Ancient

Men-Nefer

Founded around 3050 BCE and located south of the River Nile Delta, Men-Nefer (a.k.a., Memphis) became the capital of ancient Egypt and the most populated city on the planet.

In Men-Nefer, you will relive one of the greatest periods of ancient Egypt, carrying out tasks typical to Egyptian culture: acquiring knowledge in the houses of life, navigating and trading on the Nile River, making offerings to the revered God, embalming the corpses of the nobles to send them off to a better life, erecting beautiful sphinxes, and contributing to the construction of the Great Pyramids. In addition to this, you must be careful of how you make your way through this earthly world to be sure that Osiris will grant you passage to Aaru, the long-awaited heavenly paradise of the afterlife.

Throughout three eras, by means of a novel selection of actions that combine worker placement and tile drafting, players choose on each turn which area of Egyptian life and culture they wish to develop. Players must attempt to obtain the greatest number of prestige points in each era since only the one who manages to achieve the most prestige will take the victory.

—description from the publisher

Nunatak: Temple of Ice

In the three-dimensional construction game Nunatak: Temple of Ice, you build a step pyramid together in a mountain of ice — but this game isn't co-operative, so watch your step! (A "nunatak", by the way, is a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice.)

For each pillar stone placed, you receive cards with different values that will affect your score in the end. For every four pillars built in a square, a new level of the monument opens up, with the temple of ice growing step by step. Who can place their stones most wisely and rise to the icy challenge?

Sankore: The Pride of Mansa Musa

In Sankoré: The Pride of Mansa Musa, a dynamic, interactive, mid-weight Eurogame, 1-4 players manage the prestigious University of Sankoré in 14th-century Timbuktu, tasked by the emperor Mansa Musa with spreading knowledge throughout West Africa, even as the great university is raised around them.

By enrolling and graduating your pupils, teaching classes, adding to your curriculum, and filling the great library with books, you will advance knowledge in four main disciplines: theology, law, mathematics, and astronomy. Once construction of the university is complete, the value that the empire places on each discipline will dramatically affect how you score the knowledge you have passed on.

In a dedicated solo mode, you compete against the "Distinguished Scholar", a passionate and ambitious academic controlled by an elegant automated system. They may not be as nimble as you, but they are focused and driven and will strive to produce the best possible students.

Can you navigate the corridors of academic competition and bring renown to Mansa Musa's prized university?

—description from the publisher

Zhanguo: The First Empire

In 221 B.C., all the so-called Warring States are brought together. This is the birth of the vast Chinese empire, ruled by Qin Shi Huangdi. A skilled and determined strategist, but also a shrewd governor, he undertakes actions aimed at standardizing all the elements at the basis of Chinese society and culture; he imposes a single script and a single currency, then he establishes a new system of laws equal for all. He also builds palaces, installs local governors, and above all, starts the works for the construction of the greatest building in the history of mankind: the Great Wall.

A single life cannot suffice for such a vast empire. He sends ships to distant lands in search of the legendary elixir of life, and he builds a huge mausoleum containing the scale reconstruction of his empire. In defense of it for eternity, he deploys an impressive terracotta army...

In Zhanguo: The First Empire, you go along with the Emperor's plans to offer your family a place in the terracotta army. To help you in this challenging task, six cards will be at your disposal every round. They will give you permanent support during the rest of the game or will obtain the Emperor's approval for your actions.

At the end of the game, the player who made the greatest contribution to the Emperor's cause by scoring the most points wins!

—description from the publisher

Magna Roma

You are summoned by the Roman emperor to hear about his great plans for expansion. He wants you to found the next great Roman city and bring glory to the Roman Empire!

Carefully plan your city and efficiently connect neighborhoods to gain valuable resources! Spend coins and employ population to build magnificent monuments! Use legions to conquer distant lands for the Emperor! Produce valuable luxuries to use for scoring points! Gain the Will of the Gods and use it to empower your city! Glory is within your grasp!

Build the greatest Roman cities and bring glory to Rome in this tile-placement, city builder board game for 1-4 players!

In Magna Roma, the objective is to make the most points at the end of the game by building your city efficiently! To do so, players take turns to place city tiles in their city. A newly placed tile must be connected to at least one of the previously placed tiles. When a player places a tile, the connection with the adjacent tiles will result in producing one or more resources for the player. For example, connecting two half-circles found on the tiles produces a coin, a rectangle and triangle produce population, a rectangle and half-circle produce a legion etc. What's more, if the connected shapes are of the same color, the game rewards the player with double the resources.

With these resources, players will be able to play the other actions in the game, such as: build different monuments in your city, gain a Luxury Good, gain the Gods' Favor tiles, conquer new provinces for the Emperor all serving the same goal - to gain the most points at the end of the game and build the greatest Roman city that ever existed!

—description from the publisher