variable player powers

7 Wonders: Architects

In 7 Wonders: Architects, 2-7 players race to become a leader of the ancient world by completing an architectural wonder that will last through the ages.

Players receive an unconstructed wonder at the beginning of the game and must collect resources to build their society, develop military might to navigate conflicts, oversee resource management, research science improvements, and collect civil victory points as they race to leave their mark on world history.

Riftforce

The Rifts changed our world. Villages were torn apart, Riftforce emerged from it and spread across the land. What seemed lifeless before started to rise and wake. Flames left campfires and waves poured out of their riverbeds. Even the sun and moon leave their footprints in the ground.

We learned how to control those living elementals and formed guilds to perfect this knowledge. While competing for Riftforce the guilds forged temporary alliances to share their unique abilities and guard the access to the Rifts.

Now it is your time! Choose your guilds, combine their powers and rush into battle. Gain Riftforce from the land you control and all the elementals you destroy until you have enough to ascend into a higher state of power.

•••

In Riftforce, the two-player duel card game, each player starts by drafting four of the ten different guilds, each with a unique power, to forge their own asymmetrical alliance. Every game of Riftforce gives you a chance to discover new synergies between guilds which will greatly influence your overall strategy and strengths. Can you combine the flexible and mobile water guild with the all-consuming fire elementals who even harm their allies and unleash their full potential?

The guilds’ elementals are the lifeblood of the game - they are your troops and at the same time the resource necessary to attack. Soon you will find yourself wondering how to use them best. Each turn you are torn, choosing one of three possible actions. Do you want to strengthen your position at the Rift, sacrifice elementals for powerful combo attacks or gather support for your next turn?

Gain Riftforce by destroying the elements of your opponent and by controlling locations along the Rift. Only then will you ascend and win the game.

Discovering new synergies between the different guilds, clever gameplay combos and the deeper layers of strategy will keep you coming back to enjoy the game again and again.

Bayou Bash

As gremlins climb on rocks and wade in puddles to catch a glimpse of the big race, their favorite racers gear up at the starting line. Time to find out who’s the fastest, and more importantly, who’s the fan favorite!

Bayou Bash is a chaotic racing game for 2-4 players filled with rambunctious racers who will do anything to win over the most fans before crossing the finish line. Each player takes control of a racer with unique abilities, and must battle for victory across the customizable track while gaining fans along the way. In Bayou Bash, it’s not about who crosses the finish line first, but who pulls off the craziest tricks during the race!

—description from the publisher

Players are represented by one of four tokens, each with variable special ability. The play surface is customizable, allowing for a variety of racetracks. Starting condition cards add additional random elements into the game. Each turn, players draft cards that control movement, provide supplies, etc. The first player to cross the finish line ends the game but it’s the player with the most fans who wins. Cheap shots are encouraged.

—user summary

Maharaja

Maharaja is a new edition of the classic game by the authors Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. In this new version of the game which supports 1 to 4 players and is enriched with new graphics and components, you build statues of your God of reference to please the Maharaja during their visit and score victory points at the end of the game depending on the majority you reach.
During the game, players take the role of priests who travel to different cities in India, building statues and shrines dedicated to their favorite Gods to expand their worship. To do so, they are assisted by several characters with different abilities. Every year, the Maharaja, the great king of India, will change his residence and players will receive rewards according to their Gods' worship value. At the beginning of each year, players plan their actions in a secret phase to be played simultaneously.

At the end of the seventh year or when a player builds their seventh statue, the game ends, then the player with most prestige wins.

Aside from the new graphics and components and from players now building statues instead of palaces, this new edition of Maharaja includes new characters to use during the turn that change turn order, additional ways to earn victory points, an additional bonus each time you score a city after the Maharaja's visit depending on the assistant you chose, and additional modular rules that can be added during the game and in the final scoring.

—description from the publisher

Includes solo mode by Dávid Turczi & Simone Luciani

Brew

Bring balance back to the forest!

Time is broken and shattered. The seasons all exist at once, and day and night have no real cycle — they rotate at the whim of the forest. This enchanted land has been driven into chaos and it's up to you, the cunning mystics of the forest, to tame extraordinary woodland creatures and use your magic to bring back balance.

In Brew, players must choose how to use element dice, either to take back control of as many seasons as possible in an area-control game or to procure goods at the local village in a worker-placement game. Recruiting woodland creatures and brewing potions can help offset chance die-rolls or create an engine to help you tame the lands.