Dice

Beta Colony

It all started when the Imperium seized control of Earth and declared martial law, sentencing those who opposed their will to immediate death or worse fates. It seemed as if all hope was lost, but before their edict could be carried out, a group of defectors managed to wrest control of the Ridback, a Class–II jumpship, and flee with as many of the condemned as they could save.

It has been close to seven years that these refugees from Earth have called the Ridback home, and finally the crew has found a planet with promise. They have managed to establish outposts around it, and now the great burden falls on you to expand these small “alphas” into a full-fledged Beta Colony. Success will mean that your people will be able to begin life anew on exoplanet 14 Bos c, or, as they have renamed it, "Victus" — Latin for "way of life".

In Beta Colony, you play as one of five Directors working to create prosperous colonies. If you earn the most Confidence Points (CP), you will be elected as the first leader of Victus. Players will collect the needed building materials to produce and erect colonization pods – Defense Stations, Science and Tech Towers, Living Quarters, Agriculture Pods, and Water Treatment Centers – on the varied terrain of Victus.

Using a unique "rolldell" mechanism (dice + rondel), Beta Colony is a mid-weight strategic game for players of all levels. Each round, the start player rolls their set of four colored dice. All other players duplicate that roll with their own dice. Players take two actions each round, one action at a time in turn order, with each action using two dice. Players will use one die to move and one die to activate the location to which they moved. Die color and value affect how each of the seven unique locations are used. Players will build colonization pods at each of three colonies to gain the confidence of the settlers and lead them to glory!

—description from the publisher

Cupcake Empire

Cupcakes are at the height of fashion in the city. It's the perfect time to expand your business. Even though at the moment you only have one small Bakery, the dedication and the level of creativity of your employees means that there are no limits to your ambition.Your task will be no piece of cake since your competitors share your same goals and they are not going to make it easy for you. Only those who work the most efficiently and effectively will manage to build their own cupcake empire.

Cupcake Empire is mainly a dice game. Your personal board represents your business and the dice your workers. In each of the columns of the board you can carry out one specific action; create new recipes for cupcakes, open new stores, serve customers, hire new workers, etc. On each turn you will have to decide which column you are going to activate, taking into account that the more dice there are and the more specialized they are, the more effective the action will be. Through these actions you will increase your level of sales and production, trying to get them to grow in equal measure since at the end of each of your turns your Income will increase by the amount indicated by the marker that is the furthest behind i.e. that has made the least progress.

Pandemic: Rapid Response

Disaster has struck! Cities around the world are in desperate need of food, water, vaccines, and other supplies. You and your team belong to the Crisis Response Unit (CRU), an elite team of doctors and specialists. With a specially equipped plane, you are uniquely capable of providing life-saving aid — anytime, anywhere.

Pandemic: Rapid Response is a race against time. Roll dice to create supplies, fly the plane, and make deliveries to cities in need. As the timer counts down, you must quickly coordinate and work together to react to new disasters. Will you and your team be able to respond in time?

The nations of the world have pooled their resources and assembled a diverse crew. Each of the seven unique role cards features its own ability. The Analyst, Adjoua Soro, is able to re-roll the dice up to two additional times. The Engineer, Soojin Sohn, can change any die result with a plane to a different symbol. Take turns as quickly as possible, using your role's unique ability and strategically allocating your dice to be as efficient as possible when creating supplies.

When you're ready for a new challenge, adjust the difficulty level or add crisis cards for a greater variety of obstacles to overcome. Now hurry — the timer is counting down and the world needs your help!

—description from the publisher

Era: Medieval Age

Era: Medieval Age serves as the spiritual successor to Roll Through The Ages. While Roll Through The Ages was a pioneer for roll-and-write-style games, Era is a pioneer for roll-and-build!

In Era, your dice represent different classes of medieval society as players attempt to build the most prosperous city. The "build" comes into play as players actually build their cities on their boards. You will use beautifully modeled three-dimensional components such as walls, keeps, farms, and other structures. By the end of the game, each player will have a unique city of their very own!

Era: Medieval Age is made even more challenging as players interact with each other in ways such as extortion, scorched earth, and, of course, disease! Hey, this is the Medieval Age, right? Speaking of which, Era serves as the first of a new series of standalone roll-and-build games from Matt Leacock and eggertspiele!

Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula

You are an adept of the mysterious art of alchemy, seeking a way to become the successor of the greatest alchemist ever living — Hermes Trismegistus. In order to do so you will be transmuting mere metals into pure gold, performing experiments, and inventing artifacts to finally achieve everlasting greatness.

Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula is played over three rounds during which you will draft exactly three dice. By expertly utilizing the potency of your drafted die, you will be able to transmute precious materials, collect alchemical essences, purchase and activate artifacts, and perform experiments that will progress you along four mastery tracks. You will also build a secret hand of publication cards which — together with the value of your experiments, the completed formulas of your Philosopher's Stone, and your collected gold — will determine your final score in victory points and, perhaps, make you the greatest alchemist, someone able to rival Hermes Trismegistus himself!

The game features custom dice, the sides of which represent alchemical materials. At the beginning of each round, the dice are rolled and grouped by their respective types. On your turn, you must either draft a new die or utilize the untapped potency of a previously drafted die. Based on the material associated with your chosen die, you will be able to collect certain essences in addition to the material to which the die is keyed. Additionally, the color of the die will determine which types of transmutations you can perform, refining raw materials and increasing your mastery of the elements.

Acquire precious artifacts in order to maximize the effects of your transmutations. Conduct experiments. Increase your knowledge and expertise and discover the ultimate formula!

The game includes a solo mode by Dávid Turczi and Nick Shaw.

—description from the publisher