Abstract Strategy

In Patchwork, two players compete to build the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 game board. To start play, lay out all of the patches at random in a circle and place a marker directly counter-clockwise of the 2-1 patch. Each player takes five buttons — the currency/points in the game — and someone is chosen as the start player.

On a turn, a player either purchases one of the three patches standing clockwise of the spool or passes. To purchase a patch, you pay the cost in buttons shown on the patch, advance your time token on the time track a number of spaces equal to the time shown on the patch, move the spool to that patch's location in the circle, then add the patch to your game board. You're free to place the patch anywhere on your board that doesn't overlap other patches, but you probably want to fit things together as tightly as possible. If your time token is behind or on top of the other player's time token, then you take another turn; otherwise the opponent now goes. Instead of purchasing a patch, you can choose to pass; to do this, you move your time token to the space immediately in front of the opponent's time token, then take one button from the bank for each space you moved.

In addition to a button cost and time cost, each patch also features 0-3 buttons, and when you move your time token past a button on the time track, you sum the number of buttons on your game board, then take this many buttons from the bank.

What's more, the time track depicts five 1x1 patches on it, and during set-up you place five actual 1x1 patches on these spaces. Whoever first passes a patch on the time track claims this patch and immediately places it on his game board.

When a player takes an action that moves his time token to the central square of the time track, he places the purchased patch (assuming he had purchased one and wasn't passing), then takes one final button scoring from the bank. Once both players are in the center, each player loses two buttons for each blank square on his game board. Whoever has the most buttons wins.

Helvetia: a country in evolution, divided between the surrounding Empires who claimed taxes and allegiance. Primitiva was the first to wake up and decide to fight to obtain independence. The other regions followed their example: Luserna, Zugriga, Berena, Friburga, etc. However, between year 1 of unification and the day of the nation, several centuries went by with alternating periods of war and diplomatic peace, troubled and bloody times which you will discover in Unita!

Unita features 64 dice but not an iota of luck! You can be the men of Primitiva, the Nuns of Friburga, the Engineers of GermanLand or the Frogs of the Hexagone, but no matter your role, forge ahead on the warpath, lead your army in the mad rush to get to the Magic Gate, and put an end to all these afflictions. Move forward on the path of the war with your army compound of six-sided dice. Every time you contact an opposing army, a fight takes place, with the least hardy losing a point of strength. When your army reaches the magic gate, the army disappears, and the total of its points of strength (its dice) becomes your points of victory.

In Hey, That's My Fish!, players want to catch as many fish as possible with their waddle of penguins. Each turn, a player moves one penguin in a straight line over hex-shaped ice tiles with 1, 2 or 3 fish on them. The player then collects the hex from where the penguin started its movement from the table, thereby creating a gap which penguins can't cross on future turns. When a penguin can't move, it's removed from play with its owner claiming the tile on which it stands. The player who collects the most fish wins.

Overview

For The Win is an abstract strategy game in which each player gets ten tiles, two of each character representing Monkeys, Zombies, Pirates, Aliens, and Ninjas. The objective is to connect five (or more) of one's tiles, including at least one of each type, together (sides and corners count). Additionally, all five (or more) tiles must be face-up, or unactivated. The game ends immediately when a player achieves this goal. Each character type has a specific ability to help you toward the objective.

Gameplay

Players take turns using either 1 or 2 actions within 5 action rounds. Once one player's actions are consumed for a round, the other player(s) get to use any of their remaining 5 actions at once. Judicious action management is key; if one budgets one's actions wisely, one can play several actions in a row for game-winning combinations. The available actions are as follows:

Add a tile to the Grid
Move one of one's tiles
Refresh or flip a tile face up
Shove a tile or column/row of tiles
Activate an ability (the chosen tile turns face down; see below)

Characters & abilities

Alien — The Alien uses her tractor beam to pull any tile in the Grid to a space that is adjacent to her.
Monkey — The mischievous Monkey uses a banana peel to flip over all of the tiles it is touching.
Ninja — The sneaky Ninja can move from his current spot to any other unoccupied space in the Grid.
Pirate — The Pirate uses his trusty cannon to blast an adjacent tile to any unoccupied space in the Grid.
Zombie — The Zombie can infect any adjacent tile. The infected tile is removed from the Grid and replaced with a Zombie tile that has not yet been added to the Grid. If all of the Zombie tiles have already been added to the Grid, the Zombie may choose one adjacent tile and deactivate it (that is, flip it face down).

Chess-like strategy game in the 3M Bookshelf Series utilizing medieval character pieces.

The GENERAL Index Article List:

The GENERAL Vol.15,No.5
“Feudal: A New Approach” (Alternate Rules for Combat Resolution and Movement) Mike Chiappinelli

contents:
-16in. x 16in. map board

-6 armies with 14 characters each
-a divider screen
-4 screen holders
-rulebook.