Harvest-Hallow

Matt Henry

Build an original browser-based multiplayer worker-placement board game prototype. Game title: Harvest Hollow Do NOT copy Agricola, Catan, Stone Age, or any existing board game. Make an original simple worker-placement prototype inspired only by the general genre. Core experience: - 2–4 players - Turn-based worker placement - Each player has 3 workers - Players take turns placing one worker at a time on available board spaces - Each space can only hold one worker per round - After all workers are placed, resolve the round - Game lasts 6 rounds - Highest score wins Theme: A cozy fantasy village where players lead tiny woodland clans preparing for winter. Resources: - Food - Wood - Stone - Herbs - Coins Scoring: - Coins are worth 1 VP each - Buildings are worth printed VP - Feeding your clan each round matters - Unfed clan members cause -2 VP penalties Board spaces: 1. Forage Grove: gain 3 Food 2. Timber Trail: gain 2 Wood 3. Stone Hollow: gain 2 Stone 4. Herb Garden: gain 2 Herbs 5. Market Stall: trade any 2 resources for 3 Coins 6. Builder’s Yard: build 1 available building by paying its cost 7. Hearth Hall: reduce feeding cost this round by 2 Food 8. Elder Tree: gain 1 VP and draw 1 event card Buildings: Create 10 simple buildings with costs and VP values, such as: - Wood Hut: cost 3 Wood, worth 3 VP - Stone Oven: cost 2 Stone + 1 Wood, worth 4 VP, reduces feeding by 1 - Herb Shop: cost 2 Herbs + 1 Wood, worth 4 VP, gain 1 Coin per round - Watch Tower: cost 3 Stone, worth 5 VP - Root Cellar: cost 2 Wood + 2 Stone, worth 5 VP, stores extra food - Market Cart: cost 2 Wood + 2 Coins, worth 4 VP, improves trades Event cards: Create 12 simple round events. Examples: - Rainy Week: Forage Grove gives +1 Food this round - Wood Shortage: Timber Trail gives -1 Wood this round - Festival: Each player may pay 2 Food for 2 VP - Traveling Merchant: Market trades give +1 Coin this round Technical requirements: - Build as a full-stack web app. - Use a clean modern frontend UI. - Board spaces should be clickable. - Show player resources, workers remaining, buildings, VP, current round, and current player. - Validate legal moves on the server, not only the client. - Store complete game state. - Support creating a game lobby and joining with a player name. - Support local hotseat mode first if real-time multiplayer is too much. - Keep architecture modular: - game rules engine - game state model - frontend UI components - API routes / backend services - tests for legal moves and scoring Prototype priority: 1. Hotseat local multiplayer 2. Correct rules engine 3. Clean board UI 4. Save/load game state 5. Online multiplayer after hotseat works Do not overbuild authentication, payments, chat, avatars, or complex animations yet. Deliver: - Working prototype - Setup instructions - Game rules summary - Basic tests for: - placing workers - preventing occupied-space placement - resolving rounds - building construction - feeding penalties - final scoring