Keepers

Goal

Keepers is a cooperative game: the whole team wins or loses together. You are two to four lighthouse keepers. Pilotless boats move one square per round, always straight ahead. Bring them all into a port before night falls, losing none if possible.

The sea and the fog

The sea is a grid. Each lighthouse permanently lights only a small circle around itself, about two squares in radius; everything else is lost in the fog. You only see reefs and boats inside your circle or inside your beam. A reef you have discovered stays marked on your map, and a boat you have already spotted stays tracked.

A round

Keepers play one after the other. On their turn, a keeper does two things, in this order:

• The beam: choose a light and a direction (or pass).
• The signal: send the team one of the ten available signs (or pass).

When every keeper has played, each boat moves one square along its heading, then a new round begins.

The lights

The beam sweeps a sector of the sea in one of eight directions (north, north-east, east, and so on), four or five squares deep. Every boat caught in the light is affected:

• White: lights up without changing anything. Ideal for exploring the fog.
• Red: the boat turns 90 degrees to port (its left).
• Green: the boat turns 90 degrees to starboard (its right).
• Blue: the boat drops anchor and does not move at the end of this round.

Several keepers can light the same boat in the same round: its turns add up.

The ten signals

No free talk! To coordinate, you only have these signs, which stay displayed until their author’s next turn:

• Reef: flags a reef you discovered, so everyone adds it to their map.
• Boat: flags a boat you can see, so everyone tracks it.
• Port, Starboard, Anchor: asks another keeper to turn this boat, or hold it, with their light.
• Hold course: this boat is on track, leave it alone.
• I’ve got it: I have this boat in hand.
• Let’s wait, Got it and Well done: little words for mood and coordination.

The dangers

• A boat that enters a reef or a lighthouse islet is lost, and so is one that leaves the map.
• Tidal reefs (level 5) are covered at high tide and dangerous at low tide. The amber marks on the timeline show low tides.
• Gusts (levels 4 and 5), announced by an arrow on the timeline, push every boat one extra square in the direction of the wind, even those at anchor.
• In levels 3 to 5, each boat has its own port, marked by its colour and emblem. A boat that reaches the wrong port is simply turned away.

End of the game and stars

The game ends when no boat is left at sea, or when night falls: boats still at sea are then lost. One star for at least 60% of the boats in port, two stars for all the boats, three stars if all are home before the starred mark on the timeline.

Levels

Each level generates a different sea, always solvable: every boat can be saved. You can replay the same sea to improve your rating.

Game modes

• Solo: you are one keeper, the AI plays the others.
• AI team: like solo, with a choice of the teammates’ skill.
• Two players: two keepers on the same device, with a pass screen between turns to hide the other’s map. You can add AI keepers as reinforcements.
• Online: two to four players, each on their own device. If a player leaves, the AI takes their place.

Controls

Tap or click the sea in the direction you want (tap twice to switch on), or use the keyboard: 1 to 4 for the light, A Q W E D C X Z for the direction, arrows to turn the lantern, Enter to confirm, P to pass. For signals: keys 1 to 9 and 0, then the arrows to choose the target.