It is 1598, and you have settled in the middle of France in the city of Orléans on the Loire. Your goal is clear: Build a cathedral in Orléans — all of you together because only together can you meet this challenge!

In the co-operative game The Cathedral of Orléans, players will recruit followers familiar from Orléans to take actions — knights, craftsmen, scholars, traders, and monks — but these followers are divided between two pouches, so the question you will constantly face: From which pouch should I draw to get the desired tile? You will want to remember which tiles go into which bag at the end of the round, dividing duties between one another in order to work out your strategy together as effectively as possible.

Time is always a pressing issue. The cathedral must be completed in the third round at the latest, and if a tile can no longer be placed elsewhere with an action, it must go into the bell tower, with that tower's toll ending the round.

Special highlight: You build a real, three-dimensional cathedral!

Mon Dieu, quelle horreur! The inhabitants of Orléans have been hit hard as the plague has come upon them, bringing suffering and misery to the population. There are many dead to mourn, and even the plague doctor can bring only limited relief and hope to the long-suffering inhabitants. The clergy also has little to offer in the way of relief. And so, in the end, everyone is on their own and must try to protect their followers as best they can...

When you use the Orléans: Die Pest / The Plague expansion, the game conditions are made tougher from the start of play thanks to the "rat cards". Sometimes there are fewer monks in the game, sometimes no gears may be placed on place cards or the building of trading stations must be paid for with an additional coin.

New events are now also linked to the "corpse tokens" which players must place a certain number of in their bag at the end of each round. These tokens might be randomly drawn from the bag at the beginning of the round and occupy valuable space on the marketplace because they cannot be used for any action. To get rid of them for good, a player can fulfill indulgence cards through pilgrimage, donations, or other conditions, which also bring victory points at game's end. Fortunately, each player has a "plague doctor", a new figure that is available in (almost) every round and can be used universally.

—description from the publisher

The last shall be first...
Make sure to be the last!!!

The game is separated into two phases.

Phase one is a trick-taking game with simultaneous card selection. First we check for ties. The tie numbers are gone and then the highest card wins. Cards are 1 to 6. Four times per card.

If after the first check we have a 1 card and a 6, then the 1 card wins the trick.

So now all keep the winning trick cards and we are ready for phase 2.

Phase 2 is Russian roulette, a game of chance. We have 6 cards (bullet cards) in the middle of the table, as a revolver. 5 empty chambers and one with a bullet.

On your turn (beginning with the player with the most cards from phase one):
You can draw a card (pull the trigger) or you can discard one card from that you collect before, to shuffle all open bullet cards back together and then draw one, you just spin the cylinder of the revolver, (no point to do it if you have to draw the first bullet)
or you can discard as many cards as alive players in the game to pass your turn to the next player.

When you draw we check if you die or live from the bullet card.
If you stay alive the game continues to the next player. If you die we shuffle the bullet cards and continue with the player with most cards.

Last man standing is the winner.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
Pericles (circa 495-429 BCE)

Live an Epic, Odyssey adventure; as one of Ancient Greece’s greatest thinkers in this new Sandbox, Tabletop experience. Forge your destiny in an age of city states and ancient wisdom. In Philosophia, you will build schools, battle it out in public debates, learn profound wisdom and make deals with the Olympic Gods. All in an attempt to prove yourself the greatest mind of the era.

The goal in Philosophia is to gain three Labyrinth Tokens before the ancient Greek World is superseded by the Romans. There are many different paths you can take to do this; from building schools dedicated to your teachings, to locking yourself away in temples to develop your ideas. All players who gain 3 Labyrinth tokens will finish the game with a tense final public debate; exchanging Sophistry and Syllogistic arguments until one thinker is crowned the greatest. Good luck!

Power Grid is the updated release of the Friedemann Friese crayon game Funkenschlag. It removes the crayon aspect from network building in the original edition, while retaining the fluctuating commodities market like Crude: The Oil Game and an auction round intensity reminiscent of The Princes of Florence.

The objective of Power Grid is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities.

However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you're potentially allowing others access to superior equipment.

Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the 'renewable' windfarm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

Power Grid FAQ - Please read this before posting a rules question! Many questions are asked over and over in the forums... If you have a question about a specific expansion, please check the rules forum or FAQ for that particular expansion.

It was supposed to be an easy job, investigating this abandoned mansion. Suddenly a shot rings out in the darkness, the bullet shattering the plaster behind you. Turns out someone is here as well, and only one of you is leaving alive.

Revolver Noir is game for two players that puts you in the shoes of a private eye stuck in a dark mansion with an unknown hostile. Using a combination of detective work and calculated shots in the dark, your goal is to track down your enemy and put an end to them – before they do the same to you.


Finalist (top 3) of Button Shy's 18 Card Challenge: Design a game that doesn't use a table or surface.


Setup

Give one player all the John Doe cards, and the other all the Jane Doe cards.
Each player chooses one room in which to start, then places the rest of their cards behind it in their hand. The visible card is your current location.


The turn alternates between players. On your turn, you have Action Points, which you can spend to perform actions like moving, shooting, listening, setting traps, and use the room effect.

Use Room Effect
Most rooms in Revolver Noir have a unique effect, which can be used only while you are in that room. To trigger this effect, reveal your location, then follow the instructions on your room card.

Winning the Game
The objective is simple. To win, you’ll have to hit your opponent twice.

[french only]

Chefs will race to complete orders, win awards, and make the best Sosigs!

The Romulans are always after more Intel on their foes, learning their strengths and weaknesses and how to defeat them.
While doing so they will be running plots within plots, planning assassinations and devious stratagems to derail their opponent’s plans.

Romulans avoid conflict until they have a decisive advantage, then make a well-directed surgical strike.

Klingons are warriors trained from birth to fight. They are deadly and tough, and their weapons are brutal. Few others can stand up to a Klingon in a one-on-one fight.

As a Klingon player, you can’t go wrong by simply getting up close and personal with the enemy. Seek out honor and the death of your foes!

In this trick-taking game based on the short story by Robert Louis Stevenson of the same name, the goal is to gain the most points over a series of hands (usually the goal is set to 200 pts). Cards are numbered 1-37 and are found in three colors, red (comprising largely the highest numbers), blue (mostly in the middle) and yellow (mostly the lowest numbers) with colors being analogous to the suit in a standard deck. There is one neutral card, the 19, that sets the "price of the bottle."

The entire deck is dealt to the three or four players in the game and then, similarly to hearts, cards are exchanged and a card is played to the bottle. As per the usual elements of a trick taking game, players must follow suit if possible with high card taking the trick (regardless of suit). The unique feature about this game however is how trump is determined. Any card of value lower than the current price of the bottle (starting with 19) is considered "trump" and will win the trick. If multiple cards are less than the current bottle price, the card valued closest to the current price (so highest card below the bottle) takes the trick AND THE BOTTLE, the bottle price is adjusted by the player taking the card that represents the current bottle price and replacing it with the card they used to win the trick. Thus the price of the bottle will decrease with each trump card played, and the bottle is increasingly harder to win/purchase. Ownership of the bottle will pass from player to player and the number of possible trump cards will decrease both as a factor of cards being played and cards being skipped as the bottle price descends. One player will be stuck with the bottle at the end of a hand (when players have played all the cards in their hands).

Cards have point values from 1-6 (not directly based on numerical value), at the end of the hand players will score points for the cards of tricks they've won, except the player who holds the bottle who will score NEGATIVE points for all the cards played to the bottle at the beginning, scoring nothing for the cards they won during the hand. Play continues until the point goal is reached.

In the 2003 edition the complete story by R.L. Stevenson http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/bottlimp.htm is included (in both English & German) and the bottle is a nice wooden piece. Earlier versions had a stand-up cardboard piece that you cut out.

The fun mint-tin sized dexterity game gamers and non-gamers will love!

Tinderblox sets players in a campfire setting, where each player will attempt to grow the fire! But watch out! Place the blocks badly and you risk burning down the camp!

Each turn players will draw a card from the campfire deck. The card will instruct them to place on the campfire a log, a fire block or any combination of the two (or more) in various orientations. Players use tweezers to "Play with fire" in a shared pool, however, once all pieces have been put together and are off the ground the player must carefully place this on the campfire!

The player who is the most careful with fire wins!

—description from the publisher

The ideal bag to bring your games to friends for a game night.

Trails of Tucana is a flip-and-write game from the creators of Avenue and Doodle City that is quick and easy to play, but has enough depth to entertain gamers.

This new edition includes the Ferry expansion, which adds two new island maps: Isla Bahía and Isla Habita. On both maps, ferries will help players cross the bays.
On Isla Habita, 3 additional villages provide new challenges and opportunities.

Each player is given a map of the island Tucana, showing its villages and important sights. The positions of the villages are randomized for each player, so every game will provide a unique puzzle.

Each turn, one player flips over two terrain cards. Each player must draw — on their own map — a trail between two neighboring spaces of the shown terrains. Gradually, the trails will grow into a network of roads. Players score points by connecting matching harbors, and by connecting sights to harbors. Being the first to connect a pair of harbors provides bonus points.

To add depth to the game, there are varying distribution of the different terrain cards. Mountain cards are for instance rarer than desert cards, so it would be harder to build a trail through a mountain range or over water than through desert or forest. Players need to take this into account when planning their routes. And they should maximize the probability that they will be able to make use of any combination of terrain cards that may come up.

—description from designer

AWARDS AND HONORS:

2021 Finnish Game of the Year (family) WINNER
2020 Norwegian Game of the Year WINNER
2020 Norwegian Game of the Year NOMINEE
2019 The Dice Tower SEAL OF EXCELLENCE

A Solo Game by Scott Almes.

You own the only inn within a hundred miles: the questionable prestigious Ugly Gryphon Inn. Your patrons are rowdy and rude, but they are the only ones around. In order to keep the debt collectors at bay, but to do so you must manage some painfully particular, peculiar patrons.

In The Ugly Gryphon Inn, you’ll be tasked with managing your patrons’ various needs to ensure they all get a good night’s rest. Each turn, you’ll send one drowsy patron up to their room, then check to make sure all your patrons are sleeping soundly. If something’s irking them, they might raise a fuss, so keep an eye on what they need as you go. Afterwards, you’ll usher in more guests and keep an eye on the bar to make sure there’s no trouble. There’s never a moment to rest in The Ugly Gryphon Inn!

After you've run out of cards in the deck, then count how many patrons you have in the inn. Do not include patrons in the bar. If you have 7 or more patrons in the inn - you’ve won! If you have less than 7, then you have lost.

Continuez votre apprentissage du monde passionnant de l’ornithologie ! Après avoir découvert les oiseaux d’Amérique dans le jeu de base, il est temps de se pencher sur les oiseaux du Vieux Continent, et leurs nouvelles capacités spéciales. Celles-ci permettront d’augmenter l’interaction entre les joueurs, et se mélangent parfaitement avec les oiseaux du jeu de base.

In this third expansion to Wingspan, we welcome 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.

This is a stand-alone game for 1 player or 2 players. A new Flock mode is also included to expand the base game of Wingspan up to 6 or 7 players, and these new bird and bonus cards can be combined with the base game and/or previous expansions.

You are an amateur dracologist in the world of Wyrmspan, a place where dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors roam the skies. Excavate a hidden labyrinth you recently unearthed on your land and entice these beautiful creatures to roost in the sanctuary of your caves.

During a game of Wyrmspan, you will build a sanctuary for dragons of all shapes and sizes. Your sanctuary begins with 3 excavated spaces—the leftmost space in your Crimson Cavern, your Golden Grotto, and your Amethyst Abyss. Over the course of the game, you will excavate additional spaces in your sanctuary and entice dragons to live there, chaining together powerful abilities and earning the favor of the Dragon Guild.

Wyrmspan is inspired by the mechanisms of Wingspan, though its unique elements make Wyrmspan a standalone game (not compatible with Wingspan).

—description from the publisher