Our Motivation
The first spark of inspiration for Staking Claims came on a slow train to London. To pass the time, we grabbed a notepad and started playing an old school playtime game which we knew by the name ‘boxes, although there are a truckload of names for it… It’s a beautifully simple game and only requires graph paper, with players competing to complete squares by drawing lines. The game ate up a significant portion of the journey, and it hit us at the time that a digital version could be interesting…
The Desire for Wealth
Staking Claims is a free mobile and web strategy game from award winning Scottish developer Guerilla Tea. The game is a digital version of the pen and paper game ‘Boxes’. Players take turns to draw lines onto a square grid; the idea being to complete squares to secure them.
Staking Claims is loosely themed after the California Gold Rush of the mid 19th century. The discovery of gold in the Californian countryside lead to a stampede for wealth. Tens of thousands simply downed tools and travelled to the gold fields. Now imagine that you are in command of an army of gold hunters, trying to claim riches from as much land as possible before other bands of fortune seekers beat you to the punch. You’ll ‘draw’ fences on the land, and once you’ve fenced off a full square, that land will be yours.
Of course, some areas of land are more valuable than others, so you’ll need to be creative as to how you place your fences to fend off the competition.
Hotseat Multiplayer!
Compete against friends taking turns using one device. Perfect for train journeys…
Endless Levels!
There are millions of possible environments to claim, as we randomly generate the terrain with each round of gameplay.
Final Words
We have re-visited a well known ‘pencil and paper’ game, and given it contemporary, casual video game clothing. Staking Claims can be enjoyed as a ‘passive’ game; take as much time as you like playing a round. It won’t demand too much of you!
Finally, there’s much more to come! Staking Claims is one title in a series of original IPs being developed at Guerilla Tea which all attempt to stir up some childhood nostalgia, so stay on the lookout for more announcements and updates later in the year!