mythology

Trickarus

Icarus & his friends have crafted handmade wings. Day and night, jubilant with their newfound freedom, they fly higher & higher... A trick-taking game of flying, flipping, & trying not to soar into the hot, hot sun.

With competitive (2-5p) and co-operative (3-5p) modes, players win tricks to fly higher in the sky. The winner of each trick moves to the next open space above them on the scoring track unless they fly into the sun, in which case they will plummet to below the bottom-most player.

Every card has two different values which alternate - along with the trump suit - whenever a 5-card is played. With rules simple enough to teach in a few minutes, Trickarus is accessible for those unfamiliar with trick-taking, while also having enough challenge for more experienced trick-takers to experiment with different strategies.

US EDITION Changes:
Smirk & Dagger Games has made the following adjustments for the English edition.
The Lightning Bolt card has a new function. It no longer causes the winner of a trick to fly down the track. 2 copies of the card now exist in the Stormy Weather rules.

Stormy Weather rules:
Add 2 Lightning cards and the second (new) poker chip token.
A Lightning card may be played at one of two times, as the first card of the round when you are the Lead player – or – if you are unable to follow suit during a trick.

Playing the Lightning card swaps the Day / Night chip with the one currently out of play. This will change the Strongest Suits (Trump) from Sun & Moon to Clouds & Raindrops and vice versa. Note: swapping the chip does not change Day / Night and cards are not rotated. If the Sun is face up (Day) it swaps for Clouds (also Day). If the Moon is face up (Night) it swaps for Raindrops (also Night) and vice versa.

This means that Clouds and Raindrops are no longer always “junk” suits but have the ability to be the
Strongest Suits.

---
New 2 Player game

A dummy score tracker token (Icarus) is added to the game. Icarus is dealt a three card hand, face up, so both players know what Icarus will play over the span of three rounds. Then, a new set of cards comes out.
Unlike the 3-5p mode, a player does not win by being highest on the track at the end of the game. Instead: One player has the goal of the game ending with Icarus either above or below all the other
players on the score track.
The other player has the goal of the game ending with Icarus between the two other players on the score track.
While both are tested as equally balanced ways to win, players will have personal preferences and strategies. This push and pull mechanic makes for a far more engaging two-paler experience.

Hercules and the 12 Labors

Hercules and the 12 Labors is an immersive solo card and dice game where players embody the legendary hero Hercules, striving to complete the 12 Labors and ascend to godhood.

Engage in epic battles as you roll and allocate dice to unleash powerful abilities against fearsome foes, including the multi-headed Lernean Hydra, the flesh-eating Stymphalian Birds, and the formidable three-headed Cerberus. Each triumph earns you mighty rewards like the Impenetrable Hide or Athena’s Instrument, granting the strength needed to face the ever greater trials ahead.

Your journey will take you to the ends of the earth, from stealing the Golden Apples of the Hesperides to claiming the belt of Hippolyta from the Queen of the Amazons. Along the way, mood cards reveal the memories and emotions that haunt your past, testing your resilience or rewarding your fortitude.

Only by defeating each Labor and accumulating divinity can you unlock the gates of Olympus, securing your place among the gods and etching your name into legend! Are you ready to face the ultimate challenge and forge your destiny?

Yokai Carnival

You become the master of an army of monsters living in the night world. Gather more subordinates than other parade, prove your strength, and become the "King of Monsters"!

"Yokai Bakasaka" is a card game in which players play against each other. Players take their turns and play their "Yokai cards" into their own parade and potentially summon "Yokai General cards" for big effect. When the "Yokai General card deck" or the "Yokai deck" runs out, the player with the most cards in his parade wins!

Thebai

Dark times loom over the kingdom of Thebes. The blind, old king Oedipus left the throne in disgrace and asked Polynices and Eteocles, his own sons, to rule the city together. But power corrupts and ancient feuds call for new blood to be spilled. Soon, Polynices finds himself leading an army from the rival city of Argos against his own brother. The Theban nobles support Eteocles as he maintains precarious rule over Thebes. The young king calls for defenders to man the seven gates of the city, while the invaders’ seven champions lead the attack on the gates. Meanwhile, the famous citadel of Thebes, the Cadmea, lies in disarray. It is as if the Fates themselves have lined everything up against the current rulers of Thebes!

While the common folks prepare for war, the noble families whisper among themselves that the time for new leadership has come, and the time to rebuild the Cadmea is now!

In Thebai, players assume the role of influential leaders from noble families during the tumultuous late Bronze Age. Throughout the game, players are tasked with rebuilding the Cadmea, the citadel of Thebes, while restoring the city’s exports, praying to the gods of the city, and protecting the lives of the citizens as grand heroes spill each other’s blood outside the gates.

The game lasts 10 rounds, each divided into an Action phase and a Fate phase. During the Action phase, players use one Citizen die, and then move their Archon on the Cadmea. During the Fate phase, players may get additional scoring opportunities, depending on their accomplishments and for protecting the city gates. After final scoring the player with the most Victory Points is the winner.

Living Forest Duel

Living Forest Duel or how to experience all the thrills of the award-winning Living Forest in a tense and tactical two-player showdown!

SUMMARY:
In Living Forest Duel, two players face off as the spirits of Summer and Winter, each striving to save the sacred forest and be recognized as its ultimate protector. Although their goals are similar, only one season will claim the honors.

Your goal? Be the first to achieve one of the four victory conditions:

Plant a 3×3 rectangle of Guardian Tree cards in your Forest
Have only cards of your season on the recruitment line
Collect 8 Fire tokens
Move the Onibi creature to your opponent's side once the Onibi card is in their possession.

The game is played in alternating turns. On each turn, choose one of the following options:

Draw 1 guardian animal card from the shared draw pile and add it to the shared help line
Use 1 action token on 1 guardian animal card in the shared help line

• Draw a guardian animal card
Draw a card from the shared draw pile and place it face up on one of the three help lines:

the shared help line if it’s a neutral animal
your help line if it’s an animal of your season
your opponent’s help line if it’s an animal of their season

Each animal provides elements that you can use later with one of your two Action tokens.

Be careful: revealing too many solitary animals can be detrimental. After 3 solitary symbols, you lose an Action token, which will significantly reduce your ability to act.

• Use an action token
Place one of your Action tokens on a card to point to the last element corresponding to the action you want to perform. Count all elements of this type visible from the start of the common aid line OR from the last Action token pointing to this element.

Possible Actions:

Recruiting one or more Guardian Animals
Extinguishing the fire by collecting one or more Fire tokens
Planting one or more protective trees
Advancing Onibi toward your opponent

• End of the turn
The turn ends when both Summer and Winter have used up their 2 action tokens.

Add up the value of the fire tokens in the clearing: the value of each fire token is determined by its location. Then, add up your water values. Check to see whether the fire value in the clearing is strictly higher than your water value. If so, add a fire varan card corresponding to your season to the shared discard pile for each fire token present in the clearing.

Next, place a fire token on each of the cards on either side of the Onibi standee.

Retrieve your 2 action tokens back in front of you, and place all of the cards in the help line, as well as the cards in the players' personal lines on the shared discard pile.

———————

No prior knowledge of Living Forest is required to enjoy Living Forest Duel.

—description from the publisher