Making Escape From Atlantis Extra Trashy

Or... "The Totally Unnecessary Event Deck For Escape From Atlantis"

The recent posts about sharing variants and other contributions inspired me to post this here. I made the post below on TOS, but I heard nothing but crickets in reply. I haven't tested this idea yet but I'm going to scribble down some cards for my next game session. (Escape From Atlantis has become regular in my group.) I initially just wanted to push people out of my boat, then I wanted Cthulhu to fuck shit up, and it snowballed from there.

----

Last time I played Escape From Atlantis, the other players and I joked that you should be able to push the other players' Atlanteans out of a boat and into the sea. I was later inspired to scribble down notes for a (totally unnecessary) event deck, because I love random events that create oodles of chaos...Keeps you on your toes. Note that I designed these cards for my particular set, which is the 1996 Waddington's edition. My game is modified a bit already: per the designer's post on his original intentions, I use the rule that the game ends when the central land piece is removed, and whirlpools only destroy things in the sea. Furthermore, I added point values to each of the Atlanteans, but I haven't made any reference to these values so far.

These ideas are 100% untested as of now, and my wording might be imperfect. Let me know what you think.

Event Deck Variant For Escape From Atlantis

Draw one card from an event deck for every round (every round meaning all players have taken a turn). Below are the cards' text:

1. Helpful mermaids
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it.
Helpful mermaids allow each player to move any or all of his/her swimmers an extra space. This move does not count towards the usual move limit. Otherwise, these moves are made as normal, during a player's move phase. A non-swimmer who becomes a swimmer for whatever reason during a turn may still take advantage of this free move (provided the player's turn hasn't passed).

2-4. Nothing happens (a):
Nothing happens. Discard any face-up event cards.

5-6. Nothing happens (b):
Nothing happens. Do NOT discard a face-up event card for this event card draw. If there is a previous face-up card, it remains in effect.

7. Fast Dolphins:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it.

Swimmers moving with dolphins may use up to 3 moves instead of the usual limit of 1. Additionally, it costs only 1 move to move up to 2 spaces! Therefore, a swimmer moving with a dolphin could potentially move 6 spaces in one turn.

Furthermore, during the creature movement phase of the turn, if a dolphin is rolled, double the number rolled. Dive remains the same.

8. Mutiny in the air:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it.
A player may, during his turn, spend a move to assume total control of a ship. How this works: Any ship that a player can choose to move (i.e. equal or majority control) may push any/all of the other Atlanteans sharing the ship into the sea. They are now swimmers, placed in the same space as the ship.

9. Blood in the water:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it. For each Atlantean who is killed for whatever reason, place a shark in its place.

10. Poseidon's breath:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it. Players may move a ship either 1 or 2 spaces per each move spent on moving a ship.

11. Poseidon's fury:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it. Players may not move any ship. All swimmers drown immediately. Any non-swimmer who becomes a swimmer while this card is face up drowns immediately.

12. Dive! Dive!
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it. Do not roll the numbered movement die while this card is face up. Treat each creature movement as a "dive".

13. Sleepy sea monsters:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it. Sea monsters may not move this round. If a sea monster is rolled on the movement die, nothing moves.

14. The stars are right:
Leave this card face up until the next event card is drawn, then discard it.
If this card is face up when an octopus hex tile is revealed, The Great Cthulhu has arisen from the deep! Do not place an octopus as usual - instead place a Cthulhu figure so that one of the hexes occupied by Cthulhu is in the same location as the tile that was flipped. Cthulhu occupies seven hexes - a central hex plus all six adjacent hexes. Any Octopus move die that is rolled may be used to move Cthulhu instead of an Octopus. All ships, creatures, Atlanteans and lands in any hex occupied OR adjacent to Cthulhu are immediately destroyed. If the citadel located in the center of Atlantis is destroyed by Cthulhu, the game is over. Atlanteans who have reached the shore are safe from Cthulhu.

15. Pirates: TBA

(More to come.)

I own Escape from Atlantis but like the ruleset of Survive! the best.

I'm in the process of designing an Artscow cardset that can be used for EfA containing the Survive! text and graphics that can be used instead of flipping over the tiles. I find the Survive! game to be more cutthroat and strategic than EfA. there may be room to add your cards into the mix.

I've also recently opened up a dialogue with the Survive!/Escape from Atlantis and Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs creator and am asking him about how both games changed from his sumbissions to what hit the shelves. Apparently Survive! was a six player game and had pirates, weather cards, and more. I'm trying to find out more about how the games could be played closer to the original submissions.

So perhaps your turn cards aren't far off.

What if instead of just turning them over every round, you could get additional cards to play when you either lost a survivor or when you used a card to help someone else? That might be a good alternate way people could get your cards. Some of them might have to be altered to benefit/harm one person more than the rest... Hmmm

Didn't some of the tiles in Survive have events?

mikoyan wrote:

Didn't some of the tiles in Survive have events?

Survive! has picture events that are resolved immediately and defensive events that can be used at any time. That, and the point value of survivors, and a few other things make the Survive! game a better overall game to me. The component quality of the Escape from Atlantis games is way higher though.

Mr MOTO wrote:

I've also recently opened up a dialogue with the Survive!/Escape from Atlantis and Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs creator and am asking him about how both games changed from his sumbissions to what hit the shelves. Apparently Survive! was a six player game and had pirates, weather cards, and more. I'm trying to find out more about how the games could be played closer to the original submissions.

Awesome! I'd love to hear what you're able to do.

So perhaps your turn cards aren't far off.

What if instead of just turning them over every round, you could get additional cards to play when you either lost a survivor or when you used a card to help someone else? That might be a good alternate way people could get your cards. Some of them might have to be altered to benefit/harm one person more than the rest... Hmmm

Hmm, not a bad idea..yeah I think there would have to be a separate deck for this kind of card - some kind of one shot effect.

I wish I had a copy of Survive. A couple of my friends did and it was fun.