During the medieval goings-on around Orléans you must assemble a following of farmers merchants knights monks etc. to gain supremacy through trade construction and science in medieval France.In Orléans you will recruit followers and put them to work to make use of their abilities. Farmers and Boatmen supply you with money and goods; Knights expand your scope of action and secure your mercantile expeditions; Craftsmen build trading stations and tools to facilitate work; Scholars make progress in science; Traders open up new locations for you to use your followers; and last but not least it cannot hurt to get active in monasteries since with Monks on your side you are much less likely to fall prey to fate.You will always want to take more actions than possible and there are many paths to victory. The challenge is to combine all elements as best as possible with regard to your strategy.
In Ora et Labora (Latin for 'Pray and work') each player is head of a monastery in the Medieval era who acquires land and constructs buildings – little enterprises that will gain resources and profit. The goal is to build a working infrastructure and manufacture prestigious items – such as books ceramics ornaments and relics – to gain the most victory points at the end of the game.Ora et Labora Uwe Rosenberg's fifth big game has game play mechanisms similar to his Le Havre such as two-sided resource tiles that can be upgraded from a basic item to something more useful. Instead of adding resources to the board turn by turn as in Agricola and Le Havre Ora et Labora uses a numbered rondel to show how many of each resource is available at any time. At the beginning of each round players turn the rondel by one segment adjusting the counts of all resources at the same time.Each player has a personal game board. New buildings enter the game from time to time and players can construct them on their game boards with the building materials they gather with some terrain restrictions on what can be built where. Some spaces start with trees or moors on them as in Agricola: Farmers of the Moor so they hinder development until a player clears the land but they provide resources when they are removed. Clever building on your personal game board will impact your final score and players can buy additional terrain during the game if needed.Players also have three workers who can enter buildings to take the action associated with that location. Workers must stay in place until you've placed all three. You can enter your own buildings with these workers but to enter and use another player's buildings you must pay that player an entry fee so that he'll move one of his workers into that building to do the work for you.Ora et Labora features two variants: France and Ireland.
Pax Renaissance 2nd Edition is a game for 1 to 4 players where you play as a banker in Europe at the height of the Renaissance during the late 15th and early 16th-century.A time when European nobility and warlords declined and the arts and technology advanced in the wake of a new economic force: merchants and bankers. These bankers became the wealthiest private individuals ever as they guided Europe into the modern age.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 if Europe is elevated into the bright modern era or remains festering in dark feudalism. Four victories determine the future course of Western Society: will it be towards imperialism trade globalization religious totalitarianism or enlightened art and science?New components include punchouts for pirate ships pawns for concessions and serfs placards for player boards and empire squares allowing storage of repressed tokens and queens even if the King is not in a player Tableau.Extra game Map Cards are included allowing the mounted gameboard to be left behind for small game portability. Useful if you have limited space in your game bag.Expanded rules include Dalmatians Cryptography Condottiere apostasy and the solitaire game. Strategy and Frequently-Asked Questions are included.Contains Pax Renaissance Expansion and Pax Renaissance: BGG Promo Pack.
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?
In his first year as king of Persia Cyrus the Great issued a decree in writing to the Israelite exiles living under his rule:The God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for Him in Jerusalem. Any of his people may go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the temple of the Lord the God of Israel. And in any place where survivors may now be living the people of Persia are to provide them with silver gold goods livestock and offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem. - Ezra 1:2-4 (paraphrased).Decades later in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes reign the king noticed a sadness in his cupbearer Nehemiah. When asked why he looked so ill Nehemiah replied:May the king live forever! Why should I not look sad when the city of my ancestors lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? If it pleases you and if I have found favor in your sight let me go to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I may rebuild it. - Nehemiah 2:3-5 (paraphrased).The aim of Ezra and Nehemiah is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at game's end. Points are gained primarily by building the temple rebuilding the city walls and gates and by teaching the Torah to the returning exiles. Players may also seek to develop their land travel to settlements outside the city walls or stoke the altar's fire to keep it burning day and night. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah will be doing their part to keep the people focused on what is most important.Over three weeks (rounds) players will use their hand of cards workers and resources to do their part in rebuilding the great city of Jerusalem. After six days of work comes a Sabbath day of rest when food will be needed and the week's work will be reflected upon. The game ends after the third Sabbath has been completed.—description from the designer
from GMT website:Virgin Queen: Wars of Religion 1559-1598 is a game of grand strategy for two to six players based on the military political and religious conflicts within Europe during the reigns of Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of Spain. Each player controls one or more of the major powers that presided over European politics in that day. Spain is the juggernaut able to draw upon the vast riches of their global empire. But such a dominant power is sure to have many enemies. The Ottoman expansion towards Spain's Mediterranean outposts remains unchecked. Elizabeth's English sea dogs are poised to raid Spain's overseas empire. And the forces of Protestant reform will soon drag Spain into eighty years of rebellion in the Netherlands. Will Spain find aid from its Catholic allies? Perhaps not from France where the Catholic Valois dynasty is soon to engage another group of Protestant believers in the bloody French Wars of Religion. And even Philip's relatives in Vienna who rule the Holy Roman Empire may dabble in the Protestant faith instead of remaining loyal to their Catholic heritage and Spanish brethren.Virgin Queen: Wars of Religion 1559-1598 is the sequel to Here I Stand another card-driven game of grand strategy that covered the previous forty years (from Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses in 1517 through the abdication of Charles V in 1556). Players familiar with Here I Stand will find much that is familiar in Virgin Queen as over half of the rule book remains unchanged. New game systems have been put in place to emphasize the changing nature of the conflicts here in the late 16th Century:
When you die you can take it with you!Take on the role of Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs preparing for death and burial in the Valley of the Kings. Players want to fill their tombs with food canopic jars statues amulets and other treasures and to do so they acquire cards that are laid out in the shape of a pyramid; purchase cards at the base of the pyramid and it crumbles to bring cards higher in the pyramid to the base where they can be bought. The pyramid resets each round with new offerings.You score only for cards that you remove from your deck and stash in your tomb so if you keep using valuable cards for their effects and don't entomb them before the game ends you could lose out on big points! Whoever collects the most valuable artifacts in her tomb wins.
Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is the first game in over 25 years to cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. Few realize that the greatest feats of Martin Luther Jean Calvin Ignatius Loyola Henry VIII Charles V Francis I Suleiman the Magnificent Ferdinand Magellan Hernando Cortes and Nicolaus Copernicus all fall within this narrow 40-year period of history. This game covers all the action of the period using a unique card-driven game system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period on a single point-to-point map.There are six main powers in the game each with a unique path to victory.Here I Stand was due for a reprint in 2017 but with October 31 2017 being the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses Ed Beach and his team of Here I Stand enthusiasts have put together a series of enhancements to the original game that transform this reprint into a deluxe 500th anniversary treatment.DESIGNER: Ed Beach MAP & CARD ART: Mark Simonitch COUNTER ART: Mark Simonitch and Rodger B. MacGowan—description from the publisher
Description from the publisher:Take on the role of Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs preparing for their death and burial in the valley of the kings. Using an innovative deck-building mechanism with a crumbling pyramid players fill their tombs with jewelry chambers weapons tomb art and other treasures. The player who collects the most valuable artifacts in their tomb wins the game!Valley of the Kings: Afterlife is a standalone game that can also be combined with Valley of the Kings to allow for play with up to six players.
Jerusalem spring 33 AD: A crowd gathers at the city gates to welcome Jesus of Nazareth as he prepares to celebrate the Passover seder with his apostles and followers. With a revolutionary message he has garnered supporters everywhere but also looks of suspicion among religious authorities. The Last Supper will soon be celebrated and the fate of one of the most influential characters in human history will be sealed.In Ierusalem: Anno Domini we represent one of the communities of followers of Jesus of Nazareth who coming to Jerusalem from nearby towns and villages want to approach the place of the Last Supper and position ourselves as close as possible to the seats of Jesus and his apostles. The closer we are the more points we earn at game's end. We also score for offering tokens and parable tiles we've accumulated.Different locations are shown on the board: the market the desert the mountain the lake and the temple. After sending our followers to one of these locations we obtain stones bread and fish as well as denarii or cards that allow us to do more than one action. Among these actions players can choose between listening to a parable going to the table changing seats or doing a favor among other things. All this happens while the patience of the Sanhedrin runs out. When this happens as symbolized by a tile moving in a marker the endgame is triggered.However the main element of the game is the cards. Each card has a symbol corresponding to one of five key locations in the game. As we play them we form combinations that allow us to bring the apostles to the table of the Last Supper. The optimal placement of our followers around Jesus and the apostles will also be done through the management of letters as well as various resources at our disposal.Behind a very immersive theme Ierusalem: Anno Domini will not disappoint lovers of good challenges. Players have a wide range of possibilities at their fingertips and multiple ways to earn points. Preparing the best strategies to get the most out of your followers will be one of the keys to victory. Devout gamers don't need to look further: Here is your game!—description from publisher
In the early Middle Ages the peak of ecclesiastical power no fewer than five monasteries were founded in a beautiful valley with the aim of spreading the Word of God.As the dean of a cathedral school you try to accommodate the novices entrusted to you in the monasteries thus building up an unmistakable reputation. According to your talents you send novices to monastery buildings to the chapel or to the cloister. The intercession of influential personalities or other monks should not be underestimated. You can also fulfill the special missions of the monasteries and build on the stained-glass windows of your cathedral to enhance the fame of your school.After the three-year novitiate it will become clear who has been able to earn the most fame and glory with their helpers.Monasterium (which is Latin for Monastery) is a strategic game with an innovative dice mechanism that presents the players with ever new challenges. The game includes a double-sided game board: one side for the game for two and one side for 3-4 players.
Il Vecchio is set in the 15th century when Cosimo de Medici – also called Il Vecchio (the Elder) – and his family ruled over Tuscany and its capital Florence. The players represent the heads of Florentine families trying to rise their families to power. To achieve this they send out their family members to locations in Tuscany to perform various tasks specifically to recruit followers (knights assassins abbots) and collect money as both are needed to take control of provinces in neighboring regions; controlled provinces provide power and a bonus action. Another task is to gain the favor of the squirearchy as these favors are indispensable when it comes to getting an official position in Florence e.g. a seat on the town council to enhance actions in Tuscany or a noble rank to gain power at the end of the game.To complete these tasks however a proper middleman must be present at a location and as these middlemen travel a lot they are rarely met. That's why it is so important to have one's family members in the right place at the right time – to save on time and money while achieving one's goals.At the beginning of the game each player has four family members in Tuscany. Players take turns performing exactly one action. Before his action a player may pay money to move one of his own family members to another location. The available actions are to:The game ends when the Power of the Medici has faded as indicated by a diminishing pile of crest tiles. Certain actions require you to remove such a tile and the game ends when they're all gone. Players then sum their power points – earned for gained tiles and majorities in the regions and Florence – for a final scoring and the player with the most power wins.
In Deliverance you take on the role of an elite angelic warrior in the army of Heaven. Since the victory on the Cross you have hunted the fallen angelic Princes. Once your faithful brethren they now lead Satan’s forces of Darkness in a bitter war against the humans bent on corrupting every last soul. In a bid to end their reign of chaos you have planned a daring mission into one of their great Strongholds - The seemingly quiet human city of Fallbrook. Armed with your weapons courage and your God-given angelic powers you and your faithful allies must overcome legions of demons to slay their leader. But be watchful for the darkness of the mortal world seems to be spreading into the spiritual realm.Deliverance is a cooperative tactical board game that can be played in either a story driven campaign mode or skirmish mode. Each player has unique powers that can be added to with Talent grants. Each victory brings experience points.—description from the publisher
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.
When you die you can take it with you!Take on the role of Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs preparing for death and burial in the Valley of the Kings. Players want to fill their tombs with food amulets and other treasures and to do so they acquire cards that are laid out in the shape of a pyramid; purchase cards at the base of the pyramid and it crumbles to bring cards higher in the pyramid to the base where they can be bought. The pyramid resets each round with new offerings.You score only for cards that you remove from your deck and stash in your tomb so if you keep using valuable cards for their effects and don't entomb them before the game ends you could lose out on big points! Whoever collects the most valuable artifacts in her tomb wins.Valley of the Kings: Last Rites the third standalone VotK title introduces the various citizens and roles of people in the ancient Egyptian kingdom.
A States of Siege (TM) game.This solitaire game suitable for group and classroom cooperative game play tells the story of the English Civil Wars (1640-53) through its key events and decision points. You attempt to stop the advance of four armies bent on destroying Parliament and Puritanism whom you represent; simply holding on to London is not enough.Each of the three English Civil Wars are replayed through the use of separate card decks that recreate the historical military and political events that could spell doom to the Parliamentarian forces. There are civil wars going on not just in England but in Scotland and Ireland too; and each will have varying impact on the play of the game at different times.The title comes from the purported response to the beheading of King Charles by his implacable foe Oliver Cromwell who remarked that this act of regicide was a “cruel necessity.”Note: Cruel Necessity is our first Gold Banner wargame to exclude a mounted map inside. Because of all the gameplay real estate in Cruel Necessity mounting the boards using our print-on-demand publishing model would have raised the Retail Price to $55.00 (i.e. a $15 increase) and that just seemed like too much. We hope our vaunted wargame customers can soldier on with our sturdy paper maps as the great wargames of yore have long provided.What's in the box:• One full color 22-page Rulebook (Designer's Notes included) • One 22” x 17” paper game map (in two sections) • One 11” x 17” Battle Display Mat • 75 cards • 98 thick two-sided multi-shaped game pieces • One 2-sided player aid • One blue (Parliamentary) 6-sided die • One red (Royalist) 6-sided die • One bright red 9 x 11 7/8 Deluxe cardboard VPG game box • One beautiful box cover sleeve • One Wipes-A-Lot napkin • One charcoal desiccant packet
From the creators of Osmos comes Karmaka a competitive card game that plays out over multiple lives.Karmaka is a tactical card game set in a karmic universe. Players begin the game as lowly Dung Beetles. In life after life (hand after hand) they climb their way up the Karmic Ladder racing to see who will achieve Transcendence first! During each of your lives you'll be working towards three ends:But what goes around comes around. A key tension in Karmaka is that after playing a card for its ability a rival may take the card into their Future Life. Your actions may come back to haunt you in the next life...Score points to ascend while sowing the seeds of your next life and – if necessary – sabotage your rivals. But remember what goes around comes around and your actions have consequences in this life...and the next.
Game description from the publisher:Greed Pride Gluttony Wrath Luxury Idleness and Envy – the infamous Seven Deadly Sins. For the faithful they instill horror. For you on the other hand they present a wonderful business opportunity!In The Road to Canterbury you play a medieval pardoner who sells certificates delivering sinners from the eternal penalties brought on by these Seven Deadly Sins. You make your money by peddling these counterfeit pardons to Pilgrims traveling the road to Canterbury. Perhaps you can persuade the Knight that his pride must be forgiven? Surely the Friar's greed will net you a few coins? The Miller's wrath and the Monk's gluttony are on full public display and demand pardoning! The Wife of Bath regales herself in luxury the Man-of-Law languishes in idleness and that Prioress has envy written all over her broad forehead. And the naughty stories these Pilgrims tell each other are so full of iniquity they would make a barkeep blush! Pardoning such wickedness should be easy money right?Not quite. For you to succeed as a pardoner you'll need to do more than just sell forged pardons for quick cash. To keep your services in demand you will actually need to lead these Pilgrims into temptation yourself! Perhaps some phony relics might help? There is also one big catch. The Seven Deadly Sins live up to their name: each sin that a Pilgrim commits brings Death one step nearer and a dead Pilgrim pays no pardoners!So much to forgive so little time. Will you be able to outwit your opponents by pardoning more of these Pilgrims' sins before they die or finish their pilgrimage to Canterbury?
Italy late Middle Ages: The fabric merchants need to write down their contracts in a language that everyone can understand and the literates are looking for an alternative to the elite of the traditional Latin language so the Volgare the language spoken by the common people taken from the dialects spoken in the various Italian regions starts to gain relevance. During this period Francesco D'Assisi writes his famous Canticle of the Sun and Dante writes the Divine Comedy both written in Volgare.In De Vulgari Eloquentia players have to do their part in the creation of this new language! But who will provide them the proper knowledge to understand the manuscripts in the different dialects? Who will successfully uncover the secrets of the books inside the Papal Library? Who will embrace the religious life and who will remain a merchant? Some of the players can become a famous banker someone else can climb the church's hierarchy to be the next Pope! But in the end who will be the most appreciated and respected for their status and culture?The aim of the game is to obtain more Volgare points. The players gain VP from reading manuscripts and looking for important documents like the Canticle of the Sun or The Riddle from Verona. Players can also gain VP by improving their social status for example if the merchant becomes a banker or the Friar becomes a Benedictine Monk or the Cardinal becomes Camerlengo or Pope. Moreover VP can be gotten with money and with the support of Politicians Noblemen Abbesses and the Amanuensis.This is a totally new re-designed edition of De Vulgari Eloquentia which features new mechanisms and new elements. The game has totally new layout and iconography.—description from the designer
In the teachings of the Catholic Church an indulgence may be granted to relieve sins. In some cases this might be by doing good works or engaging in meaningful prayer but in the darkest of times indulgences were sold to anyone willing to make a significant contribution. As the rising families of the Italian Renaissance conspired and plotted to seize control the indulgence offered a clear conscience for many a questionable deed committed in the name of power.Indulgence is a trick-taking game for 3-4 players. On their turn players choose an edict that gives the rule for the hand. The other players then decide if they want to violate the edict by doing the opposite of what it commands. So Don’t take any Medicis suddenly becomes I must take all the Medicis. Committing a sin can be challenging but a player attempting it gets the benefit of the indulgence a token that turns one of their cards into a winning hand. Can you trick your opponents into committing sins without the indulgence? Can you avoid sinning yourself? Whoever can pull that off will end up with a pile of gems and the title of victor.Indulgence is a restoration of Dragonmaster originally published by Milton Bradley in 1981 and designed by Jerry D'Arcey. It was itself a reimagining of D'Arcey's prior game Coup d'Etat and its classic progenitor Barbu. Dragonmaster enjoyed lavish production with oversized cards art by the incomparable Bob Pepper and some nifty interlocking gems for keeping score. In addition to the retheming the restoration evens out the game play. The original game suffered from a runaway leader problem in which an early power play with the dragon card all but assured one player's elimination from contention and gave the other a big leg up. The indulgence token replaces the dragon card to make it more accessible less powerful and easier to understand. It also increases the number of contracts from 5 to 20 and ups the deck to 36 cards.
Tindaya is set at the dawn of the 15th century on the paradise known today as the Canary Islands. The conquistadors have just set eyes on it. Each player must lead an aboriginal tribe to survival in a world ruled by gods and shaped by natural disasters.Tindaya is a theme-driven survival adventure with the soul of a eurogame. This environmentally conscious game offers two play modes to please any group: Cooperative (including solo) & Competitive in addition to the Traitor variant for players avid of some old fashioned throat-cutting. Difficulty can be graded and less experienced gamers can learn to play through a 3 game mini-campaign.During 3 phases natives will settle progress and battle invaders all within a mythological setting ruled by two gods Acoran & Moneiba. They will demand specific goods at each stage of the game. If the natives are unable or unwilling to provide them their godly rage will be unleashed. But players are not alone; two seers will make predictions by reading the smoke of their bonfires. Tibiabin will see the disasters to come. Tamonante will predict where they will happen. Disaster markers will be placed on the board to signal what is to come.End of the Game: In Cooperative mode players will check if their collective mission has been achieved. If so the gods will be happy and all natives win the game. In Competitive mode solidarity points will be granted to players that have given more to the community used fewer resources or achieved both collective and personal objectives. The player with more points will win the game.—description from the designer
Kings of Israel is a board game taking place in Israel (the Northern Kingdom) during the reign of its kings up until Israel's destruction by Assyria. Players are on a team with each person representing a line of prophets that are trying to remove evil and idols from Israel while building altars to help guide Israel in the upcoming difficult years. If the players are able to build enough altars before the game ends they win. If the game ends by either the team running out of sin cubes or idols or by Assyria destroying Israel the prophets lose.A typical round has four phases:1. King's Godliness Phase: During this phase if a bad king is reigning over Israel the players must draw a Sin & Punishment card which means bad things occur in Israel because of evil or in response to evil. If during the reign of a good king the starting player receives a Blessing card.2. Sin Increases Phase: Location cards are drawn and sin increases at each revealed location. This can possibly cause idols to appear or sin to spread further if sin increases at a location with an idol.3. Prophets Work Phase: In this phase each prophet gets to use four actions to accomplish their goals. They may use their actions to move remove sin or idols draw resource cards build an altar make a sacrifice at an altar or to give resources to another player. A prophets may also play Blessing cards at this time if they have them. In expert mode after all the prophets take their turn the false prophet takes his turn.4. End of Round Phase: The starting player changes to the next player and the timeline token moves down to the next king chronologically. In easy mode any player who had made a sacrifice that turn then draws a single Blessing card.The family version of Kings of Israel is available on the game's website. This version eliminates the King's Godliness phase Abilities and the Blessing cards which makes for an easier quicker and more simplified game.
A Column of Fire is an adaptation of the third novel in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series following The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. (The novel is titled A Column of Fire in English and Das Fundament der Ewigkeit (The Foundation of Eternity) in German.)In the game set in Europe during the time of Elizabeth I Catholics and Protestants compete for power and influence in England France Spain and the Netherlands. In this politically unstable environment resourceful operatives and courageous secret agents plot to secure power for their rulers. The balance of power shifts back and forth amidst foiled assassinations successful rebellions and futile invasions — and not infrequently those who sympathize with the weak are expelled from the country.The real enemies then as now are not the rival religions. The true battle pits those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else — no matter what the cost. Who will best exploit the changing power conditions in Europe to win the game?
During the game players take the role of priests who travel to different cities in India building statues and shrines dedicated to their favorite Gods to expand their worship. To do so they are assisted by several characters with different abilities. Every year the Maharaja the great king of India will change his residence and players will receive rewards according to their Gods' worship value. At the beginning of each year players plan their actions in a secret phase to be played simultaneously.At the end of the seventh year or when a player builds their seventh statue the game ends then the player with most prestige wins.Aside from the new graphics and components and from players now building statues instead of palaces this new edition of Maharaja includes new characters to use during the turn that change turn order additional ways to earn victory points an additional bonus each time you score a city after the Maharaja's visit depending on the assistant you chose and additional modular rules that can be added during the game and in the final scoring.—description from the publisherIncludes solo mode by Dávid Turczi & Simone Luciani
King Solomon presided over a golden age of peace and prosperity in ancient Israel. During this time Solomon instituted an unprecedented building program. As one of Solomon's chief governors you must procure materials and oversee construction of buildings and roads across the land for the glory of Solomon. You will also help to construct the Temple one of the wonders of the ancient world.Kingdom of Solomon is a worker-placement game with a few new twists and turns. Do you claim a resource space an action space or throw in all your remaining pawns to grab a powerful Bonus Space? Will you spend your resources to extend Solomon's kingdom take some points in the Market or add to the Temple? These and many other choices await you in this highly interactive game.You play Kingdom of Solomon in rounds of four phases. You start the round placing your pawns to get resources take actions or get a bonus. In this placement phase players take turns each placing one pawn at a time. After all pawns have been placed players resolve what they get from placing their pawns. This is called the resolution phase and each player in turn resolves the placement of all their pawns before the next player. Next the players can go to the Market to sell or buy resources. In this market phase like the placement phase players alternate taking turns except that players take turns in reverse order. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Finally you build in the building phase. Players one at a time can build a building roads and add blocks to the Temple. When you place pawns to take actions you can get an additional resource for a resource space trade one resource for another steal a resource from an opponent get victory points or draw Fortune cards. You can play Fortune cards at any time. Fortune cards provide resources victory points or special actions. Bonuses your pawns can gain for you include one of every resource three Fortune cards or victory points with a rearrangement of turn order so you become the new first player.You use resources to build things. Each thing costs a specific set of resources. The buildings you build give you victory points and additional spots to place pawns for resources or actions. Roads link resource spaces into resource regions so you can get more resources per pawn placed in the resource region. Building Temple blocks give you either victory points or temple tokens that help you gain or keep the High Priest. The High Priest lets you take advantage of another player’s resource region and gives you victory points at the end of the game.The game ends at the end the round when a player places all his building tokens on building sites there is a building token on each of the building sites or the Temple is complete. The player with the most victory points wins.
Jesus asked his disciples: “When the Son of Man returns how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18:8 NLT) That question is the premise behind The Mission.The Mission: Early Christianity from the Crucifixion to the Crusades is a “grand strategy” solitaire game covering 1,200 years of Christian history on a map of the ancient Mediterranean Near East Europe and Africa. While the secular world of empires and politics plays out around you your missionaries spread the Christian faith and convert areas of the map to your new religion. Each turn covers decades and the flow of play will teach players about the expansion and doctrinal battles of early Christianity while you build institutions to educate heal and inspire the societies you touch.Apostles and brilliant theologians will help you evangelize but you will come to rely on the Roman/Byzantine state and Christian kingdoms to establish and defend the faith. Heresies and schisms in the Church will try to thwart your plans. Pressing against you are barbarian hordes some of which you may convert; but the armies of Islam will emerge as the game changes from one of missionary outreach to one of self-preservation as Christian communities hunker down for survival during the long Dark Ages. At the end you will rise up in a blaze of glory as the Christian world finally fights back using Crusaders and the Spanish Reconquista to recover lost provinces!Beginners and experienced gamers will find this an intriguing and very different sort of game. It’s a war of ideas but it’s still a wargame where managing scarce resources (including holy relics!) and making shrewd strategic decisions are the keys to victory. Can you build a strong united and prosperous Christendom?—description from the publisher
In 1097 thousands of lords and knights soldiers and camp-followers pilgrims and prophets marched east in response to a Papal appeal charged with the task of restoring Jerusalem and the Holy Land to Christian control. Their surprising victory led to the creation of the first overseas European colonies and the reshaping of Muslim power in the Middle East. The repercussions of their journey continue to live with us today.In Kingdom of Heaven - The Crusader States 1097-1291 (KOH) two players use cards to activate forces trigger random events conduct diplomacy or prosecute siege warfare on a vast arena stretching from Antioch to Cairo and from Cyprus to Mosul.Nine scenarios cover all the major campaigns of the era from the First Second and Third Crusades to the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Mamluk Empire. In addition to the ‘basic deck,’ each scenario adds different cards representing historical events unique to that campaign. Turns are yearly and most scenarios can be finished in 3-4 hours.The historical scenarios pit the greatest commanders of the age against one another: Nur ad-Din Richard the Lionhearted Saladin Frederick Barbarossa Louis IX Hulegu Khan Baibars and many others. They range in length from the 3-turn First Crusade learning scenario to the 7-turn assault of Baibars on the faltering ramparts of the Crusader States.(source: MMP website and user's description)
Battle For Souls is a card game pitting the seven archangels of heaven versus the seven princes of hell in a fight for the eternal souls of humankind.In the game 1 2 or 4 players choose the side of heaven or the side of hell. Each side will battle for 28 souls which are worth victory points. Players add holy or unholy points on the souls in play based on how they use temptation virtue sin intercession holy relic unholy relic angel and devil cards. Earn enough holy points and when the soul is reaped it goes to heaven earning the side of good victory points; earn enough unholy points and when the soul is reaped it goes to hell earning the side of evil victory points. If a soul does not earn enough holy or unholy points and is reaped it goes to purgatory where its victory points are not counted.Guiding a soul to complete purity or complete darkness before death and final judgment adds a new archangel or prince of hell to a player's arsenal. Influence on souls can be spent for more powerful cards that have special abilities and allow a player to gain souls more quickly.Many strategic decisions impact play. Strategies include focusing on gaining more help from heaven or hell to increase your power working to reap souls quickly from the start with little intervention from the angelic and demonic hordes or balancing your play to ensure victory.Sin Intercession and Relic cards can be purchased for beneficial effects at the cost of holy and unholy points. These help to make for deep gameplay and excellent risk-reward scenarios. Invest in these cards to strengthen your position.
“If I have any worth it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples.” - St. PatrickLegend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. True there are no snakes anywhere on the island- but there have been none since before the last Ice Age! The legend is actually an allegory about his successes in converting Ireland to Christianity.Banish the Snakes is a cooperative game that simulates Ireland in the 5th century while the Roman Empire was collapsing in the west and Ireland was turning to the Christian religion. Players represent Saints- Patrick and others (up to six of you) who set out to convert the pagans on the island. You must work as a team to convert the people of Ireland before the barbarians completely overwhelm Britain- if you fail the Irish will not be able to save Civilization in the following centuries!The game board shows a map of Ireland in the 5th century with four Provinces-the same as today- but no counties yet. Wooden tiles represent the People Druids Chiefs and Kings and of course the High King at Tara. It is your job to break into the interrelated influences between these groups of people and get your new ideas accepted.Each turn a card is drawn throwing new challenges at your team. The severity of the event is determined by the previous card and so no two games can ever play the same. The cards introduce events and ideas of the time new saints and historic figures- like Neil of the Nine Hostages.There is a diagram of Great Britain to keep track of the steady decline of Roman civilization in Great Britain. As different parts of Britain succumb to the barbarians more and more difficult challenges are added to the deck until finally Britain is completely overwhelmed cutting off Ireland from the continent and ending the game.If you succeed in your endeavor Christianity will thrive in Ireland while paganism overruns Western Europe. The arts writing literature and history will flourish on the Emerald Isle! Soon Irish missionaries will bring these civilizing attributes back to Great Britain and mainland Europe- as Thomas Cahill says in his book the Irish will save Civilization.But if you fail…—description from the publisher
Goetia: Nine Kings of Solomon is a worker placement resource management game where each players try to contact conjure and worship goetic demons. The game is focusing on the 9 demon kings that appear in the scriptures Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis.The game is played in clockwise turn order. Each turn the players places one of their 3 followers on a modular board. When placing a worker the players get the depicted resource(s).Players can get more workers from the outskirts by paying all visible resources from that specific row or column. If you buy a worker early in a round the cost is high. If you buy a worker later the cost is low - all depending on how you and your opponents are playing.Players can also pay one resource in order to send their workers to contact demons. By contacting demons players are awarded Demonic Attention. When a Demon has run out of attention a Demon is conjured and players can now pay more resources to worship said Demon in order to get special abilities (Demonic Powers Artifacts Treasures).Demonic Powers are worth Worship Points (WP). The player with the most most coins and WP from demonic abilities and pacts is the winner. When all demonic powers have been awarded to the players new special areas are uncovered where players can earn more Worship Points by exchanging cubes for Attention or making Pacts with Demons.Game ends when a player has 4 active Pacts with a Demon or when a certain number of Pacts have been acquired by all players.—description from the designer
Satori (悟り) is a Japanese Buddhism term for awakening and refers to a full and deep experience of enlightenment.In Satori players compete to advance on the spiritual path. For this end you'll build new temples for the votaries to pray get the wisest monks and contribute to build up the great pagoda to turn Koyasan in the heart of the zen Buddhism.On your turn choose one of the available devotees at the tori and take him to a temple to resolve an action. You might get resources or resolve different actions on the temples. You can also bring your monks to the mountains which allow you to concatenate additional actions and advance on the spiritual path.The farthest player on the spiritual path will be the winner.—description from the designer
Choose your God wisely for there are a lot of dark and powerful entities sleeping deep in the souls of people... You need to summon and empower your master faster than your rivals. So do your best as now is no time to sleep: Recruit followers perform dark rituals bribe officials or inspire an uprising of the angry mob.In Cult: Choose Your God Wisely you need to send your trusted priests to the most important locations of the Eternal City. They will fight for influence cult followers and other benefits to bring your God victory over the minds and souls of the whole world.Each turn players send their priests to chosen locations that are currently accessible to them. As the game progresses more locations become available. For each location a winner is determined based on the strength of the priest but miracles and intrigue cards can dramatically change the outcome of each conflict. The priest who wins the location can use the unique benefit with other priests getting money instead.You can win the game in different ways: by building five chapels by leading the city's mob uprising or by performing a dark ritual to summon your cult's master — one of eight dark gods.
Set in the titular city in the 16th century Venice lets players take the role of wealthy influential merchants as they ride their gondolas up and down the city's canals train their assistants complete contracts and leverage their influence to gain political power. But business is anything but usual. As they broker contracts and flirt with crime merchants must avoid arousing the suspicion of the Venetian Inquisition lest they find themselves arrested and their businesses shut down.In the game players move their two gondolas around the board. When they move a gondola they may activate the assistants they have placed previously on any building they pass but they may train (and improve the capabilities of) only the one on which they end their movement. Assistants allow you to gain resources trade make money and take an array of other actions depending on the buildings to which they are assigned. When resources are made they are placed in the gondola and these will be used to fulfill lucrative contracts.Space is limited on the city's canals however and each time you pass another merchant's boat gossip will spread raising your suspicion level with the Inquisition. Lower your suspicion with visits and donations to the church or academic institutions — or throw caution to the wind and engage in unsavory activities for money or information. During the game being such a well-known merchant can be a boon to your political career but at game end the most suspicious player will be made an example of by the Inquisition — blocking your victory even if you have the most points.Includes solo mode by David Turczi and Xavi Bordes—description from the publisher
In 532 Buddhism arrived in Japan and took its place alongside Shintoism which is the official religion. Prince Shotoku seduced by this new religion commissioned Buddhist monks to construct a village endowed with an immense garden in which 8 pagodas (tajuto) would be erected. He announced that once the fourth tajuto was complete it would make this city an important pilgrimage destination for all Buddhists around the world. The Buddhist monk who has attained the highest level of Spirituality through deep Meditation and other mental qualities at this precise moment will be rewarded and the Prince will name them Great Guardian of the Sacred Garden of the Eight Pagodas and this monk will become the overseer of pilgrimage.In Tajuto players take on the roles of the Buddhist monks trying to achieve the highest spirituality. On their turn they can activate their action tiles to draw (and build) pagoda tiles from the bag make offerings to gain meditation points and acquire tiles that will help them progress more quickly or earn them spirituality points. Activating more than one action tile or acquiring tiles costs meditation points. The game ends once the fourth pagoda is finished. The player with the most spirituality points wins.The key feature of the game is drawing the pagoda tiles from the bag. The pagoda tiles have a decreasing size per level. Players are welcome to blindly rummage around to try to recognize the floor by its size but they aren’t likely to be able to detect the color this way so drawing the floor size they want depends on their tactile recognition but they have to weigh their odds to draw the color they want.—description from the publisher
St Patrick first released as Salvage is a simple trick-taking game that combines the fun of Hearts with the assessment of Oh Hell and the fairness of duplicate Bridge. Everyone starts at 20 points and takes damage over the course of play. The game ends when one player reaches 0 at which time the player with the most points wins.In the original Salvage game an oil tanker is on fire and you are part of a rescue team sent to deal with it. You will take damage as you put out the fires but before the operation begins you can salvage oil as an insurance against the costs you expect to suffer.The key dynamic of the game is that before playing a hand you assess the strength of your cards and make a bid of how many points you are prepared to lose not to play the hand. That bid acts as an insurance and you will be penalized only for points you lose above that bid. However if everyone's combined bids equal the total amount of damage that can be taken then everyone loses the amount they bid and the hands get passed around the table so that other players have a chance to do better with the same hand.In St Patrick you now compete to retain the most life points by using relics to avoid snake bites.
Yin and yang is a concept of dualism in ancient Chinese philosophy representing two opposite principles. Yin is the feminine while Yang is masculine and this concept is embodied in all things around the world such as winter and summer male and female and light and dark.Yin Yang takes players back to ancient China during the Warring State period before the common era. At the time China was divided into seven kingdoms fighting each other constantly and people were living in suffering. To pursue inner peace every kind of fortune-telling method was then developed.One of those fortune-telling methods involves taking a tortoise shell with copper coins inside then shaking it to have indications based on which coins emerge and how they fall. This method is exactly what Yin Yang is based on. Players act as Taoist priests traveling on an ancient Chinese map to retrieve the local specialty of different cities to unlock their own destiny. Additionally players can also build temples in different cities to earn worship from seven kingdoms.—description from the publisher
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.
In Pilgrim players are abbots and abbesses of their own provincial 14th century abbey each seeking to:A unique twist on a mancala-movement mechanism distributes a player's acolytes across eight duties and the capital city to determine each turn's action. 18xx-style tile development on the map board builds trade routes for revenue and pilgrim trails for endgame points. Common serfs need to be ordained to ensure that the abbey is adequately serviced and your acolyte numbers will need to be carefully balanced across ever changing duties and vocational tasks.Pilgrim is a game played over 26 rounds with perfect information zero randomness (once the game starts) and one hundred and sixty sextillion possible starting set-ups. Player interaction is intense and constant. The meek might inherit the earth but you will need to be made of stronger stuff to become the next cardinal and win the game.—description from the designer
Welcome to the world of the unseen!Armies of angels and demons clash in an epic battle over a human soul. While the forces of heaven try to influence for good the demonic fallen angels strive to draw the soul into darkness and despair. In the realm of the spirital world mighty angel warriors try to hold their positions against onstorming demons and tormentors by seeking to break their defenses or by taking control of valuable crystals and living water fountains to slowly turn the tide of war to their advantage. The mighty and mysterious 6-winged seraphs summon new angels to gain a foothold on the enemy´s flank. Meanwhile the archangels God´s chosen messengers move like lightning over the battlefield commanding their forces and bringing fear to the hosts of evil. The archdemons false gods of the ancient world no less cunning rise up to meet them in battle. They all know the victory belongs to the wisest leader. Are you that leader?—description from the publisherTake control of the forces of good or the hordes of evil. Command mighty seraphs or fierce tormentors. Each player begins with a starting deck customized by a unique general - either an archangel or archdemon. Each turn you will use your Command markers to move troops or initiate battles and then use the cards in your hand to modify those movements or battles - or build your turn around an epic Tactics card that provides even more value! You can use your resources to deploy more units increase your handsize or gain more Command markers! At the end of your turn you’ll gain more resources if you control certain Areas - or even 1 Soul Point if you control the Human Soul. When either the good or evil side has 7 Soul Points - the game is over and the soul has been claimed!
King Solomon reigned over the kingdom of Israel during its golden age. He commanded tribute from Israel’s neighbors expanded Israel’s borders built roads and fortresses and kept the peace within the land. His merchants filled the kingdom with exotic goods such as spices ivory apes and peacocks. Perhaps most famously Solomon also built the Temple in Jerusalem a golden place of worship lasting hundreds of years.Wisdom of Solomon is a 1-5 player worker placement game taking place during the reign of King Solomon. Players act as Governors for Solomon sending out workers to gather Resources build structures and expand Solomon’s influence in the kingdom. The player who curries the most Favor will be crowned the winner!The Wisdom of Solomon board is divided into two sections. The section on the right side of the board is a map of Solomon’s kingdom where players will build custom houses and roads. As a Governor expands their influence in the land with new roads and houses that Governor’s network will become more powerful and pull Resources from more and more areas. These networks of custom houses will control the flow of Resources in Wisdom of Solomon!On the left side of the board is a miniaturized version of the city of Jerusalem. Within this city is the Market area a region of the city where workers will be sent to buy sell and trade Resources and also to play powerful Fortune cards that have been acquired. Elsewhere in Jerusalem is a Foreman who has the plans for building new structures throughout Israel. A Governor can use their Resources to build these structures and create new houses of influence in the kingdom while granting the Governor new ways to gain Resources and Favor.Finally within the city of Jerusalem a Governor may visit the Levites to help build the Temple of Solomon. Workers send to the Levites can donate Resources to raise this awesome structure and gain great Favor and Fortune! Next to this Temple are the Holy Places the most sacred of objects that groups of workers may visit and receive great things!Wisdom of Solomon ends when a Governor no longer has a Custom House to build or the Temple of Solomon has been completed. When that occurs the round ends and each person reveals their Temple Tokens. Each Governor tallies their final score and the person having the most Favor wins!—description from the publisher
Ophir is a pick up and deliver set collection game set in an ancient prosperous world for 2-4 players. In Ophir you're an influential person of government trade or religion with a singular focus - the construction of the Temple.The Temple is built layer by layer through collective contributions of Silver and Gold. These precious metals are delivered by your merchant ship for Victory Points at the Temple one of the seven locations you'll be visiting in Ophir.To afford these precious building materials you must navigate the region's seas against your rivals to collect goods to fulfill the demand at the Market for Coins or exchange them for Favor at the Temple.Well-timed trades efficient cargo storage and tactical transportation will be the keys to your success. But you must be swift in your travels because the game ends immediately once the construction of the Temple is complete. Will it be you whose name is spoken alongside the stories of Ophir's wonder?With its approachable map and exclusion of direct conflict Ophir has a familiar and accessible atmosphere that families will enjoy. But with its modular setup exclusive player roles and mercurial market Ophir has tactics replayability and tension for experienced gamers to savor!
