Category: Educational

Wingspan is a competitive medium-weight card-driven engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games. It's designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and features over 170 birds illustrated by Beth Sobel Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez.You are bird enthusiasts—researchers bird watchers ornithologists and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth:The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.—description from the publisherFrom the 7th printing on the base game box includes Wingspan: Swift-Start Promo Pack.

In Pax Pamir players assume the role of nineteenth century Afghan leaders attempting to forge a new state after the collapse of the Durrani Empire. Western histories often call this period The Great Game because of the role played by the Europeans who attempted to use central Asia as a theater for their own rivalries. In this game those empires are viewed strictly from the perspective of the Afghans who sought to manipulate the interloping ferengi (foreigners) for their own purposes.In terms of game play Pax Pamir is a pretty straightforward tableau builder. Players spend most of their turns purchasing cards from a central market then playing those cards in front of them in a single row called a court. Playing cards adds units to the game's map and grants access to additional actions that can be taken to disrupt other players and influence the course of the game. That last point is worth emphasizing. Though everyone is building their own row of cards the game offers many ways for players to interfere with each other directly and indirectly.To survive players will organize into coalitions. Throughout the game the dominance of the different coalitions will be evaluated by the players when a special card called a Dominance Check is resolved. If a single coalition has a commanding lead during one of these checks those players loyal to that coalition will receive victory points based on their influence in their coalition. However if Afghanistan remains fragmented during one of these checks players instead will receive victory points based on their personal power base.After each Dominance Check victory is checked and the game will be partially reset offering players a fresh attempt to realize their ambitions. The game ends when a single player is able to achieve a lead of four or more victory points or after the fourth and final Dominance Check is resolved.

Extended edition includes Crisis & Control expansion.The Nation is in disarray and a war is waging between the classes. The working class faces a dismantled welfare system the capitalists are losing their hard-earned profits the middle class is gradually fading and the state is sinking into a deep deficit. Amidst all this chaos the only person who can provide guidance is... you. Will you take the side of the working class and fight for social reforms? Or will you stand with the corporations and the free market? Will you help the government try to keep it all together or will you try to enforce your agenda no matter the cost to the country?Hegemony is an asymmetric politico-economic card-driven board game for 2-4 players that puts you in the role of one of the socio-economic groups in a fictional state: The Working Class the Middle Class the Capitalist Class and the State itself.The Working class controls the workers. The Capitalist class controls the companies. The Middle class combines elements from both the Working class and the Capitalist. It has workers who can work in the Capitalist's companies but it can also build companies of its own yet smaller. Finally the State is trying to keep everyone happy providing benefits and subsidies when needed but trying also to maintain a steady income through taxes to avoid going into debt.While players have their own separate goals they are all limited by a series of policies that affect most of their actions like Taxation Labor Market Foreign Trade etc. Voting on those policies and using their influence to change them is also very important. Through careful planning strategic actions and political maneuvering you will do your best to increase the power of your class and carry out your agenda. Will you be the one to lead your class to victory?Hegemony is heavily based on actual academic principles such as Social-Democracy Neoliberalism Nationalism and Globalism and allows players to see their real world applications through engaging gameplay. There are many ways to achieve hegemony- which one will you take?—description from the publisher

This third expansion to Wingspan brings new species to our habitats by exploring the vibrant intriguing and magnificent birds of Asia. These birds were chosen from the over 2,800 species that live in Asia.Wingspan Asia is several different things: a standalone game for 1-2 players (and the duet mode that can be used with any bird/bonus cards) a card expansion to the original Wingspan and a 6-7 player expansion via the new flock mode (for which the player components from the core game are necessary).—description from the publisher

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.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.

In John Company players assume the roles of ambitious families attempting to use the British East India Company for personal gain. The game begins in the early eighteenth-century when the Company has a weak foothold on the subcontinent. Over the course of the game the Company might grow into the most powerful and insidious corporation in the world or collapse under the weight of its own ambition.John Company is a game about state-sponsored trade monopoly. Unlike most economic games players often do not control their own firms. Instead they will collectively guide the Company by securing positions of power attempting to steer the Company’s fate in ways that benefit their own interests. However the Company is an unwieldy thing. It is difficult to do anything alone and players will often need to negotiate with one another. In John Company most everything is up for negotiation.Ultimately this game isn’t about wealth; it’s about reputation. Each turn some of your family members may retire from their Company positions giving them the opportunity to establish estates. Critically players do not have full control over when these retirements happen. You will often need to borrow money from other players to make the best use for a chance of retirement. Players also gain victory points by competing in the London Season for prestige and securing fashionable properties.John Company engages very seriously with its theme. It is meant as a frank portrait of an institution that was as dysfunctional as it was influential. Accordingly the game wrestles many of the key themes of imperialism and globalization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how those developments were felt domestically. As such this game might not be suitable for all players. Please make sure everyone in your group consents to this exploration before playing.The second edition is extensively revised and is not a reprint.—description from designer

Evolution: Climate is a standalone game that introduces climate into the Evolution game system.In Evolution: Climate players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce predators lurk and the climate can swing between scorching hot and icy cold. Traits like a Hard Shell and Horns can protect your species from Carnivores while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. Heavy Fur and Migratory can protect your species from the cold while being Nocturnal or Burrowing will provide protection from the cruel desert sun. With over 200,000 ways to evolve your species every game evolves into a different adventure.Evolution: Climate changes Evolution from a two-dimensional game (dealing with the threat of Starvation and Carnivores) into a three-dimensional game (dealing with the threat of Starvation Carnivores and Climate effects) while increasing the vividness of the theme. It adds additional layers into what was already a dynamically strategic game.

Three years in the making Oceans is a stand-alone game in the award-winning Evolution series. With over 120 works of art 40 scenarios cards and more than 100 unique trait cards Oceans is the most ambitious project North Star Games has ever tackled.Theme Oceans depicts the boundaries between the known world near the ocean’s surface and the mysteries lurking in Earth’s deepest unexplored region. Enter a vast underwater cosmos: a mysterious interconnected world of sharp teeth glowing eyes and black ink where your survival depends on your ability to adapt to the unknown.The foundation of the oceanic food chain are billions of one-celled organisms called phytoplankton that capture the sun's energy through photosynthesis. Every other species in the ocean is a predator each bigger than the next all the way up to the dreaded Apex Predator. And even bigger than Apex Predators are enormous Whales that gently swim through the ocean scooping up everything in their path. This ecosystem mimics the known world near the surface.But there is more if you are willing to dive deeper...Oceans also includes a deck of 100 unique power cards called The Deep that represents the unknown. These powerful cards break the seams of the reality you've come to accept ranging from astonishing things found in the ocean to the fantastical Kraken or Leviathan.Gameplay Oceans is an interactive engine builder where players evolve their species in a continually changing ecosystem. Players must adapt their interconnected ecosystem to survive against the inevitable march of time (Aging) as well as a multitude of predators looking for food.During the first half of the game players use traits from a deck of Surface cards to modify their species. With only 12 Surface traits it’s easy to wade into your first game without being overwhelmed by new cards. These traits were chosen for their rich thematic interconnections providing synergistic card play that mimics an oceanic ecosystem. The Surface traits bring stability to the game environment.During the second half of the game players can use power cards from The Deep to disrupt the stability. With over 100 unique traits in The Deep players will slowly discover game-altering traits over the course of many games. These traits were designed to evoke wonder and disbelief - to spark your imagination as you consider the fantastic synergies that are possible in Oceans.Additionally there are 2 randomly chosen scenario cards that activate and deactivate at various points during the game. The scenario cards impact the basic tenets of gameplay encouraging people to vary their play style and strategy each game.The Evolution Series Oceans is a stand-alone game in the Evolution series but it's a vast departure from other games in the series. The turn structure has been simplified the game play is much more forgiving and the web of interconnections has increased dramatically. Whereas Evolution has the feeling of a traditional back-and-forth battle game like Magic: The Gathering Oceans has the feel of an interactive engine builder where everything is interconnected and where your engine must continually adapt to a changing environment.Join the Oceans Discord community for rule questions strategy discussions and to get involved in future playtesting.https://discord.gg/GMaDycjKBV

Early in the history of the United States slavery was an institution that seemed unmovable but with efforts of men and women across the country it was toppled. In Freedom: The Underground Railroad players are working to build up the strength of the Abolitionist movement through the use of notable figures and pivotal events. By raising support for the cause and moving slaves to freedom in Canada the minds of Americans can be changed and the institution of slavery can be brought down.Freedom is a card-driven cooperative game for one to four players in which the group is working for the abolitionist movement to help bring an end to slavery in the United States. The players use a combination of cards which feature figures and events spanning from Early Independence until the Civil War along with action tokens and the benefits of their role to impact the game.Players need to strike the right balance between freeing slaves from plantations in the south and raising funds which are desperately needed to allow the group to continue their abolitionist activities as well as strengthen the cause.The goal is not easy and in addition to people and events that can have a negative impact on the group's progress there are also slave catchers roaming the board reacting to the movements of the slaves on the board and hoping to catch the runaway slaves and send them back to the plantations.Through careful planning and working together the group might see an end to slavery in their time.

In Evolution players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species every game becomes a different adventure.Evolution is played in a variable number of rounds. Each round players draw 3 Trat cards to enhance their species create new species or feed their existing animals. Play continues until the Trai deck has been finished and needs to be reshuffled. Reshuffling the Trait cards signals the final round of the game. At the end of the game the player with the most food traits and population wins.Evolution packs a surprising amount of variety for a game with simple rules. The variety comes from the synergies between the trait cards and from the different personalities at the table. Some players thrive on creating Carnivores to wreak havoc on their fellow players. Others prefer to stay protected and mind their own business. Evolution encourages both play styles by giving each of them multiple paths to victory. And it is the mix of play styles at the table that ultimately determines the ecosystem in which the players are adapting. So gather your friends and see who can best adapt to the changing world around them.

As a Renaissance banker you will finance kings or republics sponsor voyages of discovery join secret cabals or unleash jihads and inquisitions. Your choices determine whether Europe is elevated into the bright modern era or remains festering in dark feudalism.In Pax Renaissance you have two actions each turn. As in other Pax games you can acquire cards in a market sell them out of the game or play them into your tableau. You can also stimulate the economy by running trade fairs and trading voyages for Oriental goods. A map of Europe with trade routes from Portugal to Crimea is included and discovering new trade routes can radically alter the importance and wealth of empires ten of which are in the game.Four victories determine the future course of Western Society: Will it be towards imperialism trade globalization religious totalitarianism or enlightened art and science?

After the great Chicago Fire of 1871 the brave men and women of Chicago sought to rebuild their once-great city and rebuild it they did. Over the next 60 years Chicago experienced an economic golden age making such great progress that it hosted The World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 followed not long after by a celebration of its Century of Progress at The World's Fair in 1933.Many of the household brands we've come to know and love today had their start in Chicago during this time period; Oscar Mayer Kraft Quaker Oats Nabisco Swift & Co Armour & Co Schwinn Bicycles Charles Schwab and many others made a home here in this tall bold slugger.In City of the Big Shoulders players take on the roles of entrepreneurs and investors seeking to rebuild Chicago into a city fit for the world stage. In this unique merger of 18xx-style stock manipulation mechanics with euro-style gameplay players start companies trade in shares hire employees equip their factories produce goods and sell them to be delivered to homes across the midwest.Although City of the Big Shoulders features a large amount of strategic depth and rewarding gameplay it does so in a shorter timeline than is typical of most heavy economic games. Players play just five rounds (also known as decades) in about two and a half hours. Each decade consists of five unique phases: A stock phase where players can buy and sell stock; a building phase where players rebuild the city of Chicago placing action spaces on the board; an action phase where companies send their partners to make deals across Chicago; an Operating Phase where companies buy resources produce goods and ship them out of Chicago; and finally a cleanup phase where the board is set up for the following decade. At the end of the fifth decade the game ends. Players then exchange shares that they have purchased over the course of the game for cash are rewarded for any of the public goals they have accomplished over the five decades of play and tally their money to determine who is Chicago's greatest resident.—description from the publisher

The year is 878. For the past 75 years Viking raiding parties from Norway and Denmark have been terrorizing the coasts of England with ‘hit and run’ attacks. The treasures and stories gained from these attacks have allowed the Norsemen to raise huge hosts of eager men seeking glory and riches. These armies now stand poised to thunder across England where they will settle and farm the fertile land they conquer. The divided English kingdoms are unprepared for this impending onslaught. The Vikings are coming!In 878: Vikings – Invasions of England players control the invading Vikings or the English nobles who are trying to withstand the invasion. Viking players either play as Norsemen Viking freeman or as the fearless Viking shock troops known as Berserkers. The English play as the Housecarl the Kings’ household troops or as the Thegns who were regional noble Leaders. The English players will also be able to call up the peasant levies called the Fyrd to defend their cities.Players for each side strategize together in order to coordinate their strategies. Each side attempts to control Cities on the map to win. The English start the game controlling all of England but a Viking Leader will invade from the sea each Turn. The English players raise reinforcements from cities they control while the Vikings must wait for a new invasion for reinforcements. The game ends when the Treaty of Wedmore is called and the side controlling the most cities wins the game.

The woods are old-growth dappled with sunlight. Delicious mushrooms beckon from every grove and hollow. Morels may be the most sought-after in these woods but there are many tasty and valuable varieties awaiting the savvy collector. Bring a basket if you think it's your lucky day. Forage at night and you will be all alone when you stumble upon a bonanza. If you're hungry put a pan on the fire and bask in the aroma of chanterelles as you sauté them in butter. Feeling mercantile? Sell porcini to local aficionados for information that will help you find what you seek deep in the forest.Morels a strategic card game for two players uses two decks: a Day Deck (84 cards) that includes ten different types of mushrooms as well as baskets cider butter pans and moons; and a smaller Night Deck (8 cards) of mushrooms to be foraged by moonlight. Each mushroom card has two values: one for selling and one for cooking. Selling two or more like mushrooms grants foraging sticks that expand your options in the forest (that is the running tableau of eight face-up cards on the table) enabling offensive or defensive plays that change with every game played. Cooking sets of three or more like mushrooms – sizzling in butter or cider if the set is large enough – earns points toward winning the game. With poisonous mushrooms wielding their wrath and a hand-size limit to manage card selection is a tricky proposition at every turn.Following each turn one card from the forest moves into a decay pile that is available for only a short time. The Day Deck then refills the forest from the back creating the effect of a walk in the woods in which some strategic morsels are collected some are passed by and others lay ahead.

The Atiwa Range is a region of southeastern Ghana in Africa consisting of steep-sided hills with rather flat summits. A large portion of the range comprises an evergreen forest reserve which is home to many endangered species. However logging and hunting for bushmeat as well as mining for gold and bauxite are putting the reserve under a lot of pressure.Meanwhile in the nearby town of Kibi the mayor is causing a stir by giving shelter to a large number of fruit bats in his own garden. This man has recognized the great value the animals have in deforested regions of our planet: Fruit bats sleep during the day and take off at sunset in search of food looking for suitable fruit trees up to sixty miles away. They excrete the seeds of the consumed fruit disseminating them across large areas as they fly home. A single colony of 150,000 fruit bats can reforest an area of up to two thousand acres a year.Just like that mayor in Atiwa you know that fruit bats — once scorned and hunted as mere fruit thieves — are in fact incredibly useful animals spreading seeds over large areas of the country. By doing so they help to reforest fallow land and in the medium term improve harvests. This realization has led to a symbiotic co-operation between fruit bats and fruit farmers. The animals are kept as pets to increase the size of fruit farms more quickly. Tall trees are left as roosts providing shelter for them rather than hunting them for their scant meat. However if you have a lot of fruit bats you need a lot of space...In the game you will develop a small community near the Atiwa Range creating housing for new families and sharing your newly gained knowledge on the negative effects of mining and the importance that the fruit bats have for the environment. You must acquire new land manage your animals and resources and make your community prosper. The player who best balances the needs of their community and the environment wins.

Gregor Mendel is the 19th Century Augustinian Friar credited with the discovery of modern genetics. In Genotype you play as his assistants competing to collect experimental data on pea plants by trying to control how the plants inherit key Traits from their parents: seed shape flower color stem color and plant height. The observable Traits of a Pea Plant (its Phenotype) are determined by its genetic makeup (its Genotype). The relationship between Genotype and Phenotype and the nature of genetic inheritance are at the heart of Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game.During the game players get Pea Plant Cards which show a set of Phenotype Traits they hope to produce and collect (such as pink flowers and tall height) in order to score points. Each round Dice are rolled to represent Plant breeding which may result in the Traits players are looking for. After the Dice Roll players take turns drafting Dice towards completing their Pea Plant Cards or advancing their Research. The Traits produced during the Dice Roll come through the science of Punnett Squares which show how the parent genes combine one from each parent plant. By changing the genes of these parent plants players can influence the likelihood of rolling the Traits they need. The completion of Pea Plant Cards via the Dice Draft is the main way players score points.Each round consists of 3 phases: Worker Placement Dice Drafting and Upgrades. 1) During Worker Placement players take actions to get more Plant Cards change the genes of a parent plant Garden Research stake Phenotype claims gather new Tools or even position themselves ahead of other players for the Dice Drafting Phase in a couple of ways. 2) Dice Drafting features a couple of interest steps including the possibility to get first pick of dice but only for one type of Trait (like plant height) or the possibility to get a pick of any dice but only after those first picks have happened. De Novo Mutation Dice allow players to change the Trait of other Dice or gain additional Research. 3) The Upgrades phase lets players spend their Research to gain upgrades that let them work on more Plant Cards draft more Dice each round or gain additional Workers to be used during the Worker Placement Phase of each round.Players work to match their Pea Plant Cards to the outcome of the Dice Draft and complete the cards for points. If they've placed a Phenotype marker they will earn bonus points for every completed card that matches their claim. At the end of 5 rounds the player with the most points wins.-description from designer

1812 - The Invasion of CanadaThe year is 1812. War is raging across Europe and Russia. Napoleon emperor of France is seeking to dominate Europe through conquest. France’s enemies led by England are engaged in a desperate struggle to defeat Napoleon. England in dire need of men is impressing men to serve in its navy. Included are Americans who are pressed into service at gunpoint.The young American nation objects. Eager to defend its sovereign rights and to strengthen its position in North America the United States declares war on Britain on June 18 1812. Taking advantage of the British Army being occupied in its struggles against Napoleon American forces invade Canada in order to drive the British from its last remaining colony on North American soil. Surprised Britain reels from the attack and now has to face another enemy threat on another front.In 1812 - The Invasion of Canada players take on one of the roles of the major factions that took part in the War of 1812. On the British side these are represented by the British Regulars (Redcoats) Canadian Militia and Native Americans; and the American Regular Army and American Militia comprise the American players. Players for each side will cooperate with each other in order to plan and conduct their campaigns. Each side will attempt to capture Objective Areas on the map. When a truce is called the side that controls the most enemy Objective Areas wins.

We designed Trekking the World for gamers and non-gamers to play together. The goal was to make a game inviting for non-gamers but with a little subtlety under the hood for gamers.Gleaming monuments and sunrise vistas await your arrival as you traverse the globe to experience its many wonders. Will you explore ancient ruins deep in the jungle or go wild on a savanna safari? Build your bucket list of destinations and take a whirlwind tour to visit them all - but hurry your fellow travelers might just beat you there!In Trekking the World 2-5 players compete to be the ultimate globe trotter by racing to visit world-renowned locations and collect rare souvenirs along the way. The game spotlights 48 real-world destinations each beautifully illustrated and accompanied with educational passages to inspire your next getaway.—description from the publisher

Timeline: Events is a card game played using 55 cards. Each card depicts a historical event on both sides with the year in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline: Events can be combined with any other title in the Game: Timeline series.

Twenty years after his expedition around the world Charles Darwin is writing On the Origin of Species. He wants to gather new information about animal life particularly about continents he hardly explored. Who other than young naturalists eager for discovery could help the renowned scholar finish writing his most famous work?In In the Footsteps of Darwin players are junior naturalists who have just arrived aboard the Beagle to help Charles Darwin finish his book On the Origin of Species. During this journey you will study animals carry out cartographic surveys publish your findings and develop theories. Starting with the naturalist controlling the Darwin token naturalists take turns in clockwise order performing these two steps in order:Your goal is to score more points than your opponents to determine who contributed the most to On the Origin of Species.—description from publisher

Timeline: General Interest is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts an historical event on both sides with the year in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Themes included in Timeline: General Interest are: Discoveries Arts Events Music Inventions Monuments and Sports.Timeline: General Interest can be combined with any other title in the Timeline series (except Timeline: Star Wars).Integrates with:

Timeline: Discoveries is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts an discovery on both sides with the year in which that discovery occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline: Discoveries can be combined with any other title in the Timeline series.Integratable with:

Timeline: Music & Cinema is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts a historical event on both sides with the year in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline: Music & Cinema can be combined with any other title in the Timeline series.

Cytosis: A Cell Building Game is a worker placement game that takes place inside a human cell. Players start out with a number of workers and on a player’s turn they will place one of their workers in any available location within that cell. Some of the locations provide players with resources (e.g. mRNA ATP); some with actions (e.g. convert resources collect cards). Resources are used to build enzymes hormones and/or receptors which score Health Points. The player with the most Health Points at the end of the game wins!

Ecosystem is a card-drafting game in which players choose cards and place them into their play area turn by turn. The cards in a player's grid make up their own personal ecosystem and at game's end a player will have twenty cards in their ecosystem with the game including eleven types of cards. Bears score by being placed next to bees and trout; trout score by being placed next to streams and dragonflies; and streams are compared at the end of the game with the player who has the largest stream earning points. These are just a few examples of how scoring works in Ecosystem. Don't forget to diversify!—description from the designer

Over its 250-year history the British East India Company grew to become one of the most influential commercial and political organizations in the world. Its profits catapulted the British Empire to global dominance and shaped the fate of some of the world's great nations but its ascent was anything but easy. The Company was filled with diverging interests and struggled constantly at home and abroad.John Company attempts to tell the story of the British East India Company from the inside out. Players will steer their dynasties through the company's history vying for position power and prestige. The goal of the game is simple: Use the Company and the Company's trade to secure your place in society back home. To this end you guide your scions through their careers exchanging favors for positions in London or plush colonial posts. Players collectively control the Company facing tough budgetary decisions and conflicting interests. Should a Governor conduct a campaign to expand company holdings or invest in his region's infrastructure? Perhaps the honest tax revenues would be better diverted to expand his summer estate back home...As the game continues the Company may face open rebellion in India or outright failure as it grapples with increasingly bold attempts at regulation from the British government. It's even possible that the Company's trade monopoly will be revoked leaving the players to form and operate their own trading firms. Each game offers a huge range of possibilities informed chiefly by the decisions the players make. In addition players can tailor their experience by using one of the three tournament scenarios that cover the Early Mid and Late Company that can be played in about 90 minutes. The game also offers a full campaign game that will take players from 1720 to 1857 in an evening.Taking its inspiration from Phil Eklund's seminal Lords games John Company offers Greed Incorporated by way of Republic of Rome — and with only sixty cards and multiple scenarios John Company is one of the most accessible SMG offerings to date.—description from the publisher

Get in a queue with your family in front of a store and experience a rush of genuine emotions!The board game Kolejka (a.k.a. Queue) tells a story of everyday life in Poland at the tail-end of the Communist era. The players' task appears to be simple: They have to send their family members out to various stores on the game board to buy all the items on their shopping list. The problem is however that the shelves in the five neighborhood stores are empty.The players line up their pawns in front of the shops without knowing which shop will have a delivery. Tension mounts as the product delivery cards are uncovered and it turns out that there will be enough product cards only for the lucky few standing closest to the door of a store. Since everyone wants to be first the queue starts to push up against the door. To get ahead the people in the queue use a range of queuing cards such as Mother carrying small child This is not your place sir or Under-the-counter goods. But they have to watch out for Closed for stocktaking Delivery error and for the black pawns – the speculators – standing in the queue. Only those players who make the best use of the queuing cards in their hand will come home with full shopping bags.On the product cards are photos of sixty original objects from the Communist era. The merchandise includes Relaks shoes Przemysławka eau de cologne and Popularna tea as well as other commodities that were once in scarce supply. The neighborhood also has an outdoor market but the prices there are steep – unless of course you manage to strike a deal with the market trader. In this realistic game you really have to be savvy to get the goods.Are you brave enough to confront the everyday life of the 1980s?

Game description from the publisher:How long is the Golden Gate Bridge? Where has “evidence of the Yeti been found? How many sculptures are on Easter Island?It‘s likely that you don‘t know any of these facts. But you might have a rough idea and that‘s good enough because Terra is the party game where being close counts. And if you have absolutely no idea what the answer is? Take advantage of your friends who do know!Terra is a redesign of Friedemann’s 2009 SDJ-nominated FAUNA which had similar mechanics but was specific to animals. Terra changes the subject matter to general geographic information includes a brand new Imperial measurements map side (retaining the Metric map side for gamers outside the U.S.) has 300 topics (with three categories of questions) on oversized cards and simplifies the scoring. Terra plays in 45 minutes for 2-6 players.(End of publisher's description.)Terra is a trivia game with cards that ask three related questions such as where was the Woodstock music festival? what year did it take place? and how many people attended it? A card is selected and players take turns guessing the answers to the questions by putting tokens on the board in different areas such as on a map of the world a time line or a number line indicating the number of people (as in the example). Points are scored for correct answers but some points are also scored for close answers. Whoever has the most points after a predetermined number of rounds wins the game.

Compounded is a game about building chemical compounds through careful management of elements a fair bit of social play and trading and just a bit of luck. In Compounded players take on the roles of lab managers hastily competing to complete the most compounds before they are completed by others – or destroyed in an explosion. Some compounds are flammable and will grow more and more volatile over time; take too long to gather the necessary elements for those compounds and a lot of hard work will soon be scattered across the lab.Although Compounded does involve a fair share of press-your-luck tension and certainly some strategic planning the most successful scientists will often be those who strike a good trade with their fellow lab mates. Players are able to freely trade elements laboratory tools and even favors – if there is truly honor among chemists!

In Sankoré: The Pride of Mansa Musa a dynamic interactive mid-weight Eurogame 1-4 players manage the prestigious University of Sankoré in 14th-century Timbuktu tasked by the emperor Mansa Musa with spreading knowledge throughout West Africa even as the great university is raised around them. By enrolling and graduating your pupils teaching classes adding to your curriculum and filling the great library with books you will advance knowledge in four main disciplines: theology law mathematics and astronomy. Once construction of the university is complete the value that the empire places on each discipline will dramatically affect how you score the knowledge you have passed on.In a dedicated solo mode you compete against the Distinguished Scholar a passionate and ambitious academic controlled by an elegant automated system. They may not be as nimble as you but they are focused and driven and will strive to produce the best possible students.Can you navigate the corridors of academic competition and bring renown to Mansa Musa's prized university?—description from the publisher

Timeline is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts a historical event on both sides with the year in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline Challenge incorporates the original mechanic of the series into progressive game track of which players can move between 0-4 spaces per turn. Players will have to make use of pre-determined time periods and guess where the incident depicted on the card occurred. There are four different challenges and they are played depending on the color of the game space of the lead player. Additionally there are two further challenges which allow the two players at the back of the pack to catch up. Although the game comes with its own cards it can be integrated with any or all of the previous sets.

A world of beautiful colors comes alive in Pastiche as players choose commission cards picturing 34 of the finest European art works of the past six centuries. Players score their commissions by mixing primary colors through clever tile placement and recreating the palette of colors used by the masters who created these works. Explore the paintings palettes and pasts of the artists in this unique and challenging game for the whole family.While placing hexagonal pieces to gain palette (color) cards players become familiar with the different color combinations that produce the many hues of an artist’s palette all listed on the Player Reference Card. Players also learn to recognize many great artists and their works as they complete commissions.An International Edition of Pastiche was released in late 2011.

Embark on a journey of exploration and discovery along the historic John Muir Trail through the High Sierras of California. Explore the majestic mountains and lush meadows the picturesque waterfalls and alpine lakes. Scale the heights of Yosemite's iconic Half Dome or Sequouia's Mt. Whitney! Enjoy meandering through Evolution Valley or Tuolumne Meadows pausing to take in the beauty of Thousand Islands Lake or cooling your feet in the Kings River. Be humbled beneath a giant and ancient Sequoia or catch (and release) a Golden Trout listen to the song of an Ouzel watch Marmots at play or spot the rare Snow Plant. Happy trails!Trailblazer: The John Muir Trail takes place over the course of twelve days/rounds of hiking and backpacking along the John Muir Trail (JMT). You will experience daily trail encounters choose to explore destinations along the trail acquire and manage natural and personal resources discover and observe the sights and sounds of your environment adapt to ever-changing weather conditions and move along the entire trail all while wisely using the items in your backpack to maximize your experience.You can earn trail points in several ways along the route such as placing workers on your tracks collecting sets of field guide cards scoring instantly with destination cards and using your backpack gear efficiently.

Matter swirls around a new born star coalescing on the planetoids that orbit it. Planets evolve grow and migrate in their orbits forming a unique solar system by the end of every game. Planetarium is a game of creation chaos and terraforming on the grandest scale.Players are competing to crash combinations of elements onto planets that then allow them to play cards to evolve the planets in a variety of ways with each player looking to evolve planets in the system to suit their own secret endgame goals.On a turn a player will firstly move a matter or planet token in a clockwise direction around the star. The board is mapped with a series of lines tracing orbits around the star and it is along these lines that the tokens are moved. If a matter token moves onto a space occupied by planet token then the matter token is placed on the player's mat (on the respective planet). In the same way planets can also be moved onto matter tokens placing the matter tokens on the player's mat.In the second part of a turn a player can play Evolution cards from their hand at the cost of the matter tokens they have collected on their player mat (some cards have other special requirements to play). If a player plays a card they score the cards points and check to see if their card has changed the state of the planet from hostile to habitable by checking the total habitable and hostile points played to the planet (some end game goals require planets to be hostile or habitable). The player may then draw a card from one of three decks Low Evolution (cards that score less points but require less matter to play) High Evolution (cards that score more and are harder to play) and Final Evolution (cards that can only be played on a player's final turn).The thematics of the game have been developed with an eye on the science led by a scientist working on NASA's search for life on Mars. Evolution cards thematically include all kinds of planetary phenomenon from asteroid impacts atmospheric effects to geological events. Final Evolution cards mark the relatively stable state a planet is in at the end of the solar system's development and include classifications for the final planets such as Hot Jupiter or an uninhabitable frozen dwarf planet.The game consists of a beautiful game board with handfuls of matter tokens approximately 36 Evolution cards and 16 Final Evolution cards (all with unique space art and flavor) player mats and player and score markers.

In Evolution: The Beginning you'll adapt your species to succeed in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators roam. Traits like Flight and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With hundreds of ways to evolve your species every game unfolds in a beautifully unique way.Evolution: The Beginning borrows ideas and concepts from other games in the Evolution branded product line but it is a stand-alone game that is not compatible with anything else in the Evolution product line. It is the most casual and quick playing adaptation of the Evolution concept but it is highly strategic as a two-player game.

Imagine yourself staring down a giant grizzly in Katmai National Park. Take a canoe ride alongside alligators in the swampy waters of the Everglades. Trek the trails that define our nation's most valuable public resource — the National Parks!Trekking the National Parks is an award-winning family board game that celebrates the U.S. national parks in a fun and competitive way. Players compete for points by claiming park cards and collecting trail stones as they travel across the map experiencing the wonders at each of these magnificent landscapes.The second edition of Trekking the National Parks features a more accessible rulebook simplified movement rules to create a more streamlined play experience new Major Park locations and wooden campsites that award special abilities to players and a change to stone majority bonus points with both the first- and second-place players now receiving points.

Timeline is a card game where each card depicts a historical event invention or discovery on both sides with the year in which that event occurred invention or discovery was made on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.

From the end of the American Revolution commercial vessels of the young United States republic were easy prey for the pirates of the Barbary coast. In 1801 newly inaugurated President Thomas Jefferson was eager to put an end to this threat and sent a squadron of observation to the Mediterranean. As the squadron arrived in Gibraltar they learned that the bashaw of Tripoli had already declared WAR!The Shores of Tripoli plays out this exciting episode of Early American military history. As the United States one player will pressure Tripolitania to allow the free movement of American merchant vessels - or face the consequences. As the bashaw of Tripoli the other player will continue the lucrative piracy of the fearsome corsairs while countering the American threat on land and sea.Beautiful and informative cards represent historical events and leaders from the First Barbary War. Players can move ships start battles go on pirate raids engage in diplomacy and receive reinforcements. Includes over 80 wooden playing pieces 24 dice and a premium mounted map.—description from the publisherAWARDS Best 2-Player Game of 2020 (New York magazine) Top 15 Games of 2020 (#7 Paste magazine) Game of the Year 2020 Nominee (Meeple Mountain) Best 2-Player Game of 2020 (Meeple Mountain) Top 10 Games of 2020 (#4 Cody Carlson) Best 2-Player Game of 2020 (Rolling Dice & Taking Names) Wargame of the Year (RMN Gamer) Top 6 Solitaire Wargames of 2020 (Wayne Hansen) Top 10 Entry-Level Wargames (#3 Midnight Boardgaming) Top 3 Solo Wargames to Start (#2 Beyond Solitaire) The Spiel Foundation Spiel of Approval

Funemployed is a card-based party game in which everyone's trying to become employed. Apply for real jobs like astronaut lawyer or priest with unreal qualifications such as a dragon the ability to speak panda or a DeLorean. In the game each player uses their qualifications to convince the other players that they're the best qualified for a job. To do this players tell the story of why their qualifications make them the best fit for a job by role-playing and acting like they are on an interview. Find innovative ways to use your qualifications and become the most funemployed player at the table!

Cardline: Animals is a card game played with 110 cards. Both sides of each card depict an animal its name and its class (amphibian mammal etc.) while its average length weight and lifespan are printed on only one side of the card. For each game players decide before playing whether they're comparing animal lengths weights or lifespans.At the start of the game each player places a number of animal cards on the table in front of her with the characteristics hidden. One card is placed in the center of the table with its characteristics revealed. Players then take turns placing a card from their tableau in a row on the table; a player can place a card between any two other cards. After placing the card the player reveals the characteristics on it. If the card was placed correctly – that is with the particular characteristic in numerical order compared to all other cards on the table – the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck and adds it to her tableau.The first player to get rid of all her cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round she wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.

Commissioned is a 2-6 player cooperative-style board game with a simple deck-building mechanism that plays in 1 hour. Players are the early Christian Apostles and must work together to mature their faith decks grow the church collect the books of the New Testament and overcome persecution. You do not need to know anything about Christianity to play. The game includes five scenarios that cover the first 150 years of church history two difficulty levels and a one-vs-all variation.

Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents is a fast-playing route building economic and worker placement game focused on invention and industry in the roaring 1880's. It is easy-to-learn and appropriate for all gamers aged 14 and up.Nikola Tesla Thomas Edison and three other important inventors of the time struggle to determine who will be most remembered as the man who brought light to the masses. Contributing innovations in power generation delivery and illumination you also choose to invest in Direct Current (DC) technology or the superior but later developing AC technology.Players control a small group of legendary figures from the War of Currents each rated in Invention Engineering Finance and Public Relations. Each turn these legends are allocated to help research commercialize or patent technology; influence the public's perception about the inventors and AC or DC technology; bid on and hopefully secure either residential exhibition or power generation projects in cities around the 1880's United States. Money is tight and players may need to sell shares of their company in order to do everything they need to succeed. But be careful: other companies can buy stock you release and the winner is the player whose company's stock is worth the most at the end of the game!

Enter a mysterious world where enchanted commodities are bought and sold for profit.Mystic Market is an exciting fast-paced card game where players buy and sell magical Potion-making Ingredients. The unique Value Track ensures that the Ingredients’ values will be constantly shifting so only the shrewdest of traders will prevail.Will you profit from selling Phoenix Feathers? Craft Potions to meddle with your opponent’s plans? Corner the market on Kraken Tentacles?Do you have what it takes to earn the largest fortune in the Enchanted World?—description from the publisher

Imagine yourself staring down a giant Grizzly in Katmai National Park. Take a canoe ride alongside alligators in the swampy waters of the Everglades. Trek the trails that define our nation’s most valuable public resource – the National Parks!Trekking the National Parks is a spirited family board game that lets players experience the U.S. National Parks in a fun and competitive way.Up to six players compete in a cross country race to visit the National Parks and collect the most points. Gathering colored trek cards allows players to move across the map and claim valuable park cards. If a player is the first to visit a National Park they collect that park's colored stone which award bonus points at the end of the game. Players must jockey for position and make tough tactical decisions at every turn to emerge victorious!

Bumúntú is a lightweight strategy game based on the culture and folklore of the Bakongo tribes. Descendants of the Kingdom of Kongo the Bakongo people are the largest group of tribespeople in central Africa.A common theme in African folklore is that animals are wise creatures who teach humans to do good and moral things. As a tribal leader you will follow the guidance of the animals journeying through the jungle in hopes of winning their favor.Players start on a board full of African animals each with their own movement abilities. Each player can either move as normal or follow the wisdom of the animals earning that animal's favor in the process and collecting its chip. Some animals will make movement easier while others can affect how opponents move giving a lot of depth to this deceivingly simple strategy game. As the game progresses fewer and fewer animals remain making choices that much more important.Once all the Advancement chips have been collected each animal will offer a different amount of favor based on how far up they are on the Favor Leaderboard something that players can affect throughout the game. Bonus points will be given for collecting Nkisi (small statues) and Yowa (spiritual symbols). At the end of the game the leader who has accumulated the most favor wins!

In TOKYO METRO players take on the role of private investors looking to build up stations across Tokyo speculate on train lines and comprise a shared network to benefit multiple parties. The core of the game is built around worker placement which opens up three possibilities:With route planning investing speculating area control and a real replication of the Tokyo area TOKYO METRO brings a heavy economic twist to the TOKYO series!—description from the publisher

For over 300 million years trees have traded nutrients with fungi in a vast underground network. Scientists continue to make new discoveries about this hidden world.In Undergrove you are a towering evergreen with an ancient symbiotic connection to the fungi in your forest. As new mushrooms appear your options expand for converting nutrients and helping your seedlings. Using cube conversion tile placement area control and a tiny bit of engine building you’ll need to claim the most advantageous locations and optimize your actions to leave the best legacy in the forest. The player with the greatest number of successful seedlings wins!● Build a shared forest containing mushrooms with diverse abilities. ● Trade with the mushrooms to get resources based on the partnerships you’ve made. ● Place your seedings in the most advantageous positions to score the most points.Inspired by real mycorrhizal trading networks. Shape the destiny of your forest with every decision!-description from publisher

Travel to the vast wildernesses of Southern Africa and step into the role of a Conservation Expert. Embark on a re-wilding journey as you transform your own unique landscape into a thriving nature reserve. Over three fast-paced rounds of simultaneous turns and card drafting you will build a flourishing ecosystem. As you grow your nature reserve you must complete research tasks to earn money to invest in protection and provide a haven for vulnerable and endangered animals. As the game progresses your choices become harder and your strategy more complex as you aim to build the highest scoring nature reserve. Created by Matt and Zara while working on conservation in Botswana Kavango is deeply thematic and is thoughtfully designed to be a modern and realistic view of conservation in southern Africa. With 160 unique species cards 45 research cards 10 conservation experts and 5 landscape boards there is huge variability to reflect the incredible biodiversity of Kavango.—description from the publisher

Museum: Pictura is a standalone set collection game for 2-4 players by Olivier Melison and Eric Dubus in which you take on the role of an aspiring curator in an art museum.Set in the roaring 20’s the game is gorgeously illustrated in art deco style by French artist Loïc Muzy while the 180 paintings featured in the game have been individually brought to life by Ekaterina Varlamov.Your goal is to create collections of some of History’s most iconic works of art. To do so you will be acquiring Painting cards and exhibiting them into your Museum represented by your player board to create Collections. These Collection can be based either on the painting’s Period (ranging from the Renaissance period all the way to Impressionism) or its Domain (Historical Landscape Mythological…). The Collections you create will earn you Prestige points and the player with the most Prestige at the end of the game wins.During play you will have to deal with the changing trends of the art world acquiring and exhibiting Paintings depending on what is currently in highest demand. Exhibiting Paintings of the types that are currently in fashion will gain you additional points!As your Collections grow you will be able to open them briefly to the public with a Temporary Exhibition which allows you to immediately score that Collection’s value and obtain special bonuses for the rest of the game. But beware your visitors will quickly grow tired of seeing the same types of Collection again and again so timing your exhibitions correctly is essential!Museum: Pictura brings exciting new mechanisms and strategies to the table while maintaining a strong family connection to its predecessor.-description from publisher

Which happened first: the Salem Witch Trials or the foundation of Harvard College? Was Watergate before Woodstock? Sure it's easy to know whether the discovery of America came before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill but how well can you remember everything that happened in between?In Timeline: American History players have hands of cards and take turns attempting to place the cards correctly into the growing timeline. Easy at first but rapidly growing more difficult Timeline: American History tests your knowledge and helps you learn the history of the nation.

From the first Stetson hat to the unveiling of the first iPad America's history and its popular culture have gone hand in hand. See if you can remember when the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth or when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. American popular history was never this much fun!Timeline: Americana takes the players through a historical tour of the popular history of the country. Each player has a hand of cards and they take turns trying to place those cards correctly into the growing timeline. Guess correctly to get rid of all your cards and win!Themes included are: Sports Events Music Inventions and Cinema

Dive deep to build your own ecological network in Ecosystem: Coral Reef a card-drafting game of marine competition. Players choose pass and arrange cards representing a diversity of organisms found in the Great Barrier Reef including coral clownfish sea turtles and sharks. Earn points by aligning animals with the habitats and food sources where they most flourish. Diversify your food web to maximize your bonuses. Each time you play you build a one-of-a-kind ecosystem as you strive to balance the delicate connections between all living things.Ecosystem: Coral Reef is a standalone sequel game to Ecosystem (2019) featuring a new lineup of organisms new scoring conditions and an increased focus on a balanced food web.Players take turns drafting organism cards and arranging them into a 4x5 ecosystem in front of them. Once all players have completed their personal grid of 20 cards players score their ecosystems using the rules for each card type. A food web bonus is given to each player for their lowest score among producers predators and prey then the player with the most points wins.

Cellulose: A Plant Cell Biology Game is a worker placement game that puts 1-5 players inside a plant cell where they will compete over limited resources in order to undergo photosynthesis produce carbohydrates and build the cell wall. With everyone vying for the same actions players must time their use of proteins hormones and cell component cards in order to diversify their strategies and outplay the competition.Cellulose is the standalone sequel to Cytosis (2017). It has some of the same DNA but Cellulose expands familiar game systems allowing players greater control over available resources strategic paths and even game length.—description from the publisher

Subatomic: An Atom Building Game is a deck-building game in which players compete to build a number of available elements which score them points.Each player starts with the same small deck of cards that consist of proton neutron and electron cards. They use these cards to build upon their current atom (by playing these cards face-up as subatomic particles) in an attempt to construct one of the available element cards. Alternatively players may use their hand of cards to purchase more powerful cards for later use (by playing them in combinations of face-down cards as energy and face-up cards as subatomic particles). Subatomic introduces a unique variation on deck-building with a highly accurate chemistry theme with the ultimate goal of building elements to score points but allowing many varying types of strategies.

Based on the wildly popular new form of live action gaming in which a group of people gets locked in a room and has to solve puzzles in order to escape Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment has all the excitement of the “room” crammed into a box so players can have the same immersive and challenging experience in a one time play table top game in the comfort of their own home (and for a lot less money!).In Escape Room In a Box: The Werewolf Experiment a group of two to six people has only one hour to work together in order to find clues solve puzzles and crack the codes that will unlock the antidote and keep them from turning into werewolves!

User SummaryNow YOU enter the courtroom during five fateful days of July 1885 when the future of a country hung in the balance and the defendant Louis Riel faced hanging on a charge of treason.From the publisherCanada’s westward expansion was very different than that of the United States. In the U.S. conflict in the westward movement was between the White Man and the Native Indian and a common language united U.S. settlers. Language however has divided Canada ever since General Wolfe united the country by arms at the Plains of Abraham.Canada’s settlers pushed westward led by fur-traders and trappers who were predominately French Catholic. These pioneers intermarried with the Native Indians producing a new race and a new culture – the Métis.When the Canadian government made treaties with Native Indians the Métis being neither Native nor White did not receive any comparable consideration. Wanting to protect their rights against the remote Anglo-Protestant government in eastern Canada resentment grew into rebellion in Manitoba's Red River Valley in 1869. Louis Riel led this resistance and forced the government into compromise resulting in the Manitoba Act.Due to his participation in the rebellion and in the execution of English Protestant Thomas Scott Riel himself was forced to flee to the United States. While residing there Riel obtained American citizenship.When trouble between the Métis and the government occurred further west in Saskatchewan the Métis recalled their former savior to lead them. Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont a local Métis leader initially worked toward a peaceful solution for their grievances. However this movement eventually grew into a resistance known as the North West Resistance. The Conservative government in Ottawa amassed a military force to crush it and finally did at the Battle of Batoche 9 – 12 May 1885. While Gabriel Dumont fled to the United States after the battle; Louis Riel was tried and hanged for High Treason in Canada.There are many reasons why the first Riel resistance succeeded and the second failed. The westward expansion of the railroad allowed the federal government to deploy superior forces rapidly to the field. Riel himself embraced unorthodox religious views – views that alienated the Catholic Church and its devout supporters who were the key to his first resistance’s success.

In Periodic: A Game of the Elements players collect sets of elements and advance their research by moving through the periodic table. Players use energy to activate periodic trends and move in the corresponding directions. The conservation of energy forces players to spend carefully and play efficiently. The game ends when someone completes the research track or when a stack of goal cards is depleted. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins!

In Bloc by Bloc: Uprising each player controls a faction of revolutionaries—Workers Students Neighbors or Prisoners—fighting against the police in the streets of a city that changes with each game. Build barricades clash with police occupy districts loot shopping centers build mutual aid networks and liberate the city before time runs out and the military arrives!Object of the Game: When playing fully cooperatively all factions win or lose together and must cooperate to defeat the police and liberate the city. To liberate the city each faction must complete the objectives on 1 Conditions card. Each Conditions card specifies certain districts of the city that must be liberated and where occupations must be built. When playing semi-cooperatively each faction has a secret Agenda card that determines how it wins the game. Factions with Social Agendas can still win together cooperatively. But a faction with a Vanguardist or Sectarian Agenda can only win alone and must work covertly to undermine the other factions.Bloc by Bloc is played in rounds and each round is 1 night. The countdown marker starts with 10 nights remaining. Each night has 2 phases Nighttime and Sunrise.Nighttime: The Nighttime phase is when each faction takes its turn. At the start of a turn cards are drawn from the Police Ops deck that move and deploy police squads across the city. Higher Police Morale means more cards. Next the faction rolls action dice and spends those dice to take various actions around the city using their blocs. Each bloc represents an organized group of 5-15 people.Sunrise: After each faction has taken its turn the Reaction card orders police to attack and police vans to move around the city. Next factions may liberate districts and draw Liberation cards if enough blocs are gathered in those districts. There might also be a meeting to draw more Conditions cards. And don’t forget to check if the game has been won! If not move the countdown forward at the speed of Police Morale start the next night and continue playing. If time runs out or any 1 faction has no blocs in the city all factions lose.

Roll the cubes begin with Far far away... start with the first symbol to grab your attention and tell a story that links together all nine face-up images. There is no wrong answer as the goal is to let the images spark your imagination.Rory's Story Cubes: Voyages – a pocket-sized set of nine cubes depicting 54 icons to inspire epic adventure – is the second expansion set for Rory's Story Cubes while also being a standalone item. Made to the same high quality as the original set the cubes are inked in dark green to allow for easy sorting if you choose to use more than one set during play.As with Rory's Story Cubes you can play Voyages as a game for one or more players as a party game for three or more or as an improv game in which each player contributes part of the story picking up where the last one left off. Win award points for speedy delivery inventiveness imagination drama and humor.Integrates with

Adventure intrigue and flowers! Botany is a strategy board game where you take on the role of a Victorian Era flower hunter as you explore the world to gather fortune and fame and be named the Royal Botanist. In Botany each player takes on the role of a character whose abilities will shape the way they play the game. Will you focus on exploring the globe in search of the most valuable specimens? Will you make quick and efficient trips to gather reputation quickly and build your estate?Each player begins the game with a set of randomized goals that they then use to plot their path to victory. When players set out from their estate they have access only to the coins they can carry with them. They can use these coins to traverse the globe and gain crew members and items to improve their odds of surviving the unknown enhance their abilities and increase the efficiency with which they traverse the map. However there is danger in spending too freely and players must ensure they have enough wealth on hand to return to England with their specimens intact.Turns in Botany are streamlined in order to minimize downtime and keep players engaged. Players will move around the map build their character and experience the story of their rise to fame all with an eye for efficiency. Points are gained by improving the quality of your garden retrieving live specimens from around the globe and adding preserved flowers to your botanical press. The specimens that players hunt the goals they focus on to achieve victory and the events they experience create a unique feel across each game.—description from the publisher

In Cubist you and your opponents are architects competing to build a grand and inspiring new Modern Art Museum including its interior sculptures or installations. Aptly enough your building materials are cubes or more precisely dice!On each turn you roll two dice and place them in your studio as raw materials for your cubist sculptures. From there you position these dice to complete commissioned installations for the museum. Dice with identical numbers can be stacked on top of one another to give your sculpture elevation and grandeur. Dice with adjacent numbers go next to one another to construct unconventional footprints of modernism. You can press your luck by committing to a certain risky commission — hoping that no one else will complete it first — or play it safe by locking up your dice for later use.You can also use your dice to enlist the aid of masters of modern art like Juan Gris Franz Marc and Olga Rozanova. Each installation you complete allows you to contribute dice to the building of the Museum itself. You will have to sculpt cleverly but quickly to get the new Museum named after you!

After millions of years of wasteland on Earth animal life is finally emerging. But the world is still forming and undergoing a constant change. Only those species able to adapt to the ever-changing conditions will survive to leave their mark in history. Here is your chance! Do your best to become Darwin’s Choice.Darwin's Choice is a competitive card game in which players create their own animal species from more than 230 animal cards. These animal species will be placed in biomes that differ strongly in their requirements and the food supply. The highest possible adaptation of animal species to their biomes not only ensures their survival but is also rewarded with the coveted Darwin points. In addition to a high adaptation the species with the highest competitive strength are also awarded across all zones.Between the 3-4 eras played conditions can change completely due to biome changes and event card effects. The task now is to adapt the successful animal species of the past eras to the conditions of the present either through sophisticated mutations or smart migration to other biomes. However you must always keep an eye on the animal species of the other players in order to anticipate their actions because anyone who acts too quickly or imprudently might be unable to react at the decisive moment.In Darwin's Choice the victory points (Darwin Points) are assigned to the animal species and may only be collected by players after the last era has ended. With this mechanism the game remains exciting to the very end because the extinction of a species also means the loss of its associated Darwin points.Darwin's Choice is a strategic allocation game in which you must think carefully about how to use your cards. The large number of own possibilities and the ones of your opponents lead to a high variability which makes thinking through each action and thinking ahead indispensable. The randomness caused by drawing cards (animal cards biomes event cards) requires flexibility and fast rescheduling. This results in each played game being completely different and guarantees a high replayability.All pictures icons and symbols of Darwin’s Choice are hand-illustrated by the French illustrator Rozenn Grosjean giving the game its very own style.—description from the publisher

Birdwatcher is a fast competitive game in which players are rival wildlife photographers on a hunt to snap photos of the elusive and illustrious birds of paradise.Each player has three actions on their turn with which they can call birds to their tree from the central clearing and jungle snap photos of birds in their tree or run into the jungle to flush new birds to the clearing. Players can also use their actions to set up a zoom lens to capture a bird from another player's tree or to publish a paper. Photos and publications are assembled from left to right in a player's photo journal where they will score points at game's end.

Timeline: Classic is a card game played using 55 cards. While other versions of Timeline are focused on certain elements (events inventions discoveries etc.) Timeline Classic is a highly engaging version that encompasses multiple themes in one convenient package. Was the pencil invented before Washington crossed the Delaware? Each card depicts an invention on both sides with the year in which that invention was created on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline: Classic can be combined with any other title in the Timeline series.

In HerStory you're an acclaimed author writing a book to tell the stories of remarkable women of history. Players take turns doing research drafting chapters and completing them for points and possibly for research symbols or special powers. The game ends when a player has written eight chapters and the player with the highest scoring book wins.The game is a light strategy game featuring engine-building and set collection. You do research by collecting research tokens and by doing the right research you can complete chapters about different historical women for points.Completed chapters grant abilities that make you a better writer and allow you to score even more points as the game progresses. You can set yourself for big point windfalls with the right combination of powers.The game comes with 120 oversized linen-finish cards with beautiful illustrations of the featured historical figures on the fronts and stories about their lives on the backs.—description from the designer

There's no question: the life of an artist is hard. There’s no paycheck to paycheck to live by. What little money you do have you invest right back into paint. And without that paint there’s no way to follow your dream. You don’t relish the idea of having to work at a desk in front a computer toiling away for some faceless corporate overlord. You really want to make it!Starving Artists is a game for 1-4 players. It takes about 30-60 minutes (approximately 15 minutes per player).In Starving Artists you are a painter trying to be famous. In the game paints are the only currency. On your turn you can buy canvases paint them or work for more paint. And at the end of each round players can put their completed paintings up for sale for more paint and food.The game ends when shortly after someone is out or someone manages to paint enough paintings: either in value or quantity. Yes you can become famous by flooding the painting marketplace.

Description from the publisher:Cortex Challenge is the exciting new brain-busting card game by Esdevium Games which uses the same fast-paced approach to family fun popularised by Dobble and Jungle Speed! Cortex Challenge tests up to six players’memory cognition and sensory perception. It even includes texture cards that are used during ‘Touch Challenges’ where players must guess what they are feeling adding a unique element that is often neglected in games.Players’ brain powers are stretched to the max as they race to be the first to match symbols correctly remember all objects on a card or find the route out of mazes amongst many other tests!Winning challenges allows players to add pieces to their brain puzzle which they must complete before their opponents in order to win the game. Cortex Challenge is sure to tax the mental abilities of players both young and old!

It’s the age of discovery! The British Empire needs to find new naval trade routes to Asia and thus launches many expeditions to the Arctic in order to find The Northwest Passage. In Through Ice and Snow you and your friends journey through the Arctic and vie to become the most prestigious explorer by documenting species mapping treacherous lands and discovering the elusive Northwest passage.As the expedition progresses new map pieces and routes will be revealed and added to the modular board. Each player is in charge of their own ship and the crews include three officers with individual abilities:You can also recruit Inuit - exceptional guides who are experts in finding fuel improving sleds and leading vital hunting parties.Each voyage brings unique challenges and events for your crews to face: Those Arctic journeys faced many tragedies since finding food was extremely hard the overworked crews were prone to mutiny and the weather was merciless. Succeed and become immortalised. Fail and be lost to the ice….forever.—description from the publisher

Spot it! 1,2,3 features the same game play as its parent Spot it! but in a simplified manner so that younger players can play too. (Spot it! Numbers & Shapes Spot it Jr.! Animals and Spot it! Alphabet feature different images on their cards but they have the same number of cards and the same gameplay.)Note: some of the different editions have slightly different rulesets (see e.g. uploaded files of different versions). Some editions (e.g. Dobble Beach with its waterproof cards) even feature the aim of playing through all the minigames and the player who won the most minigames wins.Each card in Spot it! 1,2,3 features six different numbers with the sizes of numbers varying from one card to another. Any two cards have exactly one number in common. To play reveal one card then another. Whoever spots the number in common on both cards claims the first card then another card is revealed for players to search and so on.Whoever has collected the most cards when the deck runs out wins!

Trekking the World 2nd Edition is a light gateway strategy game where you race to the world’s most fascinating places draft itineraries collect souvenirs and gain powers that combo.The 2nd edition is a complete mechanical overhaul based on analysis of thousands of online comments about 1st Edition and our evolving design principles.We’ve tried to create a game hobbyists AND their families will like. A tough design challenge.Who It’s For:Who It’s Not For:—description from the publisher

Like its predecessor Cardline: Animals players of Cardline: Globetrotter want to rid themselves of cards as quickly as they can with the first player to have an empty hand winning the game.The game includes approximately 100 cards. Both sides of each card depict a country while only one side of the card includes information about that country's size population GDP and CO₂ emissions. For each game players decide before playing which of these four country traits they'll compare.At the start of the game each player places a number of country cards on the table in front of her with the characteristics hidden. One card is placed in the center of the table with its characteristics revealed. Players then take turns placing a card from their tableau in a row on the table; a player can place a card between any two other cards or at either end of the row. After placing the card the player reveals the characteristics on it. If the card was placed correctly – that is with the particular characteristic in numerical order compared to all other cards on the table – the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck and adds it to her tableau.The first player to get rid of all her cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round she wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.

Every year the most enthusiastic (or maybe just crazy) birders across the country embark on a big trip where they try to see as many birds as they can. For some reason you've decided that this year will be your big year. You'll explore wonderful habitats on a quest to see as many beautiful birds as you can. But whenever you see a bird word will get out. Anticipate the crowd to see more birds than anyone else!Birds of a Feather is a fast friendly easy to learn card game for 1-7 players. The game is easy enough for children to learn and enjoy but surprisingly strategic making it a great filler for more hard core gamers.At the beginning of the game each player is dealt a large hand of cards. The game takes place over several rounds. In each round each player chooses a card to play simultaneously. This determines not only which bird that player sees that round but which habitat that player visits. Players check off the birds they see on a score sheet seeing their own bird plus any other birds in the same habitat. Additionally all birds are available to be seen for an additional round giving players the opportunity to see rare birds they missed the first time.Once all players have played through their hands scores are tallied based on which birds each player saw. Seeing all birds in a habitat gives a substantial bonus. In the end whoever saw the widest variety of birds is the winner!

Resistance fighters in the Netherlands work together to outsmart the occupation forces in a non-violent way.In a period when most people were too afraid to oppose the occupying Nazi forces some decided they did not want to sit idly by. To keep morale high and show they did not accept the occupation they wrote a secret message OZO (Oranje Zal Overwinnen translated as Orange Shall Overcome) on the walls. They formed groups and found ways to sabotage the occupiers' plans. You are one of those resistance fighters.Dutch Resistance: Orange Shall Overcome! is a scenario-based cooperative game about the Dutch Resistance during the Second World War. The main mechanisms are pick-up and deliver and resource management.The game has five very different highly replayable scenarios. They are not directly connected to each other but focus on different aspects of the resistance work. Each scenario has its own goals special rules cards and other elements.Each player controls a character that is based on a real resistance fighter. These ten different characters have their own deck of three unique Character cards based on what this person did during the war.Orange Shall Overcome!—description from the publisher

Build a thriving Biome in this highly thematic nature themed tableau builder for 1-4 players. Compete for biodiversity achievements and outmaneuver your opponents by activating the special abilities of your plants and animals. Each action can only be activated once so think carefully about which actions you take and when.Rounds of the game move through the seasons each season having its own thematic impact on the Biome. In the simultaneous gameplay phase draw cards and collect resources to play a plant or animal into your Biome and earn points. Play your birds and rabbits next to plants so that in Spring they will make nests and have chicks and baby bunnies! But beware in Summer your opponents' predators are on the prowl. Protect your baby animals by playing more plants in each habitat. Earn points with successful hunts and by feeding your baby animals.Add the optional Natural Disasters mini expansion (spinner) to bring additional variability and nature's harsh reality to your game of Biome.With many ways to earn points (and win!) plus multiple difficulty levels you can tailor your game to your adventure level!—description from the publisher

The diversity of living organisms inhabiting our planet is astonishing. According to the theory of evolution random mutations occur all the time granting new traits to animals and plants. These traits are then tested through natural selection. Animals with beneficial traits propagate more successfully than others expand their habitat areas and effectively protect themselves against predators and unfavorable conditions. Such species dominate the ecosystem while poorly adapted animals become extinct.Evolution: New World is an updated and extended version of the basic Evolution: The Origin of Species game. It includes both well-known animal traits and new ones complete with refined descriptions and colorful illustrations. Food is now generated using Area cards and animals can use shelter to hide from predators.—description from the rulebook

You are the top manager at one of the big oil companies tasked with leading your enterprise into a future without oil. With peak oil looming ahead you try to squeeze the last drops from oil fields around the world to gather the resources to invest into various oil replacement technologies. While you may try to emerge from the coming crisis by regular means your competitors will most probably not forcing you to dirty your hands as well.On your turn in Peak Oil you assign your agents to different action spots on the board. If your agents are in the majority at any given action spot or you decide to send mercenaries to their help they squelch the competition there and allow you to take the linked action. Actions include developing and harvesting oil fields building pipelines hiring new agents buying new ship contracts investing in oil replacement technologies conducting PR campaigns engaging in piracy and manipulating public opinion and oil prices.After some time the oil — represented by a set number of small barrels you draw from a bag when developing new oil fields — will run out. This is called peak oil and marks the end of the game. Players tally the value of the technologies in which they invested and promoted during the game. Whoever shaped the future best (i.e. gained favor for their company) wins.

Be on the prowl in Ecosystem: Savanna a Serengeti-inspired card-drafting game. Players choose pass and arrange cards representing a diversity of organisms found in an African grassland including zebras elephants cheetahs and lions. Earn points by aligning herbivores with habitable landforms like watering holes or placing carnivores to devour nearby prey. Diversify your food web to maximize your bonuses. Each time you play you build a one-of-a-kind ecosystem as you strive to balance the delicate connections between all living things.Ecosystem: Savanna is the third standalone game in the Ecosystem series featuring a new lineup of organisms including powerful scavengers.Players take turns drafting organism cards and arranging them into a 4x5 ecosystem in front of them. Once all players have completed their personal grid of 20 cards players score their ecosystems using the rules for each card type. Scoring rewards players for building cohesive food webs and exploring the diversity of the Savanna ecosystem. The player with the most points wins!Includes rules for solo play.—description from the publisher

Bees: The Secret Kingdom is family game based on Bees. In the game players will choose between creating a honey card or playing a flower card to get pollen tokens. This simple game has 2 modes the first is for families and younger players and second the advanced one is for adults.The basic rules are really simple – players can draw two Gathering cards and play one of them or make Honey using their gathered Resources. Playing Gathering cards grants all the players Resources tokens but the player who was using this card will gain the greatest benefit. Despite the small cooperative touch this is a fully competitive game and only the player who gains the most points wins.—description from the designer

Players control one of the great scientists during the 17th century Scientific Revolution in Europe. Use your limited time and energy to make discoveries test hypotheses publish papers correspond with other famous scientists hire assistants into your laboratory and network with other people who can help your progress. Discoveries follow historical tech trees in the key sciences of the age: Astronomy Mathematics Physics Biology and Chemistry. The scientist who accumulates the most prestige will be appointed the first President of the Royal Society.

Organ ATTACK! blends medically accurate terminology with immature potty humor.The last person with at least one organ remaining wins.The object of the game is to remove your opponents' organs using corresponding afflictions before they remove yours. The last person to still have at least one organ is the winner.Note: May not be suitable for players who are sensitive about discussing medical conditions (for example playing a Cancer card on an opponent).

Despite earlier attempts Martin Luther started the Reformation in 1517 with his Ninety-Five Theses. Luther criticized the selling of indulgences and stated that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in the gospel. The Protestants soon incorporated doctrinal changes such as Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) and Sola Fide (faith alone). These changes turned out to be not only theological but also influential in the Reformation in other ways: the rise of nationalism the Western Schism that eroded people's faith in the Papacy the perceived corruption of the Roman Curia the impact of humanism and the new learning of the Renaissance that questioned much of traditional thought. The Roman Catholic church responded with a counter-reformation initiated by the Council of Trent.In the two-player game Sola Fide: The Reformation by the renowned design team of Jason Mathews and Christian Leonhard players attempt to install Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire or try to prevent it battling the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Circles.

Roll The Dice & Race Your Opponent To Complete The Square!A worthy winner of the HPC Game Of The Year 2018/19 award this outstanding puzzle game is every bit as clever as its name suggests. Each player receives their own 6x6 grid and a set of the nine different shapes plus seven ‘blocker’ pieces. Roll the seven dice together and place a blocker in each of the co-ordinates that appear on the faces. Now race to fill every other space on the grid before your opponent.As unlikely as it seems the puzzles really can be solved in each of the 62,208 possible combinations often with multiple solutions. Sometimes you’ll quickly see a solution... sometimes you’ll be tearing your hair out. Brilliant!—description from the publisher

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza: On The FlipsideTaco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is back with new characters and new rules!As in Snap and Dobble each player places a card from their hand face up into a community pile while saying taco/cat/goat/cheese/pizza in player sequence. When the card matches the mantra — boom! — everyone slaps their hand on the deck with the last one to slap picking up the cards. Whoever rids themselves of cards first wins!The entire deck is split between 2-8 players who then place their individual stack of cards face-down in front of them. Each person takes a turn flipping a card face-up on a pile in the middle while saying the words “Taco,” “Cat,” “Goat,” “Cheese,” “Pizza” — in that order. If the card in the middle matches the word being spoken the players race to slap their hands down on top of all the cards. Whoever is last must add the entire stack to their own set of cards. The winner is the person who gets rid of all their cards first.For extra fun special action cards force players to make certain gestures before racing to slap the deck!

Timeline: British History is a card game played using 109 cards (first edition) or 55 cards (second edition). Each card depicts an event on both sides with the year in which that it occured on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.Timeline: British History can be combined with any other title in the Timeline series.

Timeline: Polska is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts a historical event from Polish history on both sides with the year in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the date on it. If the card was placed correctly with the date in chronological order with all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.The first player to get rid of all his cards by placing them correctly wins. If multiple players go out in the same round then everyone else is eliminated from play and each of those players are dealt one more card for another round of play. If only one player has no cards after a bonus round he wins; otherwise play continues until a single player goes out.

CONFIDENT? is a highly entertaining family party game where you answer questions like how many slices are there in a loaf of bread?. But instead of giving exact answers you guess with a RANGE! You only need to get the right answer in your range to win points so everyone can have a go but the smaller your range compared to everyone else the more you score! Are you CONFIDENT enough to win?

The flippin' frogs are coming! Help your brightly coloured frogs take control of your little corner of the rainforest!Cleverly place frogs on the game board to flip adjacent tiles hiding some frogs and revealing others. Each player is given a secret Frog Token at the beginning of the game determining what colour frogs they are trying to get on to the board. After dealing three tiles to each player the game begins. Tiles can be placed on any empty space on the 4x4 board or on the back of any face down tile. Frogs may NOT be placed on top of face up tiles.When placed the arrows on the tile which surround the frog tell the player which nearby tiles should be flipped. If a tile is stacked on another both tiles are flipped together. Only the newly placed tile causes other tiles to flip.Also included are four Snake Tiles which remove any one face up Frog Tile from the game. Both the Frog and Snake are discarded freeing up a space for a new tile to be played.Players keep playing a tile and drawing back up to a hand of three until either no more tiles can be played or the board has sixteen face up frogs on show. This triggers the end of the game and the player with the most frogs face up is the winner.Plan ahead watch out for snakes and flip your way to victory!

Timeline: Star Wars is a card game played using 110 cards. Each card depicts a Star Wars Universe event on both sides with a number referring to the point in time in which that event occurred on only one side. Players take turns placing a card from their hand in a row on the table. After placing the card the player reveals the time information on it. If the card was placed correctly with the number in chronological order with respect to all other cards on the table the card stays in place; otherwise the card is removed from play and the player takes another card from the deck.

ION: A Compound Building Game is a card drafting game where players select from a number of available Ion Cards and Noble Gas cards with the goal of creating sets of compounds and inert noble gases.Here’s how the game is played: Each player is dealt eight cards must select one of those cards and then passes the remaining. Players must choose to either bond (pair) their selected card with another Element Card or set it alone (possibly to form an ionic bond at a later time). Throughout the game players gain additional points for building specific compounds which are listed on the Compound Goal Cards and have available a set of Action Tiles which award them additional moves throughout the game. Players score points based upon the quantity and type of neutrally balanced compounds they construct and noble gas sets they collect. After three rounds players add their total scores from each round subtract points from Action Tiles used and the player with the most points wins!

Lead the United States or Soviet Union Space Agency in this engine building worker placement race for the moon Eurogame.Play on a team of one or two players where each player on a team controls either the Engineer Workers or the Administrator Workers for their team.Coordinate your actions with your teammate on each of your turns to either place an Engineer or Administrator Worker on board actions to gather the games 9 different resources draft development cards increase your media coverage recruit astronauts upgrade resources develop your space flight capability or spend resources to launch humanity’s first unmanned and manned Missions into space.Which type of Worker you place changes the effect that a board action has. Each board action can only be used once each round so placing a Worker does not only prevent your opponents from using the action but prevents your teammate from using the action's alternative effect with their workers.Gain the advantage in the media to place your worker first in a round or to gain a media bonus for special one time abilities and bonus resources.Score Victory Points by building cards you drafted or by successfully launching Missions into space. Every successful launch you have upgrades one of the board actions not only for your team but also your opponents. Successfully launch enough Manned Missions to achieve the first manned moon landing before your rivals gaining you bonus Victory Points and ending the game. The team who has the most Victory Points at the end contributed the most to one of humanities greatest achievements and wins the game.One Small Step provides a fun learning experience about the space race that makes it perfect for a US history curriculum in the classroom and home school.—description from the publisherThe Kickstarter Deluxe Edition included the expansions and may be found here One Small Step: Deluxe Edition.

Countries around the Pacific Basin are creating marine sanctuaries to preserve unique creatures and their habitat. All of these sanctuaries are being ranked on an overall leaderboard and it’s time to find out whose sanctuary deserves the title of the Pacific Ocean’s Best Marine Sanctuary!Pacific Ocean is a quick set collection 18-card game where you aim to attract aquatic animals to your sanctuary. During the game you’ll select new inhabitants not just for yourself but also for your opponent. As every animal you attract will uniquely affect your end game points you’ll need to think strategically to prove that your sanctuary deserves the top rank.How To PlayI cut you choose Select 2 Aquatic Animal cards from your hand and place 1 card face up and the other card face down. The other player chooses 1 of those cards to add to their sanctuary. The remaining card is added to your own sanctuary.Add icons or scoring condition You can add a card to your sanctuary in one of two ways: to add icons or a scoring condition. To add icons place a card underneath and expose just the top of the card showing the icons. To add a scoring condition expose just the bottom of the card showing the condition.Score points After 6 turns both players score all the points by satisfying scoring conditions in their sanctuaries. The player who has scored the most points wins.The Kickstater edition comes packaged with several Kickstarter exclusive content: Pacific Ocean: Solo Expansion (3 cards) - adding Bot Cards for a Solo game. Bot Cards: Moby (easy); Flipper Thor Ferdinand Vasco (medium); Jacques Willy Amerigo (hard)Pacific Ocean: Tropical Fish (13 cards) - Adds new fish and the possibility to play with 3 players to the Pacific Ocean game. new cards: 9 fish 1 double sided sanctuary card 3 bot cards for solo playPacific Ocean: Promo Pack - 4 fish 1 double sided sanctuary card 1 bot card for solo play—description from the publisher

Historic Gaming #7Hero of Weehawken is a solitaire game in which the player takes the role of President Thomas Jefferson at a dangerous moment in the history of the United States. Former Vice President Aaron Burr is somewhere out west and rumors abound that he is threatening the nation with plans for some sort of ill-advised military adventure that could bring America to war with Spain or even a direct act of treason against the United States!To forestall this disaster you must first determine Burr’s real plans then find and arrest him before he executes his plan; and finally gather sufficient evidence to convict Burr at trial. If your agents arrest him too soon you will not have gathered enough evidence or figured out what to charge him with. If you wait too long however you may be too late to stop his nefarious plans.Do you have what it takes to gather the right information in time? Be the judge and become the Hero of Weehawken!Game Data:Complexity: 2.5 on a 9 scale Solitaire Suitability: 9 on a 9 scale Scale: TBDGame Components:• One 8-page full color Rules booklet with Examples of play • One 8.5” x 11” map • Two 8.5” x 5.5” mats (Plan and Trial) • One Player Aid sheet • 32 5/8 square game pieces • 60 Event cards

The German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began the bombardment of the Polish Military Depot on September 1 1939 at 04:48. This symbolic event marks the beginning of the Second World War. For seven days the 235 defenders in the Polish forces bravely fought the overwhelming German army.7 Days of Westerplatte is a cooperative war game. The players incorporate the roles of Polish commanders who work together to confront the German army and win the game. Stukas's raids land troop attacks and battleship and howitzer bombardments are the biggest threat for Polish forces and to hold back the attacking German troops players must use land mines mortars and rifles while also remembering to rebuild the defensive structures and keep their morale high. Will you manage to defend the Depot for seven days or will you succumb to the enemy's crushing power?

Game description from the publisher:Tonight is the night the secret mission Amun Re begins. The team made up of four cunning secret agents breaks into the museum and thanks to their precise calculations cracks the tricky codes of the security installation. Be it through addition or subtraction multiplication or division the numbers on the dice have to be combined so that the results coincide with the code numbers.Who in Secret Code 13+4 will be the first to overcome all the light barriers to get hold of the precious Amun Re mask?

For eons Pele fought Mo’o for dominion over Hawai’i. Mo’o summoned the elements and the animals of Hawai’i to create an insurmountable challenge. Do you have what it takes to become the champion of Hawai’i?In Latice Hawai’i players take turns laying tiles that each present an animal and an element. Tile placement requires the animal or element to match adjacent tiles. Players earn extra moves through superior strategy. Easy to learn hard to master Latice Hawai’i is an excellent addition to any collection be it humble as a gecko or worthy of the game rooms of Maui and Pele.The new edition features new components and thoughtfully revised content to create the best possible updated version of the game. Rules have been added for kid mode timed modes and advanced player modes—description from the publisher

Braintopia Beyond is the follow-up to the fast-paced brain bender that tests your mental focus flexibility and speed. Comprised of eight different types of challenges up to six players race through a deck of cards fighting to keep up with the ever-changing mini-games and attempt to solve the puzzles faster than their opponents. Collect brain tokens by beating a single Touch challenge or claiming a pair of cards from any of the other seven games: Multitasking Observation Squares Analysis Unique Combination and Tracking. The first player to collect four brain tokens wins!—description from the publisher

In Octopus' Garden players take the role of Octopuses competing to create the most beautiful gardens. Attract colourful seahorses and clown fish without losing pearl-producing oysters to the hungry sea stars!Octopus' Garden is a tile-laying game for 2 to 4 players. Players chose which plant and animal tiles to purchase from a central market and then decide how best to arrange them in their own garden. Careful planning is required to attract seahorses and clownfish to protect pearl-producing oysters from the sea stars and to avoid startling delicate feather worms.Octopus' Garden is #8 in the Valley Games Modern Line.

Players in The Color Monster collaborate to help the Monster figure out his emotions. In turns they roll the die that allows them to move the Monster around the board. When the Monster goes to a space with an emotion token the player can pick it up and look for the right jar. The jars are all placed on shelves with their colors hidden. If the player chooses the jar which matches the color of the emotion then they can place the emotion token into the jar. Otherwise the jar goes back to the shelf as it was. In order to pick up an emotion token players have to explain a memory or a situation in which they feel like the emotion they are picking up (Happiness Sadness Anger Fear or Calm). The players can lose the game if the Monster gets too confused and they flip over too many mixed emotion jars or win the game when the emotions are all placed in their correct jars.—description from the publisher