游戏

The learner group consists of junior varsity football players who play the positions of defensive linemen and linebackers. The dealer, called "coach," controls the play cards and gap cards. (A gap is an area of the interior line for which a defensive lineman or linebacker is responsible.) The coach deals seven of the position cards to each of the players. The coach exposes the play card, waits five seconds, then exposes the gap card. If a player holds the card of the position that is responsible for that gap, he may put that card face down on the table. The players have five seconds to put their cards down after the gap card is exposed. On the command of the coach, any player who puts down a card must turn it over. If the player is correct, he gets a point. If wrong, he loses a point. If a player has no points and is wrong, his score becomes a negative number. Players who put cards down may get a new card from the position deck. The cards that are put down will be collected by the coach. If necessary, the coach will check the results against the play sheets. The first player to get ten points wins the round and gets to be coach for the next round. The previous coach then becomes a player; however, he will need 12 points to win the round after being the coach. Rounds may continue as time permits. Components: 64 cards

Strata is an educational game that is actually entertaining! It draws on facts and statistics from any discipline and challenges players to place new values within a "Strata" of existing facts. How many children's books did Dr. Seuss write? Is it more or less than the number of people killed by Rambo in "Rambo: First Blood"? Which has more, the number of tiles in a Scrabble set or the number of keys on a Keyboard? These are the kinds of determinations you must make to excel at Strata. The wonderful thing about the game is that anyone can play, and guessing well is as good as knowing. Also, because of its adaptability to any subject, and infinite number of expansions can be mixed in at later dates to cater to any player. Science, Sports, Music, Movies, Astronomy, History - there is nothing off limits.

Fool's errand is a 3-player climbing-shedding card game where one player, the Soloist, bids to complete contracts while the other two form a temporary team to stop them. Each deal begins with an auction in which players bid for the solo role and choose from a variety of contracts like shedding out first, or capturing all Kings. Key twist: As soon as a player bids, they pick up the 3‑card talon (public draw pile) and discard any three cards to create a new talon. Certain contracts enforce "must-play" or "must-bomb" rules. Silent bonuses give scoring opportunities for all players. The deal ends when a player sheds all of their cards, and scoring is based on which contracts were fulfilled or failed. The player or players who end up with negative points are deemed the Fools, so try not to become the Fool.

The Last Kingdom: Destiny is All

20262–220–40′8.8

In the days before England, the island was split into four Saxon kingdoms. Peace was held between them only due to a common enemy, the Great Heathen Army. The invading Danes raid and march across the kingdoms taking land and silver. Will the Danes conquer kingdom after kingdom, or will the Saxons be able to defend their homes? Caught in the middle of this war is the mighty warrior, Uhtred. Born a Saxon and raised a Dane, Uhtred’s allegiance is ever shifting. Only destiny can say what the outcome will be. Destiny is all! The Last Kingdom: Destiny is All is a card game for two players. One player is the invading Danish forces, trying to conquer all four kingdoms, and the other player is the defending Saxon armies, trying to repel the invaders. Each round the Danes will try to Raid a Location, which could give them extra forces in the upcoming Battle. Whether they succeed or fail, the Danes and Saxons will then fight a Battle at a Location. They’ll take turns playing Leaders, Units, and Tactics from their hand which increase their Battle Total and try to influence Uhtred over to their side. Finally, a Destiny card will be revealed which may alter the outcome of the battle. How to win The Danes must conquer the Saxon Kingdoms! Win a Battle in each of the four different Kingdoms to control the whole island! The Saxons must repel the Invaders! Win Battles at 10 Defense Points worth of valuable Locations from the invaders!

Avatar: The Last Airbender Oh, My Cabbages!

20213–630–90′2.7

Take Aang, Katara, Zuko and even the cabbage merchant around the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender while starting new cabbage stands, mastering the elements, looting coins from your opponents and sending security platypus bears to shut down the competition. Play as your favorite character and build your very own cabbage empire. Everyone else will be yelling, "Oh, my cabbages!" Each round players take turns placing their merchant at different locations and performing corresponding actions: discovering locations, building cabbage stands, saving coins in the starting stand, looting other player's stands, hiring employees, hiring benders, hiring security platypus bears to attack other stands, visiting Uncle Iroh's tea shop to defend their stands, drawing messenger hawk cards, drawing defense cards, and claiming the 1st player token for next round. Looting and attacking are resolved as they occur, and players may use benders to defend, and even counter to set up a bender duel. At the end of the round, players collect available income from their owned stands and begin the next round. In rounds 7-12, players are granted a 2nd merchant, taking turns in a "snake draft" order, and starting stand incomes increase. At the end of the 12th round players count up their unspent coins plus hired employees (+2 coins), damage tokens (-2 coins), benders (+3 coins) and owned stands (+10 coins). The player with the most coins wins.

Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond — The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

20232–87.5

In this crossover expansion, Magic: The Gathering visits the world of Middle-earth, with a full-size draftable booster set depicting the events of the Lord of the Rings novels on Magic cards for the first time ever. The set features the return of the Amass mechanic (originally seen in War of the Spark) as well as a new mechanic: "The Ring tempts you." When the Ring tempts you, you choose a creature to be your ringbearer, and that creature becomes legendary and gains a suite of special abilities that are more potent the more times you've been tempted. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth is sold in draft boosters, set boosters, collector boosters, Jumpstart boosters, bundles, and two-player starter kits. Each sealed booster box contains a foil box topper, which is a reprint of a popular existing Magic card reskinned as an item or location from Lord of the Rings. Four preconstructed Commander decks were also released as tie-ins for the set.

Molly House

20251–560–120′7.4

In Molly House, players take the roles of the gender-defying mollies of early eighteenth century London. Throw grand masquerades and cruise back alleys while evading moralistic constables who seek to destroy your community. Be careful, there may even be informers in your midst! Players draft hands of vice cards representing the different gestures, desires, and encounters that were frowned upon by the Society for the Reformation of Manners, a citizen group that sought to stamp out any behavior it deemed deviant in late 17th and early 18th century London. These cards allow players to host festivities with the help of their fellow mollies and create joy. But, those same cards can also lead players to be arrested and to the ultimate ruin of the molly house. As players encounter the Society’s enforcers, they will often have to pay bribes or may be coerced into becoming informers for the Society. Informers must try desperately to undermine the community around Mother Clap’s Molly House without being discovered by their fellow mollies.

Trench Crusade

20252–245–120′8.6

Trench Crusade is a skirmish-scale tabletop miniatures game that will plunge players deep into a horrifying alternate timeline. During the Crusades at 1066, a heretical band of Templars dared defy the Almighty and, casting aside their sacred vows, unleashed the forces of Hell upon the Earth. Over 800 years later, in the Year of Our Lord 1914, this brutal, merciless war between the forces of Heaven and Hell rages on. This is not just a fight for survival, but a cataclysmic struggle that will decide the very fate of humanity's soul. Set in a blasphemously alternate WW1 era, players take command of the forces of heaven and hell, leading skirmish size warbands in daring assaults and devious counter operations. From the humble bolt action rifle to the bones of cursed saints, you can tailor each loadout to complement your play style and your miniatures, making each of your troops unique. Players activate their models in alternating order to fight their way across the battlefield. Actions are resolved by rolling two D6s. There are more unpredictable modifiers, however, that will ebb and flow as the battle draws on and these come from the game’s main mechanic: Blood and Blessings. —description from the publisher

Galileo Project

20222–440–80′7.3

Thirty years after sending the first colonial ships from Ganymede, humanity decided to launch Project Galileo! Its goal: Settle the four main satellites of Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) in order to broaden human presence in the solar system. This project is named after the Italian intellectual Galileo, the first to observe these four satellites in the sky in 1610. In Galileo Project, you play as the same corporations involved in the events of Ganymede and settle the four satellites of Jupiter by acquiring robots from Earth and Mars, recruiting experts, developing technologies, and building superstructures. Galileo Project is a standalone game in the Ganymede universe, combining combos and engine-building. — description from the publisher (translated).

Vineyard: A Winemaking Game

20251–460–60′7.0

Welcome to wine country! Vineyard: A Winemaking Game is a 1-4 player game about making wine in a delightful, sun-washed valley. Move workers through the winemaking steps and choose your upgrades. Become a specialist, find the perfect moments to benefit from the activities around the vineyard, and enjoy a streamlined experience of crafting wine! Set out on a winemaking journey to create sumptuous wine! Choose how to leave your impression by playing action cards, collectively moving workers to locations around the vineyard, and deciding your unique upgrade path. Will you push your luck to get more done, or focus on building up improvements? Shared Worker Placement allows all players to move every worker, setting up future actions and benefits to try to take at the best time. Quick, Engaging Turns keep gameplay moving for everyone with open information as you maximize your important role in the winemaking process. Unique Location Actions provide ways to gain advantages and leverage other players' decisions or use clever tactics to temporarily block workers. Ongoing Upgrade Choices give you ways to upgrade-as-you-go with unique specialties and improvements to build your own path to victory. What is Shared Worker Placement? All players at the table are able to play action cards to move the workers around the vineyard. You do not play a specific character, but choose how to best guide all of the workers! There may be turns when you set up an excellent upcoming action... But will you be the first to take advantage of it? Keep an eye on your fellow players and find the best moment to showcase your winemaking expertise! -description from publisher

Bomb Busters

20242–530–30′8.0

There is a bomb full of wires and the countdown has started... Who are you gonna call? YOU! To clear the bomb, you need to collaborate with your team of bomb disposal experts! Using the wires on the tile holder in front of you, try and figure out your teammates’ wires. Find and cut identical wires, but watch out, if you cut a red wire: BOOM! Use your equipment wisely to meet the varied challenges which get harder and harder. Tick tock tick tock... Will you figure it out before it’s too late? In Bomb Busters, there is a set of 48 normal wire cards numbered 1-12 (4 of each value) with some yellow and red wire cards. These are dealt out. Each mission is different, but your goal is always the same: go through all 12 numbers without blowing up! Players place the tiles on their stands and then take turns pointing at each others’ wires and guessing their values. If the guess is correct, the wires are cut. If not — the detonator advances! If you manage to cut all wires without blowing up — good job, the mission is completed! But if the bomb goes off - Try again! With 66 missions, there will be: => 66 different ways to play depending on your moods (in order, by level of difficulty, favorite configuration) => 66 challenges to play over and over (even if you already blew your top!) => Plenty of tricky bombs which become more and more dangerous (but don’t get cut up about it!)

Dune: Imperium

20201–460–120′8.4

Dune: Imperium is a game that uses deck building to add a hidden information angle to traditional worker placement. It finds inspiration in elements and characters from the Dune legacy, both the new film from Legendary Pictures and the seminal literary series from Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson. As a leader of one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad, raise your banner and marshal your forces and spies. War is coming, and at the center of the conflict is Arrakis – Dune, the desert planet. You start with a unique leader card, as well as a deck identical to those of your opponents. As you acquire cards and build your deck, your choices will define your strengths and weaknesses. Cards allow you to send your Agents to certain spaces on the game board, so how your deck evolves affects your strategy. You might become more powerful militarily, able to deploy more troops than your opponents. Or you might acquire cards that give you an edge with the four political factions represented in the game: the Emperor, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit, and the Fremen. Unlike many deck building games, you don’t play your entire hand in one turn. Instead, you draw a hand of cards at the start of every round and alternate with other players, taking one Agent turn at a time (playing one card to send one of your Agents to the game board). When it’s your turn and you have no more Agents to place, you’ll take a Reveal turn, revealing the rest of your cards, which will provide Persuasion and Swords. Persuasion is used to acquire more cards, and Swords help your troops fight for the current round’s rewards as shown on the revealed Conflict card. Defeat your rivals in combat, shrewdly navigate the political factions, and acquire precious cards. The Spice must flow to lead your House to victory! Some important links: The Official FAQ, the Unofficial FAQ, and an Automa (solo and 2p) Overview

Flip 7

20243–1820–20′7.2

Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. Sound easy? Think again! This isn't just any deck of cards… In Flip 7 there's only one 1 card, two 2's, three 3’s, etc plus a bunch of special cards that can score you extra points, give you a second chance, or freeze you or your opponents in your tracks. Are you the type of player to play it safe and bank points before you bust, or are you going to risk it all and go for the bonus points by flipping over seven in a row? Press your luck meets strategy in this addictive card game that's sure to be the greatest card game you’ve ever played! —description from the publisher

Deep Regrets

20251–530–150′7.3

Deep Regrets is an unfortunate fishing game about pulling progressively more horrifying things out of the ocean. Decide what to eat, what to sell, what to mount, and how many regrets you're willing to carry, as you push yourself too far and spiral towards a conclusion in this strategic horror fishing game. You'll roll bespoke tackle dice at the start of each turn to determine your strength for that round and then decide whether you'll stay at sea or return to port to sell fish, buy provisions, and recharge your energy. Survey the sizes of shadows on the backs of 9 different fish shoals at three depths, determining what you think you can afford to catch and if you want to risk it for a potentially better reward. Flip fish, spend dice, add them to your collection - but beware of reveal and catch abilities that can have various effects on the game! As your eyes spy more and more horrifying things, you'll collect Regrets cards - which drive up your madness but also give you access to more dice and increase the value of weirder fish. It's a risk/reward scenario as you balance your madness, knowing that at the end of the game the player with the highest value of Regrets will have to discard their most valuable mounted fish. Manage your resources, make strategic decisions, leverage madness to your benefit and suppress your Regrets as you try to catch the most valuable haul of weirder and weirder fish in this weird week at sea. SOLO MODE: In the solo mode (which you can also co-op), you'll act as an ichthyologist on a mission to catch and catalog every fish in the sea. Over a campaign of dozens of games, you'll try to reel in every last fish and document their attributes on provided catalog sheet. At the end of each game, you'll have to discard an equal value of fish to the regrets you've collected and may have to let some fish go to return to another day. At the end of the campaign, you'll have a catalog of all fish names, depths, values and difficulties that can be used by players in the multiplayer game to help identify what they might fish up! —description from the designer

Slay the Spire: The Board Game

20241–430–150′8.6

Slay the Spire: The Board Game is a co-operative deck-building, dungeon-crawling adventure. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and finally become strong enough to slay the Spire! Each player starts with a character with unique abilities and a simple deck of cards that they can improve by adding and removing cards during the game. Slay the Spire is also a rogue-like. That means that when you die (and you will die!), start over from the beginning. Take the lessons you learned and try again! The game is divided into Acts. At the end of an Act you can continue, stop and end the adventure there, or save and continue another time! If players defeat the final Boss, they win the game! Which Boss you consider to be final depends on how many Acts you want to play. You can stop playing at the end of any Act! When a player’s HP is reduced to 0, they are dead and the party loses the game.

Wingspan

20191–540–70′8.0

Wingspan is a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games. It's designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and features 180 birds illustrated by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez. You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth: Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds. —description from the publisher From the 7th printing on, the base game box includes Wingspan: Swift-Start Promo Pack.

Endeavor: Deep Sea

20241–460–120′8.2

Plunge into the modern era, where our planet's vast interconnected ocean scape is one of the last frontiers to discover and explore. Experience a deep new ever-changing adventure in this followup to the smash hit Endeavor: Age of Sail! In Endeavor: Deep Sea, you head an independent research institute with the goal of developing sustainable projects and preserving the fragile balance of marine life. Throughout the game, you’ll recruit field experts and use their abilities to explore new locations, research dive sites, publish critical ecological papers, and launch conservation efforts. Expand your expertise, develop your team, and learn as much as possible about the sea. The action your institute takes now, could mean a healthy ocean and a sustainable future for the planet. Endeavor: Deep Sea is designed by the same creative team behind Endeavor: Age of Sail and Endeavor. This edition is set in a new era of nautical discovery, but uses streamlined rules which will be familiar to fans of the original game. —description from the publisher

Bunny Kingdom Town

20262–230–30′7.0

Become the leader of one of the two most powerful families in the royal court as you compete to build a new city and nurture it to greatness. In doing so, you will be awarded prestigious "golden carrots", a sure way to outclass your rival. In Bunny Kingdom Town, you purchase buildings that best suit your strategy and place them in the best locations to grow your districts and earn more golden carrots...unless, of course, you instead choose the exact location your opponent had their eye on in order to thwart their expansion plans. The town's inhabitants will send you their requests, which will guide you in your construction choices and can bring you, yes, more golden carrots.

Terraforming Mars

20161–5120–120′8.3

In the 2400s, mankind begins to terraform the planet Mars. Giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects to raise the temperature, the oxygen level, and the ocean coverage until the environment is habitable. In Terraforming Mars, you play one of those corporations and work together in the terraforming process, but compete for getting victory points that are awarded not only for your contribution to the terraforming, but also for advancing human infrastructure throughout the solar system, and doing other commendable things. As a player, you acquire unique project cards (from over two hundred different ones) by buying them to your hand. The cards can give you immediate bonuses, as well as increasing your production of different resources. Many cards also have requirements and they become playable when the temperature, oxygen, or ocean coverage increases enough. Buying cards is costly, so there is a balance between buying cards and actually playing them. Standard Projects are always available to complement your hand of cards. Your basic income, as well as your basic score, are based on your Terraform Rating. However, your income is boosted by your production, and VPs are also gained from many other sources. You keep track of your production and resources on your player board. The game uses six types of resources: MegaCredits, Steel, Titanium, Plants, Energy, and Heat. On the game board, you compete for the best places for your city tiles, ocean tiles, and greenery tiles. You also compete for different Milestones and Awards worth many VPs. Each round is called a generation and consists of the following phases: 1) Player order shifts clockwise. 2) Research phase: All players buy cards from four privately drawn. 3) Action phase: Players take turns doing 1-2 actions from these options: Playing a card, claiming a Milestone, funding an Award, using a Standard project, converting plant into greenery tiles (and raising oxygen), converting heat into a temperature raise, and using the action of a card in play. The turn continues around the table (sometimes several laps) until all players have passed. 4) Production phase: Players get resources according to their terraform rating and production parameters. When the three global parameters (temperature, oxygen, ocean) have all reached their required levels, the terraforming is complete, and the game ends after that generation. Combine your Terraform Rating and other VPs to determine the winning corporation!

Concordia

20132–5100–100′8.1

Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire ruled the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. With peace at the borders, harmony inside the provinces, uniform law, and a common currency, the economy thrived and gave rise to mighty Roman dynasties as they expanded throughout the numerous cities. Guide one of these dynasties and send colonists to the remote realms of the Empire; develop your trade network; and appease the ancient gods for their favor — all to gain the chance to emerge victorious! Concordia is a peaceful, strategy game of economic development in Roman times for 2-5 players aged 13 and up. Instead of looking to the luck of dice or cards, players must rely on their strategic abilities. Be sure to watch your rivals to determine which goals they are pursuing and where you can outpace them! In the game, colonists are sent out from Rome to settle down in cities that produce bricks, food, tools, wine, and cloth. Each player starts with an identical set of playing cards and acquires more cards during the game. These cards serve two purposes: They allow a player to choose actions during the game. They are worth victory points (VPs) at the end of the game. Concordia is a strategy game that requires advanced planning and consideration of your opponent's moves. Every game is different, not only because of the sequence of new cards on sale but also due to the modular layout of cities. (One side of the game board shows the entire Roman Empire with 30 cities for 3-5 players, while the other shows Roman Italy with 25 cities for 2-4 players.) When all cards have been sold or after the first player builds their 15th house, the game ends. The player with the most VPs from the gods (Jupiter, Saturnus, Mercurius, Minerva, Vesta, etc.) wins the game.

Hot Streak

20252–820–20′7.8

Hot Streak is a game for hard luck gamblers who love to bet on and scream at the racers, who in this case happen to be mascots who may (or may not) keep running in the right direction. At the start of the game, set up the racing deck with one card for each mascot and a number of random cards based on the player count. Reveal these cards to all players, after which players draft a betting ticket from those on display, then in reverse order draft a second bet. For each bet, you can play it safe — or flip it to the risky side, which might pay out more - or cost you money if you lose. After betting, each player chooses one of three cards in their hand to secretly add to the racing deck. Shuffle the deck, burn three cards, then reveal cards one by one from the deck, moving the mascots along the track, with them sometimes swerving into another lane and knocking over another racer, sometimes turning around, sometimes all moving at once, and sometimes just going backwards! If a racer runs off the track or would be knocked over while already fallen, they're disqualified. If needed, shuffle all cards in the deck, burn three cards again, and keep racing until all four spots on the box podium are filled. Pay out bets based on these results. For races #2-3, first deal each player a random card from the deck, then place bets again, then have each player contribute a card from their hand to the deck. After race #3, everyone tallies their money.

Lost Ruins of Arnak

20201–430–120′8.1

On an uninhabited island in uncharted seas, explorers have found traces of a great civilization. Now you will lead an expedition to explore the island, find lost artifacts, and face fearsome guardians, all in a quest to learn the island's secrets. Lost Ruins of Arnak combines deck-building and worker placement in a game of exploration, resource management, and discovery. In addition to traditional deck-builder effects, cards can also be used to place workers, and new worker actions become available as players explore the island. Some of these actions require resources instead of workers, so building a solid resource base will be essential. You are limited to only one action per turn, so make your choice carefully... what action will benefit you most now? And what can you afford to do later... assuming someone else doesn't take the action first!? Decks are small, and randomness in the game is heavily mitigated by the wealth of tactical decisions offered on the game board. With a variety of worker actions, artifacts, and equipment cards, the set-up for each game will be unique, encouraging players to explore new strategies to meet the challenge. Discover the Lost Ruins of Arnak! —description from the publisher

dnup

20252–515–20′7.2

Your goal in dnup is to empty your hand of cards. Each player starts with eight or ten cards in hand, with each card having different numbers (from 1-10) at top and bottom, e.g. 1 and 7. Pick up all your cards at once; you can rearrange cards from left to right at any time, but you can't revolve them. On a turn, first discard any cards on the table in front of you, then you can: 1. Play cards from your hand. 2. Add one card to the table. 3. Take cards from the table. 4. Revolve all cards in your hand. When you play cards, you can play one or more cards of the same value — but if you play as many cards as another player has in front of them, your cards must be of higher value. If you overplay someone, e.g. playing two 5s when they have two 2s, they must revolve their cards, then return them to their hand. When you add one card, you add a card of the same value to someone else's played cards — but if that player would now have the same number of cards as a third player, the third player's cards must be a lower value, in which case they revolve them and return them to hand. When you pick up cards from in front of another player, revolve them, then add them to your hand. The first player to empty their hand scores 2 points, and cards don't return to their hand, even if beaten. The second player to empty their hand scores 1 point. Play multiple rounds until someone has at least 4 points, then whoever has the most points wins.

Vantage

20251–6120–180′8.2

Vantage is an open-world, co-operative, non-campaign adventure game that features an entire planet to explore, with players communicating while scattered across the world. With nearly eight hundred interconnected locations on four hundred cards and over nine hundred other discoverable cards, the world is your sandbox. You begin each game of Vantage on an intergalactic vessel heading towards an uncharted planet. After crashing far from your companions, you have complete freedom as to how you explore, discover, and interact with the planet. You view your location from a first-person perspective, and you can communicate with and support other players, but you are separated by vast distances, so only you can see your current location. In addition to a mission victory, a destiny victory, or an epic victory (completing both the mission and a destiny), you may define success in Vantage through anything you pursue and achieve. Vantage is not a campaign game. Each game is a standalone experience; you bring to future sessions only what you’ve learned about the world. It is completely self-contained with no expansions — just a few accessories like metal coins. —description from the publisher

First Rat

20221–530–75′7.5

For generations, the rats in the old junkyard have been telling each other the great legend about a moon made out of cheese and they want nothing more than to reach this inexhaustible treasure. One day, the little rat children discovered a comic in the junkyard that described the first landing on the moon, and thus the plan was born: Build a rocket and take over the cheese moon! Fortunately, the junkyard has everything the rats need to build their rocket, and the other animals are willing to support this daring venture — at least if they're well paid. Of course, all the rats work together to achieve this mighty goal. However, each rat family competes to build the most rocket parts and to train the most rattronauts so they can feast on as much of the lunar cheese as possible. In First Rat, each player starts with two rats and may raise two more. On your turn, you either move one of your rats 1-5 spaces on the path or move 2-4 of your rats 1-3 spaces each as long as they end up on spaces of the same color. Your rats can never share the same space, and if you land in a space with another player's rat, you must pay them one cheese, borrowing cheese from the back as needed. After movement, you collect resources (cheese, tin cans, apple cores, baking soda, etc.) matching the color of the space you occupy or move your lightbulb along the light string, which will boost your income in future turns. (More lights in the junkyard makes it easier for you to find things!) If you end movement near a store, you can spend resources to buy a backpack or bottle top — or you can steal an item instead, with the rat then returning to the start of the movement track. You can also spend resources to build rocket sections (and score points) or spend cheese in bulk as a donation (and score points). When you pick up apple cores, you move around the rat burrow to pick up comics or stored food or raise one of your rats from the nursery. Alternatively, you automatically get a new rat when one of your rats reaches the launch pad and boards the spaceship. When a player places their fourth rat on the spaceship — or places their eighth scoring marker on the board — the game ends, and the player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most rattronauts in the rocket wins. First Rat includes a solo mode as well as variable game set-ups described in the rulebook.

Root

20182–460–90′8.1

Root is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (1 to 6 with the 'Riverfolk' expansion, 2-6 with the 'Underworld', or 'Marauder' expansions) players battle for control of a vast wilderness. Like Vast: The Crystal Caverns, each player in Root has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. Now, with the aid of gorgeous, multi-use cards, a truly asymmetric design has never been more accessible. The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods. Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright. The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root. In Root, players drive the narrative, and the differences between each role create an unparalleled level of interaction and replayability. Leder Games invites you and your family to explore the fantastic world of Root! —description from the publisher

Brass: Birmingham

20182–460–120′8.6

Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game sequel to Martin Wallace's 2007 masterpiece, Brass. Brass: Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution between the years of 1770 and 1870. It offers a very different story arc and experience from its predecessor. As in its predecessor, you must develop, build and establish your industries and network in an effort to exploit low or high market demands. The game is played over two halves: the canal era (years 1770-1830) and the rail era (years 1830-1870). To win the game, score the most VPs. VPs are counted at the end of each half for the canals, rails and established (flipped) industry tiles. Each round, players take turns according to the turn order track, receiving two actions to perform any of the following actions (found in the original game): 1) Build - Pay required resources and place an industry tile. 2) Network - Add a rail / canal link, expanding your network. 3) Develop - Increase the VP value of an industry. 4) Sell - Sell your cotton, manufactured goods and pottery. 5) Loan - Take a £30 loan and reduce your income. Brass: Birmingham also features a new sixth action: 6) Scout - Discard three cards and take a wild location and wild industry card. (This action replaces Double Action Build in original Brass.)

Deckers

20251–460–90′8.1

In Deckers, you will hack into a network of five servers, either solo or co-operatively as a team of up to four, winning or losing together. The network is operated by one of the available super-massive computers (SMCs), each with a different level of complexity and its own unique style of defenses that you will need to overcome. Once jacked into the servers, you will assume decker profiles, each with a special ability, moving across the server's spaces and uploading decker pieces onto the network to expand your control while removing as many of the SMC's pieces as possible. Each round, you get a new objective you try to fulfill to gain the upper hand. If you manage to complete the final objective, you ultimately claim victory.

Nippon: Zaibatsu

20261–460–120′8.5

Nippon: Zaibatsu is a new edition of Nippon, a fast-paced, area-majority economic game. Players control "zaibatsu": massive conglomerates of interconnected companies driving Japan's economy in the Industrial Revolution era. During the game, players invest in new industries, build factories and railroads, and produce goods to saturate local markets and fulfill contracts — all to grow their influence and power and to become rulers of the new modernized country. Players are free to choose their playstyle and winning strategy: They choose what they score victory points for, control the game's pace with income turns, and race each other to get the most beneficial factories, markets, and bonuses. All the core mechanisms of the original Nippon are present, but the components, art, and design are upgraded, and many gameplay features are reworked to get the game in line with modern trends. Nippon: Zaibatsu features new resource types, ships are heavily revised with new Iwakura mission rules, factories are much more variable, consolidation turns provide players with new rewards, and much more. Also, the game now has an automa-driven solo mode. —description from the publisher

Arcs

20242–460–120′8.0

Arcs is a sharp, tactical space opera game set in a dark yet silly universe. Players represent officials from a distant, decaying and neglectful Empire who are now free to vie for dominance whether through battle, gathering scarce resources or diplomatic intrigue. Ready yourself for dramatic twists and turns as you launch into this galactic struggle. A deck of cards in 4 suits with ranks from 1-7 (2-6 for fewer than 4 players) defines the action selection system. These cards are played in a trick-taking adjacent system to select actions, take the initiative and declare Ambitions. The 3 declared Ambitions are what will score in that deal. Timing is everything. Bad hands must be mitigated by careful card play and benefitting from other players' card play. Battles are resolved quickly with the attacker choosing their level of risk. The defenders must be prepared with adequate defensive ships and cards in their tableau. Each game contains a hundred wooden ships and agents, 18 custom engraved dice, a beautiful six-panel board, and tons of cards with over 60 pieces of unique art. The base game may be played without the optional Leaders and Lore cards (for an easier teach) or with them for a richer, fuller and asymmetric game. It is also the core of the campaign game (requiring the Blighted Reach Expansion), which provides an epic, more thematic experience.

Nemesis: Retaliation

20251–5120–180′8.7

Nemesis: Retaliation is the third installment of the Nemesis horror board game series. Like the first two, it is designed as a standalone game. This time, players take on the roles of highly trained marines, entering the alien nest with strict orders and the most advanced tools available. But will they be well-prepared enough to face the unrelenting horde that awaits them? In Nemesis: Retaliation, players must survive against overwhelming odds and the possibility of betrayal at every step. Some of the new mechanics are: Reworked health system New character actions Modular map system with special exploration cards Item management track Individual objectives allow for hidden traitors —description from the publisher

Heat: Pedal to the Metal

20221–630–60′8.0

Based on simple and intuitive hand management, Heat: Pedal to the Metal puts players in the driver's seat of intense car races, jockeying for position to cross the finish line first, while managing their car's speed if they don't want to overheat. Selecting the right upgrades for their car will help them hug the curves and keep their engine cool enough to maintain top speeds. Ultimately, their driving skills will be the key to victory! Drivers can compete in a single race or use the "Championship System" to play a whole season in one game night, customizing their car before each race to claim the top spot of the podium. They have to be careful as the weather, road conditions, and events will change every race to spice up their championship. Players can also enjoy a solo mode with the Legends Module or add automated drivers as additional opponents in multiplayer games. —description from the publisher

Concordia: Special Edition

20271–5100–100′4.9

Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean. Mighty Roman dynasties thrived through trade and architectural marvels. Now it’s your turn! Build your trade network, appease the ancient gods, and guide your people to prosperity. Concordia is a highly acclaimed, peaceful strategy game of economic development. Rely on clever hand management and long‑term planning. Send out colonists, acquire new cards, and expand your trade empire to win. Concordia: Special Edition revitalizes Mac Gerdts’s masterpiece, introducing a new, immersive, and historically grounded visual design with improved map readability. It also features stunning premium components and adds new content – a fresh map and two gameplay modules – to expand the Concordia experience. The Special Edition will not be backwards compatible with previous Concordia content.

Drillers

20261–430–120′7.2

In Drillers, players explore an abandoned mine using their mechs, trying to find and excavate anything useful or valuable left behind by a forgotten mining corporation. Each level of the mine brings new opportunities and new challenges—as fuel runs low and decisions become tighter. By collecting cards, players improve the drilling capabilities of their unique mech, unlock new actions, and push their operation further underground. Mined minerals can be sold for profit also by use of drones, allowing players to refine their strategy and invest in better tools. Every decision affects everyone, often creating new opportunities for players. Drillers is a game about planning ahead, tough decision-making, and knowing just how far you can afford to drill. Will you be the first to extend the horizons and uncover what the depths hide? —description from the publisher

Tap 4

20192–815–30′6.4

Get ready for an exciting and strategic card game - Tapped Four! To play, the first player puts down a card, preferably their highest point card. Players take turns laying down cards equal to or lower in value than those on the top of the "Stack" (the play area in the center). You can play cards from your hand or those on the table. When a player completes a set of 4 or more identical cards or plays a "TAP IN" card, they shout "TAPPED" (and for extra fun, give the table a tap), move the "Stack" out of play, and continue their turn. Watch out for special "Trick cards" like the "TAP IN" card, which acts as a wild card to grab the "Stack." The "TAPPED OUT" card gets passed to a player, causing them to lose their next turn. The goal? Be the first to eliminate all your cards to win the round. The player with the lowest score after a series of rounds becomes the ultimate "TAPPED FOUR WINNER."

Magical Athlete

20252–630–30′7.8

Magical Athlete is a racing game of pure chaos! Roll a die and move your racer that many spaces — but all the racers have wacky, game-breaking abilities. Race four times, then whoever has the most points wins! Before the racing begins, players will draft the four racers they will have in the game and choose before each race which to use. Races alternate between the "mild" side of the board and the "wild" side of the board. A race ends once two racers have crossed the finish line — with, generally, only these two players receiving points. —description from the publisher

Wondrous Creatures

20241–440–80′8.0

Welcome to the world full of fantastic creatures! You are an admirer, a creature enthusiast who will join the journey of forming the world’s leading creature reserve. To win Wondrous Creatures, you must create the most harmonious reserve. To do this, you will need to collect various Creature Cards and Eggs in your reserve. As each Creature Card holds its own unique ability, it's important to bring cards into your reserve that fit and synergize with your strategy. Additionally, it is very important to create a reserve that helps complete the Achievements faster than other players. The worker placement mechanism provides an intriguing Hex Puzzle experience. Your deployed worker interacts with surrounding icons to bring in resources or cards, and activate special effects! Your workers hold their own unique abilities. As you progress through the game, unlock their abilities and strengthen your workers! As the game progresses, powerful special effects are newly placed on the map. Get creative and use these special effects to unleash your very own powerful combos! Collect and combine 100+ different creature cards. Every creature holds its own distinctive ability and provides a deep strategic tableau building experience. The goal of Wondrous Creatures is to be the player with the highest Victory Points (VPs) at the end of the game. --description from the publisher

The Quest for El Dorado

20172–430–60′7.7

In The Quest for El Dorado, players take the roles of expedition leaders who have embarked on a search for the legendary land of gold in the dense jungles of South America. Each player assembles and equips their own team, hiring various helpers from the scout to the scientist to the aborigine. All of them have one goal in mind: Reaching the golden border first and winning all of the riches for themselves. Whoever chooses the best tactics will be rewarded! Each player starts with a face-down deck of 8 cards— his or her expedition —to draw from. You start each turn with 4 cards in your hand. Use expedition cards to move through the jungle or hire more people for your expedition. Each card in your hand can only be used once per turn - to move or to buy 1 new card. When a player reaches one of the 3 finishing spaces, he moves to El Dorado and this triggers the final round. The other players will now play their final turn. Once the round is completed, the game is over. If the final round ends up with multiple players reaching El Dorado, the player who has collected the most blockades wins the game.

Harmonies: Pulse

20261–430–45′8.3

With the Pulse expansion for Harmonies, your landscape becomes more dynamic. It introduces additional animal cards with a variety of requirements, which will test your spatial organization. The familiar mechanics are still present, but the decisions become much more demanding. At the heart of the expansion are new three-color patterns, requiring more planning and anticipation in placement. Players who take on these new challenges will have additional scoring opportunities — but they need to think even more carefully about how to integrate each element into their landscape. The beautifully illustrated Animal cards fit seamlessly into the base game while providing a new tactical boost. —description from the publisher

Ark Nova

20211–490–150′8.5

In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal. Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The cards in question are: CARDS: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards). BUILD: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions. ANIMALS: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo. ASSOCIATION: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks. SPONSORS: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money. 255 cards featuring animals, specialists, special enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a special ability, are at the heart of Ark Nova. Use them to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo and collect conservation points. —description from the publisher

Moon Colony Bloodbath

20251–545–90′7.6

Cities on the moon! This will be humanity's crowning achievement. At last, no longer bound to the Earth — the moon, a stepping stone to the stars. The rockets are loaded with supplies and colonists; the robots are programmed and ready. Everything has been planned down to the tiniest detail, and there is no chance whatsoever of failure. To the moon! Moon Colony Bloodbath is an engine-building, engine-losing tableau game, with a shared deck the players build that makes things happen, many of them bad things that kill people in your moon colony, but some positive, and some that let you build up. More specifically, each turn one card is revealed from the shared deck, which starts with four work cards, two trouble cards, and two twists. For work, each player takes an action of their choice simultaneously: mining for money, farming for food, research for cards, build a new building, or restock boxes on buildings. Twists vary from one game to the next. Trouble adds a new event card to the deck: hunger, paperwork, glitches, accidents, leaks, power failure — whatever can go wrong will go wrong, then whenever the deck is shuffled, you can prepare for all those events once again. Players can add cards to the shared deck, too, whether perks that are only for you or developments that affect all players. The game lasts until one player's moon colony has no people remaining, or until the players reach the bottom of the event deck. At that point, the player with the most survivors wins.

Spirit Island

20171–490–120′8.3

In the most distant reaches of the world, magic still exists, embodied by spirits of the land, of the sky, and of every natural thing. As the great powers of Europe stretch their colonial empires further and further, they will inevitably lay claim to a place where spirits still hold power - and when they do, the land itself will fight back alongside the islanders who live there. Spirit Island is a complex and thematic co-operative game about defending your island home from colonizing Invaders. Players are different spirits of the land, each with its own unique elemental powers. Every turn, players simultaneously choose which of their power cards to play, paying energy to do so. Using combinations of power cards that match a spirit's elemental affinities can grant free bonus effects. Faster powers take effect immediately, before the Invaders spread and ravage, but other magics are slower, requiring forethought and planning to use effectively. In the Spirit phase, spirits gain energy, and choose how / whether to Grow: to reclaim used power cards, to seek new power, or to spread their presence into new areas of the island. The Invaders expand across the island map in a semi-predictable fashion. Each turn they explore into some lands (portions of the island); the next turn, they build in those lands, forming towns and cities. The turn after that, they ravage there, bringing blight to the land and attacking any native islanders present. The islanders fight back against the Invaders when attacked, and lend the spirits some other aid, but may not always do so exactly as you'd hoped. Some Powers work through the islanders, helping them, for example, to drive out the Invaders or clean the land of blight. The game escalates as it progresses: spirits spread their presence to new parts of the island and seek out new and more potent powers, while the Invaders step up their colonization efforts. Each turn represents 1-3 years of alternate history. At game start, winning requires destroying every last explorer, town and city on the board - but as you frighten the Invaders more and more, victory becomes easier: they'll run away even if explorers or even towns and cities remain. Defeat comes if any spirit is destroyed, if the island is overrun by blight, or if the Invader deck is depleted before achieving victory. The game includes different adversaries to fight against (eg., a Swedish Mining Colony, or a Remote British Colony). Each changes play in different ways, and offers a different path of difficulty boosts to keep the game challenging as you gain skill.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising

20231–660–120′8.7

In Dune: Imperium Uprising, you want to continue to balance military might with political intrigue, wielding new tools in pursuit of victory. Spies will shore up your plans, vital contracts will expand your resources, or you can learn the ways of the Fremen and ride mighty sandworms into battle! Dune: Imperium Uprising is a standalone spinoff to Dune: Imperium that expands on that game's blend of deck-building and worker placement, while introducing a new six-player mode that pits two teams against one other in the biggest struggle yet. The Dune: Imperium expansions Rise of Ix and Immortality work with Uprising, as do almost all of the cards from the base game, and elements of Uprising can be used with Dune: Imperium. The choices are yours. The Imperium awaits!

Harmonies

20241–430–45′8.0

In Harmonies, build landscapes by placing colored tokens and create habitats for your animals. To earn the most points and win the game, incorporate the habitats in your landscapes wisely and have as many animals as you can settle there. Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player will choose a set of 3 terrain tokens from the central area to place on their personal board. They may optionally choose an Animal card from the 5 displayed and/or place an Animal cube from their Animal card(s) on any completed patterns on their board that match their personal Animal cards. There is a 4-card limit per player. After their turn, refill with a new set of 3 tokens and a new Animal card if needed. Placement of the terrain tokens will depend on the personal Animal card goals, and scoring rules for the various terrain types (mountain, field, forest, etc). For example, mountain tiles score based on how high they are (1 tile scores 1, while 3 tiles stacked score 7), but the mountain scores zero if it is not adjacent to at least one other mountain. If all the cubes on a given Animal card have been placed, the card is set aside and a new card can be drawn. The cards are scored at game end based on the highest number that isn't covered by a cube. The games ends when there are no tokens left in the bag to refill the central area, or at least one players has 2 or fewer empty spaces on their player board. Play continues until all players have had an equal turn that round. The player with the highest points is the winner. Optionally, you can use Nature's Spirit cards for richer gameplay. During setup, each player chooses 1 of 2 spirit cards and places a Spirit cube on the card. They follow the same placement rules as Animal cards, but tend to have an ongoing effect once completed. The spirit card does count towards the 4-card hand limit. —description from the publisher

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

20241–440–160′8.4

In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, you lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. The game draws inspiration from current or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration. Players will explore nearby planets and their moons by launching probes from Earth while taking advantage of ever-shifting planetary positions. Decide whether to land on their surfaces to collect valuable samples or stay in orbit for a broader survey. Additionally, by directing your telescopes to gaze into distant star systems, you may detect traces of alien signals or undiscovered exoplanets, and collect promising data to examine and study back home. Back on Earth, you can invest in upgrading your equipment so you can analyze incoming data more efficiently, boost your telescope signal capacity, or increase your supply of resources—all to expand the scope of your search that could lead to a discovery of extraterrestrial life forms. Finding traces of extraterrestrial life is only a matter of time—utilize the resources you have at your disposal strategically and you may well end up being the one to make the biggest scientific contribution towards advancing our understanding of alien life within our galaxy. You will also make use of over 200 cards to aid your efforts or focus your research in a particular direction for additional bonuses and rewards. Each card has unique effects and illustrations and depicts real-life technologies, projects, and discoveries (like the ISS, Large Hadron Collider, Perseverance rover, Voyager probe, and many more). The game is played in five rounds. The player with the starting player marker takes the first turn of the round. Players take turns in clockwise order, skipping any players who have already passed for the round. At the end of round 5, the final score is calculated and the player with the most points wins. SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence pays homage to space and planetary exploration, astronomy, the ongoing search for signs of life in the vastness of space, and efforts to understand the nature of life in the universe. —description from the publisher

Lands of Evershade

20261–590–270′8.8

Lands of Evershade is a hybrid RPG/board game experience that lets players enjoy grand, richly narrated open-world adventures without a dungeon master, while keeping the game approachable and easy to learn. Start by building your perfect character using an immersive player's handbook. Choose from unique races and origins, dark secrets, and exciting classes with interesting advancements and specializations that ensure no two characters are the same. All decisions made during character creation — as well as later in the game — change how the world reacts to you, both in story and combat. Were you a nobleman or a common thief in your past? What's your secret or personal quest you hide from other players? New stories, interactions, and combat opportunities unlock at every step. You can explore the game's multiple standalone story modules and scenarios in the order of your choice to create your own campaign that will lead you to different areas and significant events in the vast universe of Lands of Evershade. When necessary, engage in fast-paced tactical combat in which enemies react to your actions. Enjoy dozens of high-quality models that bring life to your party members and enemies. Lands of Evershade is more than a game; it's a universe built over many years, a world of secrets buried in the shadow of the goddess Luada that will grow and expand with new content for years to come. —description from the publisher

The Old Prince 1871

20223–4120–240′8.3

Construction began on the Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) in 1871 … the rest is a financial catastrophe. Criticized as the most crooked railway in the world (both physically and financially), Prince Edward Island was nearly at a full economic collapse within a year. In 1873, Prince Edward Island dumped the PEIR onto Canada and joined the Canadian Federation. The years that followed showed an economic boom for the island and the railroad operated until the 1980s. This game is not attempting to recreate the history of the island, but borrows its history and geography to explore a new narrative about the island’s Old Prince Edward Island Railway.

The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship

20251–560–150′8.3

As members of The Fellowship and the allies who rise to aid them, you must embark on a journey that may either save or doom Middle-earth. Navigate a world beset by shadow, where every choice forges a new path. The threads of destiny weave together, and the fate of The Free Peoples lies in your valor, friendship, and resolve. Will the One Ring be cast into the fire, or will the bearer be lost to despair? The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship is a co-operative game in which each player controls two characters, lending their unique abilities to protect Frodo, battle enemies in pivotal locations, and evade the menacing Nazgûl and Sauron's searching Eye. Each playthrough presents new challenges with 24 different objectives, 14 events, and 13 playable characters. The game is won if the group destroys the One Ring before Frodo loses all hope. A solo adventure is included. —description from the publisher

The Old King's Crown

20251–460–120′8.0

The Old King’s Crown is a game of card-driven conquest, where you play as heirs to a vacant throne, vying for control of an ancient, overgrown kingdom. Wield unique abilities and leverage your followers’ traits to best outwit your opponents across a map that stretches from the teetering heights of the castle to the dappled light of the necropolis. As leader of your faction you will be staking claims with Heralds openly as well as positioning your forces in secret, hoping to claim the locations that fit your designs. However, keep an eye on your rivals, as they too have agents and agendas, poised to undo your best laid plans. Royalty, rebels or ruses. What crown will you wear? In The Old King's Crown, players move their Herald to locations, hoping to claim them. Then simultaneously players play cards from their hand, facedown to regions of the board. These are then revealed and resolved. Winning these clashes will result in different rewards that further their position and grant them the game's primary goal, influence. The player with the most influence by the end of a set number of rounds will be declared the winner.

Harmonies: Crescendo

20261–47.2

The Crescendo expansion for Harmonies includes 3 new modules that can be used individually or in combination with other modules. Sanctuaries: Build unique landscapes that can accommodate multiple animals. New personal game boards offer new field layouts and ways to score points. Whisper Creatures: Add new cards to your animal cards and create synergies between animals and Whisper Creatures.

World Order

20262–4120–180′8.1

The year is 2010, and the world is drastically changing. While the once-unrivaled influence of the United States is beginning to wane, other major powers are eagerly stepping onto the stage, ready to claim their piece of the geopolitical pie. In the East, Beijing is rising to become a global powerhouse. Simultaneously, Moscow is entangled in an intricate chess game with Washington, ready to counter its every move. And amidst these tumultuous waters, the European Union is trying to carve out its identity and role in the international stage. The world is undergoing a drastic shift, while power is being redistributed on a global scale — but who will take the lead in this rapidly changing world order? The board game World Order simulates modern international relations, with players taking control of one of the four dominant global powers of the 2010s: the United States of America, the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and the European Union. Utilize your diplomatic power, economic strength, and military might to expand your influence across the globe. Form regional alliances, entice other nations through clever economic dependencies, or become the military juggernaut no one dares to mess with. World Order blends academic theories with thrilling gameplay, creating a never-before-seen experience of international relations! Join the fight and show the other powers that a new era is dawning!

Moytura

20261–245–45′8.0

The battle of Moytura has begun. As a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, spread your influence across the land to succeed in your quest to become High Ruler of Ireland, invoking the powerful deities of the Tuatha Dé Danann to aid you in your cause with their command of water, travel, war, and creation — but the road will not be easy for in your path to legend stand the sinister Fomorians and other mythical beings hungry for battle, not to mention a rival clan with ambitions of their own. Steel yourself and prepare for a legendary struggle. Rewrite the myths of Ireland, chieftain, and take your place as the true High King! In Moytura, you and your opponent command competing factions of the Tuatha Dé Danann, but you are not the only ones struggling for control of ancient Ireland. Three enemy clans act together as a third opponent faction that competes with the players and scores points. Points are gained by having the most influence across Ancient Ireland at the end of each era. Within each of the eleven regions, the faction with the most or second most units across all the spaces of a region will score the indicated points. After two eras, the faction with the most points wins. Each round, the two players and the enemy faction each take a turn. On their turn, a player selects a deity tile (possibly spending worship tokens to reach it), then performs that deity's actions. When used, a deity tile resets to the most expensive position in the track. Deity tiles let players expand their influence and battle enemies according to the deity's unique abilities On the enemy faction's turn, an activation card is revealed from the deck that expands one of the three clans. Some activation cards are stronger than others, and players must carefully track which clans are most likely to attack and where. Only the player who cleverly outmaneuvers their opponent while carefully keeping the enemy faction in check will be able to secure the victory. Moytura features seven map set-ups for any combination of clans. The game also includes three special enemy clans that replace 1-3 of the standard Fomorian clans. These special clans introduce more challenging foes with asymmetric abilities: the Ellén Trechends (three-headed beasts) expand in all directions, the Oilliphéist (sea serpents) expand rapidly along the coast, and the Banshees invade targeted regions instead of spreading out from their largest group. You can also enjoy a solo / cooperative variant if you prefer playing that way! Thanks to the intuitive enemy faction system built into the main game, Moytura lends itself easily to these optional variants. —description from the publisher

Chivalry

20261–445–120′0.0

As ambitious Knights in the realm of King Arthur you and your fellow players seeking glory, influence, and renown. Each turn represents one day for your Knights in the realm. At dawn, your Knights ride out to Market Towns, Countrysides, Ports, or Camelot itself. During the day, they take actions based on the locations they visit. At twilight, they make camp, call there retinue back to service, and, if summoned, attend the Feast at Camelot. Your retainers provide the Skills your Knights need to act. By placing them onto your Player Board, you gain temporary Skills that can be used to increase movement, perform Location Actions, complete Quests and Encounters, and resolve powerful effects. Linke raising the Sigils of Merlin and Morgana, two competing powers shaping the fate of each region. You not only gain powerful new abilities from Merlin or Morgana, but also determine which deeds will bring the most glory when regions are scored. Along the way, your Knights may discover ancient Runes hidden throughout the realm, earn the patronage of members of the Court of Camelot to aid your cause, and even seek an audience with King Arthur himself. The player who earns the most victory points by the end of the game brings the greatest honor to Camelot and wins. —description from the publisher

Revenant

20261–490–120′7.5

From the void between dimensions, an ancient cosmic entity emerged—corrupting, consuming, and devouring all in its path. In the wake of the cataclysm known as Voidfall, the admirals of the fallen galactic empire, the Domineum, forged a desperate contingency plan. To preserve the legacy of the human civilization from the Voidborn threat, a former imperial flagship, the Revenant, was retrofitted to carry vast databanks containing the accumulated knowledge of humanity and escape the fallen empire. Now, bearing humanity’s last hope and escorted by the ships of the Domineum’s last Great Houses, you must guide the fleet to safety beyond the known galaxy, balance fragile alliances, and secure not only the survival of humankind—but also your own political destiny. Revenant is a standalone, competitive worker placement game of shifting allegiances, set in the Voidfall universe. Players take on the role of rival admirals coordinating the defense of a fleeing starfleet, and competing to earn influence with the factions that stand to survive the journey. Across four rounds, players assign crew to ships throughout the fleet, from which they will fight corrupted ships, explore planets in search of resources, upgrade their ship and crew, deploy new vessels, and more. Each ship is affiliated with one of the Great Houses, and each time you assign crew there, you gain influence with that House. The journey won’t be an easy one. The Voidborn’s corrupted forces will continuously attack the fleet, dealing damage to various ships at the end of every round. You can take your part in protecting the fleet by destroying enemy ships, repairing friendly vessels or maneuvering them to safe areas, or ultimately activating the Revenant’s hyperdrive to jump to a safer sector. Regardless of your efforts, there will be casualties - you have to make sure that the Houses you have influence in are protected above others. Revenant spices up the resource management and engine-building of a mid-weight euro with dynamic tactical challenges, constant player interaction, and shifting allegiances. —description from the publisher

Survivalist

20262–640–80′9.2

Survivalist drops two to six empty-handed players into the brutal wilderness for ten nights. Each day forces a decision: stay warm at the fire, recover in the nearby clearing, or push into the backcountry and gather what’s needed to prepare for seven threats. As the game progresses, these threats grow worse and nearer: thirst, storms, hunger, illness, wildlife, fatigue, and isolation. The game plays out as a tense survival simulation where every round is a balancing act of action selection and resource management, shaped by limited time, limited backpack capacity, and the constant threat of injury. On their turn, players take one action. They may "gather" specific resources along the ridge, "forage" for random supplies in the valley, or "craft" items using specific resource recipes. Choosing an action also means choosing how much risk to accept, because each option requires drawing deadly discs from a bag. These bag draws make every turn a press-your-luck calculation: push deeper into the wild to get what you need, or play it safe and risk being unprepared later. Regular airdrops add even more pressure to scramble into the backcountry for an assortment of bonuses and buffs. After eight rounds of preparation, a ninth round reveals each player’s hidden talent. This allows players to spend a unique resource type they’ve gathered during the game to adjust the danger levels of the game’s threats. Then comes the finale: a tense endgame in which players face the seven threats one by one. Crafted items and remaining health determine who withstands the ordeal and who falls - from drawing more "wound" discs than they can fit on their playerboard. The game ends when only one person is left standing. Whoever endures the longest is the true survivalist—and the winner. -description from designer

Schadenfreude

20203–515–20′7.6

Schadenfreude is a trick-taking game for 3-5 players. The game ends when any player has scored more than 40 points, and the winner is the closest to 40 without going over. The card distribution includes some ranks of negative value, is a "must follow" game, and does not include any trump suits. The winner of a trick is the person who played the second highest card of the lead suit. That player collects their card and any cards which did not follow suit into a score pile. However, a player can have at most one card of each rank in their score pile. If they would collect a second, both cards are instead discarded. At the end of a hand, a player scores an amount of points equal to the sum of the ranks of the cards they have collected.

Container

20263–545–90′8.0

Every decision you make in Container shapes the market. During play, you build factories, produce containers, set prices, negotiate with your rivals, sail across the sea to trade, and (obviously) buy low, and sell high. At least that's the goal — but can you make it happen? The rules for Container are simple; the real challenge is understanding and timing the market. Players build machines, warehouses, and containers, then sail your containers to the island and auction them off. Be careful with your money — in the closed economy, money's tight and your opponents are cutthroat! At the beginning of the game, container value cards are secretly dealt to all players. Because these values aren’t shown, you’ll have to suss out what your opponents are going for throughout the game! But at final scoring, these come into play. The player with the most money wins.

Entropy

20261–490–150′7.7

For aeons, entropy was an inescapable force of nature. But then humanity evolved to understand it, harness it, and even bend it to their purpose. Your life has been devoted to learning how to shape the very workings of the universe to your will… or rather, to the will of your people. You are to become a scientist, a member of the most revered caste. Now the time has come for the final exam. You must prove you can create new solar systems, coax stars into life, shape a range of biomes, and ultimately seed planets with life. It may only be a simulation, there are limits to what you can do here; this is science, not magic. And you are not alone. Across the complex, fellow apprentices step into their own chambers, beginning the same trial. Only one will rise to join the caste. This is your moment of truth. Entropy plays out over a variable number of rounds. Each turn, you must move your Scientist between 1 to 3 spaces clockwise around the Main board. You must end your movement on either an inner Action space on the Main board or an outer space of an Action tile, and resolve it. You will build Solar Systems with Stars, Planets, and Asteroids, then fill them with Life, by playing cards. You may also gain various special abilities by adding Biomes and upgrading your Console. The end game is triggered when any 2 out of 6 Main Objectives are Completed. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game is the winner. —description from the publisher

Cthulhu: Death May Die

20191–590–120′8.2

In Cthulhu: Death May Die, inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, you and your fellow players represent investigators in the 1920s who instead of trying to stop the coming of Elder Gods, want to summon those otherworldly beings so that you can put a stop to them permanently. You start the game insane, and while your long-term goal is to shoot Cthulhu in the face, so to speak, at some point during the game you'll probably fail to mitigate your dice rolls properly and your insanity will cause you to do something terrible — or maybe advantageous. Hard to know for sure. The game has multiple episodes, and each of them has a similar structure of two acts, those being before and after you summon whatever it is you happen to be summoning. If any character dies prior to the summoning, then the game ends and you lose; once the Elder One is on the board, as long as one of you is still alive, you still have a chance to win. The episodes are all standalone and not contingent on being played in a certain order or with the same players.

Ogre

19771–345–45′7.0

OGRE and its sequel G.E.V. are tactical ground combat games set in the not-so-distant future. In 2085 A.D., armored warfare continues - faster and deadlier than ever. Hovercraft, tanks and infantry slug it out with tactical nuclear devices. But the most feared weapon of all needs no human guidance. It's a giant cybernetic tank called the OGRE. The basic OGRE game gives one player a force of infantry and armor, and a command post he must defend. The other player has only one unit - but it's an OGRE. It's an even match. Advanced games allow solitaire or multi-player action, with OGREs on both sides. Microgame #1 in the Metagaming Microgames series, and the original release of Ogre. Origin of the Game: Ogre / G.E.V.. This is an entry on RPGG: GURPS Ogre includes character and vehicle descriptions, a future timeline, a discussion of the world of the Ogres, and the Armor Unit Combat System, a quick way to resolve battles involving player characters and get back to the roleplaying!