variable player powers

What if the animals were the ones who ran the zoo?

…Presumably, this wild government would be built upon the support of fellow creatures and fueled by the fame, attention, and prestige of wide-eyed visitors. Naturally, the most aspirational beasts would lobby for a position in the star exhibit, and the lead star would be elected Zoo Mascot.

In order to join the star exhibit, each species must campaign its way up the hierarchy of enclosures with the majority support of animal voters. And the lead star will be the species that has earned the most laurels from both raving fans and jealous rivals along the way.

How does one gain support and earn laurels? Through crafty politicking, clever negotiations, and ruthless schemes. There can only be one Zoo Mascot, after all.

Where are you going? That is the ultimate question of Zoo Vadis.

Zoo Vadis is an evolution of Reiner Knizia’s classic negotiation game, Quo Vadis? It retains the elegant, political gameplay that fans have come to love while introducing many innovations and improvements by:

Enhancing the 3-player game and tailoring the board to all player counts through neutral, bribable figures—roaming peacocks
Widening the player count with a second game board for 6-7 players
Expanding the possibilities for strategic negotiation with asymmetric animal abilities
Increasing tactical opportunities with new special laurel tokens
Broadening the appeal of the theme and presentation with vibrant zoo art by Kwanchai Moriya and Brigette Indelicato
Enlivening the production with chunky animal figures and functional player screens

Like the original design, the game ends immediately when the Star Exhibit is full. Only the animals who have reached the Star Exhibit qualify for victory, and the winner is the player with the most laurels.

–description from publisher

DungeonQuest is a re-imagining of the classic board game of dungeon exploration for 1-4 players. Set in the vibrant fantasy realm of Terrinoth (first popularized by Runebound), DungeonQuest retains the peril, tension, and brutality of the beloved original game while updating both mechanical and thematic elements. Players take on the roles of courageous (or foolish) heroes willing to brave the legendary dangers of Dragonfire Dungeon. Fortune awaits those able to venture into the dragon’s lair...

Legends say that the doors of Dragonfire Dungeon open every sunrise, welcoming brave adventurers into its depths. But once the sun sets, the doors close and seal the fates of those who lingered too long. Only a few have ever returned from Dragonfire Dungeon, and those who have usually come back near death. But they return as heroes nonetheless.

In DungeonQuest, players must guide their heroes through the twisting halls of Dragonfire Dungeon in pursuit of unimaginable riches hoarded by the Dragonlord Kalladra. Whoever can amass the most wealth and make it out of the dungeon before the closing of the doors seals their doom will emerge victorious. However, merely surviving the harrowing dungeon is a feat all its own...

While many similar games rely on a player to control the machinations of the dungeon, in DungeonQuest the dungeon essentially runs itself. No one at the table knows what lies around the corner, creating a new play experience every time. Additionally, DungeonQuest also includes rules for solo play, so you can even challenge Kalladra’s keep on your own!

Great riches and everlasting glory await if you can survive Dragonfire Dungeon. The Dragonlord Kalladra has challenged all heroes of Terrinoth to test themselves against the most dangerous dungeon in all the realms.

Dare you face the dragon’s challenge?

It is the year 1347 AD, and a disaster is about to strike. The Black Death is approaching, and during the next few years, large parts of the population of Europe and Northern Africa will be killed by the plague.

In Rattus, the players settle in the various regions of Europe and Northern Africa, while the plague spreads through all these regions. The players gain help from the various professions of the middle ages. Some of these, like peasants and bakers, help the players grow their populations. Some, like the monks and nuns, use wisdom and faith to avoid the plague, while the warfare conducted by the knights and soldiers spreads the plague to new areas. However, the plague does not make any distinction. When the rats arrive, no one can feel safe. Finally, the plague withdraws and the game ends. Only then will it be clear who was able to keep their population alive — and win the game!

Rattus: Big Box includes not only several previous released expansions and promos, but also previous unpublished materials, modules, and bonus cards. More specifically, this renewed edition of the Rattus line contains all materials of the base game and the Pied Piper, Africanus, and Academicus expansions. Additional new content is included, and players can add the new "Guilds & Inns" and "Bonus" modules to create even more variety and challenge.

This edition also contains popular bonus cards like The Judge, The Jester, and Boccaccio, as well as all 27 level upgrade tiles.

—description from the publisher

In Pendulum, each player is a powerful, unique noble vying to succeed the Timeless King as the true ruler of Dünya. Players command their workers, execute stratagems, and expand the provinces in their domain in real time to gain resources and move up the four victory tracks: power, prestige, popularity, and legendary achievement.

Players must use actual time as a resource in managing their strategy to best their opponents, using time on different action types and balancing it with time spent planning and analyzing. The winner will be the player who manages and invests their time most effectively and who builds the best engine, not the player who acts the quickest.

Pendulum is the highest-rated protoype in the history of the Stonemaier Games Design Day.

—description from the publisher

Horizons of Spirit Island features the core mechanisms of Spirit Island, but features a new double-sided game board with a streamlined set-up, punchboard components, and five new Spirits designed to be ideal for those playing a Spirit Island game for the first time. These new Spirits are compatible with all existing Spirit Island components, but to play with expansions like Jagged Earth, you would need a copy of Spirit Island itself.