Fur Out

What is Fur Out

Developed by a real-life fur trapping couple, Fur Out was marketed as Canada's first "family wildlife game."

The game, not just a simple roll and move affair, features three different types of characters (Trappers, the Game Warden, & the Anti-Trapper). Trappers set traps and score points by catching & selling furs. As they accumulate wealth, trappers can buy and build cabins on the board to set trap-lines to make even more money. Trappers can also tamper with each others traps and even steal them. However, if the Game Warden (only one allowed per game) catches them they can end up in jail. The Game Warden is also a trapper, so he can cash in on any poached game he seizes, as well as set traps himself. (However, as a lawman the Game Warden can't tamper with other player's traps.) The Anti-Trapper (only one allowed per game) scores by stealing traps from the Trappers and generally making life miserable for them.

Players navigate the unusual snowshoe-shaped board by rolling 2 six-sided dice and traveling along the showshoe's webbing. Different spots on the board allow players to set up traps for various game animals. (These spots are always on the edges of diamond or hexagonal areas that frame the illustration of the animal to be trapped.) Some animal hides are virtually worthless (like the lowly Skunk) while others pay top dollar (like the mighty Grizzly Bear). Only one trap may be set per square. A player must return to the square by landing on it with an exact die roll to successfully make a catch. Unfortunately, other players that land on the square may "steal" a catch from the trap. However, the offending player may be sent to jail for poaching if the Game Warden lands on the spot while they're still there.

Initially trappers are restricted to the first level of the board, but when they successfully trap an animal, they may progress another level down the board, repeating the process as they bag bigger and better game. Cards from the Fur In deck (collected when traps catch animals) make movement, and therefore scoring, more predictable. Cards from the Fur Out deck (collected when larger traps catch bigger animals) allow players to slowly collect letters to spell out the names of the animals with the biggest ticket furs... and to eventually make top dollar. A deck of event cards, name Yellowhead Cards (after the nickname of a famous Iroquois trapper/trader named Pierre Bostonais) can significantly alter a player's turn. This deck is activated by landing on particular spaces spread around the board. (Interestingly, the Anti-Trapper player is instructed to interpret the Yellowhead Cards to the best of his ability from his perspective. Some Yellowhead Cards simply won't apply to the Anti-Trapper.)

Game details

Players

2–7

Age

+10

Duration

120 min

Difficulty

—

Type

Board game

Year

1987

Mechanics

Area Majority / Influence · Pick-up and Deliver · Roll / Spin and Move

Categories

Animals · Economic · Industry / Manufacturing

Designer

Rod Reimer

Publisher

The Fur Out Game Co. LTD.