In many ways 7 Wonders Duel resembles its parent game 7 Wonders as over three ages players acquire cards that provide resources or advance their military or scientific development in order to develop a civilization and complete wonders.What's different about 7 Wonders Duel is that, as the title suggests, the game is solely for two players, with the players not drafting cards simultaneously from hands of cards, but from a display of face-down and face-up cards arranged at the start of a round. A player can take a card only if it's not covered by any others, so timing comes into play as well as bonus moves that allow you to take a second card immediately. As in the original game, each card that you acquire can be built, discarded for coins, or used to construct a wonder.Each player starts with four wonder cards, and the construction of a wonder provides its owner with a special ability. Only seven wonders can be built, though, so one player will end up short.Players can purchase resources at any time from the bank, or they can gain cards during the game that provide them with resources for future building; as you acquire resources, the cost for those particular resources increases for your opponent, representing your dominance in this area.A player can win 7 Wonders Duel in one of three ways: each time you acquire a military card, you advance the military marker toward your opponent's capital, giving you a bonus at certain positions; if you reach the opponent's capital, you win the game immediately; similarly, if you acquire any six of seven different scientific symbols, you achieve scientific dominance and win immediately; if none of these situations occurs, then the player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Read more less

In Forest Shuffle, players compete to gather the most valuable trees, then attract species to these trees, thus creating an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna.To start, each player has six cards in hand, with cards depicting either a particular type of tree or two forest dwellers (animal, plant, mushroom, etc.), with these latter cards being divided in half, whether vertically or horizontally, with one dweller in each card half.On a turn, either draw two cards — whether face down from the deck or face up from the clearing — and add them to your hand, or play a card from your hand by paying the cost, then putting it into play.Each tree and dweller shows a cost, and to pay this cost, you must discard cards from your hand into the clearing face up. If you play a tree, flip the top card of the deck into the clearing, then place the tree in front of you. If you play a dweller, pay only the cost on the dweller you choose, then slide this card under a tree that has an empty side that matches the dweller you want to play. (A tree can have cards played on all four sides of it: top, bottom, left, and right.)Alternatively, you can play a card face down as a tree sapling. This card costs nothing and can have dwellers played on it, but it has no species, whereas each tree is one of eight species.After you play a card, you can use the effect on this card (drawing cards, placing additional cards, taking another turn, etc.) or gain the bonus you gained if you paid for this card with cards of the same color — or both, if applicable, with the effect taking place before the bonus.If at the end of your turn the clearing contains more than nine cards, place all of these cards in the box out of play.During set-up, three winter cards were placed into the bottom third of the deck. When the third winter card is drawn, the game ends immediately, then players tally their points based on the trees and dwellers in their forest. Whoever scores the most points wins.Forest Shuffle is the first in a line of Lookout games sporting the Lookout Greenline label, produced on FSC certified paper and avoiding plastic completely.

Read more less

You are a marine researcher seeking to find and observe an array of aquatic life in the colorful Sunlight Zone, ghostly Twilight Zone, and pitch-black Midnight Zone of the world's seas and oceans. In Finspan, the fish you discover over four weeks will generate a series of benefits as you dive deeper into the ocean.Each dive site specializes in a key aspect of expanding your research: Grow your collection of fish. Discover freshly laid eggs. Hatch eggs into young and consolidate young to form schools.The winner is the player with the most points gained from fish, eggs, young, schools, and achievements.—description from the publisher

Read more less

Agent Avenue is a competitive card game that combines bluffing, strategic set collection, and a race to uncover your opponent's identity. Set in a colorful anthropomorphic world, players assume the roles of retired spies in a suburban neighborhood, outsmarting each other with cards that can score points or trigger special effects. The game's art brings to life a quirky neighborhood of animal spies. Use a unique "I split, you choose" mechanic to play one card face-up and one face-down each turn. Your opponent chooses one, influencing both your strategies. Cards feature different agents and tools that impact scoring and game progress on a track, advancing the "catch me" race to uncover the opposing spy. Outwit your opponents by strategically collecting agent sets and effectively using spy tools. The game ends when a player successfully uncovers their opponent, combining both strategic depth and bluffing elements. Perfect for those who love a mix of strategy and lighthearted competition, "Agent Avenue" challenges you to think like a spy and act like a friendly neighbor. —description from the publisher

Read more less

Your inner superhero is ready to emerge, one chapter at a time. Reveal your backstory, gather gadgets and allies, develop a grudge against your archenemy, and unleash an ultimate ability as you transform. Use a combination of brains, love, speed, and strength to craft your origin story. Origin Story is a 1-5 player competitive tableau-building, trick-taking game played over 5 rounds. Each round represents a chapter in your development and grants a new card to add to your player mat. Charge your cards and use their abilities to score more points than your opponents. —description from the publisher

Read more less

Propolis is a worker-placement, engine-building, area-control, and tableau-building game. Players take on the role of competing medieval bee colonies and take turns deploying worker bees to collect pollen, fortify their positions, and construct their hives to appease their queen and become the most glorious in the land! As bees compete over the realm's floral landscapes, they will be collecting pollen to create the propolis they need to build their hives. Attaining dominance in different realms provides additional glory and building materials. As hives expand, new structures provide additional resources, new scoring opportunities, and the prerequisites to construct a glorious palace for the queen. The player who dominates the realm and builds the most prestigious home wins.

Read more less

Spots is a casual push your luck game from CMYK. On your turn, you'll be rolling and placing dice onto dog cards. Dice you can't place get buried in your yard. Bury too many dice and you bust. Complete 6 dogs and you win!-description from designer

Read more less

As members of The Fellowship and the allies who rise to aid them, you must embark on a journey that may either save or doom Middle-earth. Navigate a world beset by shadow, where every choice forges a new path.The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship is a co-operative game for 1-5 players in which each player controls two characters, lending their unique abilities to protect Frodo, battle enemies in pivotal locations, and evade the menacing Nazgûl and Sauron's searching Eye.Each playthrough presents new challenges with 24 different objectives, 14 events, and 13 playable characters. Never miss an opportunity to get it to the table with the included solo mode designed by Matt Leacock.The threads of destiny weave together, and the fate of The Free Peoples lies in your valor, friendship, and resolve. Will the One Ring be cast into the fire, or will the bearer be lost to despair?—description from the publisher

Read more less

No Thanks! is a card game designed to be as simple as it is engaging.The rules are simple. Each turn, players have two options: play one of their chips to avoid picking up the current face-up card pick up the face-up card (along with any chips that have already been played on that card) and turn over the next cardHowever, the choices aren't so easy as players compete to have the lowest score at the end of the game. The deck of cards is numbered from 3 to 35, with each card counting for a number of points equal to its face value. Runs of two or more cards only count as the lowest value in the run - but nine cards are removed from the deck before starting, so be careful looking for connectors. Each chip is worth -1 point, but they can be even more valuable by allowing you to avoid drawing that unwanted card.The first versions of the game supported up to five players, but a 2011 edition supports up to seven.This game was originally published in Germany by Amigo as Geschenkt ...ist noch zu teuer!, meaning Even given as a gift, it is still too expensive!. Amigo's international edition, titled No Merci! (a delightful multi-lingual pun), had rules in several languages, including English. The game has subsequently been released in other countries under an assortment of names.

Read more less

You are an amateur dracologist in the world of Wyrmspan, a place where dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors roam the skies. Excavate a hidden labyrinth you recently unearthed on your land and entice these beautiful creatures to roost in the sanctuary of your caves.During a game of Wyrmspan, you will build a sanctuary for dragons of all shapes and sizes. Your sanctuary begins with 3 excavated spaces—the leftmost space in your Crimson Cavern, your Golden Grotto, and your Amethyst Abyss. Over the course of the game, you will excavate additional spaces in your sanctuary and entice dragons to live there, chaining together powerful abilities and earning the favor of the Dragon Guild.Wyrmspan is inspired by the mechanisms of Wingspan, though its unique elements make Wyrmspan a standalone game (not compatible with Wingspan).—description from the publisher

Read more less

Star Realms is a spaceship combat deck-building game by Magic Hall of Famers Darwin Kastle (The Battle for Hill 218) and Rob Dougherty (Ascension Co-designer).Star Realms is a fast paced deck-building card game of outer space combat. It combines the fun of a deck-building game with the interactivity of Trading Card Game style combat. As you play, you make use of Trade to acquire new Ships and Bases from the cards being turned face up in the Trade Row from the Trade Deck. You use the Ships and Bases you acquire to either generate more Trade or to generate Combat to attack your opponent and their bases. When you reduce your opponent’s score (called Authority) to zero, you win!Multiple decks of Star Realms and/or Star Realms: Colony Wars, one for every two people, allows up to six players to play a variety of scenarios. Also, in the newest version, there are new ways to play that allow up to 6 players with modes like Boss, Hunter, and Free for All. You can also add Star Realms Colony Wars to the deck to make it 4 players. This is the first game of the Star Realms series.   FactionsEach of the cards in the 80 card Trade Deck is a Ship or a Base belonging to one of four factions: The Trade Federation, The Blobs, The Star Empire or The Machine Cult.   Trade FederationIn the far future, the more traditional governing bodies of the human race have been replaced with corporate leadership. The earth and its surrounding colonies are ruled by a group of corporations called the Trade Federation. The Federation’s policies are focused around trade and growth, but especially in profit and prosperity for those at the top of the corporate ladder. While they prefer to deal with other star realms using trade and diplomacy, they have a large defense branch dedicated to protecting the Federation’s trade and other interests.   The BlobsThese mysterious creatures are the first alien life forms encountered by the human race. Most of the initial encounters consisted of human colonies being completely obliterated. On the few occasions that a Blob ship has been recovered somewhat intact, the only biological remains found inside have consisted of a gelatinous mass, thus leading to the moniker, “The Blobs”. While for several years all encounters between humanity and the Blobs have been extremely violent, there is currently some limited trade between various Blob factions and some of the more daring human traders.The Blobs are best at generating massive amounts of Combat and at removing undesirable cards from the Trade Row.   Star EmpireThe Star Empire consists primarily of former colonies of the Trade Federation. These colonies were on the outer edges of the Federation. Not only did they feel used by the corporations, but they felt the Federation failed to give them adequate protection from the Blobs. As a result, one ambitious colonial governor was able to unite several colonies into an independent empire under his control, one with a strong military, both for warding off the Blobs and for discouraging the Federation from trying to reclaim their lost colonies. The Star Empire is a combat oriented faction that draws lots of cards and makes the opponent discard cards.   Machine CultA cluster of industrial mining worlds were completely cut off from the Trade Federation by the Blobs. With the threat of annihilation by the Blobs always looming and no contact with the rest of human space, these worlds were forced to take drastic measures. Soon a cult of technology arose, focused on using advanced technology, robotics and computerization to create strong defenses and a powerful military that belied their relatively small population. Since their leaders believed their salvation lay in technology, technology soon became their god and their religion. The Machine Cult gains most of its power from being able to remove undesirable cards from your deck and from having a large number of Bases designed to defend your Authority from attack.   Playing Star Realms​When you play Star Realms, you will be able to acquire and use Ships and Bases of any and all of the four factions. Many cards have powerful Ally abilities that reward you for using Ships and Bases of the same faction together, however.As you acquire cards using Trade, you put them into your discard pile, to be later shuffled into your personal deck. When you draw Ships, you do what they say and they get placed into your discard pile at the end of your turn. When you draw a Base, you play it face up in front of you and may use its abilities once every turn. In addition to Combat being the way you reduce your opponent’s Authority to zero and win the game, it’s also useful for destroying your opponent’s Bases. Some Bases are designated as Outposts. Your opponent’s Outposts must be destroyed before you can use Combat to attack your opponent’s Authority directly.Star Realms is easy to learn, especially if you’re familiar with deck-building games, but it’s a game that takes time to master. Each time you play, the game is filled with various strategic decision points. Should I take the best card for me or the best card for my opponent? Should I focus on taking cards of a particular faction or on taking the best card available? Should I be focusing on acquiring more Trade or more Combat? Should I attack my opponent’s Base or their Authority? These are just some of the many choices you’ll be faced with. New players needn’t agonize over these choices just to play, but as they become more advanced players, they will find this depth of strategy leads to great replayability.

Read more less

Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor is a stand-alone game within the Forest Shuffle family and introduces a brand new habitat and features new species with new abilities and bonuses to explore. As in the earlier original Forest Shuffle, in Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor players compete to build the most valuable environment by placing trees and shrubs, then attracting species to these locations to create an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna. What's new in Dartmoor is the introduction of TERRAIN cards that are played horizontally and serve as a home or feeding ground for different species than trees or shrubs. Due to the nature of the terrain, species can only be placed above and below a terrain card. Deer and other species stay clear from bogs or peat areas in the moorland. They need their drink, but won't feel safe at dwells or next to rivulets. So players have to be watch out, where to place their species. Like its predecessor, Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor comes with a unique back side: Each of the 180 cards of the deck can be placed face down, creating a bog, if the action allows it. The caves in Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor now will be drafted at the beginning of the game and offer asymmetrical starting conditions. On top, the number of tree symbols has been reduced from eight to six to enable bonuses more easily. The game mechanism stays untouched: To start, each player has six cards in hand, with cards depicting either a particular type of tree, shrub or terrain or two moor dwellers (animal, plants), with these latter cards being divided in half, whether vertically or horizontally, with one dweller in each card half. On a turn, either draw two cards — whether face down from the deck or face up from the clearing — and add them to your hand, or play a card from your hand by discarding other cards to pay the cost, then putting that first card into play. In the end, the player with the highest score wins.

Read more less