Card Drafting

Pro Bionics League Robots (PBL ROBOTS) is a card & dice rolling game for two players (variant rules for multiplayer, expansions to support multi-player and other game variations are also in the works) who draft and build decks to build up (upgrade) a super powered robot while blasting apart their opponent's robot. Once you blow off all 4 limbs (head, left arm, right arm, legs) of the opposing robot, you win the game. A unique stacking mechanic makes building your robot visually appealing and functions as an important part of the gameplay. Attacks and defenses are determined by die rolls. Years of playtesting with multiple teams across the country (Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota) has developed the game into a highly competitive format that is appealing for hardcore gamers and still very fun for the casual gamer. Rule variations support new players and tournament rules for more hardcore players.

From the publisher's website:

"The night is setting in slowly on the city, but not all of its inhabitants are asleep. Under cover of darkness, several scoundrels are on their way to perform their big heist tonight
You are playing the role of one of these scoundrels on the hunt for gold and art treasures. Careful planning will let you make the big haul, but be sure not to miss the right moment to cash in your swag at a fence!

Rules summary:

The players place their Scoundrel tokens at five locations on the central board, which are then resolved in the following order:

1 - City: Receive Tool cards required for the break-ins
2 - Villa: Receive Loot cards if you meet the tool requirements
3 - Ruin: Swap Tool cards from your hand with the draw pile.
4 - Museum: Receive Loot cards if you meet the tool requirements
5 - Harbor: Sell loot to the fence to gain gold (victory points)

The first player to earn 20+ gold wins.

The game is announced for release at Essen Spiel 2009.

Online Play

Yucata (turn-based)

It is the early 1800s, a time of immense construction and urbanization. You are a world-renowned master city planner who has been asked to redesign two different cities. Projects of such significance require the expertise of more than one person, so for each assignment you are paired with a partner with whom to discuss and execute your grandiose plans. Will your planning and collaborative skills be enough to design the most impressive city in the world?

Between Two Cities is a partnership-driven tile-drafting game in which each tile represents part of a city: factory, shop, park, landmarks, etc. You work with the player on your left to design the heart of one city, and with the player on your right to design the heart of another city. On each turn you select two tiles from hand, reveal them, then work with your partners separately to place one of those tiles into each of your two cities before passing the remaining hand of tiles around the table.

At the end of the game, each city is scored for its livability. Your final score is the lower of the livability scores of the two cities you helped design. To win, you have to share your attention and your devotion between two cities. The player with the highest final score wins the game.

The game features play for 3-7 players in 20-25 minutes, a 2-player variant for head-to-head competition as well as a solo variant (Automa).

Bring Out Yer Dead is a morbid game of grave family plots.

As the head of your family, you must get the "dying" members of your family into the best plots in the city's newest cemetery. Each day the Grave Keeper brings the cart around the city and you must vie to get your family members in the cart before other families do. But be careful! The Grave Keeper is a lazy guy and any coffins he can't fit in the cart are tossed aside in the river; he'll never bother to bury them at all!

Get your recently departed family members buried in the best plots in the cemetery to gain influence in the city. You may even have to resort to some early morning grave swapping — or you could just rob the graves of all the jewelry you can dig up...it isn't like they're going to need it anyway! Influence is everything! The player with the most influence at the end of the game wins.

Funemployed is a card-based party game in which everyone's trying to become employed.

Apply for real jobs, like astronaut, lawyer or priest, with unreal qualifications, such as a dragon, the ability to speak panda, or a DeLorean. In the game, each player uses his qualifications to convince the other players that he's the best qualified for a job. To do this, players tell the story of why their qualifications make them the best fit for a job by role-playing and acting like they are on an interview. Find innovative ways to use your qualifications and become the most "funemployed" player at the table!