All Summer long, I’ve seen ads on Facebook for a game called “Flock Together”. The unmistakable artwork of Andrew Bosley stood out every time I scrolled past. When I saw a giant banner at Southern-Fried Gaming Expo in July with this art, I knew I had to check it out.
Protect the Farm
Flock Together is the first game from Sea Cow Games and designer Matt Mundy. Taking on the role of chickens, players work together and take down the predators that sit just outside the farm. Each player choses a unique chicken with asymmetric abilities. This game is serving up top-notch puns with player characters like Annie Yokley, Wyatt Chirp or Shellock Holmes.
No matter what chicken you play as, you begin the game as a young chick. You’re fighting skills aren’t matured and you haven’t grown into the fowl you will be near the end of the game. This progression is central to the game. As you eat, your chicken advances using a spiral bound character book. Each chicken can advance two levels eventually unlocking all their abilities.
Predators sit just outside the farm ready to do battle. The baddies in this game all have unique abilities and strength. You’ll fight against 3 of these predators before facing the “boss battle” to end the game.
As you may have guessed, the pun game is strong with the enemies too. Owl Capone, Hens Gruber, Cleopoultra and more. You only have 3 seasons to take down the boss, so work fast little chicky.
Birds of a Feather…
Each season of Flock Together has a number of rounds that can be affected by weather conditions. These weather conditions limit movement or might limit the actions you can take. Some actions are limited to the farm. Most of these are centered around laying eggs, healing and reviving other chickens. Moving outside the farm will allow you to forage for food, attack predators, collect cards and eat to level up.
Players can also take on smaller creatures to gain perks and increase their chance of surviving the bigger battles with the predators. Attacks are always handled through a roll of the 6-sided chicken die.
During my playthrough with Will Meadows of Tantrum House, it was very clear within the first round that we had to lean on one another to survive. Finding synergies among your chicken family is so important.
Each season that passes will allow the predators to gain a new level. Timing is so important as you come to the end of a season. At 2-players, Flock Together had excellent pacing. We had some early successes and the last season felt like a puzzle as we worked together to defeat the boss.
Flock Together awards players that defeat predators with unique loot drops. The last page of each predator book gives you a piece of loot that you can use in a future turn.
A Stunning Presentation
I’ve got to admit that even as a prototype, Flock Together was one of the most well produced games I’ve seen in a while. From the double-sided food tokens, dual-layered player boards and every character book, this game is stunning.
Flock Together plays up to 5 players and the difficulty can change based on the predators you pick each game. After a couple plays, you’ll probably gravitate to your favorite chickens based on their abilities. This adds to lots of replayability which is huge for a cooperative game.
The game is a solid pick for families who enjoy co-op experiences. There’s enough depth in the gameplay to be an addition to a regular game night with friends.
I may have been drawn in by Andrew Bosley’s outstanding art, but I’ll absolutely stay for the chicken puns and gameplay. Flock Together is an impressive first game from a publisher that I’m excited to watch moving forward.
Flock Together comes to Kickstarter on September 12, 2023. Visit the campaign to learn more and back this project.
