mythology

Zeus, the greatest of all gods, has decided to build a universe that he can gaze upon from high atop Mount Olympus. He has enlisted the help of several unknown gods to do this for him - and they have 5 days to finish the job. The god who performs the best while building this universe will be elevated in status and receive admission into Mount Olympus.

The game progresses over the course of 5 rounds or "Days". Each day has three phases (a morning, an afternoon, and an evening). During these phases, players will select actions such as making planets, placing planets, etc. After these three phases are completed, night happens in which scoring occurs and Zeus gazes upon the work of the players. Players receive Prestige Points for things such as having the most planets in an orbit and for constellations (connections of planets) they have built.

At the end of the 5th day, whoever has earned the most prestige wins.

The players are gods at the dawn of time, creating earth's landscape and inhabiting it with people. They can command the creation and destruction of continents and the rise and fall of civilizations.

As gods, players seek to gain followers among the civilizations. They offer those followers luxuries, and oversee the building of pyramids and temples on their continents. In the end, the god with the most loyal, wealthy, and powerful followers will become ruler of gods, and wins the game...

Play involves placing triangular tiles to form islands, coastlines and continents. Players can also replace tiles to reform the topography of the planet.

Each civilization is represented by a color, and once a civilization is “born” a player can gain worshipers in that civilization, which in turn may score points for that player in various ways.

The placement or replacement of tiles may result in civilizations migrating, or going to war with other civilizations. These things are resolved by the various icons on the tiles.

The game is fairly simple, but offers quite a lot of tactical possibilities.

Lead the Tribes and Take Control of Naqala

Crossing into the Land of 1001 Nights, your caravan arrives at the fabled Sultanate of Naqala. The old sultan just died and control of Naqala is up for grabs! The oracles foretold of strangers who would maneuver the Five Tribes to gain influence over the legendary city-state. Will you fulfill the prophecy? Invoke the old Djinns and move the Tribes into position at the right time, and the Sultanate may become yours!

Designed by Bruno Cathala, Five Tribes builds on a long tradition of German-style games that feature wooden meeples. Here, in a unique twist on the now-standard “worker placement” genre, the game begins with the meeples already in place – and players must cleverly maneuver them over the villages, markets, oases, and sacred places tiles that make up Naqala. How, when, and where you dis-place these Five Tribes of Assassins, Elders, Builders, Merchants, and Viziers determine your victory or failure.

As befitting a Days of Wonder game, the rules are straightforward and easy to learn. But… devising a winning strategy will take a more calculated approach than our standard fare. You need to carefully consider what moves can score you well and put your opponents at a disadvantage. You need to weigh many different pathways to victory, including the summoning of powerful Djinns that may help your cause as you attempt to control this legendary Sultanate.

Five Tribes is for 2 to 4 players, ages 13 and older and takes approximately 40-80 minutes to play. The game is expected to be available in limited quantities at Gencon in August, and then from game retailers worldwide in September at an expected retail price of $60/€54.

Source: Days of Wonder Blog.

Colossal Arena/ Titan: the Arena is a strategic card game for 2 to 5 players with one of the best themes of any designer board game around: you play, not as combatants, but as spectators, cheering and betting on the melee ongoing in a fantasy arena/Colosseum in which eight pitting eight fantasy creatures are pitted against each other in battle!

Each round, one of the creatures will die. To decide which unlucky soul will be the victim, players put numbered power cards in front of the creatures, with the lowest one going to the graveyard. The jockeying for position and strategic diplomacy in playing the numbered power cards can be intense - but what makes this game even more interesting is that players the players' bets throughout the game which will sometimes allow them to use a creature's special power in battle!

The winner at the end of the game is bettor who's raked in the most winnings - just another day in the life of a fantasy monster gambler.

Titan: The Arena is actually a reworking of a Reiner Knizia game called Grand National Derby, but Avalon Hill's remake was quite significant from a gameplay standpoint.

The Titan: The Arena printing is often confused with its namesake, Titan. But other than the fact that they both use fantasy creatures as a general theme, there is very little that is similar between the two.

Reimplemented by: Galaxy: The Dark Ages

Online Play

Ludoholic (no longer available)

Hiding in these woods, there lies not just one Bigfoot, not a few Bigfoots, and not a gaggle of Bigfeet — but an entire community of Bigfootses. Now it's time to go in the woods with your trusty Bigfootses's call, cloak your scent with Bigfootses's urine, and get ready for adventure with aliens, yeti, the Loch Ness monster, and every other legendary creature you can think of.

Bigfootses, The Card Game consists of two decks: the Woods Deck (70 cards) and the Thingies Deck (55 cards). In the Woods Deck, you encounter Bigfootses and creatures to battle, and draw events that can dramatically change the game. You can even find your true calling and take one of six professions. The Thingies Deck is full of equipment, items, actions, and card modifiers to help you along in your quest.

Your goal? Be the first player to corral ten Bigfootses to win the game!