Abstract Games

Samurai

Part of the Knizia tile-laying trilogy, Samurai is set in medieval Japan. Players compete to gain the favor of three factions: samurai, peasants, and priests, which are represented by helmet, rice paddy, and Buddha tokens scattered about the board, which features the islands of Japan. The competition is waged through the use of hexagonal tiles, each of which help curry favor of one of the three factions — or all three at once! Players can make lightning-quick strikes with horseback ronin and ships or approach their conquests more methodically. As each token (helmets, rice paddies, and Buddhas) is surrounded, it is awarded to the player who has gained the most favor with the corresponding group.

Gameplay continues until all the symbols of one type have been removed from the board or four tokens have been removed from play due to a tie for influence.

At the end of the game, players compare captured symbols of each type, competing for majorities in each of the three types. Ties are not uncommon and are broken based on the number of other, "non-majority" symbols each player has collected.

Strato Chess

Strato Chess is a 3D chess set with three full-size (64 square) clear lucite chess boards on an s-shaped aluminum stand. Rules are provided. Board and set could also be used for several other Three Dimensional Chess Variants.

Code 777

This clever little game combines the elements of a good, logical deduction game and Indian poker. Each player receives a rack for keeping three tiles drawn from a pool of tiles, which are seven different numbers in seven different colors (28 tiles in total), however the rack is turned away from you. When players sit in a circle, each player can see everyone else's tiles, except their own. Each turn, players draw a card with a question like, "Do you see more yellow sevens or more blue sevens?" which should help the others' determine their tiles. Once you're reasonably sure, then you can take a guess. But if you're wrong, you have to start over with a fresh set of tiles...

Code 777 was explicitly inspired by What's That on My Head? and Alex Randolph credited Robert Abbott with co-designing it based on this.

In 2010, Stronghold Games released Code 777 in a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, adding both a 5th player and symbols to make the game colorblind-friendly.

From the Stronghold Games version of Code 777:

The classic code-cracking game is back in a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition!

Crack your code first! You can see your opponents' codes but not your own. Using questions and logic, try to deduce which three numbers are hidden in front of you. Once you're reasonably sure, then you can take a guess. But if you're wrong, you have to start over with a fresh set of tiles...

This 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Code 777 has been expanded to allow for up to 5 players (from the previous 4 player editions). All of the components have been upgraded to the highest-quality levels. And our Code 777 is also the first edition to be colorblind friendly! Stronghold Games is proud to bring this great deduction game back into print by popular demand after being unavailable for over 10 years worldwide.

Similar to:

What's That on My Head?
Amnesia
Egghead
Guess What I Am!
Coyote
Am I a Banana?
Hanabi

Genesis

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. It took him six days to complete his work, assisted by a host of heavenly angels doing his divine bidding. On the seventh day God rested and examined the result. Seeing that it was good, he praised the angel who had contributed the most.

Genesis - In the Beginning gives you the chance to become that angel. By gathering the essence of creation - chaos, matter and life - and turning it into seas and mountains, birds and beasts, you hope to win Gods approval - and the game! But the way to victory is wrought with hard decisions. You must gather essence when it's most advantageous, move at the right time and do your days’ work where they count the most. And beware of the dark angel who's trying to outshine you all.

Now - let there be light!

Contents

1 game board
1 God
1 dark angel
6 player angels
42 day work markers
1 starting player marker
72 essence cubes
1 rules booklet

Gameplay

Before the creation, the players’ angels are gathered in the void with God. When God starts the creation with the words "let there be light", the angels start their monumental task. There’s a lot do to and only seven days to get it done in, so every action counts. Throughout the game, God moves over each of the seven days on the game board, stopping morning, midday and evening, allowing the players 21 rounds to act. During their turn, players can choose to collect the essence of creation (chaos, matter and life), to do a day work on the current day using the different kinds of essence they have collected, or to follow in God’s path to another day.

When players move from day to day, they’re positioned along the essence track. The essence track determines both the order of play and the type of essence a player can gather. The first player to move to a certain day gets the first position, the second player the second position, and so on. As different positions yield different kinds of essence, the players must plan their movement to get the right kind and the right amount of essence. If they’re not happy with their position, they can spend essence to swap positions with a neighboring angel, thereby also thwarting other players’ plans.

When God creates a new day with new tasks for the angels, players can move to that day. The first player to do a day work on a certain day is awarded the highest points, the second player the second highest, and so on. As the week progresses, the points earned for doing a day work increase, which affects players’ long-term strategy.

As the seventh day is a day of rest, God looks favorably on angels that retire from their hard work. The first player to retire their angel on the seventh day earns the highest points, the second player the second highest, and so on. When God reaches the evening of the seventh day, the game is over. All points will be tallied and the player with the highest score is declared the winner.

To make things even more challenging, a dark angel is mixed in with the players’ angels, doing his best to snatch as many points as possible. The dark angel follows a pre-determined pattern of actions that the players can predict and delay but never stop. If the players aren’t careful, or if they’re too caught up in their own plans, the dark angel will surely outshine them, making all of them lose the game.

The mechanics of the game are quite simple: the sooner you do a day work on a day, the higher the points you score, making it a good idea to keep close in God’s wake. Unfortunately, simply following God throughout the creation might not give you the exact essence you need to do your day work. Eventually you must stop to collect essence, preferably in the right position, making you lose momentum. In the end it’s always about choices: when and what to collect, when to move and when to do a day work. The winner, God willing, is the player who makes the right choices at the right time, a task easier said than done.

Ultimate Stratego

Ultimate Stratego is an updated version of the original which introduces 3 new gameplay modes. The Lightning Game pits 2 players against each other in fast-paced 1-on-1 combat. The Campaign Game introduces 4 army combat, giving each player control of 2 armies instead of 1. Finally, the Alliances Game is a 4 player partnership battle. Ultimate Stratego features a double sided square combat board and introduces revised rules and new ranks to the original game.