The refinement of oil has long been part of the government-controlled energy sector. Amassed with an incredibly complex and inefficient system of refineries, the government has felt the severe pressures of worldwide demand and the ever-increasing global standards for refinement. Unable to keep up with demand, the government has only one option: privatizing the oil … Read more
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The Han Dynasty, founded in 206 BC, ruled the central plains and much of modern day China for nearly four hundred years. However, by late second century, court politics and poor governance has left it in rapid decline. The government was dominated by corrupt eunuchs and officials who levied heavy taxes on the peasants, resulting in public discontent. This culminated in the Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao in 184 AD during the reign of Emperor Ling (168-189 AD).
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In Batman: Gotham City Chronicles, one villain faces off against a team of heroes in one of multiple scenarios. Each hero has their own character, and they control this character by spending energy to perform actions (such as Melee and Ranged attacks, defusing bombs…) recovering more or less energy at the beginning of their turn depending on their stance. If the hero gets damaged, energy moves to a wound area, and if they lose all of their energy, then they’re out of action for a while to recover their strength. Each hero has differing strengths for their abilities, and these strengths are represented by colored dice with different values; the more energy a hero spends on an ability, the more dice of that color they can roll.
The villain controls a team of henchmen and iconic villains of the Batman universe, and these characters are represented by tiles on their command board, with the characters costing 1, 2, 3, etc. energy to activate as you move left to right down the line. Once a character is activated, they move to the end of the line, boosting their cost to the maximum value should you want to use them again immediately, and decreasing the cost of the other tiles.
The game-play in Batman: Gotham City Chronicles is based on that of Conan, with revisions to character abilities, the addition of two different types of dice (w/ five types total), and a modified two-player set-up, the Versus Mode, in which each player has a command board and their own team of tiles that they can draft, with heroes facing off against villains.
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In Underwater Cities, which takes about 30-45 minutes per player, players represent the most powerful brains in the world, brains nominated due to the overpopulation of Earth to establish the best and most livable underwater areas possible.
The main principle of the game is card placement. Three colored cards are placed along the edge of the main board into 3 x 5 slots, which are also colored. Ideally players can place cards into slots of the same color. Then they can take both actions and advantages: the action depicted in the slot on the main board and also the advantage of the card. Actions and advantages can allow players to intake raw materials; to build and upgrade city domes, tunnels and production buildings such as farms, desalination devices and laboratories in their personal underwater area; to move their marker on the initiative track (which is important for player order in the next turn); to activate the player’s “A-cards”; and to collect cards, both special ones and basic ones that allow for better decision possibilities during gameplay.
All of the nearly 220 cards — whether special or basic — are divided into four types according to the way and time of use. Underwater areas are planned to be double-sided, giving players many opportunities to achieve VPs and finally win.
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Altiplano, a bag-building game along the lines of Orléans set in the South American highlands of the Andes — the Altiplano — is not a simple game, presenting players with new challenges time and again. There are various ways to reach the goal, so the game remains appealing to try out new options and strategies, but success or failure also depends on whether your opponents let you do as you like or thwart the strategy you are pursuing. The competition for the individual types of goods is considerable — as is the fun in snatching a coveted extension card from under another player’s nose!
At the start of the game, players have access only to certain resources and goods, due to the different role tiles that each player receives that provide them. At the market, however, a player can acquire additional production sites that give new options. The numerous goods — such as fish, alpaca, cacao, silver, or corn — all have their own characteristics and places where they can be used. Whereas silver makes you rich, fish can be exchanged for other goods, and alpaca give you wool that you can then make into cloth.
Aside from building up an effective production, you must deliver the right goods at the right time, develop the road in good time, and store your goods cleverly enough to fill the most valuable rows with them. Often, a good warehouseperson is more relevant in the end than the best producer.
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A finely brewed sequel to the original featuring new industries, new mechanics, and new strategies for you to discover.
~ Birmingham Features ~
Dynamic board setup makes each game unfold completely differently
Core rules stay true to the original
New canal/rail scoring creates tactics in where you place them
3 new industry types include Breweries, Potteries and Manufactured goods
New actions, mechanics and strategies to discover
In Lowlands, you carve your farm out of this unforgiving land, gathering and spending resource cards to transform your farmyard into pastures that allow you to profit from breeding sheep. Adding expansions to your farm will unlock new options and score you victory points, but helping to build the dike that collectively protects all players is also rewarded. No matter what, the tide will rise and, if the dike isn’t high enough, it could rush in and sweep away your hard-earned profits. Will you sacrifice your own farm for the good of the community, or will you pursue your own agenda? The choice is yours.
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Container, the classic game of big ships and big production, returns in a 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition! Now with huge ships and realistic containers to load and unload, building (or destroying) your living economy has never been more fun!
Container is an easy game with an open economy and lots of meaningful decisions. Build factories and warehouses, or focus on shipping goods to your island. Take advantage of government subsidies to ensure maximum profits! But watch out for your cash reserves because the player-driven market can go sour at any time, and you’ll need to be ready to change your strategy.
Also included in this edition of Container is an all new add-on called “The Investment Bank”. This new entity operates as a game-controlled broker who is seeking to maximize their own profits. Watch as the three brokers try to build their own cash and container resources and be ready to make a deal when the price is right. The Investment Bank add-on ensures new and interesting challenges for even the most seasoned Container player.
This 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition of Container features resin miniature ships 7 inches long!
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In Arkwright, 2 to 4 players lead enterprises and try to develop and run them profitably over several decades. It is important to invest in your own company and ensure that the value of its shares rises. The player with the most valuable portfolio of their shares wins the game.
In the beginning, workers are required to run the factories. However, their expensive wages (£2 – £5) make machines (£1) very desirable. To increase a factory’s production of goods, you may hire more workers or improve the technological level of your factory.
You determine the price of your goods for each of your factories. To enhance the chances of selling your goods to serve the demand in England, you can improve the technological level of your factories, increase the quality of your goods, and partake in distribution activities. The higher these factors are, the more successful you will be. However, the higher your prices, the less appealing your goods become.
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War of the Ring is the greatest board game based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ ever created! WAR OF THE RING is a grand strategy board game that allows its players to immerse themselves in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien’s and experience its epic action, dramatic conflict, and memorable characters.
As the Free Peoples player you command the proud hosts of the most important kingdoms of the Third Age. From the horse-lords of Rohan to the soldiers of Gondor and the Elven lords of Rivendell, you lead the defense of the last free realms of Middle-earth. Face the evil minions of Sauron on the field of battle in a desperate attempt to delay their onslaught, while you lead the Fellowship of the Ring in the Quest for Mount Doom.
As the Shadow player you lead the hordes of the Dark Lord and his most powerful minions as they try to bring darkness to Middle-earth. Legions of Orcs, Trolls, Wolfriders and the dreadful Ringwraiths await your command. Hunt the Ring-bearer and bring the precious Ring to his Master, or crush your enemies with your unstoppable armies.
This is your chance to forge the destiny of an age…
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