Trading

Firefly: The Game

Players begin with a ship, and travel from planet to planet, hiring crew, purchasing ship upgrades, and picking up cargo to deliver (jobs) all in the form of cards. Some crew and cargo are illegal, and can be confiscated if your ship is boarded by an alliance vessel. Travelling from planet to planet requires turning over "full burn" cards, one for each space moved. Most do nothing, but you can also encounter an Alliance ship, have a breakdown, or even run into Reavers. Completing jobs gets you cash. First player to complete the story goals wins.

Game description from the publisher:

In Firefly: The Game – based on the popular Firefly television series created by Joss Whedon – players captain their own Firefly-class transport ship, traveling the 'Verse with a handpicked crew of fighters, mechanics and other travelers. As a captain desperate for work, players are compelled to take on any job — so long as it pays. Double-dealing employers, heavy-handed Alliance patrols, and marauding Reavers are all in a day's work for a ship's captain at the edge of the 'Verse. Firefly: The Game is a high-end thematic tabletop boardgame from Gale Force Nine (GF9) and the first in a series of tabletop hobby board games and miniatures games from GF9 set in the Firefly Universe.

Tech Bubble

In TECH-BUBBLE, 3 to 6 players ride the technology market roller coaster at the turn of the 21st century as it surges and eventually plunges. The players represent various market sectors during the "Dot.Com Bubble". They make decisions to stay in the market and ride out the surge or get out before the bubble bursts. Timing and nerves of steel are everything. And along the way players can affect each other's investments and decisions by crafty play.

Due out October 2009

Planet Steam

Welcome, dear Imperialists. It's the year 2415. The interplanetary federation (IPF) has done a great job in the last centuries. All necessary precautions have been taken to conquer this planet named "Steam". The core of the planet consists of a 6,500º Celsius hot source containing different resources, including water. It has taken over one hundred years to complete the first block of 42 shafts from the surface to the core.

But now the time has come. From every shaft surges the hot steam that is the basis of the production of raw materials. To be able to use and process this steam, platforms have to be placed over the shafts. Later, we can use the platforms to connect the water purification tanks. By using several tank extractors, we can harvest other resources like energy, ore, and quartz from the steam. These resources are important. You will need them to grow your steam empires. You will need to increase the capacity of your landing craft to transport your harvested materials off planet. Buy and sell the resources at the Trading terminal for profit, as currency is – like on earth – always in short supply on Steam. To help you in your endeavours, the IPF has placed several specialists at your command – but getting the specialist that you require may not be easy.

Planet Steam is a board game in which two to five players take the roles of entrepreneurs in a steampunk boomtown, racing to assemble equipment, claim plots of land, extract resources, and accumulate riches. After harvesting resources using tanks and converters, players must buy and sell those resources in a volatile and ever-shifting market. The one who earns the most income will, in the end, be victorious. However, only through shrewd resource management and clever manipulation of supply and demand can a player reign supreme!

Catan: Star Trek Federation Space Map Set

Game description from the publisher:

During its original mission, the Enterprise, Captain Kirk, and his intrepid crew visited many strange new worlds and discovered many new life-forms and civilizations. Now you and your friends can boldly go and explore this galaxy, too, with the Star Trek: Catan - Federation Space Map Set, which includes two maps depicting the Known Galaxy.

Based on the "Explored Galaxy" map seen in Kirk's quarters itself, these maps allow you to settle the famous worlds of Federation Space using pieces from your Star Trek: Catan base game.

Moby Dick, or, The Card Game

Moby Dick, or, The Card Game is an adventure card game designed for 2-4 players, with additional rules for solitaire play. Based on Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick combines cooperative and competitive play in an attempt to loosely simulate life on a 19th century whaleship.

The game is centered around three decks of cards: the Sea, the Sailor, and the Whale. After receiving an initial crew of sailors, players take turns at the topmast, where they draw Sea cards to advance the game. These cards contain various creatures and events, compelling actions between players or triggering the secondary phase of the game – the whale hunt. During a whale hunt, each player begins by choosing a small group of their sailors to lower after the whale. Play progresses much like the primary gameplay, with players taking turns defending against the whale's assaults and returning the favors.

As the game unfolds, players gain oil from defeating whales or from certain events, which can be used to hire new sailors after others are lost at sea. Over time, key events (Chapters) will be drawn, and after a certain number Moby Dick will cease evading the ship and engage when sighted. This last battle is to the death, and only one player will survive. Call him the winner, or simply, Ishmael.