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Love Letter
All of the eligible young men (and many of the not-so-young) seek to woo the princess of Tempest. Unfortunately, she has locked herself in the Palace, and you must rely on others to bring your romantic letters to her. Will yours reach her first? love letter is a game of risk, deduction, and luck for 2 to 4 players. Your goal is to get your love letter into princess Annette's hands while deflecting the letters from competing suitors. From a deck with only sixteen cards, each player starts with only one card in hand; one card is removed from play. On a turn, you draw one card, and play one card, trying to expose others and knock them from the game. Powerful cards lead to early gains, but make you a target. Rely on weaker cards for too long, however, and your letter may be tossed in the fire.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Card Game |
2012 |
2 |
|
Machi Koro: Harbor Expansion
The first expansion for the wildly popular Japanese card game, Machi Koro, is here! Machi Koro: The Harbor Expansion adds 10 new establishments, one new starting establishment and two new landmarks (82 cards total). You will have access to powerful new cards like the Harbor, Airport, and more. Most importantly you will be able to add a fifth player to the game for the first time ever! With new mechanics and a new set-up variant, this expansion adds tons of variety to an already incredibly replayable game.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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IDW Games |
Card Game, City Building, Expansion, Dice |
2012 |
1 |
|
Bohn To Be Wild!
In Bohn To Be Wild!, a standalone title that celebrates fifteen years of the classic Bohnanza card game, players want to do what they've always done: Plant beans in their fields and sell them for as many coins as possible, while trading cards with other players to get around the restriction of not being able to rearrange cards in your hand.
Bohn To Be Wild! mixes things up, however, by including eleven new types of beans – including Jamaica, helmet and horse beans – rules for solo play, and special "wild" beans. Unlike the original German Bohnanza, this game allows for play with up to seven players.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 7
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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AMIGO |
Card Game, Farming, Negotiation |
2012 |
1 |
|
For the Crown
Civil war has broken out between two royal brothers over the succession of the kingdom, and the people of a once-peaceful nation must choose sides and rush to war. Even when the sun goes down, the war for the crown does not cease. While the battle rages on during the day, both princes and their armies still hope to catch the other unawares under the blanket of darkness. Neither side is safe even then, however, and so both princes are well prepared - they've gone through lengths to recruit special units to surprise their enemy, including a Phantom to cloak itself and hopefully use the darkness to its advantage in order to capture the rival King and Heirs.
In For the Crown, you must gather key resources, train an army from scratch, and capture the rival King and Heirs to prove your claim to the throne!
In this game that combines the highly popular 'deck-building' mechanic with the most engrossing variations of Chess, do you have what it takes to wisely divide your attention between preparations and military maneuvering? To outpace your opponent's development while eluding capture? Strategize your position and seize glory in For the Crown!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Victory Point Games |
Fantasy, Medieval |
2012 |
1 |
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Brawling Barons
The king encourages all barons to expand their domains as new land is conquered. To gain favor in his eyes, each baron must show his worth by constructing buildings and thus increase the splendor of the kingdom, or by supporting the king in the war with military units. With the king's eyes fixed on the frontlines, he probably wouldn't notice your sharp elbow in your neighbour's side... right?
Brawling Barons is a tactical card game consisting of 54 cards. From this deck of cards each player draws cards and collects resources. Units (peasants and squires) can then be played from the hand. The peasants can be upgraded (rotated) to buildings, and squires can become various military units. The military units can be sent to the frontlines to gain victory points (VPs), or they can attack opposing towns. When the last card is removed from the deck, the game ends and VPs are counted.
Tactical options include choosing units to play, waiting for the perfect timing to play them, optimizing the actions, and playing the right events. At first glance, it may seem too simple, but new depths can certainly be discovered.
Brawling Barons can be played in 10-20 minutes by two experienced players. Three-player games take about 30 minutes. By combining two decks, up to six players can play, either in a deathmatch or in team play.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 3
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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FRYXGames Handelsbolag |
Card Game, City Building, Fighting, Medieval |
2012 |
1 |
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Rex: Final Days of an Empire
The final days of the Lazax Empire began in the seventy-third year of the Twilight Wars, when without warning, the Federation of Sol led a deadly assault directly on Mecatol Rex, the capital planet the empire itself. A climactic struggle for control of the imperial city followed, fought as much with diplomacy and deception as with troops and starships. This is the story of that struggle.
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is a board game of negotiation, betrayal, and warfare in which 3-6 players take control of great interstellar civilizations, competing for dominance of the galaxy's crumbling imperial city. Set 3,000 years before the events of Twilight Imperium, Rex tells the story of the last days of the Lazax empire, while presenting players with compelling asymmetrical racial abilities and exciting opportunities for diplomacy, deception, and tactical mastery.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Fantasy Flight Games |
Fighting, Negotiation, Political, Science Fiction |
2012 |
1 |
|
Giza: The Great Pyramid
Pharaoh is worried! His tomb at Giza is behind schedule, and he fears it will not be done in time for his funeral. He is offering great rewards to the faction that contributes the most work on his pyramid in the next ten years. If your people work the hardest and work the smartest you shall earn Pharaoh's favor!
In Giza: the Great Pyramid you are the leader of one of four factions vying for Pharaoh's favor. You have ten years to outperform the other factions and contribute the most to his great pyramid, earning eternal gratitude and glory. You shall need to balance your labor! Farm and fish to feed your people. Sweat and struggle with the back-breaking labor of moving the giant stone blocks into place. Task your folk with the creation of exquisite artworks to beautify Pharaoh's eternal rest.
Are you smart enough, organized enough and diligent enough to lead your people and earn Pharaoh's favor?
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Mayfair Games |
Ancient |
2012 |
1 |
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Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery
In Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery, an exciting game of twisted schemes and bloody combats inspired by the hit STARZ Original series, each player takes on the role of Dominus, head of a rising house in the ancient Roman city of Capua. Each house is competing for Influence to gain the favor of Rome. Through a combination of political schemes and glorious battles on the arena sands your house will rise in fame and stature. As Dominus, you have a variety of resources at your disposal. Guards protect you from schemes launched by rivals. Slaves run your household and earn gold. Gladiators compete to bring glory to themselves and influence to their Dominus.
Minimum Age: 17
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Gale Force Nine LLC |
Ancient, Fighting, Miniatures, Movies / TV / Radio theme, Negotiation |
2012 |
1 |
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Garden Dice
Garden Dice is a family strategy game that combines dice rolling, tile laying, and set collection. The game board depicts a garden as a 6x6 grid in which seed and vegetable tiles are placed using dice rolls as coordinates. Players take turns using the dice to plant, water, and harvest five different types of vegetables with differing point values, from the lowly squash to the mighty eggplant.
The game's chaining mechanism allows players to water or harvest multiple tiles using a single action, enabling players to build upon each others' chains. Players can also use bird and rabbit tiles to eat other players' seed and veggie tiles, but not without paying a small penalty. Two other special tiles – the sundial and the scarecrow – allow players to modify dice rolls or protect their own tiles.
The Gnome expansion included in Garden Dice can be added to the base game to give players the ability to adjust the dice rolls for purchasing, watering, and harvesting their vegetables, leading to a more strategic experience.
Bonuses increase the values of tiles as they are harvested, and additional points are awarded at the end of the game for collecting sets. The player with the most points when the last tile is taken wins.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Flat River Group |
Dice, Farming |
2012 |
1 |
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Myrmes
In Myrmes, players control ant colonies and use their ants to explore the land (leaving pheromones in their wake); harvest "crops" like stone, earth and aphids; fight with other ants; complete requests from the Queen; birth new ants; and otherwise dominate their tiny patch of dirt, all in a quest to score points and prove that they belong at the top of the heap, er, anthill. After three seasons of scrabbling and foraging, each ant colony faces a harsh winter that will test its colonial strength.
In game terms, each player has an individual game board to track what's going on inside his colony – that is, whether the nurses are tending to larvae or doing other things, where the larvae are in their growth process, what resources the colony has, which actions are available to workers when they leave the colony, and so on. The shared game board shows the landscape outside the exit tunnel that all colonies share; after exiting this tunnel, workers ants can move over the terrain to place pheromones (which gives them access to resource cubes), clean up empty pheromones (to make space), hunt prey (by discarding soldiers) or place special tiles (but only if they've developed the ant colony).
The game lasts three years, and at the start of each year three season dice are rolled to determine the event for each season: extra larvae or soldiers, more VPs for actions, and so on. Within each season, players can spend larvae to adjust the event…
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Ystari Games |
Animals, Environmental, Farming |
2012 |
1 |
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Enigma
In Enigma, players are exploring an ancient temple, solving different problems to make their way from room to room.
Problem solving is done simultaneously in four different categories — tangrams, block-stacking, canal-building and balance problems — and those who succeed expand the temple with the problem tile they solved, thus adding a new chain of rooms inside the temple or extending an existing chain of rooms. After placing a tile, a player can occupy a room on that tile with one of his three archaeologists as long as no other room of the same color is already occupied in that chain. When the chain is closed — that is, when the chain has no "loose ends" that can be expanded upon — any archaeologists in that chain's room return to their players, and players score 1 point for each archaeologist they receive. The game ends when somebody reaches 15 points, and the player who has the most points wins.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Adventure, Puzzle, Real-time |
2012 |
1 |
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Seasons
Assuming the role of one of the greatest sorceress of the time, you will be participating in the legendary tournament of the 12 Seasons. Your goal is to raise the most victory points by gathering energy, summoning familiars and magic items. If you amass enough crystals and symbols of prestige, you will become the kingdom's most illustrious mage. Optimize the cards through skillful combinations, using the seasons wisely to access the energies of crystals and become the new Archmage of the kingdom of Xidit.
In a first phase, select 9 power cards at the same time as your opponents. Do the right choices, because they will determine the rest of the game. Acclimatize to the season to make the most of the actions proposed by each roll of the dice! Collect energies, invoke magical and familiar objects, and collect enough crystals, the symbol of prestige.
The time is now magician!
Features:
* Superior artwork
* Tons of different strategies
* Mix cards to create unique combinations to give you more chances to win.
* Manage your energy between seasons and adapt your gameplay
* 3 different difficulty levels in one game!
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Asmodee Editions |
Card Game, Dice, Fantasy |
2012 |
1 |
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Tokaido
Each player is a traveler crossing the "East sea road", one of the most magnificent roads of Japan. While traveling, players will meet people, taste fine meals, collect beautiful items, discover great panoramas and visit temples and wild places. At the end of the day, when everyone has arrived at the end of the road you'll have to be the most initiated traveler – which means that you'll have to be the one who discovered the most interesting and varied things.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Flat River Group |
Travel |
2012 |
1 |
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Connections
Take it Easy-like puzzle game with players laying down tiles on a individual player grid to connect everything as well as they can.
Each player starts the game with an identical set of different tiles showing various combinations of thick and thin pipe and a 5x5 player board that has a "plus" connection of pipes in the center square and numbered "exit" pipes on most of the edges. One player shuffles her tiles face down and will be the caller for the game.
The caller draws a tile, names the object on it (so that other players may locate the same tile), then each player places the tile on her own player board. A tile must be placed next to the midfield or to other tiles, and pipes must connect only to pipes of the appropriate width; exit pipes are considered to be both widths. Pipes can't connect to empty edges, and if you can't lay a tile (or don't want to), you can place it on the board face-down with the spiral back showing.
After 24 tiles have been placed, players score points: 1 point for each spiral tile showing, and 1-3 points for each exit pipe not connected to the grid. The player with the fewest points wins!
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH |
Abstract, Puzzle |
2012 |
1 |
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Suburbia
Plan, build, and develop a small town into a major metropolis. Use hex-shaped building tiles to add residential, commercial, civic, and industrial areas, as well as special points of interest that provide benefits and take advantage of the resources of nearby towns. Your goal is to have your borough thrive and end up with a greater population than any of your opponents.
Suburbia is a tile-laying game in which each player tries to build up an economic engine and infrastructure that will be initially self-sufficient, and eventually become both profitable and encourage population growth. As your town grows, you'll modify both your income and your reputation. As your income increases, you'll have more cash on hand to purchase better and more valuable buildings, such as an international airport or a high rise office building. As your reputation increases, you'll gain more and more population (and the winner at the end of the game is the player with the largest population).
During each game, players compete for several unique goals that offer an additional population boost - and the buildings available in each game vary, so you'll never play the same game twice!
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Bezier Games |
City Building, Economic |
2012 |
1 |
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Sky Tango
In Sky Tango, you trace the cycles of the moon and the sun by creating series of cards that illustrate the passing of time. Eclipses can appear and ruin your paths, but don't let them discourage you for the sun and moon will always reappear. Will your solar and lunar cycles lead you to victory?
In game terms, the deck of cards consists of numbered sun and moon cards (some of which feature animals) as well as eclipse cards. Players place the cards in stacks in ascending order, either in front of themselves or in front of others. When a stack is five cards high, it can be removed and scored for points. Stacks can be interrupted by eclipse cards, which in turn can be covered by the appropriate sun or moon cards. Playing a card with an animal allows a player to play again, which is sometimes advantageous, but sometimes not. The player who removes the most cards from play wins!
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Animals, Card Game |
2012 |
1 |
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Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar
The Maya were a highly developed civilization known for its unique art, complex architecture, sophisticated mathematics and advanced knowledge of the stars. At the heart of their society was a mysterious calendar - Tzolk'in. With a length of 260 days, it could predict the right time to plant seeds, the time to build monuments, the day a new baby would be born as well as the movement of the planets. It was the centerpiece of the Mayan cycle of life.
We invite you to become one of the ajaw, the leaders of Mayan tribes. Please the gods and lead your clan to prosperity!
As in the life of ancient Maya, the center of our game is the Tzolk'in calendar - a set of gears that rotate each round of the game. This unique system helps you to visualize the cyclic flow of time and plan your actions in advance. Harvest crops now, or wait for them to grow a little more for higher yield? All will be clear to see on the wheels of time.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Czech Games Edition |
Ancient, Civilization, Economic, Farming, Mythology |
2012 |
1 |
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Targi
A Targi is a male member of the Tuareg people, who live in the Sahara desert. As tribe leader, you will be trading dates, salt, and pepper to obtain coveted gold coins and advantages. In the game, the desert is a five-by-five grid of cards. Position your Targi figures on the cards that border the desert. You carry out the actions of those cards as well as the cards at the crossroads between them. If you don?t go to the merchant, you won?t be able to trade ? and even worse, your opponent will. Or maybe a caravan will bring the merchandise you desire. There are many choices to consider. But don?t wait too long, the desert is harsh and you might miss an opportunity to make a deal. In the next round, a completely different set of offerings will be on the table. The goods cards are the means to the end of getting highly desired tribe cards. These in turn bring advantages during the game and victory points at the end. You can win only if you plan shrewdly and always keep some gold in your pocket.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Thames & Kosmos |
Ancient, Resource Management |
2012 |
1 |
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Lords of Waterdeep
Waterdeep, the City of Splendors – the most resplendent jewel in the Forgotten Realms, and a den of political intrigue and shady back-alley dealings. In this game, the players are powerful lords vying for control of this great city. Its treasures and resources are ripe for the taking, and that which cannot be gained through trickery and negotiation must be taken by force!
In Lords of Waterdeep, a strategy board game for 2-5 players, you take on the role of one of the masked Lords of Waterdeep, secret rulers of the city. Through your agents, you recruit adventurers to go on quests on your behalf, earning rewards and increasing your influence over the city. Expand the city by purchasing new buildings that open up new actions on the board, and hinder – or help – the other lords by playing Intrigue cards to enact your carefully laid plans.
During the course of play, you may gain points or resources through completing quests, constructing buildings, playing intrigue cards or having other players utilize the buildings you have constructed. At the end of 8 rounds of play, the player who has accrued the most points wins the game.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Wizards of the Coast |
City Building, Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy |
2012 |
1 |
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Terra Mystica
In Terra Mystica, players govern one of 14 factions seeking to terraform and colonize the landscape in their favor in order to build structures and preserve their race and culture.
Upgrade structures to provide even more resources, like workers, priests, money, and power, erect temples to gain expanded influence in the four cults of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, and fortify your stronghold to activate your group's special ability. Will your people prosper, persevere, and stand the test of time in Terra Mystica!
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Economic, Fantasy |
2012 |
1 |
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Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure
Burgle your way to adventure in Clank!, the new deck-building board game.
Sneak into an angry dragon's mountain lair to steal precious artifacts. Delve deeper to find more valuable loot. Acquire cards for your deck and watch your thievish abilities grow.
Be quick and be quiet. One false-step and --CLANK! Each careless sound draws the attention of the dragon, and each artifact stolen increases its rage. You can only enjoy your plunder if you make it out of the depths alive!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Renegade Game Studios |
Adventure, Fantasy |
2012 |
1 |
|
Machi Koro
Nominated for the 2015 Spiel des Jahres award.
Machi Koro is a fast-paced, dice-rolling city builder. in the game, players compete to be the first person to build up their simple village into a sprawling metropolis. Originally designed and released in Japan, Machi Koro has developed a dedicated fan-base around the world. Excited fans have been eagerly anticipating an English translation, and the game has already garnered a "seal of excellence" from The Dice Tower among many other accolades.
Armed only with your trusty die and a dream, you must grow Machi Koro into the largest city in the region. You will need to collect income from developments and build public works, and steal from your neighbors coffers. Just make sure they aren't doing the same to you! Machi Koro is a fast-paced light-hearted game for you and up to 3 friends. They say you can't build Rome in a day, but Machi Koro will can be built in under 30 minutes!
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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IDW Games |
Card Game, City Building, Dice |
2012 |
1 |
|
Ginkgopolis The Experts
The success of Ginkgopolis attracts all sorts of experts (artists, engineers, bankers,journalists.) who wish to profit from its success. Design competitions and advertising campaigns eventually lead to increasingly imposing avant-garde buildings. So imposing, in fact, that it becomes necessary to provide green spaces in order to maintain the air quality in this boomtown. And don't let the speed of construction cause you to forget ISO standards. an occasional inspection will set you straight!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
City Building, Environmental, Expansion, Science Fiction, Territory Building |
2013 |
1 |
|
Blueprints
Who will be the best architect? In the dice-building game Blueprints, players attempt to erect three different buildings by using blueprints. But, they must choose their dice wisely, because building is not all about respecting the plans, its about creating something that will surpass all others.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Dice |
2013 |
1 |
|
The Duke
The Duke is a dynamic, tile-based strategy game with an old-world, feudal theme, high-quality wooden playing pieces, and an innovative game mechanism in its double-sided tiles. Each side represents a different posture – often considered to be defensive or offensive – and demonstrates exactly what the piece can do within the turn. At the end of a move (or after the use of a special ability), the tile is flipped to its other side, displaying a new offensive or defensive posture.
Each posture conveys different options for maneuver and attack. The full circle is a standard Move, the hollow circle the Jump, the arrow provides for the Slide, the star a special Strike ability and so on. Each turn a player may select any tile to maneuver, attempting to defend his own troops while positioning himself to capture his opponent's tiles. If you end your movement in a square occupied by an opponent's tile, you capture that tile. Capture your opponent's Duke to win!
Players start the game by placing their Duke in one of the two middle squares on their side of the game board. Two Footman are then placed next to the Duke. Each turn a player may choose to either move a single tile or randomly draw a new tile from the bag. With fifteen different Troop Tiles, all double-sided, and nineteen total pieces for each player (plus special optional tiles), the variety of game play is limitless.
Beyond the endless variety of the basic game, Terrain…
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Catalyst Game Labs |
Abstract, Medieval |
2013 |
1 |
|
Caverna: The Cave Farmers
Following along the same lines as its predecessor (Agricola), Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a worker-placement game at heart, with a focus on farming. In the game, you are the bearded leader of a small dwarf family that lives in a little cave in the mountains. You begin the game with a farmer and his spouse, and each member of the farming family represents an action that the player can take each turn. Together, you cultivate the forest in front of your cave and dig deeper into the mountain. You furnish the caves as dwellings for your offspring as well as working spaces for small enterprises.
It's up to you how much ore you want to mine. You will need it to forge weapons that allow you to go on expeditions to gain bonus items and actions. While digging through the mountain, you may come across water sources and find ore and ruby mines that help you increase your wealth. Right in front of your cave, you can increase your wealth even further with agriculture: You can cut down the forest to sow fields and fence in pastures to hold your animals. You can also expand your family while running your ever-growing farm. In the end, the player with the most efficiently developed home board wins.
You can also play the solo variant of this game to familiarize yourself with the 48 different furnishing tiles for your cave.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 7
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Lookout Games |
Animals, Economic, Fantasy, Farming |
2013 |
1 |
|
Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension
After being pulled through a black hole, four spaceships find themselves in a dimension with physics never before encountered and without fuel. By mining and collecting basic elements from the space dust and asteroids in the area, you can muster just enough thrust to move your ship. But in this bizarre dimension, gravity is not working like how you've been taught. Your ship will typically travel towards the nearest object... which is usually another ship... and those ships are moving. Sometimes forwards, and sometimes backwards.
Time is running out to save your crew and your ship! As a grim reminder of the cost of failing to escape, the frozen hulks of dead spacecraft litter the escape route. But with careful cardplay, you can slingshot past these derelict craft and be the first to escape from the Gravwell
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Renegade Game Studios |
Card Game, Science Fiction |
2013 |
1 |
|
Thebes: The Tomb Raiders
Europe at the start of the 20th century: Foreign cultures and their artifacts have a strong appeal for archeologists, and its in that role that players try to increase their knowledge in order to equip and conduct expeditions to Egypt, Mesopotamia, Crete and Greece. Glory and esteem are waiting!
Thebes: The Tomb Raiders is a card game version of the Thebes board game from designer Peter Prinz and Queen Games. The game dispenses with the map of Thebes, but retains many of the main aspects of the game. The main turn-order play of the game is based on the time-track; players must spend time to take actions, with varying amounts of time spent dependent on the nature and benefits of the action. The player who is furthest back "in time" is the active player. Players use actions to gain knowledge about five civilizations, and then use this knowledge in different actions to "dig" to pull cards from a civilization's deck that contains treasures and dirt. The more knowledge a player has about a civilization, the more-efficient the player is at searching for knowledge.
The game plays over a certain span of time, and when all players can no longer take any actions because they are out of time, the game is at an end and the player with the highest score from their accumulated treasures wins.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Queen Games |
Card Game, Exploration, Travel |
2013 |
1 |
|
Viticulture
In Viticulture, the players find themselves in the roles of people in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany who have inherited meager vineyards. They have a few plots of land, an old crushpad, a tiny cellar, and three workers. They each have a dream of being the first to call their winery a true success.
The players are in the position of determining how they want to allocate their workers throughout the year. Every season is different on a vineyard, so the workers have different tasks they can take care of in the summer and winter. There's competition over those tasks, and often the first worker to get to the job has an advantage over subsequent workers.
Fortunately for the players, people love to visit wineries, and it just so happens that many of those visitors are willing to help out around the vineyard when they visit as long as you assign a worker to take care of them. Their visits (in the form of cards) are brief but can be very helpful.
Using those workers and visitors, players can expand their vineyards by building structures, planting vines (vine cards), and filling wine orders (wine order cards). Players work towards the goal of running the most successful winery in Tuscany.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Stonemaier Games |
Economic, Farming |
2013 |
1 |
|
Madeira
Madeira is an island officially discovered early in the 15th century by Portuguese seafarers. Madeira, the Portuguese word for wood, refers to the dense forest that covered its wild, fertile landscape. This, and its strategic position far into the Atlantic Ocean made the island one of the most significant Portuguese discoveries. Madeira served as a “laboratory” for what would become the Portuguese Empire.
Wheat plantations were the first means for survival on the island. After that, when D. Henrique decided to increase the economy of the Empire, sugar became the core business of Madeira. Once sugar started coming from other places in the world, such as Africa and Brazil, profits from sugar were no longer enough, and production of the very famous Madeira wine became the most important economic product of the island.
Players try to adapt themselves to these constraints, working to find better fields for farming the right goods and for obtaining precious wood, essential for erecting new structures in the cities and for building ships. In turn, the ships are crucial for trading in foreign markets, as well as for taking part in new expeditions to discover other countries. Madeira has been established just as it was in the original administrative division of the island under 3 captaincies (Funchal, Machico, and Porto Santo), where the ultimate goal is to develop the Island, gaining the most prestige under and for the Portuguese Crown.…
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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What's Your Game |
Dice, Economic, Farming, Nautical |
2013 |
1 |
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A Distant Plain
Afghanistan - scene of tribal, ethnic, colonial, and Cold War conflict across the ages. Into this cockpit dropped a multinational post-9/11 coalition to root out al-Qaeda and replace the hardline-Islamist Taliban regime that harbored it. A quick invasion and regime change portended quiet reconstruction and good governance, but it was not to be so. In their sanctuary across Pakistan's border, the Taliban rebuilt for an insurgency that would ensnare the Coalition in the tangle of Afghan rivalries, shifting allegiances, and warlordism that the West could at first only distantly grasp.
The latest volume in Volko Ruhnke's COIN Series takes 1 to 4 players into the Afghan conflict of today's headlines, this time in a unique collaboration between two top designers of boardgames on modern irregular warfare. A Distant Plain teams Volko Ruhnke, the award-winning designer of LABYRINTH-The War on Terror, with Brian Train, a designer with 20 years' experience creating influential simulations such as Algeria, Somalia Interventions, Shining Path, and many others.
A Distant Plain features the same accessible game system as GMT's recent Andean Abyss but with new factions, capabilities, events, and objectives. For the first time in the Series, two counterinsurgent (COIN) factions must reconcile competing visions for Afghanistan in order to coordinate a campaign against a dangerous twin insurgency:
As the Coalition, how will you secure popular support…
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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GMT Games |
Modern Warfare, Wargame |
2013 |
1 |
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Time 'N' Space
Here, where space is endless and time is precious, you face the challenges of a true space commander. From the bustling hub that is your control center, you coordinate your planet's production, transport, and demand.
However, each of your actions requires the flip of a one-minute sandtimer, and you only have two of these timers. In exactly 30 minutes you must manage as many deliveries as possible, while, simultaneously, the other players do the same. So keep a cool head and your communication channels wide open to arrange opportune deals with each of the other players!
Time 'N' Space is a game for game for 3-4 players, and plays in exactly 30 minutes. An introductory game is also provided that plays in 12 minutes. The sandtimer mechanic in this game makes Time 'N' Space a unique game experience!
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Stronghold Games |
Economic, Negotiation, Real-time, Science Fiction, Transportation |
2013 |
1 |
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Welcome to the Dungeon
Welcome to the Dungeon is a micro dungeon crawler by Masato Uesugi and Paul Mafayon for 2 to 4 players with push-your-luck elements and disappearing equipment.
Dare your opponents to tackle the dungeon with less-and-less equipment to fend off the increasing horde of monsters.
This push-your-luck dungeon delve tests your courage and shrewd choices.
Beat the dungeon twice or be the last warrior standing to win the game.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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IELLO |
Bluffing, Card Game, Fantasy, Fighting |
2013 |
1 |
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Steam Park
As owners of a fantastic steam park, you're to build gigantic, coal-powered rides to attract as many visitors as you can – but building attractions won't be enough. You'll also need to manage your employees, invest in advertising in order to attract and please the different kinds of guests visiting your park, and, above all, keep the dirt that your park produces under strict control!
Steam Park is an easy-to-learn game with two difficulty levels: one for the less experienced gamers and a more strategic one for those who want a more exciting challenge. In this management game, you'll have to build your own amusement park and make it the largest and most profitable in the region. By constructing the three-dimensional, wonderful rides designed by Marie Cardouat, you will see your park grow right before your eyes. Choose your strategy! Build Stands to attract more Visitors, or Toilets to keep the Dirt under control. Whatever decision you take, take it quickly: The less time you spend planning, the more time you'll have to maintain your park. Thanks to a clever, original action-choosing mechanism, winning in Steam Park is as much a matter of being the best as of being the fastest!
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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IELLO |
City Building, Dice, Real-time, Science Fiction |
2013 |
1 |
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Tokaido: Crossroads Expansion
The First Expansion
The Tokaido road is ready to unveil a few more treasures for the most faithful travelers: Cherry trees in full bloom, luxurious bathhouses, goodluck charms, calligraphy, legendary objects, and even clandestine gambling rooms are now part of the journey!
Crossroads will open up new doors and many new possibilities to make the journey even richer and more strategic.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Funforge |
Expansion, Travel |
2013 |
1 |
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Trains and Stations
It is the height of the Steam Age and the whistle of the Iron Horse harkens the boom of small towns across the country into major hubs of transportation and economic growth. Trains and Stations is a new take on train games designed by Eric M. Lang. Players must make deliveries, develop buildings and profit from their decisions while working with and against other players. Will you focus on establishing mining operations in an attempt to gain a monopoly on coal, silver and gold? Or, perhaps you will focus on laying tracks across the landscape and helping other players move their goods - taking your cut, of course! Every game will evolve differently with unique twists and turns as you control the movement of goods across the game map.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Wizkids |
Trains |
2013 |
1 |
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UGO!
In UGO!, players try to found a mighty kingdom. Eagerly they expand their empire with more and more countries – but only the areas that are well maintained by farmers shall ensure that a truly flourishing kingdom will be founded.
UGO! is a trick-taking game. The starting player plays a card from hand, then in clockwise order the other players play a card of the same color, if possible, while playing a different color otherwise. The one who plays the highest card takes all the others. In a tie, the player who follows suit wins. If none of the players followed suit, then the first one wins.
The winner places the cards on his kingdom cards, starting from left to right and sorted by color. If you have nothing on your kingdom cards yet, you can sort the cards from left to right in any order. However, if you do have cards already on your kingdom, you must place them on top of the other matching colors (countries). As soon as you have placed the cards and started a new game round, you may not change them anymore. The winner of the game round is also the starting player of the next one.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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PLAYthisONE |
Card Game, Farming |
2013 |
1 |
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Tzolk'in: Tribes and Prophecies Expansion
In Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar - Tribes & Prophecies, each player now becomes the leader of a particular tribe, each has a special ability which only that player can use. There are 13 tribes in total to secure variety of the game (You know, 13 is a pretty spooky and magical number, right?). The whole game is also influenced by 3 prophecies that are revealed ahead of time and fulfilled when the time is right. These prophecies give players other opportunities to score points, but also lose points if the players don't prepare themselves for the prophecy effects. Again, there are 13 prophecies in the game altogether (Woohoo 13 again!). This expansion also have new components to allow 5-player game version and several new buildings.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Rio Grande Games |
Ancient, Civilization, Economic, Expansion, Farming, Mythology |
2013 |
1 |
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Forbidden Desert
Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You'll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the Forbidden Desert! When we launched Forbidden Island in 2010, we had an inkling that we had created a hit game but never to the point that we'd be prompted to make a sequel. Well, here we are a few years later with just that in hand. Our challenge to designer Matt Leacock was to create a game that would contain familiar elements (cooperative play, modular board), while offering up a completely different in-game experience. In addition, we wanted it to be simultaneously approachable to new players while upping the ante for those who felt they had mastered Forbidden Island. All this resulted in a fresh new game with an innovative set of mechanics, such as an ever-shifting board, individual resource management, and unique method for locating the flying machine parts. Hopefully we've achieved our goals and quenched your thirst for adventure!
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Ceaco |
Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi |
2013 |
1 |
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Pandemic: In The Lab Expansion
In Pandemic: In the Lab, the second expansion for Pandemic, you will use a new game board that allows you to move the pawns in a laboratory. The goal of this activity is the same as in the base game – finding cures for diseases – but this time in a new way. Behind sealed bio-hazard doors, scientists race against time to sequence diseases, take samples, and test cures.
Pandemic: In the Lab includes four new roles, new Virulent Strain events, and a Worldwide Panic Mutation scenario. Players can compete individually or on rival teams (when playing with four or six players). Can your team work together in the lab to save humanity?
Pandemic: In the Lab requires the base game. Two of the 3 scenarios also require Pandemic: On the Brink to play.
Part of the Pandemic series.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Z-Man Games |
Environmental, Expansion, Medical, Science Fiction |
2013 |
1 |
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CV
Ever wanted to reset the clock? Now's your chance! Have you ever wondered who you would have been if your life had gone differently? How would you direct your life if everything were up to you? Would you be a world traveler, a magician...or just a lazy bum?
CV means curriculum vitae - your resume - and in the dice and card game CV you will lead a character through his entire life, making many choices about friends, relations, jobs and activities. Everything is possible: a dream job, new relationships and skills. You can be whoever you want!
Gameplay is built around the Yahtzee-style dice rolling and re-rolling system. On their dice, players are trying to roll sets of symbols that allow them to acquire cards; each round these cards give benefits of some kind, such as new symbols and special abilities. At the end of the game, each kind of card scores points for the player.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Passport Game Studios |
Card Game, Dice, Humor |
2013 |
1 |
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Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport
Scoundrels of Skullport adds two new expansions to the Lords of Waterdeep board game -- Undermountain and Skullport -- inspired by the vast dungeon and criminal haven under Waterdeep. Players can choose to include one or both expansions in a Lords of Waterdeep game. The expansions also allow the addition of a sixth player.
The Skullport expansion adds a new resource to the game: Corruption. The Undermountain expansion features bigger quests and more ways to get adventures. Scoundrels of Skullport also includes new Lords, new Buildings, and set-up materials for a sixth player.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Wizards of the Coast |
Dungeons & Dragons, Expansion |
2013 |
1 |
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Evolution
In Evolution, players create and adapt their own species in a dynamic ecosystem with hungry predators and limited resources. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect you from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help you get food that others cannot reach. With over 12000 different species to create, every game becomes a different adventure. So gather your friends around the table and see who will best adapt their species to eat, multiply and thrive!
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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North Star Games |
Animals, Card Game, Educational, Environmental, Fighting, Prehistoric, Print & Play |
2014 |
1 |
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Province
Two families vie for power as you settle a new provincial town. Build camps and banks, smithies and harbors and control growth as your town develops!
Province is a two-player game in which you must strategically manage your resources and workers to build, complete goals, and score the most victory points to win! The game features a communal worker pool representing the available workers in your town. Players move their workers to generate resources (Labor and Coin) that are used to build the various Structures, which in turn affect resource generation — but your opponent can also move the workers, leaving you without the resources you need!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Laboratory Games |
City Building |
2014 |
1 |
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Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Dead of Winter puts 2-5 players together in a small, weakened colony of survivors in a world where most of humanity are either dead or diseased, flesh-craving monsters. Each player leads a faction of survivors with dozens of different characters in the game.
Dead of Winter is a meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This means players are working together toward one common victory condition--but for each individual player to achieve victory, they must also complete their personal secret objective. This secret objective could relate to a psychological tick that's fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main mission, or worst of all: vengeance against the colony! Certain games could end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players losing. Work toward the group's goal but don't get walked all over by a loudmouth who's only looking out for their own interests!
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Plaid Hat Games |
Apocalyptic, Bluffing, Deduction, Horror, Zombies |
2014 |
1 |
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Scharfe Schoten
Scharfe Schoten (a.k.a. "Hot Peppers") is a trick-taking game in which players predict their tricks — but instead of predicting the number of tricks they'll take, they have to state the color that they think they'll get the most or least tricks of. Since all cards show their color on the back, the players have more information than usual. In addition to cards in hand, the game includes a common supply of cards, some of which can be added to the tricks to make it easier to reach a player's goal. This strategy might backfire, however, if cards of the wrong color make it into a trick and you're aiming for a low score in that color.
During each trick, you must follow suit, even with the special trump cards. This also makes it difficult to correctly predict which tricks you'll get. In the end, the player who comes closest to his predictions wins.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Zoch Verlag |
Card Game |
2014 |
1 |
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The Game of 49
Starting with $49 apiece, players in The Game of 49 bid to buy spaces on the 49-square (7-by-7) game board.
Randomly drawn number cards are auctioned one at a time, with the highest bidder placing a chip on the matching board space. Wild/Payoff cards give players a choice of where to place their chip and also award cash to all players for their chips on the board: $7 per chip, with a maximum payoff of $49.
The first player to claim four spaces in a row, in any direction, wins.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Breaking Games |
Economic |
2014 |
1 |
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Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game
In Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game, you've opened your own brewery and are competing with other brewers in town to be named the Brew Crafter of your city. You'll build your brewery by installing equipment and hiring workers, and then get to work brewing your beer! The player that earns the most reputation as the city's best brewer will win!
Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game is based on the Dice Hate Me Games release Brew Crafters.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Dice Hate Me Games |
Card Game |
2014 |
1 |
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Valley of the Kings
In Valley of the Kings, 2-4 players are Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs, preparing for their death and burial in the Valley of the Kings. In the Egyptian religion, when you die you can take it with you! Egyptians therefore stocked their tombs with food, shabti (statuettes of servants who will work for them in the afterlife), canopic jars (to preserve their organs), statues of the gods, household items, and amulets. You compete with the other players to accumulate the best artifacts for your tomb. At the end of the game, you score the artifacts stored there - the player with the most victory points wins!
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Alderac Entertainment Group |
Ancient, Card Game |
2014 |
1 |
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Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a tile laying game where each player is trying to build the perfect castle, subject to the whims of the King. Each player acts as a building contractor, adding rooms to the castle they are building while selling their services to other players. Points are earned based on how well the castle adheres to the ever-changing demands of the King. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
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Bezier Games |
Puzzle |
2014 |
1 |