Area Control / Area Influence

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.

In La Granja, players control small farms by the Alpich pond near the village of Esporles on the island of Mallorca. Over time, the players develop their farms and deliver goods to the village. Players are vying to earn the title of "La Granja" for their country estate!

Over the course of 6 game rounds, players will expand their farm by adding fields, farm extensions, market barrows, and helpers. They will earn VPs by delivering goods to the village of Esporles. It is important to observe the actions of other players, manipulate turn order, and adjust your strategy based on the dice and cards.

La Granja is a fascinating game that requires careful planning. Timing and speed is crucial. However, successful players must cope with the uncertainty of events during the game. The player who has earned the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner and new owner of the La Granja estate!

The king of Utopia has invited princes of the greatest civilizations of antiquity to come and live within the walls of his city, welcoming in doing so, the architectural wealth of their far-away cities. As the King’s Minister, your Sovereign has given you the mission to welcome and accompany these princes and princesses who will present themselves at the gates of the city. Every development added to the city made by your guests increases your prestige.

Online play

Jeux sur un Plateau (turn-based)

Components:
40 Monument Figures: 8 for each of the 5 civilizations (Mayan, Persian, Egyptian, Greek and Chinese)
4 Wonder Figures
5 Minister Figures: 1 of each color (used for Score Track)
200 Prince Tokens: 40 of each color
40 Bases
10 Privilege tokens: 8 of each color. 2 per color
40 Guest tokens: 2 per civilization for each of the four islands on the board
50 Action Cards: 10 for each civilization
5 Rule Summary Cards: 1 per player
1 Bag

Basic Game play:

Turn order (after the first player) is derived from who has the highest score on the perimtere score track yet has not had a turn. Each game turn is broken down into three phases:
Phase 1: Welcoming the Princes
Phase 2: Development of the City
Phase 3: Calculation of Prestige Points

Phase 1: Welcoming the Princes

In the first phase, Guest tokens are placed on the board near ship icons but corresponding to the symbol on each token. These guest tokens are then replaced with Prince tokens that is their own color, or of the same civilization as the chosen Guest or in any District of the island indicated by the Guest or any combination of these. This is repeated three times until all Guest tokens have been removed from the board. While this is happening, players may Build a Wonder or Take Control of a District.

At any point during their turn, if a player has one prince of each of the 5 civilizations on one island (regardless of which Districts they are in), he may immediately construct a Wonder and receives 6 Prestige Points. There may only be one Wonder per island and a player does not have to construct Wonders.

At any point during their turn, if a player possesses 3 princes of the same civilization in the same District, and that District is not already controlled by another player, he may decide to take control of the District by placing a Monument on that District. There can only be one Monument per District, and this space, once acquired, cannot be retaken. For taking control of a District the player gains Prestige Points during Phase 3: Calculation of Prestige Points. Also, if the District belongs to an island where a Wonder has been constructed, the owner of the Wonder immediately scores the number of Prestige Points indicated on the District.

Phase 2: Development of the City

Each player receives 5 Action cards and discards based on their score in the score track. The person in the lead discards two cards, the last player doesn't discard any and all other players discard one. Four types of actions are possible and occur multiple times in a player's turn:

1) Move one or two princes:

If a player decides to move two princes with a single action card, these two princes must be within the same District and make the same movement.

LAND MOVEMENT: By discarding an action card, a player may move one or two princes of that civilization to an adjacent District (Districts are separated by alleys or bridges).

SEA MOVEMENT: By discarding an action card, a player may move one or two princes of that civilization from one maritime District (showing a ship) to another maritime District. These two Districts must be in the same maritime sector or in two adjacent maritime sectors. (The division of the maritime sectors is indicated by the dotted lines originating from the 3 lighthouses of the city).

2) Add a prince:

By discarding an Action Card, a player may place a prince in a District occupied by a Monument of that civilization.

3) Remove a Prince:

If the player possesses a prince in a District occupied by a Monument of that civilization, regardless of the player who controls the District, that player may, with an Action Card of that civilization, remove the Prince from the board. For this action the player immediately gains 2 Prestige Points. Th e player’s Minister figure is moved up two places on the Score Track.

or 4) Influence the King (altering the Prestige Scale):

If the player possesses a prince in a District occupied by a Monument of that civilization, regardless of the player who controls the District, that player may, with an Action Card of that civilization, remove the Prince from the board. For this action the player immediately gains 2 Prestige Points. The player’s Minister figure is moved up two places on the Score Track.

The value of each civilization, indicated on the Prestige Scale, determines the point value of the districts controlled by each player at the end of the turn. By discarding an Action Card, a player may increase the value of a civilization by 1. The Value figure of the civilization changes places with the figure directly above it. With two Action cards, a player may reduce the value of a civilization to 1. All the other figures are moved up accordingly. At the end of their turn a player can only have a maximum of 5 Action Cards.

Phase 3: Calculation of Prestige Points

Once all the players have carried out their actions, the points for the round are calculated. Each player, in turn order, gains points for each District that they control. The value of each civilization is indicated on the Prestige Scale. The players’ Minister figures are moved up the Score Track.

If one or more players have reached at least 50 Prestige Points at the end of this phase, the game ends. The player with the most points wins.

This light strategy game is divided into two Epochs, ancient and modern. At the start, the board consists of only five areas (the Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East, India and China), after all areas have been evaluated, four more territories become accessible (Russia, Europe, Southeast Asia, America).

Players choose historical "Heroes" such as Julius Cesar, Nebuchadnezzar, Lao-Tse, Shakespeare or Mozart and use their special abilities; the first is to grow the population in one or more of the nine areas of the map (depending on the hero, only certain areas of the map can be used). The second action is to randomly draw cultural advancement tokens and place them on the map. The third action allows the players to attack other players' pieces, and the fourth action is taking money.

With money, "wonders of the world", such as the Hanging Gardens, the Great Wall etc., can be purchased, and migrations of peoples are possible.

Victory points are awarded for building civilization tokens; after three (or four, depending on the territory) placements, the player with the most pieces gets additional points, the player with second most armies half of that, while the third player only gets victory points equal to the lowest token.

It's January 1921. Prohibition has been in effect for a year, and it looks like the 18th Amendment is here to stay. The problem, however, is that outlawing the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" hasn't done anything to reduce the demand for booze! As a result, illegal stills dot the countryside and secret (or not-so-secret!) speakeasies are popping up all over in cities large and small. Local law enforcement may look the other way (especially if they're properly motivated) but Elliot Ness' G-Men are harder to convince. With this much money at stake, organized crime is sure to take an interest.

In Bootleggers, players take on the role of enterprising bosses seeking to make a name for themselves in the illegal alcohol trade at the height of the 1920's prohibition era. Deceit, lies, and alliances of convenience are the norm as players attempt to control distribution through money and corruption by muscling in on the competition, paying off the local law authorities, building underground speakeasies, and shipping trucks of "hooch"!

Tentative plans for the 2012 edition of Bootleggers include two double-influence cards, four blank cards, more cash, a revised rulebook, colored dice for each player, additional variants (including a two-player scenario), and improved trucks with easier-to-read numbering.