Set collection

Philippe Keyaerts scored gold with Small World, a new version of his Vinci that was released by Days of Wonder in 2009 to great acclaim and numerous awards. With Olympos, coming from French publisher Ystari Games, Keyaerts has another go at the simplified civilization game. The playing time for Olympos is only 60-90 minutes for 3-5 players, but says Ystari's Cyril Demaegd, "Even if it's a short game, it's a gamer's game."

Players take actions based on their position on a time track, along the lines of Peter Prinz' Thebes. (Says Demaegd, "This is mainly a coincidence because Philippe designed this game years ago.") By spending time, players take actions, with the choices being expansion or development. Expanding brings new settlers onto the game board, which depicts Greece and Atlantis, which lets you conquer territories and thereby acquire resources.

Development takes place on the game's discovery board, with players either buying new scientific discoveries – such as medicine or phalanxes – or building architectural wonders. Each discovery brings you new powers, such as an upgrade in military strength due to the phalanx, and each wonder earns you points.

A player's piety is measured by discoveries, and the most pious player might be rewarded during the game by one of the nine gods included. Similarly, the less pious players might be punished by those same gods.

The replayability of Olympos is huge, says Demaegd, as the discovery board and gods in play will be different each game, not to mention the territories you're able to conquer.

You're invited to a Surprise party! There are lots of fantastic gifts—if you can find them. Is the Dapper Dinosaur in this box? Or is the Party Palace hiding there? Or maybe it changed into the Super Starship? Using memory and a little luck, try to uncover all the presents shown on the Party Cards. Make a match and you get to go again. Whoever holds the most cards at the end of the game wins. Get ready... the party's about to begin!

An official expansion to Glenn Drover's Empires: The Age of Discovery, the Builder Expansion contains:

1) A NEW SPECIALIST: THE BUILDER
Abilities:
a) When placed on the colonist dock and sent to the New World it will increase the VP's scored for the region: +4 VP/Builder (of any color) for 1st place; +2 VP/Builder for second place. (The idea is that the colony is much more developed with cities and infrastructure).
b) When placed in the Capital Building track, the player pays $5 less.

The Builder may be acquired via new Capital Buildings or when a player places a colonist on the 5th spot (Builder is Free, other specialists cost 5)

2) 20 NEW CAPITAL BUILDINGS
These include some "buildings" that cost zero, but offer a one-time instant effect such as $7, 2 free specialists, and 2 free trade goods. So even if a player is short on cash, a building action is available.

3) A RULES SHEET with the new Builder Rules, Capital Buildings, and even special rules for a historical start (Each Nation has a special ability and one or two Capital Buildings to start the game). The idea is that the Spanish will feel like the Spanish (Conquistadors, etc.), The English will feel like the English, the Dutch like the Dutch, etc.

4) The MINT and OVERPOPULATION will, indeed be a part of the new expansion.

5) Expands the game to 6 players with a Complete set of purple colonists

Game description of the 2011 revised edition from the publisher:

Welcome to Cadwallon, an infamous city known for the chicanery of its artful guilds! Can your guild sweep through its districts and gain power through recruiting influential citizens and acquiring valuable relics?

The revised edition of Arcana is a card game of recruitment and resource gathering for 2-4 crafty leaders. Command a guild of loyal agents during a series of district encounters against your opponents. Score the most prominent citizens, advantageous locations, and valuable treasures through bribery and power struggles. Collect the highest amount of victory points to become the master guild of Cadwallon!

This vibrant game creates a fantastical atmosphere for players to enjoy while they attempt to best their opponents through strategic card play. Make your guild the most influential by winning Stake cards and strengthening your deck with impressive Personalities, advantageous Locations, or tempting Relics to use in bribery.

The revised edition of Arcana introduces two new guilds to choose from, the Guild of Fortune-tellers and the Guild of Architects, as well a variety of optional rules that players can utilize to enhance their experience. Players can customize their guild, fulfill objectives, recruit Militia, invoke the ability of their Guild Masters, affect game play through random events, or optimize tactical strategy through card discards. Which variant will you use in your game?

Summary of Play

Arcana is played over a series of rounds that are comprised of two phases, the Intrigue phase and the Resolution phase. Send Agents from your unique guild deck to any of Cadwallon’s districts to claim control of Stake cards: Personalities, Locations, and Relics, all of which award victory points.

During these district encounters players gain control of Stake cards by playing their Agent cards. Stake cards are won through meeting or exceeding the card’s main arcanum: either Military, Political, Spiritual, or Financial. Whichever Agent has the highest matching arcanum type wins the current revealed Stake card in that district.

Of course if the Stake card you are after is a Personality card you can choose to bribe them with a Relic Card instead, immediately ending the phase and wresting the victory points from your opponents should you succeed.

Players can increase the mystery of the final outcome through bluffing. Players control two friendly distracts (piles of Stake cards) in which they can place their Agents facedown. Will your opponent chance opposing you when he is uncertain of your arcanum value?

Railways of the World The Card Game is a fast paced card game adaptation of the popular Railways of the World board game series. In Railways of the World The Card Game players use track cards and city cards to build a series of railroad routes and deliver goods!

As the game progresses, players work to connect more cities, upgrade their engines for larger carrying capacity and deliver goods through a network of routes across the table.

Railways of the World The Card Game provides two versions of rules: one the whole family can play, which is also a great way to introduce them to Railways of the World, and one for more experienced fans of the Railways of the World series.