Vendor: Steve Jackson Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
36.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Steve Jackson Games |
Players | 3-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Expansions |
Revolution! The Palace Revolution! Anarchy |
Blackmail the printer. Threaten the innkeeper. Bribe the priest. Welcome to Revolution!
Secretly bid against your opponents to gain victory points, control territories (worth victory points at the end of the game) and collect more Gold, Blackmail, and Force tokens for the next round of bidding! Will you try to control the tavern or the fortress? The harbor or the plantation? Knowing where to push for points – and where to back away and let your opponents fight – is the key to victory. Whoever has the most victory points at the end of the game wins. It's a game of bluff, counter-bluff, and surprise!
Bidding tokens have different shapes and colors for easy identification. Colorful cardstock shields keep your bids private, and also provide a handy rules reference during the auction. Brightly-colored wooden blocks allow players to see, at a glance, who controls which colonial-themed territories.
Revolution! is for three or four players. The rules can be taught in minutes, and a complete game takes less than an hour. Each new game lets players find new strategies and tactics.
Get ready for Revolution!
Vendor: Game Salute
Type: Board Games
Price:
67.32
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Game Salute |
Players | 1-5 |
Playtime | 90 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Honors |
2016 Golden Geek Best Cooperative Game Nominee 2016 Cardboard Republic Immersionist Laurel Nominee |
Expansions |
Black Orchestra: Resistance Broadcast Promo Black Orchestra: Upgrade Pack |
As Hitler's grasp on Germany tightens and his maniacal fervor is unmasked, men from the highest levels of the Reich begin to plot his assassination. As the clock ticks and Hitler's ambitions grow, these daring few must build their strength and prepare for the perfect moment to strike. The Gestapo hound their trail, calling these conspirators "Schwarze Kapelle", the Black Orchestra. Will this band of daring patriots save their country from utter ruin before it is too late?
Black Orchestra begins with each player choosing an historic figure involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. In this dark and dangerous pursuit, motivation is perhaps your greatest weapon. If you can stay true to your convictions in the face of overwhelming threat and inspire your comrades, then you will be able to use your special ability, attempt plots, and even become zealous (necessary for some extremely daring plots).
But every move you make may also increase the suspicion of the authorities. The Gestapo will make routine sweeps, and any players with high suspicion will be arrested and interrogated (possibly resulting in other players being arrested). If you are all arrested or if the Gestapo finds your secret papers, you lose. And the suspicion placed on each conspirator will increase the chances their plots are detected.
On a turn, players may take three actions, such as moving, searching for an item, or drawing a card; or, at the cost of one action per die, roll the dice in an attempt to gain even more actions — at the risk of attracting the suspicion of the gestapo. This dice rolling "Conspire" action allows players to make bold moves when most needed.
After the actions have been taken, an event card is drawn. The game is played over seven stages of World War 2, represented by seven stacks of event cards. These cards walk you through the events of WWII in a roughly (but not strictly) chronological order. New stages open up new areas of the board, cause Hitler and his deputies to interact with the Conspirators, and present various opportunities or threats. During the final stage, many board spaces become off-limits, as the Allies move closer to Germany.
To win, players must collect a plot card and fulfill all necessary requirements listed (such as having Hitler be in a certain space and possessing certain items--detonator & fuse, etc.). The active player may then attempt the plot by rolling the indicated dice, including all additional modifiers and helpful Action cards. The total of number of "Target" symbols needed to kill Hitler is based on Hitler's military support, but a Conspirator's security level decides if any "Eagles" rolled will see them detected, and foil the plot regardless. Players must consider their ability to successfully complete a plot and the relative suspicion levels of the different Conspirators involved.
Players will need to work together and agree on the wisest course of action, as well as have a little luck, to succeed. The phenomenon of one player dominating the game because of it's cooperative nature is mitigated by the fact that there are no certainties, and often a player will need to make a bold or reckless move to keep the conspiracy alive. Cool heads often prevail, but play it too cool and you may miss your chance. The co-operative dynamic gets really interesting if a player is ever arrested, and fails to resist interrogation, then they will need to make a big decision all by themselves, without revealing their options to the group. No one player can guarantee success. It is hoped that players will have tense conversations similar to those had by the real conspirators and enjoy a truly unique historical experience.
Vendor: Tasty Minstrel Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
21.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Tasty Minstrel Games |
Players | 3-5 |
Playtime | 20-30 mins |
Suggested Age | 13 and up |
Family | Eminent Domain |
Giant warships locked in battle...
Captain a mighty battlecruiser in the middle of a firefight as you try to gather 15 units of precious ore and get out — or die trying.
In Eminent Domain: Battlecruisers, you want to be the first to escape with 15 victory points, or be the last ship standing. Each round you and your opponents each play a card from your identical hands. If you play the same card as an opponent, you'll clash and bad things will happen! But if you manage to sneak a card through unhindered, then you'll reap the benefits.
Collect points or knock cards out of your opponents' hands. If you lose all of your cards, then you're out of the running. At the end of each round, check to see whether any player has won; if not, prepare to play another card!
Vendor: Game Salute
Type: Board Games
Price:
69.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Game Salute |
Players | 2-5 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
As a giant airship travels to various far-flung locales, rival gangs compete to pull off daring heists. Your job is to recruit various skilled criminals to join your gang as you plan to take down fortified locations and steal the loot guarded within. You may also complete smaller jobs on the airship itself as it travels across the globe. Set in a steampunk world, Skyway Robbery offers high adventure and cunning, card-driven game play.
A player's turn consists of selecting three action cards and determining their order in secret. Once all players have selected their three actions, the cards are revealed and resolved in turn. Most actions allow players to purchase new cards (hire gang members and buy equipment) from areas on the board or engage in an illegal, but lucrative, activity. Whoever earns the most Reputation points at the end of the game is the winner.
Vendor: APE Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
46.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | APE Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 90 mins |
Suggested Age | 13 and up |
Ancient Balinese legend describes a host of powerful spirits who help poor rice farmers achieve success. These farmers have long used a sophisticated irrigation system to organize rice cultivation by integrating religious devotion and social responsibility with traditional farming methods. Even modern farmers seek to placate the spirit world in their quest to produce an abundant harvest.
In Spirits of the Rice Paddy, players must compete with fellow rice farmers to construct and tend rice paddies. Oxen can build walls and remove large rocks. Ducks can be employed to eat harmful pests and fertilize the fledgling crops. Weeds must be kept at bay. Most importantly, water must be conserved and released with the greatest of care. With a little luck, all that back-breaking labor will pay off in the end. The good news is that the spirits are eager to assist, granting many special abilities, blessings, and magic. The farmer who produces the most rice over seven rounds wins the game.
Vendor: Sparkworks
Type: Board Games
Price:
18.95
Designer |
|
Publisher | Sparkworks |
Players | 2-6 |
Playtime | 15 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
In Miracle Pill, a Princess Bride game, players attempt to capture a little magic in the form of a not-so-little pill that will hopefully bring the Man In Black back to life! You'll need to create the perfect mix of ingredients by choosing cards from your hand to create groups of different types. Each round involves drafting cards and revealing them all at the same time, building up your ingredients that will eventually combine together, but remember to follow any immediate instructions that are revealed! In the third and final round you'll add scoring cards to your tableau, making those collections of yours finally pay off! Just remember to cover the finished article in chocolate; we hear that helps when swallowing the pill...
Vendor: Green Couch Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
19.95
Designer | |
Publisher | Green Couch Games |
Players | 1-4 |
Playtime | 30 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
In Fidelitas, players take on the role of faithful citizens in a medieval city who are exerting influence in order to gain the credibility needed to lead the charge against the corrupt crown.
Players play character cards to various locations that make up the city in order to meet conditions of hidden objectives. Each type of character card is associated with a unique action that manipulates cards in the game: the Butcher bullies other characters to new locations, the Student gains more cards, the Soldier keeps the peasants from loitering too long, etc. In this game where keen maneuvering is key, attentiveness to the opposition may uncover hidden motives that seek to foil your bid for power.
The first player to gain a certain number points (depending on the number of players) is determined worthy to lead the revolt and also wins the game.
Vendor: Steve Jackson Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
24.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Steve Jackson Games |
Players | 3-6 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Expands | Revolution! |
The legitimate authorities have given way to mob rule — it's anarchy!
Revolution! Anarchy includes a new board overlay, new bidding boards, and two new sets of player components, allowing you to play Revolution! with up to six people. With this expansion, you'll be able to force the Warden to throw your enemies in jail, blackmail the Heretic and take over the asylum, and bribe the Anarchist, whose effects change every turn!
Vendor: Jolly Roger Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
28.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Jolly Roger Games |
Players | 2-6 |
Playtime | 45 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Note: Some of the games may only have white pawns instead of colored pawns as shown in the rule book. However, the pawn color does not impact the game play.
Your family wants to have the best vacation ever! Your goal is to visit various cities and famous attractions all over America to increase your family’s happiness and collect bonus points. The player with the highest score at the end wins.
In Family Vacation players each have four family members and a car. A turn consists of moving your car one space. Each family member has two random interests (such as Golf, History or going to the Beach). When your family visits a space corresponding to an interest they have, your family gets happier. :) Every time you travel on the road, it's boring and your family loses happiness. :( While trying to make your family happy, you might also want to visit bonus attractions (such as the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge). Once a space has been visited, it is no longer available to other players. Some spaces require the drawing of a card, which can be good or bad. Maybe your family will stop for a snack, or perhaps someone will have to visit the bathroom – right now!
In addition to your car, each family has one Plane Ticket which allows quick travel between any two airports. Just make sure you plan for the long drive home!
Once your family has had a good vacation and you are satisfied with their level of happiness, you can head home and lock in your score. Players may head home at any time as long as they have visited at least one of their target destinations. Once one player has gone home, a countdown begins; all other players have seven turns to make it home. Players who are home score bonus points while they wait for the last few turns to wind down. In the end, you'll compare notes – that is, scores – and see how your vacation stacks up against everyone else's. Who has bragging rights for this year?
Vendor: AEG
Type: Board Games
Price:
39.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Alderac Entertainment Group |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 45 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
In the wake of one of Tempest's namesake storms, a new area near the city-state has opened up for development. Your faction looks to you to carve out your power in this new area.
Place canals to connect your buildings to resources and to the harbor. Ensure the peasantry looks to you for employment. Improve the prestige of your work by placing scenic gardens. And wouldn't the Senate Annex look most aesthetically pleasing right there, where it completely blocks the view of your opponent's building?
Canalis is a game of building a new district in the City-State of Tempest, arranging the canals and placing buildings in such a manner as to benefit you the most. Players use a mixture of card drafting and tile laying to build the district, and each player's secret missions keep the outcome in doubt until the last card is played.
Vendor: Steve Jackson Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
19.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Steve Jackson Games |
Players | 3-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Expands | Revolution! |
Included in the expansion :
6 New Bid Boards with 4 new Influential People to choose.
1 Palace Building Board
2 New Player Colors (Orange & Purple) and Screens
4 New Influential People and Abilities:
Viceroy - Influence Palace/Occupy Guardhouse
Messenger - Three Support/Move two of your cubes to any two empty spaces.
Mayor - Influence any open Influence Space.
Constable - Five Support/1 Blackmail
New Palace Building
The Palace Building tile is placed over the park space on the original board and is worth 55 support. It has 9 empty spaces for influence tokens, 1 being in a separate area on the tile called the Guardhouse. Any player who has an influence cube in the guardhouse is protected from having any of their influence cubes moved on the board.
Vendor: Minion Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
37.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | Minion Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
King Solomon presided over a golden age of peace and prosperity in ancient Israel. During this time Solomon instituted an unprecedented building program. As one of Solomon's chief governors, you must procure materials and oversee construction of buildings and roads across the land for the glory of Solomon. You will also help to construct the Temple, one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Kingdom of Solomon is a worker-placement game with a few new twists and turns. Do you claim a resource space, an action space or throw in all your remaining pawns to grab a powerful Bonus Space? Will you spend your resources to extend Solomon's kingdom, take some points in the Market or add to the Temple? These and many other choices await you in this highly interactive game.
You play Kingdom of Solomon in rounds of four phases. You start the round placing your pawns to get resources, take actions or get a bonus. In this placement phase players take turns, each placing one pawn at a time. After all pawns have been placed, players resolve what they get from placing their pawns. This is called the resolution phase, and each player, in turn, resolves the placement of all their pawns before the next player. Next the players can go to the Market to sell or buy resources. In this market phase, like the placement phase, players alternate taking turns, except that players take turns in reverse order. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Finally, you build in the building phase. Players, one at a time, can build a building, roads and add blocks to the Temple.
When you place pawns to take actions, you can get an additional resource for a resource space, trade one resource for another, steal a resource from an opponent, get victory points or draw Fortune cards. You can play Fortune cards at any time. Fortune cards provide resources, victory points or special actions. Bonuses your pawns can gain for you include one of every resource, three Fortune cards or victory points with a rearrangement of turn order so you become the new first player.
You use resources to build things. Each thing costs a specific set of resources. The buildings you build give you victory points and additional spots to place pawns for resources or actions. Roads link resource spaces into resource regions so you can get more resources per pawn placed in the resource region. Building Temple blocks give you either victory points or temple tokens that help you gain or keep the High Priest. The High Priest lets you take advantage of another player’s resource region and gives you victory points at the end of the game.
The game ends at the end the round when a player places all his building tokens on building sites, there is a building token on each of the building sites, or the Temple is complete. The player with the most victory points wins.
Vendor: AEG
Type: Board Games
Price:
36.95
Designer | Philip duBarry |
Publisher | AEG |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 45 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Family | Tempest - Shared World |
The social elite of Tempest live in a world of power, intrigue, and alliances that can often shake the very foundations of the city's society. In Courtier, you move within these circles of social power to further your goals. Work with established courtiers to gain influence and stymie the rise of your rivals as you attempt to earn or cheat your way into their world.
In Courtier, 2–4 players compete for recognition in the royal court. Your mission is to act as an influence broker, manipulating the levers of power and granting favors to important supplicants. You accomplish this by influencing key people to act at your behest.
Play influence cards to gain sway over a key courtier, or play power cards to manipulate the board in your favor. Control each of the courtiers listed on a given petition, and you earn victory points for completing that request. Bonus points can be earned from cards and abilities. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of the game.
Number 1 in the Tempest Shared World Game Series