In First Class: Unterwegs im Orient Express, players try to score as many fame points as possible by building a rich network of rails, by building luxurious train cars, or by serving well-paying passengers.
First Class is a card game that feels more like a board game, and since each game is played with the base cards and two of five modules, the game offers lots of variety as not all elements are used in each playing.
In Yardmaster Express, two to five players compete to have the highest valued train after a set number of rounds. The game starts with the first player drafting a Railcar card from his hand, attaching it to his train, then passing the rest of his hand to the player to his left. This draft continues until all players have added one Railcar to their train for each round of the game. The trick is, while each new Railcar must match the resource type or value of the one previously played, players always have the option to play any card face down as a Wild Railcar; the Wild Railcars don't have much value, but they can be used to save a player in a bind or to thwart your opponents by "hiding" a card they need.
Yardmaster Express plays in ten minutes and consists of just 32 cards (no tokens, no cargo cards).
Backyard Builders Treehouse — released in the France as Way Up High — is a reimplementation of Yardmaster Express with players now trying to climb vertically to build a treehouse instead of adding cars to their train engine.
In the 6th century A.D., ruled by Emperor Iustinianus (commonly called 'Justinian'), Constantinopolis was the largest emporium in the East Roman 'Byzantine' Empire. Built on the shore of the Marmara sea, at the entrance of the Bosporus (Hellispontus), its position let it take on the role of one of the most important harbors. Its quickly expanding trade and exports to close cities were great opportunities for the local businessmen to expand their riches.
Take on the role of an ambitious merchant during this golden era of trade. The task set before you is to become the most successful entrepreneur in the city of Constantinopolis. Compete against your rivals and earn the most renown by completing contracts and establishing viable trade; your fame will be measured by your ability to expand your trade district while managing your delivery contracts.
Constantinopolis is a board game of resource management, economy, and trade for 2-5 players. With a moderate game time of 1 to 2 hours and intuitive rules, Constantinopolis strikes the perfect balance of accessibility and depth.
Tiles in Latin, consistent with Giustiniano's time, are both a reference to the high period of Constantinopolis and a way to make the game entirely language independent.
Crafters, builders and carriers — your help is needed to dispel the mists of Nebula! The people of the valley will reward you handsomely if you harvest and exploit our many resources, open paths through the mists, and help our settlers build new structures. Cooperate temporarily with other builders in order to create paths and share goods, but do not forget your own objectives. Will you have a statue erected in your honor on the Nebula City plaza?
A game of Via Nebula starts with a board showing a hexagonal grid, some production sites with a few available resources on them (wood, stone, wheat, and pigs), building sites in various areas scattered over the whole board, and a lot of mist.
Turn after turn, players have two actions at their disposal from these options: They may clear the mist of a hex to create new paths of transportation, open new production sites, open a building site in a city, carry resources from any production site to their own building sites, and, of course, achieve a construction. Resources and paths through the mist may be used by all the players. This initially induces a kind of cooperation, but eventually other players will take advantage of your actions!
To achieve a construction, you fulfill a contract on one of your cards. You start the game with two contracts, and four more contracts are available for all players to see and use on a first come, first served basis — and that's where the cooperation abruptly stops. Additionally, most contracts have special powers that are triggered on completion.
The game ends when a player finishes a fifth building. Opponents each take two final actions, then players score based on the number of cleared hexes and opened production sites and the point value of their contracts, with a bonus for the player who ended the game.
Drivers, start your engines! Will you cross the finish line first? Now is your chance to find out!
Automobiles is a deck‑building game in which the fun is cubed — because instead of using cards to build a deck, you build with your collection of cubes. These cubes not only allow you to race your car around the track, but they also allow you to improve your handling, optimize your pit crew, and boost your speed, all of which are your keys to victory!
The goal of the game is to cross the finish line first! You accomplish this by customizing your race car and surrounding yourself with the best crew. Your race car and crew are represented by a collection of cubes garnered from various options available to you. Starting with the same small set of cubes, each player builds their collection as they play the game. Use these cubes to enhance your performance, train your pit crew, and ensure your race car runs as effectively as possible. Be the first to cross the finish line and watch that checkered flag wave!
Designed by David Short, Automobiles is the third title in AEG's Destination Fun series! Continue your travels in the acclaimed Trains and Planes board games.