Deep in a forgotten swampland, the young children of humanities last survivors hone their skills as scavengers and hunters by hunting for bugs before they are ready to explore the dangerous world outside. 

Written in conjunction with university research into educational methods. This is a game about risk and reward, a chance to give young players a chance to make choices that will directly affect their outcome in the game, while remaining fun and prompting plenty of surprises along the way. The rules of the game are specifically taught in a series of complexity degrees so that young players can participate at the basic level, slightly older players can add new strategies, and mature gamers can engage the full experience.

What We Need & What You Get

Bug Hunt has been playtested, prototyped, produced and presented as a part of a Western Sydney University research project. In it's current form it could be made immediately available for sale, but as a single unit here and there at a "Print on Demand" cost it might be a bit more expensive than we'd hoped for. This project is running so that enough people might bring the cost price of the game down far enough to make it a bit more competitive with other similar products on the market.  

Costs:

• Calculated into the various perk levels, are manufacturing and postage costs, along with a limited budget to cover the payment of illustrators, developers and playtesters. 
• The success threshold of $1500 has been determined to allow a limited order of additional stock for customers to purchase at conventions and if they miss out on the crowdfunding campaign.
• If we don't manage to reach the $1500 success threshold, recalculations will be made and there may be additional postage costs to ensure everyone gets a copy of the Bug Hunt board game. This will be discussed further as the project unfolds.
• Honestly, $1500 really isn't a lot to be asking for in comparison to a lot of the projects that have been funded here. This game is mostly being produced as a labour of love and a chance to provide a fun, educational package for a range of players from the youngest kids, to seasoned adults. 

Why might you be interested? 

Bug Hunt has been designed as a fun game with subversive educational elements. It's fun first and foremost, but behind the fun there are things to learn. The learning is based on current educational theories, where rules are provided for the young and inexperienced players to participate in a simplified version of the game, while another set of rules allows more mature players to engage a slightly more detailed experience, and experienced game players can delve into an even more complex game.

The learning at basic levels includes elements such as pattern recognition and simple mathematical concepts. At more advanced levels it incorporates elements of risk management and the ramifications of personal choice. It is a game that promotes action over inaction, and uses a specific series of mechanisms to ensure that other players remain engaged while it isn't their turn. It's a game designed to prevent young players from getting bored, and even though some things remain outside a players control, every choice has the potential to teach a lesson.

The gender-neutral set-up of Bug Hunt is designed so that it can be a fun experience for anyone to play. This is capable of changing through the addition of the intended expansion sets that will be made available through the project's stretch goals. The "Life's Not Fair" expansion set focuses on social diversity issues and the way some people may have a harder time winning the game than others, while the "Dangers Unknown" expansion set focuses on environmental issues that may manipulate the way the game plays out for everyone.  

The following video as presented for academic purposes describes th

e Bug Hunt Game with the "Life's Not Fair" expansion cards.

Where is the game at the moment?

As stated previously, this project has been fully developed and prototyped. It is currently in the systems of "The Game Crafter" and has been successfully printed through them. 

• The biggest risk foreseen at this time is the chance that "The Game Crafter" might run out of certain parts if this crowdfunding campaign proves particularly successful. This has previously occurred to Town Guard (one of the board games from Vulpinoid Studios on offer through The Game Crafter).
• If this does occur, a second factory has offered it's services to print the game at a highly competitive price, but requires a minimum order level before it is willing to take on the project. This means that a reasonably successful campaign may be ready sooner than a highly successful campaign, but a highly successful campaign will see a lot more optional extras added to the game package as a result of the shift in manufacturers. 

What else can be done to help?

Even though this game has been designed to be a fun diversion, it is also designed as an educational tool, and we all know how important it is for parents and teachers to have the right tools to teach the next generation. If you can't contribute to the game, don't have kids you could play it with, or even if you do, we'd love for you to share the existence of this game with people who might find it interesting or might be able to use it. If this project gets enough interest on social media, we'll add a few more benefits to the game. 

100 Social Media Shares - Once we've received a combined total of 100 shares on Facebook and G+, we'll release the details of another stretch goal, and a single random sharer will receive a free copy of the game (or will be able to nominate a single person to receive that copy). 

1000 Social Media "Likes" and "+1s" - Once we've received a combined total of 1000 "Likes" on Facebook and "+1s" on G+, we'll release the details of another stretch goal, and another single random sharer will receive a free copy of the game (or will be able to nominate a single person to receive that copy). 

Happy Hunting, and may you avoid the worst of the Bug Bites.