“Too Many Turtles” is a fast-paced, head-to-head tactical card game with a honorable message: “Save the Turtles”. A typical game takes roughly 25-30 minutes, with players laying down turtle cards and moving them around the three rows in their playing area in order to gain the upper hand and win the current round. The first player to win two rounds is declared the victor. This game, at the time of posting, is currently seeking your support on Kickstarter. Before we delve deeper into the gameplay, I’d like point out that my copy was a prototype so everything you see and read about here is subject to change. I’m also required by FTC regulations to disclosed that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all thoughts remain my own.
My prototype copy came with two card decks (one for each player), a rulebook, a turn/biome board, a turn tracker token, and fifty tokens (half +1, half -1). I also received some promotional cards but they are not included in the standard Kickstarter pledge level of $25. Players will have the ability to customize their own decks of at lease twenty-five cards, though the cards in the standard game were pre-built with balance in mind. Still, the idea of being able to swap out cards and try different deck building tactics is appealing. I’m told that a “store” deck is in the works and folks will be able to acquire more cards in the future.
Before we talk about the general flow of play it’s important to talk about a player’s personal tableau. Each player, to start, will have an imaginary pyramid of sorts in front of them. Four cards can fit on the back row, three cards in the middle, and two on their front row for a total of three rows and nine card slots. The front row will be the row closest to their opponent.
The starting player is player who recently has an experience with turtles…otherwise flip a coin. Players draw seven cards from their personalized deck to form their private starting hand. Players can mulligan one time…that is, shuffle their hand back into their deck and redraw back up to seven cards.
The game is played over three rounds, each round containing ten turns (five for each player). Both players will get to observe the following (in turn order) before a full turn ends:
Editor’s Note: The rulebook says five turns per round with the unspoken understanding that each person goes once within that one turn. I find it easier to simply say ten turns with each player going five times.
A turn is split into four phases:
1. Draw Phase: The active player will draw one card into their hand. There is no hand limit. To balance the game for the second player, the first player skips the draw phase on their first turn.
2. Move Phase: The active player make choose a turtle card on their tableau and move it forward one row.
3. Turtle Phase: The active player may play a turtle card from their hand onto an empty space on their back row. Some cards may allow you to choose a different row.
4. Reaction Phase: The active player may play a reaction card from their hand to play some kind of effect.
Scoring occurs at the end of every round.
Each turtle on a player’s tableau scores as follows:
Front Row = Turtle HP + 3
Middle Row = Turtle HP + 2
Back Row = Turtle HP + 1
Cards are removed from the playing area after each round and points do not carry over. Players simply note who won that round, then move on to the next if appropriate. The winner of a round may go first on the following round. Whomever wins two rounds first, wins the game!
Note from the Developer: “The only cards which remain on the field are “Trash” Effect cards (e.g. Debilitating Pollution, Plastic) and Biome cards (Dry Land, Ocean, River, etc.). Biome cards are removed by pollution related effects, Plastic and Debilitating Pollution…”
The above doesn’t cover all of the rules found in the manual, but should give you an idea as to how the game is played.
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It’s no secret that I fully appreciate games with some sort of worthwhile message or educational theme. In this case, the developers are raising awareness around sea turtle endangerment. Per http://www.bonaireturtles.org/, “Worldwide, six of the seven sea turtle species are classified as threatened or endangered due to human actions and lifestyles.” Games that help to raise this kind of awareness are key to reaching the kids of today’s generation, especially since it’s becoming harder and harder to keep a child’s interest what with all the gadgets and gizmos to which they are exposed.
The game itself is fairly simplistic. I see this as geared more toward casual gamer families and children. There is a potential here to introduce this game to the classroom, though there is a NSFW version of this game in the works that would not be ideal in such a setting. I’m personally not sold on the idea that a NSFW version even needs to exist, but I would hope that it was both tasteful and on point with the core game’s message.
I like the idea of being able to use cards from different decks to formulate different strategies. My primary concern is the price point. Deck builders like “Dominion” can include upwards of 100 cards while this one includes 50 at the $25 pledge. While true that this isn’t necessary a true and true deck builder, you’re still customizing decks and choosing cards to include in your game like any Collectible Card Game. A better comparison might be Magic The Gathering’s 2020 Core Set, which includes roughly 280 cards for around $20.
In order for this game to be competitive at that price point, I think it needs to include some extra decks for free so that customers don’t find the gameplay stale after a few playthroughs. As I said above, this is a prototype and things are subject to change. There’s also something to be said for the financial resources of an indie developer versus that of an established publisher like Wizards of the Coast, so I’m trying not to be terribly harsh. With all of that in mind, I do support the idea of the game and hope to see it succeed in spreading such an important message…saving the wildlife and having fun while doing it.
A $25 pledge will get you the core game and a sticker. A minimum of $40 will net you any stretch goals reached, as well as a bonus deck, a sticker, and NSFW party rules. You can read more about the pledge levels over on the game’s Kickstarter page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toomanyturtles/too-many-turtles
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