Auction / Bidding

Lascaux is a game about the French caves containing animal paintings; discovered in 1940 by four teenagers.

This auction game is based on the bidding mechanism of Michael Schacht's Mogul also implemented in No Thanks!

The deck consists of 54 cards each representing one of six animals and a combination of two colors. At the beginning of a round, cards are turned face up until all six colors are showing or seven cards are face up. All players secretly decide which color cards they hope to win at the end of the round. On their turn, players bid by placing a stone on the table. If a player passes, he picks up all the stones currently on the table and places his token on top of the token pile. The last player remaining grabs all the cards of the color he had chosen earlier in the round. The second to last player, whose token now sits at the top of the token pile, then picks up all the cards of his chosen color if any cards of that color are left. The same process is repeated for each player when their token is at the top of the token pile. The game ends when all the cards of the deck have been claimed. Players then earn points for each animal for which they have majority.

Components: 54 cards, 50 stones, 30 markers, rules.

Released: Essen 2007.

A racing game with a twist.

Players secretly get a horse (of a particular color) assigned before the game starts. The player with the horse in last place at the end of the game wins.

On your turn - sequence of play is decided by auction - you play a card that controls two different colored horese. When every player has put down cards, the horses move; but only horses with an odd number of cards on the table! If the number of open cards is even, the horse does not move.

But, true to the spirit of horse racing, each player has a chance to play a "dirty trick", including Change Horses. This can affect the game dramatically.

The best detailed description of the game is here.
{This is one of the few multiplayer games that plays equally well with only two}

During the second third of the 19th century, a rapid development of railway transport got under way. All over the world, the railway networks were growing and steam engines accelerated the progress. 175 years ago, on December 7 1835 to be precise, the first German train powered by a steam engine started operating between Nuremberg and Fürth, transporting passengers and goods. In England’s region of Wensleydale transport of goods via railway tracks was started 13 years later.
First Train to Nuremberg is a revised edition of Last Train to Wensleydale. You take the role of a railway promoter, backed by the investments of hundreds of local landowners. Your aim is to build lines that can make a profit from the transport of passengers and goods. However, money is not the only resource you require. Many locals will oppose your schemes and only with influence in the government will you be able to build over their land. Your company is far too small to be able to have its own engine works, so contacts with the major operators will help you acquire second-hand trains and rolling stock. You will also need to be on good terms with the two local railway companies. Without their support you will not be able to link to their networks, nor will you be able to negotiate the sale of your lines when they become unprofitable (as they surely will).

With First Train to Nuremberg now two players can fully enjoy this extraordinary train game as well. Instead of cheese and stone, now beer and mail will be transported, besides passengers of course. There is a new challenge when transporting passengers: They can travel first class now and thus you will gain more victory points but on the other hand, you have to buy trains that are more expensive. Additionally, you may benefit from the first connection between Nuremberg and Fürth and receive extra victory points, which may be crucial for winning the game. What’s more, you may play the original game of Last Train to Wensleydale on the flip side of the game board, or almost so. Some slight changes of the original rules work with that map as well as the rules of the first edition.

From the designer of Glen More comes a new title published by Queen Games: Lancaster.

In 1413, the new king of England, Henry V of Lancaster, has ambitious plans: The unification of England and the conquest of the French crown! Each player takes the role of an ambitious aristocratic family. Who will be the best supporter of this young king, and the most powerful Lord of his time?

In Lancaster the players want to proceed from simply being a Lord to the most powerful ally of the king. They may achieve this by developing their own knighthood as well as by clever deployment of individual knights in the counties of England, at their own castle, and to conflicts with France. In parliament, they try to push laws from which they will benefit themselves most. The player with the most power points at the end of the game is the winner.

Every turn, players send their knights to the different locations:
• Counties, where they compete with knights from other players for rewards and the favor of the nobles.
• The castle, to receive income or new knights.
• Into conflict with France, where all players combine their power and try to gain power points.

In the counties the strength of the knights is important as you can remove the knight of another player by placing a knight of your own with higher strength in the same location.

Globalization brings the exciting world of big business into your living room. You are the head of a multinational corporation with one goal in mind: to make money. Outbid your competitors to acquire businesses within six different industries and grow your conglomerate. Streamline operating costs, build additional factories, sue your competitors or take one of your subsidiaries public for big returns. Your corporate strategy will impact which companies you buy and how to take your corporation worldwide. The synergy that comes from the right company combinations increases your perceived net worth. The first to reach a billion in net worth wins!





In the age of Corporate Imperialism, only the strong survive.