Set collection

The Speicherstadt is an auction card game. Players compete for victory points, which come mainly from contracts (sets of resources) and special cards (like a collected set of 1-4 identical "counting offices", the port rewarding collected ship cards etc.). The game is build on two core concepts:

1. Players bid for cards by building "towers" with their meeples over them. Each meeple in a tower increases the cost of a card - but only for players "below" it. This is the main mechanic of the game - players must consider WHEN to bid (place their meeple) over a certain card and when to use their meeples to make others pay more. This important, because a player can make only three bids during a round.

2. Players are punished by negative points for not collecting firemen cards. Thus, ignoring security may cost a player a victory. By many players, the "punishing" mechanic is considered a trademark of the author - Stefan Feld.

The deck is divided into four seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn. In later seasons, more powerful cards appear, so players need to think ahead in managing their resources.

---- Promotional blurb from the publisher ----

Hamburg around 1900 - the gate to the world. Within the harbour there stretches a unique complex of storehouses: Speicherstadt. The network of canals and bridges houses a terminal for spices, coffee, tea and carpets from all over the world.

As one of Hamburg´s wholesaler at the heyday of the Speicherstadt you acquire shiploads for the storehouses, not too expensive, of course, as you like to make a profit selling them. Who makes the best deals within a year and supplies his clients with the right goods will be the winner of the game. But beware! Sudden fires cause heavy losses. You might be advised to invest in fire protection early.

Playing Speicherstadt you will be thrilled by the simple and original mechanism of acquiring desired action cards.

The floodwaters are rising and the animals need to board the ark!

In this deceptively simple game, players move their boats around a steadily deteriorating landscape, matching pairs in order to rescue stranded animals.

Animals that are rare at the end of the game are worth more points than those that are common.

Two by Two is #6 in the Valley Games Modern Line.

Awards

Games 100 - Runner-up for Best Family Game (2012)

Online Play

Yucata (turn-based)

In the middle of the 1930s, an expedition of treasure hunters crashes its zeppelin in the middle of an unknown and mysterious island where legends tell that several old and powerful civilizations have left many sumptuous treasures.

Each player is one of these brave explorers who joined the expedition with old maps giving clues on where some of these treasures can be found. However, it is clear that the land is barely known and dangerous, so, all explorers decide to travel together, in one solid group by hiring beasts of burden and exotic items in the native villages while trying to avoid the many dangers of the inhospitable land of Isla Dorada...

Which one of these brave explorers will find the most valuable treasures, avoid the numerous curses and accomplish it's rewarding destiny?

In Isla Dorada, players will have to move an unique pawn portraying the expedition of explorers. Each player will collect cards of different kinds (movements, actions, destinations, curses, destinies, bonus or malus cards) and will have to build the best hands turn after turn (time is limited to a certain number of game turns) to be able to chose the expedition destinations in a succession of bids and negotiations. Doing so, the players will try to put their hands on treasures while avoiding their cursed destinations and trying to block other player's objectives.

The very easy rules can be learned in a few minutes whilst the rich and elegant game play assure an always renewed experience.

Second expansion for Thurn and Taxis - actually, 2 expansions in one.

"All roads lead to Rome"

1st expansion, "Audience": The players (clerics) try to arrive at the right time to be received in audience by the pope.

2nd expansion, "Offices of Honor": The postal staff still helps you - but now you can draw additional city cards, get victory points or even set a new house.

Expands:

Thurn and Taxis

Contents:

1 game board with various roads to Rome
5 carriages in the colors of the countries (beige – Baiern; orange – Böhmen/Salzburg; etc.)
26 office tiles
20 audience tiles with 5 different clerymen in the four player colors
4 summary tiles
12 victory point chips

From http://riograndegames.com/games.html?id=189

The postal carriages continue to roll. Now that players have learned to master the postal routes in the south, they naturally turn their eyes toward the north, looking for more routes to establish to add to their ever-growing postal networks. The new routes run between Holland and Sachsen - between Preußen and the free cities. The players build new postal stations in order to provide fast service for important letters to the many new customers in the north.
Hard-working postal carriers add horses to their carriages to enable them to travel farther and more safely, which will help the separated Preußen provinces to achieve power and glory.

With this expansion, we offer new ways for players to enjoy Thurn and Taxis. The new board opens up new areas for postal routes. To support the new board, we include new bonus tiles and new city cards (with horses on their backs to support the new rules). We hope players will enjoy these changes and the strategic opportunities they offer.

Expands:

Thurn and Taxis

Contents:

1 game board
4 carriage cards
69 city cards (3 each of 23 cities) the backs of the city cards have 1, 2, or 3 horses. The number is also shown on both sides of the cards as horseshoes.
39 Bonus tiles (5 x 8 distance, 4 x 7 distance, 3 x 6 distance, 2 x 5 distance, 4 x all provinces, 4 x free cities, 4 x Preussen, 3 x Mecklenburg/Hannover, 3 x Holland/Belgien, 3 x Thüringen/Sachsen, 3x Hessen/Baiern, 1 x game end)
1 rider figure
1 game rules