Game: Squatter

Thread: Re: Squatter - A Light Review

Neil Thomson — 2008-09-20T22:23:41+00:00

ccsuzi wrote:
There is something satisfying about the aim of the game being improvement rather than purely monetary gain. It just rings true to the theme as this is the attitude of your typical Aussie farmer!

Sorry to disagree...but all the farmers I have ever worked for or known (around the western district of Victoria) were just as much interested in monetary gain as the rest of us.
Whether it was crops, fencing, farm equipment or stock (all of which no doubt improved their farm) the question always was "will it pay?"

I have no doubt of that Ken, farming is a tough business and only the smart survive.

My comment was more in the spirit of, "If farmers only stayed on the land for monetary gain, farming would have died long ago."

Thread: Re: Squatter - A Light Review

ccsuzi — 2008-09-20T15:24:56+00:00

There is something satisfying about the aim of the game being improvement rather than purely monetary gain. It just rings true to the theme as this is the attitude of your typical Aussie farmer!

Sorry to disagree...but all the farmers I have ever worked for or known (around the western district of Victoria) were just as much interested in monetary gain as the rest of us.
Whether it was crops, fencing, farm equipment or stock (all of which no doubt improved their farm) the question always was "will it pay?"

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EndersGame — 2008-09-16T04:59:10+00:00

Cards available to players during a game

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EndersGame — 2008-09-10T03:11:30+00:00

Dice: Squatter is largely a roll-and-move game

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Paul Mackie — 2008-09-01T12:33:53+00:00

I am sheep: Shear me raw. (Originally posted on The Mine Shaft Gap.)

Thread: Re: Changes to Squatter over the years

captainTheo — 2008-04-06T01:15:21+00:00

I don't understand why they removed these cards, especially General Drought. General Drought is exciting, realistic and not really unfair as it hits everyone and provides an encouragement to go to Irrigated pasture sooner rather than later.

Clearly, the removal of these cards makes life easier for the players, but at the expense of exciting twists and turns. The stock sale cards removed are the four worst from the player's point of view, having the 2 lowest selling prices and the 3 highest buying prices; they also happen to include the 2nd lowest buying price and the equal highest selling price. The stock sale cards are already highly beneficial to the players; that deliciously evil (now removed) $700 / $500 / $550 card, which has the worst selling and worst buying prices, is the only one where the buying price is higher. What's wrong with getting screwed over by buying and selling stock occasionally? That would have happened in real life!

It also removes the nice, neat buying and selling ranges. Buying prices ranged from $400-$700 with over half under $500 (now $400-$650); Selling prices ranged from $500-$800 (+10% for improved/irrigated) with nearly half over $700 (now $530-$800).

I like this game but IMO these changes detract badly from it. There's no fun when it becomes unnecessarily easy. It would make more sense to include those cards but allow them to be excluded as a variant. My copy, purchased in the late 1980s, includes all of the missing cards, has the sheep's head tokens, and has the $750 correction. The font for this $750 is different, I always wondered why, now I know! You may be sure that I will be hanging on to this copy!

Thread: Re: Changes to Squatter over the years

Karlsen — 2007-08-18T08:11:15+00:00

The good news is that the lastest version does have the little plastic sheep's heads again! Yay!

Thread: Re: Changes to Squatter over the years

waza — 2007-08-18T07:51:43+00:00

Karlsen wrote:
The new(er) one does not have the cute sheep's head tokens for the pens of sheep, just boring little plastic discs and the Hay Stack tokens have been replaced with cards
This is very sad. My strongest memory of playing this as a kid (my next door neighbors owned it) is the little plastic sheep. I am so glad I havent purchased a recent copy, I would surely have been disappointed with the sheep being missing.

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EndersGame — 2007-07-30T04:10:46+00:00

An escapee from another game making hay while the sun shines.

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EndersGame — 2007-07-30T04:08:59+00:00

Conclusion of a four-player game

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EndersGame — 2007-07-30T04:03:54+00:00

Is that a Robber stealing sheep from Coolibah Creek Station?

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EndersGame — 2007-07-30T04:01:19+00:00

Three Stud Rams = great Wool Sale bonus - but sadly for just one sheep pen!

Thread: Re: Squatter - A Light Review

FLo711 — 2007-07-15T11:50:20+00:00

Finally a review on Sqautter!

I do remember liking this one as a kid, not the greatest of themes, but an Aussies always has soft spot for anything sheep related.

Nice job Neil

Thread: Re: Squatter - A Light Review

Neil Thomson — 2007-07-15T09:52:03+00:00

Thanks for the heads up - a good read.

Yeah we played with my brother in laws copy as he bought one at this years Expo and had it signed by the designer.

Maybe we can get a game at ConVic 6 in August.

Thread: Re: Squatter - A Light Review

Karlsen — 2007-07-15T09:29:14+00:00

Neil,

Nice review. If the edition that you played recently is not the same physical copy that you played with when you were twelve years old, then it most likely did play shorter than the old edition.

Late last year I compared my childhood edition of Squatter with a modern backup copy obtained in the last couple of years, the differences are detailed here. In short the changes mean that the modern edition will actually play more quickly than the old version.

I've always had a soft spot for this game, but do have problems getting other people to play it. The last time I played it two of the players had grown up on sheep farms and both said that it was very accurate in terms of things that it covered.

I had an interesting chat with the designer at this year's expo that I really should get around to writing up before I forget all the details.

Thread: Squatter - A Light Review

Neil Thomson — 2007-07-15T05:31:08+00:00

All of my reviews aim to offer a brief overview that allows people to get a good feel for what the game may offer them. I feel that other reviews can be sought if detailed game mechanics is what you are after.

Summary

Game Type - Board Game
Play Time: 60-90 minutes
Number of Players: 2-6
Mechanics - Economics, Roll & Move
Difficulty - Moderate (Learn in 30-40 minutes)
Components - Good

It was with much hesitation that I returned to play Squatter, not having played it in almost 20 years. This was probably unfair of me to a degree as I never truly understood the game as a 12 year old but my lasting memory of the game was that it took forever. By the end of the game I was left very surprised at how enjoyable the game was, so much so that we played a 2nd game and enjoyed that too!

For those not familiar with Squatter, it is widely regarded as the Australian version of Monopoly and dates back to 1962. This is not a fantastic comparison however as the aims and play are totally different. The only similarities are that both games have economics at their base, they require the players to move around an outer board track and they both used to take some time to play. I say 'used to' but this is no longer the case as Squatter has been refined over the years and the two games we played were finished in 65 and 55 minutes respectively (3 player games).

In Squatter each player is in charge of a sheep farm. Each farm is displayed in the middle of the board and consists of 3 rows of pasture (5 pastures per row). The first row is Natural pasture and each can only hold 3 pens of sheep. The 2nd row is Improved Pasture and the 3rd row is Irrigated Pasture. The game begins with each player receiving $2,000 and 3 pens of sheep in each of their 5 Natural Pastures. Each pen is represented by a plastic sheep head, which is cool. For realities (themes) sake each pen represents 200 sheep, so each player starts the game with 3,000 head of sheep.

The aim of the game is not to earn the most money, but to be the first to improve their farm to a point where it can sustain 6,000 head of sheep. This is only possible by upgrading your farm from Natural Pasture to Improved Pasture, which can hold 5 pens (sheep heads) per paddock and then from Improved Pasture to Irrigated Pasture, which can hold 6 pens (sheep heads) per paddock. There is something satisfying about the aim of the game being improvement rather than purely monetary gain. It just rings true to the theme as this is the attitude of your typical Aussie farmer!

The board itself consists of a variety of spaces and each player moves by rolling 2 dice and moving the total shown. The 'Go' square of Monopoly is replaced with the Wool Sale square but is in the exact same position of the board. Landing on or passing this square allows a player to earn income by selling their wool. Each pen of sheep is worth $200 so the more sheep a farmer has, the more they can earn. A great little Wool Chart is provided so the player's can simply reference the chart to calculate their income.

So what else can happen and where is the strategy? Let's have a look at the board and its various spaces.

Stock Sale - There are 10 of these in all and they are crucial. When a farmer lands on a stock sale they can choose to buy or sell up to 15 pens of sheep. Each card contains a buy and sell price but a farmer must announce if they intend to buy or sell (and how many pens) before they draw the card. In this way a large slice of luck is introduced into the game but a farmer can always choose to minimise their risk by only buying or selling a small number of pens at any one time. Of course if the card was good for their action (featured a low buy price or high sell price) they will miss out on cashing in.

The values range from $400 to $700 when purchasing livestock and $400 to $930 when selling. Generally speaking a farmer will always make a profit from the buy and sell cycle but the trick is to make more money than the other players so you can upgrade your farm faster. Another cool Reckoning Chart is provided to calculate costs and incomes quickly.

It should also be noted that the higher prices from selling can only be earned if your livestock are grazing (located) on Improved or Irrigated pasture. As each player can only possess 5 pastures at a time, they will need to upgrade their initial Natural Pastures as the game develops. Each Improved Pasture (of which there are 5) costs $500 and each Irrigated Pasture costs $1,500. It is not possible to purchase Irrigated Pasture until all 5 Improved Pastures have been bought. Any livestock on an old pasture type can be moved into a new pasture once it is purchased. A player can buy new pasture on any turn before they roll the dice and move.

Strategy

It is important to note that the buying and selling of stock is the key mechanic of Squatter and takes up most of the playing time. The trick to the game is to try and sell stock in the first half of the board (as your piece does each lap). If you can buy low and sell high it is possible to make large profits that can be used to improve your pastures. But you also want to buy stock in the 2nd half of the board (on each lap) as you can make good money from the Wool Sale (Pass Go) space. Whilst this may sound bland as it is written here, I found the experience really quite engaging, to the point of being almost addictive. It is very satisfying to get the buy-sell cycle just right, maximize your Wool Sale and get a bargain from the Stock Sales.

Tucker Bag - There are 8 of these on the board and they function just like the Community Chest or Chance spaces in Monopoly. The player draws a card from the deck and it will feature a positive or negative event related to the theme. This deck starts with the Fire Equipment card on top and the first person to land on a Tucker Bag space has the first option to buy the equipment, which will protect against fire.

Stud Ram - There are 5 Stud Ram cards that can be purchased and they ‘feel’ a little like the Railway Stations from Monopoly. Each Stud Ram a player owns will increase their earnings at a Wool Sale by $25 per pen. The Wool Sale Chart features possible earnings with any number of Stud Rams so calculation of income is a breeze. If another player lands on a Stud Ram you own they must pay a small Stud Fee for your Ram’s services.

Safe Guards - There are 3 safe guard squares that allow a player to Drench their Sheep, Spray for Weeds or Fertilise their Pastures. Each comes at a relatively minimal cost and the farmer can take a card for doing so. The benefit is that each action will bestow a 20% increase on their next Stock Sale. If all 3 were owned by a farmer the 60% increase could be substantial indeed. Unfortunately the Stock Sale Chart does not factor in potential % increases so you have to go get a good old fashioned calculator (or pen and paper).

Running Costs - There are several squares that are not so nice such as Fencing Repairs, Flood or Shearing Costs. Some of these are flat costs and others are costs per pen of sheep.

Drought - There are 2 of these and they are disastrous. A drought will result in a farmer having to sell half of their stock at a flat rate of $200 per pen. This is a shocking sale price and can cripple a farmer in the short term. A marker is also placed on the drought square and the farmer in question cannot buy or sell stock, nor can they improve pastures, until they complete a full lap of the board. This represents the long lasting effects of drought and it really will create groans from anyone who is unfortunate enough to land on a drought space.

But there are 2 possible safeguards. There are 6 spaces on the board that represent the Haymaking Season. If a player lands on one of these spaces they can elect to buy a Hay Supply for $500 (at the start of their next turn). If they have a Hay Supply card when a drought hits, they can discard their Hay Supply card and draw a Stock Sale card, earning the Sale price on the card. Whilst they might not have wanted to sell at least they can get a decent price.

Drought will also only affect Natural and Improved Pastures. So having all of your stock on Irrigated Pasture is also beneficial. However...

Bore Dries Up - This space will affect the Irrigated Pasture and has the same effects as a drought. It is important for this space to be included otherwise an early leader could be hard to catch if they can upgrade to Irrigated Pasture quickly.

Stud Ram Dies - This space will see a farmer have to return a Stud Ram to the supply if they have one. Again this can be protected against if a player owns a certain card found in the Tucker Bag deck.

Local Rains – The player landing on this space will have a drought broken if they were suffering one. They no longer need to complete a lap of the board and can perform all normal actions.

The Final Word

Playing Squatter again after so many years away was a really positive experience. The game length has been reduced considerably, namely I think because General Droughts that affected all players (in previous editions) have been removed. So the game now plays in about 90 minutes at the most with the maximum number of players.

What I enjoyed most was that Squatter really gave me a good feel for the sheep farming cycle. I loved using the various charts to calculate incomes and the finishes were pretty close. Sure, it still feels like an 'old school' style of game with the roll and move mechanism but there is something here if you are prepared to take a look.

Thread: Changes to Squatter over the years

Karlsen — 2006-12-26T04:40:53+00:00

I have two copies of Squatter, the first one was purchased in the early 70's (with the cute sheep's head tokens) and the second one about thirty years later. Squatter has gone through a number printings over the years and there are no clearly marked edition or version
numbers that I could find.

There are few component changes. The new(er) one does not have the cute sheep's head tokens for the pens of sheep, just boring little plastic discs and the Hay Stack tokens have been replaced with cards

On the plus side of component changes the Stud Ram cards are now a different colour to the Tucker Bag cards and thus easily differentiable.

The board is fundamentally the same, the colour scheme of the different pastures has changed, but everythign else is the same except that one of the six sheep stations has changed names, Birronga Downs Station is now Coorumbene Station, all the others remain the same.

I was wondering if my old copy was complete so I thought I would compare it with the new(er) unpunched one. To my surprise I found the old copy had more cards than the new(er) copy!

Firstly, one of the original Stock Take cards had a misprint on it which has been corrected:

Buyer $400
Seller - Natural Pasture $680
Seller - Improved and Irrigated Pasture $650 - now $750

These four Stock Take cards have been removed, one of the cheap ones and the three most expensive buyer ones.

Buyer $410
Seller - Natural Pasture $510
Seller - Improved and Irrigated Pasture $560

Buyer $680
Seller - Natural Pasture $670
Seller - Improved and Irrigated Pasture $740

Buyer $690
Seller - Natural Pasture $800
Seller - Improved and Irrigated Pasture $880

Buyer $700
Seller - Natural Pasture $500
Seller - Improved and Irrigated Pasture $550

Three Tucker Bag cards have also been removed.
Income Tax Assessment. In the old edition there are two Income Tax Assessment cards, in the new(er) version there is only one.

Severe infestation of Lucerne Flea and Red Legged Earth Mites. Unless you have Control of Weeds and Insects you are foced to sell one third of stock for $500 per pen and not restock for one circuit of the board, in effect a local drought.

and finally the big change,
General Drought. This is, in effect, a Local Drought affecting all players at once.

All mention of General Drought has also been removed from the new(er) rules. Possibly it was thought to be too irritating to hit all players at once, even though it is very realistic. The removal would help to shorten the game length too.

All the changes would seem to make the game less extreme in terms of (bad) luck and also should assist in reducing game time, which is no bad thing.

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EndersGame — 2006-11-12T14:34:36+00:00

The end game: two fully stocked stations, with sheep pens on irrigated pasture (blue)

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EndersGame — 2006-11-12T13:59:20+00:00

Midway a four-player game, with Blue suffering a Local Drought

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EndersGame — 2006-11-12T13:42:17+00:00

Detail of the Haymaking Season part of the board

Thread: Re: Got the same but no Rules

mickeyjames — 2006-07-01T03:48:58+00:00

I have the rulles and can mail them to you if you still need them?

Thread: Re: Got the same but no Rules

daj17 — 2006-06-26T01:00:19+00:00

Drought - u cant buy stock for a year
- u need to sell half ur shep at $200 a pen of at stocksale card price if u have a haystack
not effected if u have a irrigated pastures but bore dries up gets u there
pens go like thes
natural pasture 3 pens in each
improved pasture 5 pens in each
irrigated 6 pens in each

maximum of 5 paddocks at one time with pens of sheep in them
30 pens of shep maximum end of game all 6 x 5 in irrigated pasture (end of game)

Hope this helps

Thread: Got the same but no Rules

malbt — 2005-07-15T21:48:35+00:00

Can anyone help with where I might find a copy of the rules for Squatter - the Australia Wool Board Game.

Dusted it off last night to play with the kids and only have vague recollections of how to play.

What happens when you land on drought? What is the max number of pens you can buy or sell....

etc etc

Mal