Unexpected Games is happy to announce their first game release, The Initiative. In it, players take on the role of teens playing their own board game called The Key. (Gameception!) The game unfolds ov
Unexpected Games is happy to announce their first game release, The Initiative. In it, players take on the role of teens playing their own board game called The Key. (Gameception!) The game unfolds over various chapters that correspond to a companion comic book. Pre-orders for The Initiative are being taken now.
From the release:
Asmodee USA is pleased to announce The Initiative from Unexpected Games, a unique board game of story, strategy, and code breaking by renowned game designer Corey Konieczka.
The Initiative is the debut game from new studio Unexpected Games. This cooperative game lets players take on the role of teenagers in 1994 who have found a mysterious board game called The Key. Not only will they play The Key, but players will help the teens through a pivotal chapter of their lives. Players will follow a series of missions linked together by an interactive comic book.
The campaign is broken into a number of chapters, each taking 30-60 minutes to complete. Each chapter begins by reading a page of the comic book to begin a new mission. The story will advance even if players fail a mission, but winning may provide a reward in the future. Each chapter builds on the knowledge and story from previous chapters, masterfully weaving narrative, codebreaking, and mystery into one thrilling game experience.
“This game started as a passion project,” Head of Unexpected Games, Corey Konieczka, explains. “I’ve been crafting this idea for years, and I can’t wait for people to experience it for themselves.”
The Initiative marks the first release from Unexpected Games. Konieczka joined the team at Fantasy Flight Games in 2005 and is best-known for his work on such beloved games as Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, Star Wars™: Rebellion, and Mansions of Madness: First Edition. He departed his role as VP of Research & Design at Fantasy Flight Games to lead Unexpected Games.
“Corey has continued to impress me with his innovative and immersive game design over the decade. We have worked together closely and what I have seen so far of his first game under Unexpected Games is exciting and will get a lot of attention,” said Steve Horvath, Head of Publishing for Asmodee USA.
The Initiative consists of 1 Double Sided Gameboard, 1 Comic Book (48 pages), 5 Action Cards, 4 Character Cards, 41 Large Mission Cards, 40 Resource Cards, 30 Secret Cards and more. Fans of games with rich stories with narrative twists and challenging puzzles are sure to enjoy this highly anticipated title. Players can find it at their local game store in Spring of 2021.
CMON and Asmodee have teamed up to bring you another set of board game comics. In this case, it's the Android universe as well as Twilight Imperium. Just like the first set of comics, these will inclu
CMON and Asmodee have teamed up to bring you another set of board game comics. In this case, it's the Android universe as well as Twilight Imperium. Just like the first set of comics, these will include components to be added to your games, giving you more ways to play the games you love.
From the article:
CMON LTD and Asmodee Entertainment have entered into a licensing partnership to bring two of the most famous boardgame universes of all time to the pages of comics! The best-selling game worlds of Twilight Imperium and Android are slated to make their graphic novel debut in 2021. This exciting deal is the latest example of Asmodee Entertainment’s continued expansion into licensed publishing opportunities. For CMON, this deal secures the first-ever licenses for their newly minted comics arm, Guillotine Press.
“We are delighted to announce this new partnership on the run-up to exhibiting at the Festival of Licensing in October. Bringing some of our most iconic intellectual properties to the medium of visual storytelling through the pages of these first graphic novels is a natural step for us to be taking and we are absolutely thrilled to begin this exciting journey with the great team at CMON,” commented Alexander Thieme, Licensing Manager for Publishing and Consumer Goods at Asmodee Entertainment.
As with CMON’s first set of graphic novels, these new books will be created by veteran writers and artists, who will bring their immense talents to the projects. Scheduled to be launched on Kickstarter in 2021, the books will be paired with tie-in game components designed to delight long-time fans of both franchises.
Spot It (also know as Dobble to some) is a great, family-friendly card game that won the praise of gamers and critics alike. Soon, new versions of it will be coming out that have been reskinned with v
Spot It (also know as Dobble to some) is a great, family-friendly card game that won the praise of gamers and critics alike. Soon, new versions of it will be coming out that have been reskinned with various licensed properties. That's because Asmodee and The OP Games have reached an agreement to join forces to bring these new versions to your tabletops.
From the article:
Usaopoly (The Op), announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with Asmodee to release licensed versions of Spot It!, a multi-award winning pattern recognition game that launched in 2010 to universal acclaim.Also known as Dobble, the quick-playing family game is most recognized by its uniquely illustrated deck of 55 circular cards, each featuring eight various symbols. With always one symbol in common between any two cards, the game’s fast-acting objective is to be the first to spot a match and grab that card, prompting the next in the deck to be revealed, then quickly surveyed and claimed. Once the deck is depleted, the player with the most collected cards wins.
At home and played all your games already? Can't go out and get something new right now? Deliveries take too long? Well, Asmodee is here to help. They've released a digital, revised edition of the fan
At home and played all your games already? Can't go out and get something new right now? Deliveries take too long? Well, Asmodee is here to help. They've released a digital, revised edition of the fan-favorite game, Agricola on multiple platforms.
From the announcement:
Asmodee Digital, a leader in video game entertainment inspired by board games, is proud to announce the launch of Agricola: Revised Edition on PC (Steam: 9,99 € / $9.99) and mobile (App Store: 5,49 € / $4.99 andGoogle Play: 4,99€ / $4.99).
Agricola is a classic board game masterpiece created by Uwe Rosenberg. Critics have praised Agricola’s rich gameplay, earning it major awards including Spiel des Jahres“Complex Game” 2008 and Golden Geek Board Game of the Year 2008. The digital adaption delivers not only all the depth of the original board game, but also provides all the improvements from the 2016 Revised Edition. This includes the rebalanced cards which were reworked by designer Uwe Rosenberg himself to get a better overall game feeling. Naturally, the digital version also benefits from a streamlined setup and convenient online multiplayer.
Set in Central Europe during the end of the Middle Ages, Agricola features a civilized world that was revitalized after years of shortage. In the game, all farmers wish for a better life and want to produce more and more food!
Choose an occupation in town to earn resources to enhance your wooden shack to a farmhouse! Plow your fields, sow with seeds and bake bread in your clay oven! Another way to get food is to find sheep, pigs or cattle in town and keep them in fences to breed small ones.
When your farm is large enough, it's time to think about having a baby! Your children will help you with your tasks as they grow up! Don't forget to stock up food for the wintertime or you will have to resort to begging in order to survive!
You can also choose specialties and improvements to take advantage of the other farmers!
The player with the biggest and greatest farm wins the game, so allocate resources wisely, develop your land carefully and create the best medieval farm!
Main features
Strategic and economic gameplay adapted from the 2016 Revised Edition of acclaimed board game Agricola by Uwe Rosenberg.
1 to 4 players.
Play in single-player mode against the computer.
Play in multiplayer with your friends in local or with the rest of the world online!
Most of us can't get out to the game shops right now. We're at home and are simply staying put. But that doesn't mean you can't get a new game on your table. Asmodee has posted up a handful of games t
Most of us can't get out to the game shops right now. We're at home and are simply staying put. But that doesn't mean you can't get a new game on your table. Asmodee has posted up a handful of games that you can download and print and play right now, including multiple languages. Head on over and get them now. Oh, and they're free!
From the announcement:
Asmodee, a leading global games publisher and distributor, has released a set of free downloadable board games as part of its new “Print & Play” initiative. Anyone can print out and play with members of their family within the safety of their home. The current list of six titles include Asmodee’s acclaimed range of family-friendly board games, from the colorful matching card game, Dobble (also known as Spot It! in North America), to the escape room-themed riddle game, Unlock!. Additional “Print & Play” content is also planned and will be available as free downloads in the future.
The six free Asmodee board games offer a variety of competitive and cooperative experiences, encouraging friends and family members, young and old, to take part in imaginative, strategic and brain-teasing games; staying socially engaged whilst remaining safe indoors. Modeled after popular Asmodee board games, these printable special editions retain the fundamental gameplay and charming artwork that have made them among the most popular board games around the world. Slight modifications have been made to some board games to simplify the at-home printing and playing process.
“In these difficult times due to the Covid-19 worldwide crisis, we at Asmodee are happy to offer families a way to play together from the comfort and safety of their home” said Stephane Carville, CEO of Asmodee. “We hope that these free ‘Print & Play’ games can offer some measure of relief, adventure and fun for everyone while staying safe at home.”
The full list of special edition Print & Play board games features:
Dobble / Spot It! - A game that encourages speed, concentration and observation. Dobble challenges players to find matching symbols on a set of cards, and the first player to find and name the symbol wins the card. Appropriate for players age 6 and up.
Dixit - A lovingly illustrated game of creative guesswork, where the players’ imaginations unlock the story. In this award-winning board game, players will use the beautiful imagery on their cards to bluff their opponents and guess which image matches the story. To succeed, players have to get their friends to decide that their card tells the story. Appropriate for players age 8 and up.
Unlock! - A cooperative card game inspired by escape rooms that uses a simple system to let players search scenes, combine objects, and solve riddles. Play Unlock! to embark on great adventures while seated at a table, using only cards and a companion app that can provide clues, check codes and monitor the remaining time.
Timeline Classic - A game that combines intuition and historical knowledge, Timeline Classic sees players correctly place cards on a timeline to win the game. The board game features major events, innovative inventions and discoveries from around the world. Appropriate for players 8 years and up.
Cortex Challenge / Braintopia - A true test of players’ thinking, memory and speed skills, players use all of their brain power to compete in 8 different challenges, from duplicates, touch tests, logical series, mazes, color puzzles and more. Appropriate for players 8 years and older.
Combo Color - Combo Color is a strategic family game that lets players explore and expand their territory by coloring the boxes on the board in turn, while also collecting and combining items to win the most points. When the whole board is colored in, it’s time for players to count their points! Appropriate for players 8 years and older.
With the world all sick, there's delays in all sorts of production and manufacturing. This includes the gaming industry. As such, Asmodee has announced that they're delaying all product releases until
With the world all sick, there's delays in all sorts of production and manufacturing. This includes the gaming industry. As such, Asmodee has announced that they're delaying all product releases until at least May 1st so that their workers can stay home and hopefully not catch COVID-19.
From the website:
Asmodee USA has continued to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic as it develops. We want to wish all of you good health and safety during this time. Our employees’ and their families’ health are a top priority. A majority of our staff has transitioned to work from home when able. At this time, our warehouse remains open to help service any store that is able to continue business. However, we have decided to delay new release items until at least May 1, 2020.
A bit more into the nitty-gritty of the gaming industry here. But considering how many games and products Asmodee distributes, this might be a big change in how your game store gets its games. Asmodee
A bit more into the nitty-gritty of the gaming industry here. But considering how many games and products Asmodee distributes, this might be a big change in how your game store gets its games. Asmodee is ending their partnership with Alliance Game Distributors and will now be working with ACD Distribution.
About the move:
In a series of moves that upends the hobby game distribution landscape in the U.S., Asmodee USA is becoming a full distributor, selling direct to retailers in all channels and carrying non-exclusive lines, and switching its sub-distributor relationship from Alliance Game Distributors to ACD Distribution, the company is announcing at GAMA Expo on Tuesday. This model is similar to the role Asmodee plays in 18 markets worldwide, including France, the UK, and recently in Canada, where it acquired Lion Rampant Distribution last August (see "Asmodee Acquires North American Distributor").
Asmodee’s current exclusive contract with Alliance Game Distributors expires on June 30, Asmodee Head of North American Distribution Andre Kieren explained to ICv2 in an interview, leading to the implementation date for the new distribution model on July 1, 2020.
Bit of a shuffle going on when it comes to where you can find some of your favorite games. Plaid Hat Games has once more become independant, the deal being negotiated by Colby Dauch to once more take
Bit of a shuffle going on when it comes to where you can find some of your favorite games. Plaid Hat Games has once more become independant, the deal being negotiated by Colby Dauch to once more take over control of the company. The Asmodee Group retains the rights to different games and has moved them to some of its companies. For example, Dead of Winter is going to Fantasy Flight. Z-Man Games is getting Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, and Aftermath.
From the post on Plaid Hat's site:
Plaid Hat Games is a US-based tabletop games publisher, founded in 2009. The Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor with operations located in Europe, North America, and China.
In 2015 the Asmodee Group acquired Plaid Hat Games along with Z-Man games as part of the F2Z acquisition, an acquisition that brought with it the rights to publish key titles in Plaid Hat’s catalog, including Mice and Mystics and Dead of Winter.
Since that time Plaid Hat Games has continued to create and develop new game titles for publication and distribution by Asmodee. Notable titles from Plaid Hat Games during that time include Stuffed Fables and Aftermath, which are both members of the Adventure Book Games line.
On the 19th of February 2020 Plaid Hat Games’ Head of Studio and Founder – Colby Dauch and the Asmodee Group reached an agreement wherein Dauch reacquired the independent rights to the Plaid Hat Games brand and the publication rights to many, but not all, of Plaid Hat's current and past titles.
Asmodee retains the rights to publish the following game titles: Dead of Winter, Raxxon, Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Aftermath, and Battlelands. Asmodee has also retained the rights to the Adventure Book Games brand. Going forward, Dead of Winter and Raxxon will be published and supported by Fantasy Flight Games.
Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Aftermath, and Battlelands will be published and supported by Z-Man games. Both Fantasy Flight Games and Z-Man Games are publishers belonging to the Asmodee Group.
Colby Dauch, Founder of Plaid Hat Games, commented: “These past years within the Asmodee Group have been amazing and I am excited to continue to lead Plaid Hat Games into the future. I am thankful to the many kind and creative people I’ve had the opportunity to work with at Asmodee and look forward to continuing our relationships with Asmodee's distribution units throughout the world.”
Steve Horvath, Head of Publishing at Asmodee North America, commented: “I am thrilled that this opportunity has worked out for Colby and am excited to see what they do next. We’ll remain at their side as a strong long-term partner for distribution.”
The two had been working closely for some time, but now it's fully official. Asmodee has acquired Repos Production and their library of games (Mascarade being one of my personal favorites from them).
The two had been working closely for some time, but now it's fully official. Asmodee has acquired Repos Production and their library of games (Mascarade being one of my personal favorites from them). Not really much more to say, so let's get to the press release.
From the post:
Asmodee announces today the acquisition of Repos Production, a publisher of successful board games. Time’s Up, 7 Wonders, Ca$h ‘n Guns, Concept and Just One, which won the Spiel des Jahres in 2019, highlight Repos Production’s know-how. Sold in several million copies, the games developed and published by Repos Production are aimed at both family audiences and core gamers.
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Featured games include:
Space Gate Odyssey from Ludonaute
Lord of the Ring LCG Collector’s Edition from Fantasy Flight Games
Dead of Winter: The Long Night (expansion and stand alone!) from Plaid Hat Games
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies (expansion) from Plaid Hat Games
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Featured games include:
Space Gate Odyssey from Ludonaute
Lord of the Ring LCG Collector’s Edition from Fantasy Flight Games
Dead of Winter: The Long Night (expansion and stand alone!) from Plaid Hat Games
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies (expansion) from Plaid Hat Games
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Featured games include:
Space Gate Odyssey from Ludonaute
Lord of the Ring LCG Collector’s Edition from Fantasy Flight Games
Dead of Winter: The Long Night (expansion and stand alone!) from Plaid Hat Games
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies (expansion) from Plaid Hat Games
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Asmodee USA has a holiday sale with up to 60% off games and free shipping with any order over $99! The sale begins Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 2nd. Don't miss out on these great deals.
Featured games include:
Space Gate Odyssey from Ludonaute
Lord of the Ring LCG Collector’s Edition from Fantasy Flight Games
Dead of Winter: The Long Night (expansion and stand alone!) from Plaid Hat Games
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies (expansion) from Plaid Hat Games
The world is under attack. But it's not from an alien invasion or rogue human forces. It's pathogens (wash your damn hands!). You've gotta go and stop them from spreading, but that's not easy.
You've
The world is under attack. But it's not from an alien invasion or rogue human forces. It's pathogens (wash your damn hands!). You've gotta go and stop them from spreading, but that's not easy.
You've probably played Pandemic at some point (I know I have, multiple times). If you enjoy the game, but maybe aren't thrilled with some of the fiddly bits, you can now let a computer do that for you, as the game is now available on Switch and Xbox One. And no more trying to sneak one fewer cube out there onto the board. :P
From the website:
Four deadly diseases threaten the future of the planet! As a member of an elite disease-fighting team you must find the cure to four deadly diseases before it’s too late. Travel the world, contain infections and find the cure to save humanity.
Several of my friends are huge fans of Mansions of Madness. However, it's a game that has a bit of a notorious reputation in terms of set-up time. Having a digital version of it would really cure a lo
Several of my friends are huge fans of Mansions of Madness. However, it's a game that has a bit of a notorious reputation in terms of set-up time. Having a digital version of it would really cure a lot of those issues. Well, your prayers have been answered, as Asmodee Digital is working on a digital version of the game.
Asmodee Digital, the industry leader in digital board games, announced today that it will publish a brand-new adventure game based on Fantasy Flight Games’ Mansions of Madness, an award-winning board game celebrated for its high production values, Lovecraft-inspired art, and unique fusion of physical and digital gameplay mechanics. Developed by Luckyhammers, the Mansions of Madness: Mother’s Embrace video game is the next evolution of the iconic game and is scheduled to hit Steam (PC/Mac) early 2019.
In Mansions of Madness: Mother’s Embrace, players will lead a team of investigators through an eerie mansion while uncovering its dark secrets. Everything is not what it seems as the investigators encounter traps, monsters, and other Lovecraftian horrors, and descend deeper into the depths of madness. Will your team solve the mystery and make it out alive?
“At Asmodee Digital, we’re focused on creating new digital experiences based on beloved board-game IPs. The characters, adventures and universe introduced in the Mansions of Madness board game lend themselves well to an adventure video game, and we look forward to bringing the IP to life in a new way,” said Philippe Dao, Chief Marketing Officer of Asmodee Digital. “We have a passion for board games and want to take risks to elevate the genre. Working alongside great partners like Fantasy Flight Games and Luckyhammers allows us to do that.”
Yarr arr yarr! I loddie the hotpants!It's time to get some sunshine on your skin and some salty air in your lungs. The new expansion for T.I.M.E. Stories has been announced, and it's sending players t
Yarr arr yarr! I loddie the hotpants! It's time to get some sunshine on your skin and some salty air in your lungs. The new expansion for T.I.M.E. Stories has been announced, and it's sending players to the golden age of piracy. Brotherhood of the Coast is the name of this new set, and you'll be looking to find out what happened to a previous team that was sent to the same time but never came back (because that's not ominous...).
From the announcement:
Up until now, we know you’ve seen quite a bit. The horrors you faced in Estrella Drive were almost unspeakable. But you’ve proven yourselves capable of handling quite nearly anything—which is why we know you’re up to this next assignment. Now let’s get to the good part: you’ll be traveling to the year 1685, crossing the high seas of the Caribbean during the Golden Age of piracy. I hope one of you knows how to sail…
We’ve tried to keep this blunder under wraps, but the situation has gone beyond our control, which is the exact reason we’re sending you, agents. Some time ago, four seasoned agents, just like yourselves, were sent to this timeline. Unfortunately, something went awry, and we’ve lost their trace. It’s up to you to track them down and… release them from their receptacles. More details on that at a later date. We’ve seen the way you handle yourselves in the field, and believe you possess the exact skills we need to bring these agents home.
Add another one to Asmodee's collection. Mayfair Games has announced that they've been acquired by the board game company, effectively immediately. From the announcement:As of today, the management te
Add another one to Asmodee's collection. Mayfair Games has announced that they've been acquired by the board game company, effectively immediately.
From the announcement:
As of today, the management team at Mayfair Games, Inc. announces we will wind down game publishing. After 36 years, this was not an easy decision or one we took lightly, but it was necessary. Once we had come to this conclusion, we knew we had to find a good home for our games which is when we reached out to Asmodee.
We are pleased to announce that we have sold our games to Asmodee North America, who have acquired all the assets of Mayfair Games, Inc. This acquisition includes the product line for both Mayfair Games, Inc and Lookout Games, GmbH.
We would like to take a moment to say - Thank You! Thank you to the many retailers, reviewers, customers, industry partners, and volunteers, who made us a success over the past 36 years! You helped bring our games to game stores and cafes, conventions, libraries, schools, kitchen tables, backyard patios, family vacations, and more... where thousands of fans have been introduced to this great world of board gaming. Thank you!!
Asmodee has created another partnership with a gaming company, adding to their already impressive resume of those under their umbrella. In this case, it's Rebel Games from Poland.From the announcement
Asmodee has created another partnership with a gaming company, adding to their already impressive resume of those under their umbrella. In this case, it's Rebel Games from Poland.
From the announcement (sorry about the Google Translate, the original's in Polish):
The Asmodee Group today announced that talks on the takeover of Rebel Sp. z o. o. were successful.
Established in 2003 by Piotr K?tnik and Pawe? Piechota, Rebel is a distributor of board games and accessories, including products from the Asmodee Group and its partners for many years.
The combination of the Asmodee product catalog with Rebel's capabilities in Poland will certainly translate into the possibility of spreading new games from the Asmodee group partners on this market.
Thanks to this operation, the Asmodee Group will have direct access to the fastest-growing market in Europe worth EUR 95,000,000 (PLN 395,000,000).
"We are happy to strengthen our position on the Polish market through a new level of cooperation with Rebel. We have been partners for over 10 years, but this step will allow us to transfer the release of board games in Poland to a new level."
Stéphane Carville, general manager of the Asmodee Group.
"We are proud to join the Asmodee Group with which we share the same philosophy: focus on really good games. The Polish market is very demanding and needs top quality products. As part of the Asmodee Group, we will be able to expand and diversify our range of board and card games, thanks to which our offer will have a chance to reach an even larger group of recipients in Poland. "
Escape rooms are quite the rage these days, with all manner of them popping up all over the place. They can also appear on your tabletops in the form of the Unlock! series of games from Asmodee. The t
Escape rooms are quite the rage these days, with all manner of them popping up all over the place. They can also appear on your tabletops in the form of the Unlock! series of games from Asmodee. The thing is, once you've solved the puzzle, that's kinda it. Thankfully, there's a new trio of sets coming out soon so you can give your brain an all-new workout.
From the announcement:
The next wave of your favorite Unlock! adventures will soon be here with three new exciting escape experiences ready to be challenged. Professor Noside returns for revenge in A Noside Story, you'll attempt to keep train robbers away from your precious cargo in Tombstone Express, and you can help Dorothy and her friends escape the Wicked Witch of the West in The Adventures of Oz. Three brand new adventures means three new epic challenges to take on in Unlock! Secret Adventures, coming soon from Space Cowboys!
Like the six previous Unlock! adventures, each of these new Secret Adventures captures the exciting and challenging puzzles of an escape room and brings it to the tabletop with just a deck of cards and the companion app. While the companion app counts down the time and provides hints along the way, you and a group of your (hopefully) most clever friends have to use deductive logic and reasoning to discover the solutions to escape! Containing the perfect blend of immersive theme, intricate and fluid puzzles, and just one hour to figure out the solution, Unlock! is an action packed thrill ride experience contained in a single box.
You’ve explored the House on the Hill, escaped the Nautilus, and found the treasure of Tonipal Island in Unlock! Mystery Adventures. But now, three brand new adventures wait for you to test your skills against.
Roolex. Versachee. Sorny. Magnetbox. The world of counterfeiting might seem funny at the outset, but it's a real issue in the world. And as the gaming industry has expanded, the chance for scammers to
Roolex. Versachee. Sorny. Magnetbox. The world of counterfeiting might seem funny at the outset, but it's a real issue in the world. And as the gaming industry has expanded, the chance for scammers to make some quick money on cheap, knock-off versions of popular titles is certainly there. ICv2 recently sat down with execs at Asmodee, one of the biggest gaming companies out there, and asked them about what effects counterfeiting has had on them, and on the industry, in general.
From the interview:
Earlier this fall, we visited the Roseville, Minnesota headquarters of game giant Asmodee North America and conducted a series of interviews with Asmodee North America CEO Christian Petersen and Asmodee CMO Steve Horvath. In this interview on the exploding problem of counterfeiting in the games business, we talked about the size of the problem, the impacts, and the dangers.
Well, as a teetotaler, myself, I have to say that I'm concerned about this mystery. O,oDemise of a Teetotaler is a new mystery coming in the Carlton House and Queen's Park expansion for Sherlock Holme
Well, as a teetotaler, myself, I have to say that I'm concerned about this mystery. O,o Demise of a Teetotaler is a new mystery coming in the Carlton House and Queen's Park expansion for Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. As before, these mysteries will test your skills of deduction and make you look for clues in all manner of interesting places and ways. Get a little glimpse into what you can expect with this preview.
From the post:
The gas lit streets of Victorian London are filled with swirling fog and questionable shadows, hiding the cruelest intentions and ripe with crime. Luckily, they are also home to the world’s only (and best!) consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Aided by Dr. Watson and the rascally Baker Street Irregulars, no crime is too complex nor any criminal too elusive for Holmes.
In Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, a co-op game of solving crimes with logic and deduction, you and a handful of friends take on the roles of these Baker Street Irregulars, looking to solve ten of the many cases awaiting Holmes in the dreary streets of London. These ten new cases await you in Carlton House and Queen’s Park, including some of the toughest cases to crack yet!
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the beginning of the first of those cases—The Demise of a Teetotaller—to show just a sneak peek of what you’ll expect to encounter within the Carlton House and Queen’s Park box.
It's Saturday. Usually, that would mean gaming. But Friday meant gaming for me, as a friend came over after work and we played some Guild Ball, Bunny Kingdom, and Apotheca. Great way to spend a Friday
It's Saturday. Usually, that would mean gaming. But Friday meant gaming for me, as a friend came over after work and we played some Guild Ball, Bunny Kingdom, and Apotheca. Great way to spend a Friday. So, what am I up to Saturday? Well, I'm in the CMON Offices, helping pack orders for the holiday sale. Yeah, seems people loved those deep cuts. And since I feel partially responsible (as the one they tasked with actually changing the prices on all those things), I felt it only right to help pack everything up. But while I get orders together, I know you're here for a heaping helping of reviews. Heaping helping because we didn't have a Roundup last week, due to the holiday.
So, this week we've got: Near and Far, Queendomino, The Oregon Trail: Hunt for Food, Dog Might Games Traveler Dice Tower, Campy Creatures, Camel Up, A Game of Thrones Card Game, Colt Express, Truth Bombs, Ex Libris, Star Trek: 5-Year Mission, Slide Blast, Happy Salmon, DownForce, Smash Up iOS, Professor Evil and the Citadel of Time, Ink Monsters, The Quest for El Dorado, Reef Route, Crabs, Werewords, Fog of Love, Museum Heist, Crosstalk, Potato Pirates, Tulip bubble, The Chameleon, Ulm, Asset Drop Subscription Box, Tortuga 1667, Dwar7s Fall, The Expanse, Tokyo Highway, and Ulock!
theMCGuiRE review takes a look at The Oregon Trail Hunt for Food the card game. This is an expansion based off The Oregon Trail card game released last year and overly popular Target store purchase. Both of these are exclusive to Target and I do recommend picking them up (if you can find them). Each game has a different feel and that is what I like best about this expansion. It offers another type of experience that can be enjoyed as a stand alone or add-in to the original.
theMCGuiRE review takes a look at the new DOG MIGHT Traveler Dice Tower. This thing is pretty cool and hold up to 20 dice while allowing for 7 dive to be rolled all at once. It offers a back carving in the wood and a lazer engraved image in the front. You can choose from up to 20 different different woods/finishes and its on kickstarter doing very well right now! It has super small form factor for a dice tower and is a great add on to the Component Collector if you already have that.
In this video I will teach you how to play including: Setup, the different phases of the game and how they work, player turns, and final scoring. I will also give you my thoughts and opinions on the game, and would love to hear yours.
Campy Creatures is a love letter to the 1950’s monster movies played out as a deduction card game. You’ll be playing as a mad scientist on his devilish mission to collect mere mortals for your zany experiments. Of course, you’re not going to put yourself in danger, so you'll instead send one of nine different monsters to capture innocent engineers, teenagers and archaeologists.
Camel Up is a fun, fast paced racing game for the whole family. It has won numerous awards since it’s release in 2014; blending simple to understand gameplay with the perfect mix of strategy and luck, all rolled into the unique theme of camel racing.
Players control a set of camels racing around a track in the desert with coloured dice, betting on the camels as they go. Each camel has its own dice of the same colour that controls how many spaces forward it moves each time it is rolled. There are rewards for predicting the winner of each leg and the overall winner and loser of the entire race, with the person who has collected the most prize money at the end of the race becoming the winner.
A Game of Thrones is an advanced strategy game for 3-6 players designed by Christian T Peterson, the creator of the legendary Twilight Imperium and founder of Fantasy Flight Games.
The game is set on the island of Westeros, where each player takes on the role of one of the six Great Houses who inhabit the island at the start of the story. Over the course of ten game rounds, each player will attempt to gain control of the most castles and strongholds to cement their claim as holder of The Iron Throne, and subsequently ruler of Westeros.
Hold on to yer’ hats and climb aboard the Colt Express for a rootin’ tootin’ robbery ride and the chance to bag some serious loot. Colt Express is a turn-based family board game that puts you in the shoes of a Wild West Bandit looking to rob a train. Using cards from your hand, you take it in turns perform actions that will help you pilfer the most loot before your rival bandits get there first.
The game is designed for 2-6 players and features not only one of the best “boards” I have played on but also some of the most genuinely fun moments in my board-gaming career. The game table is comprised of a locomotive at the front of the train and then train carriages equal to the number of the players in the game, plus one.
A great party game for me involves learning some embarrassing truths about my friends and being able to taunt them for it, in a friendly well-meaning way of course. I got my hands on Big Potato games’ new party game ‘Truth Bombs’ and assembled the Playopolis team for a few games this week.
Ex Libris is a game about being a librarian, which at first may seem a bit monotonous, but given your library is set in a fictional town, where gnomes, goblins and mummies reside it is anything but dull. Add in one of the most anal library inspectors you will ever meet and hundreds of different books, and you have something a bit special.
As a self-confessed bookaholic I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Ex Libris to play and review. Published by Renegade Game Studios and designed by Adam P. McIver, Ex Libris was first debuted at the 2017 GenCon and generated a great deal of hype.
Games that are attached to a well know Intellectual Properties can be a bit hit and miss. What you tend to find is that many of these games rely heavily on the IP to drive sales (I’m looking at you, every TV/film version of monopoly) because the core gameplay isn’t all that great or different. Occasionally though, a games mechanics and its theme go together like bread and butter, with each element complimenting the other and providing a greater experience for players as a result. Is Star Trek: 5-Year Mission a shameless money grab or can it boldly go where no man has gone before?
After a little bit of time off, we are back with another edition of Parental Guidance. If you haven’t read any of our past articles, the goal of this series is to help you find games to play with your family and friends outside of the usual gateway games (which you are already probably sick of). Once again we are going to take a look at three board games I chose to play with my parents during our latest gaming session. For these reviews, I’ll provide a quick summary of the game, followed by why I thought it would be a good choice for my non-gamer parents. My mother will then comment on what she thought of the game.
On one side of the coin, Near and Far is a game about equipping an adventuring party by visiting various buildings in town. On the other side, players make choices about which locations outside of town to visit and, possibly, have adventures requiring heroic choices. The results of these and the placement of camps deliver journey points, the victory currency of the game.
The gameplay contained in Smash Up relies on a multitude of half-decks of cards, each with a theme (pirates, aliens, zombies, wizards, etc…).Each player makes a deck of cards from two different themes. The goal is for a player to take control of bases, which are worth a varying number of points, and the player with the most strength at the base when the threshold is reached, wins it. On a turn, a player can play 1 minion card to a base and 1 action card. Usually, players are trying to play cards with abilities to give them higher strength, play more minions, or disrupt other players. Once a player manages to get 15 points from winning bases, the game is over and highest points wins.
The goal in Professor Evil is to rescue 4 treasures before the Professor can lock enough away. Each player will get to control a unique character, each of which specializes in a specific area of the game (movement, locks, etc…). Once the board is seeded with switches and treasures, you are ready to begin.
Ink Monsters is played over a series of rounds. Each round, a 12-card circular layout of monster cards is placed on the table with the pen card above one of the monsters. Every player also has a hand of 3 action cards.
Every turn, players may play an action card to manipulate the movement of the pen card and draw a replacement. Then, they MUST take the card located under the pen. Once they do this, the pen moves to the next monster.
One of the most common ways people sum up a game (and indeed the same way Board Game Quest does it) is to mention the primary mechanisms in a game. For example, a press-your-luck, dice rolling game might immediately conjure visions of Yahtzee and other derivative games. Unfortunately, this can also have the effect of turning noses in the air when a particular mechanism is mentioned.
This deserves mentioning because the game reviewed here has two of the mechanisms some gamers love to hate. The Quest for El Dorado is a deck building race game set in the wilds of a South American jungle. Two to four players will be acquiring cards representing useful resources or personalities and use them to navigate the various terrain types.
There are some games that kids somehow become familiar with by the time they are about three years old. Tag, and all of its varieties, is one of those. At my son’s preschool they play a somewhat modified game of tag called Sharks & Minnows, which is basically tag where you try to be the last minnow standing.
Reef Route might as well be Sharks & Minnows: The Board Game. It plays 2-4 players, aged 5 and up, in about 15 minutes.
Crabs is a hand management card game for three to five players. Players are catching, raising, and binding crabs to fulfill contracts and get valuable crabs. The player with the most points after the points threshold is met wins.
Werewords is a social deduction guessing game for four to ten players. Players are members of a village on either the villager team or the werewolf team, trying to either guess the magic word or prevent it from being guessed, respectively. The team that reaches their goal without being discovered by the other team is the winner.
To begin, mix together the mayor card, a werewolf card, and the seer card, plus villager cards to equal the number of players +1, then deal one card to each player, placing one card face-down in the center of the table. The player who receives the mayor card receives the Yes/No, Maybe, So Close, and Correct tokens, takes the face-down role from the center of the table, and starts the app.
Fog of Love is a card-based “storytelling” game that attempts to replicate the experience of falling in (and sometimes out of) love with a partner. There are the usual butterflies of excitement at first, followed by the drama later. (Dealing with the in-laws, anyone?) I’m not going to try to explain every rule and phase of the game. It’s best understood as more of a story. The mechanics support the story, but it’s easier to wrap your head around it if you see what the game is trying to achieve.
Your goal is to satisfy your character’s destiny. You begin the game with the same number and type of destinies in hand as your partner. During the game you will gradually secretly discard destinies until you have only one left. This will be the one you must achieve at the finale in order to win. (More on that in a minute.)
The goal of Museum Heist is to claim 3 artifacts. Each round, a group of 7 thieves pursues 1 piece of artwork, but only one player will be able to claim it.
At the start of a round, each player secretly chooses one of the 7 thieves, placing a corresponding card facedown in front of them. No one knows who you chose, and you don’t know who others chose, and it’s entirely possible two or more players chose the same thief.
CrossTalk is the party game of subtle conversation in which two teams race to guess secret keywords. Each round, teams select a clue-giver, and those clue-givers are given knowledge of the same secret keyword. The goal of the clue-givers is to help their teammates guess this keyword before the other team.
Roast, mash, or fry your opponents and send them down to Davy Jones’ locker — but before you can reign terror on the high seas, you have to first master the art of potato war. Use programming concepts such as functions, loops, and conditionals to fortify your attacks. If that’s not enough, you could just loot and hijack your way to victory by saving Potato King from the deadlock of doom.
When in need, summon the Kraken to your aid and deny everything…
In 1637, the tulip craze fuelled one of the first speculative investment bubbles. Coveted tulip varieties led to skyrocketing prices with tulip bulbs costing more than houses in Amsterdam. Then just as suddenly as it started, the bubble burst when investors could no longer afford even the cheapest bulbs, leaving economic turmoil.
In Tulip Bubble, players buy and sell on a fluctuating market, trying to earn the most guilders. The game flow includes a preparation phase, buying phase, and selling phase, with these phases recurring until the bubble collapses or someone manages to outwit the markets by purchasing a black tulip for 120 guilders before that collapse occurs.
Ulm is at its heyday. The construction of the Ulm cathedral has not yet been completed, but the city is already wealthy and prestigious. In Ulm, players try to expand their spheres of influence and to make optimal use of the hustle and bustle on the marketplace around the cathedral.
I recently ran a news item about a brand new subscription box service – Asset Drop. Andy from Asset Drop very kindly offered me the November box to review – here are my thoughts…
I must admit, I did rather enjoy The Curse of the Black Pearl – Captain Jack running around the Caribbean drunk and sunburned was an entertaining film that refreshed the way we looked at pirates. Even if it was responsible for a million poor attempts at dreadlocks from Hallowe’en partygoers from then on.
I say refreshed – we’ve always loved pirates and it seems that Façade Games agrees as their most recent game, Tortuga 1667, is centred around the loveable, survy-ridden rogues as they plunder a galleon for more booty than a Beyonce music video.
The initial reaction to Tortuga 1667 is that it is gorgeous. Even down to the fake book that it’s stored in and the roll out map you play on. It’s such a lovely looking game that you can’t help but like it right from the off.
I think I must secretly be a Dwarf. At 175 cm tall, it’s hard to justify that statement, but I have a beard, I don’t mind being underground, I like large stone structures, I enjoy drinking ale and I listen to loud music. So, I’m going with it. This kinship I’ve just made up is going to be used to thinly explain why I find Dwarfs’ Fall from Vesuvius Media so appealing, at least the idea of it anyway.
Actually, there’s a few reasons why I backed Dwarfs’ Fall on Kickstarter and it wasn’t entirely based on my affinity for rock. The artwork is very whimsical and I love its cartoon style. It’s cute and serious at the same time. There is the other hefty reason that it is in fact a worker placement, so of course I gave it a looksee being the Euro-lover here are Collider Towers.
Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective ever (... well... at least next to Batman). If you're looking to fit in his shoes and head to the streets of London, solving all sorts of cases, you're in lu
Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective ever (... well... at least next to Batman). If you're looking to fit in his shoes and head to the streets of London, solving all sorts of cases, you're in luck Asmodee and Space Cowboy have announced that they're coming out with 10 new mysteries for Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.
From the announcement:
The fog creeping its way through the streets of London envelopes you in mist. The streets are lined with gas lit lamps, highlighting the various shops and other establishments. Victorian London is known for its greatness, but within the dark streets, devious acts of crime are committed far too often. Outcries from the beautiful Queen’s Park can be heard, warning all that are within earshot that something is perpetually amiss. Whispers in dark taverns mention the mysterious Carlton House Mansion—the crimes that have been committed inside are both unspeakable and incredibly difficult to solve. However, even the most difficult cases to crack are only but a mere game for the world’s greatest detective: Sherlock Holmes.
Space Cowboys is proud to present a brand new standalone collection of 10 cases to solve in the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective game line, with Carlton House & Queen’s Park. Some of these cases include the long out-of-print expansions from the original game by Ystari, both updated and revised.
A friend of mine works at an escape room. They absolutely love it, watching people go through the experience, hopefully figuring it out. For those that want to bring that excitement to the gaming tabl
A friend of mine works at an escape room. They absolutely love it, watching people go through the experience, hopefully figuring it out. For those that want to bring that excitement to the gaming table, there's the Unlock! series from Asmodee. Three new adventures are now available. Will you figure out the clues and put the pieces together?
From the announcement:
The ordinary hum and buzzing of the submarine’s systems surround you—just another easy job near Lincoln Island, you think, it’ll be over in no time! You begin to drift away into your own thoughts, when suddenly the alert sirens go off. Panic sets in as the normally steady vibrations of the ship become abruptly jostled. Something struck the ship. The adrenaline kicks in as you dash away from the impact site down into one of the submarine’s tunnels. Within seconds another loud crash can be heard—and a monstrous tentacle comes into view through a nearby porthole. Without thinking, you throw on the closest diving equipment within reach and plunge into the depths unknown away from the doomed sub, only to immediately notice that your oxygen supply seems to be dangerously low. Will you evade the monster and reach the surface in time? Time (and oxygen!) is of the essence!
ALL NEW ADVENTURES AWAIT
Three brand-new Unlock! Mystery Adventures—The Nautilus’ Traps, The House on the Hill, andThe Tonipal’s Treasure—are now available at your local United States retailer. These Mystery Adventures utilize the same exciting app-integrated escape the room playstyle as the original Unlock! Escape Adventures, while adding even more immersive narrative storytelling to the game. Whether you’re trying to escape the dreaded nautilus, discovering the secret to the haunted mansion, or racing other treasure hunters for the loot, these three brand new Unlock! Mystery Adventures will keep teams of 1-6 players on the edge of their seats for an immersive escape the room gaming session, playable anywhere!
It's feeling a lot like Saturday 2: Sat Harder (editor's note: rework that title before publishing) here. Yesterday I spent much of the day at home, hanging out and working on my friend's Guild Ball m
It's feeling a lot like Saturday 2: Sat Harder (editor's note: rework that title before publishing) here. Yesterday I spent much of the day at home, hanging out and working on my friend's Guild Ball minis. He moved recently and a bunch of his stuff got jumbled and busted up. Plus, there were some new kits he'd gotten in that he wasn't sure when he would be able to assemble them. Putting figures together is arguably my favorite part of the whole hobby, so I've offered to fix his busted minis, assemble his new ones, and even move some of his other figures over to sculpted bases he'd gotten. There's ~35 minis that are getting some kind of work on them, from assembly, to those bases, to fixes, to green-stuffing the slots. It's been a fun project. Certainly kept me busy. Plus, next time I see them on the other side of the pitch, I don't have to see a bunch of half-assembled and busted figures. :P But I'm currently taking a break (my hand's cramping from using a pin vice all morning) to bring you those reviews I know you all so desperately desire.
This week we have: Storm Hollow, The Mysterious Forest, Pandemic Legacy Season 2, Vengeance, Gloom of Kilforth, Spoils of War, Santorini, Kerala, Mini Rails, Armageddon, By Order of the Queen, NMBR 9, Coded: Card-Time Strategy, Legend of the Five Rings, Woo-Hoo!, AquaSphere, and Cities of Splendor.
theMCGuiRE review takes a look at Storm Hollow the adventure Storyboard game. There is a ton of content in this system and I am impressed with its smooth mechanics, simple game play, and high level of quality components. It really is a fantastic gaming system for the family and I highly recommend this if you are a RPG'er or have considered getting into something like this with the family. All fairy-tails and stories from this realm are a reality in Storm Hollow. You will go on awesome magical adventures both fun to tell, as the game master, or experience as a player. The introduction is quick for the game master and players will be ready to play and start quickly. It also features a co-op board game experience as well - so if you simply want to set the adventure story mode aside and play a board game like experience, you can do that as well.
theMCGuiRE review takes a look at The Mysterious Forest from iello games. This is a great kids game which offers memory, group collaboration and tactical execution skill building. Its got a great theme, super high quality components and a low price point. Its a definite recommend from me for the kids and family gaming experiences.
Step into the shoes of a hero that has been bashed and tortured by one or more of the four gangs in the game. You win by building up your hero, scouting gang dens to find the baddies who wronged you, then taking bloody revenge through action-packed fight sequences made up of dice based puzzles.
The land of Kilforth is a perilous domain filled with nefarious monsters, mysterious Strangers and treacherous Locations, and dominated at its centre by The Sprawl, a huge city where intrepid Heroes begin their journey to fame and fortune. Throughout the land various factions vie for power over each other, such as the supposedly noble Order of the Rose or the terrifying Doom Guard. And presiding over the world outside Kilforth is the ever-present Overlord, Masklaw. Over the coming month, a deadly Gloom will descend upon Kilforth,which the Heroes must Battle through to prove their worth, defeat an Ancient evil, and save the land from darkness. Gloom of Kilforth is a card game of high fantasy with a Gothic edge, playable in 1-3 hours, where 1-4 players, working individually or together, must take their humble adventurers on a journey through a dark world of magic and peril. They will visit strange places, stranger people and overcome powerful enemies in their mission to discover mysterious artefacts and mystical Spells. Players follow their Hero’s tale from modest beginnings through an epic story to an exciting climactic battle for the fate of the world. Gloom of Kilforth takes about 45 minutes per player to play.
The raid is over, and the victorious Vikings gather in the chieftain’s tent to divide the spoils of war! Piled high on a massive oak table are the best treasures taken during the raid: gleaming gems, shiny swords, fine armor, and magical artifacts! Once strong allies, the Vikings are taken by greed, and soon a heated debate ensues — who will get which spoils? Fists pound the table, insults are made, and tempers rise!
Spoils of War is a fast-paced and exciting game of bidding and wagering for 3-5 players. Each round, players roll their dice, then cleverly bluff and bet to outwit their fellow Vikings. The winners of each round get to claim fantastic treasures to add to their collection! With lots of twists and surprises, no one knows who will win until the last treasure is claimed and the spoils are counted!
Santorini is a re-imagining of the purely abstract 2004 edition. Since its original inception over 30 years ago, Santorini has been continually developed, enhanced and refined by designer Gordon Hamilton.
Welcome to the elephant festival in the Indian province of Kerala! Colorfully decorated elephants roam everywhere, and naturally players want to participate and make the most magnificent fairground with as many elephants as possible.
In Kerala, each player wants to take at least one tile of each color, and all tiles of one color should be joined together, but of course the players are constantly getting in the way of one another and grabbing the tiles that someone else wants.
Mini Rails distills the essence of the stock-buying and track-laying game genre into a tight experience that can be finished under an hour.
The game includes only two types of actions — “Buy Shares” and “Build Tracks” — and you must carefully decide how to best use them. You must do each action exactly once per round, and which company you choose affects the turn order on the next round.
In a post-apocalyptic world, players try to rebuild society. Using the debris, they build new towns for the remaining survivors to live in — but these friendly folks aren’t the only ones still out there. Marauders want to pillage your town and see it burn. Scavenge what you can and build new structures to help you defend against the marauder threat. While you can get more things done in town when you house more survivors there, they all have to have a space to sleep or they might turn against you and join the marauders.
Armageddon is a strategy game that offers many tactical choices and different strategies to claim victory.
By Order of the Queen is a cooperative 2–4 player game with a fantasy role-playing game theme. Players take on the role of one of the Guilds of Tessandor, working together to dispatch Heroes to important quests, to combat monsters and to complete the Queen’s Orders themselves.
By Order of the Queen is designed to give players a full fantasy campaign in one 90-120 minute game, by giving players just the highlights of a role-playing adventure.
Players must work together to keep the kingdom from falling apart while trying to complete three Queen’s Orders to win the game.
In NMBR 9, players are trying to earn the most points by stacking different numbers. The game comes with twenty cards numbered 0-9 (twice) and enough tiles for 4 players.
Each round, the top number card is drawn and each player collects the matching number from the tray, placing it on the table. After the first round, each newly placed number must touch a previously played number. Players can also build up to higher levels, as long as it is fully supported by at least two numbers below it.
In Codex: CTS, each player starts the game with a set of heroes (one to three), a starting deck, and a binder… err… Codex… of 24 cards per hero. Each turn, a player’s workers generate a certain amount of gold that can be spent to build up a player’s draw deck with the cards from their Codex.
Players construct a deck using cards from one of seven clans, splashing in cards from another clan and generic cards. Each player has four provinces that serve as the staging area for cards coming into play, and are the target for attack by their opponent. Cards on provinces can either be characters, attachments that enhance characters in play, or attachments that enhance the province they are on. Each player also has a stronghold province that provides players with fate tokens each turn and is more difficult to defeat.
Woo-Hoo has two modes of play to choose from to cater to the kids you are playing with, but both share a fairly similar structure. Players will take turns rolling a die and moving the appropriate numbers of steps up of the elephant slide. Once your pawn reaches the top, you can slide down into the sand box. Yelling Woo-Hoo at this point is optional, but encouraged.
Then in the easy version, you will choose one toy from the box and place it in front of you. If you play with the slightly advanced setup you will roll a different die to determine how many toys, between 1-3, that you will collect.
There are 20 toys, five each of four different colors. The game ends when all of the toys have been collected. If you are playing with the basic rules, you can choose the number of toys to include to shorten the game if you’d like. In the advanced game you can also win by collecting all 5 toys of the same color.
Aquasphere is a point-salad Euro game for two to four players. Players use their engineer and scientist to program and use robots aboard an underwater station. The player with the most knowledge points after four rounds wins.
I was a latecomer to the Splendor love train. When it came out, I looked at it and thought, “That’s it?” Bear in mind, I was in a place in my life where I had time and energy for heavy games and something as light as Splendor was easily dismissed. But life changes. Not long after, everything did a 180 and I found myself with far less time and energy for gaming. I began seeking out lighter games which still possessed some depth, and that search led me back to Splendor.
I fell in love (or at least heavy like) with the base game, yet when I saw there was an expansion on the way, I thought, “Is it a good idea to mess with the simplicity of the original game? Isn’t the simplicity what made it great?” So with some trepidation, I took the plunge into expansion-land. So the question is, did Cities make things better or worse?
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