Battle Sheep by Blue Orange (7+ yrs, 2-4 players)

The object of the game is to control the most pastures on the board by strategically placing your sheep and blocking your opponents.

A different playing board is assembled before every game, so Battle Sheep is full of new challenges every time you play!

Game setup: 

1. To set up the game, first allow the players to select a sheep color of their choice and collect all 16 Sheep tokens of that color. Players should place their Sheep tokens to one side for the moment.
2. Each player should take 4 Pasture boards which are all the same.
3. Players now take turns placing one Pasture board at a time to the middle playing area. All Pasture boards should be connected by at least 1 side. Players should feel free to create as small or as wide a playing area as they like.
4. Determine who the first player will be. The rules suggest the "youngest players".
5. Starting with the first player and going in turn order sequence, each player takes all 16 of their Sheep tokens and creates a "stack". A "stack" is all the Sheep tokens stacked up on each other to form a single column. The stacks are placed on an open Pasture space located on the outside perimeter of the playing area created by the players.

On a turn, the current player splits any one of his stacks into 2 separate stacks (there will only be one stack to choose from at the beginning of the game). The original stack is left in place, while the new stack is moved as far as it can go in any direction until it cannot go any farther or it reaches another stack.

When all the players can no longer move any of their sheep, the player who occupies the most pastures wins.

"A fun strategy game but it does take a certain amount of time to learn how to block and acquire depending on how you move your herd."

- 2014 Oppenheim Gold Award

 "Battle Sheep is remarkably simple to learn — the rules can be explained almost instantly. However, forming a winning strategy requires some thought and planning.

Successful gameplay comes down to blocking out your opponents so you can claim large areas for yourself."

- www.casualgamerevolution.com

 Features:

• Ages: 7 to Adult
• Players: 2 to 4
• Play Time: 15 minutes
• Contents: 16 x Pasture Boards, 64 x Sheep Tokens, Illustrated Rules
• Helps develop: Social Play, Abstract Thinking, Strategy, Focus & Attention
• 2015 Recommended by American Mensa