pattern building

Every player builds their own block of stones in Monolyth, using 3D polyominoes to create patches of particular colors, complete levels, and a structure that matches a pattern.

To set up, choose a structure card at random, then place it on the main board, along with the appropriate structure tokens, level tokens, and prophecy tokens based on the number of players. Place the crystal marker next to the main board, then draw twelve random polyominoes from the box and place them in a circle around the main board. The polyominoes come in five colors, and all 1x1 blocks in those colors are placed to the side.

On a turn, move the crystal 1-4 spaces clockwise, then take the polyomino in that space and add it to your 4x4 player board, with nothing placed outside that grid and no part of the polyomino hanging over an empty space; alternatively, you can remove this polyomino from the game and take a 1x1 block of the same color, then add that to your player board. In either case, draw a random polyomino from the box and place it where the crystal started this turn.

Instead of moving the crystal, you can choose a prophecy token from the main board and add it to a side of your player board. Each player board has four different colors around the four edges, e.g., blue, orange, black, and teal.

When you fill all the spaces of a level on your player board, take the largest level token from the main board. If your construction fits the guidelines of the structure card, then you claim the highest available structure token.

Keep taking turns until someone has completed their 3D monolith, which is 4x4x3 in a 3-4 player game and 4x4x4 in a 1-2 player game, after which you finish the round. If a prophecy has been fulfilled, e.g., if you placed a 12 on the orange side of your player board and you have at least 12 orange blocks on that edge of your player board, then you score points equal to that prophecy token.

Sum the points of your structure token, level tokens, and valid prophecy tokens to see who has the highest score and wins.

Locals and tourists in Maui are heading to the beach for a chance to find a nice spot to lay their towels and enjoy the amazing view of the Hawaiian ocean. In Maui, you want to find and place beachgoers on your sand so that they create pleasing patterns, while also placing their towels close to the ocean or under the shade of trees or umbrellas to earn the most points. However, getting too close to either of these areas is risky and might ruin their plans!

In the game, you have your own beach board with room for 13 towels, the board has seven rows in which towels can be placed, and during set-up, you randomly place eight umbrellas in designated locations on your board. Each player places one random towel in the left most column of their board; each towel has three different patterns on it. Place six random tiles in the two rows of the market and one sand dollar in each row.

On a turn, either take all the sand dollars from either row of the market or take a towel from the market; towels cost 0, 1, or 2 sand dollars, with those dollars being placed in the market row. When you place a towel, you must match at least one pattern with the towel that's rightmost on your beach board and you want to match as many patterns as possible. For each match you make, you advance that pattern's scoring marker 1-3 spaces on the score board; the closer to the ocean or the shade the more points you score, but if you place part of a towel outside the play area, you're penalized.

If you cover an umbrella, you receive its bonus, whether that's advancing a pattern's scoring marker or receiving one of two types of pearls.

When someone places a towel in the final column of their beach board, you complete the round, then see who's scored the most points from patterns, pearls, and leftover sand dollars, which are each worth a point. Instead of playing with umbrellas, you can flip your beach board to find a septet of sand crabs. Whenever you cover a crab with a towel, the crab crawls onto that portion of the towel, costing you both that pattern and a few points.

The sixth edition of the Carcassonne Big Box contains the Carcassonne base game, the Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders expansions, the mini-expansions The River and The Abbot now included with the base game, and the six mini-expansions from 2012: Carcassonne: The Flying Machines, Carcassonne: The Messengers, Carcassonne: The Ferries, Carcassonne: The Gold Mines, Carcassonne: Mage & Witch, and Carcassonne: The Robbers; these six each include one of the six tiles for the Carcassonne: The Corn Circles II/Crop Circles II mini expansion.

In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they've placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player's score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Azul: Master Chocolatier includes double-sided factory boards, with these tiles being placed on these boards at the start of each round. One side of the factories is blank, and when using this side the game plays exactly like Azul. The other side of each factory tile has a special effect on it that modifies play in one way or another, putting a twist on the normal game. Additionally, the tiles are modeled to look like chocolates and other treats, despite remaining as inedible as the tiles in the original game.

Junior Labyrinth, the beginner's version of Labyrinth and part of the Ravensburger Labyrinth Games series, is a maze like no other with twelve different treasures waiting to be found within the paths of the labyrinth, which shift with every turn.

Thankfully, the players have some control over how the labyrinth walls move. Each turn, the active player takes the free labyrinth tile and pushes it along one of the rows or columns marked with an arrow on the game board. This action inserts that tile into the labyrinth and pushes the other tiles one space, popping one tile out of the labyrinth to be used by the next player on her turn. By shifting the walls, the player hopes to be able to move his token along the paths to land on the treasure currently being sought. If the player does this, he claims the treasure card and a new card is revealed; if not, play continues until someone grabs that treasure.

Once all the treasure has been collected, the game ends and whoever nabbed the most treasure wins!