Here’s a sketch that mostly illustrates the idea.
Setup
The map could be randomly generated (like OPG) or created from a set of hexagon tiles.
- It should be a set of countries / areas with clearly defined (mostly straight) borders.
- Each player has a bunch of elephant tokens.
- They have a basket on their back split in 2 (with a straight line).
- They clearly face one way (shown by their head/trunk)
Gameplay
On your turn, you add or remove an elephant.
- When removing, you simply take an elephant of yours off the board.
- When adding, you have a choice: add to border or to country.
BORDER: place the token on a free spot between countries, such that the line of their basket matches the country border. This means one part will be inside one country, and the other part inside the other.
COUNTRY: place the elephant inside a country you control. (The majority of elephants looking into the country is yours.) When placed here, the icons on their back are ignored.
Finally, trigger the two actions from the elephant you just placed.
Actions
Possible actions/rewards:
- Military (most common?): a number (positive or negative) which changes the military strength of the country its in.
- Rotate: rotates all your elephants the other way (180 degrees).
- Destroy: remove another player’s elephant. (Only if connected to same area?)
- Buy: buy a new elephant token (just the top of the randomized deck?)
- Attack: perform one attack.
Attack
A country of yours can successfully attack an adjacent country if you have a higher military strength.
Military strength = number of elephants + modifiers from border elephants.
If you do, wipe out anything inside, and move at least one elephant from the original country into the conquered country.
@VERDICT: Might work nicely, not sure yet.
- The biggest doubt comes from the triggering part. We need some smart way to connect everything => how much money do you have for buying? Can we chain elephant powers after placing them?
- We also need an objective :p