Conspiracy of Ravens Boardgame

Price: $1.25 CDN

After the payment is received via PayPal or Credit Card, you will be sent an email with the link to download the game. All files within the downloaded .zip file need to be extracted and printed on a colour printer. Instruction for play included.

Objectives of the Game

Ravens are very smart and clever birds. They are very sociable creatures and work together
to find food. However, the individual raven goes to great lengths to store the excess amount
of food that it cannot eat right away. Food that is stored by one raven can easily be found by
another if the hiding place has been discovered. A less experienced raven can have food
stolen by other ravens. This is why there are two types of cache (food storage), open and
hidden. Food stored in the open cache is more susceptible to theft by other ravens or birds,
and the hidden cache is what the raven has successfully kept for himself. At the end of the
game, the raven with the most food pieces in the hidden cache wins the game.

The Conspiracy of Ravens Game Information

1. This game is suitable for ages 7 and up.
2. Two to 4 players can play this game.
3. The set up requires you to print off all the game pieces and cut them out.
   To add strength to the game pieces, consider gluing them to a piece of cardboard
   or heavy paper (e.g. old greeting cards, cardboard from writing paper pads, etc.).
4. Cut out all the food pieces, mix them up and put in the middle of the game board.
   Ideally you may want to put the food pieces in a bowl or other container.
   Print off the pages of food pieces at least twice.
5. Cut out the raven game pieces. Cut along solid black line, and
   fold carefully along the dashed lines. Use glue or tape to join
   the backs of the ravens together.
6. Game cards. There are two types of game cards, the question and
   answer ones, and the instructional game cards which tell you to do something
   such as moving ahead one space. The question and answer cards are for
   the more adventurous and skillful players. They are used to increase
   ones knowledge about ravens. The instructional cards are used for
   the beginner at any age, and who wants to just play the game without hurting
   the brain! Cut out the cards and put them into two stacks: Q&A and
   Instructional. Decide what level you want to play the game.
7. Numbers pieces: Cut out the number pieces. Fold them once
   and put into a bowl or set aside in a pile outside of the game
   board. If you have dice you can use one of them instead of the number pieces.
8. Game board. Print off the two pages of the game board. Place something
   heavy and flat underneath the game board. Suggestion: glue game board
   pages onto cardboard, or staple 5 pieces of lined paper together (2 times),
   and put under the game board to add stability.
9. Enemies of the Raven pieces. Cut out the eagle, owl, hawk and falcon.
   Assemble and place these pieces somewhere outside of the game board.

Rules of the Game

1. Each player chooses a raven game piece. Place the raven in the respective coloured territory on the game board. Each territory is divided into 2 sections: open cache and hidden cache. When you accumulate food pieces you will be instructed as to which area of the territory you are to pile the food pieces.
2. Put the bowl with all the food pieces in the centre of the game board.
3. Place the two decks of game cards (instructional and Q&A) on each side of the food cache in the center.
4. Each player takes a number from the number bowl. The player with the highest number starts the game. If you have dice, throw one time for each player. Again, the highest number starts the game. Put the numbers back in the bowl and mix them up.
5. Each player starts out with 2 food pieces for each cache.
6. The first player takes a number from the bowl. The number drawn is the numbers of spaces the player’s moves on the game board. Depending on where the raven lands, the player must do what is instructed on the game board. If two players land on the same square, both players must draw a number card. The player with the highest number gets to move one space forward on the game board.
7. The player who ends up back at his/her territory must “cache out” from the open and hidden storage areas. The number of open must be deducted from the number of hidden food pieces.
8. The winner of the game is not decided until all the players have been once around the board and are back at their territory. The player with the highest number of food pieces wins the game.
9. To mix up the game, randomize the board pieces.

Have fun!

About the game

A group of ravens is sometimes referred to as a “conspiracy of ravens”. Although ravens are considered highly intelligent, they only “conspire” to find food or perhaps to play tricks on ther animals.

The Common or Northern Raven (Corvus corax) is a large black bird, approximately 56-69 cm long.
Ravens look like crows (large black birds) but the body length, the shape of the tail, and their beaks, are different.

Ravens consume a variety of fruits, berries, grains, carrion (meat), amphibians and invertebrates. They are also
fond of human garbage. When ravens find more food than they can eat, they hide the surplus in areas where they can go back to when they are hungry. These hiding places are referred to as caches. These caches are particularly
important for ravens whom inhabit harsh climates because they provide them with a source of nourishment when food is scarce.

Ravens are social birds and will share food when it is found. Juvenile ravens are known to form an independent group,
where the dominant juvenile bird will call to other juveniles (called juvenile recruitment) to share in a food bonanza,
keeping the adult ravens away. There are many other facts and stories to tell about ravens, so I’ve added a number
of links to websites at the bottom of this page.

This game was developed out of love and respect for these birds. In my many years of teaching Ornithology I have
found it difficult to have just one favorite bird. Ravens come close.

–Sherrene D. Kevan