Previous / Next image (1 of 1) Scrimshaw is a board game created for Eddo Stern's Game Design class during the Fall Quarter 2014. Themes were selected at random and got whaling as the theme for my game. Players select a boat and cast a die and go through the board game with their boat. There are cards that aid them either on their Journey or during the Hunt for a whale by inflicting damage to their opponents or advancing them in either the Journey or the Hunt. The board has perils and rewards that players can use to their advantage. When each player reaches the end of the board game, they have the opportunity to hunt a whale using a miniature harpoon to lance plasticine whales of varying value. Each player has as many turn as they have sailors on their boat and each time they miss, they loose a sailor and have to start their journey through the board over again. Each player has three Journey's they may take through the game board before they are finished with the game. The player with the most points acquired from the number of whales they hunt wins and gets to carve their name on an imitation whale tooth with the miniature harpoon leaving a record for the next group that plays. The game board is made using baltic birch that has been carved to simulate the art form which sailors practiced; Scrimshaw. This involved carving bits of baleen or whale teeth which they gave to family, friends or loved ones when they returned from their journey. When the game board is folded up, it creates a scene which plays out in the game, a sailor falling overboard after missing a whale with a harpoon. The game recreates the act of whaling by physically launching a harpoon into the soft plasticine whales, a tricky task since, like whaling, it requires a certain degree of skill. The game cards use whaling terms, sailor superstitions and lore that are helpful and detrimental in their voyage.
