Dice Rolling

In Atlantis Rising you are one of the citizens of the stricken island Atlantis. However, hope is not lost, a mystical portal of 10 components can be built and save the island and all its inhabitants, but fail to build it in time and the island will sink forever under the waves, lost to legend.

Atlantis Rising is a fully co-operative game in which the players must race to create a cosmic gate before all of the island tiles have been destroyed. The gate's components are variable and determine the difficulty level of the game - Easy, Normal, Hard, or Cosmic. The players must also contend with the continually escalating threat of their Athenian enemies, who may destroy one or more island tiles each turn if insufficient Atlanteans are allocated to the island's protection.

Each turn players can choose to place their Atlanteans in any of eight different areas - with placements closer to the sea being more rewarding, but subject to a higher risk of flooding (and the subsequent loss of the associated action).

After placement of meeple but before gaining resources 'misfortune' cards are drawn per player indicating which areas of the island sink, any meeple stood there have a long swim back to shore and do nothing for their turn.

Players have limited 'mystical energy' which they can use to predict or prevent certain misfortunes and cards are available from the libraries that offer powerful one time use effects.

From the back of the box:

Will you send your Atlanteans to mine the untapped veins of precious resources at the very tip of the island, hoping to reap great rewards before the oncoming waves smash into the shores? Or will you remain in the relative safety of the island’s center, where resources have grown scarce? Perhaps you will tap into the power of the mystic energy source - the lifeforce of Atlantis and key to its advanced technology. You may even seek refuge in the vast libraries of the Lost City, hoping to find some tome which will lead to salvation for the doomed isle. Beware though - even as the island sinks into the sea, the Athenians continue to assault Atlantis, hoping to plunder its riches before it disappears beneath the waves.

Merchant of Venus uses many elements which come together to form a very interesting game. Players take on the roles of space traders who move their ships through interconnected systems discovering new alien worlds to trade with. As players start to make money delivering commodities in a unique supply-and-demand system, their earnings can be used to purchase better ships and equipment (shields, lasers, engines, etc...) and construct their own spaceports (which speed up trading) and factories (which create better commodities). Variations included in the rulebook allow for interplayer combat. The player who first acquires enough total value ($1000, $2000, $3000, $4000) in cash and port/factory deeds takes the day.

For the 2012 edition of Merchant of Venus from Fantasy Flight Games, the company promises that this revision "remains true to its magnificently campy core while updating the map and game components and expanding game play in surprising ways that will cause even the most hardcore fan to celebrate." That said, the player count has been lowered from six (in the Avalon Hill edition) to four, with the four races in the game being Human, Whynom, Qossuth, and Eeepeeep.

This game uses the very popular card system which first appeared in Avalon Hill's We the People game to detail the struggle between Carthage's Hannibal and the Roman Republic in approximately 200 BC.

(from Valley Games website:)

One of the greatest military commanders and tacticians in history descends on the Roman Empire once again. Do you face him as Rome and try to ward the invasion that comes from the North, or do you climb atop your war elephant and show Rome you will take that which they hold most dear: their territory.

Players use strategic-level cards for multiple purposes: moving generals, levying new troops, reinforcing existing armies, gaining political control of the provinces involved in the war, and generating historical events. When two armies meet on the battlefield, a second set of cards, called Battle Cards, are used to determine the winner. Ultimately both players seek victory by dominating both fronts: military and political.

Adds several new aspects to Settlers of Catan but the two major ones are creating knights to protect the land from invading barbarians and building city improvements that confer benefits upon that city's owner. Adds tactical complexity to the game and game length.

Belongs to the Catan Series.

The game changes the base game in three main ways:

First, there are 3 new commodities in the game, distinct from resources - paper, cloth, and coins, which can be acquired from Forest, Meadow, and Mountain spaces, respectively. Cities that would normally produce two of one of those resources instead produce 1 resource and 1 of the corresponding commodity. (To make commodities easier to obtain, each player starts the game with 1 city and 1 settlement on the board.) These commodities allow players to build city improvements that confer various advantages and eventually points.

Second, the deck of development cards is replaced by three different decks, each corresponding to one of the commodities. Building city improvements gives players a chance to draw these cards with every roll of the dice. Building more improvements will increase these chances, but cards cannot be bought directly in any way. These cards are similar to the development cards in the base game, but with a wider range of effects. (Some cards are balanced better as well - the new Resource Monopoly card, for example, can take no more than 2 of the named resource from any one player.)

Finally, players can also build knights on the island along their network of roads. These knights can be used to claim certain intersections and move the Robber (taking the place of Soldier cards), but are also used to defend the island from periodic barbarian attacks. If the island is successfully defended, the player(s) with the most knights are rewarded. If not, the player(s) with the fewest knights each have a city downgraded to a settlement.

Now up to six players can muster their knights against the scourge threatening Catan! The 5-6 Player Expansion for The Cities and Knights of Catan allows you to expand and inject more excitement into your games without sacrificing ease of play. Designed for five or six players, it adds even more drama to the award-winning game of culture, politics, and warfare.

Belongs to the Catan Series.

Expands (all are required):

The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan: 5-6 Player Extension
Catan: Cities & Knights

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