Variable Set-up

"Two players battle for control over the lush life-sustaining sanctuaries of the desert. By cleverly playing and grouping animal cards, players can show their strength, unlock powers, and use palm tree tokens to alter values. Do you have what it takes to survive in the Desperate Oasis? I don't."

Desperate Oasis is a small but mighty "lane-battling" card game where you will play Animal Cards on your side (and sometimes your opponent's side) of a row of Oasis Cards in an attempt to win them. Special spatial rules pull similar animals together, allowing for manipulation of card positions. Each animal has a special power that can be triggered to alter the outcome of each duel, some only being revealed at the end of the round.

—description from the designer

In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a eurogame for 1–4 players, you lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. The game draws inspiration from current or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration.

Players will explore nearby planets and their moons by launching probes from Earth while taking advantage of ever-shifting planetary positions. Decide whether to land on their surface to collect valuable samples, or stay in orbit for a broader survey. Additionally, by directing your telescopes to gaze into distant star systems, you may detect traces of alien signals or undiscovered exoplanets, and collect promising data to examine and study back home.

Back on Earth, you can invest in upgrading your equipment so you can analyze incoming data more efficiently, boost your telescope signal capacity, or increase your supply of resources—all to expand the scope of your search that could lead to a discovery of extraterrestrial life forms.

You will also make use of over 200 cards to aid your efforts or focus your research in a particular direction for additional bonuses and rewards. Each card has unique effects and illustrations and depicts real-life technologies, projects, and discoveries (like the ISS, Large Hadron Collider, Perseverance rover, Voyager probe, and many more).

Finding traces of extraterrestrial life is only a matter of time—utilize the resources you have at your disposal strategically and you may well end up being the one to make the biggest scientific contribution towards advancing our understanding of alien life within our galaxy.

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence pays homage to space and planetary exploration, astronomy, the ongoing search for signs of life in the vastness of space, and efforts to understand the nature of life in the universe.

—description from the publisher

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a new board game of atmospheric adventure set in the world of the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog franchise.

Powered by the latest evolution of the Escape the Dark system, The Last of Us: Escape the Dark offers solo and co-op multiplayer modes, allowing up to 5 players to experience this iconic setting in a brand-new way.

Playing as a group of survivors, you will weave your own unique story of survival and companionship as you explore an open-world map. Beginning your journey in a forsaken quarantine zone, your goal is to travel to the reputed safe haven of Jackson while keeping everyone in the group alive.

Carefully plot your route through the troubled landscape, resolving immersive Chapter Cards at each location to gain vital information, weapons, and equipment. Survival will depend on making difficult choices and tactical use of item cards and custom character dice to overcome a variety of threats including Hunters, FEDRA agents, and the dreaded Infected.

Endure and survive!

—description from the publisher

Hello, student beings! The cosmic faculty of the Technical Academy of Creation is delighted to welcome you to your Civolution, the final exam in Civilization Design!

For this occasion, we prepared a humanoid scenario on an isolated continent. Here, each of you holds the rank of a local deity which is closely linked to its very own civilization and must lead it to success over the other civilizations. Your developmental possibilities are endless and reach from cultural and technical progress to evolutional adaptations. For example, what would you consider more beneficial to your tribes: inventing the wheel or growing wings? Demonstrate your ability to operate your civilization console and show us how well you can adjust to changeable environmental conditions and mild creational chaos.

When the exam ceases after four eras, whoever managed to gather the most success points will not only pass the exam but will become a full member of the Technical Academy of Creation and garner the opportunity to be promoted to the next instance.

Civolution is a medium heavy to heavy euro-style game that utilizes a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. As you figure out how to best use your dice and put your unique cards into play, tons of strategies and paths to victory emerge, though each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.

—description from the publisher

A webapp implementation of the V.I.C.I solo automa is available.

Congratulations! Your architectural firm has been selected to renovate the city's downtown...but you're not the only ones. To pip your opponents at the post, you need to manage your resources and carefully plan your constructions. Be careful not to leave too many opportunities to your competitors!

Each turn in Tower Up, you either:

Pick a card and take the corresponding resources, or
Use your resources to construct a new building: choose an empty spot, pay the cost to adjacent buildings, place a roof, and earn the corresponding points.