Set collection

Birds of a Feather: Western North America

Grab your binoculars and your birding journal because it's time to hit the trails and see some birds. Choose a habitat each round to visit along the western coast of North America, and see what rare birds you can find. Don't forget to keep an eye on what your fellow birders are tracking down — they might just lead you to the bird that finishes your watch list and earns you extra points! Who will outsmart their opponents, spot the most birds, and be the best birder?

In Birds of a Feather: Western North America, you and the other players explore different habitats to spot birds. In the first round, each player chooses and reveals a card from hand, then marks off on their score sheet or the app the bird they played as well as all other birds played in the same habitat. The deck contains cards from five habitats, with some birds being more common than others. In the second round, you each play a card again, then you mark all birds in your current habitat as well as all cards played the previous round in that habitat. Apparently word spread about all the great finds! Remove all cards from the first round, then keep playing additional rounds in the same manner.

When each player has only one card left in hand, the game ends. For each ace bird you've seen in a habitat, you score 2 points; for each other non-common bird you've seen, score 1 point; and if you've seen all seven types of birds in a habitat, score 3 bonus points for a total of 10 points in that habitat. Whoever has the most total points wins.

Birds of a Feather: Western North America differs from Birds of Feather thanks to new graphic design and improved rules for two- and three-player games to make them more strategic.

Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum

Once upon a time in the Far East, deep in the mountains of a mythical land, there was a world-renowned Dim Sum restaurant by the name of Steam Up.

It was the first restaurant of its kind to achieve the three Gold Ingot status. According to the Gold Ingot Guide, Steam Up was best known for its top 5 most popular Dim Sum: juicy shrimp dumpling, tender meat dumpling, soft and fluffy BBQ meat bun, flavorful sticky rice, and exotic phoenix claw. These heavenly tastes drew food enthusiasts and gourmets from all over the world!

Come join us on a feast of Dim Sum. You are invited!

Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum is a competitive 2-5 player light-medium weight Dim Sum set collection and action management game offering a delicious cultural experience.

At the beginning of the game, steamers, filled with different types of Dim Sum, are stacked and placed on a Turntable. Each player takes turns performing 2 different actions each round. Actions include gaining and spending food tokens to purchase Dim Sum in Steamers within their Feast Zone. Players may also play Fortune cards to benefit themselves or affect their opponents. Starting the 2nd round, a Fate card is revealed each round to trigger an event that may affect all players.

The game ends when a specific number of Steamers is purchased or the Fate deck is emptied. Final scoring is then calculated. The player with the most Hearty Points wins and leaves the table with the fullest stomach!

SETUP

In SETUP, you create a set or sets, scoring points to move around the board. How many points on each turn depends on how good you are at spotting sequences and by playing a set which will create multiple combinations on the board. Even when it's not your turn, unwitting opponents may gift you points by creating sets using tiles in your bonus spaces, so always keep your eyes peeled to claim those extra points.

SETUP is a game of strategic tile placement, making sets of numbers of matching suits. You can't always plan in advance though as the tiles stack, so a sequence you had in mind may disappear when your opponents take their turn.

The strategy is even more intense when you try team play mode, work with a partner to plan your sets together. You'll work hard to maximize points, help your partner create sets, and gift each other bonus points. Careful how many points you score because the game ends when the first player crosses the finish line, but being in first place doesn't decide the win; it's the team that avoids finishing last when the game ends!

—description from the publisher

The Way of the Bear

Long long time ago, before age of human, there were four bear clans who help the king to reign over Northeast Asia. The time has come for the king to decide who will be the heir to the throne. The clans send their princes to the world to acquire all the qualifications to be the next king. They travel from town to town and build sacred bear statues; they inherit knowledge of religion, education, military, and commerce in return. The new journey is about to begin. Who will succeed to the throne?
—description from the publisher

Summary of Game Play
1. Place the bear steles to acquire a knowledge token.
2. Pay the equivalent in number and color to the temples.
3. If a player has completed to collect tokens, the game ends.

For the King (and Me)

The young monarch has no knack for governing. Take advantage of this by taking on all the most prestigious government duties! Share cards, choose the most high-profile jobs...then experience an auction phase as belligerent as it is clever!

In For the King (and Me), you wish to become the most valuable minister by collecting the right cards while lowering the value of your opponents' objectives. The game plays the same as the designer's earlier game Biblios, while allowing for play with up to five people at once.

The game lasts multiple rounds with players first collecting cards, then bidding for cards. During the collection phase, as the active player you draw cards one at a time, keeping one for yourself, placing one in an auction pile, and placing the others face up for the other players to draft. Once you take a card, you can't take another, so sometimes it's a tough call to decide when you want to take something. Once you've had multiple collection phases, the cards in the auction pile will be auctioned one by one.

Some cards are worth points depending on their color, some are worth gold, and some allowing you to manipulate the value of the various colors. Once all the cards have been auctioned, players reveal their hands and tally their points to see who wins.