booyakajuice

Prey Another Day

2023-12-27T14:51:33-05:00

Vendor: Edition Spielwiese
Type: Board Games
Price: 17.50

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Edition Spielwiese
Players	2-5
Playtime	15-20 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	234260/prey-another-day http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/234260/prey-another-day/forums/63

The large predators hunt the smaller ones, but they are nimble and can easily escape. Use your animal instincts to outwit the other players and deduce which animals they are sending on the hunt. The first player to capture 5 food markers will be crowned the munch king!

The game takes place over multiple rounds. Each round the players can choose from their 5 animals. The stronger animals can hunt early, but the weaker ones will give more points.

— description from the publisher

Pioneer Rails

2023-12-27T14:51:25-05:00

Vendor: Dranda Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 23.95

Designer	Jeffrey D. Allers Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Dranda Games
Players	1-80
Playtime	30-45 mins
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	362164/pioneer-rails http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/362164/pioneer-rails/forums/63

In Pioneer Rails, you represent a railroad owner who has seen an opportunity to expand your empire across the new lands of the frontier. You'll compete against other railroad owners to plan your railway in the best way possible to connect establishments to the railroad and satisfy the demands of the locals.

In this flip-and-write game, you use poker cards to extend your railway tracks and build a poker hand at the same time. Each turn, you choose one of the revealed poker cards. The suit of the card helps you extend your railway, connecting you to new towns and surrounding features. When you connect to a town, you gain the ability to do a one-time bonus. When you surround a feature with your tracks, you activate it for endgame scoring. The value of the card is added to your poker hand, for which you'll score additional points at the end of the round.

Three common goals are also in play each game, giving you incentives to build in different directions.

The mechanism of surrounding features to activate them gives Pioneer Rails a satisfying "puzzley" feel to the game.

—description from the publisher

Monumental: African Empires

2023-11-28T00:17:06-05:00

Vendor: Funforge
Type: Board Games
Price: 65.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Funforge
Players	1-5
Playtime	90-120 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Expansion For	Monumental
Additional Info	311825/monumental-african-empires http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/311825/monumental-african-empires/forums/63

African Empires is an expansion to Monumental with new civilizations and game play mechanisms including quests, a new continuous play mode and advanced economics.

Perspectives

2023-09-05T09:39:16-04:00

Vendor: Space Cowboys
Type: Board Games
Price: 46.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Dave Neale
Publisher	Space Cowboys
Players	2-6
Playtime	60-90 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	400995/perspectives http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/400995/perspectives/forums/63

In Perspectives, each player holds key information for piecing together what has happened and finding the solution.

Three cases, each in four acts.
Cross-reference photographs, reports, and clues... without looking at the documents of your team players!
Will you find the details connecting all the pieces of the puzzle?

WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE CASES!

The three scenarios:

THE NAGARAJA - CASE 1: India - Museum – Theft
THE DREGS - CASE 2: California - Rock music – Poison
FROM BUENAVISTA WITH LOVE - CASE 3: South America - Gangs – Murders

—description from the publisher

Next Station: Tokyo

2023-08-03T18:20:34-04:00

Vendor: Blue Orange Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 19.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Blue Orange Games
Players	1-4
Playtime	25-30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Reimplements	Next Station: London
Additional Info	380165/next-station-tokyo http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/380165/next-station-tokyo/forums/63

Travel to the city of Tokyo, Japan, and compete to redraw their metro plans in order to meet the tourist challenges of tomorrow.

Each turn in Next Station: Tokyo, you reveal the next station card and draw a subway line on your map. You have to optimize your network to collect a maximum number of stamps and stay connected to the central green loop to earn as many points as possible.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers: The Queen's Special Orders

2023-07-14T00:02:10-04:00

Vendor: AEG
Type: Board Games
Price: 19.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Alderac Entertainment Group
Players	1-4
Playtime	30-45 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Expansion For	The Guild of Merchant Explorers
Additional Info	358682/guild-merchant-explorers-queens-special-orders http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/358682/guild-merchant-explorers-queens-special-orders/forums/63

The Queen has sent out a call to The Guild of Merchant Explorers, asking brave adventurers to voyage to all corners of the kingdom of Tigomé. While the kingdom is flourishing, its maps have not been updated in some time and its great cities have lost contact with one another. With your team of explorers, you will journey over rough seas, majestic mountains, vast deserts, and lush grasslands to establish trade routes between cities, visit far-seeing discovery towers, and discover new villages that have emerged.

—description from the publisher

Nile Artifacts (French Edition)

2023-06-02T05:44:38-04:00

Vendor: Ankama
Type: Board Games
Price: 9.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Ankama
Players	2-4
Playtime	20-30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	318189/nile-artifacts http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318189/nile-artifacts/forums/63

Note: This item is in French. The game is language independent, English rules can be found here.

Welcome, traveler, to the ancient waters of the Nile! As many new temples are built on the shores, you begin your spiritual journey to earn the favors of the Gods. Pick up precious artifacts while you sail up and down the Nile river, offer them to the monuments currently being built, and the Gods shall bless your travel!

Each turn in Nile Artifacts, you move your ship forward, stopping at one of the nine ports and picking up one of the artifact cards available there. You may also pick up gold, which can be used to obtain more artifacts or to turn your ship around and sail the Nile in the opposite direction. Once every ship has arrived at one end of the Nile, players can make their offerings to the monuments currently in construction, each of them requiring a different type or combination of artifacts. Whenever a monument is completed, players receive victory points depending on the amount of donations they have made towards this particular monument.

When offerings are done, the ships go back on the Nile to travel in the other direction and pick up more artifacts. Once the monument deck is empty, the player with the most victory points wins!

—description from publisher

Monumental: Lost Kingdoms

2023-04-25T23:20:11-04:00

Vendor: Funforge
Type: Board Games
Price: 63.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Funforge
Players	1-5
Playtime	90-120 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Expansion For	Monumental
Additional Info	266939/monumental-lost-kingdoms http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266939/monumental-lost-kingdoms/forums/63

The “Lost Kingdoms” civilization box is the perfect expansion to Monumental with 4 new Civilizations: Aztecs, Mughals, Amazons and Atlanteans (all perfectly compatible with the 5 Core civilizations) as well as more terrain tiles with new environments (desert, jungle, islands, Aztec pyramids) to enable an all-new 5 players mode!

In “Lost Kingdoms” each civilization comes with its own deck of cards including cultural policies, Knowledge and Buildings as well as new very specific Provinces per civilization: pyramids for the Aztecs, desert for The Mughals, jungle for the Amazons and islands for the Atlanteans. Of course, these new terrain could be used with or without the Civilization to enhance the look of the board and your creation of maps.

Altogether with the Core box, 9 Civilizations are now ready to fight for glory and dominance in Monumental against other players or in Solo mode.

My Shelfie (Cranio Creations) (Import)

2023-03-26T10:47:43-04:00

Vendor: Cranio Creations
Type: Board Games
Price: 54.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher	Cranio Creations Edition
Players	2-4
Playtime	30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	366456/my-shelfie http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/366456/my-shelfie/forums/63

You’ve just taken home your new bookshelf and now it’s time to put your favorite items in the display: books, boardgames, portraits... Who will show the best organized shelfie?

During your turn, you must take 1, 2, or 3 item tiles from the living room board (shared by all the players), following these rules:

• The tiles you take must be adjacent to each other and form a straight line.
• All the tiles you take must have at least one side free at the beginning of your turn.

Then, you must place all the tiles you’ve picked into 1 column of your bookshelf (a 3D display) to meet the personal goal cards (they grant points if you match the highlighted spaces with the corresponding item tiles) or the common goal cards (that grant points if you achieve the illustrated pattern). You score points also if you connect item tiles of the same type.

The first player who fills all the spaces of their bookshelf takes the end game token that grants additional points. The game continues until the end of the turn of the player sitting on the right of the player holding the first player token.

The first player who fills all the spaces of their bookshelf triggers the end game and takes the end game token that grants additional points. The game continues until the end of the turn of the player sitting on the right of the player holding the first player token.

The player who scores the most points wins the game.

A game of strategy and glance, different every time thanks to the variety of common and personal goals. The beautiful images of the item tiles will really give you the feeling of tidying up your precious shelf.

-description from designer

echoes: The Cursed Ring

2023-02-24T04:32:06-05:00

Vendor: Ravensburger
Type: Board Games
Price: 12.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Dave Neale
Publisher	Ravensburger
Players	1-4
Playtime	60 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Additional Info	351292/echoes-cursed-ring http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/351292/echoes-cursed-ring/forums/63

An antique heirloom persecutes a young woman with bad luck. Listen to the origin of the ring and reveal the truth behind an ancient curse in echoes: The Cursed Ring.

echoes is a co-operative audio mystery game. Using the free app, players listen to mysterious noises and voices that are connected to the playing material. Together they look for hints in the sound bites to bring the story parts in order and solve the case.

In more detail, your task is to assemble the 24 parts of the story in the right order; each part is represented by an object — either a game board or a card — and its associated echo. The entire story is divided into six chapters, with each chapter being represented by a game board. By scanning the objects with the app, you'll hear the echo connected with each object, and by using conversations and noises in the echo, you try to figure out which three object cards are associated with a chapter and in which order they should be placed. If you're not correct, the app will inform you which cards are incorrect or in the wrong place; if you are correct, you can listen to the entire chapter all at once — and you should since new, additional hints can then be heard.

The objects themselves also provide you with clues from time to time, so neglect no details.

—description from the publisher

My Shelfie

2022-12-27T10:46:47-05:00

Vendor: Lucky Duck Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 37.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher	Lucky Duck Games
Players	2-4
Playtime	30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	366456/my-shelfie http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/366456/my-shelfie/forums/63

Dice Hospital: ER – Emergency Roll

2022-12-27T10:40:53-05:00

Vendor: Alley Cat Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 20.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Alley Cat Games
Players	1-6
Playtime	20-30 mins
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	334646/dice-hospital-er-emergency-roll http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334646/dice-hospital-er-emergency-roll/forums/63

In Dice Hospital: ER – Emergency Roll everyone tries to treat as many patients in their hospital as possible, filling their wards, admitting extra or critical patients, choosing when and where to station nurses and using screens to isolate patients, and satisfying the demands of the three Specialists.

Each round the active player flips over an ambulance card revealing three actions, and are tied to the dice which are also rolled and allocated underneath their respective colours on the card. Once the active player chooses their action, other players choose any non-selected action and associated die to do their own action. At the end of the round the player to the left of the active player, becomes the new active player.

The game ends when the Ambulance deck is used up. The player with the most points wins.

Dice Hospital: ER – Emergency Roll is a standalone 'flip, roll and write' game set in the Dice Hospital universe.

-description from publisher

Village Rails

2022-07-04T07:15:21-04:00

Vendor: Osprey Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 32.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Osprey Games
Players	2-4
Playtime	45 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Additional Info	358085/village-rails http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/358085/village-rails/forums/63

In the sleepy English countryside, life continues undisturbed as it has for centuries. It is up to you to travel to every corner of this land, bearing the promise of modernisation, accommodating the oddly specific demands of the locals, and ushering in the age of steam.

In Village Rails, you will be criss-crossing the fields of England with railway lines, connecting villages together, and navigating the complex and ever-changing demands of rural communities. Connect stations and farmsteads to your local network while placing your railway signals and sidings ever so carefully. Meet the exacting standards of cantankerous locals planning strangely specific trips, and weigh their demands against your limited funding. There is much to balance in this tricky tableau-building card game of locomotives and local motives.

Adventure Games: The Gloom City File

2022-07-04T07:04:54-04:00

Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Escape Games
Price: 27.95

Designer	Kayleigh Anderson Matthew Dunstan Hauke Gerdes Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher	KOSMOS
Players	1-4
Playtime	90 mins
Suggested Age	16 and up
Additional Info	317365/adventure-games-gloom-city-file http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/317365/adventure-games-gloom-city-file/forums/63

Explore places, combine items, and experience stories in Adventure Games, a series of co-operative games from German publisher KOSMOS. In each of these titles, players are presented with a mysterious story that they must unravel over the course of play. Working together, players explore common areas, talk to people, look for clues, and combine various items to reveal the secret of the story. Depending on what decisions the players make, the course of history changes and there is no going back!

Unlike the co-operative EXIT: The Game series, titles in this series focus on the telling and discovery of the story with no time pressure. That said, many different paths can be experienced during play, with more than one correct resolution to the story waiting to be discovered. Each title consists of three chapters, each taking about 75 minutes to play. Nothing is destroyed, so the games can be played multiple times.

In Adventure Games: The Gloom City File, you get to experience crime noir first-hand, exploring places together, combining objects, searching for and finding clues, and talking to people you meet.

The Gardens

2022-06-06T17:08:19-04:00

Vendor: Grail Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 32.47

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Grail Games
Players	1-4
Playtime	30-45 mins
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	322568/gardens http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/322568/gardens/forums/63

Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden holds a special place in the hearts of locals. World renowned for its location, beauty, and historical and scientific significance, each of its 29 hectares are not only stunning, but a calming retreat from the city's streets.

In The Gardens, players draft cards depicting different features of the Gardens, using them to build their own portion of it in front of themselves. Players then score points based on what their visitors see as they walk past the Gardens' various flower beds, ponds, native trees, and statues. The tableau you build will have three rows — waterside, grass, and cityside — and you add one card a turn until the area is filled.

The game is accessible and simple to learn, yet offers strategic choices. Its included modules add variability and depth for experienced players, with landmarks such as the Opera House and Harbour Bridge that players can gain for extra points or special abilities, so join the picnickers, joggers, lorikeets, and bin chickens, and enjoy your day in the beautiful Botanic gardens.

-description from publisher

Next Station: London

2022-06-06T15:30:19-04:00

Vendor: Blue Orange Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 19.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Blue Orange (EU)
Players	1-4
Playtime	25-30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Reimplemented By	Next Station: Tokyo
Additional Info	353545/next-station-london http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/353545/next-station-london/forums/63

The city of London has commissioned you to redesign its underground network! Optimise connections, serve as many sights as possible and exploit the tunnels that pass under the Thames. Be careful to respect the specifications set by the city.

Reveal the next Station card.
Draw a new section
Optimise the 4 tube lines

Who will be the best project manager?

Which of you will be the best project manager?

—description from the publisher

echoes: The Microchip

2022-02-14T18:01:45-05:00

Vendor: Ravensburger
Type: Board Games
Price: 12.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Dave Neale
Publisher	Ravensburger
Players	1-6
Playtime	60-60 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Additional Info	342209/echoes-microchip http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342209/echoes-microchip/forums/63

In the far future, civilization is lying in ruins, and the echoes of the past hide the tragic story of its downfall. See whether you can uncover the truth in echoes: Der Mikrochip.

echoes is a co-operative audio mystery game. Using the free app, players listen to mysterious noises and voices that are connected to the playing material. Together they look for hints in the sound bites to bring the story parts in order and solve the case.

In more detail, your task is to assemble the 24 parts of the story in the right order; each part is represented by an object — either a game board or a card — and its associated echo. The entire story is divided into six chapters, with each chapter being represented by a game board. By scanning the objects with the app, you'll hear the echo connected with each object, and by using conversations and noises in the echo, you try to figure out which three object cards are associated with a chapter and in which order they should be placed. If you're not correct, the app will inform you which cards are incorrect or in the wrong place; if you are correct, you can listen to the entire chapter all at once — and you should since new, additional hints can then be heard.

The objects themselves also provide you with clues from time to time, so neglect no details.

Vivid Memories

2021-12-27T09:15:27-05:00

Vendor: Floodgate Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 46.95

Designers	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Floodgate Games
Players	2-4
Playing Time	30-45 mins
Suggested Age	13 and up
Additional Info	316090/vivid-memories http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/316090/vivid-memories/forums/63

Every stick is a sword. Every bike is a steed. Every memory is a possibility.

In Vivid Memories, you’ll take turns collecting fragments of childhood memories, weaving a tapestry of colored threads in your mind. Throughout your journey, you’ll store important moments in your memory bank -- gaining new abilities to help you score.

Cleverly create connections and earn rewards for completing core memories, matching the imagination behind each moment, and working toward your lifelong aspirations for victory.

Gameplay

During the game, players take turns collecting fragments of memories from moment tiles, placing them in their "brain" board to weave a tapestry of colored threads. Using abilities at the end of each round to cleverly create connections, players are rewarded for how they store memory fragments while working toward completing “core memories”, which give repeated benefits each round. Through their journey, players store important moments in their memory bank -- gaining new abilities and new opportunities to score -- all while working to collect fragments and moments that match what they aspire to be.

—description from the designer

The Guild of Merchant Explorers

2021-12-27T09:14:14-05:00

Vendor: AEG
Type: Board Games
Price: 51.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Alderac Entertainment Group
Players	1-4
Playtime	45 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Expansion	The Guild of Merchant Explorers: The Queen's Special Orders
Additional Info	350933/guild-merchant-explorers http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/350933/guild-merchant-explorers/forums/63

In The Guild of Merchant Explorers, each player starts with one city on their personal map board.

Shuffle the deck of terrain cards, then reveal most of these cards one by one. Based on the terrain revealed, each player places on their board cubes that are connected to their starting city or other cubes. You want to complete areas on your board, cross the seas to new land, and establish new cities on the board. You can explore capsized ships for treasure — which gives you special placement capabilities — and create linked connections between locations to score bonus points. Common objectives can be completed by all players, with those who complete it first scoring more points.

At the end of a round, all cubes are removed from each board, leaving only the cities behind, so if you don't establish new cities, you'll be stuck in the same places.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers contains multiple copies of six different maps, and the game is designed so that you can play remotely with one or more copies.

echoes: The Cocktail

2021-08-25T15:21:23-04:00

Vendor: Ravensburger
Type: Board Games
Price: 12.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Dave Neale
Publisher	Ravensburger
Players	1-6
Playtime	60 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Additional Info	342210/echoes-cocktail http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342210/echoes-cocktail/forums/63

The New York underworld makes dark plans in an illegal bar, and the echoes of the past hide the identity of its leader. You need to discover that identity in echoes: Der Cocktail.

echoes is a co-operative audio mystery game. Using the free app, players listen to mysterious noises and voices that are connected to the playing material. Together they look for hints in the sound bites to bring the story parts in order and solve the case.

In more detail, your task is to assemble the 24 parts of the story in the right order; each part is represented by an object — either a game board or a card — and its associated echo. The entire story is divided into six chapters, with each chapter being represented by a game board. By scanning the objects with the app, you'll hear the echo connected with each object, and by using conversations and noises in the echo, you try to figure out which three object cards are associated with a chapter and in which order they should be placed. If you're not correct, the app will inform you which cards are incorrect or in the wrong place; if you are correct, you can listen to the entire chapter all at once — and you should since new, additional hints can then be heard.

The objects themselves also provide you with clues from time to time, so neglect no details.

echoes: The Dancer

2021-08-25T15:20:44-04:00

Vendor: Ravensburger
Type: Board Games
Price: 12.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan Dave Neale
Publisher	Ravensburger
Players	1-6
Playtime	60 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Honor	2022 Spiel des Jahres Recommended
Additional Info	342207/echoes-dancer http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342207/echoes-dancer/forums/63

The ghost of a young girl is haunting a Scottish manor, and the echoes of the past hide the secret of her death. See whether you can unravel this secret in echoes: Die Tänzerin.

echoes is a co-operative audio mystery game. Using the free app, players listen to mysterious noises and voices that are connected to the playing material. Together they look for hints in the sound bites to bring the story parts in order and solve the case.

In more detail, your task is to assemble the 24 parts of the story in the right order; each part is represented by an object — either a game board or a card — and its associated echo. The entire story is divided into six chapters, with each chapter being represented by a game board. By scanning the objects with the app, you'll hear the echo connected with each object, and by using conversations and noises in the echo, you try to figure out which three object cards are associated with a chapter and in which order they should be placed. If you're not correct, the app will inform you which cards are incorrect or in the wrong place; if you are correct, you can listen to the entire chapter all at once — and you should since new, additional hints can then be heard.

The objects themselves also provide you with clues from time to time, so neglect no details.

Spy Connection

2021-07-06T11:36:49-04:00

Vendor: Pegasus Spiele
Type: Board Games
Price: 31.95

Designers	Matthew Dunstan Brett J. Gilbert
Publisher	Pegasus Spiele
Players	2-4
Playing Time	20-30 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	300148/spy-connection http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300148/spy-connection/forums/63

In the world of international espionage effective ways of completing missions are just as important as improvisation and secured travel routes.

In Spy Connection, which was originally announced as Web of Spies, players travel Europe to fulfill their missions as quickly as possible. To fulfill mission cards, players have to build a route between all shown locations. While they are allowed to use their established network to fulfill future missions, their network is of limited size: eventually, to expand in one direction they will have to remove markers elsewhere, thus changing their network throughout the game to meet the current requirements. Whoever manages to fulfill seven missions first wins.

There has never been an easier way of becoming an international spy than Spy Connection. The right mix of planning and improvisation is key to winning this network building family game for 2 to 4 players aged 8 and up.

Adventure Games: The Grand Hotel Abaddon

2021-07-06T11:36:40-04:00

Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Escape Games
Price: 20.95

Designers	Matthew Dunstan Phil Walker-Harding Ute Wielandt
Publisher	KOSMOS
Players	1-4
Playing Time	75 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	295949/adventure-games-grand-hotel-abaddon http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295949/adventure-games-grand-hotel-abaddon/forums/63

Explore places, combine items, and experience stories in Adventure Games, a series of co-operative games from German publisher KOSMOS. In each of these titles, players are presented with a mysterious story that they must unravel over the course of play. Working together, players explore common areas, talk to people, look for clues, and combine various items to reveal the secret of the story. Depending on what decisions the players make, the course of history changes and there is no going back!

Unlike the co-operative EXIT: The Game series, titles in this series focus on the telling and discovery of the story with no time pressure. That said, many different paths can be experienced during play, with more than one correct resolution to the story waiting to be discovered. Each title consists of three chapters, each taking about 75 minutes to play. Nothing is destroyed, so the games can be played multiple times.

In Adventure Games: Grand Hotel Abaddon, you want to discover what strange events are happening in the old building, slipping into your role on the team to follow tracks and decide how the adventure game should proceed.

Monumental

2020-06-16T11:52:14-04:00

Vendor: Funforge
Type: Board Games
Price: 89.95

Designer	Matthew Dunstan
Publisher	Funforge
Players	1-4
Playtime	90-120 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Expansions	Monumental: Lost Kingdoms Monumental: African Empires
Honors	2020 Kanga Best Visuals Winner 2020 Kanga Best Visuals Finalist
Additional Info	248125/monumental http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/248125/monumental/forums/63

In Monumental, each player will control a civilization that will evolve through his city: a grid of 3x3 cards (coming out from the player's starting civilization deck) that can each be activated to gather various resources such as Science, Military, Production, Culture, and Gold that will allow them to trigger many actions. But there’s a trick: one cannot activate all their cards at once, which means that tough choices will have to be made each turn in order to select the cards that are the most needed.

The resources gathered from the activated city cards will allow the players to acquire cards from a common pool, allowing them to get improved buildings, technologies, wonders, etc. and therefore to leverage their civilization deck to new heights through more and more efficient card combos. As the common pool of cards progresses (either as players have acquired cards or because they didn't - which leads to one card from the pool to be discarded per turn), the game progresses through eras. Medieval cards are better than classical cards, and industrial cards are even better, but of course those cards are more and more expensive to acquire.

A modular board, at the center of the table, holds each civilization's army. The board is made of Provinces to be conquered. Unoccupied Province's inhabitants are barbarians who will provide resources to the player who defeats them. Holding a conquered province also brings victory points.

The player with the most impressive civilization at the end of the game will be remembered for all time (and they also win the game!).

—description based on the publisher's

Adventure Games: The Volcanic Island

2020-04-22T22:23:31-04:00

Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Escape Games
Price: 19.95

Designers	Matthew Dunstan Chihiro Mori Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher	KOSMOS
Players	1-4
Playing Time	75 mins
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	284082/adventure-games-volcanic-island http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284082/adventure-games-volcanic-island/forums/63

Explore places, combine items, and experience stories in Adventure Games, a series of co-operative games from German publisher KOSMOS. In each of these titles, players are presented with a mysterious story that they must unravel over the course of play. Working together, players explore common areas, talk to people, look for clues, and combine various items to reveal the secret of the story. Depending on what decisions the players make, the course of history changes and there is no going back!

Unlike the co-operative EXIT: The Game series, titles in this series focus on the telling and discovery of the story with no time pressure. That said, many different paths can be experienced during play, with more than one correct resolution to the story waiting to be discovered. Each title consists of three chapters, each taking about 75 minutes to play. Nothing is destroyed, so the games can be played multiple times.

In The Volcanic Island, you slip into the roles of four students on a volcanic island who face mysterious events. Like a thriller, you need to solve puzzles, make decisions, track traces, and analyze and use objects. You will experience a story together. Gameplay is variable and different in each group.

Admin note: The first edition of the German edition of The Volcanic Island contains an error for which KOSMOS has released a PDF correction that you'll find in the files.