variable player powers

Welcome back, Emperor. The time for unchecked expansion is over. Warmongers raise their flags over weaker empires, while civilized planets take shelter behind peace treaties. Brace yourself for rising tensions in this next chapter of Eminent Domain: Escalation!

This expansion for Eminent Domain, which cannot be played without the base game, puts the following new tools at the Emperor's disposal:

New meaning to the larger-sized ships in Eminent Domain.
Additional Role cards to support a fifth player.
Additional technologies, each with an alternate cost in addition to their normal Research cost.
A new category of technology ("Diverse"), requiring one planet of each type to research.
Optional scenarios for asymmetric starting positions and technologies for each player.

Shadow Hunters is a survival board game set in a devil-filled forest in which three groups of characters – the Shadows, creatures of the night; the Hunters, humans who try to destroy supernatural creatures; and the Neutrals, civilians caught in the middle of this ancient battle – struggle against each other to survive.

You belong to one of these groups and must conceal your identity from others since you don't know who you can trust – at least not initially. Over time, though, someone might decipher who you are through your actions or through Hermit cards, or you might even reveal yourself to use your special ability.

The key to victory is to identify your allies and enemies early because once your identity is revealed, your enemies will attack with impunity using their special abilities like Demolish, Teleport, and Suck Blood or equipment cards such as the Rusty Broad Ax or Fortune Brooch. This ancient battle comes to a head and only one group will stand victorious – or a civilian, in the right circumstances, might claim victory.

The 2011 edition of Shadow Hunters from Z-Man Games includes the Shadow Hunters Expansion Kit, a set of ten new characters previously sold separately.

From the website:

It is the late 12th century. The sun has set on the classical period of Japan. The emperor’s power has waned and a new power is growing on the horizon. Now, through alliances, court manipulation, and hand to hand combat, competing factions will battle in an epic struggle for control of feudal Japan.

Rise of the Shogun is a two player HeroCard game that can be expanded to a three or four player game with additional decks.

Expanded by:

HeroCard Rise of the Shogun Miko Expansion Deck
HeroCard Rise of the Shogun Prince Expansion Deck

Martin Wallace and Treefrog Games present Ankh-Morpork, set in the largest city-state in Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Lord Vetinari has disappeared and different factions are trying to take control of the city. Each player has a secret personality with specific victory conditions, which means that you're not sure exactly what the other players need to do in order to win.

The action takes place on a map of Ankh-Morpork, with players trying to place minions and buildings through card play. Each of the 132 cards is unique, and "the cards bring the game to life as they include most of the famous characters that have appeared in the various books. The rules are relatively simple: Play a card and do what it says. Most cards have more than one action on them, and you can choose to do some or all of these actions. Some cards also allow you to play a second card, so you can chain actions" (Wallace).

A team of artists have recreated the city and its residents for the cards, game board and box, with Bernard Pearson coordinating that team. Ankh-Morpork has been sublicensed to Mayfair Games for the North American market and Kosmos for the German market.

Send out the scouts! Position the Flagship in tactical orbit! And reconfigure that Battlestation into something new! Your fleet of loyal ships, powered by the might of quantum probability itself, carries your empire to the far-flung stars. How will history remember you? As a ravenous destroyer? A clever tactician? A dauntless explorer? Command your armada, construct world-shattering technologies, and rally the remnants of humanity for a final confrontation.

In Quantum, each player is a fleet commander from one of the four factions of humanity, struggling to conquer a sector of space. Every die is a starship, with the value of the die determining the movement of the ship, but also its combat power - with low numbers more powerful. So a [ 6 ] is a quick but fragile Scout and a [ 1 ] is a slow but mighty Battlestation.

Each type of ship also has a special power that can be used once per turn: Destroyers can warp space to swap places with other dice and Flagships can transport other ships. These powers can be used in combination for devastating effects. You're not stuck with your starting ships, however: using Quantum technology, you can spend actions to transform (re-roll) your ships. Randomness plays a role in the game, but only when you want: Quantum is very much a strategy game.

You win by constructing Quantum Cubes - massive planetary energy extractors. Each time you build a new one, you can expand your fleet, earn a new permanent ability, or take a one-time special move. The board itself is made out of modular tiles, and you can play on one of the 30 layouts that come with the game or design your own. The ship powers, player abilities, and board designs combine to create a limitless set of possibilities for how to play and strategies for how to win.

With elegant mechanics, an infinity of scenarios, and easy-to-learn rules that lead to deep gameplay, Quantum is a one-of-a-kind game of space combat, strategy and colonization that will satisfy both hard-core and casual players.

Quantum won the 2012 Game Design Award at the IndieCade Festival of Independent Games, as a prototype game with the title Armada d6.