Killer Snails Assassins Of The Sea

Description

Killer Snails: Assassins of the Sea is a dynamic deck-building game in which the players are scientists on an adventure to build their best deck (hand) by collecting predatory marine cone snails that prey on fish, worms and other mollusks. Each snail has a unique strength and prey type, and produces a venom cocktail of different peptides. To win the game, players must build a venom arsenal of the peptide combinations selected at the beginning of the game. The winning combination of peptides always changes as it is drawn at the beginning of each game. The Killer Snails game is similar to other deck building games: In addition to a starter deck for each player, players can expand their decks by purchasing cards from a card market. Cards for purchase include other snails with different strengths and prey types, Instant cards which feature a series of occurrences to manipulate game play, such as “Research†which provides a peek at peptides in the winning venom arsenal, Tsunami , which shifts all the prey cards on the table, and “Ocean Wave†which allows players to swap prey or draw new ones from the play deck. Each snail must be fed otherwise it goes into hibernation and is vulnerable for attack by other players. Lobsters, stingrays and other predators may be deployed to attack the competition's snails. The game offers a play experience that mimics what happens in the real world laboratory of marine biochemist Mandë Holford who co-developed the game. Players have to react and adjust their strategy much like scientists have to devise new hypotheses and test them. Designed by a team of acclaimed scientists, educators, and game designers in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History and with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation