Dice Rolling

You are humanity's last hope.

In XCOM: The Board Game, you and up to three friends assume the roles of the leaders of the elite, international organization known as XCOM. It is your job to defend humanity, quell the rising panic, and turn back the alien invasion.

Where the world's militaries have failed to stand against the alien invaders, you must succeed. To do so, you must make strategic use of the resources available to you. You must launch Interceptors to shoot down alien UFOs, assign soldiers to key missions, research alien technology, and use that technology to defend your base — all while trying to keep the world from collapsing just long enough that you can coordinate one final mission to repel the invaders for good.

One of the more notable aspects of XCOM: The Board Game is the way that it incorporates a free and innovative digital app into the core of its gameplay. This digital companion will be available both as a downloadable app and as an online tool.

The app's primary function is to coordinate the escalating alien invasion, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans. Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs, plan strikes against your base, and respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. The app manages all of these tasks and heightens the game's tension as it forces you to respond in real-time. Then, after you move quickly to coordinate your response, you engage the enemy in the untimed resolution phase and feed the results to the app. Based upon these results, the app launches the invasion's next strikes.

Additionally, the app teaches you the rules, controls the information that your satellites provide you, and tracks the progress of your resistance efforts, even as it allows you to enjoy the game at any of three levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, or Hard.

The use of this app does more than simply streamline your play experience and track your turns in real-time; it also permits a uniquely dynamic turn structure. While the variety of game phases remains the same from round to round, the order in which you and your friends must play through them may change, as may the number of a given phase. As a result, while you'll want to know where UFOs appear before you deploy your Interceptors, the alien invaders may be able to disrupt your satellite intel and force you to deploy your Interceptors on patrol with limited or no knowledge of the UFOs current whereabouts. Similarly, you may be forced to think about the costs of resolving the world’s crises before you know how many troops you’ll need to commit to your base defense.

The effect of the app is to immerse you deep into the dramatic tension at the core of XCOM: The Board Game, and it ensures that the game presents a challenging and cooperative (or solo) experience like no other. Just like the XCOM department heads that you represent, you'll need to keep cool heads in order to prevail.

Source: Publisher

Who will be the most successful perfumer? Parfum takes the players to the wonderful world of fragrances. Using ingredients like vanilla, lavender or violets, the players distill precious essences in order to create unique perfumes. Only the player conceding their clientele's preferences will be able to sell their perfume. Each customer favors their specific fragrance that must be contained in a flask to make them buy it.

A secret agent of A.R.K. has infiltrated a top secret Raxxon facility, attempting to complete three mission objectives before they escape — but they are hunted by genetically modified Raxxon Hunters. Players can choose which side they wish to join.

Specter Ops is a sci-fi, stealth ops game of hidden movement that's similar to Scotland Yard. Players are trying to locate/capture a mysterious agent, who keeps track of their sneaking via a private map. The other players take control of unique characters who must use their wits, abilities and technology to help them hunt down this infiltrator. Items like flash grenades, scanners, and the like are at the disposal of this covert agent.

Two to seven players, ages 8 and up try to obtain fried worms for their chickens, so that they don't go hungry. Of course, anyone who doesn't manage to grab a worm off of the grill can help himself to those of his opponents. This fast-paced game by Reiner Knizia is, like Hick Hack im Gackelwack, a gambling game in the finest chicken tradition."

Each turn players roll their dice and set aside all those matching any single value. The remaining dice are rolled and any value is set aside again until the player stops and takes a tile or busts and puts their last tile back. When a player busts and fails to take a tile they must also turn the highest tile face-down.

Interestingly, the German edition from Zoch has English rules in the box.

The Dutch edition is part of the Jakkie & Bak Collection
The German edition is part of The Chicken Family of Zoch.

To become important in society players have to rise in political-social position from laborer to the Secretary General of the ruling political party. The player who reaches this position wins the game.

Each player has 5 pawns and 3 action cards.

The players select an action and reveals it at the same time. The starting player will perform his action and in clockwise order the next players will.

Actions are:
Wahl (Voting): players role dice, winner moves up and takes a Wahl card.
Meuterei (Position challenge): players role dice, winners take higher position.
Beförderung oder Versetzung (Promotion or Relocation/Transfer): move a pawn up to higher position or place a pawn in another position on the same level.

When all positions in the center circle (Politburo) are filled, a vote for the highest function (Secretary General) can take place. The winner of that vote wins the game.