AW, SHEEP!
Editor’s note: During Packer symposium 2017, Lucy S. (‘18), Justin H. (‘17), Jordan T. (‘17), and Hage P. (‘17) spent 2 weeks of exploring the intersections between math and board-game design. In the end they created a fun board-game called Aw Sheep! The rules are outlined here along with a print-and-play version of their game.
The World of Aw Sheep!
You are an up-and-coming farmer in the small, pastoral town of Baaahhston. Young and ambitious, your only goal is to amass the largest and most impressive flock of sheep in all of the town. Be warned - there are other fiending farmers around you, attempting to create their own, equally impressive sheep flocks. Be on the lookout for the mystical golden sheep, sure to bring you a lifetime of good farming fortune. Hold on to your overalls, because Aw, Sheep! is a flocking good time for the whole family.
Objective
Hold the most sheep in your hand when a round ends. A round is over when either...
Setup
Gameplay
The player who most recently ate an organic meal goes first, and then rotates clockwise. On your turn, play any card from your farmhand by placing it face up in the middle of the table. This will be the first card of the discard pile. The functions of the card are as follows:
(6): In the Doghouse - User trades one card to another player in return for two cards of their choosing. If this is the last card in your hand, it has no effect and you’re stuck in the doghouse!
(4): Power of Methane - Select a player to discard 2 cards. Methane is a very dangerous tool.
(4): Horsin’ Around - Swap hands with a selected player!
(4): Piggin’ Out - Take all of a selected player’s sheep (including the golden sheep), just like the gluttonous pig you are.
(17): Feelin’ Sheepish - No special effect when played. Collect the most sheep to win!
(1): Gold Baaahhrs - No special effect when played. Worth 3 times more than a normal sheep!
After you perform the card’s function, your turn is over. Play proceeds clockwise - on the next player’s turn, they will play their card by placing it directly on top of the discard pile. If you are forced to discard when another player plays a cow, these also go in the discard pile. Play proceeds clockwise.
Winning
A round is over after one of two things happens:
If you are the last player with cards, congratulations, you win! If the number of consecutive sheep played is equal to the number of remaining players, all players now enter the Flock Off.
Flock Off: All players reveal how many sheep they have in their hand. Whoever has the most sheep wins, with one exception - The Golden Sheep is worth 3 sheep!
In the event of a tie: Players will now enter the Sheep Show. Take the pile of discarded cards from the beginning of the game and allow the frustrated farmers to guess if the top card:
We hope you had a wooly good time! This a cry for help!
You are an up-and-coming farmer in the small, pastoral town of Baaahhston. Young and ambitious, your only goal is to amass the largest and most impressive flock of sheep in all of the town. Be warned - there are other fiending farmers around you, attempting to create their own, equally impressive sheep flocks. Be on the lookout for the mystical golden sheep, sure to bring you a lifetime of good farming fortune. Hold on to your overalls, because Aw, Sheep! is a flocking good time for the whole family.
Objective
Hold the most sheep in your hand when a round ends. A round is over when either...
- You are the last remaining player with cards
- The number of consecutive sheep played or discarded is equal to the number of remaining players
Setup
- Farmer's Almanac: Each player receives one farmer’s almanack. Please take a moment to peruse each card and its feature as listed.
- Shuffle the 36 card deck. Your deck will be modified based on the number of players in your game.
- With 4 players: remove 4 random cards and place them aside
- With 5 players: remove 1 random card and place it aside
- With 6 players: remove 0 cards
- With 3 players, the deck is modified as follows: Remove 2 horses and 2 pigs. Shuffle the remaining cards and remove 8 random cards and place them aside
- Animal Auction: In the next phase of the game, you will draft the cards you wish to begin the game with. Take the following steps: (For first-time farmers, it is recommended that you skip these steps, in order to develop an initial idea of the game.)
- Deal out the entire deck so that it is equally distributed among the players.
- Each player simultaneously chooses one card they’d like to keep in their hand and places it face down on the table in front of them.
- Players pass the remaining unsaved cards to the player on their left
- Each player again chooses a card to save in their hand from the cards they were just passed.
Gameplay
The player who most recently ate an organic meal goes first, and then rotates clockwise. On your turn, play any card from your farmhand by placing it face up in the middle of the table. This will be the first card of the discard pile. The functions of the card are as follows:
(6): In the Doghouse - User trades one card to another player in return for two cards of their choosing. If this is the last card in your hand, it has no effect and you’re stuck in the doghouse!
(4): Power of Methane - Select a player to discard 2 cards. Methane is a very dangerous tool.
(4): Horsin’ Around - Swap hands with a selected player!
(4): Piggin’ Out - Take all of a selected player’s sheep (including the golden sheep), just like the gluttonous pig you are.
(17): Feelin’ Sheepish - No special effect when played. Collect the most sheep to win!
(1): Gold Baaahhrs - No special effect when played. Worth 3 times more than a normal sheep!
After you perform the card’s function, your turn is over. Play proceeds clockwise - on the next player’s turn, they will play their card by placing it directly on top of the discard pile. If you are forced to discard when another player plays a cow, these also go in the discard pile. Play proceeds clockwise.
Winning
A round is over after one of two things happens:
- You are the last remaining player with cards
- The number of consecutive sheep played or discarded is equal to the number of players. This number changes if players are eliminated from the game.
If you are the last player with cards, congratulations, you win! If the number of consecutive sheep played is equal to the number of remaining players, all players now enter the Flock Off.
Flock Off: All players reveal how many sheep they have in their hand. Whoever has the most sheep wins, with one exception - The Golden Sheep is worth 3 sheep!
In the event of a tie: Players will now enter the Sheep Show. Take the pile of discarded cards from the beginning of the game and allow the frustrated farmers to guess if the top card:
- Is a sheep
- Is not a sheep
We hope you had a wooly good time! This a cry for help!
