Card Game

In The Ares Project, 2-4 players are competing to see which of their factions will lead mankind into the future. Each faction has its own deck of cards, buildings, upgrades, attacks, special powers, and a screen behind which a player will play cards. Your opponents do not know what you are building. When a player lays down an attack card, he chooses an opponent, the players drop their screens, and they battle for control of the Frontier, i.e. the center of the table. Whoever controls the Frontier scores points and also has the ability to attack player bases directly. Eliminate your opponent to win instantly, or have the most points when the game ends.

Railroad Barons belongs to the family of 18xx games, but raised to the meta-level. Individual companies are no longer the focus, but large holding companies which add more and more new railways to their portfolios. At this abstract level there is no need for the game board and route tiles used in traditional 18xx games.

The two players buy and sell stock in holding companies, and the holding companies they control buy railways to generate revenue. Corner the market in the best companies, and exploit the weaker companies, to edge out your opponent and gain any possible relative advantage.

Like other 18xx games, there are no random elements, merely a battle of wits between two ambitious financiers. Assets that are profitable in the early game rapidly become obsolete, so you must always plan ahead for future growth and investment. Growth or Bust!

This game is purely about the money, as there is no map or track tiles!

Cards and tokens are used to represent:

5 Holdings (with a Director's share of 40% plus one share each of 30%, 20%, and 10%)
Railroad companies (with a fixed income) which become obsolete as more modern Railroads come into play.
5 private Investor cards (similar to the 18xx Private companies)

From the publisher, Playroom Entertainment:

In Space Shuffle, form Solar Systems and collect points in a game that is truly out of this world! As you place the planets in their correct galactic order, you will gain points depending on the planet's color and the other colors within that Solar System. But keep your eye towards the sky, as other players will also score points if they are the Space Commander of that certain color. Be the player that has the most points after 5 Solar Systems have been completed and you will get to take a walk on the moon while your opponents are left star-gazing!

from the Game Report:

The game is played in a series of rounds during which each person plays a card to the center of the table. Usually these cards will fall into one of four Suits: Gold, Courtiers, Provinces and Musketeers. The cards feature ranks from 1-7, and after all cards have been played the person who played the highest card in each Suit collects all the cards of that type. Captured cards are then placed into a person's "structure", which shows all the elements of a player's court. At the end of the game and at various points during play, a player scores points based on the value of the cards in his structure.

Game description of the 2011 revised edition from the publisher:

Welcome to Cadwallon, an infamous city known for the chicanery of its artful guilds! Can your guild sweep through its districts and gain power through recruiting influential citizens and acquiring valuable relics?

The revised edition of Arcana is a card game of recruitment and resource gathering for 2-4 crafty leaders. Command a guild of loyal agents during a series of district encounters against your opponents. Score the most prominent citizens, advantageous locations, and valuable treasures through bribery and power struggles. Collect the highest amount of victory points to become the master guild of Cadwallon!

This vibrant game creates a fantastical atmosphere for players to enjoy while they attempt to best their opponents through strategic card play. Make your guild the most influential by winning Stake cards and strengthening your deck with impressive Personalities, advantageous Locations, or tempting Relics to use in bribery.

The revised edition of Arcana introduces two new guilds to choose from, the Guild of Fortune-tellers and the Guild of Architects, as well a variety of optional rules that players can utilize to enhance their experience. Players can customize their guild, fulfill objectives, recruit Militia, invoke the ability of their Guild Masters, affect game play through random events, or optimize tactical strategy through card discards. Which variant will you use in your game?

Summary of Play

Arcana is played over a series of rounds that are comprised of two phases, the Intrigue phase and the Resolution phase. Send Agents from your unique guild deck to any of Cadwallon’s districts to claim control of Stake cards: Personalities, Locations, and Relics, all of which award victory points.

During these district encounters players gain control of Stake cards by playing their Agent cards. Stake cards are won through meeting or exceeding the card’s main arcanum: either Military, Political, Spiritual, or Financial. Whichever Agent has the highest matching arcanum type wins the current revealed Stake card in that district.

Of course if the Stake card you are after is a Personality card you can choose to bribe them with a Relic Card instead, immediately ending the phase and wresting the victory points from your opponents should you succeed.

Players can increase the mystery of the final outcome through bluffing. Players control two friendly distracts (piles of Stake cards) in which they can place their Agents facedown. Will your opponent chance opposing you when he is uncertain of your arcanum value?