Set collection

Lascaux is a game about the French caves containing animal paintings; discovered in 1940 by four teenagers.

This auction game is based on the bidding mechanism of Michael Schacht's Mogul also implemented in No Thanks!

The deck consists of 54 cards each representing one of six animals and a combination of two colors. At the beginning of a round, cards are turned face up until all six colors are showing or seven cards are face up. All players secretly decide which color cards they hope to win at the end of the round. On their turn, players bid by placing a stone on the table. If a player passes, he picks up all the stones currently on the table and places his token on top of the token pile. The last player remaining grabs all the cards of the color he had chosen earlier in the round. The second to last player, whose token now sits at the top of the token pile, then picks up all the cards of his chosen color if any cards of that color are left. The same process is repeated for each player when their token is at the top of the token pile. The game ends when all the cards of the deck have been claimed. Players then earn points for each animal for which they have majority.

Components: 54 cards, 50 stones, 30 markers, rules.

Released: Essen 2007.

Designed by Reiner Knizia and illustrated by the incredibly talented Ursula Vernon, In BlackSheep, players try to corral the best combination of cows, horses, chickens and more while avoiding the mischievous black sheep. BlackSheep is perfect for two to four players ages eight and up. -From the FFG website.

There's a lot of randomness here, but also room for elementary strategy. Players make poker hands from two shared cards (figurines of ranked animals) and three of their own (these are actual cards). There are three such hands playing simultaneously, with players adding one or two cards at a time to any hand on their turn. When all players have played three cards onto a hand, a winner is chosen, based on the poker ranks. The winner takes the two shared cards (animal figurines), and new shared cards are added. At the end of the game, scores are calculated by summing numbers printed on the bottoms of the figurines they captured and some bonuses. The black sheep figurines are worth negative points.

A party game for women. From the back of the box:

Go Goddess! is for women of all ages. The game provides an entertaining forum for bringing women together to discuss thought-provoking issues that are common to us all. Through laughter and self-discovery everyone wins as they choose the path of empowerment."

Contents

Gameboard scarf
Luminary
28 puzzle pieces
Puzzle pouch
7 colored card decks
7 colored stones

Anton, the adventurous anteater, is out looking for food. Nosy as he is, he sticks his long nose into every termite hill he comes across, and it’s not just edible things that he turns up either. His main objective, however, is the termite queen and her general. They earn the most points at the end.

A dice game where players have to place dice one by one onto certain columns of different anthills in order to attain the majority and score the most victory points. Majorities are not all the players must think about, however, as players will also want to place their dice on certain spaces to collect various items, forming sets that are also worth points at the end of the game. The player that is best able to balance attaining majorities while also collecting items will likely be the winner.

The funny background illustrations show the Anton the anteater in trouble with the ants and termites as he explores their homes.

Granada – many artisans, traders and entire families have settled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada because the Palace of Alhambra promises all people work, contracts and above all prosperity.
(From the publisher's blurb.)

Granada is new member of the Alhambra family with a more challenging character: in this standalone game the players develop the city of Granada next to Sierra Nevada, where the famous Alhambra stands, by buying building tiles to construct the city which will earn the most victory points. Building tiles now have two sides and there are new building types for which the value is set during the game.

Link to Trailer http://www.queen-games.de/index.php?id=2537----2

Play Differences from Alhambra
Alhambra advanced. Play is the same: buy a building tile, take money or remodel. If you buy a tile for the exact amount, you can take another action, same as in Alhambra. The differences: new building types, building values are dynamic, two-sided tiles, and moats instead of walls.

There are 9 building types in Granada. Unlike Alhambra, the buildings do not have a set value. Instead, building value is determined by the count of that type of building in all players' cities times a multiplier. As in Alhambra, there are 3 scoring rounds during which each building type is examined and points awarded for the player with the majority of that type of building. In the first scoring round, A, only the player with the most tiles of a particular building type scores for that building type (1 times the total count). In the second scoring round, B, the top 2 players score (2 times the total count and 1 times the total count respectively), and in the final round, the top 3 score (3x, 2x, and 1x the total count of that building type). Scoring for a "Beginners Game" is a little different.

There are no ties in Granada: points are never divided like in Alhambra. In the case of two players having the same number of tiles of a particular type in their cities, the player with the highest valued tile of that type wins, and the other player takes next place. So, in Granada, it pays to buy the more expensive buildings.

For example: When the A round-scoring card is turned up, Cindy has 2 Schools, Diana has 2, Tim has 1, Tina and Bailey each have 0, for a total of 5 Schools currently in cities. Cindy's highest School is a 10, Diana's is a 7. So, in round A, Cindy would score 1 x 5 = 5 points.

When the B round-scoring card is turned up, the count for Schools is: Cindy 2, Diana 3, Tim 1, Tina and Bailey 0 each for a total of 6 Schools. So, Diana scores 2 x 6 = 12 points and Cindy scores 1 x 6 = 6 points.

In the final round, the School count is Cindy 2, Diana 3, Tim 1, Tina 2, Bailey 0 for a total of 8 Schools in cities. Cindy's highest School is a 10, Tina's is a 4. So, Diana scores 3 x 8 = 24 points, Cindy score 2 x 8 = 16 points and Tina score 1 x 8 = 8 points.

Another difference in Granada is that the tiles are two-sided: on one side an even-numbered building of some type, on the other a different, odd-numbered building valued exactly one higher. The configuration of the buildings on both sides is identical in terms of moat placement or lack thereof on each side. When purchasing a building, a player can immediately place the building, as is, into her city or may flip it to the other side and place it in her supply for later placement during a remodel action.

The Building Market is initially filled with tiles even-side up. The next time the market is filled, the odd side will be placed up, then even, then odd, etc. A handy toggle feature is provided on the board near the Building Market to facilitate this.

The last difference between Alhambra and Granada, moats instead of walls, is really just a difference in artwork. As in Alhambra, during each scoring round, each player scores points for her longest continuous moat, instead of wall, surrounding her city. The rules are the same regarding tile placement: must be able to trace an unbroken path back to the city's center, moat can touch moat, etc. In games I've played, players have often commented that it seems to be harder to build with the moat tiles of Granada than with the wall tiles of Alhambra. Just one more way to make Granada an advanced version of Alhambra?