Area Control / Area Influence

Rex: Final Days of an Empire, a reimagined version of Dune set in Fantasy Flight's Twilight Imperium universe, is a board game of negotiation, betrayal, and warfare in which 3-6 players take control of great interstellar civilizations, competing for dominance of the galaxy's crumbling imperial city. Set 3,000 years before the events of Twilight Imperium, Rex tells the story of the last days of the Lazax empire, while presenting players with compelling asymmetrical racial abilities and exciting opportunities for diplomacy, deception, and tactical mastery.

In Rex: Final Days of an Empire, players vie for control of vital locations across a sprawling map of the continent-sized Mecatol City. Only by securing three key locations (or more, when allied with other factions) can a player assert dominance over the heart of a dying empire.

Unfortunately, mustering troops in the face of an ongoing Sol blockade is difficult at best (unless, of course, you are the Federation of Sol or its faithless ally, the Hacan, who supply the blockading fleet). Savvy leaders must gather support from the local populace, uncover hidden weapon caches, and acquire control over key institutions. Mechanically, this means players must lay claim to areas that provide influence, which is then "spent" to (among other things) smuggle military forces through the orbiting Sol blockade. Those forces will be needed to seize the key areas of the city required to win the game. From the moment the first shot is fired, players must aggressively seek the means by which to turn the conflict to their own advantage.

While the great races struggle for supremacy in the power vacuum of a dead emperor, massive Sol warships execute their devastating bombardments of the city below. Moving systematically, the Federation of Sol's fleet of warships wreaks havoc on the planet's surface, targeting great swaths of the game board with their destructive capabilities. Only the Sol's own ground forces have forewarning of the fleet's wrath; all others must seek shelter in the few locations with working defensive shields...or be obliterated in the resulting firestorm.

Although open diplomacy and back-door dealmaking can often mitigate the need for bloodshed, direct combat may prove inevitable. When two or more opposing forces occupy the same area, a battle results. Each player's military strength is based on the sum total of troops he is willing to expend, along with the strength rating of his chosen leader. A faction's leaders can therefore be vitally important in combat...but beware! One or more of your Leaders may secretly be in the employ of an enemy, and if your forces in combat are commanded by such a traitor, defeat is all but assured. So whether on the field of battle or the floor of the Galactic Council, be careful in whom you place your trust.

All this, along with a host of optional rules and additional variants, means that no two games of Rex: Final Days of an Empire will play exactly alike. Contributing further to replayability is the game's asymmetrical faction abilities, each of which offer a unique play experience.

Reimplements:

Dune

From Box back:
The game is set in Teneriffa during the colonization in 16th century. In these uncertain times, you are a Spanish nobleman, trying to increase your power by directing your attendants thoughtfully. You are busy exporting Malvasian wine and building extravagant mansions while making strategic use of your merchant as well as your farmer.
But be careful! Just as you try to sabotage your rivals, they might be sending bandits your way to thwart your plans. He who is most successful at bluffing and scheming will gain the most influence and win the game!
Contents: 1 game board, 1 farm hand, 4 merchant tokens, 6 town cards, 24 character cards, 52 mansions, 1 set of game rules.

Players are attempting to be in first or second place majorities in a variety of categories throughout the game. These include commodity markets, trading colonies, and warehouses in Amsterdam.

On a player's turn, that player draws three cards and decides how to resolve them for the turn. A player can either remove the card from the game, keep it for him or herself, or put it up for auction. The cards allow players to advance or place one of their markers in the various categories.

There are also time-marker cards which, when drawn, move the game through various "historical" phases until the last which ends the game. The historical phases follow a period of time in the history of Amsterdam which can range from no effect, to scoring rounds for particular categories, to bonuses, and towards the end of the game to some penalties as wars begin to disrupt business markets.

The unique twist in the game is that the game comes with a spring-driven auction clock to perform the Dutch auctions throughout the game. You start the clock and it ticks down as all of the players hold their hands ready close by. The idea is that as time passes the cost of the card lowers and it is simply an issue of who will pay for it first by slapping down on the clock and thus stopping it at a certain price.

Here's a description of the game from Phalanx Games:

In the late 18th century, the fast growing population of the emerging United States of America showed an increasing interest in the Wild West. Millions of poor immigrants were arriving from Europe, and the population of cities on the East Coast swelled enormously. Endless plains and huge mountain ranges – thinly populated by Native Americans and rich in game, farmland and minerals - started luring large numbers of them. Settlers traveled in wagon trains, and established themselves ever further west until they finally reached California and the Pacific coast.

The players represent shrewd businessmen who benefit from passing wagon trains, continuously moving westward across the North American continent. It is divided into huge vertical tracts of land: New England, the East Coast, the Great Plains, the Midwest, the West and finally, California.

El Capitán, a game that is based upon Tycoon but with many improvements and upgrades.
The game is now playable with 2-5 players (instead of 2-4); it has 11 new groundbreaking rules, and on top of it all, expansions and a whole new exciting look!
All together we have now the following changes/improvements for the basic game:
new grouping of the cities on the game board
new payout table for distribution
3 new Distribution Cards
new rules for the forts
start money is 20 florins instead of 15
place up 4 multi travel cards instead of 2
new rule for the loan cards (not allowed in the first round)
new start player after a payday (a special start player figure is added)
building up to 12 (instead of only 9) warehouses in a city
limitation of warehouses in series (limited to 3 now)
a rule for the first warehouse in a city

Also included is the first expansion "Portuguese Powers" with some extra city boards and strategy!!
There are now special rules for 2 or 3 players (extra renovation fields) and a special rule for 2 players (payday and additional warehouses).

The game was published in October 2007 by QWG Games in the Benelux, by Pro Ludo in Germany, by Ystari Games in France, and by Z-Man Games in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Ireland.