help

Account

Free Shipping Over $75 in US

Murder Mystery Party: A Whodunit For The Ages

If you’re a fan of whodunits, then chances are you’ve heard of Murder Mystery Party. The series of board games has been turning average citizens into armchair detectives since the first entry in 1984. From Murder Mystery Party: Lethal Luau to Murder Mystery Party: A Taste for Wine and Murder, this board game series has been a source of fun and intrigue that places a delightful spin on the classic murder mystery genre. Get into costume, learn your lines, and send out the invitation to your closest friends as you try to solve a murder.

Murder Mystery Party: A Taste For Wine And Murder

Murder Mystery Party: A Taste for Wine and Murder is one of the most popular editions of the series, offering you the classic setup with a backdrop of California Wine Country. Among these peaceful vineyards and picturesque wineries hides a plotting murderer. At the annual wine-tasting festival the attendees are shocked to discover the body of Barry Underwood, the local vineyard owner, beneath his wine cellar. Players will have to figure out who among them is responsible for this dastardly deed.

In this edition of Murder Mystery Party, the suspects are Otton von Schnapps, Marilyn Merlot, Tiny Bubbles, Ralph Rottingrape, Pape Vito, and Hedy Shablee. There are also two more optional characters for games of eight players. Each player (suspect) will get a Character Booklet that includes their roles and background information. The game also comes with a party planner with recipes and a menu as well as tips on music and decorating. It even comes with eight party invitations and envelopes to send to your unsuspecting guests.

Players will use eight place cards to mark their spot at the table, as well as six secret clues that can help point to the killer. A cassette tape (or CD in recent versions) will provide an introduction, summary of events, and the solution to the crime. The host will direct the players alongside the CD to act out their parts and read certain dialogue (while hamming it up as best they can). Once the game is over, everyone will make their accusations until the CD reveals the actual murderer.

The fun of the game comes from acting your part, as character booklets provide you with interesting character traits that can be fun to play around with. You can even try out an accent to impress (or annoy) your fellow players–it’s all up to you! All the important parts are scripted, so the essential parts of the game will all be kept intact. With this particular edition of Murder Mystery Party, the roles are delightfully campy and all in good fun.

More Murder Mystery Party

There are many other editions of Murder Mystery Party that have been released through the years. Murder Mystery Party Case Files: Fire in Adlerstein was released in 2018 with a shorter playing time and the ability to be played by 1-5 players. This edition comes with both physical and digital parts to be used for investigation. Players can either play in cooperative mode or competition mode to find the criminal. The game is designed to be like a realistic criminal case, making you feel like a real police officer as you conduct your investigation.

If you’re a disco fan, then you’ll love Murder Mystery Party: Stayin’ Alive. This edition is set in trendy Studio Manhattan, where dance sensation Jackie Fever has just been murdered. With hilarious characters such as disco champ John Revolting and martial arts expert Bruce Leap, you’ll have a blast you won’t soon forget.

Throw Yourself A Murder Mystery Party

Murder Mystery Party is usually playable by 6-8 players, so it’s a good game for a dinner party for small groups. Playing time is about three hours, so you should definitely plan to make an evening of it. Ages 16 and up can play most editions of Murder Mystery Party, which makes it a good choice for adult friend groups of most ages. Murder Mystery Party comes in so many varieties that you’ll be sure to find something to your liking. Buy Murder Mystery Party today and enjoy the thrill of the chase!

 

Lords of Waterdeep: Explore a Detailed World

From the magical world of Dungeons & Dragons comes Lords of Waterdeep, a strategy board game that pits secretive and power-hungry masked rulers against one another in a campaign to grasp control of the city. Lords of Waterdeep combines resource gathering with card playing in an intricate and fantastical experience that will have you backstabbing your closest friends to win some much-needed victory points. The fantasy and political intrigue of Lords of Waterdeep elevate this board game from a forgettable worker placement game into a magical quest.

The Masked Lords of Waterdeep

In the Forgotten Realms, there lies a most fantastical city named Waterdeep, the City of Splendors. As one of the masked Lords of Waterdeep, you’ll secretly recruit adventurers to embark on quests and bring back rewards with which you can grow your political influence. Lords of Waterdeep is all about the secret back-alley dealings and double crosses that determine who holds the true power of the city.

At the beginning of the game, each player will take on the role of one of the five Lords of Waterdeep. The game box comes with five different cardstock player mats with which you’ll conduct your various deeds. It also comes with hundreds of different cards, cubes, meeples, and other little colored trinkets that fill the game with colorful flourishes.

Adventurers, Rewards, and Quests

As one of the Lords of Waterdeep, you’ll control agents who will recruit adventurers to perform certain quests for them and earn rewards. These rewards will sometimes come in the form of victory points, which boost your influence over Waterdeep and get you one step closer to winning the game. Whoever wins the most victory points by the end of the eighth round is declared the winner, so you’ll have to act fast if you don’t want to fall behind.

The adventure resources are represented as purple, orange, black, and white cubes that are based on the four character classes of Dungeons & Dragons. Certain adventurers are better suited for certain quests—will your adventurer succeed in Skullduggery or does their strength lie in Commerce? You’ll need to stay on your toes and strategize if you want to block the other Lords from gaining control.

Scoundrels of Skullport Expansion

A single expansion was released in 2013 called Scoundrels of Skullport, which adds two expansion modules to the base game of Lords of Waterdeep. Whether you dive into the Undermountain module; explore the Skullport module; or add both expansions to the game, you’ll get a whole host of new game boards, cards, and tokens with which to play.

Undermountain adds an interesting new mechanic that allows you to place resources on the game board spaces while also offering you more expensive but rewarding quests. Skullport adds the corruption mechanic to the game, which includes the new corruption track game board and 25 corruption tokens. These can rob you of crucial victory points and make winning the game that much harder. If you’re a fan of Lords of Waterdeep and are looking to further explore the magical Forgotten Realm, the Scoundrels of Skullport expansion is an excellent addition to the base game.

Take Over the City of Splendor with Lords of the Waterdeep

Lords of Waterdeep is playable by 2-5 players, so it’s perfect for small to medium groups of friends who are looking for a new strategy board game to add to the mix. Dungeons & Dragons lovers will enjoy the familiar fantasy elements, while fantasy lovers in general will marvel at the creative imagination of the game’s designers.

Lords of Waterdeep is a somewhat lengthy game, with a playing time of one to two hours. However, hardcore strategy gamers will find gameplay completely manageable, especially when compared to most D&D quests. Lords of Waterdeep is also suitable for ages 12 and up, so it’s a great game for younger players who are looking to get into more advanced concepts of strategy and fantasy. While there are many tokens and cards to keep track of throughout the game, both beginners and advanced players alike can enjoy the adventure that lies within the Lords of Waterdeep.

Adjust your mask and plot your way to victory!

 

The Ultimate Horror Adventure: Zombicide

I admit this was one of my first experiences with the horror genre. I must say, before playing Zombicide , I knew nothing of zombies or horror movies in general save for Resident Evil. That said, after playing the game a few times, horror elements are still strong.

Overall Gameplay

To start off on how to play Zombicide , one player is assigned as the overseer who controls all of the zombies and placing them on the board. They also have a separate deck of cards called “Overseer Cards”. These cards consist of different kinds of zombies that can spawn during the game including ones that spawn hazardous items on the map instantly that only they can activate (hence why you want an overseer). The other players act as survivor characters with their own unique traits. As they kill zombies, they get more skills which the survivor characters use to accomplish certain tasks such as finding gold or opening doors.

Survivors start off with three random equipment cards. They can equip one of these cards on free slots on their character board at the beginning of the game and upgrade later on if they gain skill cards that say so. They can then go out into different areas of the map where buildings are divided by smaller zones inside separated by walls within each building zone. Within these smaller zones, there are rooms separated by double-sided tiles (one side showing an outside area while another side shows a room interior). People who have played Pandemic before might think is familiar territory because it works in a similar way.

Each zone can fit a maximum of one zombie group at the start of the game. When survivors kill zombies in that zone, more zombies spawn until they take them all out and survivors claim it as their own. Zombie groups must exhaust after spawning before they activate again which makes killing them much easier and once they run out in a zone then no more zombies will spawn there in future rounds. If too many zombies spawn then the board becomes overrun and everyone loses so players must cooperate to prevent this from happening by managing how many zombies appear on each turn depending on how skilled they are when compared with other survivors in their party.

Zombies for Days

Zombies come in two types: Walkers or Runners . Walkers shuffle slowly towards the nearest survivor they see and kill them on their next attack phase (they do not take turns like survivors). Runners move faster and can activate every turn instead, allowing them to eventually catch up to their target. Players must either balance killing zombies or fighting other hostile survivors also roaming around the map who will try to take out as many of your group as possible before you manage to overcome them.

Zombies come with their own inherent traits that change up strategies somewhat such as Hunters that run straight for the closest survivor instead of walking around the map, Brutes that cannot be killed until their armour has been destroyed or Virals who stand idle in a zone until a player enters it which allows them to move.

The core gameplay sounds simple but strategies start forming when we consider survivor abilities and how they work with each other which is why I enjoy this game so much. Each character has a certain ability that can help in specific situations such as having more than one survivor adjacent for extra defense against incoming enemies or taking two actions during your turn such as moving twice, searching twice or shooting twice in one turn. These abilities, combined with what equipment you have and other survivor buffs can lead to interesting tactical situations such as blocking another player’s line of sight while they shoot at the zombies or using your health for extra damage against a powerful enemy instead of risking it all fighting zombies.

A human-only game is also available where players control only survivors and no overseer exists but I’ve never tried this mode before so I can’t personally say how different (if at all) it is from the regular version.

Zombicide: Black Plague Expansion

Zombicide: Black Plague takes place after the events that transpired in Zombicide, and the heroes return to medieval times but this time, we get to play as the zombies instead!

The gameplay is still the same: players control survivor teams and fight against hordes of zombies with a deck of cards and dice. There are 104 miniatures, 100 double-sided tiles, 15 modular map sections, 6 pre-assembled board sections for different setups and more than 1000 cards to choose from when building your deck.

You start off by choosing a scenario which will determine what equipment you use (note: poison gas zones can be present in some scenarios so avoid entering these), how many zombies spawn per round based on our skills compared with other survivors in our group, where certain items are located within the map and what kind of starting abilities we get each turn.

A nice change from Zombicide is having NPC survivors working alongside you with different agendas and starting locations on the map. Some ally survivors will ignore your group but others may attack you so you have to be careful when entering new zones since they can add an additional hazard to avoid while fighting zombies.

The goal is to end up with more Name cards than anyone else at the end of 8 rounds, thus winning you that game; however, players can also win immediately if they manage to spell their own Name (the one written on their character sheet) which requires collecting any 6 Word cards in your hand, placing them all down at once and then revealing your choice for everyone to confirm. This mechanic feels like it might be too powerful compared to everyone else but no one has managed it yet so I’d say games are usually close enough despite this small edge someone might have.

Host your own night of horror and buy Zombicide today.

 

 

Eastern European Engine Building at Its Best: Scythe

Scythe is a miniatures board game set in an alternate history of Eastern Europe that combines mechanics from engine-building games like Brass and worker placement like Lords of Waterdeep. The combination of these elements allows for Scythe to play out as a kind of hybrid between the two genres, giving it more depth than your typical engine-builder while still keeping the pacing brisk enough to make the game enjoyable.

Miniatures for Days

Scythe uses miniatures to represent units in combat – minis can be upgraded and used over and over again, allowing for battles to take place (with the possible addition of cards) between miniatures on the board. This adds a miniatures game element to Scythe that is highly anime-inspired, but minis are typically used in miniatures games to represent armies rather than individual soldiers themselves – minis are not merely for combat purposes here.

The miniatures are miniatures in both senses of the word – miniatures in terms of physical size, but miniatures also in terms of quality, detail, and artistry. There’s something very familiar about them, but they all retain a unique flair that makes each one memorable and exciting to behold.

The miniatures are miniatures in both senses of the word – miniatures in terms of physical size, but miniatures also in terms of quality, detail, and artistry. There’s something very familiar about them, but they all retain a unique flair that makes each one memorable and exciting to behold.

Combat Mechanics

Combat is handled through miniatures in this game, so there’s something decidedly anime-inspired about Scythe. However, miniatures games are typically done with the miniatures representing heroes or armies rather than being representative of soldiers themselves. I’m not sure if that means it’s more like Legend of the Five Rings meets Axis & Allies, but it seems fitting. The miniatures themselves are beautiful and detailed, which makes combat fun as you watch each miniature do its thing.

In Scythe, players begin the game with a faction board that has three mech miniatures on it – one for a worker, a soldier, and a noble. Each player takes turns placing their minis onto various locations on the board. These miniatures represent individual units, but instead of being used to simply fight battles or lay claim to territory, minis are also used to execute various actions throughout the game. For example, at the beginning of the game each player takes one minis from their faction board and places it onto an action space that allows them to build buildings – miniatures are also used to upgrade minis, move minis through territories you control (more minis = more territory), or to take resources.

Mechanics in Scythe revolve around miniatures and minis in a few ways: miniatures represent units that can be placed on the board in order to take actions, minis are used for combat purposes, minis are upgraded throughout play, minis cycle in and out of play each round.

Overall Gameplay

At the beginning of each game, each player receives a player board that has spaces for miniatures on it, but also several other actions which can be taken throughout the duration of play. These actions are broken up into four categories: managing energy, building structures, playing cards/upgrading miniatures/fighting battles. All these actions require the use of miniatures to take place, so it may be necessary to refocus on minis throughout the game in order to accomplish certain things even when it’s not your turn.

Scythe is played over the course of 8 rounds, with miniatures being returned to minishelves on one’s player board at the end of each round. This means that miniatures are constantly cycling in and out of play throughout the game, lending a sense of urgency to minis-related actions throughout play. It also lends itself well to the idea that miniatures are being recruited, so minis can be placed onto miniature shelves at the end of each round.

It is possible to upgrade miniatures throughout the course of play, but it’s somewhat expensive in terms of resources or actions that must be used to do it. I think this serves two purposes: it limits miniatures upgrading to a certain extent, and also incentivizes minis-related actions throughout the course of play.

Create an alternate history and buy Scythe today.

 

 

Achieve Glory with Twilight Imperium

Twilight Imperium is, simply put, a science fiction based board game. The goal of Twilight Imperium is to eliminate all other players, and there are many paths to victory, but only one player will win the game.

Alien Races

Each player controls between two and six unique alien races that offer different play styles and strategies. Each race has their strengths and weaknesses as well as special abilities that can be used throughout the game.

Among the seventeen races available for play are “the Federation of Sol,” “the fearsome, machine gun-toting Barony of Letnev,” and “the graceful, psychic Yin Brotherhood.”

When setting up the game, players place their home system on one of sixteen locations on the map. These locations are home to various planets, which are used for producing units, science, culture, trade goods, activating special abilities and for determining who goes first in each round. Each player then takes turns placing their other home systems on any of the remaining unoccupied planets around the map.

Lead Your Troops To War

At its core Twilight Imperium is a war game. The science fiction setting allows for battles to take place in outer space. The board is modular, allowing the players to constantly add new systems and wormholes to the map leading from one system to another creating a unique galactic map each time it is played. There are two main types of units, warships and leaders . Warships have a variety of statistics including combat strength, command points, and hit points. The number of command points a ship has determines the maximum number of other ships that can be commanded by a leader or admiral attached to that unit. Leaders have a variety of statistics as well though these are focused mainly around science, culture, trade goods production, politics and special abilities.

The science fiction setting also allows science to play an important role in the game. Each player is given science points at the start of each round, with science points gained during the round based on what you control and where it is located. Science can be used to activate special abilities , upgrade units, or research technology.

Technology offers a variety of bonuses including science production , culture production , and combat upgrades.

Game Culture

Culture is another important aspect of the game. When a player first gains control of a planet they place one culture counter on it and receive one point for each other counter on the planet. Culture counters can be used to purchase trade goods, science, units, technology upgrades , activate special abilities , or commission science and culture ships . Trade goods can be used to activate special abilities , upgrade units, science, culture, or provide bonuses at the end of the game.

Galactic Politics

Each player receives an amount of politics tokens based on their political standing with other players at the beginning of each round. At this point each player may use some or all of their tokens to issue edicts . These are actions that provide immediate effects such as science, culture, or combat boosts. If a player has any secret objectives they may place one of these on the board at this time as well.

Combat is not played out with dice but rather through targeted spending of command points by players involved in a battle. When one player is attacked by another, they choose how many of their units will defend the planet. The attacker then does the same for any units that are attacking from outside the system. Each side spends command points equal to the number of units they have in play in order to attack. After this is done, both sides add up their combat strength and science (if any) and apply the results. If one side has a higher strength than the other, that player wins the battle and must remove an appropriate number of units from the defender’s control.

The battle is over at this point unless both sides played at least one science card in which case there is a science phase. In this phase science points are spent by both sides to activate science cards. This determines the science value of science ships for this battle. Each science card provides a science value which is added to the science value of any science ships involved in the combat. The side with higher total science wins, destroying any units that don’t have enough science to match the enemy’s total science.

After a round is over, players receive science points, command counter refresh, and income. Players must spend science points to activate science cards. Command counters are spent on the various types of actions in the game. Income is then provided based on controlling systems and trade goods. A new round then begins with players receiving more command counters, science points, trade goods, income, science cards, and secret objectives. All of these elements are replenished until one player has eight or more command counters . At this point the game ends at the end of that round with science points being spent to buy technology upgrades .

The Spacecraft Choices

There are three types of science ships in the game: research carriers , science vessels , and science battleships . Science battleships are pure science where science vessels allow science to be used for both science and culture while research carriers convert a combat victory into science points.

The game ends when there is only one player with command counters remaining, all other players having been eliminated. At this point the player with the most Command Counters and science points wins.

At the end of the science phase science ships have science added to them from science cards played in combat, science bonuses from technology upgrades , and their own science value which is determined by how many science symbols are on the ships.

No two games of Twilight Imperium are the same. Buy Twilight Imperium today for many exciting game nights with your family and friends.

 

Get into Role-playing: Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is a game of Euro-inspired tactical combat in a persistent world of shifting motives. Players will take on the role of a wandering adventurer with their own special set of skills and their own reasons for traveling to this dark corner of the world.

Gloomhaven players must work together out of necessity to clear out menacing dungeons and forgotten ruins. In the process, they will enhance their abilities with experience and loot, discover new locations to explore and plunder, and expand an ever-branching story fueled by the decisions they make. Gloomhaven has it all: detailed character classes, hundreds of different monster types that are randomly encountered in each scenario, thousands upon thousands of potential dungeon layouts, engaging quests that help develop your character’s background.

Role-Playing

Gloomhaven is a great place to start if you are interested in role-playing. Gloomhaven might be for you!

On Gloomhaven, your characters will embark on key quests over the course of many years in the Gloomhaven world. Gloomhaven is an exciting board game with Euro-inspired tactical combat during which you can innovate and improvise when it comes to building up your team of mercenaries at the table, each with their own array of talents and abilities, then challenging Gloomhaven’s AI system or other players in single-player mode. Gloomhaven offers an epic campaign that can easily surpass thirty hours in length while current scenarios offer compelling replayability by way of multiple paths to victory, scaling difficulty levels, unique objectives, and corresponding rewards.

Gloomhaven has it all: detailed character classes with unique abilities, an innovative behavior system for monster actions that are based on player card play, thousands of different possible layouts for the nine locations, modular town events that make every game experience incredibly fresh; Gloomhaven features dozens of scenarios in which you can hunt down bandits, delve through forgotten ruins, stop a marauding army from pillaging your town’s borders… Gloomhaven challenges you to face off against difficult bosses who will test everything you’ve learned up until then. Gloomhaven players must work together out of necessity to clear out menacing dungeons and forgotten ruins.

Cooperative Play

Gloomhaven features dozens of scenarios to explore, countless items to find, a vast range of character options that unlock new strategies, and branching storylines that result from decisions made during each adventure. Gloomhaven has it all: detailed character classes, hundreds of different monster types that are randomly encountered in each scenario, thousands upon thousands of possible dungeon layouts; Gloomhaven’s AI system offers an exciting challenge that can be enjoyed solo or in multiplayer mode with up to four participants. Gloomhaven players will make decisions over the course of about 30 years, all of which will influence how the Gloomhaven world evolves; Gloomhaven has great replayability through its branching scenarios and multiple difficulty levels.

Gloomhaven features detailed character classes, hundreds of different monster types that are randomly encountered in each scenario, thousands upon thousands of possible dungeon layouts… The Gloomhaven experience is also strongly rooted in its story arc. Gloomhaven offers an epic campaign that can easily surpass thirty hours in length while current scenarios offer compelling replayability by way of multiple paths to victory, scaling difficulty levels, unique objectives, and corresponding rewards. Gloomhaven offers an epic campaign that can easily surpass thirty hours in length while current scenarios offer compelling replayability by way of multiple paths to victory, scaling difficulty levels, unique objectives, and corresponding rewards.

Game Play

Gloomhaven players will make decisions over the course of about 30 years, all of which will influence how the Gloomhaven world evolves; Gloomhaven features dozens of scenarios to explore, countless items to find, a vast range of character options that unlock new strategies… Gloomhaven’s AI system offers an exciting challenge that can be enjoyed solo or in multiplayer mode with up to four participants. Gloomhaven has great replayability through its branching scenarios and multiple difficulty levels. Gloomhaven has great replayability through its branching scenarios, which results in a completely different playthrough each time. Gloomhaven features dozens of scenarios to explore, countless items to find, a vast range of character options that unlock new strategies…

Gloomhaven’s AI system offers an exciting challenge that can be enjoyed solo or in multiplayer mode with up to four participants. Gloomhaven players will make decisions over the course of about 30 years, all of which will influence how the Gloomhaven world evolves; Gloomhaven is widely regarded as one of the best board games ever created and for good reason: It does everything so well. Gloomhaven is a fantastic experience and Gloomhaven doesn’t simply sit on its laurels as the best board game ever created, Gloomhaven is constantly evolving. Gloomhaven’s AI system offers an exciting challenge that can be enjoyed solo or in multiplayer mode with up to four participants.

Gloomhaven has great replayability through its branching scenarios and multiple difficulty levels; Gloomhaven features dozens of scenarios to explore, countless items to find, a vast range of character options that unlock new strategies, etc. Gloomhaven is widely regarded as one of the best board games ever created and for good reason: It does everything so well. Gloomhaven doesn’t simply sit on its laurels as the best board game ever created; it’s constantly evolving.

Make a fantastic choice and buy Gloomhaven today!

Unlock! Is Where Card Games And Escape Rooms Meet

Escape rooms have blown up in popularity over the last few years, giving groups of people the opportunity to use nothing but their wits to puzzle their way out of danger. To capitalize on the fun of riddle-solving and clue-gathering, publishers have released the card game Unlock! Escape Adventures. This dynamic card game gives you three thrilling scenarios to choose from that will force you to put your heads together if you want to make it out alive.

How to Escape

Unlock! is a cooperative card game that works similarly to an actual escape room. Instead of traveling to some in-person escape room at your local mall, you can experience all of the fun of puzzle-solving and teamwork from the comfort of your very own home. Unlock! allows you to search scenes, combine objects, and solve riddles to escape from the room and win the game.

Unlock! is played with cards that each have a number on one side and a detailed illustration on the other. Whenever players enter a new area, they turn over a card to represent the room they’re in. Players will create a map of the room based on the numbers of the other cards they have, giving you a unique experience each time.

You play the game with several different cards. Object cards can be used with other cards to perform tasks, while you may need to study closely the illustrations on the room cards to find hidden clues. Unlock! even comes with a companion mobile app that you can use to perform small challenges and advance throughout the room. This app can also give you hints in case you get stuck.

Choose Your Adventure

Unlock! Escape Adventures comes with three different escape rooms to choose from. The first is The Formula, in which you’re government operatives locked in a secret laboratory and tasks with recovering a mysterious serum. You’ll have to solve the riddles if you want to find the serum in the scientist’s subterranean laboratory and complete your mission.

The Squeek & Sausage escape room casts the players as heroes working against the evil super-villain Professor Noside. This game uses fun object puzzles and a unique visual style to give players a cartoonishly fun time. The last adventure is The Island of Doctor Goorse, where players are stranded on the island of an eccentric antique collector billionaire. Players have to work together to overcome his hidden traps and escape the island with their lives!

Unlock! comes with a ten-card tutorial that helps you to learn how to play without needing to read the rules of the game. The mobile app also includes a tutorial and a demonstration scenario that make it easy for you to pick up the rules of the game. While you do need to download the app in order to play the game, you don’t need an internet connection to use it while you’re playing.

Unlock! Sequels

In addition to the original Unlock! Escape Adventures card game, they’ve released quite a few sequel card games that feature new adventures to escape from. Unlock! Mystery Adventures features three escape rooms, including the sinister haunted house in The House on the Hill and the vicious sea monster that tracks you into the submarine in The Nautilus’ Traps.

Unlock! Mystery Adventures also features The Tonipal’s Treasue, a treasure-hunting theme that forces you to race against another treasure hunter to be the first to find Captain Smith’s hidden booty. If you’ve played through the original three escape rooms of Unlock! Escape Adventures and you’re looking for new challenges, you can choose from any one of the sequels to keep the good times rolling.

Find Your Way Out with Unlock!

Unlock! is playable by 2-6 players, although the game really shines as a 2-player game. It’s suitable for ages 10 and up, as younger players can help the adults unravel the clues and play the short challenge games on the app. Playing time lasts around 45-75 minutes, so you should get a nice, long game out of it.

Buy Unlock! today and enjoy the thrill of a classic escape room from the comfort of your living room!

 

Munchkin: The Card Game for Monster-Killers and Backstabbers

Does the idea of killing monsters and stealing from your friends sound like a good time to you?  If so, you’ll love the hilarious card game Munchkin, a D&D-inspired game that takes the dungeon experience and flips it on its head.  Grab the Horny Helmet and vanquish the Plutonium Dragon to level up in this fantastic card game that will keep you laughing the entire time.

Kicking Down the Door

In Munchkin, each player begins their turn by “kicking down the door”, which involves drawing a Door Card from random.  Door Cards belong to several different categories.  The first are Curse Cards, which give you a certain negative effect.  If you have the bad luck to draw a Curse Card, you may end up having to forfeit your turn or go back a certain number of levels.  These usually come with funny little drawings such as the “Duck of Doom”, which curses you for being silly enough to pick up a duck in a dungeon (what were you thinking?)

Door Cards can also be Item, Race, or Class Cards that you get to add to your hand to be played at a future time.  These can be helpful in attacking opponents during their turns or in giving yourself a valuable boost in fighting monsters.  The last kind of Door Card is a Monster Card, which pits you against a ferocious creature in an opportunity to either level up or suffer the consequences.

Level Up but Don’t Get Killed

Munchkin begins with all players starting at level 1.  Whoever is the first to reach level 10 is declared the winner, but you’ll have to fight off some monsters if you want to level up.  Monster fights will pit your total level against the level of the monster to decide who wins the round.  The real excitement of the game comes from the fact that your fellow players can either choose to help you defeat the monster (in exchange for Treasure Cards) or add another monster to the mix to try and crush you.

If you win the fight and defeat the monster, you can draw a certain amount of Treasure Cards and level up.  If you lose, however, you’ll have to roll the dice to try and get away.  Anything less than a five will force you to deal with the “Bad Stuff” on the monster card, which can result in losing levels or Treasure Cards.  You may even die as a result of losing the battle, which doesn’t disqualify you from the game but does force you to end your turn and draw a new hand for equipment.

Munchkins Sequels and Expansions

Munchkin has spawned countless sequels that can be played on their own or added to the original game for an even wilder good time.  Munchkin Adventure Time is based on everyone’s favorite show on Cartoon Network, incorporating art and characters from the series.  Munchkin Booty sets the game on the high seas, forcing you to battle vividly drawn pirates drawn by Guest Artist Tom Siddell.  Expansions such as Munchkin Apocalypse add natural disasters, zombie takeovers, and alien invasions in addition to new mechanics for more complex gameplay.

Kill, Steal, and Stab: The Munchkin Way

Munchkin is playable by 3-6 players, so it’s definitely well suited for small to medium groups of friends who’ve grown tired of playing the traditional Dungeons and Dragons card game.  Newcomers to card games will also find plenty to love with the simple rules and amazing illustrations done by John Kovalic, which add a unique level of style and fun to the game.

Munchkin is suitable for ages 10 and up, so families can definitely get a kick out of all that it has to offer.  With a playing time of one to two hours, you can make an entire night out of a game without losing interest.  Thanks to its potential for cooperation and ruthless backstabbing, Munchkin is a game that can make or break friendships in an instant.  If you’re looking for a game with humor, strategy, and excellent artwork, Munchkin and any one of its numerous expansions will provide countless hours of fun.

 

Cosmic Encounter:Alien Politics of Outer Space

Intergalactic warfare is as much a game of politics as it is an epic battle among the stars. In the card game Cosmic Encounter, you’ll form shifting alliances with other alien races in an attempt to spread your colonies to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and win the game. If you’re a fan of fantasy card games that offer plenty of opportunities for strategy and backstabbing, you’ll love Cosmic Encounter.

Offense vs..Defense

Cosmic Encounter assigns each player the role of leader of their very own alien race. On every turn, a different player becomes the offense and must try to establish colonies in the planetary systems of the other players. The offense will draw cards from the destiny deck, which contain either a color that aligns with certain planets in other player’s systems, a special condition for selecting another player, or a wild card that lets you choose who to attack.

Once the card is drawn, the offense will shoot through the hyperspace gate and head to the planet that matches their card. The other players are not left defenseless, however. They can engage their ships to try and keep the offense out of their system, resulting in a battle between the ships of the two opposing players.

In Cosmic Encounter, both the offense and the defense are allowed to invite any of the other players to ally with their side. Players who are given an invitation can either accept or refuse. If they accept, they can add their own ships to the cause and potentially win rewards.

Attack or Negotiate?

To successfully build a colony on another planet, you need to win one of these offensive encounters. The way these battles work is by drawing Encounter cards, which will decide whether or not the players attack, negotiate, or a mixture of the two. If both players play Attack cards, then they add the values of the cards to their ships, leaving the player with the higher score the winner.

If both players play Negotiate cards, then the allies disperse and the offense and defense must agree to a deal within one minute. This can be anything from swapping cards to allowing one of the defensive player’s colonies to be established on the offensive player’s planet. If they don’t reach an agreement, then both players lose three of their ships. 

In encounters in which the offense wins, the defense (and any allies on their side) lose all of the ships they played, while the offense and their allies get to establish colonies on the defending planet. If the defense wins, then the offense and their allies lose their ships, while the defense gets to keep their colony on their planet. Defensive allies then get to collect Defender Rewards, which are either cards, discarded ships, or both.

If one player plays an Attack card and the other plays a Negotiate card, then the attacker automatically wins while the loser receives Compensation by randomly taking cards from the other player’s hand. Once one player manages to establish five colonies outside of their own home system, they win the game!

Cosmic Encounter Later Editions

Cosmic Encounter has a few standalone sequels that flip the script of the original card game and add new mechanics and possibilities to the game. Cosmic Encounter 42nd Anniversary Edition adds a newly discovered alien species while also introducing Cosmic Combo cards that add customizable challenges to the game.

Cosmic Encounter Duel takes the mechanics of the 3-5 player card game and turns it into a one-on-one standoff between two players. This sequel card game adds a new alien species known as the Cheater, which can help you cheat your way ahead as long as your opponent doesn’t catch you.

Conquer the Galaxy with Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter is a 3-5 player card game that’s usually best for small groups of friends, although families can enjoy it as well. It’s suitable for ages 12 and up, so teenagers in particular will be able to enjoy the thrill of intergalactic warfare. Playing time lasts around one to two hours, which is pretty standard for most fantasy card games.

Buy Cosmic Encounter today and use your alien powers to conquer the universe!

 

Death Eaters Rising: Harry Potter Fans Rejoice!

Calling all Harry Potter fans: this board game is for you! Death Eaters Rising takes the magic of the wizarding world and turns it into an intricate and fun board game for magic lovers everywhere. You’ll take on the difficulties that Harry, Ron, and Hermione faced in their fifth year at Hogwarts as you try to convince the world that the Dark Lord has indeed returned. Can you draw enough witches and wizards to your cause in time?

Elements of the Game

Death Eaters Rising comes with a large central board that you’ll use to set up cards for the ultimate battle. Players are witches and wizards tasked with the role of recruiting members from Dumbledore’s Army, Hogwarts, and the Order of the Phoenix in order to defeat Voldemort and his followers. On each turn, you’ll have to recruit new wizards to your cause, attack Death Eaters, and take down the evil Lord Voldemort once and for all.

One of the best parts of this board game is the giant Voldemort statue that sits in the middle of the board. You’ll direct Voldemort’s evil gaze towards whichever area is currently under attack, turning the wicked little figurine to face whichever unlucky players are chosen by the dice. Attacks are registered by little damage counters, while offensive spells have their own tokens that you can play.

Voldemort’s Attack

Each turn begins with a player traveling to one of three locations on the board: Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and Diagon Alley. This is where the player will face off against the Death Eaters and focus their recruitment efforts. Once you’ve traveled to your location, you must roll the Voldemort die and endure whichever attack he has planned.

Voldemort’s attacks will target one of the three areas on the board. However, if you roll one of the sides that bears the Dark Mark, all wizards are under attack. While you cannot attack Voldemort directly until later in the game, you will have a chance to attack his precious Death Eaters in response.

Fighting Back

Death Eaters Rising involves plenty of dice rolling to guide you through your turn. Once Voldemort has finished his attack, you’ll roll the Wizard dice to determine whether or not you recruit wizards, attack Death Eaters, or earn special abilities. You’ll need to balance your offense and defense if you want to keep Voldemort and his followers from spreading their dark influence throughout the wizarding world.

Something that makes Death Eaters Rising particularly fun is its use of characters from the original books.You’ll have to recruit fan-favorite characters such as Ginny Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, and Severus Snape while avoiding the attacks of the devious Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy.

Taking out the Boss

Death Eaters Rising will continue until the Voldemort card gets drawn. This changes everything, as players can now attack Voldemort alongside his evil Death Eaters. In order to win the game, you’ll have to vanquish both Voldemort and a certain number of Death Eaters. However, you can lose if you either allow four places to be corrupted, allow one place to be completely corrupted by Death Eaters, or if too many of your wizards are defeated.

Relive the Magic with Death Eaters Rising

Death Eaters Rising is playable by 2-4 players, so it’s better suited towards small groups or one-on-one games. Playing time lasts around 45-90 minutes, so you should get a nice long game out of it without having to spend hours slogging through the mechanics. It’s also suitable for ages 11 and up, so younger players can easily enjoy playing the game with friends without needing adults.

Death Eaters Rising will certainly appeal to fans of Harry Potter, but this board game really can be fun for anyone. Parents who haven’t seen the movies or read the books can still have fun playing alongside their kids as they roll the dice, cast their spells, and try their best to survive. If you’re a fan of fantasy board games that aren’t too complicated, then Death Eaters Rising is the perfect game to get into.

Grab your wand, put your wizard hat on, and buy Death Eaters Rising today!

 

Root: The Fate of The Forest Lies In Your Hands

War board games often take place over sprawling maps of the Earth, forcing you to deploy troops and battleships in the reenactment of historic wars. Root combines your classic war board game with elements of fantasy, replacing the battlefield with a beautiful woodland forest beset by warring factions. Players will draw cards, maneuver their furry little woodland creature tokens, and fight for the right to call the forest theirs. Will you help decide the fate of the forest in your favor?

The Four Factions

Root takes place in a great and beautiful woodland, over which four separate factions are warring for control. The evil Marquise de Cat has seized the woodland in order to scour it for riches to line her pocketbook. Her efforts have thus created an Alliance of woodland creatures to secretly fight back and subvert her evil rule.

Meanwhile, the Eyrie at the edge of the region has just elected a new commander to lead their faction to victory, restoring their rule over the forest as is their birthright. Lastly, the mysterious raccoon Vagabond is playing all sides of the conflict for his own personal gain. While he can navigate the more dangerous woodland paths, his own mysterious quest is unknown to all except himself.

Exploring the Forest

This board game comes with many different rules regarding each faction, so you’ll need to understand what your opponents are up to if you want any chance of beating them. While the Cats are focused on building workshops, lumber mills, and barracks, the Alliance works in the shadows. Their goal is to recruit more forces to their cause and muster their resources for one final battle at the end of the game.

The Eyrie is trying to take back to Woods with their hawks, so they’ll try to capture as much territory as possible and populate it with their roosts. Lastly, the Vagabond will work with the other players in an effort to collect enough items to power their own actions. Players can also engage in combat with each other, using each battle to further their overarching strategy.

Players will interact with a common deck of cards in order to accomplish their tasks. Each card has its own action text and suit, such as the “Mouse-in-a-sack” which allows you to draw a card and then discard a card. One of the best parts of Root comes from exploring the vast game board, learning all of the different rules for each faction, and playing around with the cute little woodland creature tokens.

Root Expansions

Root comes with several expansions that add new factions and cooperative scenarios.The Riverfolk expansion adds two new factions: the Riverfolk Company and the Lizard Cult. This allows Root to be played with up to six players instead of four. The Underworld expansion adds the Great Underground Duchy faction and the Corvid Conspiracy faction as well as two new maps for players to fight on.

The Clockwork expansion of Root allows you to add automated factions to the game, which can help supplement games when you don’t have enough players. This makes Root playable by only one player, giving you the ability to turn this group game into a solo game.

Stake Your Claim of the Forest with Root

Root is playable by 2-4 players, but you can make it anywhere from 1-6 by adding one of the expansions. It’s suitable for ages 10 and up, although younger players may have a harder time keeping all of the rules straight in their heads. Playing time lasts between 60-90 minutes, so it’s perfect for a game night with family or friends.

Root is very fun to play, although it does take a while to learn all of the rules by heart. Luckily it comes with a comprehensive guidebook that you can reference to make sure that the evil Marquise de Cat isn’t about to break up your hidden little Alliance with her dastardly ways. Once you’ve played the game a few times through, Root will be sure to become one of your favorite board games.

Buy Root today and enjoy the strategic depth of this fantasy board game!

 

Choose Your Own Adventure With Gloomhaven

Unlike card games that pit players against each other in a winner-takes-all campaign, Gloomhaven forces you to work together in order to survive.  This card game is set in a mysterious and changing world, casting you as the wandering adventurer with a private mission.  Players will work together to clear enemy-filled dungeons and forgotten ruins in an effort to boost their abilities and plunder more loot.

Choose Your Power

In the card game Gloomhaven, players have to work together to clear dungeons of the vicious monsters lurking inside and collect their loot.  Each player begins with a hand of cards that represent their character’s stamina and abilities.  All of the cards have initiative values on them, which determine the order of play.

The dungeon begins with each player revealing their cards at the same time and flipping over the monster cards.  Then, players will go in order of initiative.  Every card has two abilities on it: a top ability and a bottom ability.  When it’s your turn, you must choose two cards to play, using the top ability from one card and the bottom ability from another.

Clear the Dungeon and Meet Your Goal

The goal of each round is to clear the dungeon of monsters so that you can win the loot.  Characters don’t get killed off in Gloomhaven, but instead exhaust and get booted out of the game for that round.  The more players get eliminated each round, the harder it becomes for the other players to complete the scenario and vanquish the monsters.

You won’t play as the same character throughout the entire card game.  Every character in Gloomhaven has his or her own unique goal that they’re trying to achieve.  Once they meet that goal, that character retires.  This then allows you to unlock new characters with interesting new abilities that make the gameplay even more varied.

Gloomhaven also has many events that happen outside of your main dungeon-clearing adventures.  The City Event Deck and Road Event Deck offer interesting scenarios that either reward or punish you based on your decisions.

One of the most unique elements of Gloomhaven is the cute little game components that come with the cards.  This card game includes 17 playable character miniatures that you can play with as well as 34 monster types and 13 Boss monsters.  You’ll also get over 1500 cards in the box, making Gloomhaven a card game with limitless potential.

Gloomhaven Sequels

Gloomhaven has two sequel card games that use many of the same mechanisms but take place in new worlds.  Frosthaven is set in a small outpost far to the north, suffering from harsh weather and invasions of deadly forces.  Players will get even more characters, enemies, and a new 100-scenario campaign to explore.  Players can also explore more scenarios outside of combat, including solving mysteries and surviving the deadly seasons.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is another standalone sequel game that’s actually a prequel.  This game includes four new characters that can be integrated into the original card game.  It also includes 16 new monster types and a new 25-scenario campaign.  Unlike Gloomhaven, which can be incredibly complex, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is simplified enough for non-gamers and new players to ease into the experience.

Gloomhaven: Leave Your Legacy

Gloomhaven is playable by 1-4 players.  Whether you’re looking for a game to play solo or with a small group of gamer friends, this is the card game for you.  It’s also suitable for ages 14 and up, so teenagers and adults alike can enjoy hosting Gloomhaven gatherings.  Playing time lasts around 1-2 hours, so it’s definitely the kind of game that requires more of a time commitment.

Gloomhaven stands apart from other card games in that it provides you with endless possibilities to choose your own adventures.  After each scenario, players will have to decide what to do next, sending the story shooting off into an endless number of directions. Each decision will have an impact on where the story takes you, allowing you to play Gloomhaven countless times without playing the same game twice.

Fulfill the divine quest set aside for you and buy Gloomhaven today!

 

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop
    Continue Shopping