WOW! 19 Projects to cover this week, that's a lot of games, and a lot of choice. There is something for everyone in this week's round-up, in every theme and level. Interesting to see a Christmas themed game this early in the year, but more Christmas is never a bad thing. The Curse of Candelabria and An Age Contrived both have my attention this week.
Remember, back with your head, not your heart and most importantly, love your games.
An Age Contrived is a fantasy euro game of engine building and resource programming. You play as a god in the Eldranic pantheon, where you are only as powerful as the mortals of this unstable world believe you are. Your goal is to establish yourself as the pantheon's prevailing god by securing mortal belief, as you advance the mortal realm from its age of darkness into civilization.
Each player receives a character board and a transmutation device, which they use to channel their energy into the mortal realm. Energy is how a god exerts its will, and is used to construct monuments, claim new tiles, and accomplish lasting achievements. Bind your energy for end-game scoring, and unlock new energy to replenish your reserves. The game ends when the last monument is complete, at which point the player with the most points wins.
There are two types of turns, with no rounds or phases. On a player's turn, they must either charge their transmutation device and program it openly, or use its energy to take as many actions as they have already programmed. Information is open, and the only luck is in the shuffling of tiles to set up the game. Player choices determine how the game unfolds.
The game features unlockable unique player powers, a board that players construct differently each game, and 5 ways to build your engine. You will be encouraged to plan ahead, but required to adapt your strategy in order to come away victorious.
The Curse of Candelabria is a majority/area control and dudes-on-the-map Eurogame for 3 to 5 players with a strong focus on the setting. In the game, each player controls a noble house of living candles and competes for territories on the map to earn points at the end of each of the three eras in which the game is divided.
During their turn, players create new living candles and compose their layered miniatures, place tealights on the map, melt the deployed candles and activate their abilities, move, and upgrade the castle of the house. At the end of each era is a combat phase in which the conflicts and the majorities are resolved and players earn points. The goal of the game is to earn more points than the others and became the new king of Candelabria.
In the Demise of Dr.Frankenstein you roll a number of dice, 6 for 2 players, 8 for 3 or 4 players, then those dice are placed on different action options based on the numbers rolled. The number one lets a player influence Igor, number two lets a player take body parts from the graveyard and so on. That allows players to influence different village members and accomplish different tasks on their way to building a Frankenstein Monster. After players use the clinician to study, the trader to get goods, bribe officers to look the other way as they construct different contraptions, and visit the curator, the villagers reach their anger boiling point and put an end to it all by burning down the doctors' efforts. Victory points are scored and then it's on to the next round until all players have had a chance to go first one time.
Players will be planning trips around the world to visit the most locations, visit beautiful sights, and encounter fellow travelers along the way.
One of the primary aspects of this game will be drawing transportation cards in order to visit one of the three cities available at the top left portion of the board. This is the “travel planning” phase.
You stay in place until you have all of the cars, trains, boats, small planes or jets you need to reach the city. Each connection on the map represents one of these modes of transit. Only after your entire trip has been planned can you turn in your cards and make the journey. You will score points based on how many connections. The more, the better! You have to strike a balance between saving up too many cards and snagging the destination before someone else does.
Finally three end game scoring conditions are randomly selected so each game will have unique goals to target.
Encounters: Shattered Wastes is a cooperative board game for 1-4 players. Each player chooses one or more characters (for a total of 2-4 characters being used in a single game) to explore the land of untamed magic known as The Shattered Wastes.
Players will fight an enemy in a battle known as an Encounter. Players win an encounter when both sides of an Enemy Card are defeated by reducing the enemy’s Strength and inflicting Wounds. Players and their characters will need to work together to weaken the enemy using their own attacks, which shifts the enemy’s Strength from Stamina to Fatigue. This will Stagger the enemy, giving players the opportunity to inflict Wounds upon it. Enemies will harm characters by using both Strength and Rage cards.
Players lose an encounter if all characters have been removed from the Encounter by having their Health Points (HP) reduced to 0 or have fully succumbed to corruption.
Scholars of the South Tigris is set during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate, circa 830 AD. The Caliph has called upon the keenest minds to acquire scientific manuscripts from all over the known world. Players will need to increase their influence in the House of Wisdom, and hire skilled linguists to translate the foreign scrolls into Arabic. In this Golden Age of wisdom and knowledge, be mindful not to neglect one in pursuit of the other.
The aim of Scholars of the South Tigris is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at the game’s end. Points are gained by translating scrolls, increasing knowledge in various areas of science and mathematics, influencing the 3 guilds, and by retiring translators after their years of faithful service. The game end is triggered once all 4 caliph cards have been revealed.
Soul of Ankiril – The Strategy Game is a Strategic Card Game where players will compete using thematic decks of 25 cards, one of each element or Temen (Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Wood and Metal), with the aim of deactivating the Emanation Portals on the opponent’s field. To do this, players will move their creatures on a board made up of hexagons, then it will be up to them to make the most of the map to achieve victory.
Each player will be able to construct their deck and choose a specific Board that represents their half of the battlefield, once the two players connects their halves the game can start! Both players will then place their Emanation portals and Leaders.
During their turn, players will be be able to:
- Play a card from their hand (Creature or Spell) for 1 Energy Point. - Move a creature on the board. - Attack or Activate a Special Ability. - Draw a Card for 1 Energy Point.
Most of the Creatures will attack and move by the adjacent hexagon but this range can be increased thanks to spells and Special Ability like Throw or Overfly.
First Player that deactivates the 3 Emanation Portals of the opponent wins the game!
Each Creature is unique so during the Deck Construction phase before a match it will be crucial to choose the best combination of Creatures and Spells even of different Temen.
Bring the world of Sally Face to the tabletop with Sally Face: Strange Nightmares. Strange occurrences are happening at Addison Apartments. Explore the apartments as Sal and his friends, and work together to investigate the surrounding mysteries.
Play through different episodes with events and characters that echo the video game. Players must solve mysteries, stop cultists and prevent the Red Eyed Demon from spreading corruption while advancing through the story.
Players roll custom dice and use the results to perform a variety of actions to solve mysteries but if they dabble too much the powers of evil may become too strong to stop. Unsolved mysteries allow the Red Eyed Demon to spread corruption and the heroes may lose their lives or sanity. However, death and insanity aren’t the end. Heroes may persevere while mad or as ghosts. Such a fate brings the Red Eyed Demon ever closer to his goal of total domination. Players who complete the story face a climax which is a different challenge in each chapter.
The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Chase…
We spend so much time inside our heads, we often fail to see the world around us clearly. Only by slowing down, noticing our minds have distracted us and letting go can we truly experience life in its purest form.
Nevermind The Distraction is a short, fast-paced, yet surprisingly relaxing abstract solitaire card game inspired by the principles of mindfulness and beginning meditation. Take on the role of The Watcher and engage your own mind in a contest of wills to determine the ultimate fate of your wandering thoughts. Breathe, and try not to get too distracted!
Setup begins by preparing the meditating consciousness using small decks called Distraction Packs. These themed packs contain beautiful and evocative imagery depicting various occurring thoughts. Three packs are combined each game based on your mood, thoughts, or plans for the day, creating a unique visual tableau every session.
Each round starts with the Mind revealing a new thought - or intensifying an existing one - ultimately trying to turn them into Distractions. Distractions cause time to pass more quickly, and when the Timer deck is empty, the mediation is over! The Mind’s ultimate goal is to waste time keeping us distracted as long as possible.
During the Watcher phase, players choose one of these thoughts and take an action to calm or quiet it, pulling it one step back from becoming a Distraction. Do this enough times and a thought is eventually Let Go, releasing it completely and blocking the Mind’s ability to manipulate it. The player’s goal is to Let Go of as many thoughts as possible before the Timer deck runs out.
What follows is an engaging, fast-paced yet relaxing 8-way Tug of War that, when combined with the beautiful minimalist aesthetic, create the perfect conditions for the player to enter a flow state, not unlike that of meditation.
Regular practice will eventually result in a perfect score. These “Zen Master” wins unlock additional levels of game play and introduce new challenges, mechanics and strategies letting the game grow with you.
The short play time, small box and limited table space needed make this an excellent addition to any daily self-care routine regardless of whether or not you practice meditation!
Spirits of Christmas is a light cooperative strategy game in which players take on the role of the three Spirits of Christmas from the classic novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You will be taking the old miser Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey through Christmases of the Past, Present, and Future, showing him the consequences of his actions. Hopefully he will change his ways before he runs out of time!
Players will move Scrooge through scenes from the classic story, taking actions using a simple rondel. Your goal is to present ten pivotal moments in Scrooge's life to the old miser, playing combinations of Spirit cards (Contentment, Compassion, and Charity) to meet the requirements for each Scene. Each action you take will require Scrooge to spend his precious Shillings. You can only convince him to part with 15 Shillings during each journey this night, and if these run out, everyone loses the game.
Deep within the vast blue and grey of the sea and the endless storm, lies a long-forgotten land. Stories tell of a safe passage within the roaring belly of the ocean. Legends tell that, hiding behind rocks, clouds, and the unforgiving force of the sea, lies an island. An island that pirates call “Home”. A place where dreaded Captains spend their downtime trading in the marketplace, drinking spiced rum in the tavern, testing their reputation at the Council Hall, or mingling in mischief in the Back Alley.
Seek infamy and become the most dreaded pirate captain! Create a powerful ship by carefully selecting and managing your crew, do battle and plunder ships full of loot, and make a fortune that no living man has ever made! And when you’re tired, come back to the only land you feel is safe for you to rest and get ready for your next adventure. What treasures will you find? How many ships will you capture? Will your crew look up to you or start a mutiny? Will the sound of your name bring fear?
There’s only one way to find out.. Embark and live the pirate life! Get ready to sail to Back O’ Beyond!
Gameplay
Back O’ Beyond is a highly thematic mid-weight 2-4 player euro game that takes around 30 minutes per player to complete. In the game, you take the role of a pirate captain and your goal is to become the most renowned pirate. (the one with the most prestige points).
The game is played over 5 rounds and each round consists of 4 phases. Each round begins with the Start of the Round. All preparations for the round happens: revealing new contracts that the pirates can compete for, adding more ships to capture, and filling the tavern with more crew members. Next is the Preparation Phase. Players will perform various actions by spending time on the island, recruiting new crew, repairing or upgrading their ship, sabotaging the other players, and much more. The third phase is the Travel Phase, where players try to plunder Trading Ships in order to gather precious loot and raise their Dread, Morale, Reputation and most importantly their Prestige. Lastly is the Upkeep Phase, where players need to take actions to keep or dismiss their crew through food, morale, and RUM.
The game has a significant level of strategy, where assembling your ship and crew in unique ways during the Preparation Phase creates a dynamic gameplay. At the same time, the fast-paced three-phase dice-based combat system for plundering ships, with decreasing risks/ rewards, opens a wealth of options on how to capture ships and pillage loot.
If you are looking for a pirate themed game where you will live aspects of the life of a pirate, that has great replay ability based on the various combinations between captains, ships, crews and events, then look no further. Set sail for Back O’ Beyond!
The period of the Warring States (475-221 BCE) describes a time of endless wars between seven rival states: Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Wei, and Zhao. These states were finally unified in 221 BCE under the Qin dynasty to lay the origin of today's China, with its two main rivers: the Yellow and the Yangtze.
HUANG, first released as Yellow & Yangtze, the sister game to the highly acclaimed board game Tigris & Euphrates, invites you to replay this eventful period and to lead your dynasty to victory.
In HUANG, players build civilizations through tile placement. Players are given five different leaders: Governor, Soldier, Farmer, Trader, and Artisan. The leaders are used to collect victory points in these same categories. However, your score at the end of the game is the number of points in your weakest category. Conflicts arise when civilizations connect on the board. To succeed, players' civilizations must survive these conflicts, calm peasant revolts, and grow secure enough to build prestigious pagodas.
The game is set in a fantasy land where anthropomorphic animals live instead of humans. Each of the animals has some talents that allow them to do certain jobs.
Players take on the role of cat thieves whose task is to break into the mage's mansion and steal certain treasures. The player's task is to steal the contents of the safe and collect 2 treasures drawn before the game
Before the start of the game, the player chooses his cat (each has its own pool of skills) and a map of the mansion.
In each turn, the active player rolls 4 D6 dice and performs actions using the dice pool. With the help of a pool of dice, he obtains movement points and performs several types of actions: stealth, action, aggression and meow which is a way to enchant (i.e. special actions). During these actions, the player must be careful not to increase the noise indicator, which is responsible for guard behaviour.
At the end of each player's turn, there is a movement of guards after certain pools. If the player finds himself on the field of the guard and is not hidden he loses a life point and an alarm is declared. The alarm means the release of dog guards who scour the entire villa and it is difficult to hide from them - meeting them ends the game.
The game ends when the player completes the objectives and escapes from the mansion or when he is defeated by the guards.
Claw of Sauria is an expansion for Sauria that adds new and exciting elements to what is already an action-packed dinosaur survival game.
In Claw of Sauria, players can choose to play an all new cooperative mode. In this mode, players work together to complete group objectives before time runs out. There's a catch though, a pretty big one. The Hybrid is on the loose.
The Hybrid introduces new mechanics that make completing your team's objectives incredibly difficult. Because of this, players have two ways to win the game: Complete your team's objectives or simply kill the Hybrid. Easier said than done.
This expansion also introduces 4 new characters that add in new mechanics like healing dinosaurs, attacking other players, or having the help of companions that will fight alongside you. It also adds new items, encounters, events, and of course, many new dinosaur species!
Vienna
Having just arrived in 19th century Vienna, one is struck by the many possibilities offered by this great city and you need to ask yourself how best to get ahead. Should you try to win some fast money, or take a long-term approach by trying to win over influential patrons in the city?
You'll be faced with many important questions in Vienna, many of which involve where best to place your dice so that you can get hold of as many victory points as possible? Naturally these tactical decisions will be influenced by the plans of others and by the favour of the dice. In the end, whoever best plans wisely and use her resources will win!
You and your heroic companions have celebrated, brawled, and spent your hard earned gold night after night at Greyport’s legendary tavern. But what of those daring souls who make their lives beneath the cobblestone roads that take you to The Red Dragon Inn? Let’s take a trip down below, and visit the Undercity!
The Red Dragon Inn 9 introduces four new characters, all hailing from the Undercity of Greyport, each with their own mechanics and distinctive RDI flair. Play RDI9 by itself as a stand alone game, or combine it with any other copy of RDI or RDI:Allies to expand your roster of playable characters!
Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened is a pulp-horror Tabletop game for 1-4 players. You play the role of an intrepid and foolish adventurer exploring a dark jungle river for Secrets. Each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location and face an Ominous Encounter. If you overcome the Encounter (using a combination of dice, tokens and cards) you gain Secrets. The object of the game is to be the player with the most Secrets when the game ends at the Inexplicable Event.
Game play involves rolling dice to achieve combinations: runs, pairs, three or more of a kind, and single die showing a particular number or higher. Dice combinations are spent to overcome Encounters and to acquire the four resources used in the game: Focus, Courage, Treasure and Feat tokens.
Focus tokens are used to activate Swag cards to better manipulate dice results.
Courage tokens are spent to overcome any Encounter when visiting the Yawning Chasm.
Treasure tokens are spent to purchase useful Swag cards from the Trading Post which give you a permanent game effect.
Feat tokens are spent to play one-shot Feat cards from your hand.
Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened is the third implementation of the Dicequest game system as previously used in Ancient Terrible Things (1st/2nd Edition) and Konja. The third edition incorporates edited and revised content from all previous iterations and expansions of the game, new renovated art and language-independent graphic design into a single definitive edition of ATT.
Dig Your Way Out is a game created by David Simide in which you play the role of an inmates trying to escape from prison. Be the first prisoner to dig your hole. Craft tools with salvaged materials, buy them with cigarettes, or extort them from other players, the end justifies the means!
The main goal is to reach the required tunnel points (which can change according to the number of player) representing the progress of your tunnel.
On his turn, a player has 2 actions, which he can choose to spend in:
Searching: he draws the number of Search cards indicated on the place he's in
Moving: he rolls the die to determine where he can go
Joining a gang if he has the matching accessories, and get their passive buff
Crafting if he has the corresponding cards
Playing an action card
Extorting another inmate (extortion is divided into 2 stages:
Intimidation in which the attacking player names the tools he wants to extort (a shovel, a pick or a spoon). The targeted player may then cooperate and give it right away, avoiding combat. Or defend himself, launching combat.
Combat: Taking turns, the two players play before them Weapon cards form their hand, beginning by the defender. Once a player can’t or won’t play a Weapon card, they loose the combat.
If the defender looses, they have to give to the attacker the Tool they ask for. If the defender doesn’t have this card in hand or if the loser is the attacker, the winner picks one card, randomly chosen, from the loser’s hand. The loser takes 1 Beating.
Some actions can only be performed in certain locations:
cell block: dig, place one and only one Tool card (Spoon, Pick or Shovel from your hand on your Prisoner board. You immediately score the number of Tunnel points indicated on the card.
recreation area: Buy and sell, the local currency is cigarettes.
infirmary: Heal, remove 1 beating.(a player with 1 beating can't perform the craft action, a player with 2 beating can't perform neither the craft nor the dig action.)
cafeteria: steal a spoon.
Dig your way out requires to permanently be aware of what other players have in their hand. Thus you can know who to extort and who is a threat for you.
Although picking up tools or weapon is visible to everyone, there are plenty of ways to prevent other inmates from being too pushy: action cards, gang passives and above all your background card.
Background cards are powerful one-shot abilities, which can change the game when used at the right time. And this is even more true when you belong to the relevant gang.
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