Jump to: Background + Idea & Story Tie-In + Rules + Buy your copy!
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| This is the logo I chose for the game. This image was created by Ellen Avigliano, who created the amazing images for my Mermaid book covers and all the art for the Mermaid and Friends Coloring Book. |
Mermaid's Revenge (Background)
My son (a cool teenager) and I developed this game to accompany my book series. Josh is my expert on all things Magic, D&D, tabletop and role-playing. I enjoy more classical games. And of course, I wanted something that was easy to learn and hard to master. There is a little more luck in the current version of Mermaid's Revenge than strategy, and I'm still working on that.
I originally wanted an app or a download, print, assemble and play game. This was based on amounts my son was asking me to shell out for the table top games he was playing. At $60 per box game, I realized I wanted something much more affordable to play - available to anyone with an email address. But I did want something for the idea. So the first version of Mermaid's Revenge was a $5 download. Versions in my store range from $10-$20 -- but I need to change that to $10 in person and $15 if I'm mailing out the game with dice and movers (use movers and dice from games you already own - that's my advice!).
However, my target market is 4th-8th graders. Many of them have school emails, but not ones that can make purchases or communicate with people without school accounts. If I was going to sell to them, I needed to have a version of the game I could put in their hands.
A year later, I updated my merchandising plan for events and made a version of the game that was much smaller - the current version of the game fits in a pouch in the palms of open hands.
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| The ducks enjoy playing Mermaid's Revenge! Ducks and mermaid scale cloth are not included with the Mermaid's Revenge game. |
Mermaid's Revenge (Idea & Story Tie In)
Mermaid's Revenge is a game where the players are Lost Boys (gender neutral term) searching for treasure they can take to the final port. Mermaids are in the waters the boys travel, looking for Pirates to take revenge on. Sometimes the Mermaids can't tell Lost Boys from Pirates. If players can prove they are Lost Boys (by rolls of the dice), Mermaids may even help them get treasure.
Optional game play encourages the Lost Boys to visit Ireland for a +3 token. This token ensures that a Lost Boy won't be mistaken for a Pirate.
Optional game play also encourages Lost Boy Battles. Lost Boy Battles can happen when a Lost Boy has found treasure, then shares a space with another Lost Boy.
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| The ducks enjoy Mermaid's Revenge! |
Mermaid's Revenge (Rules)
Welcome to
Mermaid’s Revenge!!
Created by Phyl and josh Campbell
In this game, Lost Boys[1]
must find three treasures and take them to the port marked 
.
.
Lost Boys can find
treasure at any spot marked X. Pirates[2]
steal from other Lost Boys with treasure.
Mermaids help Lost Boys,
but also look for pirates so they can take their revenge!
Can they tell which is
which?
Game Set Up
Place Xs on empty blue
spaces.
More Xs may make a
shorter/easier game, fewer Xs may make a longer/more challenging game.
(Draw Xs on spaces to
create a permanent game board.)
Place the +3 tokens on the
board where Ireland is. (See Optional Play)
Game Play
Lost Boys roll 1d6 which
determine their starting ports. If two people roll the same number, the older
player rolls again – youngest player wins the port. The lowest port goes first.
On their turn, Lost Boys
roll 1d6 and advance NO MORE that many spaces towards any X (or Ireland).
At each X, Lost Boys draw
a card which might be:
treasure – collect 3 to
win the game
mermaid help – follow the
card
Mermaid’s Revenge – keep
reading, get ready to roll!
Mermaid’s
Revenge Card
Players who draw Revenge
Cards must roll 1d6
1 –Mermaids say, “lose a
treasure and return to your port, pirate!”
2 –Mermaids say, “return
to your port, pirate!” (but keep treasure)
3 – Mermaids say “Hmmm.”
Nothing good or bad happens. The player’s turn ends.
4 –Mermaids allow the Lost
Boy to advance one space in any direction.
5 –Mermaids allow the Lost
Boy to draw another card.
6 –Mermaids allow the Lost
Boy to draw cards until they find treasure!
Lost Boy
Battles
When two ships land in the
same space,
the Lost Boys will battle
the Pirates!
Each player rolls one d6
die.
The player who rolls the lowest
number will get knocked back to their starting port for repairs.
In addition, if the high
roller rolled a 6, they steal a treasure from the low roller.
If the low roller has no
treasure, too bad!
If the low roller rolled a
1, they lose ONE treasure to the discard pile.
Lost treasures do not go
to high rollers unless they rolled 6.
Optional
Play
Help Mandy’s family!
Players may travel to Ireland to help Mandy’s family.
Players who help Mandy’s
family earn a +3 token which is used during Mermaid’s Revenge.
[1] Lost Boys is a gender-neutral term in this
game. Mandy is a Lost Boy even though she is a girl.
Anyone of any gender is a Lost Boy for this
game – unless they are a pirate!!
[2] Pirates are any Lost Boys who steal
treasures instead of finding them or getting them from the Mermaids.
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| Here is a basic set up of the Mermaid's Revenge Game. The map is an 8.5x11 sheet, the rules fit on two sides of a half sheet of 8.5 x 11. These and the other parts fit into a small see-through pouch that measures 4"x 6". |
