The merchant players in Port Royal, which won the Austrian Game Designers Competition under the title Händler der Karibik, are trying to earn as much as they can out of the Caribbean Sea, but if they set their goals too high, they might take home nothing for the day.The 120-card deck depicts a coin on the back of each card — with players earning and paying coins throughout the game — and different items on the card fronts. On a turn, a player can first draw as many cards as he likes, one at a time from the deck, placing them in the harbor (an area near the deck). Each card shows one of the following: Person, who stays in a face-up row next to deck. Ship, which the player can attack immediately if he has enough swords on his people cards, after which the ship is discarded; otherwise, the ship stays in the harbor. Expedition, which remains above the harbor until a player fulfills it by discarding people who have the items required for the expedition. Tax Increase, which forces everyone with twelve or more coins to discard half their money, after which the card is discarded.If the player draws a ship with the same name as a ship already in the harbor, he's spent too much time dilly-dallying and his turn ends (after using the ship to attack, if possible), with all the cards in the harbor being discarded. Otherwise, the player can stop whenever he likes, then use/acquire one card if three or fewer ships are in the harbor, two cards if four ships are present, and three cards if five ships are present. Players rob ships, collecting the number of coins shown on them, then discarding the card, while they hire people, paying the number of coins depicted. After the active player takes his 1-3 cards, each other player may pay the active player one coin in order to take one card in the same way.When one player has at least twelve influence points — which are on both people and expedition cards — the game is played to the end of the round, giving everyone the same number of turns, then the player with the most influence points wins.• Port Royal differs from Händler der Karibik in that it includes ten more cards to allow for play with up to five players and players can win without fulfilling an expedition.

Read more less

Garolium Scraggart, beloved ruler of the people, has died. Despite an upbringing of real hardship she rose to the highest rank in the royal court and did what she could to make sure the poorest in Brighthelm were not forgotten. She died too young, her work half done.A tournament has been announced to find her successor. Brave knights have travelled down royal highways. Bold paladins have knocked on royal doors. So too have bards, lords and heroes. All looking to take over Scraggart’s reign and rule the realm to their desires.And every one of them has been sent back to whence they came.Because Garolium herself had devised the tournament. It was the last thing she did, and she decreed it would only be open to those of the most limited means. Those whose potential had been locked by the chains of ill-fortune and poverty. Brighthelm's paupers. She had spent her whole life building their ladder and nobody was going to kick it away.•••Play a pauper in Garolium's tournament. Along with your bird companion, explore the wild and treacherous land of Brighthelm as you strive to learn three of the five virtues: generosity, fellowship, bravery, knowledge, and magnificence. Battle a bestiary of creatures, undertake quests, find ingredients to craft powerful recipes, and discover the sights and wonders of an exciting new world along the way. But beware! You're not the only pauper in town...In Paupers' Ladder, the land of Brighthelm is illustrated with a playing board and over 400 cards depicting equipment, quests, recipes, monsters, ingredients, encounters, cities, villages and more besides.•••HOW TO PLAYThe aim of Paupers’ Ladder is to learn any 3 of the 5 Virtues. Virtues are learned in different ways. For instance, you learn the Virtue of generosity by discarding a certain amount of gems from your purse. When a player has learned 3 Virtues, they have won the game.You control 2 characters: your Pauper, and their Bird companion.• PAUPERThere are 8 different Paupers to choose from, and each has their own unique piece of starting equipment. Your Pauper’s character card is where you’ll keep track of your progress towards learning Virtues.• BIRDThere are 4 different Birds to choose from. Birds start the game untrained. You can pay to train your Bird to learn a unique ability.

Read more less

This is a quick-thinking category game.The aim of the game is to build your giant slice of pizza by winning small triangles of pizza. To win a triangle you must be the first player to shout out a word that links the category and the letter on the cards. So if the letter is B and the category is TV Shows, you could shout “Baywatch!”. If you’re first to shout a correct answer, you win the card. Now flip a new card and go again. Each round there are three letters and three categories on the table, so you can link any letter to any category. You just need to be super quick!—description from the publisher

Read more less

Mid-22nd century, after 300 years of unconsciousness, the water rising engulfs the last emerged lands. Fighting for their lives, the survivor’s settlements must remain above the sea level. You live in the Otys colony and you must retrieve the past civilizations debris in the depths to build the future of humanity.Your diver’s team is trained to bring up the most useful materials remaining in the depths. You need to use them wisely to fulfill the contracts offered by the Colony and thus obtain more notoriety than your contenders. Your divers lay at different depths; it is up to you to best match their special abilities with the bonuses offered by the Colony. But beware! Your diver’s oxygen is limited, and as soon as they have accomplished their mission, they must go up to the surface. Try to manage all the parameters of your team in a profitable way, so the Colony will reward you more than it will the others!Otys is an optimization and development game co-published by Pearl Games and Libellud. Optimize your game in order to match the depth of your divers, their special abilities and the Colony bonuses. That is how you will supply the best contracts and win.The future is built from the past...In Otys, each player has a team of divers and must use them to take actions, retrieve items, and complete objectives. The divers are stacked in a column on the player's individual game board, and some of them are next to depth gauges that read 1-5.On a turn, a player chooses an available depth gauge on their individual board, then carries out the action at that same depth on the shared game board, then takes the action for their diver at that depth. Afterward that diver moves to the surface, pushing down all the other divers in the queue. That depth gauge is placed at the bottom of the player's board, and they return to the player's board to be chosen again only when that player's gauge meter is full. Initially a player must play all six of their gauges before getting any back, but they can improve their meter so that it takes fewer gauges to fill, thereby giving them more choices for their actions.As divers obtain items, those items are kept at the appropriate depth on a player's board, and when a player has the needed items together at the same depth, they can claim one of the shared objectives revealed on the table or one of their personal objectives (if they've taken any). Players are racing to score 18 points first in order to win the game.

Read more less

Orléans Stories is based on the bag-building mechanism known from Orléans, with this mechanisms having been further developed into a storytelling experience in which players go through different eras and face different challenges. Broadly speaking, instead of focusing on the city of Orléans and trade with the surrounding villages, player are now settling the Loire Valley. Players must farm and produce, found villages, and build fortresses and churches. They will experience times of prosperity and success, but also times of deprivation; they must defy hunger and plague, fight for their land, and perhaps conquer foreign lands to secure the lives of their settlers. In the end, however, there is peace and the joint administration of territories and villages.The game includes two stories: "The First Kingdom" and "The King's Favor". "The First Kingdom" is an epic story that spans eight so-called eras, and each era features different conditions and emphases. Sometimes knights settle down, with whose help you can conquer foreign territories, sometimes the plague threatens to decimate the population of settlers unless all have worked together to develop medicine."The King's Favor" is shorter, simpler, and more suitable as an introduction to the game. Over five eras, certain tasks have to be fulfilled by the end of each era, and those who fail to do so will drop out mercilessly. The threat of having to end the game prematurely provides a constant thrill, but all tasks are achievable, so that (usually) all players experience the end of the fifth era — but those who have concentrated only on the tasks will be punished because at this point everyone's achievements will be compared in the king's castle, and you will receive victory points for territory size, buildings, goods, and coins.The different eras affect the parameters of play as well as the rules of the game, creating new strategic possibilities. This challenges players to constantly adapt to current conditions, giving you the impression of experiencing a story, but unlike in legacy games, these stories can be repeated as often as you like. The changes from era to era require a new way of looking at things from a distance, but this is made easier for players by a story booklet in which players will find not only all relevant information and rule peculiarities, but also hints of how to prepare for the upcoming game in the form of a narrated story.—description from the publisher

Read more less

No moderator, no elimination, ten-minute games.One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a fast game for 3-10 players in which everyone gets a role: One of the dastardly Werewolves, the tricky Troublemaker, the helpful Seer, or one of a dozen different characters, each with a special ability. In the course of a single morning, your village will decide who is a werewolf...because all it takes is lynching one werewolf to win!Because One Night Ultimate Werewolf is so fast, fun, and engaging, you'll want to play it again and again, and no two games are ever the same.This game can be combined with One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak.

Read more less

Publisher's DescriptionGo down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run.Admit it. You love it.This award-winning card game, designed by Steve Jackson, captures the essence of the dungeon experience... with none of that stupid roleplaying stuff. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items. And what magic items! Don the Horny Helmet and the Boots of Butt-Kicking. Wield the Staff of Napalm... or maybe the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. Start by slaughtering the Potted Plant and the Drooling Slime, and work your way up to the Plutonium Dragon...And it's illustrated by John Kovalic! Fast-playing and silly, Munchkin can reduce any roleplaying group to hysteria. And, while they're laughing, you can steal their stuff.   OtherPart of the Munchkin series.Munchkin is a satirical card game based on the clichés and oddities of Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games. Each player starts at level 1 and the winner is the first player to reach level 10. Players can acquire familiar D&D style character classes during the game which determine to some extent the cards they can play.There are two types of cards - treasure and encounters. Each turn the current players 'kicks down the door' - drawing an encounter card from the deck. Usually this will involve battling a monster. Monsters have their own levels and players must try and overcome it using the levels, weapons and powers they have acquired during the game or run away. Other players can chose to help the player or hinder by adding extra monsters to the encounter. Defeating a monster will usually result in drawing treasure cards and acquiring levels. Being defeated by a monster results in "bad stuff" which usually involves losing levels and treasure.In May 2010, Steve Jackson Games made the "big announcement." Many rules and cards were changed. See The Great 2010 Munchkin Changeover for details. Of note to Munchkin fans, the Kneepads of Allure card, which had been removed in the 14th printing, was added back to the game but modified to be less powerful.   Sequels: The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin Munchkin Apocalypse Munchkin Axe Cop Munchkin Bites! Munchkin Booty Munchkin Conan Munchkin Cthulhu Munchkin Fu Munchkin Impossible Munchkin Legends Munchkin Pathfinder Munchkin Zombies Star Munchkin Super Munchkin   Related Board Games Munchkin Quest   Online play Vassal does not support Munchkin anymore. Former link: Vassal Module   Pegasus Expansions Munchkin Sammlerbox Munchkin Sammlerkoffer Munchkin Promotional Bookmarks Munchkin Weihnachtsedition - The same as Munchkin, but with a promotional button that grants the wearer extra treasure (when worn in December).    Online PlaythroughThere's a great YouTube playthrough with Will Wheaton and Steve Jackson (yes, the Steve Jackson) found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6oMBSiL7Zs&t=420s

Read more less

Muffin Time is a chaotic card game with more twists and turns than you can shake a spork at! Battle your friends, family, and hyper-intelligent pets by drawing and playing from a deck of unique cards that'll either help you, thwart others, or mix things up for the sheer hell of it! To win the game, you just need to start your turn with exactly 10 cards in your hand but if you think that'll be easy, you're wrong (wronger than a duck wearing shoes- and that's pretty damn wrong).Players draw a card on their turn and can choose to "place" up to three trap cards out of their hand. As a second part of their turn they either pick up one card or play one action card, which are all unique and can have wide-ranging consequences on the other players or game as a wholeThe game ends when a player wins when someone starts their turn holding exactly 10 cards.So, if you're looking for a hilarious and unpredictable game, I hear Cards Against Humanity is pretty fun! But since you probably own that already, maybe give Muffin Time a chance.

Read more less

Moles have traveled from all over to compete in the annual Mountain Maker tournament. In this light strategy game, competitors show their skill based on how high they can pile their Molehills, and by how many Mountains they control. The Mole that can build and control the most Mountains out of Molehills over 6 rounds will be declared the "Top Tunneler" and win the game. Features a two-level game board and full-color acrylic standees for each Mole!Mountains Out Of Molehills is played over six rounds, and each round has four phases. In Phase 1 players take turns drafting action cards from a face up market to form a hand of 4 cards each. These actions will move Moles underground while adding Molehill pieces to the bottom of the Mountains above them.In Phase 2, each player simultaneously determines the order they plan to resolve their action cards, they place these cards face down in a stack from first action, to last. Once the order is set it cannot be changed! Carefully planning will help ensure you take control of the most valuable Molehills, but be careful as your opponents may block your path, throw a Rock in your way, or even cause your best Mountains to Topple over, spilling the pieces onto other Mountains!In Phase 3 players take turns revealing the top card from their stack and resolving its action. In Phase 4 players score the round. Each player controls the Mountains that have their color Molehill on the bottom, and they earn 1 point for each piece in the Mountains they control.After scoring, players draft the turn order for the next round, starting with the player who has the most pieces on TOP of each Mountain. The player who goes first gets first choice when drafting cards, but the player who acts last gets the final movement of the round.After six rounds players total up all their points from the 6 rounds and the player with the most points is dubbed the Top Tunneler and wins the game!

Read more less

Moon River uses the Kingdomino game system — but without dominoes.In the game, you will build a personal landscape of tiles to score points, but instead of tiling dominoes in your landscape, the game uses half-dominoes in which one edge has a jigsaw puzzle-style connection. You combine two of these half puzzle pieces to craft your own dominoes. This mechanism is meant to provide more variability and randomization in each play.Instead of building your landscape around a central castle, you start from the river and expand away from it. Also, the crowns (i.e., the victory point multiplier) from Kingdomino are replaced by cow meeples, with players being able to use cowboys to move them.

Read more less

(from the box):The fast-paced, addictive card game where your luck can change in the play of a card! Collect 3 complete property sets, but beware Debt Collectors, Forced Deals and the dreaded Deal Breakers, which could change your fortunes at any time!MONOPOLY DEAL - the card game where anything can happen!How to win: Be the first player to collect 3 three full property sets of different colors.The Cards: Action Cards may be played to initiate the action printed on the card or may be used as money of the value noted in the upper left and lower right corners.Property Cards some denote a specific property and some are wild. They show property name, set to which they belong (or in which sets they may be used), rental costs, number of properties in their set and their value when used to make payments. House/Hotel Cards may be used to increase the rental cost of a property set. They also have a monetary value for use in making payments.Money Cards are used to make payments.Play:Draw two cards from the draw pile, or if you start your turn with no cards, draw five.Play up to three cards from your hand face up either as: money into your bank, properties or improvements into your collection, or actions. Action cards allow you to collect rent, receive money, take properties from others or cancel another action. Cards placed in your bank may only be used as money. When you must make a payment, you may use money from your bank or properties and improvements in your collection, but not cards in your hand.Discard cards in excess of seven from your hand to the bottom of the draw pile.Win by announcing it on your turn when you have three complete property sets of different colors. This ends the game.

Read more less

Players take the part of land owners, attempting to buy and then develop their land. Income is gained by other players visiting their properties and money is spent when they visit properties belonging to other players. When times get tough, players may have to mortgage their properties to raise cash for fines, taxes and other misfortunes.On their turn, a player rolls two dice and moves that number of spaces around the board. If the player lands on an as-yet-unowned property, they have the opportunity to buy it and add it to his portfolio or allow the bank to auction it to the highest bidder. If a player owns all the spaces within a colour group, they may then build houses and hotels on these spaces, generating even more income from opponents who land there. If they land on a property owned by another player, they must pay that player rent according to the value of the land and any buildings on it. There are other places on the board which can not be bought, but instead require the player to draw a card and perform the action on the card, pay taxes, collect income, or even go to jail. The goal of the game is to be the last player remaining with any money.

Read more less