In the mid- to late 1600s, France attempted to retain its grasp of New France (aka Canada) by creating a colony here. Nobles and Clergy from France were granted sections of land along the St. Lawrence River which were called seigneuries. The Seigneurs (or Lords), divided up their property and rented it to settlers to farm and live on.
Habitant: A New France Adventure Game
This game can be played with 2 to 6 players, plus a narrator.
Goal: To successfully clear, plant and harvest your land, while surviving the challenges of New France. The first person to successfully harvest the land is the winner.
To play this game, you need the detailed instructions, printable cards, and player worksheets, a dice, and pencils and erasers. It’s designed to be similar to a table based role-playing game, where you keep track of all your levels, health, and experiences right on your own personalized page.
Basically, there are 2 seasons – summer and winter. In the summer, you work on clearing and farming your land. In the winter, you have to just survive. In addition to the work, there are different challenges and events that help or hinder your success. Things like supply ships, illness, wild animals, native encounters, weather, wives, and taxes for the Seigneur all affect your chances of survival.
This game gives plenty of opportunity for learning about the experience of colonialists of New France: the Seigneur – settler relationship, les Filles du Roi, and encounters with local natives – both as allies and as enemies, as well as an appreciation for the amount of work it would have taken to successfully work your farmland and some insight into how hard it could be to survive the harsh Canadian winter.
I created this game with collaboration from my oldest son, who is an avid gamer. With his input, we’ve designed something we are incredibly proud of and think is a fun way to learn about a period of time that was important to our Canadian history.
When you’ve played it, please make sure to pop back here with your feedback and reviews. We’d love to have it be perfect fun for everyone!
See all 31 Days of Hands-on Canadian History.
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Hi! This talks about an amazing looking Habitant game, but what prints is a fur trader game. I would love to print the Habitant game!
Thanks,
Wendel
Ack! Thanks for the heads up! I’ve fixed it! Sorry about that.
I’m a bit confused about some instructions. How do you increase a level? And how do I use the cards? Thanks, looking forward to playing.
I agree Audrey. I just spent a lot of time studying this game and am confused. Hope to use this interesting game.
Ack. Okay. It sounds like I need to work on creating a video to explain how it works. My apologies that it’s not clearer.
I’m excited to try this game but I am confused about the cards… There’s no mention in the instructions as to when they’re to be used.
The instructions also have no method of increasing your level… Would it be possible to clarify these mechanics?
Hi Rachelle,
I apologize that it wasn’t clear. It’s been several years since we played this game so I had to look at it again.
After everyone has completed their individual turns, there’s a group turn where the dice is rolled and an event happens. The cards are for whenever someone rolls a supply ship (a 1).
I believe that leveling up happens in that group turn when a 3 is rolled and you have a positive encounter with the indigenous people who teach you survival skills.
Hopefully that helps!
Hi Lisa,
I just had my Grade 12 Canadian Studies class play this game, and they loved it! Just a couple clarification questions that came up from the game:
– In your response to the question above, you mentioned gaining a level when Indigenous people teach you survival skills. Is that the only way to gain a level, or are there other ways?
– Do you have to clear all of the land before you can begin planting, and plant all of the land before you can begin harvesting? Or can you choose to plant on the partial land that you’ve cleared before clearing more?
Thanks!
I’m glad to hear your students enjoyed it. Great questions – it’s been a long time since we’ve played that I actually forget! ha.
On a quick re-read through, I believe that the help from the Indigenous is the only leveling up – because that gives you the skills to survive. Originally, I think the plan was to clear all the land first then plant, but I’m sure that people actually planted along the way. I’m sure the game could be adapted to fit that change.
Did they have any suggestions on how to make the game better?