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Games for Large Groups

If you have a large group of six or more people, here are some games that you can play together.

7 Wonders


7 Wonders, a game for 2 to 7 players, lasts three ages. In each age, players receive seven cards from a particular deck, choose one of those cards, then pass the remainder to an adjacent player, as in Fairy Tale or a Magic: the Gatheringbooster draft. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, paying resources if needed or collecting resources or interacting with other players in various ways. (Players have individual boards with special powers on which to organize their cards, and the boards are double-sided as in Bauza’s Ghost Stories.) Each player then chooses another card from the deck they were passed, and the process repeats until players have six cards in play from that age. After three ages, the game ends.

A Touch of Evil


A Touch of Evil, The Supernatural Game is a fast-paced game of fiendish creatures, dashing Heroes, and high-adventure. Each player takes on the role of a unique monster-hunting Hero, racing against time to stop the forces of darkness from claiming another foothold in the world of man. Only by investigating the town and building your Hero’s strength can you hope to hunt down the Supernatural Villain to his Lair and defeat him in an epic Showdown. A Touch of Evil is a game for 2 to 8 players.

Alhambra


The year is 889, the location, Granada, Spain. Builders from all over Europe and Asia have come to seek employment constructing the famous gardens of the Alhambra. carefully design your layout with walls, fountains, buildings and gardens. Use your money wisely and build the best gardens to win the favor of the Emir. Alhambra is a game for 2 to 6 players.

America


In America, a game for 2 to 6 players, each player uses their knowledge of pop culture, food, products, games, sports, and the history of America to get more points than their opponents. And if your opponents know something that you don’t, you can leverage their knowledge to your advantage, scoring more than them with clever play. The cards have full color clues to help you, as well as interesting factoids for every question in the game. With almost 1000 questions covering more than 300 topics, America will be a favorite for family and friends for a long time!

Antike II


Antike II, a game for 3 to 6 players, is a challenging strategy game about evolution and competition among ancient civilizations. Ancient nations create cities, build temples, sail the seas, and discover new principles of science and technology. Their legions and galleys open new settlements and defend their people against attacks from their enemies. Two scenarios can be chosen as the game board is two-sided.

Arena for the Gods!


The gods recognized your feats on Earth and have chosen you: you’ll be pitted against the best in a clash of champions! To avoid having the event turn into a massacre, the game ends as soon as a Hero turns in his weapons (as soon as he has no more life points). The hero who put on the best show, who has the most life points, wins the game. He receives the ultimate prize: the title of Champion of the Gods! Arena: For the Gods! a game for 2 to 6 players, is a fun and strategic battle game in which you fight each other to honor and please the gods who are watching you!

Bear Valley


In Bear Valley, a game for 2 to 6 players, you must be the first to survive the treacherous wilderness and escape to the safety of the camp at the end of the valley. A unique map, featuring beautifully illustrated realistic art, is built by the payers as they explore the wilderness, so no two games will ever play the same. Dive into caves, row canoes, cross bridges, climb mountains, and cut through treacherous underbrush as you stop at nothing – except bears – to be the first to reach base camp. Can you survive and escape Bear Valley?

Betrayal at House on the Hill


The creak of footsteps on the stairs, the smell of something foul and dead, the feel of something crawling down your back – this and more can be found in the exciting refresh of the Avalon Hill favorite Betrayal at House on the Hill. This fun and suspenseful game is a new experience almost every time you play – you and your friends explore “that creepy old place on the hill” until enough mystic misadventures happen that one of the players turns on all of the others! Hours of fun for all your friends and family. Designed for 3-6 players aged 12 and up, this boardgame features multiple scenarios, a different lay-out with every game, and enough chills to freeze the heart of any horror fan.

Between Two Cities


Between Two Cities is a partnership-driven, tile-drafting, city-building game for 1 to 7 players that plays in about 20-25 minutes. You work with the player on your left to build one city center while simultaneously working with the player on your right to build a second city center. At the end of the game, your final score is that of the lower scoring city you helped to build, so you have to share your attention and devotion equally between two cities.

Bohnanza


This great card game is about planting, trading, and selling beans – 11 kinds of beans (this English version includes all the cards from the original game and the first expansion). Players try to collect large sets of beans to sell for gold. There is limited growing space and always new beans to plant. To avoid planting unwanted beans, players trade them to other players who want them for their bean fields. Bohnanza is a game for 2 to 7 players.

The Captain is Dead


The Captain is Dead puts you and up to 6 friends onto your own starship, under attack from hostile aliens and systems going down left and right. Worst of all, your heroic leader, the Captain, lies dead. It’s up to you and the various skills you bring to the table, to repair the ship enough to escape while also holding off the alien onslaught. From the Chief Engineer to the Janitor, you never know which combination of survivors you may have, making each game a unique challenge!

Captain Sonar


Captain Sonar, a game for 2 to 8 players, is an innovative real-time game that challenges two teams to take their submarines head-to-head in a thrilling battle. Your ultimate goal is to find and destroy your opponent’s submarine, but this task is far more difficult that it may first appear. Your entire crew must work together to chart a course, charge systems, locate the enemy, and keep your own submarine fully operational. Communication and teamwork can lead you to victory, but if you fail to cooperate, you’ll be sunk to the bottom of the ocean!

Cash n’ Guns


The big heist may have been a success, but it all goes wrong when every crook wants a bigger cut. With this much money on the table, bullets speak louder than words!

In Cash ‘n Guns, a game for 4 to 8 players, players will point foam pistols at each other and try to intimidate their opponents into letting them have the largest share. The bravest crooks enjoy the most money – but only if they live long enough to spend it!

Castle Panic


Castle Panic is a cooperative, light strategy game for 1 to 6 players ages 10 and up. Players must work together to defend their castle, in the center of the board, from monsters that attack out of the forest, at the edges of the board. Players trade cards, hit and slay monsters, and plan strategies together to keep their castle towers intact. The players either win or lose together, but only the player with the most victory points is declared the Master Slayer. Players must balance the survival of the group with their own desire to win.

Citadels


Plot, scheme, and deceive your way along as you build fantastical cities in Citadels, Bruno Faidutti’s classic card game of card drafting, intrigue, and characters changing hands. In Citadels, two to eight players must shrewdly draft characters and use their abilities to create the most lavish and profitable city possible. This edition includes all the content from the previous editions by Fantasy Flight Games, along with new characters and districts developed by the original designer. Updated graphic design and all-new art brings to life an inviting realm rich in diversity and filled with possibilities.

Codenames


The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin. Codenames is for 4 to 8 players.

Codenames Pictures


Codenames can now be played with pictures! Whimsical, mind-twisting illustrations are used instead of word cards. Can you find one word that ties your team’s pictures together?

Can be played with or instead of the original Codenames. The rules of the game are the same: Two rival spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple pictures on the table. Their teammates try to guess pictures of their color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. Codenames Pictures is for 2 to 8 players.

Colt Express


Colt Express is a game for 2 to 6 players. It is 1899 and the Union Pacific Express is headed to the Nice Valley Coal Company to deliver their payroll and 47 passengers. Suddenly the train is attacked by thievin’ bandits! Will the outlaws keep their cool or will Marshal Samuel Ford save the day and prevent the robbery?

Players will plan ahead and play cards to steal the most loot, shoot their opponents, move around the train and elude Marshal Ford. Will you be the richest bandit in the outlaw gang?

Coup


In a future where the government is run for profit, all but a privileged few live lives of poverty and desperation. The Resistance rises out of these oppressed masses in revolt and throws the government into chaos.

To take command, you must destroy the influence of your rivals and drive them into exile. Only one can survive and deception is the key to your survival.

A stand-alone card game set in the universe of The Resistance, Coup is a game for 2 to 6 players.

D&D: Assault of the Giants


Assault of the Giants, a game for 3 to 6 players, is a new Dungeons & Dragons board game designed by Andrew Parks. Designed for 3­-6 players, Assault of the Giants challenges players to command one of the six types of giants and claim the right to rule over all giantkind. Command giants and assault settlements to score points and secure important resources, including food, treasure, ore, and runes. Contents include 12 Giants miniatures, injection molded in color, measuring from approximately 20mm to over 90mm in height, and three Giantslayers!

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong


In the game for 4 to 12 players, players take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case – but there’s a twist. The killer is one of the investigators! Each player’s role and team are randomly assigned at the start of play and include the unique roles of Forensic Scientist, Witness, Investigator, Murderer, or Accomplice. While the Investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderer’s team must deceive and mislead. This is a battle of wits!

Diamonds


Diamonds, a game for 2 to 6 players, is a trick-taking card game in which player try to collect diamonds – not cards bearing that suit, mind you, but acrylic crystals including the game. Whoever has the most diamonds at the end of the game wins.

Dixit


Dixit is a game for 3-6 players. This communication game received the Golden Ace in France and has already gathered good attention in the gaming community. Designed to appeal to family and gamers, simple rules and gorgeous illustration, this game has everything to make a hit.

Duplik Duplik


Can you draw what you can’t see? Draw the pictures as you hear them described. Can you match the original art without ever being able to see it? You don’t need to be a talented artist, you just have to be ready to laugh. In Duplik, a player acting as the Art Director will describe the drawing on the card and everyone else will try to draw it. Players will just need to get the details right, and the rest will take care of itself. Once everyone has a chance to draw, check the original image and see how well you did! Duplik Duplik is a game for 3 to 10 players.

Eclipse


Two to six players compete to control an interstellar civilization, choosing their “people” from seven races – one human race and six alien races. Players colonize and explore, discovering technologies, developing businesses, and purchasing ships and outposts to defend their civilization. Will you succeed in leading your “people” to victory? Or will another race rise above you, taking control of the galaxy?

Epic Spell Wars II Rumble at Castle Tentakill


Epic Spell Wars II is a game for 2 to 6 players. The sleeper hit has awakened! Epic Spell Wars II: Rumble at Castle Tentakill is finally here and it’s loaded with all-new ways to deliver a smoking death to all who oppose you.

This stand-alone game is also 100% compatible with the original game, which allows players to turn an already epic game into an EPIC game. Epic Spell Wars continues its epic quest after airing on TableTop on Geek and Sundry! Featuring game design and all-new art from the original creative team of Cory Jones, Rob Heinsoo, and Nick Edwards.

Ethnos


In Ethnos, a game for 2 to 6 players, players will recruit different Tribe cards into their hands, band them together, and play them to gain control of one of the six Kingdoms over the course of three Ages. Each Band can have a Leader, and only the Leaders can tap into their tribe’s special abilities. After three Ages of political maneuvering and battles, peace between the six Kingdoms will be restored under a new ruler.

Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia


Build a city, enhance allegiances, and expand control using worker dice in this dystopian-themed board game for 2 to 6 players.

In Euphoria, you lead a team of workers (dice) and recruits (cards) to claim ownership of the dystopian world. You will generate commodities, dig tunnels to infiltrate the opposition, construct markets, collect artifacts, strengthen allegiances, and fulfill secret agendas.

Evolution


In Evolution, a game for 2 to 6 players, players create and adapt their own species in a dynamic ecosystem with hungry predators and limited resources. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect you from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help you get food that others cannot reach.

With over 12000 different species to create, every game becomes a different adventure. So gather your friends around the table and see who will best adapt their species to eat, multiply and thrive!

Evolution: Climate


In Evolution: Climate, a game for 2 to 6 players, 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.

Exit: The Game: The Abandoned Cabin


After your car breaks down, you are looking for shelter for the night. Luckily, you find an abandoned cabin in the woods near the road. But the next morning, the door is locked! Iron bars on the windows prevent you from escaping. You discover a book and a strange disk…

The hit Escape-Room concept for home use! In this party game for up to 6 players, you must solve a series of riddles and puzzles to escape from an abandoned cabin. Each correct solution brings you to another riddle. How fast can you escape?

Flash Point: Fire Rescue


Flash Point: Fire Rescue, a game for 2 to 6 players, is a fully cooperative game, everyone plays on the same firefighting team – win or lose together! Every turn is filled with the tension of having to fight the fire back, rescuing victims or investigating points of interest. Players can ride the ambulance to safety or fire the engine’s deck gun in a desperate attempt to control the blaze. No two games are ever the same – and with two rulesets (family, & experienced) and 3 different difficulty levels there is a challenge to be had for all.

For Sale


For Sale is a game for 3 to 6 players. Going once! Going twice! Sold to the highest bidder! Bid and bluff your way to purchase the most valuable real estate for the lowest amount of money, then turn around and sell those houses (and shacks) for cold hard cash. Be the richest mogul at the end of the game to win this Stefan Dorra classic.

Considered one of the finest bidding games of all time, For Sale has a well-deserved following of fans. In this perfectly-crafted bidding game, players are forced to make a multitude of difficult decisions every minute…and that’s just in the first phase of the game!

Fuji Flush


Be the first player to get rid of all of your cards! Join forces with fellow players to beat the cards played by other players… or independently play the highest card to outdo all your opponents together, flushing their cards down the drain! Fuji Flush is a fast, fun, easy-to-learn card game for 3-8 players that will have both families and gamers shouting as their cards are sent down the drain!

Get Bit


Get Bit!, a game for 3 to 6 players, is a card game where players are competing to stay alive as the others are being eaten by the shark.

The order of the swimmers is determined by simultaneously playing cards face-down then revealing the values. The number on each player’s card determines position in line (higher numbers in front, lower numbers in back), however ties don’t move. The swimmer at the back loses a limb to the shark and is flung to the front of the line! The process is repeated until only two swimmers remain on the table. When this happens, the swimmer at the front of the line wins the game!

Happy Salmon


Happy Salmon, a game for 3 to 6 players, is the simple, fast-paced card game packed to the gills with high-fivin’, fin-flappin’ foolishness. Actions including the classic “High 5”, the unifying “Pound It”, the frantic “Switcheroo”, and the delightful “Happy Salmon” will leave players doubled over in laughter. At 30 seconds to learn and 2 minutes to play, the whole family can jump right into the fun. The iconic pouch is perfect to bring along to parties, camp, or just traveling upstream. With so many mini-celebrations built into the play, it’s the happiest game ever!

Hyperborea


Embark on an epic quest to build your mythical nation into the greatest empire known to mankind. Capture land, defeat monsters, and discover new technologies on the rise to greatness.

Hyperborea, a game for 2 to 6 players, uses an all-new “bag-building” mechanic that simulates the depth of a civilization game in a much shorter play time. Your bag will contain the cubes you need to develop your nation from a fledgling upstart to a mighty civilization.

Imperial


Imperial is a game for 2 to 6 players. Europe in the age of imperialism. Internationally operating investors aim for the highest political influence in Europe. By giving credits they gain influence over the six imperial nations Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and France. These nations desperately need money to build up their economy and to buy troops and fleets. With their growing power in Europe, they collect more taxes and pay their rising interests to their investors. Because the six imperial nations are under changing influence of different investors, strategic alliances and conflicts arise between them. Sometimes this leads even to war!

Imperial 2030


The world in 2030. The new great powers China, India and Brazil are in ascendance, threatening the hegemony of the old Imperial powers United States, Russia and Europe. This has sparked a new global race for power and influence. Ultimately, these six states are only puppets in a treacherous game, because their fates are controlled by powerful international investors operating in the background. Each player takes on the role of such an investor who is on the constant lookout for the maximum return on his investment, and therefore tries to obtain ruthless control of great powers. But control of a state may also slip away so the cunning investor must always be ready to take advantage of the new conflicts and strategic possibilities of the ever-changing landscape. Imperial 2030 is a game for 2 to 6 players.

Key to the City: London


Key to the City: London is a game for 2 to 6 players. In Key to the City – London, each player aims to develop their own London borough based around their home tile, using the large hexagonal location tiles. Each location tile gives victory points and may generate resources (skill tiles or connectors that connect two location tiles). Connectors and skill tiles can be used to upgrade location tiles for additional victory points and productivity.

King of New York


There’s always something happening in the city that never sleeps. Maybe it’s the lights, maybe it’s the energy, or maybe it’s the giant monsters trying to demolish the place!

King of New York introduces lots of new ways to play, while still keeping the core ideas of King of Tokyo. There are Buildings to Stomp! Vengeful Military Units to Destroy! Six brand new Monsters! Every roll of the dice might mean that your monster feels the OUCH, as military units open fire. King of New York is for 2 to 6 players.

King of Tokyo


Play mutant monsters, gigantic robots and other monstrous creatures, rampaging the city and vying for position as the one and only King of Tokyo! Combine your dice to gather energy, heal your monster or just slap the other monsters down! Spend your energy to trigger permanent or one-shot special powers: a second head, body armor, nova death ray… Stop at nothing to become the King of Tokyo… but that’s when the real trouble begins for you! King of Tokyo is for 2 to 6 players.

Leaders of Euphoria


Leaders of Euphoria is a game for 4 to 8 players. Based on the acclaimed gameplay of Good Cop Bad Cop, Leaders of Euphoria introduces new rules that provide more depth and opportunities for strategy. Teammates are offered new ways to support each other. Players who are incorrectly targeted as leaders join the Wastelander team.

Letters from Whitechapel


Letters from Whitechapel, a game for 2 to 6 players, is a thematically engrossing board game of deduction in which one player takes the role of the infamous Jack the Ripper, while up to five other players are detectives pursuing him through Victorian London. After committing his horrible murders, Jack must outmaneuver the detectives in the tangled streets of the Whitechapel District. Meanwhile, the detectives must use clever deduction and their superior numbers to hunt Jack the Ripper down before he can kill again or elude them forever.

Liar’s Dice


Liars Dice by Richard Borg: An all-time classic, we are excited to bring this great game back to print! A great game for everyone; a perfect filler before or after a big game or enjoyable on its own in a casual setting with family and friends.

The 30th anniversary edition is for 2-6 players. The game comes with high quality components: Sturdy dice cups, dice and rubber mat.

Love Letter


Rum & Bones is a miniatures board game where players control fantastic pirate crews engaged in fierce combat. Inspired by MOBA style video games, Rum & Bones’ gameplay is deep, fast-paced, and highly strategic. The game pits two pirate factions, controlled by 2 to 6 players, whose ships are locked in combat, with each crew attempting to board the enemy ship and disable it.

Mega Man: The Board Game


Created for the 25th anniversary of the character, Mega Man: The Board Game is a 2-6 player board game in which players control both their character and Dr. Wily’s forces, ideally to impede the progress of other players. If you beat the challenge, you move forward on the stage a number of spaces determined by the challenge you defeated.

Memoir ’44


Memoir ’44, a game for 2 to 8 players. is a unique historical game where players command a horde of little plastic Army men facing-off in dozens of WWII battles on an oversize hex game board. Each battle scenario mimics the historical terrain, troop placements and objectives of each army. Deploying forces through a variety of Command cards, the smart commander uses the unique skills of his units – infantry, paratroopers, tanks, artillery, commandos and resistance fighters – to its greatest strength. Easy to learn and fast-paced, Memoir ’44 requires strategic card play, timely dice rolling and an aggressive, yet flexible battle plan to achieve victory!

Munchkin


Munchkin is for 3 to 6 players. Go down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run.Admit it. You love it.This award-winning card game, designed by Steve Jackson, captures the essence of the dungeon experience . . . with none of that stupid roleplaying stuff. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items. And what magic items! Don the Horny Helmet and the Boots of Butt-Kicking. Wield the Staff of Napalm . . . or maybe the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. Start byslaughtering the Potted Plant and the Drooling Slime, and work your way up to the Plutonium Dragon . . .And it’s illustrated by John Kovalic! Fast-playing and silly, Munchkin can reduce any roleplaying group to hysteria. And, while they’re laughing, you can steal their stuff.

Mysterium


A horrible crime has been committed on the grounds of Warwick Manor and it’s up to the psychic investigators to get to the bottom of it.

In Mysterium, a game for 2 to 7 players, one player takes on the role of the ghost and over the course of a week, tries to lead the investigators to their culprit. Each night the team will be met with visions, but what is the ghost trying to tell you? Can the psychics determine the weapon, location and killer or will a violent criminal pull off the perfect murder?

New York Slice


You’ve just been given a shot at being the head chef at the prestigious New York Slice pizza parlor. You and your fellow pizza chef wannabes just have to make the most amazing pizzas… one slice at a time!In this unique game, each player slices pizzas into portions, giving your opponents first choice, with you getting the leftovers. There are a dozen kinds of pizza to work with, from Veggie to Hawaiian to Meat Lover’s, and each player decides if they want to eat or keep some of the slices, building the best collection of pizzas possible! New York Slice is a game for 2 to 6 players.

Nightmare Forest: Dead Run


You and your fellow campers are making a dead run through a zombie filled forest, trying to escape the woods filled with zombified forest creatures all hungering for a taste of your brains!

With a combination of cards and dice; this game is different every time you play and the challenge keeps shifting. Not only do you have to run and escape, you have to live. Nightmare Forest: Dead Run is for 1 to 6 players.

Once Upon a Time


Once Upon a Time, a game for 2 to 6 players, is the award-winning storytelling card game that encourages creativity and collaborative play. Once player is the Storyteller, and beings telling a story using the fairy tale elements on her Story cards, guiding the plot toward her Ending Card. The other players use their own cards to interrupt her and become the new Storyteller. The winner is the first player to use all her Story Cards and play her Ending Card. The object of the game, though, is not so much to win as to have fun creating a story together.

One Night Revolution


One Night Revolution is a super-fast game of secret identities for 3 to 10 players that combines all the deductive and chaotically fun elements of the One Night Ultimate Werewolf series with more structured game play. The result is a very addictive game that is easy to learn and will be played over and over again.

Poo the Card Game


It’s been a tough day in the monkey cage and something in the food tonight wasn’t quite right. In monkey world, there’s only one thing that can be done about it – fling poo!

Poo is a fast-paced card game for two to eight players, requiring anywhere from five to fifteen minutes to play. It’s fast and furious – something you can play while waiting in line or on lunch break.

Power Grid


Power Grid, a game for 2 to 6 players, is the updated release of the Friedemann Friese crayon game Funkenschlag. The latest cooperative publishing effort from Friedemann Friese and Rio Grande Games removes the crayon aspect from network building in the original edition while retaining the fluctuating commodities market like McMulti and an auction round intensity reminiscent of The Princes of Florence.

Power Grid the Card Game


The players represent CEOs of mighty power companies producing electricity. During the game, the players bid for power plants at auctions and supply them with resources. Their income depends on the amount of electricity produced in each round. At the end of the game, the player who produces the most electricity wins.

Power Grid: The Card Game, a game for 2 to 6 players, offers all the tension and tactics of its two well-known big brothers, Power Grid and Power Grid Deluxe, without using the different maps. You get the full Power Grid emotions in an intense 60 minutes playing time!

Raise Your Goblets


In Raise Your Goblets, a game for 2 to 12 players, players take the roles of nobles at a banquet, each one with their own agenda of personal vendetta. Each player has wine, poison and antidote tokens they can pour into the goblets, trying to poison their enemies while staying alive themselves! Each noble also has a special ability that allows them to bend or even break a rule.

The Resistance


Set in the near future, The Resistance, a game for 5 to 10 players, pits a small group of resistance fighters against a powerful and corrupt government. The resisance has launched a series of bold and daring missions to bring the government to its knees. Unfortunately spies have infiltrated the resistance ranks, ready to sabotage the carefully crafted plans. Even a single spy can take down a resistance mission team, choose your teams carefully or forever lose your chance for freedom.

The Resistance Avalon


The Resistance: Avalon, a game for 5 to 10 players, pits the forces of Good and Evil in a battle to control the future of civilization. Arthur represents the future of Britain, a promise of prosperity and honor, yet hidden among his brave warriors are Mordred’s unscrupulous minions. These forces of evil are few in number but have knowledge of each other and remain hidden from all but one of Arthur’s servants. Merlin alone knows the agents of evil, but he must speak of this only in riddles. If his true identity is discovered, all will be lost.

Rum & Bones


Rum & Bones is a miniatures board game where players control fantastic pirate crews engaged in fierce combat. Inspired by MOBA style video games, Rum & Bones’ gameplay is deep, fast-paced, and highly strategic. The game pits two pirate factions, controlled by 2 to 6 players, whose ships are locked in combat, with each crew attempting to board the enemy ship and disable it.

Rum & Bones Second Tide


Rum & Bones: Second Tide is the exciting sequel to Rum & Bones for 2 to 6 players that introduces a dynamic, new leveling system, revamped gameplay, and new Heroes. In it, players control the Heroes, Bosuns, and Deckhands of the monstrous crew of the Deep Lords or the sea-hardened humans of Marea de la Muerte, all represented by high-quality miniatures.

Players direct their forces to board the enemy’s ship and destroy objectives for points. However, they best beware of the Kraken! With a good plan and little bit of sailors’ luck, they might be able to defeat their opponents and sail off with the pirate booty!

Say Anything


How to Play: 1.) Ask a question from the card you draw. 2.) Everyone else writes an answer and turns it face up. 3.) After you choose your favorite answer, everyone tries to guess which answer you picked.Find out what your friends REALLY think and watch the conversation erupt into laughter! Say Anything is a game for 3 to 8 players.

Scoville


Scoville is a game for 2 to 6 players. You’ve been hired by the town of Scoville to meet their need for heat. To do so you’ll have to plant, cross-breed, and harvest the hottest peppers.

While the gameplay is simple, the strategy is complex. Players will race to be the first to plant and harvest the best peppers, so that they can be the first to fulfill the most valuable recipes.

Sentinel Tactics: The Flame of Freedom


Sentinel Tactics, a game for 2 to 8 players, puts you in control of one of the many super-powered characters from Sentinel Comics. Whether playing in tournament-style skirmishes or playing through the storyline of The Flame of Freedom in the included scenario comic book, each player controls one of our familiar heroes or villains, each with their own powers and abilities!

Shadows Over Camelot


Shadows Over Camelot is for 3 to 7 players. As the incarnation of the Knights of the Round Table, you join forces against the game itself in an attempt to protect Camelot. Your victory hinges on the successful completion of legendary Quests, such as the search for Excalibur, the Holy Grail, or Lancelot’s Armor; the tournament against the Black Knight; and numerous wars against the Saxons and Picts. But beware… all is not as it seems among these noble Knights. One of your number might yet turn out to be a traitor-in-waiting, biding his time while sowing havoc and destruction from the Shadows!

Sherlock Holmes: Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures


Enter the gaslit world of Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack and the West End Adventures, a game for 1 to 8 players! This box can be played entirely on its own or used as an expansion to Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, but no matter how you play, you’ll face ten entirely new cases. Six of these cases are standalone adventures, while four others form a linked campaign that challenges you to stop the murders of the notorious Jack the Ripper! With a new map of London and Whitechapel district, new newspapers for every case, and ten new casebooks, it’s time to put your mind to the test!

Sherlock Holmes: The Thames Murders & other cases


Enter the gaslit streets of Victorian London with ten fully revised cases for Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective in a new standalone box, The Thames Murders and Other Cases, a game for 1 to 8 players. Like the previously released Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures, The Thames Murders and Other Cases offers ten thrilling cases, each one drawing you into the mystery surrounding a deadly crime in the world of Sherlock Holmes. Whether you’re playing alone or with up to eight players, you’ll need everyone’s wits to work together and solve the case.

Space Poo The Card Game


It was one of THOSE missions. The ones where they send monkeys into space to make sure it’s safe for humans. Lucky for you, you’re that crack simian space station crew, but the astronaut food isn’t cutting it. There’s only one thing to do — FLING POO, in Zero-Gravity!

Space Poo, a game for 2 to 8 players, is a fast-paced game where players take on the role of monkeys on a space station in the middle of a poo fight. Your goal is to be the last monkey standing, who is also the cleanest one. But watch out! things can go wrong on the station and they spell disaster if you don’t deal with them.

Spyfall


SPYFALL, a game for 3 to 8 players, is an easy-to-learn card game of bluffing, probing questions, clever answers, and suspicion. At the start of each round, players receive a secret card letting them know where they are – a casino, space station, pirate ship, circus,(30 unique locations!) – except that one player receives the Spy card instead of the location. The Spy doesn’t know where he is, but wins the round if he can figure it out before he blows his cover!

Spyfall 2


The hit social party game of 2015 & 2016 is back with more of everything you loved about the first game! More players, more spies, more locations, and more terribly vague answers to half-baked questions! SPYFALL is an easy-to-learn card game of bluffing, probing questions, clever answers, and suspicion. At the start of each round, players receive a secret card letting them know where they are – a vineyard, jail, coal mine, gas station (20 unique locations!) – Except that one player receives the SPY card instead of the location. The spy doesn’t know where he is, but wins the round if he can figure it out before he blows his cover!New to this expansion:Now games might feature TWO SPIES! When one tries to guess the location, the other one takes a guess as well. Now up to 12 players can play at once! Bigger games means more finger-pointing and shenanigans. 20 new locations adds tons of crazy new fun!

Steampunk Rally


Steampunk Rally, a game for 2 to 6 players, is a strategy game that incorporates steampunk as more than just a bit of chrome. Using a unique dice-placement mechanic, players take on the roles of famous inventors like Nikola Tesla and Marie Curie constructing fantastical contraptions that make use of steam, heat and electricity in an attempt to win a no-holds barred race through the Swiss alps!

Sushi Go Party!


Sushi Go Party!, an expanded version of the best-selling card game Sushi Go!, is a party platter of mega maki, super sashimi, and endless edamame. You still earn points by picking winning sushi combos, but now you can customize each game by choosing à la carte from a menu of more than twenty delectable dishes. What’s more, up to eight players can join in on the sushi-feast. Let the good times roll!

Taboo


Can you get your team to say Brain Freeze?
What if you can’t say Ice Cream, Headache, Eating, Cold or Fast? Not so easy now, is it? Because in this game, the obvious clues are strictly taboo.

The trick is to give creative, carefully-worded clues to get your team to guess words fast. But don’t mention unmentionables, or you’ll get the buzzer and lose the point! Taboo is a game for 4 to 10 players.

Tichu


Players who love new and interesting card games will love Tichu, a game for 3 to 10 players. It is simple to learn: one need only get rid of his cards. The basic game is played by two pairs of two partners each with the players of each team sitting opposite one another. During the game, the partners try to help each other score points and opportunities to lead. The game is played over several hands with the goal to be the first team to score a total of 1000 points. Although Tichu is primarily a partnership game for four, with the two packs of cards, Tichu is well suited for large groups, too.

The Last Friday


Last Friday is a game for 2 to 6 players, divided into four chapters full of horror and suspense, which you can play individually or together in a long night of terror! The nightmare is about to begin… Five friends were hired as counselors by the new owners of a camp in the woods, to patch up the property in exchange for a free vacation…but now they’re just trying to survive the weekend.

Ticket to Ride: Asia


Ticket to Ride: Asia is a game for 2 to 6 players. Embark on an incredible adventure in Alan R. Moon’s Team Asia map as you and a partner compete against other teams on a 25,000 kilometer ride from Kabul to Beijing, through the steppes of Mongolia and the Gobi desert up to the Yellow River!

Or, if you prefer the quiet pleasures of traveling alone along the Silk Road, or winding your way through the hustle and bustle of Indochina, venture into the forbidden eastern lands of François Valentyne’s Legendary Asia. Just be ready for a hair-rising ride through the mountain passes of the Himalayas!

Tsuro: The Game of the Path


Create your own journey with Tsuro(TM), the Game of the Path, a game for 2 to 8 players. Place a tile and slide your stone along the path created, but take care! Other players’ paths can lead you in the wrong direction – or off the board entirely! Find your way wisely to succeed. Tsuro is recommended for 2-8 players ages 8 and up. Stay the path – your journey begins here.

Tsuro of the Seas


In Tsuro of the Seas you will sail the treacherous waters of the Mystic Seas in an engaging game of adventure and suspense! As the captain of one of the Emperor’s mighty Red Seal ships, you will navigate the seas by placing Tsuro wake tiles to direct your vessel. Take great caution to avoid your opponents’ ships … and those mysteries lurking on the horizon and under the sea. Guide your ship with a steady hand and be the last captain sailing to survive the mystic seas and win! Tsuro of the Seas is an enjoyable experience that will entertain 2 to 8 players ages 8 and up and it plays in 20-40 minutes.

Twilight Imperium, 3rd Edition


Twilight Imperium is a game for 3 to 6 players. An age of twilight shall once more spread across the galaxy. A broken empire shall once more be re-forged. Hidden powers from dark space shall comeforth to make an ancient claim. War shall rage across space. Secret treaties, political whispers, and devious plots shall again echo through the halls of the imperial city on Mecatol Rex.

Ultimate Werewolf: Deluxe Edition


Ultimate Werewolf is the ultimate party game for anywhere from 5 to 75 players of all ages. Each player has an agenda: as a villager, hunt down the werewolves; as a werewolf, convince the other villagers that you’re innocent, while secretly eliminating those same villagers each night. Dozens of special roles are available to help both the villagers and the werewolves achieve their goals while thwarting their opponents.

Ultimate Werewolf


Ultimate Werewolf is the easy-to-learn party game for 5 to 30 players of all ages. Each player has an agenda: as a villager, hunt down the werewolves; as a werewolf, convince the other villagers that you’re innocent, while secretly eliminating those same villagers each night.

UNLOCK! The Island of Doctor Goorse


Unlock! is a series of escape adventures for up to six players. With one hour on the clock, players work through a deck of sixty cards as a team, searching for clues, combining objects, and solving puzzles. The free Unlock! companion app runs the timer while also providing clues, offering hints, and confirming successes. Once the team has reached a solution and entered the correct code into the app, they will escape and win the game!

Viticulture Essential Edition


Viticulture is a 2-6 player game that takes 45-90 minutes to play. In the game, you find yourself in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany, where you’ve inherited a meager vineyard. You’ll have a few plots of land, an old crushpad, a tiny cellar, 3 workers…and the dream of owning the best winery in Italy. Your job is to allocate your workers and helpful visitors to complete various tasks throughout the year. Each season is different on a vineyard, so the workers have different tasks they can take care of in the summer and winter. There’s competition over those tasks, and often the first worker to arrive at each one has an advantage over the rest. Using those workers and visitors, you can expand your vineyard by building structures, planting vines, and filling wine orders as you work towards the goal of owning the most successful winery in Tuscany.

Wits and Wagers Deluxe Edition


Not a trivia buff? It doesn’t matter! Each player writes a guess to a question such as “In inches, how tall is the Oscar statuette?” or “How many pounds did the heaviest ever sumo wrestling champion weigh” and places it face-up on the betting mat. Think you know the answer? Bet on your guess. Think you know who the experts are? Bet on their guess. The closest answer pays out according to the odds on the betting mat. Strike it big and you’ll be cheering like you just hit the jackpot! Wits and Wagers is a game for 3 to 7 players.

Zombicide Black Plague


Zombicide Black Plague is a game for 1 to 12 players. Welcome to the dark times! In a mad quest for forbidden knowledge and ultimate power, the necromancers have unleashed the apocalypse upon the living.  Zombies have destroyed the King’s armies, and now roam the land, spreading chaos and death.

Is it the end?  Are we cursed to die, huddled in our homes?
It’s a dark time, but not for those with a will.

Draw your sword, span your crossbow, and ready your spells!  For the few, the brave, it’s time for… Zombicide: Black Plague!

Zombie Dice


Quick & easy game for gamers & non-gamers alike. The 13 custom dice represent victims. Push your luck to eat their brains, but stop rolling before the shotgun blasts end your turn! Zombie Dice says it’s for 2 to 99 players.
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Award Winners and Nominees

Here are some excellent games that have won awards.

Pandemic Legacy


The world is on the brink of disaster. In Pandemic Legacy, your disease-fighting team must keep four deadly diseases at bay for a whole year. Each month will bring new surprises, and your actions in each game will have repercussions on the next. Will you let cities fall to the diseases? Will your team be enough to keep the viruses at bay for a whole year? Craft your own unique Pandemic experience with Pandemic Legacy. Pandemic Legacy won the 2015 Golden Geek Game of the Year Award and is currently the top rated game on BoardGameGeek.

Codenames


The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin. Codenames won the 2015 Golden Geek Best Family Game and Best Party Game awards.

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game


Survivor Odyssey: Dead of Winter is an experience that can only be accomplished through the medium of tabletop games. It is a story-centric game about surviving through a harsh winter in an apocalyptic world. The survivors are all dealing with their own psychological imperatives but must still find a way to work together to fight off outside threats, resolve crises, find food and supplies, and keep the colony’s morale up. Dead of Winter won the 2014 Golden Geek Most Innovative Game award.

Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan


Sekigahara is designed to offer a historically authentic experience within an intuitive game mechanic that can be played in one sitting. Great effort has been taken to preserve a clean game mechanism. (Despite a healthy amount of historical detail, the ruleset is a brief 6 pages.) Chance takes the form of uncertainty and not luck. Sekigahara won the 2012 Golden Geek Best Wargame award.

Dominion


You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.

But wait! It must be something in the air; several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn’t be proud, but your grandparents, would be delighted. Dominion won the 2009 Golden Geek Game of the Year award, 2009 Spiel des Jahres, 2009 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Trajan


Set in ancient Rome, Trajan is a development game in which players try to increase their influence and power in various areas of Roman life such as political influence, trading, military dominion and other important parts of Roman culture.

The central mechanism of the game uses a system similar to that in Mancala or pit-and-pebbles games. In Trajan, a player has six possible actions: building, trading, taking tiles from the forum, using the military, influencing the Senate, and placing Trajan tiles on his tableau. This is a Euro-style strategy game and playing time is 30 minutes per player. Trajan won the 2013 Games Magazine Game of the Year award.

Scythe


Scythe is a “4x” game, which means “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate,” that’s set in an alternate-history 1920s. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor.

The ashes from the first Great War still darken the snow in 1920s Europa. The capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory,” which fueled the war with heavily armored mechs, has closed its doors, drawing the attention of several nearby countries. Scythe won the 2016 Golden Geek Game of the Year award.

Kingdomino


Dominoes with a kingdom building twist! Each turn, connect a new domino to your existing kingdom, making sure at least one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type already in play. The game mechanics for obtaining the tiles is clever: the order of who picks first depends on which tile was previously chosen. Make sure to secure tiles with crowns – these royal treasures help to multiply the worth of your kingdom at the end of the game! The game ends when each player has completed a 5×5 grid, and then points are counted based on number of connecting tiles and crowns. Kingdomino won the 2017 Spiel des Jahres.

EXIT: The Game


After your car breaks down, you are looking for shelter for the night. Luckily, you find an abandoned cabin in the woods near the road. But the next morning, the door is locked! Iron bars on the windows prevent you from escaping. You discover a book and a strange disk…

The hit Escape-Room concept for home use! In this party game for up to 6 players, you must solve a series of riddles and puzzles to escape from an abandoned cabin. Each correct solution brings you to another riddle. How fast can you escape? EXIT won the 2017 Kennerspiel des Jahres award.

Broom Service


A simultaneous-selection (but then sequential play) card game. Players select 5 of their 12 role cards to play per set. Then they reveal them in sequence. Each role has a main full action and a less valuable “favor” action. If you are the first player with that role you announce that you are that character. If you follow after but choose that same role card you can take the favor action instead, or declare that you are that character in hopes that you can command the full action. You risk having it taken from you by a later player, though. The different roles help players collect different ingredients and money to make potions listed on the cauldron cards. When everyone’s five role cards have been played and actions taken, another five cards are chosen for the next set and the process repeats as before. Broom Service won the 2015 Kennerspiel des Jahres.

Village


Village is a game full of tactical challenges. A smart and unique new action mechanism is responsible for keeping turns short and yet still tactically rich and full of difficult decisions. Also unique is the way this game deals with the delicate subject of death; as a natural and perpetual part of life in the village, thoughts of death will keep you focused on smart time-management. Village won the 2012 Deutscher Spiel Preis award.

Fresco


The beautiful Fresco that adorns the ceiling of the cathedral is in disrepair and famous painters from around the world are bying for the chance to repair it! The Bishopo is awaiting important visitors and the work must be complete before they arrive. Will you have the skills to finish the painting in time. Fresco won the 2010 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Terra Mystica


Terra Mystica is a strategy game with a simple game principle and very little luck involved: You govern one of 14 factions trying to transform the landscape on the game board in your favor in order to build your structures. On the one hand, proximity to other players limits your options for further expansion, on the other hand though, it provides some benefits during the game. This conflict is the source of Terra Mystica’s appeal. Terra Mystica won the 2013 Golden Geek Award.

Caylus


1289. To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building site, a city is slowly rising up. The players embody master builders. By building the King’s castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King’s favor. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game. Caylus won the 2006 Golden Geek Award and Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Hanabi


In this challenging cooperative card game, players work together to launch a spectacular firework display. Trouble is, it’s dark out, so you can’t really see what you are working with! Each player holds their cards so that only the other players can see them. They must give each other vital information and remember all the information received. Then use the information to choose which cards to play. Helping each other play the right cards at the right time is the key to creating an unforgettable show and avoid being booed by the audience! Hanabi won the 2013 Spiel des Jahres.

Kingdom Builder


You’re a young ruler, but that’s no reason not to go out and claim more land for your Kingdom. Through careful placement and a little bit of luck you’ll be able to connect your realm to new castles, acquire special abilities and earn enough gold to rule the land. With variable board and scoring conditions, no two games are ever the same. Kingdom Builder won the 2012 Spiel des Jahres.

Alhambra


The year is 889, the location, Granada, Spain. Builders from all over Europe and Asia have come to seek employment constructing the famous gardens of the Alhambra. carefully design your layout with walls, fountains, buildings and gardens. Use your money wisely and build the best gardens to win the favor of the Emir. Alhambra won the 2003 Spiel des Jahres.

Tikal


Each player is the director of an expedition intent on exploring Tikal in search of the secret paths that lead to the temples and precious treasures that have remained hidden for over 1000 years. A player receives points during four scoring rounds for each recovered treasure andfor each temple that he controls. But, both temples and treasures can change hands. The expedition that earns the most points exploring Tikal wins the game. Tikal won the 1999 Spiel des Jahres and Deutscher Spiele Preis.

El Grande


In El Grande, Five powerful members of Spanish nobility, Grandes, vow to spread their influence throughout the various regions of 15th century Spain. Players will recruit and deploy Caballeros, influence the King’s movements, and participate in intrigue that will shape the country of Spain for centuries to come. El Grande won the 1996 Spiel des Jahres and Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Istanbul


Hustle and bustle in the bazaar district of Istanbul: merchants and their assistants are hurrying through the narrow alleys attempting to be more successful than their competitors. Good organization is key: wheelbarrows have to be filled with goods at the warehouses and then swiftly transported by the assistants to the various destinations. The goal of the merchants is to be the first to collect a certain amount of rubies.

You are leading a merchant and four assistants through the 16 Places of the bazaar. At each Place, you can carry out a specific action. The challenge is that, to carry out an action at any of those Places, your merchant needs the help of an assistant and has to leave him behind. To use that assistant again later, your merchant has to come back to that Place and pick him up. So plan ahead carefully to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything… Istanbul won the 2014 Kennerspiel des Jahres.

Legends of Andor


The Land of Andor is in danger. From the mountains and forests, enemies are advancing toward the castle of old King Brandur. Only your small band of heroes stands in their way. Will you succeed in defending the castle and protecting Andor?

Legends of Andor is a cooperative board game for two to four heroes. Live the legendary tales as you unite to battle ever-encroaching enemy forces. Legends of Andor won the 2013 Kennerspiel des Jahres.

Ice Cool


Ice Cool is a flicking game in which each round one of the players takes the role of the Hall Monitor (also called “the Catcher”) – his aim will be to catch each other penguin and get points for that. The others (also known as “Runners”) will try to run through several doors, thus gaining fish (that give them points) on their way. When either the Hall Monitor has caught each other penguin once or any of the others has gone through all 3 doors that have fish on them, the round is over. Each player will take the role of the Hall Monitor once and at the end of the game the winner will be the one with the most points on their fish cards. Ice Cool won the 2017 Kinderspiel des Jahres.

Amun Re


Everyone knows of the pyramids on the Nile – eternal monuments of a powerful and beautiful culture, that can still take our breath away. The pharaohs choose their sites, build their pyramids, and thank Amun Re and the other Gods for their bounty.

Each player wants, as pharaoh, to build the most pyramids. To accomplish this, he must first acquire a province, where he can trade and farm. With his profits, he can buy new provinces and building stones to erect pyramids. For all his actions, the player must make clever use of his power cards, and always offer appropriate sacrifices to Amun Re. Players must always keep their eyes on the goal of the building of the eternal pyramids or risk falling behind in points. Amun Re won the 2003 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Puerto Rico


Prospector, captain, mayor, trader, settler, craftsman, or builder? Which roles will you play in the new world? Will you own the most prosperous plantations? Will you build the most valuable buildings? You have but one goal: achieve the greatest prosperity and highest respect! This is shown by the player who earns the most victory points. He will win the game! Puerto Rico won the 2002 Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival


The harvest is in, and now it’s time to celebrate! Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a tile-placement game set in imperial China. Players act as artisans decorating the palace lake with floating lanterns. The artisan who earns the most honor before the festival arrives wins the game. Lanterns won the 2015 Mensa Select Award.

The Castles of Mad King Ludwig


In the tile-laying game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are tasked with building an amazing, extravagant castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria…one room at a time. You see, the King loves castles, having built Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired the Disney theme park castles) and others, but now he’s commissioned you to build the biggest, best castle ever – subject, of course, to his ever-changing whims. Each player acts as a building contractor who is adding rooms to the castle he’s building while also selling his services to other players. The Castles of Mad King Ludwig won the 2015 Mensa Select Award.

Euphoria


Build a city, enhance allegiances, and expand control using worker dice in this dystopian-themed board game for 2-6 players.

In Euphoria, you lead a team of workers (dice) and recruits (cards) to claim ownership of the dystopian world. You will generate commodities, dig tunnels to infiltrate the opposition, construct markets, collect artifacts, strengthen allegiances, and fulfill secret agendas. Euphoria won the 2014 Mensa Select Award.

Forbidden Desert


Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You’ll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the Forbidden Desert! Forbidden Desert won the 2013 Mensa Select Award.

Forbidden Island


Dare to discover Forbidden Island! Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work together and make some pulse-pounding maneuvers, as the island will sink beneath every step! Race to collect the treasure and make a triumphant escape before you are swallowed into the watery abyss! Forbidden Island won the 2010 Mensa Select Award.

Suburbia


Plan, build and develop a small town into a major metropolis. Use hex-shaped building tiles to add residential, commercial, civic, and industrial areas, as well as special points of interest that provide benefits and take advantage of the resources of nearby towns. Your goal is to have your borough thrive and end up with a greater population than any of your opponents. Suburbia won the 2013 Mensa Select Award.

Wits & Wagers


Not a trivia buff? It doesn’t matter! Each player writes a guess to a question such as “In inches, how tall is the Oscar statuette?” or “How many pounds did the heaviest ever sumo wrestling champion weigh” and places it face-up on the betting mat.

Think you know the answer? Bet on your guess. Think you know who the experts are? Bet on their guess. The closest answer pays out according to the odds on the betting mat. Strike it big and you’ll be cheering like you just hit the jackpot!

Wits & Wagers is a trivia game that lets you bet on anyone’s answer. So you can win by making educated guesses, by playing the odds, or by knowing the interests of your friends. Wits & Wagers won the 2006 Mensa Select Award.

Carcassonne


Now you can take Carcassonne everywhere you go. The scoring track is printed on the cloth carrying sack, which has room for all the tiles and followers. Of course, all components are a bit downsized to make it more convenient to carry along, but the game is the same great game that won the Spiel des Jahres award in 2001!

Small World


Designed by Philippe Keyaerts as a fantasy follow-up to his award-winning Vinci(TM), Small World is inhabited by a zany cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans; who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth.

Picking the right combination from the 14 different fantasy races and 20 unique special powers, players rush to expand their empires – often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory! Small World won the 2010 Games Magazine Game of the Year.

Eclipse


The galaxy has been a peaceful place for many years. After the ruthless Terran-Hegemony War, much effort has been employed by all major spacefaring species to prevent the terrifying events from repeating themselves. The Galactic Council was formed to enforce previous peace and it has taken more courageous efforts to prevent the escalation of malicious acts. Nevertheless, tension and discord are growing among the seven major species and in the Council itself. Old alliances are shattering and hasty diplomatic treaties are made in secrecy. A confrontation of the superpowers seems inevitable – only the outcome of the galactic conflict remains to be seen. Which faction will emerge victorious and lead the galaxy under its rule? The shadows of the great civilizations are about to eclipse the galaxy. Eclipse won the 2012 Golden Geek Award.

Colt Express


It is 1899 and the Union Pacific Express is headed to the Nice Valley Coal Comppany to deliver their payroll and 47 passengers. Suddenly the train is attacked by thievin’ bandits! Will the outlaws keep their cool or will Marshal Samuel Ford save the day and prevent the robbery?

Players will plan ahead and play cards to steal the most loot, shoot their opponents, move around the train and elude Marshal Ford. Will you be the richest bandit in the outlaw gang? Colt Express won the 2015 Spiel des Jahres and As d’Or.

Dixit


This communication game received the Golden Ace in France and has already gathered good attention in the gaming community. Designed to appeal to family and gamers, simple rules and gorgeous illustration, this game has everything to make a hit. Dixit also won the 2010 Spiel des Jahres.

Ticket to Ride


Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America.

The longer the routes, the more points they earn.

Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway. Ticket to Ride won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres.

7 Wonders


7 Wonders lasts three ages. In each age, players receive seven cards from a particular deck, choose one of those cards, then pass the remainder to an adjacent player, as in Fairy Tale or a Magic: the Gatheringbooster draft. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, paying resources if needed or collecting resources or interacting with other players in various ways. (Players have individual boards with special powers on which to organize their cards, and the boards are double-sided as in Bauza’s Ghost Stories.) Each player then chooses another card from the deck they were passed, and the process repeats until players have six cards in play from that age. After three ages, the game ends. 7 Wonders won the 2011 Kennerspiel des Jahres and Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Five Tribes


Crossing into the Land of 1001 Nights, your caravan arrives at the fabled Sultanate of Naqala.

The old sultan just died and control of Naqala is up for grabs!

The oracles foretold of strangers who would maneuver the Five Tribes to gain influence over the legendary city-state.

Will you fulfill the prophecy? Invoke the old Djinns, move the Tribes into position at the right time and the Sultanate may become yours! Five Tribes won the 2015 As d’Or de l’année Grand Prix.

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Games for Two Players

My son and I play a lot of board games together and we’re always looking for games that play well with two players. Here are a few…

Bohnanza: The Duel


In this brand-new addition to the hugely popular game, two players grow various varieties of beans and harvest them to earn Gold coins. Each player can “gift” their opponent beans they don’t want ( and their opponent may not want!). Bohnus cards help earn additional Gold coins if the players can plant specific beans in specific orders in their bean field. The player who earns the most Gold coins wins.

The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game


Play Harry Dresden and his friends as they take on the cases from the bestselling Dresden Files novels in the ultimate what-if scenario—what if Harry was on the scene with allies who weren’t there in the books? The core game includes Harry, Murphy, Susan, Michael, and the Alphas and plays through the first five novels as well as Side Jobs, a random scenario generator based on the short story collection of the same name.

Steampunk Rally


Steampunk Rally is a strategy game that incorporates steampunk as more than just a bit of chrome. Using a unique dice-placement mechanic, players take on the roles of famous inventors like Nikola Tesla and Marie Curie constructing fantastical contraptions that make use of steam, heat and electricity in an attempt to win a no-holds barred race through the Swiss alps!

1960: Making of the President


In 1960: The Making of the President, you take on the role of Kennedy or Nixon vying for the right to lead the United States during the heart of the Cold War. However, it is not just foreign policy that poses a challenge to American leadership; the year 1960 is synonymous with great social upheaval and progress. The candidates must contend with the question of civil rights and balance their positions on social justice against the need for valuable Southern electoral votes. Of course, the ever-present issue of the economy also rears its ugly head, and both Nixon and Kennedy will compete to be the candidate with the voters’ pocket books in mind.

Dark Souls: The Board Game


Dark Souls™: The Board Game is a cooperative dungeon crawl board game for 1–4 players. To win the game, players must work together tactically to learn how to defeat enemies before finally confronting the boss. Players will find specific attack patterns and weaknesses of the enemies, but they will have to be careful. If a player’s character dies, the game does not end, but starting over comes at a cost. Each time a character falls in combat, the whole party must return to the bonfire, and all enemies reset. Use your resources sparingly, learn quickly, and prepare to die.

The Captain is Dead


The Captain is Dead puts you and up to 6 friends onto your own starship, under attack from hostile aliens and systems going down left and right. Worst of all, your heroic leader, the Captain, lies dead. It’s up to you and the various skills you bring to the table, to repair the ship enough to escape while also holding off the alien onslaught. From the Chief Engineer to the Janitor, you never know which combination of survivors you may have, making each game a unique challenge!

Yokohama


Once Yokohama was just a fishing village, but now at the beginning of the Meiji era it’s becoming a harbor open to foreign countries and one of the leading trade cities of Japan. As a result, many Japanese products such as copper and raw silk are collected in Yokohama for export to other countries. At the same time, the city is starting to incorporate foreign technology and culture, with even the streets becoming more modernized. In the shadow of this development was the presence of many Yokohama merchants.

The Blood of an Englishman


In The Blood of and Englishman, players take on the role of either Jack or the Giant. The Giant must maneuver the Fee, Fi, Fo, and Fum cards while Jack tries to create three bean stalks to steal the bag of gold, the Golden Goose, and the Singing Harp. Each player has different available actions and must carefully arrange the cards to achieve their goal. Are you brave enough to face your fate?

ELEMENT


Element, the latest release from the creative minds at Rather Dashing Games, is a unique strategy game for 2 to 4 players, ages 14 and up. Players take turns drawing and placing Element stones to encircle their opponents’ Sages (player pieces). Each Element has unique properties used to block an opponent’s movement. Feed walls of flame, move raging rivers, raise impenetrable mountain ranges and even bend wind to your command.

Pixel Tactics


Pixel Tactics is a head-to-head card game that’s small on size and big on strategy. Build your unit from 25 different hero classes. Rally around a leader that will affect everyone’s capabilities, and go to war with your opponent in a fast-paced battle of strategies!

Railways of the World: The Card Game


Railways of the World the Card Game is a fast paced card game adaptation of the highly popular Railways of the World board game series. Players use track cards and city cards to build a series of railroad routes and deliver goods. As the game progresses, players work to connect more cities, upgrade their engines for larger carrying capacity and deliver goods through a network of routes.

Neuroshima Hex 3.0


Neuroshima Hex! is a strategy game set in the post-apocalyptic world of Neuroshima, a Polish role-playing game. Each player leads one of four armies: Borgo, Hegemonia (Hegemony), Moloch, and Posterunek (Outpost). Each army deck consists of 34 tiles: soldiers, support tiles, and special actions. You win when all enemy headquarters are destroyed or when your headquarters is the least damaged at the end of the game.

Risk Legacy


Risk®Legacy is different than any other board game, choices players make during gameplay are permanent and affect every future game. The board is written on, stickers are attached to the rule book, secret envelopes are opened. Game pieces will be destroyed. Ripped up. Gone forever… Critically acclaimed twist on the classic game of Risk! This 2012 BoardGameGeek.com – Golden Geek Award winning game has received praise for its unique features, including hidden rules and intriguing options that become available the more it’s played.

Millennium Blades


Millennium Blades is a board game about a fictional collectible card game, which is also called Millennium Blades. You begin the game on pre-release night with just your starter deck. You’ll open new packs, form collections, and sell your junk cards on the aftermarket to buy hot new cards. Trade with your friends, build up your deck, and prepare to compete at Millennium Blades Worlds for the title of World Champion!

Zombie Dice


Quick & easy game for gamers & non-gamers alike. The 13 custom dice represent victims. Push your luck to eat their brains, but stop rolling before the shotgun blasts end your turn!

New Bedford


Set in the mid-1800s, the historical age of whaling, New Bedford gives 1 to 4 players the chance to build the Massachusetts town of the same name into a thriving community. Gather resources to add buildings with new actons, and launch ships to go whaling. Go out longest for the best choice, but wait too long and the whales become harder to catch. And don’t forget to pay your crew when ships return! Carefully balance risk management and tming to become a leader of industry in this medium-weight worker placement and resource management game.

The Battle of Five Armies


Based on the acclaimed mechanics first used in the War of the Ring boardgame, The Battle of Five Armies merges action dice and event cards, to make each game a unique experience. The system has been further enhanced by the addition of the “Fate Track” mechanic, handling the arrival of the allies and the triggering of special events. All the key characters in the battle; Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Dain, the Elven King, Bard, Beorn, Bolg, are featured with powerful special abilities and unique sculptures.

The Manhattan Project


A revolutionary new technology has been discovered. Immediately, every major military power recognizes its destructive potential. Can your nation take the lead in this new arms race and become the world’s dominant superpower? In The Manhattan Project, you are the leader of a great nation’s atomic weapons program in a deadly race to build bigger and better bombs. But this is no peaceful race! You must not hesitate to use clever espionage and military force to advance your plans to secure your nation’s place!

War of the Ring


The War of the Ring has begun… The WAR OF THE RING is a grand strategy board game that allows its players to immerse themselves in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS and experience its epic action, dramatic conflict, and memorable characters.

Roll For It!


Roll for it! is everything you want in a game. It’s fun! It’s easy! It’s fast! And it has lots of dice with cards to boot! At its heart, Roll for it! is a resource management game that blends the luck of the die roll with a decision making process that will bring smiles and laughter to everyone at the table.

Onirim – Collection Oniverse


Onirim is a solo/cooperative card game: you must work against the game, and find the oneiric doors before you run out of cards. Will you wander in each room, hoping to find the door that will take you further, or will you let chance sort things out and trust in your luck? In both cases, you will have to deal with the slithering nightmares that haunt the hallways of the labyrinth.

DC Comics Deck-Building Game


Play as Batman™, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, or Cyborg. The Justice League of America is ready for action! Each Super Hero has a unique special ability that will open up different strategies to the player. Follow that strategy or break away with a plan of your own. Card combos, strategy, and fun abound in this game where every card is a well-known, fan-favorite card with amazing art.

Twilight Struggle


This Deluxe Edition of Twilight Struggle seeks to capture the feeling of that earlier era.Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. Twilight Struggle recreates the conflict between the most powerful nation states the world has ever known. The scope of the game covers the entire world as it was found in 1945.

Onitama


Onitama is a two-player, perfect information abstract game with a random starting set-up. Each player has two open cards that each display a possible move for any of his pieces. There is a fifth card that cannot be used by either player. On a player’s turn, he chooses one of his cards, moves one of his pieces according to the chosen card, then replaces the card he used with the fifth card. The other player then chooses one of his cards, moves accordingly, and exchanges that card with this fifth card – which is, of course, the card the first player just used. Taking the opponent’s main pawn, or moving your main pawn into your opponent’s main pawn’s starting space, wins you the game.

Great Western Trail


In Great Western Trail, you are rival cattlemen in 19th century America, herding cattle in a circular trail around the state of Texas. Your cattle are then shipped by train, earning you money and victory points. Hire capable staff, such as cowboys to improve your herd, craftsmen to build your cattle posts, or engineers for the railroad line. Upon each arrival at the destination station, have your most valuable cattle in tow. The winner is the player who manages their herd best and exhibits good timing in mastering the opportunities and pitfalls of the Great Western Trail.

Aeon’s End


Aeon’s End is a cooperative game that explores the deckbuilding genre with a number of innovative mechanisms, including a variable turn order system that simulates the chaos of an attack, and deck management rules that require careful planning with every discarded card. Players will struggle to defend Gravehold from The Nameless and their hordes using unique abilities, powerful spells, and, most importantly of all, their collective wits.

Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle


A cooperative deck-building game that is progressive, allowing rich game play experiences to unfold with varying levels of difficulty.

13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962


For thirteen days in 1962, the world stood at the brink of atomic destruction as the United States and Soviet Union faced off over missiles which had been placed in Cuba. Would the USSR back down and remove the missiles? Would the US push forward with a full invasion or send bombers towards targets within the Soviet Union? Who would blink first?

Viticulture: Essential Edition


In Viticulture, you find yourself in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany, where you’ve inherited a meager vineyard. You’ll have a few plots of land, an old crushpad, a tiny cellar, 3 workers…and the dream of owning the best winery in Italy. Your job is to allocate your workers and helpful visitors to complete various tasks throughout the year. Each season is different on a vineyard, so the workers have different tasks they can take care of in the summer and winter. There’s competition over those tasks, and often the first worker to arrive at each one has an advantage over the rest.

Lost Cities: The Card Game


Who will discover the ancient civilizations? Two explorers embark on research journeys to remote corners of the world: the Himalayan mountains, the Central American rainforest, the Egyptian desert, a mysterious volcano, and the bottom of the sea. As the cards are played, the expedition routes take shape and the explorers earn points. The most daring adventurers make bets on the success of their expeditions. The explorer with the highest score after three rounds of expeditions wins. The rules of the game are simple, but beware: The lost cities hold many unseen mysteries!

Valley of the Kings


In Valley of the Kings, 2-4 players are Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs, preparing for their death and burial in the Valley of the Kings. In the Egyptian religion, when you die you can take it with you! Egyptians therefore stocked their tombs with food, shabti (statuettes of servants who will work for them in the afterlife), canopic jars (to preserve their organs), statues of the gods, household items, and amulets. You compete with the other players to accumulate the best artifacts for your tomb. At the end of the game, you score the artifacts stored there – the player with the most victory points wins!

Bottom of the 9th


It’s the bottom of the ninth inning. The game is tied. It’s down to the home team to score one run to win it all. Unfortunately, the home team is staring down the league’s best closer. A dice and card game for two players, Bottom of the 9th brings all the excitement of the final three outs of a baseball game into a compact 5-20 minute game session. With variable player strengths, bluffing/deduction, and die-rolling, only the pitcher knows what’s coming and the batter needs to keep his eyes peeled.

Tiny Epic Galaxies


A thirty-minute game of galactic conquest, Tiny Epic Galaxies is driven by an exciting dice-rolling mechanism that rewards thoughtful programming of the results. Players control a home galaxy and a fleet of space ships. As players upgrade their galaxies, they gain access to more ships and more dice.

Dungeon Roll


The Dungeon lies before you. How far will you go to seek glory and fame? Will you risk losing everything?
In Dungeon Roll, your goal is to collect the most experience points by defeating monsters, battling the dragon, and amassing treasure.

Fabled Fruit


Once upon a time there was a marvelous forest full of gorgeous fruits. These fruits could be squeezed and mixed into the most delicious juices. You live in this forest and are in search of the most savory fruits. Friendly forest dwellers will help you in different ways. You are greedy and thirsty. Who will be the first to satisfy their appetite for Fabled Fruits? This is a “Fable Game”, a new and unique concept in game experiences, where the gameplay changes over time.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1


The world is on the brink of disaster. In Pandemic Legacy, your disease-fighting team must keep four deadly diseases at bay for a whole year. Each month will bring new surprises, and your actions in each game will have repercussions on the next. Will you let cities fall to the diseases? Will your team be enough to keep the viruses at bay for a whole year? Craft your own unique Pandemic experience with Pandemic Legacy.

Marvel Legendary


Like the Avengers or X-Men, players build their own super-team of spectacular Marvel superheroes, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, and Thor! Players create their own powerful combos on the fly, combining their heroes awesome abilities to take down nasty Marvel supervillains like Venom and Mystique. Over the course of the game, recruit increasingly powerful Hero cards to add to your deck, building a stronger and stronger deck of the ultimate Marvel Superhero combinations. Easy to learn, with fast-paced gameplay. Features incredible original artwork of Marvel heroes and villains.

Blood Rage


In Blood Rage, each player controls their own Viking clan’s warriors, leader, and ship. Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world! It’s the Vikings’ last chance to go down in a blaze of glory and secure their place in Valhalla at Odin’s side! For a Viking there are many pathways to glory. You can invade and pillage the land for its rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan’s stats, or even die gloriously either in battle or from Ragnarök, the ultimate inescapable doom.

Evolution


In Evolution, players create and adapt their own species in a dynamic ecosystem with hungry predators and limited resources. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect you from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help you get food that others cannot reach. With over 12000 different species to create, every game becomes a different adventure. So gather your friends around the table and see who will best adapt their species to eat, multiply and thrive!

Dominion


You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.

King of Tokyo


Play mutant monsters, gigantic robots and other monstrous creatures, rampaging the city and vying for position as the one and only King of Tokyo! Combine your dice to gather energy, heal your monster or just slap the other monsters down! Spend your energy to trigger permanent or one-shot special powers: a second head, body armor, nova death ray…Stop at nothing to become the King of Tokyo… but that’s when the real trouble begins for you!

Concordia


CONCORDIA is a peaceful strategy game of economic development in Roman times for 2 to 5 players age 13 and up. Instead of luck of dice or cards, players must rely on their strategic abilities. Be sure to watch your rivals to determine which goals they are pursuing and where you can outpace them!

Harbour


Dockmaster Schlibble and Constable O’Brady cordially invite you to visit their bustling Harbour town. The denizens of this town are always wheeling and dealing! Collect and trade resources as you visit the various buildings of Harbour, and cash them in to buy your way into the town. Whoever has the most points worth of buildings when the game ends, wins!

Champions of Midgard


The old Jarl has died and his once prosperous port has fallen into a state of catastrophe. Fearsome creatures are coming in droves, driving chaos and destruction before them. Trolls attack the town, Draugr terrorize nearby villages, Monsters strike at travelers and merchants alike. The people are suffering and you could be their champion. Champions of Midgard blends worker-placement and dice-driven combat to create an exciting and strategic experience! Recuit warriors, gain powerful runes, and peer into the future – then send your faithful fighters on journeys to defeat fierce and mythical beasts.

Star Realms


Star Realms is a spaceship combat deckbuilding game designed by Magic Pro Tour Champions and Hall of Famers Darwin Kastle and Rob Dougherty (developer and cofounder of the Ascension Deckbuilding Game). The game offers all the thrills of traditional trading card game style combat, combined with the fun of a deckbuilding game. Play powerful ships, destroy enemy bases or blast your opponent directly on your way to victory!

Flash Point: Fire Rescue


Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a fully cooperative game, everyone plays on the same firefighting team – win or lose together! Every turn is filled with the tension of having to fight the fire back, rescuing victims or investigating points of interest. Players can ride the ambulance to safety or fire the engine’s deck gun in a desperate attempt to control the blaze. No two games are ever the same – and with two rulesets (family, & experienced) and 3 different difficulty levels there is a challenge to be had for all.
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Games to Travel With

When traveling you’ll be away from your precious game library. But you can bring some with you if the games are small. Here are a few games that are good to travel with. (The dimensions are approximations)

Coup


Coup (6x4x1.5) is one of the most played games we have. Coup is a bluffing card game where you try to knock your opponents’ cards out and be the last person with cards to win the game. Get the Reformation expansion to add the ability to have teams as well as a new character, the Inquisitor.

Dungeon Roll


Dungeon Roll (6x6x4) is a press your luck game for 1 to 4 players where you try to get as many points as possible by delving into the dungeon and coming out of it alive and with items or experience. Pick your character card that will give you special abilities on your turn. On your turn, you roll dice that will be your delving party. A number of encounter dice are rolled depending on round. Dice in your party are used to defend against the encounter dice. You can press your luck and see if the dice remaining in your party can handle what’s next or you can return to town and collect your points. The total score after three delves is your final score.

For Sale Travel Edition


Going once! Going twice! Sold to the highest bidder! Bid and bluff your way to purchase the most valuable real estate for the lowest amount of money, then turn around and sell those houses (and shacks) for cold hard cash. Be the richest mogul at the end of the game to win this Stefan Dorra classic. Considered one of the finest bidding games of all time, For Sale (4x3x2) has a well-deserved following of fans. In this perfectly-crafted bidding game, players are forced to make a multitude of difficult decisions every minute…and that’s just in the first phase of the game!

Fuji Flush


In Fuji Flush (5x4x1), be the first player to get rid of all of your cards! Join forces with fellow players to beat the cards played by other players… or independently play the highest card to outdo all your opponents together, flushing their cards down the drain! Fuji Flush is a fast, fun, easy-to-learn card game for 3-8 players that will have both families and gamers shouting as their cards are sent down the drain!

FUSE


FUSE (9x7x2) is a real-time co-operative game that employs 25 dice and 76 cards. Each game is set to a ten minute timer, and players must work together in that ten minutes to defuse all of the bombs. Each bomb is represented by a card which needs a certain combination of dice in order to defuse it. A player will draw a number of dice equal to the number of players out of a bag and roll them. Players must then decide who will get which dice, but each player must take one and only one.

Hanabi


In Hanabi (5x4x1), players work together to launch a spectacular firework display. Trouble is, it’s dark out, so you can’t really see what you are working with! Each player holds their cards so that only the other players can see them. They must give each other vital information and remember all the information received. Then use the information to choose which cards to play. Helping each other play the right cards at the right time is the key to creating an unforgettable show and avoid being booed by the audience!

Harbour


Harbour (6x4x1.5 inches) is a rewarding worker placement game that has a small box and small footprint. Buy buildings with resources at the market where the price of resources is constantly shifting. Be the first to have four buildings to win the game.

Hero Realms


Hero Realms (6x4x2) is a deck-building game where you use gold to buy champion cards and action cards from the Market. These champions and actions can generate large amounts of gold, combat, or other powerful effects. You use combat to attack your opponent and their champions. When you reduce your opponent’s score (called health) to zero, you win!

Honshu


Honshu (7x5x2) is a map-building card game set in feudal Japan. Players are lords and ladies of noble houses seeking new lands and opportunities for fame and fortune. One game of Honshu lasts twelve rounds, and each round is divided into two phases. First, map cards are played in a trick, and the player who played the highest valued card gets to pick first from those cards played. Then the players use the map cards picked to expand their personal maps. Each player must expand their personal maps to maximize their scoring possibilities.

Lost Cities


In Lost Cities (8x8x2), who will discover the ancient civilizations? Two explorers embark on research journeys to remote corners of the world: the Himalayan mountains, the Central American rainforest, the Egyptian desert, a mysterious volcano, and the bottom of the sea. As the cards are played, the expedition routes take shape and the explorers earn points. The most daring adventurers make bets on the success of their expeditions. The explorer with the highest score after three rounds of expeditions wins.

Love Letter


Love Letter (4x3x1) is a small card game for 2 to 4 players that could easily be played in a couple minutes. There’s only 16 cards in the entire game. Players try to finish the game with the highest valued card. This game is all about deduction. The rules say to play until one player has won a number of times depending on the number of players, but you can just play as many rounds as you like.

Love Letter is so small that I carry it in my bag at all times. This game is a lot of fun and can be played with minimal space.

Pixel Tactics


Pixel Tactics (6x4x2) is a head-to-head card game that’s small on size and big on strategy. Build your unit from 25 different hero classes. Rally around a leader that will affect everyone’s capabilities, and go to war with your opponent in a fast-paced battle of strategies!

Poo


In Poo (5x4x1), each player takes on the role of a monkey. You fling poo and mess with each other until only one monkey is left standing. That monkey, of course, is the cleanest one. Each turn, every player gets to draw and play a card, usually either to fling poo at another player or to clean himself off. Out of turn, each player gets to play cards to defend himself or foil other players’ poo flinging.

Railways of the World Card Game


Railways of the World the Card Game (11x6x2) is a fast paced card game adaptation of the highly popular Railways of the World board game series. In Railways of the World the Card Game players use track cards and city cards to build a series of railroad routes and deliver goods. As the game progresses, player work to connect more cities, upgrade their engines for larger carrying capacity and deliver goods through a network of routes.

Roll for It!


In Roll for It! (5x4x1) players try to score 40 points by rolling dice and matching cards of specific point values. Each roll presents the player with new opportunities and fun decisions to make. The rules are simple – Roll’em, Match’em, Score’em! But look out! Other players may steal the card you’re shooting for… So hurry, pick up the dice and Roll For it!

Spyfall


Spyfall (8x8x2) is an easy-to-learn card game of bluffing, probing questions, clever answers, and suspicion. At the start of each round, players receive a secret card letting them know where they are – a casino, space station, pirate ship, circus,(30 unique locations!) – except that one player receives the Spy card instead of the location. The Spy doesn’t know where he is, but wins the round if he can figure it out before he blows his cover! The game is played over a series of rounds and points are awarded each round. After the last round, the player with the most points is the winner.

Star Realms


Star Realms (4x4x2) is a two player deckbuilding game (it includes a multiplayer variant as well) where players try to knock each other out with different kinds of ships, bases and outposts. In Star Realms, player buy cards from the common center row of cards that they will use on later turns. There are two kinds of ships you can buy including regular ships and bases. Regular ships are used for the turn that they are drawn. Bases remain in play until they are destroyed or scrapped (removed from the game). In addition, each card belongs to one of four different factions. If a player plays two cards of the same faction during their turn, there’s usually a bonus effect that is applied.

Sushi Go


Sushi Go (6x4x2) is a card drafting and set collection game for 2 to 5 players where players collect different kinds of sushi to have matching sets to score them more points. The game takes place over three rounds. Each player starts with a number of cards (dependent upon the number of players). Players pick one card and place it face down in front of them. After all players have done this, they reveal their cards and pass their remaining cards to the player to their left. Players continue doing this until there are no more cards. After cards run out, players count their score and move on to the next round.

The Grizzled


The Grizzled (6x6x2) is a cooperative game about survival in the trenches during the World War I where players win or lose together. A true challenge, intense and immersive, it’s also a tribute to our ancestors who have fallen in battle before us. This game is very challenging which makes you want to play it over and over.

The Resistance


Set in the near future, The Resistance (8x6x2) pits a small group of resistance fighters against a powerful and corrupt government. The resisance has launched a series of bold and daring missions to bring the government to its knees. Unfortunately spies have infiltrated the resistance ranks, ready to sabotage the carefully crafted plans. Even a single spy can take down a resistance mission team, choose your teams carefully or forever lose your chance for freedom.

The Resistance: Avalon


The Resistance: Avalon (8x6x2) pits the forces of Good and Evil in a battle to control the future of civilization. Arthur represents the future of Britain, a promise of prosperity and honor, yet hidden among his brave warriors are Mordred’s unscrupulous minions. These forces of evil are few in number but have knowledge of each other and remain hidden from all but one of Arthur’s servants. Merlin alone knows the agents of evil, but he must speak of this only in riddles. If his true identity is discovered, all will be lost.

13 Minutes


13 Minutes (6x4x2) is a card-driven micro game with tough decisions. Playing either President Kennedy or Khrushchev, your aim is to exit the Cuban Missile Crisis as the most powerful superpower. During the game you will play five Strategy cards that you use to place Influence cubes on battlegrounds to score majorities, or to manipulate battlegrounds. Played cards turn into new battlegrounds so the world map is ever changing. Be careful, because each decision is important and you may trigger global nuclear war.

Tides of Madness


Set in the Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos, Tides of Madness (6x4x2) is a two player card drafting and set collection game that plays in 20 minutes. Players try to collect cards that help them gain victory points. Matching suit cards give bonuses. Cards with Cthulhu tentacles give players madness tokens which can help or it can kill them if they have too much. The game is played over three rounds and the player with the most points wins.

Tides of Time


Set in the Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos, Tides of Madness (6x4x2) is a two player card drafting and set collection game that plays in 20 minutes. Players try to collect cards that help them gain victory points. Matching suit cards give bonuses. Cards with Cthulhu tentacles give players madness tokens which can help or it can kill them if they have too much. The game is played over three rounds and the player with the most points wins.

Travel Carcassonne


Now you can take Carcassonne everywhere you go with Travel Carcassonne (8x8x2). The scoring track is printed on the cloth carrying sack, which has room for all the tiles and followers. Of course, all components are a bit downsized to make it more convenient to carry along, but the game is the same great game that won the Spiel des Jahres award in 2001! This game is actually a bit smaller because you can just bring the components in the bag.

Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms


Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms (4x3x1) is a 4x game that’s the size of a regular deck of cards. Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms is the same as Tiny Epic Kingdoms except it doesn’t include the exploration mini-expansion. In Ultra-Tiny Epic Kingdoms, you rule! You will be exploring lands and factions, expanding kingdoms, exploiting opportunities, and exterminating all those who question your rule…but so will everyone else! This game is so small that I actually put the entire box in a hard plastic CCG deck protector for extra protection.

Welcome to the Dungeon


Welcome to the Dungeon (6x4x2) is a game for 2-4 players that involves bluffing where you goad your fellow players into thinking they can survive in the dungeon or fool them into thinking it’s too hard while going into the dungeon yourself. On your turn you can either pass or draw a monster card. If you draw a monster card, you can either put that monster into the dungeon or keep the monster and remove a piece of equipment from the character who will be going into the dungeon. The last player to pass must go into the dungeon and try to survive all of the placed monsters with the equipment that’s left on the character.
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Economic Games

Caylus


To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building site, a city is slowly rising up. The players embody master builders. By building the King’s castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King’s favor. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game.

Concordia


2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire ruled the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. With peace at the borders, harmony inside the provinces, uniform law, and a common currency, the economy thrived and gave rise to mighty Roman dynasties as they expanded throughout the numerous cities. Guide one of these dynasties and send colonists to the remote realms of the Empire; develop your trade network; and appease the ancient gods for their favor – all to gain the chance to emerge victorious!

Harbour


Dockmaster Schlibble and Constable O’Brady cordially invite you to visit their bustling Harbour town. The denizens of this town are always wheeling and dealing!

collect and trade resources as you visit the various buildings of Harbour, and cash them in to buy your way into the town. Whoever has the most points worth of buildings when the game ends, wins!

Imperial


Europe in the age of imperialism. Internationally operating investors aim for the highest political influence in Europe. By giving credits they gain influence over the six imperial nations Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and France. These nations desperately need money to build up their economy and to buy troops and fleets. With their growing power in Europe, they collect more taxes and pay their rising interests to their investors.

Because the six imperial nations are under changing influence of different investors, strategic alliances and conflicts arise between them. Sometimes this leads even to war!

Imperial Settlers


Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians and Japanese have all moved there to expand the boundaries of their empires. They build new buildings to strengthen their economy, they found mines and fields to gather resources, and they build barracks and training grounds to train soldiers. Soon after they discover that this land is far to small for everybody, then the war begins…

Imperial Settlers is a card game that lets players lead one of the four factions and build empires by placing buildings, then sending workers to those buildings to acquire new resources and abilities.

Istanbul


Hustle and bustle in the bazaar district of Istanbul: merchants and their assistants are hurrying through the narrow alleys attempting to be more successful than their competitors. Good organization is key: wheelbarrows have to be filled with goods at the warehouses and then swiftly transported by the assistants to the various destinations. The goal of the merchants is to be the first to collect a certain amount of rubies.

La Granja


In La Granja, players control small farms by the Alpich pond near the village of Esporles on Mallorca. During the course of the game, the players try to steadily expand their farms into the mighty country estate La Granja. They also seek to deliver goods to the village. Here, speed is everything.

La Granja is a fascinating game that requires careful planning. Successful players must learn to cope with the imponderability of the dice and cards as well.

Le Havre: The Inland Port


Only fools look for calm at the famous inland port of Le Havre. This industrious port is where you will try to amass a fortune with your warehouse and numerous buildings. Uwe Rosenberg’s new two-player game combines the classic flavor of Le Havre and the brilliant production wheel from Ora & Labora.

Mombasa


Mombasa is a tense Euro-style strategy game set in 18th century Africa, where great wealth and fortune await players through multiple paths to victory. The game features a unique rotating-display hand-mechanism that drives game play.

Trading goods reaped from your plantations, you acquire shares of companies based in Mombasa, Saint-Louis, Cape Town and Cairo. However, the value of a company is only as good as its sphere of influence. So expanding into new territories is vital if you want your investments to pay off.

Nations


Nations is an intense historical board game for 1 to 5 players that takes 90-180 minutes to play. Players control the fate of nations from their humble start in prehistoric times until the beginning of World War I. The nations constantly compete against each other and must balance immediate needs, long-term growth, threats, and opportunities.

Ponzi Scheme


Based on the textbook example of financial scams, “Ponzi Scheme” is the term used to describe the technique Charles Ponzi employed in 1919 to operate one of the most notorious financial frauds in history.

In the game Ponzi Scheme, players are scammers trying to trick investors into funding fraudulent investments with the promise of extremely high returns. you need elaborate trading skills to keep your operaton afloat as long as possible, and as time goes on the dividends you need to pay every turn will only pile higher and higher! When someone declares bankruptcy, the remaining fraudsters who forged the biggest shell corporation wins the game!

Power Grid


Players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then vie against other players to purchase the powerplants that you use to supply the power. However, as plants are purchased, newer more efficient plants become available so you’re potentially allowing others to access to superior equipment merely by purchasing at all. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to power said plants(except for the highly valuable ’renewable energy’ wind/solar plants), 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.

Puerto Rico


Prospector, captain, mayor, trader, settler, craftsman, or builder? Which roles will you play in the new world? Will you own the most prosperous plantations? Will you build the most valuable buildings? You have but one goal: achieve the greatest prosperity and highest respect! This is shown by the player who earns the most victory points. He will win the game!

Race for the Galaxy


In Race for the Galaxy, players build galactic civilizations by game cards that represent worlds or technical and social developments. The player who best manages his cards, phase and bonus selections, and card powers to build the greatest space empire, wins.

Roll for the Galaxy


Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires for 2-5 players. Your dice represent your populace, whom you direct to develop new technologies, settle worlds, and ship goods. The player who best manages his workers and builds the most prosperous empire wins!

This dice version of Race for the Galaxy takes players on a new journey through the Galaxy, but with the the feel of the original game.

Scythe


Scythe is a “4x” game, which means “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate,” that’s set in an alternate-history 1920s. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor.

The ashes from the first Great War still darken the snow in 1920s Europa. The capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory,” which fueled the war with heavily armored mechs, has closed its doors, drawing the attention of several nearby countries. With characters from five factions converging onto a small but highly desired swath of land, who will gain fame and fortune by establishing their empire as the leader of Eastern Europa?

Terra Mystica


Terra Mystica is a strategy game with a simple game principle and very little luck involved: You govern one of 14 factions trying to transform the landscape on the game board in your favor in order to build your structures. On the one hand, proximity to other players limits your options for further expansion, on the other hand though, it provides some benefits during the game. This conflict is the source of Terra Mystica’s appeal.

The 14 artfully designed factions, each having unique special abilities, as well as the exchangeable bonus cards allow for a large number of possible game plays that constantly keep this game entertaining!

Terraforming Mars


In the 2400s, mankind is forced to terraform Mars. To do this, giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects.

The goal is to raise the oxygen level and temperature and to create enough ocean coverage that the planet is habitable.

In Terraforming Mars, you play one of those corporations. You earn prestige by contribution to the terraforming process and for advancing infrastructure in the solar system. Significant mmilestones will also help to determine who becomes the most dominant for ce on Mars.

Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents


You control a start-up company in the early days of the U.S. electric industry. In the beginning you only have your lead inventor, some shares of preferred stock, and some money. Over the course of the game you will be hiring other famous technicians and business people to work for you. Each luminary in the game has their own unique ratings, and the inventors also have their own special abilities.

Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar


The Maya were a highly developed civilization known for its unique art, complex architecture, sophisticated mathematics and advanced knowledge of the stars. At the heart of their society was a mysterious calendar – Tzolk’in. With a length of 260 days, it could predict the right time to plant seeds, the time to build monuments, the day a new baby would be born as well as the movement of the planets.

Harvest crops now, or wait for them to grow a little more for higher yield? All will be clear to see on the wheels of time.

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Cooperative Games

Board Game Night doesn’t have to end in someone flipping the table and rage quitting because someone was robbed in Catan for the 12th time in a row by the same person. There are a lot of cooperative games to choose from where everyone’s on the same team, or at least that’s the intent.

Here’s some cooperative games to consider:

Aeon’s End


Aeon’s End by Indie Boards and Cards is a 1 to 4 player cooperative deckbuilding game that has a number of innovative mechanisms, including a variable turn order system that simulates the chaos of an attack, and deck management rules that require careful planning with every discarded card.

Players will struggle to defend Gravehold from The Nameless and their hordes using unique abilities, powerful spells, and, most importantly of all, their collective wits.

Continue reading Cooperative Games

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Small, Short and Easy to Play Games

Good things come in small packages.

This is true when it comes to board and card games. There are a lot of great games that come in small packages. Micro games have a number of benefits including:

  • They’re easier to carry around
  • Usually take up less space (tabletop and storage)
  • Cheaper than big-box games
  • Shorter play times
  • Usually have simpler rules so they’re easy to explain to new players
  • Coup


    The base game of Coup is a great game for 2-6 players. The goal of the game is to be the last player with a card or cards. Each player is dealt two cards. There are 3 copies of 5 different cards in the deck so you use deduction to determine what cards are in play. Players say what action they are going to take based on the card they supposedly have. Other players can challenge them if they don’t think the player has that card. Cards are eliminated if challenges are successful or by card effects. Bluffing is a huge part of Coup and makes it a lot of fun.

    I’m pretty sure I’ve played Coup more than any other game. It’s really easy to learn and is always fun to play.

    Continue reading Small, Short and Easy to Play Games

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    Getting Ready To Open

    Hi Everyone,
    The Legendesque store is almost ready to open. I’ve been working on getting some of the infrastructure squared away.

    Took a trip to LA Carton to buy a carload of shipping supplies
    Took a trip to LA Carton to buy a carload of shipping supplies

    The other day I went to LA Carton to pick up a carload of boxes and shipping supplies. Driving through Vernon where LA Carton’s located was a little scary because there were so many semis driving around.
    Elliott

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    Legendesque Store Intro and Portable Games

    Hi Everyone, this is Elliott, the owner of Legendesque, and this is officially the first update for legendesque.com. Yay! The store should be opening soon so check back here for updates. You can also join our mailing list to get updates directly to your email box.

    Some Portable Games we were able to play in the car
    Some Portable Games we were able to play in the car

    My son and I have always been into board games, but one of the things that got us more heavily into them was playing games in the car while waiting for some appointment or event. My son joined a soccer team a few years back and our routine was to go to practice right after school, do some homework in the car, and maybe play some short games until practice started. Soccer practice was usually three times a week so we had a lot of time to play games.

    The first game we tried to play in the car was Dominion. If you’ve ever played Dominion, you’d probably wonder how in the world we could have played in the car where there’s not a lot of space to lay out stacks of cards. It took us a few iterations but we figured out how to do it. At first we tried laying the cards on the slightly-tilted dashboard and on the center console. That didn’t really work because the cards would slide off the dashboard pretty easily. Our next attempt was to use the Dominion box to hold some of the cards and some of the others were on the center console. That worked, but any sudden movement of the box would make a big mess of cards. We finally figured out that we could use two collectible card 9 pocket page protector to hold the cards. After this I vowed to come up with better ways to play in the car (which I’m hoping one day to implement).

    We started searching for more games that we could play in confined spaces like the car. A few of them we played a lot. We started playing DiceMasters but only with three heroes because we didn’t have enough space to lay out that many cards and dice. DiceMasters is a lot of fun because there are a lot of interested characters with interesting abilities. And it’s always exciting to see if you get an ultra-rare collectible card/dice in one of the expansion packs.

    We played Coup quite a bit although as a two player game it was a lot of the same gameplay over and over. We used the Coup box to hold the tokens and the center console had the two stacks of cards. Despite mostly playing two-player, we probably played Coup a hundred times in the car. Everyone we introduced this game to really loved it.

    We found Love Letter to be really easy to play in the car, although we didn’t keep track of score using the cubes. I found a cell phone dashboard holder, the kind that the phone sits on top of a slot and looks a little like an easel, and the Love Letter cards fit nicely in there without worrying about them sliding off the dashboard. Love Letter’s such a nicely packaged small game that I pretty much carry it everywhere I go.

    The card game Poo was pretty easy to play in the car as there’s really only two stacks of cards. The only problem was that the discard stack tended to get messy and we needed to straighten it out every few turns. The theme was fun as well, flinging poo at other players as fast as you can.

    We played a lot of Dungeon Roll. We put the black encounter dice on a ledge where the navigation screen was located and rolled carefully on the center console. The only downside I see to Dungeon Roll is that the box is shaped like a treasure chest and would probably get crushed if I carried it around in my backpack.

    We even played Machi Koro in the car, but we only tried it once because it was a little too messy. We used the box to hold the cards and played with our own made up rules where there were three random stacks of cards instead of all of the different cards laid out in their own pile. We actually found playing that way to be more fun than the actual rules because when we played normally it was always who could get the Convenience Store cards first.

    We even tried playing the Star Wars Card Game by Fantasy Flight and put all of the stacks of cards in the box. I don’t think we finished playing that game because it took too much space. Similarly we tried playing the Lord of the Rings LCG, which was our favorite game for a long time, but it was just impossible with the number of cards that needed to be laid out.

    Roll For It is really easy to play with almost no space because it just requires space for three cards plus the deck and some space to roll the dice. We always use the box to roll the dice in. Roll For It is one of the easiest games to explain to new players. We got some of my son’s teammates into Roll For It.

    Zombie Dice may be the easiest and most portable game that we’ve played. There’s no cards involved and just requires a place to roll dice and a place to store a few dice for display. There’s really only dice and a dice cup so it can withstand some rough play without being damaged.

    Hanabi was another game we were able to play in the car. It does require a little space to put stacks of cards. This game is pretty fun because you’re depending on the other player to guide you to play the right card and you have to remember what they told you across turns.

    We played Sushi Go a few times and it’s easy to play with little space. Sushi Go is probably best if there are more than two players. You need to have a little space to place a few stacks of cards down per player.