Introducing ‘Wanderlust’ — A Card Game For Travel-Buffs: Cards That Take You Around The World
Wanderlust travel card game has been developed by a small game studio called Nonserious Games based in Ahmedabad (India) and Dubai (UAE)
What do you do when you are planning to travel on a shoestring budget? You most likely search for friends you can stay with or look for cheap hotels? Maybe you try to make the most of your trip and read up as much as you can about your destination.
But reading only gives you second-hand information. How about actually making friends with tourists who come visit your country from around the world? Giving a glimpse of your homeland to your new friends has its own thrills and joys!
The game introduces us to the idea that Explorers, Planners and just being a Fun Person are each different ways of being a travel-buff. The first actually allows you to have experiences. The second allows you to plan and facilitate experiences — either for the self or for others (so a travel agent might be a very good Planner). The third is the most human and natural way of enjoying the world and seeing all it has to offer. Fun people rely on the magic that springs up from personal connections and flit from place to place in a light way.
Playing Wanderlust
The Wanderlust card game starts like all card games — cards are shuffled and distributed between all the players. The rules mention different numbers of cards which are to be distributed to the players if different numbers of players are playing.
After the cards are distributed — the main objective of the game, making sets starts guiding the players. The unique thing about Wanderlust is the close connect between the story and the game mechanism. Sets need to made — but why, which and most importantly how?
The game has four type of cards. Destination cards, Currency cards, Journey cards and Reward cards. Each of the sets (Explorer, Planner and Fun Person) has a certain sequence of cards specified. This sequence is a mix of Destination and Currency cards or only one of these two kinds of cards.
In the game players collect Currency cards and trade Journey cards to get different Destination and Currency cards. This way different kinds of sets are made and Reward cards are won. The number of sets to be made is finite. The game is over when the Reward cards are over or if the game play gets stuck.
Interpreting Wanderlust
What does this mean?
The game actually makes sense in a deeper way and is not just symbolic.
To be an Explorer means know a little bit about different aspects of the same country and to either have friends to stay with or have a budget to stay in hotels. To be able to make such a set represents deeply varied knowledge about a country. It represents being deeply familiar about a country and having different kind of linkages throughout the land. There are two Explorer Reward cards (for two sets) to be won. These two Reward cards carry the maximum points in the game.
To be a Planner means to know a particular aspect of multiple countries. It is as if a food connoisseur makes a travel route across multiple countries. It is as if an adventure sports enthusiast plans different adventures across multiple countries. There are two Planner Reward cards (for two sets) to be won in the game.
To be a Fun Person means to have friends around the world — all the invitations, groups travel, couch surfing etc. that comes along with this. If you happen to be a Fun Person, it is a big skill. You could travel the world just because you have friends around the world. This is an important ability in freewheeling travellers — the ability to make deep, lasting and long-term friendships across nationalities and cultures. There is only one Fun Person Reward card to be won in the game.
How can Wanderlust be expanded on?
These are three different abilities / traits of a travel-buff. There can be more such traits but Wanderlust presents these three sets of characteristics to us. Maybe in future versions and variations, we will see more such roles?
Imagine this scenario: you are friends playing Wanderlust. The game has just started and you can make any set that you want. The trading of cards has started and you end up making the first set, it is an Explorer set. After a few rounds, your friend makes aFun Person Set and then the race is on for making two Planner sets and one Explorer set… The style of trading and collecting (to make sets) that one does reflects on one’s individual identification with each of the three roles (Explorer, Planner or Fun Person). It shows how badly we want to win the corresponding Reward cards.
Which sets to make first and which later is a game-play strategy too. This strategy can make the difference between victory and loss in the game!
How will I pitch Wanderlust to you? How will I invite you to play it? I will only ask you a few questions. Do you love to travel? Do you profess to have any special expertise in managing a trip (planning or exploring or making friends)? If so Wanderlust will be a great game for you to demonstrate your skills and penchant for travel. The game allows you to be fully immersed in the world of travel.
Do you want to play Wanderlust? Buy today.
