Hand Management

Last Light

Last Light is a fast-paced 4x game with 3D planets and a rotating board in which players playing asymmetrical alien factions simultaneously gather light right before the heat death of the universe.

Each turn, players select an action card, then all players take their actions simultaneously, exploring planets, mining for resources, gaining new technologies, and commanding fleets all while racing to the center of a rotating board to the last known white dwarf star to gather light for their civilization to survive.

The first player to gather 20 light has what they need to overcome their rivals and lay claim to the last light in the universe and win!

Ticket To Ride: Berlin

Welcome to the city of culture, arts and music! Discover Unter den Linden, and immerse yourself in the young cultural capital of Europe. Enjoy a sightseeing cruise on the river Spree, ride a bike through the Brandenburg Gate, or be amazed by the masterpieces displayed in the Pergamon Museum.

In Ticket to Ride: Berlin, players race one another to visit the most iconic locations of the city and complete their Destination Tickets. The winning player will utilize Berlin's streetcars and, for the first time, will venture under the streets to incorporate a subway system into their routes.

Mindbug: First Contact

In Mindbug, you summon hybrid creatures and send them to battle against your opponent — but when you summon a creature, the opponent may use one of their Mindbugs to take control of it. Outwit your opponent in a fascinating tactical duel in which having the best cards and playing them at the wrong time can be deadly for yourself.

Cards in Mindbug represent weird creatures that all come with unique and powerful abilities such as a Compost Dragon, a Snail Hydra, or a Kangasaurus Rex. Each player starts the game with ten creature cards (five in hand and five in a draw pile) and tries to use them to reduce the opponent's life total to zero. In addition, every player receives two Mindbug cards that can be used to mind control an opposing creature when it is played. This innovative Mindbug mechanism is the core of the game and leads to a unique decision-making process that makes Mindbug feel utterly different from any other card game.

Playing a card doesn't require any resources in Mindbug. As a result, the game has no ramp-up phase (such as gathering resources) and doesn't require weak cards. Since there is also no deck-building, you can start playing right away from a single deck. There is also no unfair advantage as players draw cards from the same deck and always get the chance to mind control the strongest opposing cards. In the end, it all comes down to your own decisions, making the game extremely fair and competitive at the same time.

—description from the publisher

Neotopia

In Neotopia, a competitive fast paced tile placement pattern building game, you are part of a team of Visionaries who are building a futuristic pilot city focused on the fields of Energy, Technology, Community and Sustainable food.

You will be building elements on the three regions of the city in order to complete feature cards that you have in hand. A good combination of tile placement and card management can result in very impactful turns, where several cards are completed and the city expands. Interaction between players is important, because all players are building on the same board and can take advantage of what other players have built on their previous turns.

You will try to build the most harmonious city possible, because that will be vital for your score: in the end of the game you will score normally the regions where you have your two highest scores but you will triple the score of your lowest scoring region. So be aware! Even if it’s tempting to build on regions that are more developed and where you have already scored a lot points, if you don’t start working on the development of the other regions you will not be able to win the game. Balance is the key point on Neotopia, just like the type of future that the players are trying to build.

—description from the designer

Bohnanza: Dahlias

Bohnanza: Dahlias is a special edition of Bohnanza for 3-5 players that features the same gameplay as the original design.

In the game, you plant, then harvest flower cards in order to earn coins. Each player starts with a hand of random flower cards, and each card has a number on it corresponding to the number of that type of flower in the deck. Unlike in most other card games, you can't rearrange the order of cards in hand, so you must use them in the order that you've picked them up from the deck — unless you can trade them to other players, which is the heart of the game.

On a turn, you must plant the first one or two cards in your hand into the "fields" in front of you. Each field can hold only one type of flower, so if you must plant a type of flower that's not in one of your fields, then you must harvest a field to make room for the new arrival. This usually isn't good! Next, you reveal two cards from the deck, and you can then trade these cards as well as any card in your hand for cards from other players. You can even make future promises for cards received right now! After all the trading is complete — and all trades on a turn must involve the active player — then you end your turn by drawing cards from the deck and placing them at the back of your hand.

When you harvest flowers, you receive coins based on the number of cards in that field and the "meter" for that particular type of flower. Flip over 1-4 cards from that field to transform them into coins, then place the remainder of the cards in the discard pile. When the deck runs out, shuffle the discards, playing through the deck two more times. At the end of the game, everyone can harvest their fields, then whoever has earned the most coins wins.