Borg vs. Starfleet
Players: 4 - ~10
You need:
- Like three or more mates
- An iPhone or iPad (with 3G) running iOS 5
You don’t need:
- To like or know about Star Trek
Think of this as an enhanced version of Cops & Robbers, crossed with a bit of Battlefield, all played in real life using iPhones for navigation and combat.
To prepare:
- Split up into two teams, comprised of an even number of pairs (or a pair per team)
- Fire up Google Maps and pick out your areas (example below)
- Download and fire up Find My Friends.
- Each pair assign a role: Assassin and Navigator.
- Assassins on both sides all exchange Apple IDs
- Navigators on both sides all exchange Apple IDs
- Assassins create an iMessage thread with one another
- The teams split up and have half an hour to set up control points.
- Once the time is up, the Assassins upload the images to the iMessage thread and the Navigators create an event in Find My Friends and join.
Example Game
Joe, Nathan, Paul, Jane, Kevin, Rory, Jessica and Barry decide to play. They meet up in Dublin for coffee in the morning and open up Google Maps.
They then designate two areas for Starfleet and one larger area for Borg.
They split up into two teams of equal number
Borg
- Joe
- Nathan
- Paul
- Jane
Starfleet
- Kevin
- Rory
- Jessica
- Barry
They then pair up as Assassins and Navigators.
Borg Assassin Navigator
Joe Nathan
Paul Jane
Starfleet Assassin Navigator
Kevin Rory
Jessica Barry
The Assassins on both teams swap Apple IDs and set up an iMessage thread. The Navigators on both teams swap Apple IDs and download Find My Friends.
Both teams now have half an hour to set their points.
The teams split up and run to their areas. Each pair choose up to five points in their area. To mark it, the Assassin of the pair takes a photo of the Navigator in a location.
Once they’ve picked their points and the time is up, the Navigators create an event in Find My Friends and can now see one another on the map. At the same time, the Assassins upload the five points they’ve picked to the iMessage thread.
In order to win the game, each team must retain their own points and capture the other team’s. This is done by trying to find the other team’s point and replicating the shot with your own Nagivator, uploading immediately to the iMessage thread. Each point can be taken, retaken, taken and retaken again. The game ends when one side has all ten points.
Combat
While an Assassin/Navigator pair is separated, there’s nothing you can do to them, but if an Assassin can get a photo of both of them together outside their area, they have to go back to their area before they can do anything else. If you can get a shot of them together in their own area, they move over to your side.
iMessage Thread
Joe, Nathan, Paul and Jane are Assassins and want to set up an iMessage thread. They each set up a new iMessage with the three others in the To: field at the top. When they send a message (or picture) it will be delivered to the other three.