Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 15:08:57 -0800
From: barbmacan@aol.com
Subject: Wildlife Adventure

You would not believe how fondly surprised I was to find that me and my friends are not the only cell of Wildlife Adventure fans in the world. I have renewed hope that other players may be found and perhaps the one aging copy we share can be replaced.

My sister and I received this game as a gift about a decade ago when we were mere kids. It is the only Ravensburger game I have and I have played it more than any other game. My friends and I are in the midst of a round robin tourney with four players in the DC area. In the past, there were just three of us who played but we had Christmas tourneys many years. We have also kept detailed records of our games since 1989.

We play using a variation of the rules that developed, part by accident, part by design, and part by evolution. First of all, we always play with two players because the luck factor is much less and the game is more exciting. Second, each of the two players receives 24 cards. This makes for a very dense, intense game. We do not use the obstacles (and have removed these cards from the power deck) and, due to an original misreading of the rules which became traditional, only receive three travel vouchers at the beginning of the game. This makes for a more conservative power supply initially, but there are plenty of red dots--particularly in the "power alley" of the Indian Ocean. Sometimes the games degenerate into one power-laden player "lording it over" his opponent the whole game, however. Thus, I am very intrigued by the sequels/remakes I have now found out about. In some ways, the version we are playing seems similar to the new one.

Is Exploration any different from Terra-X? Are these games truly comparable to the original, in your opinion?

I would like, one day, to resurrect Wildlife Adventure by placing it on the Web. Digitizing the board and cards shouldn't be hard, then it would just be a matter of setting up a system to manage the cards, animals, and expeditions as players traded moves. Would there be legal complications involved with this, even if it were completely public service?

I would appreciate any response; if you care to please send it to barbmacan@aol.com. I am currently writing from a computer terminal at temp job in Washington DC but my email address is constantly changing. My family can forward any message to me.

Thanks, from another Wildlife Adventure fan,
Matt Macander

P.S. Great site. I would be happy to add a section on Wildlife Adventure and the rules variations we play under, as well as some rules clarifications we developed over time. With nearly 100 games, our set may be the most used one in the world!!!

Over Christmas, the Breeze family introduced us to another variant. They allowed event cards to be played at any time. So just as you reach your destination and go to play a critter, someone can leap in and shift the expedition to another route. Sounds pretty cutthroat to me. Use with caution.

I would be happy to entertain any and all variants you care to posit, Matt. You can find a comparison between TerraX and Wildlife Adventure in the TerraX rules on the Cabinet.

cheers,
ken

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Matt Macander