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Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress

Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress is a new dungeon crawl adventure board game in the Shadows of Brimstone series. It can either be played on its own, as a stand-alone game, or it can be used in combination with any and all of the other Shadows of Brimstone products! It is fully compatible, in every way!

Players take on the role of courageous Heroes, fighting back a tide of evil creatures and demons that have invaded their world! Play as the stalwart Samurai Warrior, using your mastery of the Katana and your bushido code of honor to defeat your foes in combat, the nimble and deadly ninja Assassin, using stealth and speed as weapons, the Traveling Monk, a member of an ancient Yamabushi order devoted to fighting supernatural creatures wherever they may be found, and the powerful and mystic Sorceress, who wields Elemental Magik to crush her enemies

Set in Feudal Japan, the Heroes must brave the Forbidden Fortress; a feudal castle overrun with all manner of Demons, Ghosts, and Monsters inspired by Japanese myth and legend. The massive Oni, red beast-like ogres wielding giant clubs, stalk the halls, while deadly Tengu sword masters descend from the skies with their raven wings to attack the Heroes. Legions of Samurai Dishonored Dead rise from the grave, and writhing Acidic Tentacles burst from the floor to spit acid and feed on the Heroes with their razor sharp teeth. But at the heart of the fortress lie the most terrifying and epic foes of all; the Harionago, a ghostly, demonic woman, held aloft by the twisting strands of her animated hair, which is also used to entangle and slash at the Heroes with its vicious barbs, and the towering Living Statue, possessed by Darkness to break away from its posts, wreaking havoc and smashing the castle it was once built to protect!

Game Features

Includes 27 multi piece hard plastic, 32mm scale game miniatures for the Heroes and Enemies.
Immersive adventures and story driven gameplay, using the Shadows of Brimstone™ Game Engine.
Fully Cooperative, with all of the players working together against the game itself
Dynamically generated adventures, 12 different Missions, and 4 unique Heroes with many options for customization, the game is designed for massive replayability.
Built-in Campaign system for keeping your Hero characters from game to game, finding new items on your adventures and gaining new skills and abilities as you go up in level.
Heroes visit a Feudal Japanese Village between mission to re-stock and re-supply before the next adventure, having a mini-adventure in town.
Double-sided Map Tiles include a Japanese Fortress on one side and the Belly of the Beast OtherWorld on the back side for the Heroes to explore; stepping through a shimmering portal and continuing their adventures in an alien world inside of a massive living creature.
Over 250 game cards, a full set of beautifully illustrated, double-sided Map Tiles, a host of dice and counters, and all of the large Hero and Enemy record sheets needed to play
Includes a CD Soundtrack of original Music, created to set the mood while playing.

Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress can be played on its own as a stand-alone game, or it can be used in combination with any and all of the other Shadows of Brimstone products already available! It is fully compatible, in every way! For new players, Forbidden Fortress will make a great introduction to the world of Shadows of Brimstone, and for veteran players, it adds a ton of new content, including two brand new Worlds to explore - the Japanese castles and temples of the Forbidden Fortress and a living world inside a massive creature in the Belly of the Beast. It also includes a brand new set of Heroes and Enemies to add to your games. With the option of starting your Heroes in Feudal Japan or the Old West, or having a mixed party of Heroes, drawn from both worlds, the possibilities are endless!

Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel (Knights: Brave and Bold)

Depending upon the number of players, each player receives 1 or 2 knights. Each of these knights lists a series of dice pips on the card, some of which are red in color. These red numbers are the knights defensive abilities, and he will block these numbers if rolled by an opponent during a competition. For instance, Upollonius Wolkenburg has a 1, 2 and 3 in red. Thus, he will block one of each of these numbers each time dice are rolled by an opponent in a competition. Some knights have less numbers in red, but they usually have a greater attack strength, meaning they can roll more dice in combat. This mechanism borrows very heavily from many role playing and fantasy games.

In addition to these 'defense' numbers and the attack dice chart, each knight card also has charts for prizes won (1 - 15) and damage points (1 - 10). There are also nice illustrations on each card ... about the only kind thing I can say about the game.

Each player also receives a 'lady' card. Each lady possesses a number of characteristics, including hair color, build, height and personality. When granting her favor to a knight (which is indicated by placing a corresponding token onto a knight card), the idea is to seek out a knight who desires similar characteristics in a lady.

The start player challenges an opposing knight with one of his knights. A challenge cannot be refused. These two enter battle, which involves each player tossing a number of dice equal to their attack strength into the tournament field. In mounted combat, any 1's, 2's or 3's thrown strike a blow, unless these are blocked by the opponent. If any of these dice strike, the knight falls from his horse and the knight suffers hit points equal to the number of blows which were landed. If only one knight is struck and falls from his horse, the opponent wins and earns a prize for himself and for his lady. If both knights fall from their horse, then the match continues on foot. This involves more dice rolling, but 4's, 5's and 6's now strike. This continues until one knight concedes or reaches 10 damage points, at which time he is out of the tournament (and out of the game).

The next player in turn order then challenges a knight. This process is repeated until there is only one healthy knight remaining. The round then ends and victory points are doled out to the knight and lady who won the most prizes. There are also potential bonuses which add to the players' scores.

Arkham Horror (3rd Edition)

The year is 1926, and it is the height of the Roaring Twenties. Flappers dance till dawn in smoke-filled speakeasies, drinking alcohol supplied by rum runners and the mob. It’s a celebration to end all celebrations in the aftermath of the War to End All Wars.

Yet a dark shadow grows in the city of Arkham. Alien entities known as Ancient Ones lurk in the emptiness beyond space and time, writhing at the thresholds between worlds. Occult rituals must be stopped and alien creatures destroyed before the Ancient Ones make our world their ruined dominion.

Only a handful of investigators stand against the Arkham Horror. Will they prevail?

Arkham Horror (Third Edition) is a cooperative board game for one to six players who take on the roles of investigators trying to rid the world of eldritch beings known as Ancient Ones. Based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, players will have to gather clues, defeat terrifying monsters, and find tools and allies if they are to stand any chance of defeating the creatures that dwell just beyond the veil of our reality.

The game is split into a series of rounds made up of four phases.

The Action Phase
The Monster Phase
The Encounter Phase
The Mythos Phase

The Action Phase sees your investigators fighting back against the dark power of the mythos. During this phase, each investigator can perform two different actions.

Move – Investigators can move up to two spaces in the city, spending money to hire speedy transport and move additional spaces. The space where you end your turn will determine what encounter card you draw later in the turn.
Gather Resources – Gain one dollar token, which can be used to purchase items and goods as well as increase how far you can move
Focus – Focus one of your skills, increasing its value.
Ward – Attempt to remove doom from your location. Increasing doom means danger for the investigators, and removing doom can delay these apocalyptic heraldings.
Attack – Attack a monster engaged with you.
Evade – Try to escape from a monster engaged with you.
Research – Search for clues at your location.
Trade – Trade money, clues, items, and more with other investigators at your location.

—description from the publisher

Arctic Scavengers: Base Game+HQ+Recon

In the year 2097, the entire Earth was enveloped in a cataclysmic shift in climate, plunging the globe into another ice age. Nearly 90% of the world’s population was eliminated, driving the survivors to band together into loose communities and tribes.

In Arctic Scavengers, you are the leader of a small tribe of survivors. Resources, tools, medicine, and mercenaries are all in scarce supply. You and your tribe are pitted against up to four other tribes in a fight for survival. Build up your tribe, skirmish against other players head-to-head, or even bluff your way to victory. The player with the largest tribe at the end of the game is declared the winner!

As the competing tribes develop and grow, headquarters are established for each tribe thanks to the components in the included HQ expansion. This base camp consists of a Tribal Leader (complete with special abilities) and the potential to construct buildings that can be used strategically during game play. Additionally, the game introduces alternative victory paths, new mercenaries, new tools, and the addition of the "engineering schematics" pile.

As the tribes evolve further and struggle for dominance, information becomes the most valuable currency. In the new world mapped out in the Recon, deception reigns, leading to a need for reconnaissance. This expansion adds new tribe leader roles, new mercenaries, new equipment, and new levels of player interaction (i.e., new ways to make your opponents feel pain).

Arctic Scavengers: Base Game+HQ+Recon comes with a plastic insert to organize all your cards for ease in play setup.

Magic: The Gathering

GAME SYSTEM

This entry is to allow for discussion/rating of the game system as a whole. It is not for a specific product or release. Versions will appear on the individual item pages.

From the official website: In the Magic game, you play the role of a planeswalker—a powerful wizard who fights other planeswalkers for glory, knowledge, and conquest. Your deck of cards represents all the weapons in your arsenal. It contains the spells you know and the creatures you can summon to fight for you.

This is the grandfather of the collectible card game (or CCG) genre. Cards are categorized as common, uncommon, rare, and mythic rare. Players collect cards and build decks out of their collection.

Players build a deck of cards and duel against an opponent's deck. Players are wizards attempting to reduce their opponent's life total to zero. The first player to reduce his opponent's life to zero (or meet another set win condition) wins the game.

An important part of the game is deck construction, which is done prior to the actual game by selecting what cards are included in a particular deck. There are nearly 20,000 different cards from which to build your deck!

Cards can be lands, which usually generate mana of various colors, or spells, which require a certain amount of mana to be used. Some cards (creatures, artifacts, and enchantments) stay on the board and continue to affect the game, while others have a one-time effect.

Players randomly draw spells to see what they get and can play each turn. Although this limits your choices, there is a lot of strategy in how you play those spells. A robust list of game mechanics, including intricate rules for reactive card play called "the stack," provide for rich tactics and tough choices each turn.

Though traditionally a two-player duel, there are several casual and tournament formats to Magic that allow more players to play.