Raising the Flags (2015)

After a long journey crossing never-ending wild seas, the colonies reached a wonderful and prosperous island… The rush of power began quickly after… And, the battle for conquering the island to prove who was the master of this mysterious island… Colonies started to expand their own territories by acquiring more lands… And, to flourish by harvesting resources... However, the resources were limited … And, industrialization was inevitably ahead… So, at a glance, the faces of tiny villages have been changed to modern cities… Colonies rapidly developed new cities, built massive factories, used airplanes to collect the resources, and scratched the sky with their high-rise business centers... The danger of foreigners was always around… Hence, the incomers funded the costly militaries to protect their people… War was not always an option… Thus, they established diplomacy and started trading with their neighbors… Famine lead to demand for more lands… So, the settlers were convinced to invade new lands and raise their own flags on them… And now this is the question: whose flags will remain waving on the horizon? Raising the Flags is a strategic board game where every player is a leader of a colony. The winner of the game is the one who creates the most prosperous territory. The game occurs on an island containing various lands and cities. Each player begins the adventure by selecting a capital city and raising the main flag on it. Players should expand the territory with the construction of new buildings such as farms, houses, factories, airports and business centers, and by harvesting crude resources including, food, wood, stone and oil. The players also experience negotiation and trading with neighbors, tricking and attacking them… The game board is an island which contains four different tiles, including sea, resources, lands and cities. Each player starts the game by selecting a city as the own capital city and raises the main flag in that capital city. Then, it is time to expand the territory, construct the buildings, generate and trade resources with other players based on some pre-determined rules. The players expand their territory and raise the land flags on them. Then, they start to construct new building on the own territories. Simultaneous with construction of every new building, the player must select a building flag and raise it on the top of that constructed building. Selection of a flag is according to the player’s own decision, which can be aimed by the logic of probability. When a player rolls two dices, the summation of both dices will make a number. If this number is matched with any flag number on top of any player’s building, the owner player will receive the income of that particular building. Therefore, the territory of each player is expanded according to the optimal construction of the buildings and efficient way of raising the flags. During a gameplay, management of resources/money, planning to expand lands and cities, effective negotiation with neighbors, wise decision to attack other players, defending territory, and of course having a bit of luck will make a player closer to the final victory.