Go on Safari in Serengeti

One of the things on my Bucket List is to go on an African safari.

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved observing wild animals. And living in the Western U.S., one of my favorite places to visit is Yellowstone National Park because of all the wildlife.

I also love watching the myriad of nature documentaries on Netflix or Amazon Prime. There are some superb series in recent years. It makes me appreciate the world we live in so much.

But at the top of my animal adventure list is still an African safari.

So when I heard about a new game hitting Kickstarter this week that revolves around African safari animals, Serengeti, my interest was piqued. And if that weren’t enough, it’s also a cooperative board game – where you work together and either win or lose as a team.

Game designer, Jordan Shumway was kind enough to answer a number of questions about Serengeti.

Serengeti cooperative board game — Let’s take an African safari together!

Q: What is Serengeti?

A: Serengeti is a cooperative board game for the whole family. In Serengeti, you and your fellow players are members of a wildlife conservation team. The Serengeti has been overrun by poachers seeking to capture unsuspecting animals.

You and your team must protect the most prized and endangered animals, known as The Big Five. The Big Five refers to the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and water buffalo. You must work together to rescue The Big Five before the poachers capture them or time runs out.

Q: Why did you decide to make Serengeti?

A: Serengeti started out as a side project about 2 years ago. I had just finished college and was working part-time as an intern. I had a lot of time on my hands and making a board game sounded fun. I had no idea where to start, but I knew that I needed game components.

I didn’t want to use the components from my games, so I went to a secondhand store and bought 3 games: Stocks and Bonds, Scrabble Jr., and Cranium. These games helped me brainstorm and eventually the foundation of Serengeti was born.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for the theme?

A: My brother went on a safari and told me about his experience of seeing all 5 members of The Big Five in one day. People often spend weeks or months trying to get a glimpse of just one of The Big Five. So he felt pretty lucky to have that experience. I’ve noticed that there are very few safari themed games. So I thought it was a no brainer and it fit the game play perfectly.

Q: Talk about the box. Why did you decide to go with a wooden box?

A: I think it looks really cool! I wanted Serengeti to have a distinct look. The box is the first thing you see and it needs to be unique and eye catching. I stumbled upon an old ammo box and thought it would make a perfect game container. Plus it offers more protection than a standard cardboard box.

Q: What were some of the challenges that you ran into during the game design process?

A: I played the first draft of the game with some friends. I was proud of what I had come up with and expected them to be blown away. The game took us 5 minutes to play and my friends looked at me like, “Is that it?”

Needless to say, they weren’t very impressed and quickly pointed out the flaws of the game. They weren’t mean about it, they were actually encouraging, but I took it personally. It took me a while to understand that people weren’t criticizing me, but they were criticizing the game. I realized that I needed be more humble and take feedback at face value.

Q: Is Serengeti similar to other games?

A: The best comparison I can think of is a mash-up of Pandemic and Flash Point: Fire Rescue with a few other unique elements. I tried to mimic the tension you feel in Pandemic and the discovery and exploration mechanic in Flash Point: Fire Rescue.

Q: I see you’ll be donating to World Wildlife Fund For Nature from game sales. Can you tell us more about the reason behind that?

A: Before I started developing Serengeti, I wasn’t extremely environmentally conscious. I knew animals were endangered somewhere in the world, but I didn’t see or think about them throughout my day.

Doing research for the board game, Serengeti, has really opened my eyes to how bad some species are suffering and most of it can be prevented. I think most people are like me. Wildlife conservation is not something they think about all the time, but they want to protect and preserve our planet. This donation gives people the opportunity to help and gives Serengeti a bigger purpose than being just a board game.

Q: What board games have you been playing lately?

A: Right now, I am really into “roll and write” style games like Qwixx and Ganz Schon Clever. I’ll also play anything by Wolfgang Warsch. He is a board game genius!

Q: What other activities do you enjoy?

A: I enjoy anything outdoors like camping and hiking. I like traveling and making new friends. I love golf, but I’m not any good at it.

Q: Anything else you want to add?

A: I’m SO excited for more people to play this game!! It’s an amazing feeling bringing something to life, and having people also get excited about it. I can’t wait to get this game into our backer’s hands!

You can check out more about the game and pledge to get a copy on the Serengeti Kickstarter page.