|
Love Letter
All of the eligible young men (and many of the not-so-young) seek to woo the princess of Tempest. Unfortunately, she has locked herself in the Palace, and you must rely on others to bring your romantic letters to her. Will yours reach her first? love letter is a game of risk, deduction, and luck for 2 to 4 players. Your goal is to get your love letter into princess Annette's hands while deflecting the letters from competing suitors. From a deck with only sixteen cards, each player starts with only one card in hand; one card is removed from play. On a turn, you draw one card, and play one card, trying to expose others and knock them from the game. Powerful cards lead to early gains, but make you a target. Rely on weaker cards for too long, however, and your letter may be tossed in the fire.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
Card Game |
2012 |
2 |
|
The Mind
The addictive card game you play without talking.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Pandasaurus Games |
Card Game |
2018 |
2 |
|
Catan
The women and men of your expedition build the first two settlements. Fortunately, the land is rich in natural resources. You build roads and new settlements that eventually become cities. Will you succeed in gaining supremacy on Catan? Barter trade dominates the scene. Some resources you have in abundance, other resources are scarce. Ore for wool, brick for lumber - you trade according to what is needed for your current building projects. Proceed strategically! If you found your settlements in the right places and skillfully trade your resources, then the odds will be in your favor. But your opponents are smart too.
To begin the game, we build the game board using hexagonal terrain tiles. Catan is born - a beautiful island with mountains, pastures, hills, fields, and forests, surrounded by the sea.
Each of us places two small houses on spaces where three terrain hexes meet. They are our starting settlements.
And so it begins. I roll two dice. An “11”! Each terrain hex is marked with a die roll number. Each player who owns a settlement adjacent to a terrain hex marked with the number rolled receives a resource produced by this hex. Hills produce brick, forests produce lumber, mountains produce ore, fields produce grain, and pastures produce wool.
We use these resources to expand across Catan: we build roads and new settlements, or we upgrade our existing settlements to cities. For example, a road costs 1 brick and 1 lumber. If we do not…
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Catan Studio |
Family Game, Strategy |
1995 |
2 |
|
Hive
Hive is a boardless, strategic game for 2 players ages 8 and up. The object of the game is to surround your opponent's queen bee while trying to block your opponent from doing the same to your queen bee.
Each player has 11 tiles, all in all, representing 5 different insects. The players take turns, either choosing to add a tile to the hive or moving a tile in the hive.
Each tile has a unique way of moving (like in chess) and resembles the movement of the insect depicted on the tile. For instance, the grasshopper is the only tile which can jump.
Hive is a fun game to play because of its simple rules, yet challenging for its depth. Hive enhances each player's skills of strategic planning, tactical thinking and spatial vision. To win, you must play both the offense (surround your opponent's bee) and the defense (to protect your queen bee).
A nice decorative storage bag makes it easy to carry, store and play anywhere.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Gen Four Two Games |
Abstract, Strategy |
2001 |
2 |
|
Carcassonne
Each game of Carcassonne reveals a unique environment as tiles form a landscape of cities, roads, fields, and monasteries. Claim these features with your followers to win the game.
Carcassonne is a tile placement game where players collectively construct the area around the medieval French city of Carcassonne while competing to place followers on various features and score the most points. First published in 2000, the game's accessible yet deep design has attracted a wide fan base and led to the development of numerous expansions and standalone titles in the Carcassonne line.
Minimum Age: 7
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
Family Game |
2000 |
2 |
|
7 Wonders Duel
Create the greatest civilization the Ancient World has ever known! In 7 Wonders, you lead an ancient civilization as it rises from its barbaric roots to become a world power. Build an architectural wonder that will fascinate for eons to come, and rule the most powerful civilization on Earth! 7 Wonders: Duel is a fast-paced, two-player edition of Antoine Bauza's award-winning civilization-building game.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Asmodee Editions |
Ancient, Card Game, Civilization |
2015 |
2 |
|
Azul
Azul was designed by the world famous, award winning game author Michael Riesling. Azul captures the beautiful aesthetics of Moorish art in a contemporary board game. Players compete as artisans decorating the walls of the royal Palace of Dvora. By carefully drafting the correct Quantity and style of tiles, the most clever of artisans plan ahead to maximize the beauty of their work (not to mention their scores!) while ensuring they wasted no supplies in the process. Introduced by the moors, "azulejos" (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese, when their King Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra Palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The King, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own Palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the royal Palace of Dvora.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Next Move Games |
Abstract, Strategy |
2017 |
2 |
|
Evolution
In Evolution, players create and adapt their own species in a dynamic ecosystem with hungry predators and limited resources. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect you from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help you get food that others cannot reach. With over 12000 different species to create, every game becomes a different adventure. So gather your friends around the table and see who will best adapt their species to eat, multiply and thrive!
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
North Star Games |
Animals, Card Game, Educational, Environmental, Fighting, Prehistoric, Print & Play |
2014 |
1 |
|
Dungeons & Dragons: Rock Paper Wizard
In Rock Paper Wizard each player competes against a powerful wizard!
In this brand new Dungeons & Dragons Edition of Rock Paper Wizard, your adventuring party has just defeated a fiery dragon in a treacherous cave. Now you and your fellow wizards argue over how to distribute the shares of treasure left behind and do what every self respecting wizard does, initiate a spell battle!
Choose your wizard's spell and cast some magic by repeating one of the hand gestures found on the cards in front of you. Everyone says "Rock, Paper, Wizard" aloud, and upon saying "Wizard", forms a hand gesture and points it towards a target. Each card describes the spell's effect, which can push an opponent towards the exit, advance yourself towards the hoard, or manipulate the coins each wizard must collect to win.
The first wizard to collect 25 gold pieces wins!
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
WizKids Games |
Fantasy |
2016 |
1 |
|
Ra
Ra is an auction and set-collection game with an Ancient Egyptian theme. Each turn players are able to purchase lots of tiles with their bidding tiles (suns). Once a player has used up his or her suns, the other players continue until they do likewise, which may set up a situation with a single uncontested player bidding on tiles before the end of the round occurs. Tension builds because the round may end before all players have had a chance to win their three lots for the epoch. The various tiles either give immediate points, prevent negative points for not having certain types at the end of the round (epoch), or give points after the final round. The game lasts for three "epochs" (rounds). The game offers a short learning curve, and experienced players find it both fast-moving and a quick play.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Alea |
Ancient, Mythology |
1999 |
1 |
|
Ginkgopolis The Experts
The success of Ginkgopolis attracts all sorts of experts (artists, engineers, bankers,journalists.) who wish to profit from its success. Design competitions and advertising campaigns eventually lead to increasingly imposing avant-garde buildings. So imposing, in fact, that it becomes necessary to provide green spaces in order to maintain the air quality in this boomtown. And don't let the speed of construction cause you to forget ISO standards. an occasional inspection will set you straight!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
City Building, Environmental, Expansion, Science Fiction, Territory Building |
2013 |
1 |
|
Tapestry
Tapestry is a two-hour civilization game for 1-5 players designed by Jamey Stegmaier.
Create the civilization with the most storied history, starting at the beginning of humankind and reaching into the future. The paths you choose will vary greatly from real-world events or people — your civilization is unique!
In Tapestry, you start from nothing and advance on any of the four advancement tracks (science, technology, exploration, and military) to earn progressively better benefits. You can focus on a specific track or take a more balanced approach. You will also improve your income, build your capital city, leverage your asymmetric abilities, earn victory points, and gain tapestry cards that will tell the story of your civilization.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Stonemaier Games |
Civilization |
2019 |
1 |
|
Fantahzee: Hordes & Heroes
Gather up a team of heroes in Fantahzee: Hordes & Heroes to defend the town, roll the combinations to activate their awesome abilities, and fight your way through the monsters to the bosses. Defeat three of the five bosses, then tally up your trophies from the day. Collect the most VP to win!
"Mages, warriors, dwarves, and their fantastical contraptions, all call Devil's Burden home. But in a town with that name, you know trouble can't be far away, and today things just got serious! Hordes of monsters have attacked. The Town needs leaders to bring its heroes together to defeat the dread generals and their armies.
Play your cards right, and roll with the luck of the dice, and you may be hailed as the savior of the town in this game of cards and combinations for 2-5 players brought to life throughthe art of J Hause."
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Alderac Entertainment Group |
Dice, Fantasy, Fighting |
2016 |
1 |
|
Blueprints
Who will be the best architect? In the dice-building game Blueprints, players attempt to erect three different buildings by using blueprints. But, they must choose their dice wisely, because building is not all about respecting the plans, its about creating something that will surpass all others.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
Dice |
2013 |
1 |
|
Castaways
You've been shipwrecked on a deserted isle. Do you have the wits to survive until a rescue ship arrives? To make it, you'll need to build a camp and explore the interior to reach the summit. From there, you will scan the horizon for sign of a nearby ship. Only then will you be able to make a signal and get rescued. If you are rescued, your tale will be told around the world-but only if you have the best tale to tell. Of course, if you are not rescued, no one will hear your story The castaways must work together to survive on the island and signal a passing rescue ship. During the game, you will collect "Story Points". If you are rescued, the castaway with the most Story Points is the winner. If there is no rescue, everyone loses.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Flat River Group |
Adventure, Negotiation |
2010 |
1 |
|
Dominant Species
2nd Edition, 3rd Printing
90,000 B.C. - A great Ice Age is fast approaching. Another titanic struggle for global supremacy has unwittingly commenced between the varying animal species.
Dominant Species is a game for 2 to 6 players that abstractly recreates a tiny portion of ancient history: the ponderous encroachment of an Ice Age and what that entails for the living creatures trying to adapt to the slowly-changing Earth.
Each player will assume the role of one of six major Animal groups-Mammal, Reptile, Bird, Amphibian, Arachnid or Insect. Each begins the game in a state of natural balance with regards to one another. But that won't last: It is indeed ''survival of the fittest.''
Through wily Action Pawn placement, players will strive to become Dominant on as many different Terrain tiles as possible in order to draw beneficial Dominance Cards. Players will also want to propagate their individual Species in order to earn Victory Points for his particular Animal. Players will be aided in these endeavors via Growth, Migration and Domination actions, among others.
All of this eventually leads to the end game - the final ascent of the Ice Age - where the player with the most Victory Points will have his Animal crowned the Dominant Species.
But somebody better become dominant quickly, because it's getting mighty cold....
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
GMT Games |
Animals, Environmental, Prehistoric |
2010 |
1 |
|
Ginkgopolis
In Ginkgopolis, the city tiles come in three colors: yellow, which provides victory points; red, which provides resources; and blue, which provides new city tiles. Some tiles start in play, and they're surrounded by letter markers that show where new tiles can be placed.
On a turn, each player chooses a card from his hand simultaneously. Players reveal these cards, adding new tiles to the border of the city in the appropriate location or placing tiles on top of existing tiles. Each card in your hand that you don't play is passed on to your left-hand neighbor, so keep in mind how your play might set up theirs!
When you add a new tile to the city, you take a "power" card of the same color, and these cards provide you additional abilities during the game, allowing you to scale up your building and point-scoring efforts.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
City Building, Environmental, Science Fiction, Territory Building |
2012 |
1 |
|
Fluxx
The latest and greatest version of the card game with ever changing rules! Easier than ever with just the four classic card types that fans the world over have come to know and love. It starts out simple: draw one card and play one card - but New Rule cards quickly make things chaotic.
Even the object of the game will often change as you play, as players swap out one Goal card for another. Can you achieve World Peace before someone changes the goal to Bread and Chocolate?
It all begins with one basic rule: Draw one card, Play one card. You start with a hand of three cards... add the card you drew to your hand, and then choose one card to play, following the directions written on your chosen card. As cards are drawn and played from the deck, the rules of the game change from how many cards are drawn, played or even how many cards you can hold at the end of your turn.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Looney Labs |
Card Game |
1997 |
1 |
|
Machi Koro: Harbor Expansion
The first expansion for the wildly popular Japanese card game, Machi Koro, is here! Machi Koro: The Harbor Expansion adds 10 new establishments, one new starting establishment and two new landmarks (82 cards total). You will have access to powerful new cards like the Harbor, Airport, and more. Most importantly you will be able to add a fifth player to the game for the first time ever! With new mechanics and a new set-up variant, this expansion adds tons of variety to an already incredibly replayable game.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
IDW Games |
Card Game, City Building, Expansion, Dice |
2012 |
1 |
|
Province
Two families vie for power as you settle a new provincial town. Build camps and banks, smithies and harbors and control growth as your town develops!
Province is a two-player game in which you must strategically manage your resources and workers to build, complete goals, and score the most victory points to win! The game features a communal worker pool representing the available workers in your town. Players move their workers to generate resources (Labor and Coin) that are used to build the various Structures, which in turn affect resource generation — but your opponent can also move the workers, leaving you without the resources you need!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Laboratory Games |
City Building |
2014 |
1 |
|
St. Petersburg
On May 16th, 1703, Czar Peter laid the cornerstone for the first building in Saint Petersburg. Quickly, glorious buildings were added, always being expanded, so that Nobility (bringing victory points) may want to move in. But to accomplish this, one needs merchants who can provide the necessary Rubles, or the glory is over. The competition isn't sleeping either, and can sometimes steal a desired card right out from under your nose.
Saint Petersburg has a board to tally victory points and to set out the four types of cards. It is the cards themselves that players need to collect. In each round – with the number of rounds dependent on the number of players and the randomness of card availability – players first pay for CRAFTSMEN who supply money for further purchases; then BUILDINGS to score points; then ARISTOCRATS, who are needed for money, points, and end-of-game scoring; and finally, unique cards from all three categories which give greater benefits. During the first rounds, players never have enough money to buy every card they want. During later rounds, they have plenty of money, but the cards they'd like to buy may have already come and gone...
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Rio Grande Games |
Age of Reason, Card Game, Economic |
2004 |
1 |
|
The Duke
The Duke is a dynamic, tile-based strategy game with an old-world, feudal theme, high-quality wooden playing pieces, and an innovative game mechanism in its double-sided tiles. Each side represents a different posture – often considered to be defensive or offensive – and demonstrates exactly what the piece can do within the turn. At the end of a move (or after the use of a special ability), the tile is flipped to its other side, displaying a new offensive or defensive posture.
Each posture conveys different options for maneuver and attack. The full circle is a standard Move, the hollow circle the Jump, the arrow provides for the Slide, the star a special Strike ability and so on. Each turn a player may select any tile to maneuver, attempting to defend his own troops while positioning himself to capture his opponent's tiles. If you end your movement in a square occupied by an opponent's tile, you capture that tile. Capture your opponent's Duke to win!
Players start the game by placing their Duke in one of the two middle squares on their side of the game board. Two Footman are then placed next to the Duke. Each turn a player may choose to either move a single tile or randomly draw a new tile from the bag. With fifteen different Troop Tiles, all double-sided, and nineteen total pieces for each player (plus special optional tiles), the variety of game play is limitless.
Beyond the endless variety of the basic game, Terrain…
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Catalyst Game Labs |
Abstract, Medieval |
2013 |
1 |
|
Tigris & Euphrates
Regarded by many as Reiner Knizia's masterpiece, Tigris & Euphrates is set in the ancient fertile crescent with players building civilizations through tile placement. Players are given four different leaders: farming, trading, religion, and government. The leaders are used to collect victory points in these same categories. However, your score at the end of the game is the number of points in your weakest category, which encourages players not to get overly specialized. Conflict arises when civilizations connect on the board, i.e., external conflicts, with only one leader of each type surviving such a conflict. Leaders can also be replaced within a civilization through internal conflicts.
Starting in the Mayfair edition from 2008, Tigris & Euphrates included a double-sided game board and extra components for playing an advanced version of the game. This "ziggurat expansion", initially released as a separate item in Germany for those who already owned the base game, is a special monument that extends across five spaces of the board. The monument can be built if a player has a cross of five civilization tokens of the same color by discarding those five tokens and replacing them with the ziggurat markers, placing a ziggurat tower upon the middle tile. The five ziggurat markers cannot be destroyed. All rules regarding monuments apply to the ziggurat…
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Mayfair Games |
Ancient, Civilization, Territory Building |
1997 |
1 |
|
Labyrinth: The War on Terror 2001-?
Labyrinth takes 1 or 2 players inside the Islamist jihad and the global war on terror. With broad scope, ease of play, and a never-ending variety of card combinations similar to GMT Games' Twilight Struggle, Labyrinth portrays both the effort to counter extremist terrorism and the wider ideological struggle - guerilla warfare, regime change, democratization, and more. From the designer of the award winning Wilderness War, Labyrinth combines an emphasis on card-driven game play with multifaceted simulation.
In the 2-player game, one player takes the role of jihadists seeking to exploit world events and Islamic donations to spread fundamentalism. The other as the United States must neutralize terrorist cells while encouraging Muslim reform to cut off extremism at its roots.
Labyrinth features asymmetrical game play and a maze of political, religious, military, and economic events. In the parallel wars of bombs and ideas, international coordination is key - but terrorist opportunities disrupt Western unity are many. The Towers have fallen, but the global struggle has just begun. Let's roll!
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
GMT Games |
Modern Warfare, Political, Wargame |
2010 |
1 |
|
Red Rising
Enter the futuristic universe of Red Rising, based on the book series by Pierce Brown featuring a dystopian society divided into fourteen castes. You represent a house attempting to rise to power as you piece together an assortment of followers (represented by your hand of cards). Will you break the chains of the Society or embrace the dominance of the Golds?
Red Rising is a hand-management, combo-building game for 1-6 players (45-60 minute playing time). You start with a hand of five cards, and on your turn you deploy one of those cards to a location on the board, activating that location's benefit. You then gain the top card from another location (face up) or the deck (face down), adding it to your hand as you enhance your end-game point total.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Stonemaier Games |
Sci-Fi |
2021 |
1 |
|
Gaia Project
"Set your sights on distant stars and strive to colonize the galaxy in Gaia project, the follow-up to the smash hit Terra Mystica! true to the foundations that made Terra Mystica a massive success, this box invites one to four players to forge their own galactic empires. Explore the vast reaches of space and convert planets to meet your faction unique environmental needs as you seek to tighten your grasp on the galaxy. Fourteen unique factions stand ready to boldly take their first steps into the cosmos while building structures to generate resources, researching new technology, and uniting planets to form powerful federations. Chart your course and remake planets as you see fit in Gaia project. In the end, only the most advanced faction will win."
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Z-Man Games |
Economic, Sci-Fi, Territory Building |
2017 |
1 |
|
Heaven & Ale
You have been assigned to lead an ancient monastery and its brewery. Now it's your time to brew the best beer under God's blue sky!
The fine art of brewing beer demands your best timing. In order to get the best results of your production, you have to provide your cloister's garden with fertile resources and the right number of monks helping with the harvest - but keep your brewmaster in mind as he is ready and eager to refine each and every one of your barrels!
In Heaven & Ale, you have to overcome the harsh competition of your fellow players. There is a fine balance between upgrading your cloister's garden and harvesting the resources you need to fill your barrels. Only those who manage to keep a cool head are able to win the race for the best beer!
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Eggertspiele |
Economic, Farming, Industry/Manufacturing |
2017 |
1 |
|
Anklebiters: Pixies VS Gremlins
Pixies VS Gremlins is a light-hearted strategy card game. The objective is to control enough magic rune stones to summon the magnificent and fearsome Wolpertinger! To do that, players choose a faction and send out their minions! Once a player has enough strength to capture a rune stone, its theirs...
But things are seldom so easy. Players will challenge each other by engaging in combat, unleashing mischievous spells, wicked traps and powerful gadgets.
—description from the publisher
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Pandora's Fox |
Card Game, Fantasy |
2018 |
1 |
|
Caverna: The Cave Farmers
Following along the same lines as its predecessor (Agricola), Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a worker-placement game at heart, with a focus on farming. In the game, you are the bearded leader of a small dwarf family that lives in a little cave in the mountains. You begin the game with a farmer and his spouse, and each member of the farming family represents an action that the player can take each turn. Together, you cultivate the forest in front of your cave and dig deeper into the mountain. You furnish the caves as dwellings for your offspring as well as working spaces for small enterprises.
It's up to you how much ore you want to mine. You will need it to forge weapons that allow you to go on expeditions to gain bonus items and actions. While digging through the mountain, you may come across water sources and find ore and ruby mines that help you increase your wealth. Right in front of your cave, you can increase your wealth even further with agriculture: You can cut down the forest to sow fields and fence in pastures to hold your animals. You can also expand your family while running your ever-growing farm. In the end, the player with the most efficiently developed home board wins.
You can also play the solo variant of this game to familiarize yourself with the 48 different furnishing tiles for your cave.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 7
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Lookout Games |
Animals, Economic, Fantasy, Farming |
2013 |
1 |
|
Nut So Fast
You gotta be lightning fast in the wildly nutty party game Nut So Fast! Flip two cards and watch for exactly four matching nut pictures. If you see a set of four, grab the nut token with the same face right out from under other player's noses! But "nut" so fast because if a number card appears, players instead need to strike the correct nutty pose.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Smirk and Dagger Games |
Action, Dexterity, Party Game |
2018 |
1 |
|
Great Western Trail
America in the 19th century: You are a rancher and repeatedly herd your cattle from Texas to Kansas City, where you send them off by train. This earns you money and victory points. Needless to say, each time you arrive in Kansas City, you want to have your most valuable cattle in tow. However, the "Great Western Trail" not only requires that you keep your herd in good shape, but also that you wisely use the various buildings along the trail. Also, it might be a good idea to hire capable staff: cowboys to improve your herd, craftsmen to build your very own buildings, or engineers for the important railroad line.
If you cleverly manage your herd and navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of Great Western Trail, you surely will gain the most victory points and win the game.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Eggertspiele |
American West, Animals |
2016 |
1 |
|
Bohn To Be Wild!
In Bohn To Be Wild!, a standalone title that celebrates fifteen years of the classic Bohnanza card game, players want to do what they've always done: Plant beans in their fields and sell them for as many coins as possible, while trading cards with other players to get around the restriction of not being able to rearrange cards in your hand.
Bohn To Be Wild! mixes things up, however, by including eleven new types of beans – including Jamaica, helmet and horse beans – rules for solo play, and special "wild" beans. Unlike the original German Bohnanza, this game allows for play with up to seven players.
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 7
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
AMIGO |
Card Game, Farming, Negotiation |
2012 |
1 |
|
Castle Keep
Castle Keep
The Game of Medieval Strategy and Siege
Raise your castle! Raze the enemy! In this clever game of medieval maneuvers, build a castle with walls, towers, and a keep by matching color, shape, or both. Will you use your game tiles to strengthen your fortress or to attack vulnerable opponents? Choose wisely, or you may find yourself in royal ruins! The first player to build a complete castle rules the land.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Gamewright |
Children's Game, Medieval |
2005 |
1 |
|
Dominion
You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion!
In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Rio Grande Games |
Card Game, Medieval |
2008 |
1 |
|
Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension
After being pulled through a black hole, four spaceships find themselves in a dimension with physics never before encountered and without fuel. By mining and collecting basic elements from the space dust and asteroids in the area, you can muster just enough thrust to move your ship. But in this bizarre dimension, gravity is not working like how you've been taught. Your ship will typically travel towards the nearest object... which is usually another ship... and those ships are moving. Sometimes forwards, and sometimes backwards.
Time is running out to save your crew and your ship! As a grim reminder of the cost of failing to escape, the frozen hulks of dead spacecraft litter the escape route. But with careful cardplay, you can slingshot past these derelict craft and be the first to escape from the Gravwell
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Renegade Game Studios |
Card Game, Science Fiction |
2013 |
1 |
|
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Dead of Winter puts 2-5 players together in a small, weakened colony of survivors in a world where most of humanity are either dead or diseased, flesh-craving monsters. Each player leads a faction of survivors with dozens of different characters in the game.
Dead of Winter is a meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This means players are working together toward one common victory condition--but for each individual player to achieve victory, they must also complete their personal secret objective. This secret objective could relate to a psychological tick that's fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main mission, or worst of all: vengeance against the colony! Certain games could end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players losing. Work toward the group's goal but don't get walked all over by a loudmouth who's only looking out for their own interests!
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Plaid Hat Games |
Apocalyptic, Bluffing, Deduction, Horror, Zombies |
2014 |
1 |
|
Manoeuvre
Manoeuvre is a fast-playing game of battlefield command, set in the early 19th century. Multiple geomorphic game maps provide the chessboard-sized battlefields over which eight different armies of the period (France, Britain, Russia, Spain, Austria, Turkey, Prussia, and the US) clash. Each country has 8 units and a deck of cards specific to the country. move and fight in one-on-one battles. As the commanding General of a nation's army, you have at your command units and a 60-card national deck which represents your army's specific troops and unique strengths. Your job is to utilize those assets and manoeuvre your forces to achieve battlefield supremacy.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
GMT Games |
Napoleonic, Wargame |
2008 |
1 |
|
For the Crown
Civil war has broken out between two royal brothers over the succession of the kingdom, and the people of a once-peaceful nation must choose sides and rush to war. Even when the sun goes down, the war for the crown does not cease. While the battle rages on during the day, both princes and their armies still hope to catch the other unawares under the blanket of darkness. Neither side is safe even then, however, and so both princes are well prepared - they've gone through lengths to recruit special units to surprise their enemy, including a Phantom to cloak itself and hopefully use the darkness to its advantage in order to capture the rival King and Heirs.
In For the Crown, you must gather key resources, train an army from scratch, and capture the rival King and Heirs to prove your claim to the throne!
In this game that combines the highly popular 'deck-building' mechanic with the most engrossing variations of Chess, do you have what it takes to wisely divide your attention between preparations and military maneuvering? To outpace your opponent's development while eluding capture? Strategize your position and seize glory in For the Crown!
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Victory Point Games |
Fantasy, Medieval |
2012 |
1 |
|
Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico players assume the roles of colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico. The aim of the game is to amass victory points by shipping goods to Europe or by constructing buildings. Each player uses a separate small board with spaces for city buildings, plantations, and resources. Shared between the players are three ships, a trading house, and a supply of resources and doubloons. The resource cycle of the game is that players grow crops which they exchange for points or doubloons. Doubloons can then be used to buy buildings, which allow players to produce more crops or give them other abilities. Buildings and plantations do not work unless they are manned by colonists.
During each round, players take turns selecting a role card from those on the table (such as "Trader" or "Builder"). When a role is chosen, every player gets to take the action appropriate to that role. The player that selected the role also receives a small privilege for doing so - for example, choosing the "Builder" role allows all players to construct a building, but the player who chose the role may do so at a discount on that turn. Unused roles gain a doubloon bonus at the end of each turn, so the next player who chooses that role gets to keep any doubloon bonus associated with it. This encourages players to make use of all the roles throughout a typical course of a game.
Puerto Rico uses a variable phase order mechanic, where a "governor" token is passed clockwise to…
Minimum Age: 12
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Rio Grande Games |
City Building, Economic, Farming |
2002 |
1 |
|
Scharfe Schoten
Scharfe Schoten (a.k.a. "Hot Peppers") is a trick-taking game in which players predict their tricks — but instead of predicting the number of tricks they'll take, they have to state the color that they think they'll get the most or least tricks of. Since all cards show their color on the back, the players have more information than usual. In addition to cards in hand, the game includes a common supply of cards, some of which can be added to the tricks to make it easier to reach a player's goal. This strategy might backfire, however, if cards of the wrong color make it into a trick and you're aiming for a low score in that color.
During each trick, you must follow suit, even with the special trump cards. This also makes it difficult to correctly predict which tricks you'll get. In the end, the player who comes closest to his predictions wins.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Zoch Verlag |
Card Game |
2014 |
1 |
|
The Game of 49
Starting with $49 apiece, players in The Game of 49 bid to buy spaces on the 49-square (7-by-7) game board.
Randomly drawn number cards are auctioned one at a time, with the highest bidder placing a chip on the matching board space. Wild/Payoff cards give players a choice of where to place their chip and also award cash to all players for their chips on the board: $7 per chip, with a maximum payoff of $49.
The first player to claim four spaces in a row, in any direction, wins.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Breaking Games |
Economic |
2014 |
1 |
|
Twilight Struggle
This Deluxe Edition of Twilight Struggle seeks to capture the feeling of that earlier era. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. Twilight Struggle recreates the conflict between the most powerful nation states the world has ever known. The scope of the game covers the entire world as it was found in 1945. Players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 2
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Flat River Group |
Political |
2005 |
1 |
|
Not Alone
It is the 25th century. You are a member of an intergalactic expedition shipwrecked on a mysterious planet named Artemia. While waiting for the rescue ship, you begin to explore the planet but an alien entity picks up your scent and begins to hunt you. You are not alone! Will you survive the dangers of Artemia?
Not Alone is an asymmetrical card game, in which one player (the Creature) plays against the rest (the Hunted).
If you play as one of the Hunted, you will explore Artemia using Place cards. By playing these and Survival cards, you try to avoid, confuse or distract the Creature until help arrives.
If you play as the Creature, you will stalk and pursue the shipwrecked survivors. By playing your Hunt cards and using the mysterious powers of Artemia, you try to wear down the Hunted and assimilate them to the planet forever.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 7
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Stronghold Games |
Sci-Fi, Strategy |
2016 |
1 |
|
Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
In the world of Galecrest, sky pirates set sail on the winds in search of adventure, treasure, and glory. As an admiral, you command a vast and varied crew...but so do your rivals sailing other ships in the pirate fleet. Each day the fleet lands on a different island where you'll send a crew member to collect your share of the loot, hoping they'll return to boost your growing group of characters.
Libertalia was originally released in 2012. Ten years later, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest celebrates the foundations of the original design with a revised and expanded edition that includes all-new art, 40 characters per player, a reputation system to resolve tiebreakers, deluxe loot tokens, a robust solo mode, and much more.
- From Publisher
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 6
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Stonemaier Games |
Pirates |
2022 |
1 |
|
Great Western Trail: Rails to the North
From Board Game Geek: Great Western Trail: Rails to the North introduces a new railway system for players to compete on as they grow their cow herding businesses.
With this expansion, players deliver their herds to northeast United States with stops in Chicago, Detroit, and New York City, amongst other cities, in an effort to become the most successful cow rancher this side of the Mississippi. Be advised that business is much more difficult on this rail, so players will want to take advantage of friendly hospitality by establishing branchlets and helping form towns. In addition to the new railway system, players will also discover new station master tiles, private buildings, and an expanded player board to offer more strategic depth in their decision making.
Minimum Age: 14
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Eggertspiele |
American West, Expansion |
2018 |
1 |
|
Istanbul: Big Box
In Istanbul, you lead a group of one merchant and four assistants through 16 locations in the bazaar. At each such location, you can carry out a specific action. The challenge, though, is that to take an action, you must move your merchant and an assistant there, then leave the assistant behind (to handle all the details while you focus on larger matters). If you want to use that assistant again later, your merchant must return to that location to pick him up. Thus, you must plan ahead carefully to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything...
In more detail, on a turn you move your merchant and his retinue of assistants one or two steps through the bazaar, either leave an assistant at that location or collect an assistant left earlier, then perform the action. If you meet other merchants or certain individuals at the location, you might be able to take a small extra action. Possible actions include:
- Paying to increase your wheelbarrow capacity, which starts the game with a capacity of only two for each good.
- Filling your wheelbarrow with a specified good to its limit.
- Acquiring a special ability, and the earlier you come, the easier they are to collect.
- Buying rubies or trading goods for rubies.
- Selling special combinations of goods to make the money you need to do everything else.
When a merchant has collected five rubies in his wheelbarrow,…
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Pegasus Spiele |
Economic |
2018 |
1 |
|
Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game
In Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game, you've opened your own brewery and are competing with other brewers in town to be named the Brew Crafter of your city. You'll build your brewery by installing equipment and hiring workers, and then get to work brewing your beer! The player that earns the most reputation as the city's best brewer will win!
Brew Crafters: The Travel Card Game is based on the Dice Hate Me Games release Brew Crafters.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Dice Hate Me Games |
Card Game |
2014 |
1 |
|
Notre Dame: 10th Anniversary
Notre Dame: 10th Anniversary contains the Notre Dame base game, the New Persons expansion that first appeared in the 2009 alea Treasure Chest, and a new "New Persons" set of nine characters.
In Notre Dame, players take on the roles of the heads of influential families in Paris at the end of the 14th century. In the shadow of the Notre Dame cathedral, the players compete for prosperity and reputation. Each family controls one of the 3–5 boroughs that surround the site of Notre Dame. As head of their family, each player tries — through clever use of their action cards — to advance the power and prestige of their family, but penalties are assessed on those who do not take care of the health of the people who live in their borough. The player with the most prestige at the end wins.
The "New Person" expansions allow for more variety during gameplay since these characters make different actions available to the players.
Minimum Age: 10
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Ravensburger |
Economic, Renaissance |
2017 |
1 |
|
Hokkaido
After establishing themselves in Honshu, the Lords and Ladies head north to Hokkaido. Beholding Hokkaido's mountainous landscape, they see that expansion on this land will prove to be a greater challenge than before. Hokkaido is the second map-building card game in the Nippon series, bringing new ideas and drafting mechanisms to the first design, Honshu. A game of Hokkaido consists of 12 rounds, each divided into two separate phases. Each player must expand their personal map to maximize their scoring possibilities.
Minimum Age: 8
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 5
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Lautapelit.fi |
Card Game, City Building, Territory Building |
2018 |
1 |
|
Spirit Island: Branch & Claw Expansion
The branch & claw expansion for Spirit Island, featuring two new spirits (sharp fangs behind the leaves and keeper of the forbidden wilds) and a new adversary (France) as well as adding events to the invader phase of the game! the event deck has events that happen each turn, adding further variation to the game play. In addition, the expansion has tokens that prevent the invaders from exploring, building, or ravaging or add wild beasts to the land, a new set of powers (31 minor and 21 major) that use the new tokens and expand the game play, 15 new fear cards, new blight cards, and new scenarios.
Minimum Age: 13
Minimum Players: 1
Maximum Players: 4
Boardgame Atlas: Link
|
Greater Than Games |
Age of Reason, Environmental, Expansion, Fantasy, Fighting, Mythology |
2017 |
1 |