Twice a month, Georgia and Miriam give themselves one hour to devise an original game concept based on a selection of prompts. Below is an overview of our nest-building tactile drafting & building game, Bower Power.
THE ELEVATOR PITCH
Bower Power is a tactile strategy game for 2 – 4 players about building the most fashionable bower bird nest. Players are fetching males of a fictional bower bird species, who territorially forage for the best materials to attract a picky female to their nest.
THE LOOK
Bower Power is high-production, with vibrant colours and durable materials of multiple kinds. Its illustration style is cartoony but rich with detail.
The main proprietary component of the game is the Nest Stands, 1 per player. This is a circular wooden platform raised up on narrow mettalic legs, with an odd number (5 or 7) of curved metal struts protruding in a bowl-like formation from the outer edge.
The significant components include:
- 4 nest stands
- The building materials. These come in multiple shapes sizes and textures. Materials including soft beanbag, squashy/rubbery, stiff plastic, etc. Shapes including long and thin, rectangular, pointed, small and round/compact.
- The drafting bag – a cloth bag with space for up to 10 building pieces.
- The “lady” deck. A deck of cards each representing a single female bower bird (explained more below).
- Simple rubber clips with a paperclip style function.
- First player token.
THE AIM
By drafting and adding building materials to their nests, players compete to attract the most “ladies” to stay in their nest. At the end of the game, the player with the most popular bower wins!
SET UP
Each player is given a nest stand. All building materials are emptied together into the lid of the box, and the box is kept below the table top on an extra chair. The lady deck is shuffled and placed at the centre of the table. One card is drawn and displayed face up. The player who lastmade their bed starts and takes the first player token.
TURNS
At the beginning of a round a fresh Lady card is drawn and displayed for the table to see. A Lady cardhas a cartoony illustration of a female bord and specifies 3 preferences she has, e.g.
- Prefers nests with pink materials
- Prefers nests with soft materials
- Prefers nests which are tall
The illustration on the card reflects the bird’s tastes, e.g. the bird above would be tall and pink, with a soft or fluffy looking texture.
With the new card revealed, the drafting phase begins. All players except the start player close their eyes. The start player searches in the box lid and places 2n +1 pieces (e.g. 9 pieces for a 4-player game) of their choice into the drafting bag. Then they ask everyone to open their eyes, and place the closed bag in front of the player to their left.
Beginning with that player (to the left of the start player), players each draft 1 material from the bag without looking and must add it to their nest. Pieces can be added however a player chooses as long as the piece stays touching the nest stand for the entire game.
Drafting happens in a “snake”, with the start player (who chose the pieces) getting no turn until everyone else has drafted twice. They then choose 2 from the remaining 3 pieces, and discard the last.
At the end of this phase, players compare nests to determine who has won the most favour with this round’s female. That player gets to collect the Lady card and clip it into their nest wherever they want.
SUMMARY
Rounds continue as above until every player has been start player for 3 separate rounds. The player who has collected the most Lady cards at the end of this wins. If there is a tie, then the winner is the tied player who best achieved their own private preference, determined at the start of the game.
WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS GAME?
This game uses light elements of strategy while relying heavily on bluffing, deduction and chance-taking. Its purely tactile drafting mechanic is immersive and interactive. It is a game with a lot of character and the nest-building element brings creative fun.
Big Crow Games 