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The Time For Fun Is Now Or Never

Now or Never tells the story of a cliffside village called The Monument, which once protected an ancient shrine. Then a crystal meteorite descended upon the village, releasing its wicked monstrosities to wreak havoc across the land. The people of the village fled and the creatures spread throughout the land like a fungus. Now, twenty years later, rumors have begun to spread of their growing weakness, causing the people to consider returning and rebuilding. But do you have what it takes to seize your chance before someone else claims your home?

Rebuilding The Monument

Now or Never allows you and up to three friends to play as four asymmetrical characters, competing to see who can best rebuild your ancestral village and guide your fellow villagers home. The first thing you’ll need to do is rebuild your village so that the other villagers have a place to live. Your advantage comes from figuring out the best locations and buildings to construct, which will earn you rewards for long-term planning. You can even interact with other players by hiring their specialists to perform special actions when needed.

You’ll also have to fight the weakened creatures to protect your fellow travelers as they journey home to the village you’ve rebuilt. Although they’re weakened, they still pose a significant threat to you and your fellows, so make sure everyone makes it back safely!

All players will use a main board, which is overlaid by a 10×4 grid that contains iconography of the land and its various terrain. The game is played in six seasons, with each turn allowing you to use one of three hero actions to move on the game board and interact with the world. Each player gets their own hero board, which is fitted with different attack and defensive slots waiting to be filled or upgraded.

Specialist Action

Players get a grid of 4×5 buildings and two specialists, one who can build and the other who can refresh your heart track. If you choose to not be a hero on your round, you can activate one of your specialists to perform a distinct task. Other specialists can be recruited from the market to do things like buy gear or other specialized tasks. However, specialists need to be paid. If you choose to use another player’s specialist, then that player will get a few coins to act as taxes for reconciliation.

One optional move you can take is to use one of your specialists in order to let them rest. This earns you either two hearts or one coin. The trick of the game is in choosing the actions in the right order that earns you enough money where you need it while also allowing you to properly spend it.

Standard Vs. Story Mode

Now or Never has two modes of play: standard mode and story mode. Story mode allows you to read from a story book while you explore, while standard mode forgoes the use of the book. For players who want to learn more about the characters and the world, story mode can help add a magical feeling to the otherwise straightforward gameplay.

Every character has their own distinct story, with each decision guiding you further along in your own unique story. If you’ve played the previous two games in the Arzium storybook series (Above and Below and Near and Far), then you’ll definitely want to break out the storybook for your gameplay.

Now Or Never: A World-Building Fantasy

Now or Never is playable by 1-4 players, so it’s a great game for single players who love fantasy as well as small groups. If you play the game solo, then you will set up the board for a two-player game while only setting up the character board for your opponent. This allows you to play against an automated opponent.

Playing time is 90-180 minutes, so be prepared to settle down for a lengthy and satisfying game. It’s suitable for ages 13 and up, which makes it fitting for high schoolers and other young adults who appreciate the fantasy genre. Buy Now or Never and dive into this fantastical and mythical world!

 

Cute Cats Run Wild In Pusheen Purrfect Pick

We all know Pusheen: that fluffy, round cat on the Internet who always seems just a little too cute for her own good. Pusheen is a cartoon cat that’s made her way through comic strips, pranced across social media, and even been sold as plush toys and vinyl figures. And now, just when you thought Pusheen couldn’t get any cuter, she has her very own card game.

Pusheen Purrfect Pick is a game that involves planning the purrfect weekend for the cutest cat on the Internet. In this kooky card game, players will move Pusheen around the board and collect essentials as she pounces around, having a total blast. You can either play in Pusheen’s house on one side of the board or flip it over to play in the park. Whether you’re a longtime fan or you’ve never heard of Pusheen, Pusheen Purrfect Pick is a card game that lives up to the cuteness of its lead character.

Getting The Perfect Snapshot

In Pusheen Purrfect Pick, players attempt to collect cards on the board in order to fill the different objective Snapshot cards. Each Snapshot card has a different point value, with specific cards required to claim them. Turn by turn; each player will take the Pusheen figure (which is just as cute as can be) and place it on the board next to four cards.

These cards can be anything from friends like Pusheenicorn or Dragonsheen, items like gems and cupcakes, or action cards that allow you to take special abilities. As soon as a player has collected what they need to win a Snapshot card, they can claim the card and tally those points toward their overall score. The first player who collects ten stars is the winner of the game!

The Snapshot cards all feature cute little illustrations in the same vein as Pusheen. Some favorites include Snuggle Up, which shows Pusheen cuddling with a few furry friends, and Shiny New Toy, which shows Pusheen coveting a giant pink diamond. There’s even a hilarious illustration of Dragonsheen’s Lair, which shows Dragonsheen lounging on a giant pile of coins and diamonds.

Set Your Strategy

Don’t let the adorableness of Pusheen fool you–this is a game of strategy and tactical consideration. You’ll have to decide which objectives to pursue in your quest to win the game and beat out your fellow players (who said Pusheen couldn’t be cutthroat?). You might want to move fast by winning low-scoring objectives that don’t need very many cards to accomplish. Or, if you’ve got your eye on one of the Snapshot cards that earn you higher points, then you might want to wait to collect all of the different cards you need.

One of the things that make Pusheen Purrfect Pick so enjoyable is its stunning game design. Each card features a bright illustration of everyone’s favorite tubby Internet cat and her friends. The dual-sided game board is also a nice touch, as it can feel fresh playing a new round in Pusheen’s backyard as opposed to her house. You’ll also be sure to love the little Pusheen figure included in the game as she eagerly watches over your play.

Pusheen Purrfect Pick: Perfect For All Ages

Pusheen Purrfect Pick is a great family game for both younger and older players. Younger kids will be able to understand and enjoy the gameplay without getting overwhelmed by too many options. Older kids will also have fun planning strategies and focusing on winning without growing bored with the gameplay. The element of luck is also helpful in making it easier for anyone to become a winner.

Pusheen Purrfect Pick is playable by 2-5 players, so younger kids can enjoy playing one-on-one just as easily as the whole family can enjoy a game together. Playing time lasts between 10-30 minutes so that you won’t outlast anyone’s attention span. You can also play it multiple times in case anyone is hankering for a rematch. It’s suitable for ages 8 and up, which makes it a great game for almost all kids to play.

Buy Pusheen Purrfect Pick today and enjoy the chunky sweetness of your favorite Internet cat!

 

Grandpa Beck’s Golf: The Perfect Card Game For Any Age

While traditional golf may not sound like the kind of game that younger players would enjoy, Grandpa Beck’s Golf is interesting for kids and adults alike. This game takes the classic face card game and adds new cards and rules. Grandpa Beck’s Golf combines luck and strategy to allow for dynamic competition at a nice relaxed pace. Whether you’re looking for a game to play with the kids, or for something grandma and grandpa would enjoy, Grandpa Beck’s Golf is a swing and a hit!

Laying Down The Grid

The game starts with each golfer being dealt 9 cards, which they lay face down in a 3 by 3 grid. Each player then turns over two cards of their choosing, without peeking at the rest of them. The other cards in the deck stay in the middle of the table, with a separate draw pile and discard pile. The game takes place in rounds, with each player taking their turn to draw a card from either their own grid, the draw pile, or the discard pile.

Lowest Score Wins The Game

The fun of the game comes from the strategy in which you draw cards and set up your grid. Because the golfer with the lowest score is the winner in a traditional game of golf, whoever ends up with the lowest score in Grandpa Beck’s Golf wins the game. You can lower your score by collecting negative value red cards, which signify things like a birdie or hole in one and subtract anywhere from 1 to 4 points from your score.

Black cards will add points to your score, but if you collect three of the same black cards in a row, then you get to subtract those points from your overall score. You can make rows horizontally or vertically, but sadly not diagonally, so be sure to plan accordingly. You’ll have to strategize carefully in order to arrange the cards in the perfect order to nab the negative bonus before your competition has a chance to act first!

Mulligans And Hazards

There are two more card types that make Grandpa Beck’s Golf more than just a game of numbers. The Mulligan cards are some of the most powerful cards in the game, acting as wild cards to be used in place of a black card of any number. Hazard cards, on the other hand, will add 10 points to your overall score, so make sure to discard these toxic cards as quickly as possible.

The game ends once one of the players flips over the final card in their grid. If this player has the lowest score on the board, they win a bonus of -5 points. If someone else has a lower or identical score, however, then they get a penalty of +10 points. Any player who has cards that haven’t already been flipped over will have these cards added to their overall score, which can be devastating if you end up with a hidden hazard card among your bunch! As the game draws to a close, you’ll have to keep an eye on all of the other players to make sure that you’ll come out ahead by ending the game.

Tee Up With Grandpa Beck’s Golf

The best thing about Grandpa Beck’s Golf is how flexible it can to accommodate all different types of players. It’s playable by 2-5 players, which makes it perfect for families as well as for a one-on-one game between grandpa and grandson. Because it’s suitable for ages 8 and up, it’s a great way to connect different generations by giving them something to play that everyone can enjoy.

Playing time lasts around 30 minutes, but because there is no set amount of rounds in the game, you can pretty much play it as long or as short as you want to. Be sure to specify the number of rounds you want to play before you begin in order to give the game a firm endpoint (and protect you from accusations of quitting too soon!) With simple rules and entertaining game play, Grandpa Beck’s Golf is a family game for all generations.

Tee up some fun today!

 

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!

 

Fallout: From The Screen To The Table

Fallout is a post-nuclear adventure board game for one to four players that is based on the hit video game series by Bethesda Softworks.

Each Fallout scenario is inspired by a familiar story from the franchise. Survivors begin the game on the edge of an unexplored landscape, uncertain of what awaits them in this unfamiliar world. Each player must explore the hidden map with just one objective to guide them from the very beginning: fight ferocious enemies, and build the skills of their survivor as they attempt to complete challenging quests and balance feuding factions within the game.

Through the Wasteland

As they adventure through Fallout’s iconic wasteland, survivors will make difficult choices while facing moral dilemmas together. Each decision may have a lasting impact on the group’s reputation or help determine which legendary special skills are unlocked for the survivors to use. As they adventure, players will gather loot and encounter memorable characters while working towards completing specific goals. Each player will have their own secret objectives, hidden from other players in this thrilling post-nuclear adventure!

The survivors awake to find themselves in a vault waiting to be released from their cryogenic stasis. They have no idea how long they have been out or what the world has become, but as they step into the light and adventure begins!

Players must explore the Fallout adventure map which is 100 square inches of terrain, which will challenge even hardened wasteland veterans with hidden loot to find.While exploring the wasteland, players will encounter battle mutated creatures and other survivors. The wasteland is home to a number of groups, each with their own agenda. The Fallout adventure allows players to interact with these groups and influence them, trading one resource for another or starting wars between rival groups! Just an FYI… Starting a war is “always” a fun choice. 

Additionally, players will be able to complete challenging quests by using Fallout adventure scenarios, which provide hours of adventure and gameplay. Yes, hours of fun, if you so chose!

The adventures players set out on can be played in multiple ways, either as a classic dungeon crawler where the miniatures are placed on the map and move around or players can use their miniatures to represent themselves during encounters. There are simplified adventure rules allow players to jump straight into the adventure without having to learn complex game mechanics, which is a benefitial option for those who are unfamiliar with dungeon crawlers-style gameplay.

Key Features of Fallout include:

Fallout is a cooperative adventure for 1-4 players with over 100 minutures. The game also comes with 12 oversized boss miniatures, and provides a thematic PvE combat experience where players fight ghouls, raiders, super mutants, and deathclaws equiped weapons and armor. The adventure map is a hidden map gameplay where players never know what to expect! 

Quest driven gameplay is one of the key components to the Fallout universe. Players will unravel their own unique narrative arcs that are dispersed throughout the adventure book. Each of the multiple scenarios and challenging quests provide great replayability, which is what makes the Fallout board game so imersive.

Your favorite video game can easily become your favorite tabletop game. Buy Fallout today from Fantastic Games. 

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.

 

 

The Fantasy World of Everdell

Everdell is an city-building fantasy game. This worker placement board game for 1 to 4 players, ages 12+, takes 50–60 minutes to play. “Everdell” was conceived by an international team of game designers and artists from Europe and America.

The Basics of a Fantasy World

The fantasy world of Everdell is inhabited by all manner of fantastical creatures (We like that word… It’s Fantastic!). There are squirrels and badgers and chipmunks, foxes and rabbits and mice; there are elk and sparrows, robins and blue jays—and the list goes on.

It seems that every creature has its place in this land’s bustling ecosystem. From their forest home, these furry friends live quite comfortable lives: they eat nuts and berries (and often each other) for food, shelter from the elements in the hollows of ancient trees, sticks for stoking fires…the finer things in life really. One might be tempted to think everyone here leads a peaceful existence. However! Things have changed in recent seasons.

There’s something new in the forest now—a bustling city that could prove to be either a blessing or a curse for these woodland creatures, depending on who you ask. It is up to you and your furry friends to settle this wild frontier, building cities of your own while competing with other players for the best plots of land, favorable trade agreements… and enough food to stave off starvation!

The Several Play Modes

“Everdell” offers several distinct play modes: solo, cooperative, competitive, team-based. Of course there are many ways to enjoy “Everdell”. The game can be played mainly as a worker placement game (1–4 players) where the goal is gaining points by completing goals or fulfilling orders; but there is also a resource management mode (1–4 players) where the goal is to gather as many resources as possible and outlast other players; finally, there is a fully cooperative or solo mode (1 player) where players try to complete different objectives that come with the game.

There are 3 rounds in each “Everdell” match: Spring, Summer and Fall. During these rounds, you can take actions by placing one worker at a time on an action space on the board. There are three types of workers: red workers can be placed on building spaces; blue workers can be placed on event spaces; green workers can be placed on resource spaces (to gather food). Alternatively, if your was already used this round you can choose to instead take one star (points) by placing your worker on the star space. Once all workers have been placed, you must resolve all active events before moving onto the next round.

The game ends immediately after the final event of fall has been resolved and points are counted. The player with the most points wins; if there is a tie, then players play in sudden death mode for 1 additional turn and whoever scores the highest total number of stars takes the win!

The Four Main Cards Types

Each of the five card types yield six different actions. Those actions include resource generation (wood, stone, sap), worker placement, collecting resources, gaining points/stars, taking special abilities/events/cards or additional action spaces. There is also a reference sheet on each player’s mat with all possible actions and their costs. Many times players may never want to gather exactly what they need to complete an action due to future plans towards other game objectives; this means that it is ok for them to overspend in order to gain more than enough of any one type of resource.

The game ends immediately after the final event of fall has been resolved and points are counted. The player with the most stars wins; if there is a tie, then the player with the most points wins. In solo play, you must complete several objectives before your time is up.

Create a fantasy world with your family and friends and purchase Everdell today!

 

 

Colonize The Galaxy In Cosmic Encounter

The game is set in the future, when travelers of different nations and races met each other. The result was a time of chaos; wars, conquests, alliances between now unknown beings.

The space-time surrounding our planet became fragile because it had to protect itself from the constant attacks by aggressive forces that wanted to use it as their gate into our world.

The only hope for humanity is to try and establish a defense system using powerful radio transmitters. This way, we can know when an attack is coming; send our own ships into the space in time and protect the Earth in the present or past. That’s where you come in: You play as one of 19 commanding aliens trying to establish the defense system.

Overall Gameplay

Your goal is to create a complete command file that, when transmitted back into time will be used by Earth’s forces in the past to defend our planet against alien aggression. To do this you have to fight for planetary systems and establish colonies on them before your opponents do. Also, you should attack other traveler’s ships to make them join your alliance or steal their power cards.

You win the game by being the first player to establish colonies on five planets outside of your own color system.

Each of you starts with five ships, each of which has a unique special power that can be used once per turn. At the beginning of each turn, you assign one of these ships to a planet that does not have one of your colonies on it.

Each player, including you, gets a chance as the offense during every turn. Each time the offense encounters another player, both players reveal a card from their encounter hand and carry out what they can according to the hidden information-that is, alliance cards and power cards.

Cards for Days

Power Card – There are over 100 different power cards available in the game, each of which is illustrated with full-color images that depict various alien species, their starships and other objects. Each card has a text description of its special ability on it.

When you use your power you must announce who’s power you are using, and then the other players have the chance to use that power too. If more than one player decides to use that power then they must place their ships on their power card first. Then you follow in order starting with the player who has had fewer turns since initiating their special ability.

Alliance Card: Every Alliance Card contains between three and five different races that are allied with each other during the game. Each race has a unique special ability listed on it, in addition to an alliance score which determines how many ships of each separate species need to be present at the encounter in order for the card to have effect

Encounter: When two ships belonging to two different players meet one another on the same planet or moon, they carry out an encounter. The player who initiated the offense is known as the offensive player, and he or she places his ships on his power card first. The other players can place their ships either on their own power cards or by placing them directly under one of the races present on one of the two encounter cards.

When the encounter is over, all ships involved must return to their owners’ colonies.

Planet Card: Each planet has five areas on it where two or more ships can meet and carry out an encounter. All planets have one of each of these four kinds of areas: home base, home colony, warp point and foreign colony. They are colored differently to make it easier to identify their purpose

Warp points are the warp gates that allow ships to move from one planet to another. Each player has three of these on his or her power card at the start of the game, but more can be added throughout play by spending power cards. There are three types of warp points; one colored like the home bases, another like the foreign colonies and a third that is half blue, half orange.

These two colors are always found together on planets near each other in space. When ships move through these gateways they can enter any other gateway on that planet that matches its colors.

If your opponent has a colony on the destination planet, you must carry out an encounter to move from one warp point to another.

Home Base: Each player begins with three home bases in his or her color system. You can have more than one each of these in play at a time if your power card shows more than one symbol

Foreign Colony: The foreign colonies are the only places in space where ships can land to start a colony. You cannot have more than one foreign colony area on any planet, but you can have four home bases and two warp points.

You do not move your ships through your opponent’s home base or foreign colony areas-they are off limits to everyone except for the offensive player on his or her turn. Once you have met the requirements to form a colony, your ships must return to one of these areas

Colony Card: When you start a new colony, place the cards from your hand face down and put them under the race with which you want to ally. You may not look at them again until the colony is finished, and you cannot add or remove cards from the colony until it is done.

When your race forms a colony, all ships that are in that race’s home base or foreign colonies return to the new colony instead. This counts as one of their moves for the turn and does not affect their position on planets and other places where they land.

Multi-Colony System: You can extend your own empire by forming more than one colony in a single system. To do this, you must have at least four home bases under different powers.

If you have four home bases, for example, you can join them all up to form a single colony. You decide where the new system’s warp points are placed-one may be in your home base or foreign colony area, one may be in your opponent’s home base or foreign colony area and the other two must be somewhere else in the new system.

The only way to land your ships on this planet is by entering through one of these warp points, so you must do so before you can start a colony there. If you play your cards right, you may even triumph. 

Go on a science fiction adventure and buy Cosmic Encounter 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.

 

Backgammon: One of the Original Boardgames

Backgammon was originally called Alquerque in good old Mesopotamia. That is, 5,000 years ago, anyways. Backgammon has been around so long that it was actually mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey from approximately 800 BC. That’s old.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey, Nestor advises his son to play games with Achilles. That game was backgammon. Game pieces from backgammon have been found among Egyptian remains dating all the way back to 1900 BC. Pharaohs apparently issued edicts against playing this decad “game of chance.” However, we’re pretty sure they didn’t understand it very well.

Backgammon was discovered in Mesopotamia and has been around ever since, but the Mesopotamians called it Alquerque. Backgammon became popular among the Romans, who spread it to Egypt. Backgammon was then passed on through trade routes until medieval chancellor Edward I banned it in England because he thought that Backgammon encouraged gambling and brought chaos to monasteries.

I’m sensing a theme here…

The Growth of Backgammon

Backgammon was spread further through the Crusades, to Persia. Backgammon had initially been played with dice, but by the time it reached Persia, Backgammon boards were being used so that Backgammon could be enjoyed even when there were no dice around. Backgammon thrived in Persian culture for centuries before moving on to other countries, such as Turkey and Russia. By the early 20th century it was estimated that between 50-100 million people across the world were playing backgammon at any given moment!

That’s a popular game!

Backgammon also shares a name with an ancient Greek gambling game, but they are completely unrelated! Backgammon just happens to have the same name, that’s all.

The Growth of Backgammon in America

Back in the States, Backgammon was originally played by traveling carnival workers in the South – it is believed that Backgammon became popular among them because Backgammon boards were easily transportable and Backgammon could be enjoyed without dice (which were expensive). Back in 2010, there was even a Backgammon World Championship held in Las Vegas. That’s a fun fact.

The precursor to modern Backgammon began when two friends at Dartmouth College got together and simplified Backgammon into its current form with Dice.

So what about today? These days, Backgammon is enjoyed by both veterans and newcomers alike. Backgammon is a fun game that can be played with friends or on Backgammon apps, so it’s always easy to find Backgammon boards at your local gaming store! (Shameless plug for Fantastic Games) Back

gammon is a fun game that can be played with friends or on Backgammon apps, so it’s always easy to find Backgammon boards at your local gaming store!

The Backgammon community has also seen several world champions, including Bill Robertie and Jake Jacobs. Backgammon is an extremely popular board game for gambling. Back in 2015, Backgammon was estimated to have a nine billion dollar per year market in the United States alone!

Nice!

Fantastic Games isn’t here to give you a history lesson, though. Some background is nice, but, is backgammon fun? Yes, yes it is. It’s been around for so long because it’s an addictive game. Backgammon is enjoyed by people all over the world, young and old alike because Backgammon is one of the more popular games that ever existed.

So what are you waiting for? Buy Backgammon today from Fantastic Games and start playing.

Kingdomino vs. Queendomino: Which Kingdom Do You Choose?

Kingdomino is a popular tile-laying board game that introduces younger players to strategy board games. Similar to a game of Dominoes, players will have to draw two-sided tiles in an effort to earn points and beat out the other players. While Kingdomino is a simple and fun game that’s perfect for families, they’ve also released a sequel called Queendomino that adds a few more challenging mechanics.

Kingdomino

In the game of Kingdomino, you’re a lord who’s seeking new lands with which to grow your kingdom. From wheat fields to lakes to mountains, you’ll have to work against the other lords to be the first to nab the best plots.

Laying Down the Dominos

Kingdomino pits players against each other in order to see who can build the best 5×5 grid of dominoes by the end of the last round. The board game comes with 48 numbered dominoes that get shuffled and placed into a draw pile for players to choose from. Each player gets to start with one square piece, then gets to draw one additional tile each round to add to their kingdom.

The tiles in Kingdomino are similar to traditional dominoes in that each one has two different ends. In Kingdomino, however, these ends represent different landscapes with which to build your kingdom. In order to add a tile to your board, you must place it next to another tile of the same landscape. Tiles of the same landscape will form properties, which can earn you points.

Gathering Crowns

While you’ll earn points by connecting tiles with the same landscape to form large properties, you’ll also earn points through crowns. The tiles in Kingdomino each come with a certain number of crowns on each end, which will help boost your points at the end of the game. When all of the tiles have been collected, players will calculate points based on the size of their properties, then multiply that score by the number of crowns on it.

Crowns also play a role in the order that you draw dominos. If you choose the tile with the highest number of crowns on it, then you’ll earn more points in the end. However, this means you’ll be one of the last players to choose the next tile. Choosing a low number tile with no crowns on it earns you the ability to be first in line to choose in the next round.

In order to place a domino on your board, it has to either touch your starting square or match the landscape of another tile. If you can’t legally place your domino, then you have to discard it and lose your turn. Your kingdom cannot be larger than a 5×5 grid of landscapes. However, if you’re playing the game with only 2 players, then you can each form a 7×7 grid using more tiles. 

Queendomino

Queendomino involves the same gameplay as Kingdomino in terms of laying tiles, although it comes with a few more game mechanics that make it more complicated. This board game can be played independently from Kingdomino or they can be mixed together, allowing 4-6 players to play at once. 

Buying Buildings

In the game of Queendomino, your task is to build your kingdom by claiming different landscapes such as wheat fields, marshes, and mountains. However, you can also add buildings to your land to earn even more points and win certain bonuses. Each player gets access to the Builders’ Board, which holds six Building Tiles for purchase.

The Builders’ Board will assign a different cost to each Building Tile at the beginning of the game. The longer you go without buying a Building Tile, the cheaper it will be. However, you don’t want to wait too long, or else someone else will nab it first. If you build one of the Building Tiles, then you can earn crowns, knights, and towers.

Collecting Taxes

Another new mechanic that comes with Queendomino is the inclusion of knights. Your knights will travel throughout your realm to collect taxes from your loyal subjects. By placing a knight onto one of your dominos, you can earn coins based on the size of your property. These coins can then be used to buy buildings to put on your land.

You can place up to two knights each turn, but you have to place them both on the same tile, taxing each terrain separately. However, if your tile features two of the same terrain, then you’ll earn twice the income from that terrain.

Towers, Queens, and Dragons

Some building tiles will earn you towers. Whichever player has the most towers in their kingdom earns the honor of hosting the Queen. This will reduce all of your building costs by 1 coin. If the Queen resides in your kingdom once the game is over, she’ll also add one additional crown to your largest property.

The dragon is the part of Queendomino that adds a bit of fun malevolence to the game. The dragon allows a player to burn one of the buildings in the market row, preventing one of the other players from getting it. If you lack the number of coins to buy a building but want to stick it to the other players, the dragon can help you earn some sweet revenge.

Build Your Kingdom with Kingdomino and Queendomino

Kingdomino is playable by 2-4 players. If you play with only two players, then you can build a larger 7×7 grid, while four players will have to stick to the standard 5×5 grid. This board game is suitable for ages 8 and up, as it’s easy to understand and fast-paced. Playing time lasts around 15 minutes, so you can easily knock out a couple of rounds.

Queendomino is also playable by 2-4 players, although you can play with up to six players if you integrate the two games. It’s also suitable for ages 8 and up, although playing time lasts a little bit longer at 25 minutes due to the added complexity.

If you’re interested in fantasy, strategy, and logic, then you’ll love Kingdomino and Queendomino. Consider one or both of these games the next time you’re looking to add a new board game to family game night. Buy these board games today and enjoy the prosperity of your kingdom!

 

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