Area Movement

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

A fascinating game for dominance set in the distant past when all the world's land masses were joined in a single super-continent: Pangea. This unique game promotes battle and migration as the world breaks into pieces. The player-controlled species advance and evolve based on the in-game action. Featuring satisfying depth and near limitless possibilities, you will discover new facets to game-play each time you join in the Conquest of Pangea.

In 2001, 2F-Spiele published the original Funkenschlag.

In 2011, it is time to look back...a long time back! To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the original Funkenschlag, designer Friedemann Friese will take you back in time and let you relive the early beginnings of mankind. True to the name of the German edition (a literal translation of which is "Flying Sparks"), it is time for Funkenschlag: Die ersten Funken, or "The First Sparks".

The First Sparks transports the Funkenschlag mechanisms into the Stone Age. The order of phases during a game round, the player order, the technology cards: you know all these parts from “Funkenschlag”. But what is new? What is different?

The First Sparks is much faster and far more direct. You are immediately part of the action. Each turn, each decision is important. As a clan leader you decide on the well-being of your clan during the Stone Age. You need to develop new hunting technologies and get new knowledge - to successfully hunt food or to learn to control fire. With the help of these skills, you will harvest enough food to feed your clan and spread it far enough to reach new hunting areas.

In a game of The First Sparks you are always confronted with many decisions: Which technology cards offer you the biggest advantages? When is the right time to spread your clan on the game board? Which hunting areas will grant the most food? Reaching new hunting areas or trying to secure parts of the game board for your own clan are important factors for your strategy. Empty spaces are cheaper for you to settle compared to spaces in which other clans are already settled. If you are the first to increase your clan size to 13 clan members, you win The First Sparks.

The kingdom of Legitimant is in turmoil. The old king has died, leaving no legitimate heir... He has, however, left several illegitimate ones.

Since you were an infant, your mother has told you of the royal blood that runs in your veins. Now the time has come for you and your trusty animal sidekick to set out on an epic quest to fulfil your destiny and claim the throne that is your birthright.

Whether you choose to follow a path of righteousness or use every dirty trick in the book, you’ll need nerve, cunning and just a little luck as you assemble an assortment of strange creatures and magical objects to out-manouver and overpower your rivals and prove that you are, indeed, the one true heir of Legitimacy!

From GMT's web site:

The Fast Action Battle (FAB) games, designed by Rick Young (Europe Engulfed, Asia Engulfed, and FAB: The Bulge), takes you to the Allied invasion of Sicily for volume II of the series.

As the Allied player, you will choose your invasion beaches after seeing where the Axis player has deployed his units. Do you choose Montgomery’s historical ‘Husky’ plan, Patton’s alternate plan, or a hybrid plan of your own?

In this game you will find a few new unit and asset types, and also new challenges for both sides. For the attacker, the challenge is the tough Sicilian terrain; and for the defenders, it’s the worsening Italian morale.

Each victory area and functioning port that the Allies secure adds a ‘Fading Italian Morale’ Event Chit into the selection cup, and as each of those are drawn, worsening effects on Italian units are felt along the entire front.

If one side has not secured an automatic victory by the end of turn 9, the Axis player receives bonuses, both for German units that have exited off the island through Messina and also for areas on Sicily that are still Axis-controlled, so there is pressure on both sides to fight for every area.

Event Chits include:

Replacements
Fading Italian Morale,
the Patton Soldier Slap, and
flanking battalion-sized invasions.