Strategy

China, 1570. China is under the reign of the Longqing Emperor, of the Ming Dynasty. He inherited a country in disarray after years of mismanagement and corruption. He resided in the Forbidden city, which was the seat of many emperors under the Ming Dynasty. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 ha (over 180 acres). It is also under the Ming Dynasty that the Great Wall of China was rebuilt, fortified, and expanded. Around this period, China was under heavy attack from the Mongols, so maintaining the Great Wall was essential. Most of what we now have left of the Great Wall, we owe to the Ming dynasty.

The country was already famous for its very intricate bureaucracy, but this also led to a lot of corruption. Even though the penalties for corruption were very high, the highest Officials of the Forbidden City would pretend to uphold the ban on corruption, by accepting gifts of petitioners, and returning one of seemingly lower value.

Gùgōng uses this extraordinary custom as its basis. Players take on the role of powerful Chinese families trying to gain influence and power by exchanging gifts with Officials. The gift cards you offer as a player have to be of a higher value than the one you receive, forcing you to make strategic choices regarding which actions you want to take each turn. You will travel around China, sail down the Grand Canal, purchase precious jade, help construct the Great Wall, secure advantages through decrees, influence the game through intrigue, and ultimately, receive an audience with the emperor. If only 1 player succeeds in doing so, he wins. If several players succeed, the player with the most VPs among those players wins the game.

—description from the publisher

(Español)

China, 1570. El país está bajo el reinado del Emperador Longqing, de la Dinastía Ming. Su padre, el Emperador Jiajing, reinó durante muchos años. A pesar de ser un hombre diligente, era también conocido por su crueldad y por la preocupación de sus propios intereses frente a los del país. Aquellos que se oponían a él normalmente no sobrevivían mucho tiempo. Su largo reinado marcó el comienzo de un período de cierta estabilidad, pero sus excentricidades dejaron al país en un estado realmente pobre, dañado por la incesante corrupción.

Los jugadores asumen el papel de poderosas familias chinas que tratarán de ganar influencia y poder sobornando a los funcionarios responsables de ciertas tareas, intercambiando los regalos adecuados, en el transcurso de 4 días. Los jugadores obtendrán puntos de victoria de esta manera, y aquel con mayor número de puntos de victoria ganará el juego. Pero cuidado: sobre todo debes tratar de conseguir una audiencia con el propio Emperador. Si no lo consigues, todos tus esfuerzos habrán sido en vano.

—descripción de la Editorial

Growing tomatoes, lettuce, or carrots on Iceland? What an absurd idea!

But still, whoever had that idea was a genius! Geothermal energy on the island allows you to cultivate the most unexpected fruits and vegetables — an oddity that no tourist would want to miss. You are not the only farmer in Reykholt who is looking to make a fortune out of this, however, so you better be quick! The tourist season in Reykholt is short, and there are more people coming every year. Making use of the right people and having the right vegetables at the right time in Reykholt will give you the advantage you need to win the race!

Gaïa is a 2-5 player game in which you create a world, instill life in it, build cities, try to satisfy their needs, and use godly powers to shape the world to your benefit.

In game terms, Gaïa involves tile placement, area control and influence with a twist of power cards. Each player has five wooden figures, and if you're the first to place all five of your figures on the board, you win!

Gaïa includes two levels of rules, with the basic rules allowing for play with those as young as eight thanks to the game's simple mechanisms and non-attacking nature. The advanced rules give you the opportunity to use godly powers — lightning, volcanoes, rain, sun, earthquakes, etc. — to shape the world after it has been created. You can even steal an opponent's cities, making it a more aggressive game with a higher level of strategy.

Around the middle of the 17th century with the advent of the scientific method, a period of great change begins, called the scientific revolution. Many great scientists, with their theories and ideas, change our perception of the universe: Galileo Galilei, Copernicus, Kepler, Bacon and, above all, Sir Isaac Newton.

In Newton, players take the role of a young scientist who wants to become one of the great geniuses of this period. To do this, they travel around Europe, visit universities and cities, study to discover new theories, build new tools, and work to earn money.

The game is played over six rounds. Each round, every player plays five cards from their hand, with each played card allowing the player to perform one of the game's actions. An action has a variety of effects, which depend on the symbols of that action visible on the board. At the end of the round, a player can take back all the cards played except one. One card has to be left on the board, which means that you give up one possibility of doing that action, but also that the action will be carried out with greater strength. Fortunately, you can acquire new cards that will allow you to perform more actions and with additional powers.

After six rounds, you calculate your final scoring, and the player with the most VP wins.

—description from the publisher

Hong Kong has been struck by a large scale unexpected blackout. As the government struggles to maintain control, you decide to take matters into your own hands and try to bring back some kind of societal order! Daily life as you were used to it has quickly dissolved. Even the most mundane tasks have become incredibly challenging without electric power. Whoever best manages this situation and restores the semblance of order will surely claim a position of power in post-blackout Hong Kong!

In Alexander Pfister's Blackout: Hong Kong, you have to manage ever-changing resources and a network of various specialists to keep Hong Kong from descending into chaos while also staying ahead of your rivals.

—description from the publisher