Card Game

Mindbug: First Contact

In Mindbug, you summon hybrid creatures and send them to battle against your opponent — but when you summon a creature, the opponent may use one of their Mindbugs to take control of it. Outwit your opponent in a fascinating tactical duel in which having the best cards and playing them at the wrong time can be deadly for yourself.

Cards in Mindbug represent weird creatures that all come with unique and powerful abilities such as a Compost Dragon, a Snail Hydra, or a Kangasaurus Rex. Each player starts the game with ten creature cards (five in hand and five in a draw pile) and tries to use them to reduce the opponent's life total to zero. In addition, every player receives two Mindbug cards that can be used to mind control an opposing creature when it is played. This innovative Mindbug mechanism is the core of the game and leads to a unique decision-making process that makes Mindbug feel utterly different from any other card game.

Playing a card doesn't require any resources in Mindbug. As a result, the game has no ramp-up phase (such as gathering resources) and doesn't require weak cards. Since there is also no deck-building, you can start playing right away from a single deck. There is also no unfair advantage as players draw cards from the same deck and always get the chance to mind control the strongest opposing cards. In the end, it all comes down to your own decisions, making the game extremely fair and competitive at the same time.

—description from the publisher

Bohnanza: Dahlias

Bohnanza: Dahlias is a special edition of Bohnanza for 3-5 players that features the same gameplay as the original design.

In the game, you plant, then harvest flower cards in order to earn coins. Each player starts with a hand of random flower cards, and each card has a number on it corresponding to the number of that type of flower in the deck. Unlike in most other card games, you can't rearrange the order of cards in hand, so you must use them in the order that you've picked them up from the deck — unless you can trade them to other players, which is the heart of the game.

On a turn, you must plant the first one or two cards in your hand into the "fields" in front of you. Each field can hold only one type of flower, so if you must plant a type of flower that's not in one of your fields, then you must harvest a field to make room for the new arrival. This usually isn't good! Next, you reveal two cards from the deck, and you can then trade these cards as well as any card in your hand for cards from other players. You can even make future promises for cards received right now! After all the trading is complete — and all trades on a turn must involve the active player — then you end your turn by drawing cards from the deck and placing them at the back of your hand.

When you harvest flowers, you receive coins based on the number of cards in that field and the "meter" for that particular type of flower. Flip over 1-4 cards from that field to transform them into coins, then place the remainder of the cards in the discard pile. When the deck runs out, shuffle the discards, playing through the deck two more times. At the end of the game, everyone can harvest their fields, then whoever has earned the most coins wins.

Romi Rami

Romi Rami is a game that feels like it’s been around forever, with thousands of people quietly and gradually polishing it over time.
Falling squarely in the family of ‘Rummy’ games, Romi Rami features a double market.
The first one has number cards, and the second one has contracts to complete.

The goal of the game: Make the most points by optimizing the combinations required by the contracts. Keep an eye on the trophies (they change from game to game) which will propel you to to the top spot on the podium!

Unrest

No one can remember when the Empire’s regime began. People say it will never end, that resistance is impossible... but no one has ever prepared like the Rebellion. They have planned in secret, gathered intelligence, and sowed dissent in the Districts. However, the Empire has innumerable advantages and will confront the Rebellion with its full might. The revolution begins now.

In Unrest, two players are pitted head-to-head in the asymmetric struggle for control over five City Districts. Can the Rebellion complete their missions and topple the regime? Or will the Empire continue their rule?

—description from the publisher

Sides

Every word counts, so focus and think carefully about your choices.

In the brain-teasing co-operative game Sides, you have to weigh your options and wisely choose your words.

The objective of the game is simple: Each round, help two detectives find a mystery word. To do so, the other players (the witnesses) give detectives a one-word clue that starts with the letter at either end of the letter-card line.

The detectives then jointly offer an answer, and if they found the solution, two other players become the detectives and a new word is uncovered; if not, the witness players suggest a new clue with a new letter card. The fewer the clues used and the more words guessed, the higher the score. Will you beat the world record?