Tile Placement

Newton

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

Mesozooic

The age of the dinosaurs is back — this time safely behind glass! Build the best dino zoo and impress your guests in a frantic, real-time puzzle game.

Dinosaurs are back and the world is clamoring to see them! In Mesozooic, it's your job as the director to plan and construct a zoo that will surpass any others. Fill your zoo with a variety of crowd-pleasing features: wow your visitors with towering dinosaur enclosures, entertain them with prehistoric attractions, and let them travel around the zoo in style on a network of monorails.

Over the course of three rounds, players draft the most desirable features into their hand, piece their zoo together in real-time, and score each layout to see who has created the best zoo.

After drafting your favorite features, you’ll have to organize them in your zoo—but things won’t always go as planned! Race against time by frantically sliding the cards one at a time to match up features and optimize your zoo’s layout. Complete dinosaur enclosures, connect monorail tracks, and maintain your attractions to score points. The zoo with the best layout will score the most points!

When drafting cards, you can choose to customize your zoo however you like. Choose from attractions, monorails, dinosaur enclosures, or topiary.

Guests will be dazzled by the larger-than-life attractions at your zoo. Pterodactyls soar through the aviary, dinosaur eggs hatch in the nursery, and underwater creatures swim through the bright blue waters of the aquarium. Your zoo can include any or all of these attractions! To keep things running smoothly, attractions need to be regularly maintained. In order to score attractions in your zoo, you must keep a maintenance truck next to the attraction.

While visiting your zoo, guests will need to get around. Hopping on the monorail will quickly transport your guests to other corners of the park. In order to be effective, the monorail’s route must be connected. If you can continue the track, each connection will score points for your zoo.

The highlight of the zoo is, of course, the dinosaurs themselves! Let guests come face to face with these creatures from another age. Create the perfect environment for gentle herbivores or powerful carnivores, each in their own enclosure. Each completed enclosure will score points.

Careful planning and quick thinking can give you the edge. Astonish guests with the amazing creatures from a land before time. Will guests flock to your dinosaur zoo?

-description by the publisher

Teotihuacan: City of Gods

Travel back in time to the greatest city in Mesoamerica. Witness the glory and the twilight of the powerful pre-Columbian civilization. Strategize, accrue wealth, gain the favour of the gods, and become the builder of the magnificent Pyramid of the Sun.

In Teotihuacan: City of Gods, each player commands a force of worker dice, which grow in strength with every move. On your turn, you move a worker around a modular board, always choosing one of two areas of the location tile you land on: one offering you an action (and a worker upgrade), the other providing you with a powerful bonus (but without an upgrade).

While managing their workforce and resources, players develop new technologies, climb the steps of the three great temples, build houses for the inhabitants of the city, and raise the legendary and breath-taking Pyramid of the Sun in the centre of the city.

Each game is played in three eras. As the dawn of the Aztecs comes closer, player efforts (and their ability to feed their workforce) are evaluated a total of three times. The player with the most fame is the winner.

Torres (2nd Edition)

Torres is an abstract game of resource management and tactical pawn movement. Players are attempting to build up castles and position their knights to score the most points each turn. Players have a limited supply of knights and action cards that allow special actions to be taken. Efficient use of pieces and cards, along with a thoughtful awareness of future possibilities, is the heart of this game.

Torres is considered by many to be an informal member of what is referred to as the Mask Trilogy.

Warsaw: City of Ruins

Warsaw is a unique city. It is said that it "survived its own death", and there is truth in this. Poland's capital was largely destroyed during the Second World War, and its reconstruction was an exceptional urban development process. Warsaw is a combination of elegant buildings from Saxon times, architecture from between the World Wars, socialist blocks, and modern buildings. Walking through the streets of Warsaw's Wola district, one can see this diversity at a glance. Modern glass office buildings stand next to pre-war automotive garages, and concrete block buildings touch elegant older houses, which show the signs of time's decay. Some call it a spatial mess, while others see in it the residents' determination. Both views are right because that's how Warsaw is. Maybe not the most beautiful, but strong and determined. Nothing reflects the city's character more than its diverse buildings.

In Capital, players jointly build Warsaw over six epochs, from when Warsaw first became the capital at the end of the 16th century through modern times. Each player creates their own district of the city. At the end of each of the six epochs, districts give income and victory points to their owners. After six rounds, whoever has the most points wins.

In more detail, each epoch consists of a construction phase and an income phase, with wars at the end of the third and fourth epochs. During the construction phase of an epoch, players shuffle the city tiles with the current epoch's number, then deal several tiles to each player. Each player chooses one of the tiles, then places it face down onto the table. All players simultaneously reveal their selected tiles, and each player chooses one of two possible actions:

Discard their tile to the box and take three coins from the bank.
Pay the tile's cost in coins and build the tile in their district.

Instead of placing a tile on an empty space, a player may choose to build on top of an existing tile. Simply place the new tile directly onto an existing tile, covering it completely. As a result, the new tile's price is reduced by the price of the older tile that it covers. A player's district can never be larger than a 3×4 or 4×3 rectangle of tiles. Each city tile is divided into four quarters, and each quarter has its own type of building, so a tile can have 1-4 different kinds of buildings. Public buildings and milestones are always separate individual areas, even if they are adjacent to each other. They also occupy an entire tile.

During the income phase, milestones are placed, and players receive coins and victory points.