Imagine yourself staring down a giant Grizzly in Katmai National Park.
Take a canoe ride alongside alligators in the swampy waters of the Everglades.
Trek the trails that define our nation’s most valuable public resource – the National Parks!
Trekking the National Parks is a spirited family board game that lets players experience the U.S. National Parks in a fun and competitive way.
Up to six players compete in a cross country race to visit the National Parks and collect the most points. Gathering colored trek cards allows players to move across the map and claim valuable park cards. If a player is the first to visit a National Park, they collect that park's colored stone, which award bonus points at the end of the game. Players must jockey for position and make tough tactical decisions at every turn to emerge victorious!
- Campy theme that fits a national park setting
- Simple action-selection mechanic suggested by the transcript
- Appears family-friendly and approachable
- Not enough information to assess depth or full gameplay experience
- Camping and exploration
- National Parks in the United States
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area movement — Move to different national parks or locations on the board based on card play.
- card drafting — Choose actions from a hand of cards each turn to perform movement and camping actions.
- card drafting / action selection — Choose actions from a hand of cards each turn to perform movement and camping actions.
- end game bonuses — Points are earned at the end of the game based on park visits and camping achievements.
- End-game scoring — Points are earned at the end of the game based on park visits and camping achievements.
- Movement — Move to different national parks or locations on the board based on card play.
- Resource management — Bear Paws tokens used as a resource to take actions.
- resource management tokens — Bear Paws tokens used as a resource to take actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- let's get campy in a national park
- I only get two actions so I'm going to discard one card
- congratulations I get to go camping
- enjoy the bison and gain points at the end of the game
References (from this video)
- Fan-made solo mode available on BoardGameGeek
- Park visiting and resource management
- National parks exploration
- Gameplay-focused excerpt
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven movement — Move to locations by spending a card.
- end-game scoring / set collection — Points accrue based on visits and resources collected.
- Resource management — Collect and discard resources (e.g., stones) to influence scoring and progress.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- tracking the national parks is a two to five player game with a fan-made solo mode available on board geek I think
- I'd like to visit Mammoth Cave first
- need to spend a card to move there
- give me points maybe I'll get the most
- I have them both so I'm going to discard them and whoopy doll there I am in Mammoth Cave
References (from this video)
- accessible and thematic
- great for family play
- might be repetitive for some players
- outdoor adventure and conservation
- national park exploration and route-building
- family-friendly exploration
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / route-building — Construct routes through parks to maximize points
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- yelling is cathartic, it's good for you
- my asian parents won't be too disappointed
- it's the warm-up, but you're doing great
References (from this video)
- Accessible for families and casual players
- Deliberate design that leans toward simple, quick plays
- Trekking the World
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- solo gamers are inherently selfish and I don't mean that in a bad way because I'm saying this about myself but I always want it to be my turn
- the critique is a way of sharing love and appreciation with another person you want them to succeed
- ideas are cheap, it's about execution
- a good designer can take a bad idea and make a good game; a bad designer cannot take a bad idea and make a good game
- the duality of myself between the confidence and the ego and the humility
- it's not here to tear down egos but to help others succeed
- I want it to always be my turn
- being visible is an incredibly important thing for people in this industry