Strategy

In the co-operative trick-taking game The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, the players set out as astronauts on an uncertain space adventure. What about the rumors about the unknown planet about? The eventful journey through space extends over 50 exciting missions. But this game can only be defeated by meeting common individual tasks of each player. In order to meet the varied challenges, communication is essential in the team. But this is more difficult than expected in space.

With each mission, the game becomes more difficult. After each mission, the game can be paused and continued later. During each mission, it is not the amount of tricks, but the right tricks at the right time that count.

The team wins only if every single player is successful in fulfilling their tasks.

The game comes with 50 missions. Three more missions were published in spielbox 2/2020

Hadara carries you off into the world of cultures and countries of this earth. Over three epochs, you will experience the transformation of your new world from a small settlement to a high culture. You want to populate this world with people who come from different cultures and continents as well as different ages. To bring glory and honor to your world, you should choose the persons and accomplishments skillfully. But you should not ignore agriculture, culture, and military power, otherwise one of your competitors might get bigger and more successful than you. Who will succeed first in creating a new flourishing high culture?

—description from the publisher

•••

Hadara entführt dich in die Welt der Kulturen und Länder dieser Erde.

Über 3 Epochen hinweg erlebst du die Verwandlung deiner neuen Welt von einer kleinen Siedlung zu einer Hochkultur.
Du willst diese Welt mit Personen besiedeln, die dabei aus verschiedenen Kulturkreisen, Kontinenten aber auch Zeitaltern stammen.
Um deiner Welt zu viel Ruhm und Ehre zu verhelfen, solltest du die Personen und Errungenschaften geschickt aussuchen. Dabei solltest du aber die Landwirtschaft, die Kultur und die militärische Macht nicht außer Acht lassen, sonst kann es passieren, dass einer deiner Mitkonkurrenten größer und erfolgreicher wird. Wem gelingt es zuerst, eine neue blühende Hochkultur zu erschaffen?
—description from the publisher (German)

At the center is the Ziggurat, where you must bring 4 sacrifice tokens to win. But to deliver them, you must have sufficient Mana reserved by praying in temples, which players build. You bring your sacrifices from 4 huts that you build, and you can breed at an empty hut to increase your people. To build huts, temples, and Mana, you use rocks and timber that you collect from quarries and forests.

Each turn, you can move 5 places, placing new tiles if you go off the map, seeding stones or timber if they are quarries or forests, and carrying resource to empty plains if you want to build. Building a hut or temple, breeding, or drawing an action card ends your turn, and you bank Mana if you have people on temples. So gradually, you build up your clan and have them do different things. Some stand at temples to pray, some explore and carry resource, others help build or breed. And when you deliver a sacrifice, you kill the messenger too, thus needing to breed more.

Expanded By

Mesopotamia: Expansion

Description from the publisher:

In a time long forgotten, the cruel Fomori rule over Érin, the green island. They praise their king Balor, who reigns from his fortifications in the north with an iron fist. Old paths and ruins spread over the island's face, which will be called Ireland many generations from now. But new tribes arrive at the island striving for permanent presence. Who will control Érin's fate over the next centuries to come?

Each player in The Arrival represents a tribe leader who tries to gain predominance over the mythical island of Érin while pushing back the demon-like Fomori. But the players are facing a dilemma, for spreading too quickly means becoming more and more corrupt and strengthening the Fomori in their power...

Over 4-6 rounds, the players determine their resources by means of a unique game mechanism, which will be used later on profitably. During a first phase (Earning Phase), players draw four cards, each showing three sections of different resources. Two of these sections are gradually blocked by the player, thus leaving one section. The resources shown on this section are the ones the player gets. During this phase, they have to decide which section is the best one; while the upper section of the cards offers many resources, it also results in unwanted Corruption Points. The middle and the lower sections offer fewer resources, but also less Corruption.

After that, the Action Phase takes place and the players must use their resources wisely while having the choice from different kinds of actions in order to get Fame Points.

The game ends when a certain number of rounds have been played or somebody reaches the corruption limit.

The winner is either the one with the highest amount of Fame Points or the one with the fewest Corruption Points. This depends on the scene of the board at the end: Do the tribes (players) control more locations on Érin than the Fomori do — or is it the other way around?

What if the formation of Earth had gone differently?

In Ecos: First Continent, players are forces of nature molding the planet, but with competing visions of its grandeur. You have the chance to create a part of the world, similar but different to the one we know. Which landscapes, habitats, and species thrive will be up to you.

Gameplay in Ecos is simultaneous. Each round, one player reveals element tokens from the element bag, giving all players the opportunity to complete a card from their tableau and shape the continent to their own purpose. Elements that cannot be used can be converted into energy cubes or additional cards in hand or they can be added to your tableau to give you greater options as the game evolves.

Mountain ranges, jungle, rivers, seas, islands and savanna, each with their own fauna, all lie within the scope of the players' options.

—description from the publisher