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 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!

 

 

Tak: Born In Fantasy, Built In Reality

If you’ve ever read the fantasy book series The Kingkiller Chronicles, you’ve probably heard about the fantastic abstract board game Tak. While this game was not yet in existence when the author first wrote about it, it has since been turned into a popular and beautifully intricate board game that stands up to its initial conception. Tak uses stunningly carved wooden pieces and a 5×5 grid board to see who can outsmart the other player and be the first to build their road to the other side.

Born From the Kingkiller Chronicles

The concept for Tak was first created by author Pat Rothfuss in his book “The Wise Man’s Fear”, which was the first in The Kingkiller Chronicles series. In the book, the game of Tak is described as being the best sort of board game due to the fact that it’s simple in its rules, but complex in its strategy. This is certainly true in the real-life version of Tak, which was created in 2017 by James Ernest.

Ernest took the game as described in the book and created a beautiful and complex board game with minimal rules and two conditions of victory. Players will lay down pieces on a board in an effort to build a road connecting the two edges of the board. However, if no player successfully builds a road by the time they run out of pieces, then the player who controls the most spaces wins the game.

Building a Road

In order to build your road, you’ll play your pieces into empty spaces or move them around the board. You can place pieces flat to act as a part of your road, or you can place them on their sides to act as a wall. Wall pieces will not count towards your road, but they do allow you to block your opponent from moving their pieces around.

By laying down multiple flat pieces on top of each other, you can create what’s called a stack. Whoever has the piece on top is the person who gets to count that stack towards their road. However, players have the option of placing what’s called a Capstone on top of the stack, which keeps the other player from stacking any more pieces on top of it and claims it for yourself.

Breaking Down a Stack

One powerful move you have in the game is to break a stack down, which allows you to move the pieces across the board and leave them behind one by one. This can help you take control of several spaces at once, foiling your opponent’s plans and moving you one step forward towards building your road.

The Capstone pieces also have another unique ability in that you can use them to flatten a wall. Once you or your opponent have placed a wall on the board, you cannot flatten it without a Capstone. Each player only gets one Capstone in the whole game, so be sure to use it wisely!

One of the best parts of the board game Tak is that you can play it without the board to switch up the gameplay a bit. By drawing your own grid on a sheet of paper, you can play on boards as big as 8×8 or as small as 3×3 to make the game even easier or more complex.

Tak: A Board Game From The Pages of Fantasy

Tak is a 2-person game, so it’s perfect for couples or one-on-one game nights. The board game is suitable for ages 12 and up, as it is very easy to learn and complex enough to entertain adults. Playing time lasts around 20 minutes to an hour, which makes it a good game to play on weeknights or lazy Saturday mornings.

Tak is brought to life with the aesthetics of the beautifully carved pieces and shiny wooden game board. The tactical element of the game is enhanced by the fact that you can actually visualize the road you’re building materialize right in front of you. It’s not quite as complex as abstract strategy games like chess, but it offers enough opportunity for strategy to engage even the most advanced players.

Buy Tak today and enjoy the beautiful simplicity of this cutthroat board game!

One Night Ultimate: Werewolves, Vampires, And Aliens

While most card games involve hours of play time and dozens of cards to manage, One Night Ultimate gives you a fast-paced game you can play in only 10 minutes. Pick your card and take on a secret role to figure out who your friends are and who you’ll need to eliminate in order to win the game. Whether you go for the Werewolves, the Vampires, or the Aliens, One Night Ultimate is sure to have you pulling out the cards at every gathering to liven things up.

Werewolves

Each of the One Night Ultimate games can either be played on its own or added to each other for a fast-paced game of fun. One Night Ultimate Werewolf is the first game in the series, providing you with a ten-minute game full of horror and paranoia. In One Night Ultimate Werewolf, you take the classic tale of a wolf haunting the villagers and you set it all in one terrifying night. Each player gets their own unique role at the beginning of the game, which will then have major consequences once you reach the night phase.

Whether you’re the Troublemaker, the Seer, or one of the evil Werewolves, you’ll find that horrific things have happened in the middle of the night that the whole village is going to have to reckon with. You may even find that, although you started out an evil Werewolf, overnight you became one of the innocent villagers! When everyone wakes you in the morning, each player is tasked with figuring out who they are and who the Werewolves are so that they can stop them before they kill again.\

The twist of the game comes from the switching of the roles that leaves you unsure of where your loyalties lie. Unlike most role-playing games where you’re fully aware of which team you’re one, One Night Ultimate Werewolf keeps you guessing at all times.

Vampires And Aliens

One Night Ultimate Vampire is the next edition of the One Night Ultimate Games, which introduces a brand new “Mark” system. While players begin with a plain mark at the beginning of the game, you may wake up to find you’ve become bitten and are forced to endure immortality as a Vampire. One Night Ultimate Vampire raises the stakes of One Night Ultimate Werewolf by adding deeper levels of deduction and complexity.

One Night Ultimate Alien is the next game in the One Night Ultimate lineup that is very similar to One Night Ultimate Vampire. This game features less role switching but introduces two bungling aliens who have to fight to be the last one left surviving. Figuring out everyone’s motivation for why they want certain people dead can help you piece together the clues to their identities and win the game.

Werewolf Daybreak Expansion

While One Night Ultimate Werewolf can be combined with either the Vampire or the Alien edition, there’s a special expansion called One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak that takes the original Werewolf game and allows you to play up to 10 players. There are no more basic villagers—each of the 11 new roles has a secret hidden ability that can make this fast-paced game even more of a wild ride!

Take Your Pick Of Monster With One Night Ultimate

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is playable by 3-7 players, although some of the other editions and expansions allow you to fit up to 10 players. This game is absolutely perfect for parties of all sizes, and you don’t have to worry about choosing a moderator or having anyone get eliminated. With a playing time of 10 minutes, you can easily fit a game in before dinner or drinks as a fun icebreaker.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is also suitable for ages 8 and up, so younger kids can join in on the fun without getting confused by complex rules or adult themes. Still, One Night Ultimate games are all fun and interesting enough that adults will be able to enjoy the deeper strategy of the game. One Night Ultimate is the perfect game for anyone who loves monsters and using their skills of deduction.

Grab your flashlight and put on your thinking cap for an adventure tonight!

 

KeyForge: Card Game Of The Gods

Nothing is more motivating than the ever-present thirst for knowledge and power. In the world within KeyForge, power is nothing without knowledge, and you’ll have to fight tooth and nail to access the hidden secrets in the Vaults. A strong heart and a diligent mind are required to find the right combination of cards to grow your stores of Amber while also fighting your enemies. With thrilling battles and a beautifully realized fantasy world, KeyForge is a card game with plenty of imagination.

The World Of The Crucible

KeyForge is set in the world of the Crucible, which was artificially built by the god-like Archons. These powerful beings forged the Crucible from the pieces of countless planets, and are in constant battle with each other in the pursuit of knowledge of their origins. KeyForge is a race between different factions of Archons to be the first to collect three keys and gain the invaluable knowledge and power locked away within the Vaults of the Crucible.

Archon Decks

KeyForge is the first unique deck game in that it is sold in individual decks, each with their own random selection of 37 cards. Unlike most deck-building games, each KeyForge deck is designed to be unchangeable and played right out of the box. One of the best parts of KeyForge is the fact that each deck comes with its own name, which includes such gems as “The Boy Who Basically Head-butts Heaven.”

You won’t need to worry about shelling out countless dollars to collect different decks, but can enjoy the knowledge that you’re the only person out there with that exact combination of cards! This can create a fun challenge that forces you to make the most of the cards you’re dealt, finding the winning combination to push you forward into victory.

Declaring Houses And Collecting Amber

Gameplay involves two players each using their own deck of cards to play different creatures, actions, upgrades, and artifacts. Every card in KeyForge is associated with a specific House, and each deck comes with cards from three different Houses. At the beginning of each turn, you’ll have to declare which House you’re playing from. You can then play as many or as few cards as you like from that House during your turn. The potential to play multiple cards at once can help make for some pretty eventful turns where you can savage the competition.

You’ll have to collect enough Amber in order to forge your three keys and unlock the Vaults. Certain creatures can provide you with Amber and can also be used to fight the competition. You’ll have to balance your efforts to collect Amber with your battle tactics in order to defend yourself long enough to win the game.

KeyForge Expansion Sets

KeyForge releases new cards regularly through their expansion sets, which add new Houses to the mix that provide for even more card combinations. The original set, KeyForge: Call of the Archons, comes with two starter decks and two unique Archon Decks for a total of 370 cards. Later expansion sets such as Age of Ascension or Worlds Collide add over 200 new cards each, while also throwing in new Houses such as Saurian Republic or Grand Star Alliance to make gameplay even more exciting.

Answer The Call Of The Archons With KeyForge

KeyForge is a 2-player game, so it’s definitely more suited for one-on-one situations than it is for a family game night. Fans of Magic the Gathering or other fantasy will love the creativity and potential for complex strategy building that KeyForge allows. Newcomers to card games will also enjoy the fact that they won’t have to invest a lot of time and money into building their deck—all you need is a starter deck and you’re ready to play!

Playing time lasts around 15-45 minutes, but turns go very quickly thanks to the potential for playing many cards at once. Players will love the fast-paced back and forth as they’re forced to strategize on the spot and outmaneuver their opponent’s every move. KeyForge is also suitable for ages 14 and up, so young adults will especially enjoy the fantastical world within the game.

Gain the knowledge and power to make you victorious!

 

Ascension: Build Your Deck and Claim Your Honor

Ascension is a deck-building game that was designed by champions of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour.  Acquire and spend Runes to build your deck with powerful cards that help you slay foes and build your honor.  In the fantasy world of Ascension, good and evil are pitted against each other in the ultimate battle: the Chronicle of the Godslayer.  Can you come up with the best strategy to prevail against the monsters?

Building Your Deck

In the deck-building game of Ascension, each player is focused on building their deck and gaining honor through buying cards and slaying monsters.  Each player starts the game off with their own small deck of cards, which they then use to grow their deck with additional and better cards.  Cards come with honor points, so the more cards you purchase, the more honor points you receive.  

Each card will give you a new benefit, whether it’s more money for purchasing cards or more attack power for slaying monsters.  However, some cards give you extra special abilities such as drawing more cards or clearing cards you don’t want.  Your strategy for winning the game may change based on the cards you receive, so you’ll have to stay on your toes if you want to win the most honor points and beat your competitors.

Honor Points

While you can gain honor points from collecting cards, the real fun comes from killing monsters.  Attacking monsters also gains you honor points, and an important part of your strategy may need to focus on battling these nefarious creatures.  Ascension comes with a rotating market of cards you can purchase, and sometimes you may have no choice but to purchase a monster card and engage in battle.  Winning the game requires you to come up with your own strategy but be flexible enough to adapt to whatever the god of the cards chooses to give you.

Factions

Ascension comes with four unique factions that will focus on different strategies.  If you’re keen on avoiding the monsters, the Lifebound faction will give you greater power for purchasing cards and allow you to win honor without having to fight.  If you like cycling through your deck and playing as many cards as possible, the Enlightened faction will help you quickly build up money and attack.  The Mechana and Void factions also contain their own unique rules that can help you find whatever strategy works best for you.

Construct Cards

Construct cards are one of the most interesting elements of the game, allowing you to keep a card around for continued benefit even after you play it.  Depending on what type of construct you play, you might be able to draw more cards, rake in extra dough for purchasing cards, or even collect additional construct cards for further benefit.  Constructs aren’t invulnerable, however, as the death of certain monsters may wipe out most of the construct cards in your hand!

Ascension Expansions

Ascension has come out with multiple expansions that can also function as standalone games of their own.  Ascension: Darkness Unleashed features additional Energize cards and Monster cards, which can become much more powerful than their original forms.  Ascension: Dawn of Champions adds a fun twist to the game by allowing you to play as a faction leader, building your reputation and championing your faction to victory.  Buying one or more of these expansions is a great way to keep the original Ascension game feeling fresh for experienced players.

Ascension: Chronicle Of The Godslayer

One of the things that sets Ascension apart from most deck-building games is its detailed theme and emphasis on strategy.  It’s far from predictable, as the luck of the draw means that your strategy will have to shift with every new round.  Ascension can be played by 1-4 players, which makes it an excellent game for groups or for one’s own entertainment.  

Ascension is also suitable for ages 13 and up, and it’s simple enough to be the perfect introduction to deck-building games.  With a playing time of 30 minutes, Ascension is a quick and fun excursion into the fantasy realm that won’t get you bogged down in the details.

 

 

How to Play Ascension

Ticket To Ride: The Locomotive Adventure You’ll Never Forget

Are you looking for a game to play on family game night that’s simple enough for the kids to understand but fun enough to keep everyone on their toes? Ticket to Ride is the perfect game for you! Gameplay is simple enough that you can dive right in without stopping to read a manual an inch thick. You’ll lose yourself in the vintage world of train cars by building railway routes that weave across North America and claiming victory over your competitors.

How It is Played

Ticket to Ride is a turn-based game that’s simple enough to learn in minutes. Each turn you draw cards, claim railway routes, or get Destination Tickets that connect distant cities. With each turn comes a choice: do you greedily add more cards or fearfully snatch a critical route away from your competitor?

The game is for ages 8 and up, so the whole family can enjoy the fun. The coolest features of the game are the beautiful illustrations on both the cards and the giant board map of North America. The custom-molded train cars are cute little multicolored rectangles that snake across the board, adding to the game’s charming aesthetic.

Ticket to Ride comes as part of a series, with other games allowing you to traverse foreign countries like Germany or the Nordic Countries. If you’ve dreamt your whole life of being a conductor (and what little kid hasn’t?), you’ll love the fantasy world this game builds. With weaving routes and snaking train cars, Ticket to Ride is a wild ride you won’t soon forget.

This is one of the best selling games of all time! If you want to set your sites on traveling the countryside with Ticket to Ride then this is something you should buy. Trains are great!

 

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