Dice

Sentence Cube Game

Players in turn roll the 21 word cubes, set the timer and form sentences with the words appearing on the tops of the cubes in a crossword puzzle-like fashion (one word may be part of two sentences - one running vertically and one running horizontally). Turns end when the egg timer runs out. Players score 50 points for each sentence of 7 words or more. All other sentences score the square of the number of words in the sentence (i.e. a 4-word sentence scores 4 X 4, or 16 points). A bonus of 50 points is awarded if all 21 cubes are used. Two points are deducted for each unused cube.

The 1983 version of the game seems to differ in the number of cubes. The rules on the inside of the box lid still have a 1971 copyright date, but among other differences, they state that the game contains 27 cubes. Two of the new cubes are marked with stars on all six sides, making them wild. From the 1983 rules: "When playing a wild cube, a player must state what word it represents, after which it cannot be changed during that turn."

The 1988 version has 24 cubes - two of which are the starred wild dice. The box states that this is the 2nd edition of the game from Coleco Games. Selchow & Righter is credited in the directions as a subsidiary of Coleco Industries, Inc. The majority of the outer box is blue.

Lords of Vegas: UP!

Your casino empire is expanding, but new players want a piece of your action. There's only one direction to go to stay ahead of your competition — up! Lords of Vegas: UP! allows for up to six players to compete in Lords of Vegas.

What's more, you'll now be able to increase the size of your casinos not just by building out, but also by building up. These new, taller hotels are more prestigious, and as a result earn you more victory points.

Age of War

Age of War is a quick-playing game of conquest. Fourteen cards are laid out at the start of the game, each showing one castle and the symbols required to conquer this castle, with the symbols separated into battle lines. Each castle belongs to a clan, with some clans having only a single castle and some having up to four castles.

A player starts his turn by rolling seven dice, the six sides of which show archery, cavalry, daimyo, and 1-3 infantry. He then selects a card and uses the symbols rolled to conquer exactly one of the battle lines on this card (by placing the appropriate dice on that line). If he can do this, he then rolls the remaining dice, ideally conquering another line; if he can't conquer a line, he removes one die from play, then rolls again. His turn ends when either he conquers every line on the card (in which case he claims it) or he no longer has dice available to roll.

Each card is worth a number of victory points. You can conquer cards owned by other players, but you need to conquer an additional daimyo line in the process. If a player owns all the castles of one clan, however, those castles are secure and cannot be stolen. What's more, these castles are now worth more points because you've united the clan under one ruler (you) and strengthened your hold over Japan.

When the last card is claimed, players tally their points, and whoever has the highest score wins.

Cootie

Players race to construct a plastic bug, rolling a die to see which piece they get to add.

The Hennepin History Museum states that the first Cootie game was designed by William H. Schaper in 1949. However, Schaper's game was not the first based upon the insect known as the "cootie". The creature was the subject of several tabletop games, mostly pencil and paper games, in the decades of the twentieth century following World War I.

In 1927, the J. H. Warder Company of Chicago released Tu-Tee, and the Charles Bowlby Company released Cootie; though based on a "build a bug" concept similar to Schaper's, both were paper and pencil games.
Schaper's game was the first to employ a fully three dimensional, free-standing plastic cootie.

Known in Australia as Creepy Critters and in the UK as Beetle Drive.

Warriors: Dragon Hordes Expansion

The Dragon Hordes expansion (55 cards, two small pages of rules) to Warriors adds a new creature, the Dragon, along with additional Catapults and Attack Cards, and makes the game playable by up to 6 players.

Dragons, unlike other creatures, must attack and defend individually, but just one can wreak havoc. They roll two dice on both attack and defense, adding one to each die roll. Catapults have only one chance in 6 of killing Dragons, and their defense can be augmented by "Flames" (basically, extra lives that must be eliminated before the Dragon can be killed). Having the most Dragons at the end of the game also gains victory points.