Hand Management

From the Publisher:
Tikal was discovered and explored during a very successful expedition led by Profs. Kramer and Kiesling. A decade later, a scroll is found that hints of a lost temple near the first site. This rumor rekindles their passion for Tikal and the two scientists start to discuss the prospect of another expedition to Central America. In the midst of their planning they encounter Profs. Braff and Pauchon at an international archaeology conference in Geneva, who want to know the truth about the enticing rumour.

Later that day, sitting in front of a roaring fire after a fine meal finished off with Cuban cigars and a few brandies, the two Swiss scientists listen enthralled by the unfolding plans of their German colleagues. To a man they clamour their unanimous assent and it is decided to join forces and go back to Tikal. Appointments are made, patrons are found, equipment is assembled, notes are compared, and then they are off.

An uneventful journey takes them to Guatemala, and then on to the old site. Not too long after, they discover that there is indeed an undisturbed temple in an adjacent valley. As it belonged to a long-forgotten king, the temple promises many surprises and much, much gold. And so the adventure begins...

Tikal II: The Lost Temple is a sequel to 1999 Spiel des Jahres winner Tikal, from world-famous duo Kramer-Kiesling.

Actions points have given way to two actions per turn :
1) move part of your expedition around the board to choose an action tile, and then
2) move your head scientist within the temple to explore new rooms and find gold.

There are many ways to score. Collecting and delivering treasures is one, and having the majority in some rooms or exploring the main temple as well as an outer secret chamber, are others.

Tikal II calls for careful planning, as your scientist can't move freely within the temple without specific items, and tension, as the actions around the board grow scarce. A game consists of two rounds, each concluded by a scoring. In the end, the player with the most gold is declared winner.

A civilization building game has finally been created that clocks in under two hours. Tempus plays on a modular board with an array of landscapes on each land tile to ensure a different game every session. Each turn pushes players' technological advancements forward, starting from fire and ending in the modern age.

Players are constantly faced with tough choices to vie for technological superiority or better positioning on the game board. This game features a rubber-banding mechanic in technological upgrading, where players catch up to the leader's advances at the end of every turn and shoot forward to take advantage of any new technologies that are discovered. This keeps players constantly in check, while rewarding planning for the next turn by giving an edge-up.

Tempus showcases a simple diceless battle mechanic featuring a subtle fog of war with Idea cards. Each card is dual-purposed. Using a card for war means giving up extra abilities that the Idea cards can grant. Or you might just want to hold on to them to advance in technology.

From the Publisher:
Spring/Summer 2010
Pitch: Ancient Egypt... The temple of Sobek is being built and the market place is thriving. Loads of goods arrive by ship for the construction site and it is a race to pick the best items in order to sell them with the most profit.

Of course, with so much at stake, not all the moves are legal, corruption is everywhere and cordiality scarce. Because in the end there can be only one winner!

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Famous Bruno Cathala's (Cyclades, Dice Town, Shadows Over Camelot, Mr. Jack, MOW...) latest design is a fast paced card game well suited for the whole family, with tactical choices, luck, and a bit of cunning.

Each turn you have to choose if you want to take a goods card, play a character with a special power or display a set of matching goods cards.
While taking a profitable card, you often collect corruption points, which add up in a pile in front of you.
During each each round five sets of nine cards are put at the players' disposal. When all cards are gone, there is a scoring for all displayed cards, but beware, the player with the most corruption sigils sees his income almost cut down in half.

The game ends after 3 rounds or if a player has reached a hundred points.

Online Play

Yucata (turn-based)
Board Game Arena (realtime and turn-based)

Part of the Knizia tile-laying trilogy, this game is set in medieval Japan. Players compete to gain the favor of three factions: samurai, peasants, and priests, represented by helmet, rice paddy, and Buddha tokens scattered about the board, which represents some of the islands of Japan. The competition is waged through the use of hexagonal tiles, each of which help curry favor of one of the three factions (or all three at once!). Players can make lightning-quick strikes with horseback ronin and ships or approach more methodically. As each token (helmets, rice paddies, and Buddhas) is surrounded, it is awarded to the player with who has gained the most favor with the corresponding group.

Gameplay continues until all the symbols of one type have been removed from the board or four symbols have been removed due to a tie for influence.

At the end of the game, players compare captured symbols of each type, competing for majorities in each of the 3 types. Ties are not uncommon and are broken based on the number of other, "non-majority" symbols each player has collected.

Reef Encounters of the Second Kind was released at Essen 2006. It is an expansion set for Reef Encounter, introducing new creatures, opportunities, and tactics to the basic game.

The crown of thorns starfish with their voracious appetites have now found the reef and will consume any corals that they can reach. Blue shrimps will assist host shrimps in protecting the larger corals, but these blue shrimps are notoriously unreliable. Meanwhile, the polyp tiles now come in a variety of different forms, and even the rocks are liable to change shape.

A selection of cards provides one-off opportunities to influence the game, to introduce or to move the blue shrimps, or to affect the scoring at the end of the game. An appropriate card is also required before a parrot fish can consume its first coral.

Contents: 4 blue wooden shrimps, 48 special tiles, 56 cards (28 in English and 28 in German), and 2 rules sheets, one in English and one in German.

Expands:

Reef Encounter

Reef Encounters of the Second Kind Microbadge :