Created by a 14-year-old designer, Bug-Off is a wargame about battling insects that can be played anywhere

Kids these days. Spending their time being creative, inventing brand new games and taking them to Kickstarter. Tsch. Why can’t they just stick to playing on iPads and watching cartoons, instead of showing us older gamers up?

The latest rising star is Tom Hall, the 14-year-old designer of Bug-Off, a simple wargame designed to be played outdoors that Hall first started developing when he was only 12.

The wargame cleverly uses discs to represent the insect units of four different factions battling to capture their rivals’ flags. The idea is that the discs can be stood up in dirt, sand, snow or what-have-you, allowing the game to be played anywhere during any season. They’re also cheap and easily replaceable, so parents don’t need to worry about losing expensive miniatures in the bushes.

When it comes to gameplay, Bug-Off is designed to be played by two to four kids aged seven and up in around half an hour to 45 minutes. The different teams –including worms, beetles and ladybugs – all have unique skills and playing styles, explained in the rulebook. Combat is resolved using simple six-sided dice, with movement set out by a tape measure.

The core set, which includes the book, 21 wooden tokens, 20 stat cards, four blue dice and a tape measure in a cloth bag, is £15 on Kickstarter and comes with stickers to put on the tokens with artwork drawn by the game’s 10-year-old artist. £50 upgrades the stickers to laser-etched pieces, as well as throwing in extra bits and pieces such as a custom bug and crocheted insect made by Hall’s mum.

The project is currently at just over £1,000 of its £1,500 target on Kickstarter, which is due to end on June 29th. Bug-Off is set for release in March 2018.