Crossing into the Land of 1001 Nights your caravan arrives at the fabled Sultanate of Naqala. The old sultan just died and control of Naqala is up for grabs! The oracles foretold of strangers who would maneuver the Five Tribes to gain influence over the legendary city-state. Will you fulfill the prophecy? Invoke the old Djinns and move the Tribes into position at the right time and the Sultanate may become yours!Designed by Bruno Cathala Five Tribes builds on a long tradition of German-style games that feature wooden meeples. Here in a unique twist on the now-standard worker placement genre the game begins with the meeples already in place – and players must cleverly maneuver them over the villages markets oases and sacred places tiles that make up Naqala. How when and where you dis-place these Five Tribes of Assassins Elders Builders Merchants and Viziers determine your victory or failure.As befitting a Days of Wonder game the rules are straightforward and easy to learn. But devising a winning strategy will take a more calculated approach than our standard fare. You need to carefully consider what moves can score you well and put your opponents at a disadvantage. You need to weigh many different pathways to victory including the summoning of powerful Djinns that may help your cause as you attempt to control this legendary Sultanate.
Unlike in other cultures the desert Tuareg men known as Targi cover their faces whereas women of the tribe do not wear veils. They run the household and they have the last word at home in the tents. Different families are divided into tribes headed by the ‘Imascheren’ (or nobles). As leader of a Tuareg tribe players trade goods from near (such as dates and salt) and far (like pepper) in order to obtain gold and other benefits and enlarge their family. In each round their new offerings are made. Cards are a means to an end in order to obtain the popular tribe cards.The board consists of a 5x5 grid: a border of 16 squares with printed action symbols and then 9 blank squares in the centre onto which cards are dealt. Meeples are placed one at a time on the spaces at the edges of the board (not including corner squares). You cannot place a meeple on a square the opponent has a meeple on already nor on a square facing opponent's meeple. Once all meeples are placed players then execute the actions on the border squares the meeples are on and also take the cards from the centre that match the row and column of the border meeples.The game is predominantly scored and won by playing tribal cards to your display. These give advantages during the game and victory points at the end. Usually cards are played (or discarded) immediately once drawn. A single card can be kept in hand but then requires a special action to play it (or to discard it to free the hand spot for another card). Each card has a cost in goods to play. Goods are obtained either from border spaces or from goods cards.The display (for scoring) consists of 3 rows of 4 cards that are filled from left to right and cannot be moved once placed (barring some special cards). There is also a balance to be found between the victory point score on the cards themselves (1-3 VP per tribal card) and in the combinations per row (a full row of 4 identical card types gets you an additional 4 VP and a full row of 4 distinct card types gets you 2 VP).The winner at the end of the game is the player with the most victory points.
In Camel Up up to eight players bet on five racing camels trying to suss out which ones will place first and second in a quick race around a pyramid. The earlier you place your bet the more you can win — should you guess correctly of course. Camels don't run neatly however sometimes landing on top of another one and being carried toward the finish line. Who's going to run when? That all depends on how the dice come out of the pyramid dice shaker which releases one die at a time when players pause from their bets long enough to see who's actually moving!This 2018 edition of Camel Up features new artwork a new game board design a new pyramid design engraved dice and new game modes including crazy rogue camels that start the race running in the opposite direction! You never know how a race will end!
Wayfarers of the South Tigris is set during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate circa 820 AD. As brave explorers cartographers and astronomers players set off from Baghdad to map the surrounding land waterways and heavens above. Players must carefully manage their caravan of workers and equipment while reporting back regularly to journal their findings at the House of Wisdom. Will you succeed in impressing the Caliph or lose your way and succumb to the wilderness?The aim of Wayfarers of the South Tigris is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at the game's end. Points are primarily gained by mapping the land water and sky. Players can also gain points from upgrading their caravans by gaining inspiration from nobles and by influencing the three guilds of science trade and exploration. As they make discoveries players will want to quickly journal their progress. The game ends once one player’s marker has reached the far right column of the journal track.—description from the publisher
In Camel Up up to eight players bet on five racing camels trying to suss out which will place first and second in a quick race around a pyramid. The earlier you place your bet the more you can win — should you guess correctly of course. Camels don't run neatly however sometimes landing on top of another one and being carried toward the finish line. Who's going to run when? That all depends on how the dice come out of the pyramid dice shaker which releases one die at a time when players pause from their bets long enough to see who's actually moving!Players roll all 5 dice to setup the start positions of the camels. On each leg players pick one betting card for each color camel showing how many coins they will win/lose depending on the camel's position after the leg. The dice are then rolled in the pyramid dice roller which allows one die to come out at a time and moves the matching color camel. Players can also place oasis cards to earn extra coins. After all 5 camels are moved bets are resolved and a new leg start. Play continues until a camel passes the finish line.Once a camel crossess the finish line all end of race bets are resolved and the player with the most coins wins.
Scholars of the South Tigris is set during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate circa 830 AD. The Caliph has called upon the keenest minds to acquire scientific manuscripts from all over the known world. Players will need to increase their influence in the House of Wisdom and hire skilled linguists to translate the foreign scrolls into Arabic. In this Golden Age of wisdom and knowledge be mindful not to neglect one in pursuit of the other.The aim of Scholars of the South Tigris is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at the game’s end. Points are gained by translating scrolls increasing knowledge in various areas of science and mathematics influencing the 3 guilds and by retiring translators after their years of faithful service. The game end is triggered once all 4 caliph cards have been revealed.—description from the publisher
Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road is a tense economic game charting the rise and fall of the greatest city in the world.In Merv players are vying to amass power and wealth in the prosperous heart of the Silk Road. Through careful court intrigue timely donations to the grand mosque and favorable trade deals players attempt to redirect as much of that prosperity as possible into their own pockets.Meanwhile beyond the city walls Mongol hordes approach. If you help construct the city walls you give up on precious opportunities to build up your own stature but leave it unprotected and you will burn with the city. Every decision is weighty and the consequences of each misstep are dire. Will you rise to prominence or fade into oblivion?—description from the publisher
The year is 1822. After years of decay it is time to rebuild the medina located at the foot of the Atlas mountains. The architects and engineers of the city work to erect large and beautiful palaces and to renovate the damaged city wall. As the reconstruction of the old city progresses the city's inhabitants flock through the alleys and the contours of the new city gradually reappear!Each turn players must place two pieces on the board (except when allowed to skip this with a tea tile) either augmenting an existing building (or starting a new building if the current building of that color is finished) or expanding one of the other features of the city like the market or the walls. Each player will claim one building of each of the four colors by the end of the game giving one point per wooden piece attached to the building.Also if you own the largest building of a particular color you get a bonus for that color. Finally there are bonuses for palaces around the well as well as for the player who most recently connected one of their buildings to the walls which grow from the four corners of the city.Medina is a tense game by the great designer Stefan Dorra. This latest edition of the game features a double-sided game board (enabling a two-player game) almost 200 detailed wooden pieces and updated gameplay as well as rules and components never before published for this game!See Medina for the original edition of this game.
Inventors of the South Tigris is set during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate circa 850 AD. Over the past decades Baghdad has become home to thousands of mathematicians astronomers chemists and physicians. As inspired innovators players are eager to develop clever contraptions to impress their peers. Will your ingenious devices adorn the House of Wisdom or are they destined for dust and decay?The aim of Inventors of the South Tigris is to be the player with the most Victory Points (VP) at the game’s end. Points are primarily gained by Inventing Building Testing and Publishing Devices. Players can also score points by training their Craftspeople developing their Workshops Researching and Influencing the 3 scientific Guilds.—description from the publisher
The city of Amul was one of the largest centers of international trade in ancient times and an important transit point on the Great Silk Road. The prosperity of this splendid city of merchants peaked after Arabian conquest in the 10th century and it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1220.Amul originally announced as Silk Road is a card game of bustling bazaars for up to eight aspiring merchants. In Amul each player is a striving merchant competing for wealth and success. The creative card drafting mechanism caters to swift and simultaneous gameplay keeping all players constantly engaged.Draft cards from the market to collect goods and valuables hire guards assemble caravans and make contracts with traders. Manage your hand effectively as only certain cards can be played to the table for scoring while others must be in your hand for optimal end game scoring.Amul features fast and engaging gameplay as well as beautiful artwork.—description from the publisher
As the sun rises over the deserts rivers and oases of the Caliphate a delicate balance has been upset. As one of many rival powers in the region you now have the opportunity to alter the course of history and seize power for yourself. The ambitious Sultan sits in a golden palace presiding over great works of architecture. The secretive Murshid works to covertly undermine the central authorities through an expansive network of agents.The wandering tribes of the Nomad aim to sow discord in order to secure employment for their experienced mercenary citizenry. The ravaging forces of the Warlord sweep across the land chasing after promises of plunder. And in the face of chaos and uncertainty the Caliph aims to preserve order through military might. Will you successfully navigate this web of rivalries and rise to prominence or will you squabble with your lesser adversaries and fade into obscurity?Crescent Moon is played over three years (or four years in the long game). Each year players will take four actions which might be to deploy new armies enlist mercenaries build fortifications and settlements conquer new land expand their influence and much more. Each character has a unique pool of abilities and available actions which will shape their game whether its the Sultan who cannot raise their own army and must depend on mercenaries or the Murshid who can use their political influence to interfere in other characters' battles. Players can purchase potent power cards representing ploys wise advisors and specialist units from a market shared between all players. At the end of each year players score points according to their own unique character objectives and at the end of the game the player with most points wins.Crescent Moon is an area control game for four or five players. Take on the role of one of five radically asymmetric characters each with their own objectives to fulfil unique actions to utilise and game-changing special powers to employ. Build symbiotic relationships with your allies undermine your rivals and choose your friends and enemies wisely in this cut-throat game of power and politics.
The sultan has issued a decree: Whoever can build the most amazing palace in the city of Sultaniya will be made Grand Vizier. Become a character from 1001 Arabian Nights and build graceful minarets dazzling gates and soaring cupolas to draw the eye of the sultan and carve your name in history. Players will carefully select the best building tiles to erect the most impressive structures scoring points for following patterns and fulfilling secret objectives. Earn sapphires and use them to secure the services of the mighty Djinn whose aid will be invaluable in your quest to create the most stunning palace the city has ever seen.Game play:Players start out with a board with a triangle of 3-tiles worth built and have to expand that out to make the best (most VP-earning) palace. There are separate stacks of tiles for each layer of the palace color coded (blue red green and sky). Besides the color-coded levels there are attributes that have to match up like doorways and columns.To get tiles players reveal tiles from one pile and display them in front of the pile (up to 3 can be showing - the top of the pile is face up but can't be taken) and then choose a tile from any of the available tiles in any color. You try to choose a tile that will give you points and/or gems. The gems let you buy genies which have special powers like building twice in one turn or moving a tile you previously placed.Players are limited by the edges of the starting board including the bonus tiles (question marks). You have to have at least one tile beneath you to build and you can't make a hole in the palace so things are somewhat constrained. The tiles are two-sided and can be flipped if you need the mirror-image tile.Each player board has attributes that score points like windows or plants. You also have 2 hidden objectives/bonuses which might be points for making a column of windows. The game ends when someone builds their fifth sky tile. The player that scores the most points is the winner.
1300 A.D. Western Africa — the desire for goods such as ivory in Europe drives the development of many trade routes here with caravans of camels delivering goods across the desert landscape.In Caravan players must use their camels to deliver goods where they are wanted. Each player starts with five camels in their color (or six in an introductory game) and the game board is seeded with eight goods on the spaces numbered 1-8 with demand markers placed on the goods at spaces 1 2 7 and 8. The first player in the game takes one action the second player two and so on until someone takes four actions after which each player can take up to four actions on their turn. Actions are:If you move a good to a camel located in the city that wants that good (as indicated by color) then you remove that good from the board and keep it. As soon as four goods have been picked up (not necessarily delivered) pause the game and place a demand marker on each good still on the board; in addition refill the empty numbered spots with a good from the bag.Once the final four goods have been drawn from the bag the game ends immediately following the next delivery. Players score points based upon what they've collected: Rare goods (of which there are three each of four types) are worth 6 points each; common goods (nine each of four types) are worth 3 points each; and each demand marker is worth 1 point. Whoever scores the most wins.
By the end of the 1001st night the sultan Shahryar wishes to build the new realm of Almadi to honor the intelligence and wisdom of his wife Sheherazade. As the sultan’s advisor you are the architect of this great work. Design a thriving territory with sumptuous palaces fresh oases opulent markets and majestic caravans. Skillfully arrange the landscapes and use their effects to turn your work into a great success!Players build the Almadi realm in front of them by arranging the different Landscape types to the right of their starting tile. During their turn each player chooses a Landscape tile from one of the rows on the central board and places it in the row with the same number in their realm. By placing this tile the player can activate the effects of adjacent tiles.At the end of the game players score points based on the landscape layout in their realm the number of rubies collected the activation of certain effects and the royal objectives they have completed. They also score points if they have used the characters.The player who scores the most points at the end of the game will be the winner.—description from the publisher
Nabbarah: A city full of wonders and stories to be told — a glimmering jewel in the middle of the desert.You are a thief always on the lookout for the next target to hit. You decide to sneak into the Royal Palace break in its treasure room and look for the mythical treasures rumored to be hidden there. Among piles of gold emeralds and precious jewelry you stumble upon a chest containing a mysterious hourglass. As soon as you touch it you are filled with mystical energy and realize its true power: You are now able to see glimpses of your own future. By taking different courses of action different paths unfold before you allowing you to shape your future as you see fit. Unfortunately everyone in the palace is now after you...A Thief's Fortune is a card game for 1-4 players in which each player represents a different possible future of the same character. By visiting different locations interacting with local characters and making sure that certain events you have seen actually happen you try to find the path that will lead you as far away as possible from danger.In more detail players each have three areas in front of them: past present and future. Over five rounds players draft location event and character cards adding them to their personal future area with resources on those cards. Players extract resources from those cards and when they're empty the cards move into the player's present after which the player can activate the power on those cards to score the fortune points they need to win the game.
In Camel Up: Off Season each of the 3-5 players has their own caravan of four camels that can carry goods with the camels being able to carry 3 4 5 and 6 goods. Goods come in four types — carpets vases dates and (non-date) fruit — and these goods will be available at markets with one more market in play than the number of players. Each double-sided market indicates how many face-up and face-down cards are placed there in addition to the special power of that market.At the start of a round players bid to see who selects goods first from a market with the bidding rules being set by the back of the topmost goods card in the deck. Whoever wins the bid pays their money to the bank while everyone else keeps their coins. (Coins are victory points so you might not want to throw away too many of them!)The winning bidder chooses a market uses the power of that market (if they wish) then takes all of the goods from that market flips them face up (if needed) then loads the goods on their camels. A camel can hold goods of only one type and if a goods type is on a camel then you must continue placing that good on the same camel. Each camel has a goods limit however and if you exceed that limit then you must throw away all of that type of good.Each other player in clockwise order then chooses an unchosen market optionally uses its power and collects and loads its goods. Each player then has the option of selling goods from at most one camel with each type of goods paying out in different ways:Place a 1 coin on the unchosen market flip all the other markets refill those markets with cards then start the next round. When the deck runs out complete one more round — selling once from each of your camels — then whoever has the most money wins.
Basari: Das Kartenspiel keeps the fundamentals of Basari and its sister game Edel Stein & Reich.Every round in Basari: Das Kartenspiel each player is dealt a bazaar card that shows a number of gemstones victory points and workers. Players simultaneously choose their action for that turn which is one of the following:If only one player chooses a specific action she takes that action. If exactly two players choose the same action those players will barter for that action: offering increasingly valuable gems to one another for that action. One of the players will take the gems offered the other player will take the action. If three or more players choose the same action the action is forfeited.Players keep all the cards they are dealt and the round ends if one or more players have 15 workers on their cards after all negotiations and actions have been completed. Each player with 15 or more workers scores 12 VPs. The player(s) with the most gems of each color score additional VPs but then must return some of their gems back to the bank.Each player keeps their leftover gems the cards are shuffled together and a new round starts.After three rounds the game ends. Whoever has the most victory points wins!
Camel Up The Card Game brings a new way to enjoy the camel race with a racing deck! While keeping the same excitement as the board game the card game experience gives the players a little bit more insight and control on the race. Don't forget about the crazy camel!One of them has been added and adapted exclusively in this new edition to make the unpredictable even more unpredictable!—description from the back of the box
Harun al-Rashid was the fifth Great Caliph of the Abbasid Dinasty and he ruled over the Middle East between the years 786 and 809. His reign was full of prosperity in all areas like culture science and politics. His life and his famous court are said to be the ispiration for the One Thousand and One Nights collection of folk stories.In Al Rashid players will take the role of the heads of powerful families and will use the members of their families for trading travelling and ultimately trying to exercise influence over the court of the powerful ruler.Al Rashid is a mostly deterministic strategy game – with a slight hint of randomness – based on worker placement influence resource management and the efficient scoring of prestige points (PPs). As heads of families players will have three different worker types at their disposal: the Sage the Merchant and the Pasha. The three different types of workers each with a different influence value can be placed on the map of ancient Middle East to gain resources or can be placed on the corporations to get more workers or on government and imperial offices. The corporations represent several powers at the court of the Caliph: Intrigue War Science Commerce and Politics.The game takes place over five turns with turns split into two main phases: the placement phase and the resolution phase. Each phase is split in several rounds. During the placement phase players take turns placing their workers on the board. During the resolution phase they take turns deciding which action will be resolved. Each action either a zone on the map or a corporation can hold workers from all of the five players but only the top three players identified by influence and placement order will get to resolve the move. During placement workers can be added to the same areas to improve a players's influence. Players with higher influence will get a bigger and better effect out of the action they are resolving.Resolving geographical areas will give a player resources. The resources come in five flavors: Wood Pottery Metal Spice and Silk and they can be used in trades. The dominating player – that is the one with more influence or in case of a tie the one who placed first – will get three different resources or all of the resources of one type (resources are distributed unevenly on the map) the second player will get two different resources and the third player just one.The resources gained by resolving geographical areas can be used in the corporations to buy more workers or get government offices. Government offices work more or less like buildings in other placement games. Some give permanent advantages some have a one-shot effect and some can be used every turn. As for the geographical areas having more influence will be advantageous and dominating players will get cheaper workers or better effects out of the corporations.The game contains no currency so players will need to be careful when they combine resources to get money because if they pay more than they should no change will be returned.Every turn raiders will spontaneously appear on random locations on the map so players will need to use some of their actions to hire mercenaries that can be used to combat the raiders and give them access to resources. Players accumulate PPs when they buy offices and workers and at the end of the fifth turn the player with more PPs is declared the winner.
In the bustling market of Kairo traders build their stalls and try to entice customers with attractive goods with each customer bringing money that the trader can then use to expand that stall or establish new stalls.To set up Kairo players first take turns placing three colored stalls (out of six) on the game board. They also take three stall cards (which highlight one or more sections on the game board) and one coin of each of the six colors. Five colored customers start at particular locations on the game board with the sixth customer placed to the side. On a turn a player either:The active player can choose to move any customer and that customer will move to the closest stall (measured on orthogonal paths) of the same color. Additionally this player can choose to play one or more market barker cards to call the customer past one or more stalls presumably to bring the customer to that player's own stall. If the active player owns the visited stall he receives one coin of the stall's color for each tile in that stall; if not the active player receives a one coin commission while the owner receives the normal payout. This customer is then swapped with the customer off the board.When building a new stall a player cannot place it in the same region as another stall of the same color. Regulations! Restaurants must be placed in an area designated for them while all other stalls must go in the market area. When expanding an existing stall the player must pay one coin of the same color for each tile in the enlarged stall. By expanding you can earn more coins when customers visit create longer paths to opponents' stalls reserve area in which to expand further and (most importantly) earn victory points. You score VPs each time you expand and if your stall is the largest (or tied for the largest) of that color you'll take one or two medals that provide a VP bonus.Once the expansions run low in one or two colors players can only build or expand. Once everyone has finished building the game ends with players earning VPs for the medals and money they have in hand. The player with the most points wins.
