Trapper

About this board game

Trapper is an adventurous family board game for 2–4 players, with a playing time of about 60 minutes, set in the Canadian wilderness. Players gather tiles lying on the table as they catch wild animals in forests and lakes and search for fungus and herbs.

Your captured goods are shipped in canoes. When one of your canoes is full, you take it to the market and sell its contents. Careful planning and foresight matter both when gathering prey and when deciding how to fill your canoes.

• Theme: Explore the Canadian wilderness as a trapper.
• Gathering: Collect animals, fungus, and herbs represented by tiles.
• Shipping: Load your goods into canoes and send full canoes to market.
• Goal: Finish with more money than your opponents.

Trapper includes two versions to suit different groups. The basic game gives luck a larger role and is designed as a simple, accessible experience in which luck and tactics are about equally balanced. It is especially well suited to a wide target audience and works particularly well with two players.

The more demanding version offers greater tactical possibilities. Players must consider how to advance their animal gathering and whether to pursue a few larger, highly valuable canoes or bring many smaller canoes containing different species to the market. Both strategies can lead to success, making each game a question of timing, value, and planning.