Horizons of Spirit Island features the core mechanisms of Spirit Island, but features a new double-sided game board with a streamlined set-up, punchboard components, and five new Spirits designed to be ideal for those playing a Spirit Island game for the first time. These new Spirits are compatible with all existing Spirit Island components, but to play with expansions like Jagged Earth, you would need a copy of Spirit Island itself.
First Ascent is a rock climbing-themed strategic board game. The goal in this medium weight, competitive game is to gain the most points by climbing the best route up the mountain and becoming the most skilled climber! Each player assumes the role of a unique asymmetric character, and throughout the game they will be building their route up the mountain, managing resources, achieving objectives, and increasing their efficiency by accumulating skills and gear! This game is for 2-5 players and takes 45-90 minutes to play.
Gameplay overview:
In First Ascent, the goal is to gain the most points by creating the best route! Points are gained in four ways:
1) Climbing pitches — use your climbing skills, gear, water, and psych to pay the requirements to move on to a tile "climb the pitch". Draw a climbing card and resolve the events that may involve resource management, board manipulation, or selfish vs altruistic decisions. Each tile is worth 1-5 points with higher point value tiles requiring more resources.
2) Objectives — achieve shared and personal objectives that relate to the path of your route. Plan carefully and manage resources to execute the path that will contribute towards achieving your objectives.
3) Technique bonuses — the climbing skills and gear cards contain symbols representing climbing techniques of precision, power, balance, and pain tolerance. Match three technique symbols on the cards you play to climb a tile and earn +2 bonus points. These can add up significantly, so choose your resources wisely.
4) Summit — reaching the top of the mountain is great, but climbing is about the journey. Gain +1 summit bonus point for reaching a peak.
If you don't have the required resources to climb, you can "risk it" by rolling the risk dice to climb a tile for one less resource. You may get away with a check mark and succeed without consequence, roll minus two cards and give them to another player, or roll minus one card and one psych which you give to another player. As long as you have the assets to lose, you will climb the tile, but at a price.
When you begin to ascend the mountain start in any tile on the first row. Next climb to any adjacent tile and leave your rope behind to mark the route you've climbed. Two climbers can not occupy the same tile, except for a summit, so you may compete with other climbers on the mountain for the prime locations.
As you climb the mountain you will practice your skills and become a more efficient climber. The engine building component of this game grants you an "earned asset" after you play four cards of a specific skill type or gear. These tokens stay on your climber asset board and count towards fulfilling the required assets of future tiles.
This isn't a race to the top, its about creating a strategic route that will reward your cunning and planning. The game ends when a player has used all seven rope lengths and climbed their eighth tile.
Do you have what it takes to create the greatest First Ascent?
Beyond the Sun is a space civilization game in which players collectively decide the technological progress of humankind at the dawn of the Spacefaring Era, while competing against each other to be the leading faction in economic development, science, and galactic influence.
The game is played over a variable number of rounds until a number of game-end achievements are collectively claimed by the players. The winner is the faction with the most victory points, which are obtained by researching technologies, improving their economy, controlling and colonizing systems, and completing various achievements and events throughout the game.
On a turn, a player moves their action pawn to an empty action space, then takes that action. They then conduct their production phase, either producing ore, growing their population, or trading one of those resources for another. Finally, they can claim up to one achievement, if possible.
As players take actions, they research new technologies that come in four levels. Each technology is one of four types (scientific, economic, military, commercial), and higher-level technologies must match one of the types of tech that lead into it. Thus, players create their own technology tree in each game, using these actions to increase their military strength, to jump to different habitable exoplanetary systems, to colonize those systems, to boost their resource production, to develop android tech that allows growth without population, and more.
Deal with the Devil is a deeply thematic competitive Eurogame set in a fantasy medieval era. Each of the four players takes on a secret role of a mortal, a cultist, or even the Devil. Due to the asymmetrical roles, players experience the same game but with different game goals every play.
During the blind trading phase, players can offer their resources in exchange for money from another player. The Devil will tempt mortals with goods for a piece of their soul, while the cultist's nature is to sell their soul easily. Only the accompanying app knows who is trading with whom.
But beware! Showing off how well you are doing can attract unwelcome attention and the suspicion of other players. It also may pique the interest of the Inquisition, which is eager to punish those who cannot prove their souls remain intact.
There are many dynamic strategies to experiment with across each playing. Will you sell pieces of your soul early on to boost your city-building prowess at the risk of future punishment from the Inquisition? Or will you carefully manage loan and debt repayment while waiting for others to inadvertently reveal their nefarious nature? Every choice has a consequence, and each role has its own unique strategic approach to explore.
—description from the publisher
June 2471, and kerosene - KERO - is scarce. Two clans are struggling to survive, exploring New Territories in their tanker trucks. Running out of fuel is a risk each time they leave camp! Fortunately, a local tribe of Tuareks can lend a helping hand…
Kero is a two-player game set in a future unfriendly world, where players will be clan leaders - managing a camp, a tanker truck and 7 Explorers - competing for the same lands. Their ability to win the game will be based on how much kerosene (Jerrycans) they can find and how they use it wisely… Collect as many resources as possible while using as little as possible of the KERO in your tanker-truck to upgrade your camp and claim New Territories! Score the more points (by adding up the points on cards and territories) and become the 2471 Badassest Clan!
The game is played in 3 rounds (ending when a Claim card is revealed), each comprising several turns. Making snap decisions and mistakes under time pressure is part of the game!
5 MAIN STEPS IN A PLAYER’S TURN
1. Fuel up with KERO (if necessary).
2. Choose your dice and roll them.
3. Collect resources shown on the dice and perform actions to upgrade your camp: take cards from the raw, take Tuarek tiles, send out Explorers on New Territories.
4. Deal with Fire and discard any burnt cards accordingly to the results of your roll.
5. Claim New Territories in which you have a majority at the end of a round.
FOCUS ON THE ORIGINAL REAL-TIME PLAY
TO COLLECT RESOURCES …
On a turn, choose your dice and roll them in a self-limited time using your tanker-truck. Tip it and roll your dice however many times you want, to obtain needed resources, keeping results as desired and avoiding fire (the fire dice burns up). When happy with the results, replace your truck flat. You can’t tip it up again! Beware of Kero outage! In this case, you lost your turn!
… AND FUEL UP WITH KERO
As soon as your opponent starts rolling the 8 dice, hold your tanker-truck (cab facing downwards). You gain only as much time as it takes your opponent to roll fires on all the dice. A simultaneous and interactive way to gain time for your sandtimer!
KERO KEY FEATURES
• Light, tactical & frantic game
• Fast & furious play for casual & experienced players
• Unique balanced gameplay mixing strategy & chance
• Uncommon barren theme with beautiful colored art
• Two 6 inch/16 cm tanker-timers inside!
HAVE FUN ROLLING YOUR DICE & REFUELING YOUR TANKER-TIMER!