Overview
Savanna Ten(サバンナテン) is an area majority game for 2players to 4players players. The 5x5 game board features a number of orthogonal and diagonal lines that are scored as soon as they're filled with animal tiles, with the player satisfying an influence condition receiving a number of points.
Board
The board consists of 20 spaces arranged in a 5x5 grid, with the remaining 5 spaces being inaccessible. There is a number of straight lines that can be formed on the board, including the ones that connect across the inaccessible spaces:
- ➡ 5 rows of 4 spaces
- ⬇ 5 columns of 4 spaces
- ↗ 2 diagonals of 4 spaces
- ↗ 8 diagonals of 3 spaces
Each line is subject to being scored as soon as it's completed (all line's spaces filled with tiles).
Tiles
Each player is given a shuffled deck of tiles, each having a 🦁Lion on the back and another animal on the front, and draws two tiles into their hand. The deck and the hand is kept 🦁Lion side up, hidden from other players.
Both sides of a tile feature an influence value, that corresponds to the amount of influence the tile contributes to any completed line it's a part of.
Gameplay
Each turn a player places one of the tiles from their hand in any empty space of the board. The tile can be placed either the 🦁Lion side or another animal side up. If this action completes one or more lines on the board, each of them gets scored as follows:
- 🔟➖: If the total influence of the line is less than 10, the player(s) with the most total influence score 2 points
- 🔟➕: If the total influence of the line is more than 10, the player(s) with the least total influence score 1 points
- 🔟⭐: If the total influence of the line is exactly 10, the player who placed the last tile scores 3 points
After placing a tile, a player draws another tile from the deck, if it's not yet empty.
Game End
The game ends when the board is completely filled with tiles, with the player having the highest score winning the game. Ties are resolved by having the lowest number of 🦁Lions on the board.
Since in a 3players game the last player will have an extra tile left in their hand, they receive 2 points as a compensation.
Game Variants
Mice
A 🐭Mouse is shuffled into each player's deck. Its influence is only 1, but adds 1 bonus point for its owner each time they score a line containing the 🐭Mouse.
Team Game
A 4players player game can be played in teams, with the first team using red and yellow tiles, and the second team blue and green ones. The players from a single team have common score, and when scoring a line both tile colors contribute to the team's total influence.
