, North America, is crisscrossed with roadways, rail lines, and ship routes – which Guilder Adam quickly noted reminded of Pandemic – another game classic comparison.
Players – this one plays two-to-eight (the high number would be fun to give a try someday), which is hugely versatile, and since the rules are very sstraightforwardforward Tripped can be a party gathering game with some ease.
Each player starts in a home city – you might even be in Saskatoon if your home region is Canada – and from there you must travel to six cities – each player having unique destinations for a particular game. Once you have been to the six cities – they range from Greenland to Alaska to Bermuda and Central America — you race home. The first one back wins.
The playing pieces are nicely weighted and remind of the region – for instance, start in one of the French Islands such as Saint Pierre and Miquelon and your game piece is the Eiffel Tower, in Greenland it’s an iceberg – and are very nice.
To travel you need tickets – at least to move by rail, ship, or airplane, so those must be managed through the game.
You can also gather ‘tripped’ cards some offering a boon to a player, others very much about tossing the proverbial ‘monkey wrench’ into an opponent’s plans. If you do not like a ‘take that’ aspect to a game this one may not be for you.
Thankfully the game plays quickly, so getting waylaid by an opponent doesn’t hurt too bad – you can plan revenge in the next game – which does mitigate the ‘take that’ aspect to a large degree.
Other than the confrontation that will not be for everybody, there isn’t a lot that goes against the game.
Yes, you can end up starting on the fringe of the board and have somecontinent-spanningg trips ahead to get to your six cities, while another player starts with a city he needs just a quick car trip way, but it tends to even out – especially if you can kibosh the frontrunner with a nasty ‘tripped’ card.
So if you like Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic in the sense of travelling around a map too – then Tripped is a fine new offering that is a top-shelf offering that is to be recommended.
Also, Tripped focuses on North America, it is a game that can be offered as a ‘re-skin’ with some ease by the publisher – Tripped Europe or Tripped Far East being rather obvious.
You can follow this one at get.trippedgame.com
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Tripped
Tripped is a game soon to be launched on Kickstarter by Canadian designer Éric Boutilier, and the offering impressed from the moment the wrapping paper came off.
How could it not with a game box made to look like a suitcase – complete with a carrying handle and snap closures? It will look great on a store shelf – always a marketing positive.
Inside, the first thing you are drawn to is a large game board that immediately reminds you of Ticket to Ride – which is a good thing in the sense it reminds you of a true gaming classic.
The map, North America, is crisscrossed with roadways, rail lines, and ship routes – which Guilder Adam quickly noted reminded of Pandemic – another game classic comparison.
Players – this one plays two-to-eight (the high number would be fun to give a try someday), which is hugely versatile, and since the rules are very sstraightforwardforward Tripped can be a party gathering game with some ease.
Each player starts in a home city – you might even be in Saskatoon if your home region is Canada – and from there you must travel to six cities – each player having unique destinations for a particular game. Once you have been to the six cities – they range from Greenland to Alaska to Bermuda and Central America — you race home. The first one back wins.
The playing pieces are nicely weighted and remind of the region – for instance, start in one of the French Islands such as Saint Pierre and Miquelon and your game piece is the Eiffel Tower, in Greenland it’s an iceberg – and are very nice.
To travel you need tickets – at least to move by rail, ship, or airplane, so those must be managed through the game.
You can also gather ‘tripped’ cards some offering a boon to a player, others very much about tossing the proverbial ‘monkey wrench’ into an opponent’s plans. If you do not like a ‘take that’ aspect to a game this one may not be for you.
Thankfully the game plays quickly, so getting waylaid by an opponent doesn’t hurt too bad – you can plan revenge in the next game – which does mitigate the ‘take that’ aspect to a large degree.
Other than the confrontation that will not be for everybody, there isn’t a lot that goes against the game.
Yes, you can end up starting on the fringe of the board and have somecontinent-spanningg trips ahead to get to your six cities, while another player starts with a city he needs just a quick car trip way, but it tends to even out – especially if you can kibosh the frontrunner with a nasty ‘tripped’ card.
So if you like Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic in the sense of travelling around a map too – then Tripped is a fine new offering that is a top-shelf offering that is to be recommended.
Also, Tripped focuses on North America, it is a game that can be offered as a ‘re-skin’ with some ease by the publisher – Tripped Europe or Tripped Far East being rather obvious.
You can follow this one at get.trippedgame.com
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
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