Battledrip is a game we created during the COVID-19 period of quarantine and social distancing.  Well... perhaps it's a bit grand to say we created this.  It is, after all, a pretty derivative copy of the classic "Battleship" turn-based game.  Still, we have put our own spin on things.  We wanted a game to play with our neighbors when we were all out in our yards but maintaining distance from each other.  Many board games require all participants to be in close, often handling pieces or dice, etc.  Battleship is a game that can be run at a distance pretty easily... but we have all grown so tired of anything related to combat, struggle, and pursuits of antagonists.

This year, as with all other spring time seasons, we have our garden planted out back.  So do all our neighbors.  And it's always been the custom for any of us to water each others' plants when folk are away.  Well, no one is away from home anymore this spring.  But, with a bit of artwork and a dash of imagination, we put a spin on an old classic game to celebrate cooperation and kindness... and give us a bit of a taste of watering one another's vegetables, too!

We invite you any your neighbors to play Battledrip if you wish to when you're in backyards together... even if "together" means "at least six feet apart" these days!

The board is quite simple and is designed to be printed out on half-sheets of paper.  (Links below the image for easy download)

Battledrip board in PNG format

Battledrip board in PDF format

Two Battledrip boards for easy printing

Battledrip board in PSD for editing

 

The following are the default plants shown on the original Battledrip board sheet, but perhaps you'd like to introduce some of your own!  The PSD documents and other images above are created in a way that should allow anyone to edit things as much as they wish...

...when populating your own garden patch at the start of the game, you can be as creative as you wish.  Simple pencil or ink sketches or even just written notes can signify your vegetable plots, or you can introduce colored pens and markers for some extra pizzaz!  Just be sure to agree with your fellow players whether planting must occur in straight up-down or side-to-side rows... or if diagonals are allowed!

After that, play should be pretty simple.  Call out your squares as you attempt to water each other's gardens and mark the hits and misses as you go.  Good luck!