In Unexpected Treasures – a new edition of the 2002 release Fundstücke – you are on a mission to collect old furniture from a bulk waste collection site and turn a profit by selling those pieces to paying customers. It's first come, first served. What's more, you are able to take only a few items home at a time – and you have to be wary of a thief who is out on the prowl just waiting to steal your collected goods from your home.
Fluxx is a card game in which the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw cards, how to play cards, and even how to win.
At the start of the game, each player holds three cards and on a turn a player draws one card, then plays one card. By playing cards, you can put new rules into play that change numerous aspects of the game: how many cards to draw or play, how many cards you can hold in hand or keep on the table in front of you, and (most importantly) how to win the game. There are many editions, themed siblings, and promo cards available.
In Ancient Terrible Things, a pulp horror adventure game for 2-4 players, you play the role of an intrepid adventurer, exploring a dark jungle river. Each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location, face an Ominous Encounter, and attempt to unlock its Ancient Secrets. If you succeed (using a combination of dice, tokens and cards), you add the Secrets to your score; if you fail, you unleash a Terrible Thing, which counts against your score at the end of the game. The object of the game is to be the player with the most Ancient Secrets when the game ends at the Unspeakable Event.
Game play involves rolling dice to achieve combinations: runs, pairs, three or more of a kind, and single die showing a particular number or higher. Dice combos are used to overcome Encounter cards that are worth points at the end of the game and to acquire resource tokens: Focus, Courage, Treasure and Feat.
Focus tokens are used to re-roll individual Focus dice.
Courage tokens are spent to overcome an Encounter, before rolling your dice.
Treasure tokens are spent on Swag cards from the Trading Post,which give you a permanent game effect.
Feat tokens are spent to play Feat cards from your hand, which allow for one-shot effects.
In Relic Runners, each player takes on the role of a character keen to exploit and acquire relics that have been unearthed in a long lost part of the jungle. Each would-be archaeologist has a colorful past — retired university professor, former army captain, etc. — and wants to be the first to get their hands on the precious loot to earn the most victory points.
Players must navigate a series of paths in order to visit temples. The archaeologists are restricted in their movement by their access to rations, but thankfully they can place markers on paths to allow them to travel for free in future turns. The players also have a toolkit that can be upgraded in three particular ways to break the rules in some way or offer them an advantage as they move around.
Each time a player visits a temple, he takes a token. Initially the temples offer up victory points or some form of in-game bonus. When the final token is taken, a relic is placed there to be collected. The players earn large victory points for collecting relics of different types (set collection) and players can also earn bonus points for creating long routes and traveling along these to collect relics.
Fluxx gets the Science Fiction treatment. From the publisher: "Just when you thought that Fluxx had gone as far as it could go - it blasts off for the Stars! Explore the vastness of space-themed humor with your valiant Captain, Engineer, and, of course, your Expendable Crewman. Go check out that Small Moon – or is it really a Space Station? You may be swayed by Unseen Forces, held hostage by Evil Computers, or find your ship infested with Cute Fuzzy Aliens."
Like its brethren, Star Fluxx is the game of ever changing rules. It starts out as Draw 1, Play 1, but even that can change. When a Goal card is played, you can win by meeting the Goal, usually by having the correct Keeper cards in front of you. Action and Surprise cards help you to meet the Goal, or stop your opponent. Creeper cards usually prevent you from winning, but are sometimes necessary to meet the Goal.