Variable Set-up

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a new board game of atmospheric adventure set in the world of the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog franchise.

Powered by the latest evolution of the Escape the Dark system, The Last of Us: Escape the Dark offers solo and co-op multiplayer modes, allowing up to 5 players to experience this iconic setting in a brand-new way.

Playing as a group of survivors, you will weave your own unique story of survival and companionship as you explore an open-world map. Beginning your journey in a forsaken quarantine zone, your goal is to travel to the reputed safe haven of Jackson while keeping everyone in the group alive.

Carefully plot your route through the troubled landscape, resolving immersive Chapter Cards at each location to gain vital information, weapons, and equipment. Survival will depend on making difficult choices and tactical use of item cards and custom character dice to overcome a variety of threats including Hunters, FEDRA agents, and the dreaded Infected.

Endure and survive!

—description from the publisher

Civolution

Hello, student beings! The cosmic faculty of the Technical Academy of Creation is delighted to welcome you to your Civolution, the final exam in Civilization Design!

For this occasion, we prepared a humanoid scenario on an isolated continent. Here, each of you holds the rank of a local deity which is closely linked to its very own civilization and must lead it to success over the other civilizations. Your developmental possibilities are endless and reach from cultural and technical progress to evolutional adaptations. For example, what would you consider more beneficial to your tribes: inventing the wheel or growing wings? Demonstrate your ability to operate your civilization console and show us how well you can adjust to changeable environmental conditions and mild creational chaos.

When the exam ceases after four eras, whoever managed to gather the most success points will not only pass the exam but will become a full member of the Technical Academy of Creation and garner the opportunity to be promoted to the next instance.

Civolution is a medium heavy to heavy euro-style game that utilizes a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. As you figure out how to best use your dice and put your unique cards into play, tons of strategies and paths to victory emerge, though each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.

—description from the publisher

A webapp implementation of the V.I.C.I solo automa is available.

Tower Up

Congratulations! Your architectural firm has been selected to renovate the city's downtown...but you're not the only ones. To pip your opponents at the post, you need to manage your resources and carefully plan your constructions. Be careful not to leave too many opportunities to your competitors!

Each turn in Tower Up, you either:

Pick a card and take the corresponding resources, or
Use your resources to construct a new building: choose an empty spot, pay the cost to adjacent buildings, place a roof, and earn the corresponding points.

Wishland

Wishland is a worker placement eurogame based on the management of a theme park. Through a series of rounds players will purchase different cards from the board to create their own and unique theme park.

The game last 7 rounds. At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

There are 5 different types of cards in the game:

Restaurants: Increases the base income of players.

Actors: Add additional workers, happiness and visitors. They also earn victory points at the end of the game with a set collection mechanic.

Rides: The heart of a theme park. You need a minimum amount of rides in order to enlarge your theme park. They also provide victory points.

Hotels: Some allow you to ignore some game rules, while other give you end game objectives or direct rewards related to the other types of cards.

Mascots: Can make a big difference in the end game. All cards of the game have an icon on them. Each of the 12 different mascouts gives you points at the end of the game for each card sharing icons with them.

-description from designer

Black Forest

In Black Forest, you start out with a small domain in need of new buildings and livestock. You’ll travel from village to village to enlist the aid of the best specialists. Exploiting the abilities of these specialists lets you collect resources, lay out new landscape tiles (e.g., ponds and fields), and build a variety of buildings, which come in four types. Choose the right buildings, place landscapes, fire up your glass production, and expand your domain.

Uwe Rosenberg’s resource wheels are making once again making their presence, made famous in Glass Road (2013). Two resource wheels on your tableau help you keep track of your resources and production. Black Forest continues the story - as the name suggests — in the Black Forest. Among others, the main difference between the two games is the use of worker placement in BLack Forest instead of simultaneous action selection.

A wide selection of buildings and their different effects offer many different paths to victory.

—description from publisher