In week #7 we were given the option of free play. During this class three classmates and I chose to play Survive Escape From Atlantis. Overall, I really enjoyed this game, it was fairly easy to set up and play, but complicated enough to peak my interest. The game reminded me of an early version of Settlers of Catan. Players begin by setting tiles upside down in the middle of the ocean to create the island of Atlantis. Players then place colored meeples, each with different hidden values on the board and take turns trying to get their meeples to safety via boats, while removing land tiles. The most difficult part of this game was strategizing where to place your meeples and which tiles to remove. Since the objective was to get the most points, it was important to protect your high values meeples from being eaten by sharks, or sea monsters. At the same time, the game is a competition and it was necessary to strategize on how to keep other players from saving their highest valued meeples.

As for leadership topics that are covered in this game, I would say the use of planning and strategic thinking are most applicable. The game can be won or lost at the start with poor planning and it is important to continuously manage the board and think ahead. These are both important skills for leaders. A leader must plan, adapt to change and actively manage in order to ensure success!

I would recommend this game to my mom because she prefers games that don’t require a lot of thinking. The game is not as simple as a dice rolling game, but is far less complicated than other strategy games available and can be learned rather quickly.