Worker Placement

A classic game is back! As one of the first worker placement games, Caylus stands among the true board game classics of the 2000s. The original designers' team, together with the Space Cowboys, have now created a revamped version!

The mechanisms of Caylus 1303 have been streamlined and modernized for an intense and shorter game. Don't be fooled, though, as the game has kept both its depth and ease of play while a lot of new features have been added:

Variability of the starting position for a virtual infinity of possibilities. No more pre-set strategies!
Characters with special abilities, with a wavering loyalty, offer their services to the players.
And of course, brand new graphics!

The King calls you again, so it's time to go back to Caylus!

—description from the publisher

We were light years from our home, galaxies away, when we first discovered this ancient celestial body — a planet filled with intriguing, intelligent lifeforms, not too unlike our own. Some built kingdoms below the surface of the green seas, while others controlled the desert-filled plains and cliffs. Among them we found scientists, inventors, farmers, traders and fighters. While our presence has been unsettling for some, we have had very few incidents with the locals. Still, we Circadians, Earth's famed explorers, must do what we can to ensure peace. We must respect this world and its hosts. The heads of Moontide passed down orders from above. We are to open negotiations with the three clans, in hopes of gaining their favor, along with our own security while on the planet. We must also collect organic samples for the depository on Moontide. This is new ground for all of us, but we must be brave and resourceful. The future of the Circadians depends on it.

The aim of Circadians: First Light is to lead a team of researchers on the planet of Ryh. Players need to manage their crew (dice) to visit various parts of the planet for trade, farming, construction and research. Players score points for negotiating with the locals, harvesting resources for the depository, upgrading their research base, exploring the planet, and collecting gems. The game is played over eight rounds. At the end of the final round, the player with the most points wins.

—description from designer

Imaginarium is a strategy, combination and development game.

From its Kickstarter description:

Through the mist, you can just about see the gigantic form of the factory. This is where the essence of dreams is shaped! We will enter the factory through the grand entrance. Here are the famous machines! You can repair, combine or dismantle them. They will produce the resources needed to repair more powerful machines. I am sure that you will quickly make the best use of your resources and the space available in your workshop to carry out the projects of the design office and gain Victory points!

Prior to Essen 1999, a group of students created Splotter Spellen to sell some of their own game designs. This game is regarded as one of the highlights of that group. The object of the game is to deliver as many people to their destinations as you can. To accomplish this, players place route markers on the board to connect passengers to their destinations. However, the destination types (work, bar, home) vary from turn to turn, so you can follow certain passengers as they make their way through the daily grind.

Players may buy more buses (they start off with one), build onto their bus route, bring new passengers to the city (via the trains), expand the city by adding more buildings, and run their buses. There is another option, the clock, but more on that later. The action board has one other clever feature. On some actions, route expansion and building, the first player to choose that action actually gets to execute the action last! Which leads to some interesting games of chicken and some painful decisions.

Buying more buses allows a player to carry one more passenger every time they run their buses - hence scoring, in the best case, one more point. Depending on how the city gets built, however, finding lots of passengers on the street can be tricky.

Bus routes extend from either end of a Settlers-style initial placement. Extensions are appended to either end. Routes may only run parallel if a route is completely blocked at both ends - seems pretty rare - so getting one end pinched off can be painful (but isn't it always?). All new passengers will arrive at one of two train stations so that is one concern when route building. One must also be careful to run by a nice mix of building types. And, when building, one must always have an eye towards spoiling other players' routes by placing a mix of building types at each of their intersection so that all of their passengers just walk! Finally, when carrying passengers, one wants to be careful to set up to carry the same passenger next turn.

The deluxe edition of Coloma includes content not found in the retail edition.

Besides the base game components and retail edition stretch goals, the Deluxe Edition of Coloma includes 40 Chips, 30 custom Gold Nuggets, 5 custom Score Markers, 1 custom Round Marker, 1 Metal First Player Marker and all of the "Deluxe Only/Kickstarter Exclusive" Stretch Goals that were unlocked which included 6 new characters each with a unique ability not found on characters from the base game!

They are:
Robber - You may spend 1 Wagon action (forgoing its usual movement Ability) to gain 3 Gold Nuggets from the Gold Cart (not the Gold Supply on the board!).

Homesteader - You may spend 1 Tent to build a Town Building card from your hand, paying the Saw cost on the card.

Renegade - Each time you add a Dude to your Graveyard, draw 3 cards.

Range Rider - Each time your Wagon moves over (or stops on) a vacant Horseshoe space on the Frontier Map, draw 1 card.

Maverick - Discard 1 card to gain either 1 Buck or 1 Dude.

Vigilante - Discard 1 used Barrel to place Dudes according to the usual rules.

The custom components in the Deluxe Edition replace the standard components from the Retail Edition.

The Deluxe Edition is for Kickstarter backers only and will not be available in retail (except the retail stores that backed the Kickstarter). However, it will be available in limited supply at conventions, through contests, online at the BGG promo store, and directly from the publisher's website.

About the game:
Coloma is the town where an unexpected event happened that shaped history of the Western Frontier. In the winter of 1848 a man building a sawmill on the South Fork of the American River spotted some bright nuggets in the tailrace waters below. Sure enough, it was gold! Though he tried to keep his discovery a secret, word spread quickly and it triggered the California Gold Rush of ‘49.

Thousands of people arrived from far and wide, making Coloma one of the fastest growing boomtowns in the country. Claims were staked, camps and makeshift homes were built, and hotels and saloons sprung up almost overnight. Everyone wanted their cut of the land’s wealth. For many it was Coloma or Bust!

In the game of Coloma, you are a pioneer who has recently traveled out West to strike it rich and make a name for yourself. You will prospect for gold and use your windfalls to recruit workers, rustle up horses, and establish businesses. You will also get opportunities to explore the surrounding riverways and frontier lands. But alas! You are not alone—every other pioneer seems to have gotten the same idea! Therefore, it will take extra cunning tactics on your part to not go Bust with the rest of them…

Overview of Play
At the beginning of each chapter, you and the other players will simultaneously select an action to perform on the board. Once your selections are revealed, you must check if a majority of players chose the same action. If so, it is a Bust—which disables the Boom bonus that would be included otherwise. Then the players take turns performing actions, such as gaining resources, moving wagons on the map, building bridges and businesses, and placing camps and gunmen. After that, a section of the board is rotated—slightly changing the layout of the actions for the upcoming chapter.

When the rotating section hits high noon, the round ends with a bang: a shootout against an ever-growing number of outlaws! If you and the other players can outnumber the outlaws with your combined gunmen, you will get your fair share of the rewards. But if not, the rewards drop, and some of the gunmen will go to the graveyard... The game ends after the third shootout, and the player with the most points wins!

Coloma is a fast moving game with many paths to victory. It offers unique twists on simultaneous action selection, resource management, and engine-building. The town cards in your tableau allow you to play more efficiently, gain extra actions, and bend the rules to your advantage. With these cards and the bridge tiles (which add points based on what you achieve), you can create the perfect combination for your strategy and play style.

—description from the publisher