In Topiary, players try to position their visitors on the outer edge of a beautiful topiary garden in order to give them the best view possible. Visitors can see the closest topiary sculpture to them and any behind that, in the same sight line, that are larger. You can score bonus points for visitors who see multiple topiary sculptures of the same type. Players slowly fill in the garden by adding tiles until everyone has placed all their visitors.
In Ctrl, players try to dominate a cube by crawling over it with their colored bricks, preferably covering other players' bricks along the way.
In more detail, you start with a 3×3×3 cube that has one block of each player color stuck into one of the cube's holes. (In a two-player game, each player controls two colors, but at the start of play they secretly choose one of those colors to be their scoring color, with the other color serving only as a blocking mechanism.) Each player has a matching colored flag that sticks out of their block.
On a turn, a player removes their flag from its current location, adds one cube of their color to the side of any of their blocks (where such a move can be made), then they "grow" their color by adding two blocks in a straight line from the block they just added, crawling around corners and covering other players' blocks if needed. To end your turn, plant your flag in one of your final blocks, ideally blocking where someone else might like to play while also preserving future ground in which you can play.
Once all the blocks have been placed, you calculate your score by looking at the structure from all four surrounding sides, as well as from the top, and counting each unblocked square of your color that is visible. Thus, if you plant a block high up on the cube, you can possibly score 5 points for it since it would be seen from all sides and the top. Climb high, and block others from blocking you!
LIFE’S A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION
Find your path in a beautiful Japanese garden. In the Japanese tradition, the torii gate marks the transition into the sacred. Travel from fountains to flowers to shrines passing through as many torii gates as possible, while meeting vendors, poets, and even Samurai along the way.
The traveler goes
through the ancient torii gate—
Leaf falls in water
OBJECTIVE
Earn the most journey points by expanding the garden and walking through as many torii gates as possible as you move between similar landmarks. Earn additional advantages and points by interacting with characters in the garden such as poets, samurai, gardeners, vendors and geishas. Maybe you will be first to visit each landmark 5 times or maybe you will interact with same character 3 times. Your journey to the most points may lead you down a different path every time!
KEY PLAY
The One Hundred Torii is a tile placing game played over a series of turns. Each turn the board expands and the game ends after the last tile is drawn and each player takes one last turn.
Each Turn, the player takes the following actions (in order):
- Get Help (optional)
- Expand the Garden
- Claim Rewards (if earned)
- Draw Tiles
-description from publisher
Your succulent garden is amazing! Through thoughtful selection, delicate pruning, and tireless care, you've earned a reputation as a master horticulturist. In Succulent, you compete against your peers for lucrative and prestigious projects that will cement your place as the community's premier succulent gardener.
The game is played over a series of turns during which players collect succulent cuttings from their gardens along with water crystals and use them to complete projects which grant various benefits, including earning points. Most victory points at the end of the game wins!
The new moon is a symbol for a new beginning, the perfect time to start something new and to plan your future — and that is what Nova Luna (lat. for new moon) is all about. In each round of this abstract tile-laying game, you have to plan your future anew, developing a new strategy to cope with what the moon wheel has to offer you.
On each turn, you have to decide which new tile from the moon wheel to place in front of you. Every new tile brings a new task you have to fulfill. In order to do so, you need to place tiles of the correct color adjacent to the task you want to complete, but these of course again bring you new tasks. Each time a task is solved, you may place one of your markers on it. So decide wisely and be the first one to place all your markers.
—description from the publisher