Variable Set-up

First Ascent

First Ascent is a rock climbing-themed strategic board game. The goal in this medium weight, competitive game is to gain the most points by climbing the best route up the mountain and becoming the most skilled climber! Each player assumes the role of a unique asymmetric character, and throughout the game they will be building their route up the mountain, managing resources, achieving objectives, and increasing their efficiency by accumulating skills and gear! This game is for 2-5 players and takes 45-90 minutes to play.

Gameplay overview:
In First Ascent, the goal is to gain the most points by creating the best route! Points are gained in four ways:
1) Climbing pitches — use your climbing skills, gear, water, and psych to pay the requirements to move on to a tile "climb the pitch". Draw a climbing card and resolve the events that may involve resource management, board manipulation, or selfish vs altruistic decisions. Each tile is worth 1-5 points with higher point value tiles requiring more resources.

2) Objectives — achieve shared and personal objectives that relate to the path of your route. Plan carefully and manage resources to execute the path that will contribute towards achieving your objectives.

3) Technique bonuses — the climbing skills and gear cards contain symbols representing climbing techniques of precision, power, balance, and pain tolerance. Match three technique symbols on the cards you play to climb a tile and earn +2 bonus points. These can add up significantly, so choose your resources wisely.

4) Summit — reaching the top of the mountain is great, but climbing is about the journey. Gain +1 summit bonus point for reaching a peak.

If you don't have the required resources to climb, you can "risk it" by rolling the risk dice to climb a tile for one less resource. You may get away with a check mark and succeed without consequence, roll minus two cards and give them to another player, or roll minus one card and one psych which you give to another player. As long as you have the assets to lose, you will climb the tile, but at a price.

When you begin to ascend the mountain start in any tile on the first row. Next climb to any adjacent tile and leave your rope behind to mark the route you've climbed. Two climbers can not occupy the same tile, except for a summit, so you may compete with other climbers on the mountain for the prime locations.

As you climb the mountain you will practice your skills and become a more efficient climber. The engine building component of this game grants you an "earned asset" after you play four cards of a specific skill type or gear. These tokens stay on your climber asset board and count towards fulfilling the required assets of future tiles.

This isn't a race to the top, its about creating a strategic route that will reward your cunning and planning. The game ends when a player has used all seven rope lengths and climbed their eighth tile.

Do you have what it takes to create the greatest First Ascent?

Dorfromantik: The Board Game

Rippling rivers, rustling forests, wheat fields swaying in the wind and here and there a cute little village - that's Dorfromantik! The video game from the small developer studio Toukana Interactive has been thrilling the gaming community since its Early Access in March 2021 and has already won all kinds of prestigious awards. Now Michael Palm and Lukas Zach are transforming the popular building strategy and puzzle game into a family game for young and old with Dorfromantik: The Board Game.

In Dorfromantik: The Board Game, up to six players work together to lay hexagonal tiles to create a beautiful landscape and try to fulfill the orders of the population, while at the same time laying as long a track and as long a river as possible, but also taking into account the flags that provide points in enclosed areas. The better the players manage to do this, the more points they can score at the end. In the course of the replayable campaign, the points earned can be used to unlock new tiles that are hidden in initially locked boxes. These pose new, additional tasks for the players and make it possible to raise the high score higher and higher.

—description from the publisher

Earth

Earth, the soil that supports and sustains our beautiful planet, Earth. Over thousands of years of evolution and adaptation the flora and fauna of this unique planet have grown and developed into amazing life forms, creating symbiotic ecosystems and habitats.

It’s time to jump into these rich environments and create some amazing natural synergies that replicate and extrapolate on Earth’s amazing versatility and plethora of natural resources. Create a self-supporting engine of growth, expansion and supply where even your unused plants become compost for future growth.

Earth is an open world engine builder for 1 to 5 players with simple rules but tons of strategic possibilities. With its encyclopedic nature and the enormous number of unique cards and combinations, every single game will allow you to discover new synergies and connections, just as our vast and fascinating world allows us to do!

—description from the publisher

Rise

In Rise, you assume responsibility for the economic and social development of a city. There are not many limits to your possibilities: On various tracks, you can influence how best to provide for your citizens' well-being, whether through culture, science, or political relations — but all of this can be achieved only in accordance with respect for conservation of the environment and the satisfaction of the population.

The game revolves around ten tracks on which you move your markers to gain further effects and gather influence. The unique and innovative card mechanism, which includes events and tough decisions, will change your decision making from round to round.

Once twelve rounds have been played, players count their points to see who was able to accumulate the most influence in the city.

Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum

Once upon a time in the Far East, deep in the mountains of a mythical land, there was a world-renowned Dim Sum restaurant by the name of Steam Up.

It was the first restaurant of its kind to achieve the three Gold Ingot status. According to the Gold Ingot Guide, Steam Up was best known for its top 5 most popular Dim Sum: juicy shrimp dumpling, tender meat dumpling, soft and fluffy BBQ meat bun, flavorful sticky rice, and exotic phoenix claw. These heavenly tastes drew food enthusiasts and gourmets from all over the world!

Come join us on a feast of Dim Sum. You are invited!

Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum is a competitive 2-5 player light-medium weight Dim Sum set collection and action management game offering a delicious cultural experience.

At the beginning of the game, steamers, filled with different types of Dim Sum, are stacked and placed on a Turntable. Each player takes turns performing 2 different actions each round. Actions include gaining and spending food tokens to purchase Dim Sum in Steamers within their Feast Zone. Players may also play Fortune cards to benefit themselves or affect their opponents. Starting the 2nd round, a Fate card is revealed each round to trigger an event that may affect all players.

The game ends when a specific number of Steamers is purchased or the Fate deck is emptied. Final scoring is then calculated. The player with the most Hearty Points wins and leaves the table with the fullest stomach!