Floodgate Games will release a pirate-themed programmed-movement game called Bad Maps on March 6.

In Bad Maps, the players are pirates sending their crew of minions out to hunt for buried treasure on a deserted island, hoping to be the one that can best direct the minions to the treasure.

In each round, players play cards to give movement instructions to the minions.  Once the instructions are given, the minions follow them, possibly falling into a pit or into the sea or, maybe, reaching the buried treasure.  The players score points based on how well the minions’ success matches their own secret objective cards.  After two rounds, the player with the most points wins.

The game includes a double-sided game board, 5 double-sided player boards, 95 cards, and 28 tokens.  Created by Tim Armstrong (Orbis) and featuring artwork by Kristen Pauline (Stuffed Fables), Bad Maps is intended for 3 to 5 players, ages 13 and up, and takes about half an hour to play.  A two-player variant is also included.  MSRP is $30.00.

Floodgate raised funding for the production of Bad Maps through a modestly successful Kickstarter campaign last autumn, attracting $18,425 in pledged support from 476 backers (an average of $38.71 per backer).

Bad Maps will precede Floodgate’s other March release, 3 Laws of Robotics (see "Floodgate Sets ‘3 Laws of Robotics’").