The Games Journal

ISSUE 450 -APRIL 2013 ISSN 0257-361X Volume 37

THE GAMES JOURNAL www.gamesjournal.at

IN THIS ISSUE WE REPORT ON THE FAIR PLAY MODENA IN ITALY OUR REPORT u PLAY Modena 2013

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAGMAR DE CASSAN PLAY Modena A report from Modena in Italy

After a break in 2012 we have been driving south again this year, Modena was beckoning with new games and a chance for a bit of spring, and we did find both! The Albe Pavo first novelty happened Friday afternoon, PLAY XL, a gaming session on the first floor of the halls. We met visitors from Germany, Carnival Zombie by Matteo Santos and Mac Gerdts and Peter Dörsam presented Jocularis, for 1-6 players, ages 13+, was Mac’s prototype of Oppida / Concordia, and shown as a prototype; a cooperative game we got in a game of Giza from Mayfair, too. on the topic of Carnival in Venice, but with

The halls, again, were laid out a bit different: In the second big hall, Hall B, which in previous years was reserved for model building, there were board games and huge areas for playing games and Hall Foto v.l.n.r.: Angelo Porazzi (Area Autoproduzione) B also hosted Angelo Porazzi and Area und Andrea Ligabue (Club TreEmme) Autoproduzione. Hall A was, as usual, featuring booths of game producers and night, if you did not escape Venice on the distributors and game clubs, and in the fourth day, you lose; this is a game without middle you found a huge are for playing and points gained by chance, but partly board games, role plays, prototypes and driven by stress points. tournaments. zombies. Four days are divided into day and

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 2 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at PLAY Modena 2013 / 40 LINES FOR MEEPLES t OUR REPORT

prototypes or already produced games to Alex Games an interested public.

Bolognia Medievale Le Due Torri is a As in previous years, Allessandro Dolcetto game on city building for 3-5 player, ages showed his game, all created earlier, he 12+, by Giovanni Nicolazzo, presented did not have a new game to show. The under the label of Omniteca Lab, you build big presentation at his table was Sócc‘Mel the city walls and famous Two Towers of – a game with the top of catastrophes at Bologna. home, in the office and on the streets. You Carte Binaire, a system of playing cards, was present again as in the last years. A card deck features four colors and four symbols,

play a catastrophe on the next player, he 40 Lines for Meeples can react with another one and hands on Dagmar de Cassan, Editor-in-Chief both cards to the next player. If you cannot react correctly or play a four-letter word to the numbers are noted in binary code, the reduce your irritation, you must adjust your picture cards depict computer accessories, Modena, the city of fast Ferrari cards, the irritation marker accordingly. If it reaches the number codes show color symbols in city where the world-famous vinegar is 11, you lose. Other titles in his range are respective numbers in case you cannot produced and where you can find one Condominium, a game on apartments and manage the binary code. on the world’s best restaurants - #3 in the their inmates for 2-6 players, ages 8+, and ranking, Vienna holds #9 with Steirereck – Wizards of Soccer, a soccer simulation with Luca Cazzani shows Dungeon Pig for 2-6 but for us Modena for one weekend was cards for 2 players, ages 6+, with a fantasy players, ages 6+, a party game on the topic the city of games in Italy, hosting PLAY topic. of Catch the Pig! Sounds simple, but the Modena. Thank you to Andrea Ligabue pig can turn into a dragon; if you are in the for the invitation and with him success same room as the pig you can attack it and for the coming events, because PLAY is Angelo Porazzi catch it with dice roll; you have two actions the event in Italy where games are at the in a turn. center and not part of a Comics event etc. Games Italy, her publishers and her game designers need not be shy, the have established Angelo Porazzi did not have a new game themselves firmly in the European games from his own publishing company, his Area community and again and again come Autoproduzione was dominated by self- up with fascinating ideas. What was new publishers and prototypes. See there. in Modena and what was interesting, all this information you can find in our report on Modena, and yes, there are games for Area specialists, too! Check out also our games data base Autoproduzione LUDORIUM, at http://www.ludorium.at. WIN The Games Journal is available now Area Autoproduzione, initiated and also as an eBook and as Kindle in German enthusiastically coached and overseen by Nicola Castellini once more showed his and English and so can be even more Angelo Porazzi, offers a chance to designers abstract placement game Knights for 2 easily read then a PDF on the respective and self-publishers of games to demo their players, ages 14+, you move oblongs as modern devices. When you like our WIN, please become a subscriber! We have a PayPal account, so the payment of € 6,00 for an annual subscription can be made easily and safely, see also http://www.gamesjournal.at The printed edition of our Games Handbook / Games Companion SPIEL FÜR SPIEL 2013 is available from SPIELBOX- SHOP. Info: http://www.gamescompanion.at 

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officers into triangular spots and as a result Pelizzone for 2-4 players, it is in an early turn over soldiers into your own color; aim prototype stage; you use cards with Ares Games of the game is to occupy one given triangle. personae that yield resources or permits for The number of steps is determined by dice, if you do not have three soldiers surrounding On show was the prototype of a Kickstarter one officer the officer is defeated and taken project, Galaxy Defender, a cooperative off the board. miniatures game with a SciFi topic, up to

Pixel Tactics is another prototype and also a card game, you have heroes or leaders, recruit, attack, etc.; the cards carry markings for the purposes they can be used for.

Giacomo Doni did bring his Game Punto

building.

VEGE tables is a design by Daniele Ferri, dating from 2011, for 2-5 players, ages 10+; it is a card game in which you acquire land five players jointly fight an Alien invasion, and place seeds that grow and flower to in a series of missions within a story-driven become fruits and vegetables; you must campaign.

Dast@Work

180, an abstract placement game for 2 players, with a topic of liberating patients, Newly arrived from the printers and one player impersonates doctors and instantly picked up by me - C.O.A.L., short patient, the other one wardens. for Combat Oriented Armored League, a game on the topic of steam-driven units, so-called Steambots, fighting each other, a design by Stefano Castelli for 2-4 players, ages 8.the game mechanics, for which you harvest, use the tractor and obstruct the labors for your opponents.

Yummell by Alessandro Ivanoff for 2-8 players, ages 12+, is set in a fantasy world named Kfoorp; you guide one of eight characters along a track and use the character’s abilities, confront and defeat creatures and master events; depending Salernum by Mara Montagnani for 2-4 players is a game on a town, in this case Salerno; four tribes want to conquer and settle Salerno; you make your way across can choose from eight pilots, demands a town up to the castle; if you are the last mixture of bluff and planning and offers one present in the castle you have won the different game modes and versions as well as deck-building rules.

dv Giochi

on the outcome you move forward or We could try a prototype of Bang The Dice backwards on the track. Game for 3-8 players, a really well done transformation of the best-selling card game, using a few dice and very few rules to get across flair and feeling of the card game. You roll up to three dimes, set dice aside as siege and have conquered Salerno. usual, dynamite must be kept; with 1 and 2 you shoot at your immediate neighbor or Siracusa is yet another city building game, the player next to him, which costs them by Sergio Quattrocchio and Maurizio live points; and then there is your secret

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 4 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at PLAY Modena 2013 / GABIS t OUR REPORT

Ghenos Games GAMES BUYER INFORMATION SYSTEM - GABIS

STRUCTURE Each game review also features an evaluation which can In addition to the Essen 2012 releases help you to find the game that best suits your tastes. The Wild Oltrenatura, Swordfish and Lupin 3rd color accompanying each game title represents the USER Group. The headline also contains icons for age and number Expansion 1 the booth hosted the range of of players. games from Giovani nel Tempo: The BAR in the evaluation box displays color codes for up to 10 features of a game.

USER GROUP Giovani nel Tempo We have defined 4 target groups (color accompanying the goal depending on your character, Sheriff, head line) Renegade or Bandits. Kinder: A series of games intended for senior citizens Games for children an educational games. Adults can play in a guiding function. Already published is a new theme or children to improve concentration and Familien: edition of Anno Domini, a series, which memory abilities; currently there are three Children and parents play together, all have the same chance to win and have fun. Freunde: Young people and adults play together as equals Experten: Games with special demands on rules and playing time. Especially for game geeks

Please note for the user groups Children, Family and Friends: Children who love to play can be ahead of their peers! Please note that our target group “families” does not imply the classical concept of „family games“! Furthermore, our user groups can overlap. The choice of suitable games always depends on your playing partners and your fun with games! Games that are especially eligible for Solo play or for 2 players or Large groups of players are marked with an icon.

is now published in Italian by dV Giochi - titles in the range: Mentabile by Mirella FEATURES Avvenimenti Bizzari – Unusual Events, as Cerato featuring picture tiles, Verba Volant Each game targets preferences for different features in a player, therefore each game is not suitable for each player. usual intended for 2-8 players, ages 10+, by Ennio Peres on letters and words and We have listed 10 features players note when deciding within the series One Fun Family. Non c’e 2 … senza 3! by Leo Colovini and on a game. Only if a player finds his preferred features in Carlo A. Rossi, a memo game with triplets of a game he will enjoy the game. The color code marks the dominant features. Educational games train the highlighted pictures. preference.

Empty boxes: This feature is neclectable or not present Dynamix One colored box: This feature is present, but not essential Two colored boxes: This feature is present and important in the game Narrativa Three colored boxes: This feature is dominant and essential Designer Cristian Piovano presented Teledar for 1 -6 players, ages 98+; the Chance: Kingdom has been cursed, the king has lost Besides Bacchanalia, which was already The game is influenced by dice, cards or any other form of random generator presented at Essen, there was a series of role Tactics: playing games; especially promoted was Take decision, short-term planning, planning based on one move Fantasmi Assassini by D. Vincent Baker, Strategy: the original is called Murderous Ghosts, a Think ahead, long-term planning, planning for several moves Creativity: The player has to provide words, phrases, images and other creative efforts Knowledge: Cultural and educational knowledge, long-term memory Memory: Remember, learn by heart, short-time memory Communication: Talk to each other, negotiate, inform Interaction: his healing powers and monsters overrun Influencing each other, bluffing, auction Dexterity the realm; players must close the Portal of Motor skills Evil and find at least one of the keys. Action: Body movement, balance and reaction

mixture of role play and adventure book for ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 2 players, ages 12+. Version: The edition of the game on which the review is based Rules: This lists the languages in which rules are available or are included in the game, often even more translations can be found on the web. In-game text: A YES marks a game with language- dependent components that cannot be played without translation or knowledge of the language

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commander gives orders; if they are not Personal Studio implemented he suffers loss of trust. Collapsible D picks up the topic of the last minutes of Titanic; the life rafts are lowered Within the Area Autoproduzione Marco Pieri into the water - Collapsible D as the last showed a game called Board of Dreams for of them – and passengers try to snatch a 2 players, ages 10+, featuring the logo of his place in them; there are different classes company Personal Studio; it is a baseball of passengers and not every boat takes every passenger; women and children have priority. The game is already published. Raven Distribution Vitacraft The distribution and whole sale company offered a new card game called Ready To Rock, designed by Tommaso Bonetti for As in Essen 2011, the producer and distributor of animal food and animal care products shows games under the series simulation with boards for different arenas, heading of Champion; this year the focus for instance San Francisco or New York; you was on Champion of the Horse Race, use 10 out of 50 players and have decks for which is the newest title. You use standard attack and defense.

Placentia Games

Stefano Groppi showed his Essen release 2-9 players, ages 14+. You try to be the first Ark & Noah and one could also try the rocker to reach the stage of the concert. prototype of Florenza The Card Game, intended for 2-4 players, ages 14+. As in the Sir Chester mechanisms to move across the board, Cobblepot master obstacles, answer questions and try to win the race with your horse; there Now featuring this logo, there was once are also games on cats and dogs, all played again a presentation of Battle of Ravenna from animals’ viewpoint. by Gianluca Sanpietro, French vs. Allied Spain/Italy and others; 2 players move their markers by means of points or dice and resolve the battle using dice; the troop Zizzi Pierluca

board game you must build buildings with The designer of Asgard, Caligula, Defense resources previously collected, this new for Agarthi and Arcanum hat also brought version of the prototype features family a new prototype, The Lion’s Empire for 2-5 cards which change the use of resources. players, ages 14+. Topic of the game is the conquest of the Hittite Empire; you use two concentric wheels to move from the center outwards collecting commodities; you Politecnico di Milano build up armies and erect buildings, other features of the game are hunting and gods; basically there are four main strategies in The Milano Politechnical School showed the game, Commodities & Gods or Army or an interesting project: As part of a studies Buildings or Regents. course on the topic of Game Theory and also Game Design nine prototypes of games where presented; at the booth there was little information on the games, only on the project itself.

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 6 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at PLAY Modena 2013 / TERRA MYSTICA t OUR REPORT

TRANSFORM MOUNTAIN TO LAKE TERRA MYSTICA SETTLE A FANTASY WORLD

Terra Mystica ... a synonym for 20 pages of and is, in relation to the “closeness” of terrain rules that need to be read. You read about types, of varying complexity. For instance, it terraforming and game preparation and is cheaper to change desert to waste land This brings us to the end of our tour around sometime, somehow all of it suddenly instead of into a lake. Which gives us one of PLAY Modena; besides the many booths makes sense. What do I want say? the central and name-giving elements of of Lego, game shops and also game clubs, the game. This changing of terrain (=Terra- who offered a wide range of already Well, you must invest quite a bit of time forming) and the respective possibilities to published games to try out we also met to familiarize yourself with the rules and spread out on the board are the core of the visitors from Poland - Ignacy Trzewiczek the incredible amount of wooden playing game. presented games from Portal Publishing. A pieces and of cardboard tiles is very nearly big thank you is due to Andrea Ligabue for frightening. The basic mechanics of the game are pretty the hospitality at PLAY, to Pietro Cremona simple: for a wonderful evening with traditional So, if you get the chance you should let regional food and to Mac and Peter for somebody explain the game, which in itself You play six rounds. In each round all peo- joining us!  will surely take at least half an hour as well, ples are given resources for buildings they albeit the rules being in reality exceedingly constructed. Then players in turn imple- well-written. I have no idea how I could do ment actions until all pass. The first player to a better job on them. You even find the cor- pass will be the starting player for the next rect paragraph rather quickly, should you round. be searching for something or want to look something up. You choose your action from:

Really remarkable when you know that with - Transforming and Building publisher Feuerland Spiele a newcomer is Areas that are adjacent to your own areas responsible for the rules and the game. But may be transformed by discarding workers you also note that experienced people are and, if this resulted in creating your home in background somewhere, among them terrain, be settled with one of your dwell- Uwe Rosenberg. ings, which comes at a cost of resources (money and workers). Settled areas are But he is not the designer, those are Helge property of the respective player and can- Ostertag and Jens Drögemüller, whom I es- not be reformed or settled by other players. teem for being the designer of Zepter von Zavandor, which is one of my absolutely - Shipping Improvement favorite games. In order to expand across rivers a people must have knowledge in shipping. By In Terra Mystica each of 2-5 players governs spending resources (money and priests) the fate of a fantasy people. All in all there you can acquire or improve this knowledge. are 14 peoples which lure with special abilities to try them. Those peoples must be de- - Transforming Improvement veloped during the course of the game, by Improvements in transforming allow a expansion, city construction or culture. people to transform terrain from now on for lower costs. The ability can be improved by Each people has a home terrain and only spending resources (money, workers and priests). Markus Wawra 14 different people, very many possibilities, I am nearly - Upgrading a building disappointed that a certain routine establishes itself after By spending resources (money and work- a few games, yet this is a very felicitous game that I like to ers) you can upgrade buildings into better see on my table. ones.

on areas of home terrain you can build - Place a priest into the order of a cult new dwellings. As those terrains are in lim- Priests can be placed for advancement in ited supply or cannot always be reached it one of the four cults. For this advancement is necessary to change other terrains into you can earn different rewards in the course your own. of the game, but mainly victory points at the end of the game- This can be achieved by different means

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- Power actions games you acquire a certain routine and Power is the fourth resource in the game you know what you want. The question is (besides money, workers and priests). Pow- only, when do you want what, which also er can be used to transform terrain, to build depends on your fellow players and the bridges across rivers or can be changed into variable additional points from scoring tiles. INFORMATION PLAYERS: other resources. This changing into other re- Those considerations are more tactical than Designer: H. Ostertag, J. Drögemüller 2-5 sources can be done anytime with strategic. You must react to actions of other Artist: Dennis Lohausen AGE: players and take care not to be gridlocked 12+ - Special actions on the board. Price: ca. 60 Euro In the course of the game you can acquire Publisher: Feuerland Spiele 2012 TIME: 150+ special actions in different ways, which en- Terra Mystica easily fills up a games evening, www.feuerland-spiele.de able you to do different things, for instance you should calculate a minimum of half terraforming, free construction or upgrad- an hour per player, and there are no rules EVALUATION ing of buildings or advancement in a cult. changes in relation to the number of players in a game. Development game For experts - Pass Version: de If you pass you finish your round. When The graphics of the game are pretty and Rules: de en passing you choose a role. Those roles re- professional creations by Dennis Lohausen, In-game text: no sults in additional resources, special actions the components are, as mentioned at the Comments: Professional design * Opulent compo- or victory points for the next round. beginning, absolutely opulent. nents * 14 different peoples * Lots of interaction on the board * Good but Besides the roles there are also scoring tiles All in all I would call Terra Mystica a very very extensive rules in each round, which reward you for respec- good and well-made game for expert play- Compares to: tive actions with victory points and also re- ers which is definitely worth a close look. For Catan, Zepter von Zavandor ward you for advancement in certain cults a place in the absolute game heaven for me Other editions: with additional actions or resources. it lacks some little bits, especially some stra- Several foreign-language-editions are an- tegic possibilities, as your strategy is more or nounced After the sixth round there is a final scoring less pre-set by your chosen people. for the largest connected area, each of the four cults and for consolation points for left- The replay value for me is definitely in the over resources. If you then have achieved different peoples. Those people, fortunate- the highest score you win the game. ly, play in very different ways and make the game really interesting.  In your first game you will be overwhelmed Markus.Wawra by the plethora of possibilities and do not really know what to do. But after a few My rating:

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 8 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at CO2 t OUR REVIEW

Display then the initial SUMMIT tiles on POLLUTION CONTROL the board: each tile indicate the name of a big town and the arguments that will be discussed there (nuclear power plants, sun CO2 power plants, recycling power plants, etc.) MAKING A BETTER EARTH and we will see later their use.

Finally you have to assign to each Continent Pollution is heavier and heavier every year: are shown. Their graphics are the same as a Regional Agenda tile that will simply re- why don’t we try to make Earth a little bet- the board: wan … but they really give you mind you the 3 “kind” of green power plants ter? the feeling of the game, where you must that may be placed there and which is the fight EARTH POLLUTION, and pollution is most important of the three. A game on Earth’s pollution is something to something ugly, wan, shifty and … deadly carefully consider … and a new game from (as some skulls on the board and on the tiles Each Continent will also receive a number of Vital Lacerda is something to consider even will always remind you!!!) CEP equal to the number of “empty” Energy more carefully, after the time spent on his Demand spaces (remember: the first one al- first hit (Vinhos). This means that effectively the graphic ap- ready contain a Fossil Plant) and 2 CEP are proach immediately dips you in the “atmo- also placed on the Market. Also I must confess that it was not so easy sphere” (and this word is really the right one to explain this game to readers that never for this game!): well done! Ugly, wan, shifty Pietro Cremona tried it: so please excuse me if sometimes I but … well done! A very demanding game that will occupy most of your will be more annoying than usual. CO2 is a concentration and neurons. game that must be tested at least a couple The players are the Presidents of Multi-na- of time before being able to appreciate it tional Energy Companies that face the rising Finally you have to randomly (and secretly) and I would like to make other gamers un- demand of “green” power sources in order assign 1 COMPANY GOAL card (they show derstand at least how it works. to save our beloved Earth from the risk of you how to make some extra VP at the pollution: if the latter is not stopped in time game’s end) and 5 LOBBY cards (they shows When you open the box you are impressed ALL players lose the game. some special benefits that you may use dur- by the number of gaming pieces and by the ing the game) to each player. board. The latter feels really ugly, at the first But this is not another cooperative/collab- impact: we see so many beautiful boards to- orative game as those Presidents still need All the “UN” GOAL cards are displayed on day that and you cannot believe that a com- to individually WIN by having more Victory one side of the board: you may pick up them pany may produce something like that!!! Points (VP) than the others at the game’s if and when you meet their conditions and end. So during their … career they have score some VP (for example: if you already A round score track, six places named Eu- to pay constant attention to the pollution have a “solar” and “biomass” plant you may rope, North America, South America, Af- level and thus try to “invest” in Continents take the related UN card and score 4 VP). rica, Asia and Oceania (each of them has that need to be helped with Green Energy 3 cases for new projects some spaces that Plants. Finally you place the EVENT CARDS on the should be filled with energy plants, from a board and reveal the first two (the first is minimum of 3 in Africa to the 6 of Asia) and, CO2 is played in DECADES (1970-1980- the ACTIVE event and the second will be just in the middle, the CEP (Carbon Emis- 1990-2000-2010-2020); each decade has a the next one) each event is associated to sion Permits) Market and the International certain number of ROUNDS (5 rounds with a Continent and shows a regional Disaster Summit Places. No effort was “apparently” 2 players and down to 2 rounds with 5 play- that may happens if the CO2 level reaches made to try to produce a more appealing ers); each round allows a TURN to all players the 350 ppm. graphic!! and some actions. It will take some time to clearly understand this, as the game rules The first ROUND starts with the first player The other components: 5 set of colored are not too clear and sometimes mix the TURN, followed by all the other players first wooden disks and pawns (a set per play- words decades, rounds and turn during the turn, and so on. Each player must select one er), 40 purple wooden discs (CEP), card- explanation. of the following three ACTIONS: board coins (1-2-5-10 dollars), a plethora of cardboard tiles (new projects, fossil At the Set Up the players receive 1 pawn 1 – Propose a Project: you select a plant power plants, green power plants, regional (Scientist) and all the discs of the selected project tile (forestation, solar, cold fusion, agendas, summits, etc.), 51 cards (lobby, color, together with some coins (3-4-4-5-5) biomass or recycling) and you put it in one objectives, events), some special markers and two CEP. The “decade” marker is posi- of the available project cases in front of one (“technologic” white cubes, pollution level tioned on the case 1970, the “round” marker of the six Continents. You place the tile face indicator, decade counter, round counter, on the appropriate space (marked with down as this is still a “proposal” and the proj- etc.) and 5 player aid cards with a summary the icons of 2-3-4-5 players) and ONE Fos- ect is not yet approved. of the turn’s actions. sil Power plant is randomly picked up and placed on the first space of the energy de- In exchange you receive the “benefit” grant- It will take a few minutes just to distinguish mand cases of the six Continents. ed by that project case: MONEY (1 coin per the tiles, as the game components list will CEP still available in that Continent) or 2 not show any drawings (as most games do You then add together the CO2 level of each TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES (the white today) so you must search the rules book- Fossil plant, placing the Pollution marker on cubes) or a RESEARCH COLLABORATION let (in English, Italian, German and French) the related case on the Pollution track of the (you may take in your hand another of your to find the right chapter where the pieces board. scientists from the reserve or move one of

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those that you already have on the board). The players start the game with ONE SCI- ducing the official price by one case). If the ENTIST available, but there are three extra Reserve runs out the bank add 2 CEP and 2 – Install a Project: you select a PROPOSED pawn for each color in the common reserve: increase the price by one on the price track. project (even those placed by other play- to get them you need to place a project on ers) and you turn it face up, paying 1 CEP the Research Collaboration case of any Con- PLAYING A CARD allows you to get some to the bank. Now you receive the benefit of tinent. extra benefits: the project: 2 CEP with “forestation”, 3 white cubes with “solar”, 5 $ and 1 white cube with Then you need to use your free move to - LOBBY cards have two possibilities: an im- “cold fusion”, 3 $ plus 1 White cube and 1 place a Scientist on the board, either from mediate benefit (shown on the bottom of CEP with “biomass” and 5 $ plus 1 CEP with your hand to one project tile; or from one the card: a cube, some coins, 1 CEP, etc.) or “recycling”. project to a different one; or from a project a conditional one (if you do something in a to a “Summit” tile. The Scientists are impor- Continent you gain something: for example 3 – Build a Power plant: you may select an tant because they grant you some facilities: if you propose a Project in Europe you gain INSTALLED project and build the related 3 coins, etc.) power plant. To do that you must have the - If an opponent want to build a factory us- money and technology (white cubes) print- ing a project tile that has one of your Scien- - UN GOAL cards give VP to the first player ed on the plant tile AND the expertise in tists on he must pay 1 coin to you and you who built “X” green plants (for example: you that energy source. To verify the EXPERTISE must then either take it back in your hand get 7 VP if you are the first to build a solar + in each energy source you must look at the (gaining 1 Expertise point in that energy forestation + cold fusion plants) related tracks printed on the board. If your source) or send it to a summit where this marker is in a position equal or higher than source is displayed. EXPERTISE POINTS are fundamental in the the number of white cubes printed on the game to build energy plants and therefore plant tile you may build it: otherwise you - At the end of your TURN you gain 1 Exper- high attention must be paid to the different cannot, even if you already have the neces- tise point in a source where you have a Sci- tracks on the board. When you gain your sary money and white cubes available. We entist (and the choice is yours) first Expertise Point in one of green energies will see later how to advance in the five dif- you place a colored disc on the first case of ferent expertise tracks - When a Summit is completed (all the “argu- the related track: any time that you gain ex- ments” are covered by a Scientist) you gain tra points on that track you move your disc In your TURN you also have always available 1 expertise on the source covered by YOUR forward and eventually gain other benefits three FREE ACTIONS: Scientist plus 1 Expertise in one of the sourc- (printed on some cases: for example, select es discussed at the summit (at your choice) another track and advance your disc one - Move 1 Scientist case, or receive technical cubes, etc.). - Make a visit to the Market (to buy or sell Going to the CEP MARKET allows you to pur- CEP) chase a new CEP marker (from the reserve You gain Expertise points: - Play or score a card pile in the middle of the price track) or sell You may do each one only ONCE per turn one CEP (adding it to the reserve and re- - When one of your Scientists is in a project

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 10 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at CO2 t OUR REVIEW

at the end of your turn (your choice) everything starts again for another turn. ing the control of the Continent in case of When the last round is finished you must tie on the Plant track). - When you build a new Green Energy Plant advance the DECADE marker one case and (you take a point on that energy track) start the SUPPLY PHASE for the following To be more flexible you must try to get at decade. least another Scientist in the first Decade as - When a Summit is completed they are very important to get the Expertise INCOMES are first distributed (the players Points needed to build plants. It is now clear - When you take your Scientist back if an- on first and second place on each Expertise that you must select in advance which strat- other players select his project tracks receive the amount of coins printed egy to follow in order to place your Scientist on their cases), then you must verify the in the right projects. Expertise tracks are also important to assign POLLUTION LEVEL of each Continent: if a coins at the beginning of each turn (starting new green plant was built in each Continent Remember that you will not be able to build with turn 2). in this Decade nothing happens, otherwise plants without CEP so if the market offers you must fill that case with a new Fossil Plant then at low cost (1 coin) do not hesitate to The SUMMITS allow you to get Expertise randomly selected from the reserve and in- purchase them early in the game as they Points but they “block” your Scientists until crease the CO2 level accordingly. The player will be vital towards the end. And if you the tile is complete: you cannot never move that control that Continent must also pay 1 get the control of a Continent use its CEP a Scientist that attended a Summit. Initially CEP to the bank. If (unfortunately) the CO2 to build new plants and keep in reserve the all Summits need only TWO scientists and level reaches 350 ppm or more a DISASTER ones you have in your hand. are quite easy to finish, especially if players occurs in the Continent shown on the active cooperate sending quickly their Scientists EVENT card and all the players that do not Never forget to check if you have enough in order to increase their Expertise points have a green plant there must pay 1 tech- plants to claim a UN GOAL card: they offer tracks. nology (white cube) or lose 2 VP. quite a lot of VP so carefully plan your new project Once a Summit is complete the Scientists If the CO2 level reaches or pass the 500 are returned to their owners and the tile is ppm … the Earth is dead and all the players I like this game (because in general I like discarded: a new Summit tile is randomly lose the game: be prepared to lose the first games with long term strategies that really picked from the reserve to replace the old couple of games but do not worry, as this is occupy most of your neurons) but I cannot one. Summits may have up to FOUR differ- normal when you learn CO2. So don’t be dis- recommend it to normal players, families or ent “themes” and those tiles are not easy to couraged and try again as you will certainly causal gamers.  complete, so later in the game you must beat pollution in the following games and Pietro Cremona pay high attention before sending a Scien- you will finally appreciate it. tist to a Summit as you risk to block him for INFORMATION a long time. If Pollution does not win, when the last turn PLAYERS: of the last round of the last decade is com- Designer: Vital Lacerda 1-5 When you have the necessary requisites pleted the game ends and VP are calculated. Artist: G. Tappainer, P. Simonetti AGE: to build an energy plant you may select Each player collect all the CEP of the Conti- Price: ca. 50 Euro 12+ this option on your turn: then you discard nents that he controls and sell them to the Publisher: Giochix 2012 TIME: the related project tile and you place the Market, then you get: www.giochix.it 150+ corresponding green energy PLANT TILE on the first available case of the selected - X VP if you met the conditions of your Continent. You mark this plant with one COMPANY GOAL card EVALUATION of your colored discs. Note that the cost to - 1 VP for each 2 coins in your hand Strategic resources management build the first TWO plants of each types is - 3 VP for the player with most white cubes For experts Version: multi cheaper than the following three, and this in hand Rules: de en fr nl + ru is a consideration that will force the players - 3 VP for the player who scored the most In-game text: no to meticulously program their initial strat- “UN” GOAL cards Comments: egies and purchases. When the track of a Idiosyncratic, very individual design * Continent is full you may still build a plant This is a demanding game, absolutely not Challenging mechanisms * Long-term strategy is essential there only if there are still Fossil Plants: you suggested to the casual gamers as you are discard the Fossil (reducing the CO2 track of asked to make long term programs (usu- Compares to: As regards to topic all games on envi- the same quantity) and you install the new ally based on which GOAL and LOBBY cards ronment, otherwise resources management plant at its place. you received at the beginning). Initially the games with long-term strategies Each Continent has a REGION CONTROL Biomass and Recycling plants are low cost Other editions: tile that shows which kind of green energy and thus interesting enough to get the Stronghold Games, USA plants may be installed there: if you control most possible resources and coins (on the most types you control that Continent and Expertise tracks), but they will not grant too this grants you the possibility to spend the many VP. Solar and Cold fusion are probably CEPS of that Continent instead of using the best plants to use as they have a good your own. At the game’s end you may also balance between cost and VP. Forestation is take the Continent’s last CEP available and the most lucrative plant: not only is the most calculate them as VP for your total. represented on the board, but also grand twice VP as the Biomass and Recycling (bust When all the players finish their turn the it also cost twice!). Most of the Region Con-

ROUND marker is advanced one case and trol tiles have Forestation on top (thus assur- My rating:

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created with face-down terrain tiles ONWARDS TO NEW SHORES! and which need to be reached with ships first and then uncovered. There are terrain tiles that show either a green DIE SIEDLER VON CATAN or an orange dot, and there are green ENTDECKER & PIRATEN and orange number chips which are stacked next to the board. The Land, Ho! scenario does not feature the Rob- The latest expansion for Settlers of mentions on his website, those tips and ber as a playing piece, but all the same Catan takes players into five different advices are not binding or mandatory players need to discard half of their scenarios which can be combined with and that players can set up and should resources in case they own more than each other, but all of them need the ba- set up their own rules for certain com- seven resources when “Seven” is rolled. sic Settlers game to play. binations. The course of the game follows the Scenario 1 „Land in Sicht / Land Ho!“ is To start with, for me as a reviewer it is usual scheme; the active player rolls a very simple scenario and only serves impossible to describe or even to men- the dice and players receive income/ to introduce you to the new buildings, tion all possible scenarios or game set- resources according to their settle- playing pieces and landscape tiles. ups that result from combining this ments in relation to terrain tiles. When expansion with all others, as the pos- no “Seven” was rolled and a player does Scenario 2 „Die Piratenlager / Pirate sibilities are nearly unlimited! So I have Lairs!“ introduces the new terrain tiles, restricted myself to the first two scenar- Maria Schranz Pirate Lairs, and has you discovering ios in combination with the core game A nearly absolute must-have for experienced Catan players, and conquering them. only and will only mention some im- for all other Catan fans and other experienced players an portant aspects for the other scenarios. interesting change. In Scenario 3 „Fische für Catan / Fish for Catan“ players try to discover shoals The box is filled to the brim with new not receive resources he receives one of fish and then go on and catch them components; I will list only a few of gold as a consolation. to provide food for Catan and deliver them for examples – harbor cities, units, them to the home island of Catan. ships, settlers, pirate ships, shoals of For two gold you can buy one resource fish, spice bags and the new landscape and you can do this transaction twice In Scenario 4 „Gewürze für Catan / Spic- tiles „Pirate Lair“, „Fish“ and „Spice“. in your turn, provided you have that es for Catan“ the new terrain tiles for much gold. spices are put to use. For our first game we acquainted our- selves with the rather easy scenario This scenario does not use harbors, as Scenario 5, at long last, is the real „Ent- „Land, Ho!“ In this scenario each player the basic frame parts are placed in a decker & Piraten / Explorers & Pirates“ takes five settlements and fifteen roads way to make the harbors invisible, but Scenario and is a combination of Sce- from the core game in his chosen color; the general exchange rate for resources narios 2, 3 and 4, Pirate Lairs, Fish for the expansion provides four harbor in this game is 3:1. Thus, the game starts Catan and Spices for Catan. cities, three ships and two settlers for as usual with the resources phase, then each player. Other components that – also as usual and in the core game – Here I would like to remark that the are needed from the core game are two follows the phase for trading and build- ascending order of difficulty in the sce- dice, all terrain tiles, all number chips, ing, you can do this, again as in the core narios results in scenarios 1 to 4 being the six long frame parts and all resourc- game, in any order you like. absolutely geared for a target group of es cards. Development cards as well as friends, but Scenario #5, Explorers & Pi- the special cards for “Longest Road” and New is that you can build Harbor cities, rates, is in my opinion geared for expert “Largest Army” are not needed. settlers and ships in this phase of the players, especially when you combine game. this scenario with other Catan expan- We decided to play with the example sions, because it is possible to combine set-up given in the scenario rules for Harbor City: those scenarios with all other expan- the island of Catan and did lay out the A harbor city is worth two victory points sions that have been published so far respective terrain tiles and number like a city in the core game and can only and thus to create ever-changing new chips from the core game. Settlements, be created by upgrading a settlement. situations in a game. harbor cities, settlers and ships were A necessary requirement for an up- also placed according to this example. grade is that the settlement has been For some expansions it will not be easy For the placement of the starting settle- built at the coast. Settlements not adja- to achieve a feasible combination and ment players received the resources cent to the ocean cannot be upgraded it might not even make sense to try it from the adjacent terrain tiles. to a harbor city. Contrary to a city in – for instance with the Seafarer expan- the core game a harbor city only yields sion. On his website www.catan.de, At the start of this scenario each player one resource for each terrain tile that designer Klaus Teuber has published owns one settlement, one harbor city is adjacent to it. The cost for building an overview evaluating the possible with a settler and one ship with one a harbor city is two Ore and two Grain. combinations of this expansion with settler on it. The harbor city features a port basin in all the other expansions and in this which you can place one settler or two overview also gives hints on the use of In all scenarios that are played with this units or two spice sacks. components. In general, though, as he expansion there are always two islands

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Ships: build roads on this tile, but is prohibited The cost for building a ship is one Lum- to build roads on edges that border ter- The pirate ship virtually replaces the ber and one Wool. When a player has rain tiles that are as yet undiscovered / robber. When “Seven” is rolled the built a ship he places it next to one face down. usual rule applies – if you hold more of his harbor cities; the ship must be than seven resources you discard half placed with the bow or stern of the Discovering / turning up of terrain of them. The first player rolling “Seven” ship pointing to the harbor city. A ship tiles is only possible with a ship; the places his pirate ship onto any ocean provides storage capacity in which you construction of additional settlements tile but those ocean tiles that directly can place settlers, units, spice sacks and – normal distance rules apply - on the border terrain tiles of the starting island shoals of fish; the shoals of fish are not island is only possible when terrain tiles of Catan. From then on, whenever any featured in the “Land, Ho!” scenario. have been revealed. You can build a set- player rolls “Seven”, he either relocates tlement along the coast using ship plus his own pirate ship if it is on an ocean Settler: settler anytime, you only need to apply tile or returns the pirate ship of another Building a settler costs exactly the same the distance rule. player and places his own ship instead as to build a settlement – one Lumber, on a valid ocean tile. Whenever another one Grain, one Wool and one Brick. A The winner of this “Land, Ho!” scenario player wants to move along the edges settler that was acquired can either be is the player who is first to accumulates of an ocean tile with his ship and there placed into the free port basin of a har- eight victory points. is a pirate ship of another player on this bor city or into the free storage area of tile he pays 1 gold for a tribute to be al- a ship that points at a harbor point with As each player begins the game with lowed to move onto or across this tile. its bow or stern. A settler brings you three victory points (one settlement This also applies when the ship is al- no income and earns you no victory and one harbor city) this scenario plays ready on the same tile as the pirate ship points. He simply enables you to found - in contrast to the other scenarios pro- at the start of the move. a new settlement on the undiscovered, vided – rather quickly and can be won face-down terrain tiles of the unknown easily within 30 to 45 minutes by an ex- Pirate Lairs: islands once they are discovered. perienced Catan player. When a player uses his ship for discovery and discovers a pirate lair he places When the active player has com- In Scenario 2 „Die Piratenlager / Pirate a pirate number chip face-down on pleted the phase of building/trading, Lairs“ the components used are supple- this tile. This pirate lair is now up for this phase is followed by a movement mented by three additional terrain tiles conquest by all players. A pirate lair is phase. In the movement phase the ac- „Pirate Lair“ for each of the two islands, deemed to be conquered when three tive player can move all his ships. Ships complete with the respective number units are placed on the pirate lair tile; move along the edges between ocean chips, and the units and the pirate ship at that point in the conquest it is not tiles and can move in any direction. For will be used. relevant if those units were provided by each ship the active player has four one or by several players. movement points and he may buy two “Pirate Lair” tiles are shuffled into the additional movement points for each respective green and orange stacks of This is only relevant to determine how ship. One movement point costs one island terrain tiles and then the tiles are many spots a player can move his Wool, but you can hand in two gold for laid out to form two islands – as those marker on the mission card track. For it, too. To load or unload a ship does not islands are of course bigger now you this each player who has contributed at take up movement points. need additional frames and ocean tiles. least one unit to the conquest rolls the die and add the result to the number of When a ship points its bow or stern at a You start this scenario, too, with one his contributed units. The player with face-down terrain tile you turn over this settlement, one harbor city complete the highest total advances his marker terrain tile. Should it be a tile belonging with settler and also one ship with set- two steps, all others by one step. In case to the green island you place a green tler. All units, the pirate ship, the re- of a tie the player who provided more number chip face-up on this terrain tile. maining settlements and harbor cities units moves forward two steps. Then are stock for each player. the player whose marker is furthest A player must turn up a terrain tile when advanced takes the victory point card the bow or stern of his ship points to it Then you need the mission card for “Greatest Pirate Scare”. and it is still-face-down. Should a ship, conquering the pirate lairs and the vic- To win this scenario you need twelve carrying one settler, point with bow tory points tile „Greatest Pirate Scare”, victory points. or stern to the corner spot of a terrain worth one victory point. Each player tile that was already discovered, that also has one marker piece of his color As regards to the remaining scenarios I is, turned up, this player may found which is placed on the starting spot can only say that they are getting more a settlement there and he can do this of the mission card. The mission card and more complex and thus offer more also when he has just discovered this shows a track of eight spots, one start- and more possibilities and choices to all terrain tile. ing spot plus seven spots for pirate lair players. Scenario 5, “Explorers & Pirates” conquests. Markers in positions One is only well-suited to really experienced To found a settlement you take back and Two of the track earn you special players. the ship including the settler into your victory point, markers on positions stock and place a settlement on the re- Three to Five earn you two victory The graphic design of the new terrain spective corner spot. Should a placer points and markers on positions Six and tiles and all other components is excel- have already build a settlement on a Seven score three special victory points lent and provides assistance for players discovered terrain tile, he can then also for you. not so familiar with the Catan family

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of games to cope with the new ways The new ways to play and act in this and possibilities to play. Handling of I mentioned it already, the scenarios expansion extend the familiar game settlers, units, spice sacks and shoals get more and more difficult, and are at mechanisms considerable and will of fish takes some time to get used to, the start absolutely suited to the target probably present inexperienced play- and it happens again and again when group that we call “for friends”, but Sce- ers with unsolvable tasks so that in moving a ship that objects in the ship nario 5 “Explorers & Pirates” in my opin- practice I can recommend this expan- fall off. ion definitely is suited for expert players sions only to fans of Catan or players only, especially when combining this with a lot of experience. Those play- Scenario 1 „Land in Sicht / Land, Ho!“ scenario with other Catan expansions. ers will find nearly unlimited ways and facilitates access to the game enor- In my series of test games it soon trans- means to create individual scenarios mously and reduces the rules substan- pired that Scenario 1, “Land, Ho!”, is only and situations, due to the possibility of tially. But with each successive scenario intended to be an introductory game, combinations with other scenarios. play gets more complex, but due to as it is rarely played again once play- the well-structured scenarios and the ers have become acquainted with the This expansion in part presents vastly equally well structured rules access to other scenarios, yet all players involved different game situations and courses the game should not be a problem. The in testing this expansion were all of of events so that the fun in playing it glossary at the back of the rules makes the same opinion, that they would be will be of long duration and consider- it easy to search for and to find specific willing any time to play all the other able. If you only can use or want to use sections of the rules, because especially scenarios and not only Scenario 5, “Ex- the expansion with the core game, you when you combine this expansion with plorers & Pirates”, which is of course the also find enough variety in the five other expansions it happens again and highlight of the expansion, but really scenarios that are provided so that I again that you have to re-read part of rather complex. can recommend to fans of challenging the rules. games, too.

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To players who have little gaming experience and have rarely played the core THREE BECOME ONE game of “Settlers of Catan” I would recommend to get familiar with the core game before acquiring the expansion, FREMDE FEDERN because otherwise it might be too de- POACHING IN SOMEONE’S GAMES manding.

My conclusion: Franz, Ferdinand, Fabian and Friedemann cards from your own stack at the start of For the experienced fan of the Catan would like to play something decent at each round. One of those cards is used to family of games this expansion is an ab- the games evening. “I would like to play determine the order of play by comparing solute must, for all other fans of Catan something long like “Through the Ages”, a number that is printed on all cards and and somewhat experienced players if states Franz; Ferdinand would like to play is not used for the remainder of the round. offers an interesting challenge and an the old classic Agricola again. “That hasn’t The higher the number the more valuable expansion the offers diversity and fun been on the table for quite some time”, he the card is in the course of the game. for some time to come. For players with says. Fabian would prefer to play Dominion, little or no playing experience this ex- because he is hooked on deck building. In the determined order of play each player pansion is definitely too much of a chal- And then Friedemann clinches it all by an- puts one of his campaign workers into an lenge. And, finally, I would recommend nounces “that is all water under the bridge, office; usually each office can only be oc- to all players who decide to buy this we play all three games at the same time” cupied by one player, but there are several expansion to take a look at www.catan. and places “Fremde Federn” on the table. cards that allow exceptions for this, too. de, the home page of Klaus Teuber, Astonished stares from all those present! Should there be wooden victory point and at the overview of possible com- „All three at once“, that’s not possible, those markers in the office, left over from previous binations with other expansions that is three games are totally different, after all, rounds, you take them and mark their value provided there, as this information and but Friedemann thinks it will work all the those tips and hints are interesting and same. Take I look, I will explain it: Gert Stöckl helpful when creating your own indi- An extremely good mix of well-known elements taken vidual set-ups.  The board depicts ten printed election cam- from three world-class games; deck-building dominates, towards the end a big element of chance is introduced Maria Schranz paign offices, depending on the number whether the high victory point values will appear after of players some more will be added, and shuffling or not. in each of the maximum of eleven rounds that will be played one more office will be INFORMATION added. This element of the steadily growing at the end of your turn, on the victory point PLAYERS: number of available choices has been taken track. The valuable offices, like the ones for Designer: Klaus Teuber 3-4 from Agricola, albeit not for husbanding doubling of a played card, double shopping Artist: Michael Menzel AGE: our farm, but for helping corrupt politician permit, two money or two victory points, Price: ca. 25 Euro 12+ to win an election by accruing most victory are of course taken first, so it is important to Publisher: Kosmos 2013 TIME: points using up to seven campaign work- keep an eye on the order of play as not to www.kosmos.de 120+ ers and a worker placement mechanism. have to end up in one of the worst offices President and winner of the election as well as the last one to play. This is like a real cam- as the game will be who will have most vic- paign, if you are late, life punishes you, or in EVALUATION tory points after eleven rounds or four sold this case, the voters do. Development game PhD degrees (those are the four last cards For experts that come into play) or who will be first to It is also essential to secure a shopping Version: de Rules: de en fr pl achieve 95 victory points. permit because without such a permit you In-game text: cannot buy a card from the eleven possible Comments: Victory points are collected by being pres- choice on display, regardless of how much Well-structured rules * Nearly endless ent in the respective offices but also by money in the guise of cards in hands or combinations with the core game and other expansions * Ascending degree playing victory point cards from your hand. virtual money from offices you would have of difficulty * You need to be familiar Naturally, the election campaign offices of- in hand, because, usually, you cannot take with the core game fer – in addition to victory points – different cards in hand into the next round, but for Compares to: other possibilities, for instance a shopping this, too, there is a card which allows you to All Catan expansions permit (you may take a new card from the do so. display), virtual money that enables you to Other editions: Catan Explorers & Pirates, Mayfair pay for those shopping sprees or drawing When all players have placed their three Games; also at Filosofia Games, Galakta additional cards from your own draw pile. campaign workers it is the turn of those players who did secure additional cam- Which is slowly but surely taking us to Vac- paign workers for themselves (card abil- carino’s ingenious idea of deck building in ity), yes, these workers can be acquired or Dominion, because each player starts with bought, too. Frank sends his regards (fun- a set of ten cards in hand, seven of them nily enough this name, too, begins with an show a coin and three of them show one “F”, how fitting). victory points (these cards do not plug up your deck, but are scored in each and every In the next phase – again in the determined

My rating: round!) and as in Dominion you draw five order of play – all players activate all offices

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that are occupied by one of their own cam- next round, which comprises shoveling to- INFORMATION paign workers and then you play all cards in gether cards that were not bought, re-filling PLAYERS: hand or discard them without using them. of shopping choices and placing of wooden Designer: Friedemann Friese 2-4 The most important thing in this phase is victory point markers into those offices that Artist: Harald Lieske AGE: to secure at least one good card from the are not occupied by campaign workers. Price: ca. 27 Euro 12+ possibilities on display (e.g. higher money Publisher: 2F Spiele 2012 TIME: cards, more valuable victory point cards or Conclusion: What Friedemann Friese has www.2f-spiele.de 95+ other fantast election campaign cards with mixed up here, is fun. A certain learning different possibilities, like “inside informa- curve as in Dominion exists, too. When do tion“, “use your elbows”, “collect donations” I switch from shopping for cards that earn EVALUATION or “going on the campaign trail”; all cards me lots on money for additional buys to Deck building have their different advantages (with the shopping for cards with high victory point With friends Version: de exception of the red cards, which you some- values? All this needs good, exact timing? Rules: de en jp kr nl times are forced to also pick up), but also Will I apply maybe an extreme strategy and In-game text: no fatten up your deck. thin out my deck with a few valuable victory Comments: point cards remaining, that are recycling Fantastic mix of three games * Just try it So you must remember to get rid of some quickly, or do I try to acquire more choices * High element of chance less valuable cards on time (e.g. as action for action with lots of additional campaign Compares to: from an office) so that you can recycle valu- workers (you do not have those additional Mainly Dominion and other deck build- able cards much faster, because – as in Do- workers on a permanent basis, you must ing games minion – all that you acquire ends up in the acquire them by playing the corresponding Other editions: discard pile first, that is, in some sort of discard)? Copycat, Rio Grande Games, USA; Arclight, Japan; Korea Boardgames, 999 Games, card pile. The cards available for shopping Netherlands from all come at a price, and in addition, for After one or two games you have by no the cards that are displayed further to the means seen all the possibilities offered by right (which usually are the more valuable the game. The design is rather functional newly added cards to buy) there is an addi- and very nearly frightens off game aesthet- tional cost of up to two coins. ics. For all fans of Dominion who do not mind to use a few additional established Which now has made us arrive in “Through and proven mechanisms I can wholeheart- the Ages”, that is, on the shopping track of edly recommend Fremde Federn, all others Trough the Ages. The next phase is only should at least take a look at it.  used for cleaning up and to prepare the Gert Stöckl My rating:

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These musings entered my head during the THE SHEEP OF GLENKILL game, sheep, flocks and what goes on in the mind of the black sheep, because the novel not only deals with murder but also with SHEEPLAND the question of how do sheep cross a road HOW DOES A SHEEP CROSS THE ROAD SAFELY? – but now to the game, because this is not a book review, but a review on the new game by Cranio Creations. Questions upon questions, the second one the title of a novel by Leonie Swann, which is is easily answered by employing a shep- no more than average, when closely looked Sheepland – land of sheep; the board shows herd. That does not take into account the at, if it were not for the main characters, who an island in the ocean, strongly reminding psychotic black sheep which puts freedom are a flock of sheep and their shepherdess me of Sardinia. May the Sardinians pardon above everything and therefore perma- Rebecca. The sheep engage in painstaking the publisher for the really ugly presenta- nently breaks away and crosses roads and investigative legwork and solve a murder tion of their beautiful and wonderful island! paths in a suicidal manner, and, mind you, case, or at least contribute a lot towards the In the center of the island we find the town of course unaccompanied. solution, and all that is written from the view of Sheepsburg, surrounded by diverse ter- points of the sheep. rains which in turn are divided into three Do you know the Sheep of Glenkill? This is regions each. Mountains, fields, meadows,

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forests, desert or swamp are the different the same number of turns, so the last turn is and after four or five games it would not types of terrains that we encounter on the played by the player to the right of the start- be the first one to be selected for playing, island. ing player. Should players in that phase have but will be one of those that you play for the to place fences they use the stack of dark- lack of alternatives; in the long run the flow The regions in the terrains are created by colored fences that are only used in this final of the game is too “dry”. roads that divide the island; each of those phase. separation lines shows a number between The rules are short and concise, one ques- 1 and 6. At the start you put one white Then you score the game: Each terrain tile tion remains unanswered: What do you do sheep into each region and one black sheep that you own takes on the value of the total when you are out of money and there are into town. There are six starting tiles, one for number of sheep in all regions of that ter- fences on the adjacent roads? This situation rain type. The Black Sheep is counts for two would imprison the shepherd who could Kurt Schellenbauer sheep. Each Taler that you own is also worth not move anymore, but you must do three An entertaining, easily accessible family game which offers one point, and in case of a tie all involved in action and one of them must be a move of something for all the family, even if there is a tactician among the players, but don’t expect too much substance – the tie are joint winners. the shepherd. it’s wooly, sheepy, bleaty! In the special set of rules provided for two That you score points for each Taler left at players, each player is given two shepherds the end is a good detail mechanism, be- each region, each player is assigned one of the same color and 30 Taler. In the ac- cause before you spend money you cal- randomly and the rest is set aside. tion phase you must choose one of your culate if spending a Taler is worth losing a shepherds and may only use this one in this victory point. For each terrain type there are five tiles phase. showing values from Zero to Four, these Sheepland is a proper tactical family game, numbers are also the cost for the tiles when Sheepland reminds me a little bit of Wildlife, but do not expect lots of tactical depth; the you want to acquire them. You set them out published by Clementoni, albeit you having game for two is not really worth playing in a column, in ascending order, lowest one to move herds of mammoths from one area and for us, the greatest attraction came in on top. Each player is given 20 Dinars and into the other. Here, too, the designer man- a game for three players, because in a game one shepherd whom you put on any road aged to get across and on the board the flair with four players inevitably two teams did on the map. of herding sheep, of assembling single ani- evolve which herded the sheep together, mals into a flock. A road must be controlled but Sheepland definitely is not game for At the start of each turn you roll the dice by a shepherd at any time, without a shep- team play.  and the black number is moved across the herd on a road there is no crossing. And at Kurt Schellenbauer road into the corresponding area, but only the rear, the shepherd closes the pen and, when there is no fence and no shepherd on by and by, each region is fenced in. INFORMATION the road. PLAYERS: The areas on the board are clearly sepa- Designer: Simone Luciani, Daniele Tascini2-4 In his turn the active player has three actions rated and all regions have the same value. Artist: Giulia Ghigini AGE: and chooses from this selection: Move your The graphic design is a matter of taste and Price: ca. 30 Euro 8+ shepherd; move one sheep; buy a land- open for discussion; I believe it could be Publisher: Cranio Creations 2012 TIME: scape tile. You have free choice among the improved, to put it mildly. Because graphics www.craniocreations.com 30+ actions provided that you move the shep- is art and this is always a wonderful oppor- herd and with the stipulation that you can- tunity for discussions. In any case the box not choose the same action a second time makes you expect something quite differ- EVALUATION unless you did move the shepherd first. ent from what you then find in the box. Placement and movement For families Version: de The shepherd moves from one number But what irritated me most is the Cranio Rules: de en fr it space to the next. For the payment of one Creations logo. It depicts a skull and Sheep- In-game text: no Taler you can choose any free road on the land is a family game. Maybe the publisher Comments: island. On the number spot that the shep- should ponder the question if the Corporate Simple rules * More tactical in a game for two * Tendency for team formation herd vacates you place a fence and this road Identity fits the target group. My children * Very nice family game is now closed; it cannot be used or crossed. were a bit frightened and I would think that in a shop you would not pick up a game Compares to: Share mechanism in railway games, In order to move a sheep – you can also se- bearing a skull for a family game. Wildlife lect to move the black sheep – you move a sheep into an adjacent region, provided When talking about components I must Other editions: Currently none your own shepherd stands on the road con- mention the bad cutting of pieces, the necting/between those two regions. The board is extremely stiff and unyielding and last action, buying a terrain tile, results in even after a few games we did not manage exactly this, you buy one the tile from one to make it lie flat on the table. of the stacks, for the price noted on the tile; the first tile is free, for each successive tile One of the positive aspects of the game the price rises by 1 Taler. surely is that it allows for quick access to the game and that it also plays quickly and The final phase of the game is triggered easily. A follow-up, second game is quickly with the placement of the last fence tile. You played, but, what we noted in our games, continue to play until all players have had the allure of the game dims rather quickly My rating:

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marble in the board part of your INFORMATION own animal. White is a joker, you PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: 2 ERSTE SPIELE can take any toy. You can take 2-4 3-7 15+ COLOR DICE AND FIRST RULES identical toys, only the color is important. Designer: not stated Abenteuer-Leiterspiel: The Artist: Oliver Freudenreich Price: ca. 7 Euro Since 1974 the collection of ing the sand box side and laid board is laid out showing the Publisher: Ravensburger 2013 games called „4 erste Spiele“ is out ready to play, each player Adventure Path, again each www.ravensburger.de an introduction into the world chooses an animal for his mark- player chooses an animal marker of game boards and game rules, er. Each of the four parts of the and places it at the start of the EVALUATION rolling dice and moving mark- board shows five big marbles path. If you roll one of the col- ers. Now this collection is given in different colors; players must ors - blue, red, yellow, orange or Collection of dice games For children a smaller companion by the cover those marble images with green - you move your animal to Version: multi name of “2 erste Spiele“, both toys of the same color. If you the next spot of this color; if you Rules: de fr it again based on using color dice. roll blue, red, yellow, orange or roll white you lose your turn. If In-game text: no Sandkasten-Sammelspiel: The green you take a toy of this color your move ends on an arrow or Comments: game board is assembled show- and put it on the corresponding a slide you move your animal to Rule-governed games for toddlers * Standard mecha- the other end of arrow or slide, nisms for a color die * Trains for the arrow upwards, for the use of components, colors slide downwards. If you are first and following rules to roll a color no longer available Compares to: 4 erste Spiele on the board you move to the Andere Ausgaben: tower and win. Currently none In this version too, attractive components and simple rules plus topics that fit the age are an ideal introduction to game play. You train winning, losing, following rules, use components correctly and to distinguish colors on top of all that. 

score you gold; a shovel tile de- INFORMATION stroys a road or water tile; if you PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: AMBER cannot place a tile you pay one 2-6 10+ 30+ BUILD ROADS FOR TRADE ROUTES gold, discard a tile from hand and draw a new one. If you have Designer: Thomas Lewandowicz connected to all villages and cas- Artist: Ewa Kotowska Price: ca. 20 Euro The kingdom has been expand- the board. In a turn you must tles you win instantly; otherwise Publisher: Rebel.pl 2012 ed with a coastal region and the place a road building tile on the you win with most points from www.rebel.pl true wealth of the region are its board and draw a tile from stock. gold and connecting villages amber deposits; players build You can only add a road build- and castles when the draw pile EVALUATION roads to enable access to the ing tile to an existing network is empty. new region. of roads and place it only on In the advanced game each Placement game For families The game is set up according empty spots, with the exception player has a shovel tile of his Version: multi to the rules for the respective of bridges and roundabouts; all own color which does not count Rules: en pl number of players; each player is roads are neutral and can be for the maximum number of six In-game text: no given six road building tiles and used by all; connecting of a vil- tiles in hand and which you can Comments: is randomly assigned a castle on lage or castle to the network can use once in the game, and a cer- Nice background story * Simple mechanisms * tain number of tiles is displayed Pretty components * Good open-faced; when you draw a tile family game * Two levels of you can choose to draw from the difficulty face-down draw pile or from this Compares to: Carcassonne display. Andere Ausgaben: Amber is a very attractive fam- Currently none ily game in the tradition of Car- cassonne, restricted to creating roads; you need to consider the use of a shovel well, as destroy- ing water can be very useful; you also need to plan when to connect to a village or castle in order to get the coveted gold. 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 1220 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at BIM BAMM! / BLOQS t PLAYED FOR YOU

action tile. When it currently INFORMATION shows the white frame you can PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: BIM BAMM! swap your card in hand with one 2-5 6+ 15+ FIVE HENS ARE MINE! from the stack; when it shows the black frame you swap your Designer: M. Palm, L. Zach hand card face down with an- Artist: Johann Rüttinger Price: ca. 12 Euro Uncover animals and count onto and decides the color of the other player’s card. In both cases Publisher: Drei Hasen i. d. A. 12 them! 16 double-sided tiles frame showing on the tiles and you turn over the action tile to its www.hasehasehase.de show animals, each of them you display them accordingly in other side. looks a little bit different, but a frame of 4x4 tiles. The cards for If you see five animals of that EVALUATION easily recognizable, and all your hand are well shuffled and kind that is depicted on your show a characteristic color and stacked face down, each player card in hand you call BIM BAMM Counting-/reaction game For children background color; there are then draws a card from this stack and put down the card for a vic- Version: multi dogs, cats, pigs, donkeys and and keeps it secret from the oth- tory point; should more players Rules: de en fr it hens; one side of the tiles shows er players. look for the same animal at the In-game text: no a white frame, the other a black In your turn you can either turn same time you win the card if Comments: frame. The action tile is snipped over an animal tile or use the you call BIM BAMM first! If you Fantastic illustrations * Nice game mechanism * Plays did win the card you draw a new nicely for two players using one. If you make a mistake and an additional rule call BIM BAMM in vain you lose Compares to: one of your cards if you have Finde vier for double-sided animal tiles, Halli Galli for reaction already at least one card. If you Andere Ausgaben: could collect three cards you are Currently none the winner of the jolly animal count. As all games published by this company, newly founded in 2012, this one, too, impresses by its design combined with the simple mechanism! Pretty, quick and beckoning to be played again, now! 

into your cube. But: You only do INFORMATION this when the turn ends on a disc PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: BLOQS where you are alone. When there 2-4 8+ 30+ A BIG CUBE MADE WITH SMALL CUBES are several markers on the disc you must swap pieces with those Designer: Hyo-Jong You, P. Zuidhof players, with each of them in or- Artist: Rick de Zwart Price: ca. 34 Euro Since there was Blokus colorful your marker is put on the start- der of your choice. You remove Publisher: Playthisone 2012 geometrical shapes, made up ing spot: You roll the die and a piece from the outside of the www.playthisone.com from cubes, are en vogue; Bloqs move your marker along the respective cube and insert it enriches the genre with a new discs; when the move ends on into your own cube. You must EVALUATION game. a face-down disc you turn it up not cause collapse of the cube 32 pieces in eight shapes and and and leave it so. Pieces pic- or shifting of pieces in the cube! Construction game For families colors must be combined to tured on such a disc tell you that If you manage to construct a Version: multi a perfect cube made up from you must place such a piece into perfect cube of size 3x3x3 small Rules: de en fr nl 3x3x3 small cubes. The discs are your own cube; in case of an ac- cubes without gaps or protrud- In-game text: no distributed on the board, the tion disc you must steal a piece ing small cubes, you win instant- Comments: pieces are laid out as stock and or take it from stock and put it ly. When there are no pieces in Pretty components * Good, simple rules * Family game stock or all discs on the board are with a bit of challenge * face-up you win with most com- Trains spatial thinking plete levels. In a Maestro variant Compares to: you can play cards, too, some- Blokus and other games about filling areas and space using elements of times instead of rolling the die, different shapes in order to change conditions for Andere Ausgaben: moving and building. Currently none Bloqs is colorful, rather challenging and a wonderful family game! The perfect cube is not easy to achieve and sometimes it is better to change strategies early in the game and to decide on as many complete levels as possible! 

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There are always four sponsors INFORMATION on display; in each round you PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: CIRQUE DU MONSTRE you bid for sponsors using tal- 3-5 12+ 60+ MONSTROUS ARTISTS ent values of artist cards in your hand, adhering to stringent rules Designer: R. Kawakami, H. Yasuda for bidding, passing and continu- Artist: F. S. Kawasaki + Team Price: ca. 30 Euro There are too many monsters sponsors and try to find new ing bidding; then you discard art- Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten 12 living in this world, being in sponsors. ists and sponsors in order to ac- japonbrand.gamers-jp.com each other’s way and forgetting Cirque du Monstre is a deck quire new artists, draw cards and how to laugh! In the Cirque du building game in which you regenerate exhausted sponsors. EVALUATION Monstre you should assemble as start the game with eight artists Special cards are used according many monsters of different races or members in your circus and to information on the card. When Deck-building, fantasy For experts as possible to run the best circus one sponsor. The game uses the sponsor cards are gone you Version: jp in town and to teach the mon- standard mechanisms from win with the highest value of Rules: de en fr sters to laugh again! You want other deck building games, each fame points on your artist cards In-game text: yes to collect fame points, ask and player has his personal draw pile on display. Comments: bid with talent for money from and personal discard pile. Cirque du Monstre offers an Components in Japanese language only * Rules avail- original topic which has been able in other languages, painstakingly and lovingly im- with very concise card plemented, in the German and explanation * For experts only English translations monster art- Compares to: ists and their acts have very fancy Other deck-building games names, from Slime’s Wild Spin to Andere Ausgaben: Hula Hooping Behemoth, and a Currently none Noveau Riche Orc as a sponsor is quite funny, too. The experiment to decipher cards with the help of the rules is rather tenuous work, so the game currently remains restricted to expert that speak or read Japanese! What a pity! 

capital cities to metropolises, INFORMATION powerful historical personalities DAS BRETTSPIEL PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: CIVILIZATION as Great People as well as in- 2-5 13+ 120+ RUHM UND REICHTUM ERWEITERUNG vestment cards and investment markers. Designer: S. Meier, K. Wilson In general, the rules of the ex- Artist: M. Fahrenbach + Team FFG Price: ca. 22 Euro Using diplomacy, war, economy cultural or technological or eco- pansion supersede those of the Publisher: Heidelberger 2012 and technology players lead nomic or military victory. core game. You use investment www.heidelbaer.de their civilizations through the A round of the game consists of cards to acquire permanent ad- millennia from ancient times five phases – Start of the round, vantages, investment markers EVALUATION into the space age. You start Trade, City Management, Move- to not count for coin markers in with a small city without any ment and Research. Each phase an economic victory and can- Development For experts inventions; build, expand, ab- is completed by all players in not be stolen and deposited by Version: de sorb smaller nations around you turn. The expansions features, other players. New are Relics and Rules: de en fr it pl and finally have to face conflicts first of all, the necessary compo- building of Temporary Defenses. In-game text: yes with other big developing civili- nents for a fifth player plus rules The upgrading of a city to a me- Comments: zations. You can either achieve a and components for upgrading tropolis is possible due to the Excellent expansion * Pro- vides lots of atmosphere new technology of Agriculture; with additional historical the advantages are expanded personalities * Now suit- outskirts, 2 culture points for Art able for five players and a combat bonus of +2 for de- Compares to: Civilization, other development games fense; a metropolis can partly ex- Andere Ausgaben: pand into water, not counting for Fantasy Flight, USA; Edge Entertain- water in movement and can thus ment, France, Spain; Galakta, Poland; be used as a makeshift bridge. Stratelibri, Italy A densely packed and superb expansion for a fantastic game, especially riveting due to the historic personalities, ranging from Nicola Tesla and Adam Smith to Marco Polo and Frieda Kahlo. 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 1422 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at CLOCKS / COLOVERO t PLAYED FOR YOU

der of bid values. Then you place INFORMATION dice into the clock face in clock- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: CLOCKS wise order; you may leave gaps 1-4 8+ 30+ DICE AROUND THE CLOCK but pay for them with coins. Per- fectly corresponding dice earn Designer: T. de Rycke, S. Vernyns you bonus actions, red dice con Artist: Dany Stuer Price: ca. 36 Euro You strive for the perfect clock! on the side of the board you use earn you money and black dice Publisher: Sandtimer 2012 You are given a clock face which you start with coins of value 6 allow you free gaps. www.sandtimer.be features dice symbols equal to or 10. After dice placement you receive the number, next to each num- The rounds of the game com- money, re-roll a dice on the clock EVALUATION ber. The board has a backside prise three phases: Auctioning of or buy another action from the featuring an inverted clock for dice, player turns and change of clock. When you have placed 12 Dice placement With friends an advanced game. Some num- starting player plus – maybe – re- dice on the clock and the game Version: multi bers on the face are marked with turning of dice. Dice are random- does not end you must discard Rules: de en fr nl action symbols, the Sixes are of a ly drawn from a bag and you use a dice. If you have achieved a In-game text: no different color and are deemed close bids do bid for them and perfect clock – all dice values are Comments: to be already filled. Depending choose dice in descending or- correct – or when all clocks are Fantastic graphics * Good rules, providing lots of filled at the end of the round, you choice for actions and score for perfectly placed dice, decisions * Some gaming groups of perfectly placed dice experience is an advantage * Plays best for three or four and color groups of dice. Compares to: Naturally, the bidding for dice Star Wars Angriff der Klonkrieger and is the deciding element; if you other games using pre-set placement spend money at the start for this of dice Andere Ausgaben: you can quickly achieve some Currently none perfect placement and acquire bonuses; the plethora of choices for actions demand a bit of gaming experience, it takes some time to adjust to this amount of possible actions. 

value was played later. A joker INFORMATION always wins a trick independent PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: COLOVERO of number values, in case of two 3-6 8+ 5+ GREEN TRICKS OR ORANGE ONES? jokers player the joker that was played later wins the trick. If you Designer: U. Linke, H. Koch played the winning card – the Artist: not stated Price: ca. 5 Euro Colovero is a small trick-taking aside. The first player leads a highest number in the color of Publisher: Koch & Linke 2013 card game using interesting card, the others follow. When the winning sum or the winning www.colovero.com mechanisms; cards are marked all have played a card the values joker or the winning card in case with values Zero to Twelve, each of orange and green cards are of a tie – you take the trick and EVALUATION number comes twice in orange summed separately, the color set it down with the winning and twice in green, plus one achieving the higher total wins card showing on top. Trick-taking card game For families joker of each color. the trick; when there is a tie the When all cards have been played Version: de Depending on the number of winner is the color in which the the color that took the most Rules: de players only certain numbers highest single value was played; tricks is the winning color and In-game text: no and jokers are used; you get if there is a tie, too, the winner you score one point for each trick Comments: nine cards, left-overs are set is the color in which the highest that you took in this winning Unusual mechanism * Only two colors, no trump * color and one negative point Simple, well-written rules for each trick in the losing color. Compares to: After the number of previously Trick-taking card games agreed rounds is played you win Andere Ausgaben: with the highest total of points. Currently none Definitely unusual, definitely needs getting used to, definitely interesting – if you want to score you need not only to trick in the color, but trick in a way that the total is higher than in the other color – tricky! A good memory for cards is in high demand! 

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easily reach the cards, left hand INFORMATION to the edge of the table – you use PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: CONFETTI it to hold the cards you collected 1-7 9+ 20+ COLORS ON THE TABLE! fishing for them with your right hand. You can take cards from Designer: Sergey Machin opponents if they are not held Artist: Sergey Machin Price: ca. 14 Euro The game mechanism is simple: in different arrangements on a down, but you can take all cards Publisher: Rightgames 2012 Collect cards, collect cards fast black background. only with your index finger or in- www.russianboardgames.com while looking out for high-scor- For a game you simply take the dex + middle finger of your right ing combinations. stack of cards - you do not have hand, by pulling, pushing or flip- EVALUATION The cards are double-sided; one to shuffle them, they only need ping them! In rounds One and side features colored circles on a to all show the white side up, Two you can hold a maximum Collecting game For families white background, always three and throw approximately half of of six cards, in round Three nine Version: multi circles in three colors in differ- them on the table; when cards cards. You score points for sets Rules: de en fr + it kr ru ent arrangements. The other fall showing the black side you of cards showing three circles In-game text: no side shows different geometri- simple turn them over. Then all of the same color in three sizes! Comments: cal shapes, again always three, sit down in a way that they can Each such set scores one point Tricky images * Simple rules * High replay value * and four cards can be enough Hectic play to score two points. Compares to: When the timer runs out and you Card collecting games cannot use cards that you took Andere Ausgaben: for a set you lose a penalty point Russische Ausgabe, Rightgames for each such card; then you keep a number of cards equal to your score for points and turn them over to the black side. Witty, fast and a lot of fun! And woe to me, when another player spots a better combination in my cards than I did I lose a point, too! 

security of the streets of Pelargir INFORMATION into the heat of an epic battle PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: DER HERR DER RINGE against an army Orcs and Sou- 1-2 13+ 60+ DIE ERBEN VON NÚMENOR throns – “Gefahr in Pelagir – Peril in Pelargir” with a difficulty level Designer: Nate French of 5, “Nach Ithilien – Into Ithilien”, Artist: Lucas Graciano Price: ca. 20 Euro In the cooperative LCG based on „Die Erben von Númenor“ trans- level 4, and “Die Belagerung von Publisher: Heidelberger 2013 the mechanisms of collectible fers events into the fought-over Cair Andros – The Siege of Cair www.hds-fantasy.de card games players embody a realms of Gondor, more exactly Andros”, level 7. fellowship of heroes encounter- into Eastern Gondor and into the Three new key words in this ex- EVALUATION ing dangerous quests in Middle years preceding the War of the pansion are Archery, Battle and Earth. The Core set for 2 players Rings. This deluxe expansions Siege. For a card with Archery in Living Card Game With friends contains 226 cards in four starter comprises 165 new cards intro- play you need to inflict damage Version: de decks, ready for use in introduc- ducing two new heroes, a lot on your characters at the start of Rules: de en es fr pl tory games. The game comprises of new allies and three copies each combat phase equal to the In-game text: yes Hero cards, Player cards, Encoun- of each player cards. Three sce- value of the respective card; the Comments: ter cards and Quest cards. narios take you from the relative amount can be split between Lovingly done * Catches flair and feeling of the several characters, values of sev- films very nicely * Fantastic eral such cards are cumulative. illustrations For the keyword Battle you add Compares to: other values of characters, and Der Herr Der Ringe Khazad-Dûm the same goes for Siege. Andere Ausgaben: The Lord of the Rings Heirs of Equal to the other expansions Númenor, FFG; Galakta, Poland; Edge this one, too, has been created Entertainment France, Spain painstakingly and lovingly, it is a must for all who play The Lord of the Rings LCG; the flair of novel and films is well implemented and pitches you into the heart of events. 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 24 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at DESCENT / DIFFERIX EXTREM t PLAYED FOR YOU

Overlord. INFORMATION The 2nd edition of Descent is PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: DESCENT based on the 1st edition of the 2-5 14+ 240+ DIE REISE INS DUNKEL ZWEITE EDITION game. The system for characters and combat has been revised Designer: Sadler, Konieczka, Clark and you can either play an epic Artist: Aparin, Mehlhoff + Team Price: ca. 60 Euro Descent Journeys in the Dark can only succeed with astute ac- campaign or play the various Publisher: Heidelberger 2012 combines elements of a tactical tion and cooperation. There are missions/adventures separately. www.hds-fantasy.de miniature board game in a new variable boards and scenarios, Again the Overlord is confronted way with classic fantasy role the game flow follows the usual with up to four heroes. The goals EVALUATION playing. One player plays the scheme: Enter rooms, turn up vary depending on the scenario Overlord, who is not interested tiles, enact, implement and mas- and you always win as a group. Fantasy, Adventure For experts in successful heroes. His aim is ter events, collect items and fight New are defense dice, simplified Version: de the failure of their mission and monsters. rules for “line of sight” and a new Rules: de en his means provided by game There is always one turn for each mechanism for the powers of the In-game text: yes components give him overpow- player, first for all heroes in order Overlord. Rules for a campaign, Comments: ering faculties. Up to four heroes of their choice, and then for the in which several adventures Revised new edition of Descent * Fantastic art work * make up a continuing story, al- Can be played as a campaign * low for development of heroes’ Gaming experience necessary abilities and improvement of Compares to: their equipment, but also for Descent 1. Edition and other fantasy adventure games more powers for the Overlord. Andere Ausgaben: Once again there must be praise FFG, USA; Arclight, Japan; Edge En- for the fantastic graphics and tertainment, Spain, Galakta, Poland; the amount and quality of the Wargames Club Publishing, Chinese; Giochi Uniti, Italy components; the revision has condensed the game and made it more accessible at the same time, but you still need some gaming experience for it, especially if you play the Overlord! 

to place their tiles correctly and INFORMATION as fast as possible on their board. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: DIFFERIX EXTREM If you are finished before the tim- 1-4 5-10 var SPEEDY, FOCUSED SEARCH er sounds, you stop the game for all. Whoever has most correctly Designer: Elisabeth Richter placed tiles, wins. Artist: Michael Menzel Price: ca. 20 Euro 16 images on a board only seem your pairs, you take it and place Differix im Kreis is intended for Publisher: Ravensburger 2013 to be identical, you must spot it face-down on your board. 6 year olds, you should place as www.ravensburger.de the tiny differences, and under When a player has found all tiles many tiles as possible correctly pressure of time in three of the the searching phase ends for all on four boards over the course EVALUATION four variants listed in the rules. players and you now assign the of four rounds. Each player has a For Memo-Differix you take tiles to the pictures on the board board and tiles and assigns while Spotting game For children one of the boards and 16 tiles; and check for correctness with the timer runs, then you control Version: de the tiles are placed face-down the foil. If you have most correct the placement and score a point Rules: de on the table and shuffled. Now tiles, you win. for each correctly placed tile; In-game text: no you play a memo game and Differix ganz fix is played each wrongly placed tile scores Comments: turn up tiles; if you find one of against the timer, all players try a negative points. Then you Established, fun mechanism * Nice drawings * hand on the board and after More difficult due to time four rounds you win with most element * Control foil points. Differix mit Weiterge- facilitates checking ben is played in teams, in anal- Compares to: Other editions of Differix, all games ogy to Differix im Kreis, after featuring searching for differences a certain amount of time has Andere Ausgaben: passed you hand the board over Differix, Ravensburger, without time to a member of your team. element This mechanisms, established for 40 years now, are still fun; the time element introduces an additional challenge and very intensely trains focusing and observation abilities. 

WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 25 PLAYED FOR YOU u FLIEG MIT, KLEINE EULE / FOOD CHAIN

sun tile on display you must play INFORMATION it and move the time marker for- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: FLIEG MIT, KLEINE EULE ward by one step towards sun- 2-4 4+ 15+ BACK TO THE NEST BEFORE SUNRISE! rise. If not, you play a color tile of your choice and choose an owl Designer: Susan McKinley Ross that you move forward to the Artist: A. Pätzke, M. Schiller Price: ca. 15 Euro The little owls go on nightly spots. The tiles are stacked, each next empty spot in the color of Publisher: Schmidt Spiele 2013 excursions of discovery in the player starts with three open- the tile you played. Occupied www.schmidtspiele.de woods, but they must be back in faced tiles and all play in turn in spaces in this color in front of their nests before dawn breaks. clock-wise direction. the owl you want to move are ig- EVALUATION Players work together to help Each player implements three nored and jumped over. If there them to be back in their nests actions in his turn: Play one sun is no spot of that color in front of Cooperative game For children on time. or color tile and discard it – move the owl you move the owl into Version: multi Depending on the chosen level either the time marker or one the nest. When all owls are in Rules: de fr it of difficulty you can use between owl according to the tile played – the nest before the time marker In-game text: no three and six owls and place draw a tile from the stack and set reaches sunrise, all players have Comments: them on the respective starting it down open-faced. If you have a won together. Enchanting playing pieces * Very simple mechanism This game provides a very simple * Trains cooperation, plan- mechanism which is challenging ning and some tactic due to the cooperative element; Compares to: it enables very young players to Movement games with color spots for advance mechanism learn to plan game turns and to Andere Ausgaben: work together, because the more Currently none tiles of the same color you play n turn the further you can move an owl and of course no owl should be left too far behind. The cute little owl figurines make you want to play again if you turned up too many sun tiles. 

spond – ant mark it. It is possible INFORMATION that several cards are played PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: FOOD CHAIN onto one card. You can feed 2-4 8+ 30+ WER FRISST WEN TIEF IM WALD? when your own animal card is the one in highest position in Designer: Meelis Loover the food chain of all cards played Artist: R. Koppel, G. Rudzitis Price: ca. 10 Euro Players create food chains as card shows an animal, its food, to the prey card; you take it and Publisher: Brain Games 2012 a mirror-image of nature, you its position in the food chain, the set it down. You can only retract www.brain-games.com hunt and feed in the forest and animals for which this animal is a card if it is available, then you compete for the best food. prey and the score for hunting take it back and also take back EVALUATION The game comprises 52 cards this animal. the marker. Available cards can with twelve different animals, You play in turns and can choose be swapped for cards from you Card game For families items or special functions like one of five actions in each turn: r hand, when the card from your Version: multi hunter or a swarm of bees. You Hunt, Feed, Retract, Swap cards hind is higher up in the food Rules: de en + fr nl ru have four cards in hand and four or Pass. To hunt you cover a chain. If you choose to pass you In-game text: no cards are displayed on the table card with your own – symbols discard a card and draw a new Comments: to form the forest. Each animal for feed and hunter must corre- one. The hunter can catch any Pretty design * Basically simple mechanism * Game animal card once, the swarm can much dominated by the chase away any animal or the chance element of drawing hunter, from a food chain once. cards If passing is the only possible op- Compares to: Games with formation of sets and tion left for all you score for cards series and markers you collected. Andere Ausgaben: This is a nice family game with a Russian/Estonian edition, Print & Play rather high element of chance, edition and risk, too, because if you hunt you offer your hunting animal for prey and also the marker! But if you do not take risks, you go hungry! 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 26 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at FURCHTLOSE FLIEGER / GALAXY TRUCKER t PLAYED FOR YOU

If you did not roll one of the nec- INFORMATION essary colors you have achieved PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: FURCHTLOSE FLIEGER a crash-landing and must end 2-4 6+ 20+ PILOTES, MAN THE DICE! your turn without having collected cold. If you land on an island Designer: Gerhard Piaskowy showing a can you need to re-fu- Artist: Thies Schwarz Price: ca. 17 Euro As co-pilots of Pit players try to an island you can relocate the el your airplane: You put one dice Publisher: Haba 2013 salvage treasure from the vol- aero plane to this island. When stick down on the can and now www.haba.de cano island of Habanabi as well there are several possibilities, have, in case you want to con- as from the many tiny islands in you choose one of them. If you tinue flying, one dice stick less EVALUATION between their starting place and then want to stop you count to roll a suitable colors. If you roll the volcano island. the gold coins depicted on the the same color for times in one Dice game For children In your turn you cast/roll all island and advance your marker roll or roll four different colors Version: multi four dice sticks: When the result on the gold track accordingly. or reach the volcano island you Rules: de en es fr it nl shows at least one color of the If you want to continue flying receive the amulet; if necessary In-game text: no arrows that connect the start- you roll again and try to reach you take it from another player; Comments: ing point of the aero plane to an island. it allows you to repeat your roll Very pretty components * Good mixture of luck of in case of a crash-landing and dice, a bit of tactic and the must then put the amulet back decision of risk or not? * on the compass. When your turn Simple basic rule * Fuel mechanism is a nice detail ends you put the airplane back Compares to: to the starting place. If you reach Dice game with stop or continue or pass the last spot on the gold mechanism track you win. Andere Ausgaben: Furchtlose Flieger conjures up Currently none an entirely new game from standard mechanisms with enchanting components and a few new details, the continue-or-stop decision needs some tactic and bit of probability assessment. 

ung / Another Big Expansion, INFORMATION in a box of the same size as core PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: GALAXY TRUCKER game and 1st expansion. New 2-5 13+ 90+ NOCH EINE GROSSE ERWEITERUNG technologies introduce 42 new ship parts, also suitable for de- Designer: Vlaada Chvátil fense against aliens, because Artist: Radim Pech Price: ca. 40 Euro You are a galaxy trucker and your ship to get the ship suitably there are now aliens in Galaxy Publisher: Heidelberger 2012 build a spaceship to reach the equipped. A part is integrated by Trucker, too, who enter ships and www.hds-fantasy.de Edge - where you can make placing it next to the base. Then eat crew. New ship classes are profit or loss. You start with the you use eight cards to fly, you depicted on ten double-sided EVALUATION base of Ship 1, choose a covered stack them and then resolve space ship plans including rules tile from the middle and add it them. It can happen that you for flights in a forth lap, accom- Placement, reaction With friends to your ship or put it back into have to abort a flight. panied by Credits. And to enable Version: de the middle face-up and choose This game was supplemented you to fly you need flight cards, Rules: cz de en a new one according to proce- with Die Große Erweiterung / you get them for the previously In-game text: yes dure. You can look at the flight The Big Expansion and now we introduced laps I, II and III as well Comments: card stack while constructing get Noch eine Große Erweiter- as for the new lap IV. Which takes Huge amount of components * Can be combined to the invaders who enter the any way with the basic ship, wander around and gobble game and other expan- up or blast everything unless the sions * Needs basic game to play heroic crew manages to over- Compares to: whelm them. A little assistance Galaxy Trucker is given by the specialists on 18 Andere Ausgaben: cards who do facilitate the hard At Czech Games, Iello, Rio Grande life of galaxy truckers, at least a little bit. As big, as witty and as indispens- able as the first big expansion, cleverly devised, attractive and somewhat of a challenge. 

WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 27 PLAYED FOR YOU u GOLD NUGGETS / HASE HÜPF!

turn ends instantly and you do INFORMATION not take nuggets. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: GOLD NUGGETS If you stop, you take nuggets in 2-5 8+ 20+ ROLL, TAKE OR STEAL! relation to the value of the dice you set aside: each nugget sym- Designer: Reiner Knizia bol brings one nugget, three or Artist: not stated Price: ca. 15 Euro You roll for nuggets and some- roll again. If yes, you roll all dice more identical numbers earn Publisher: Piatnik 2013 times you might even be able to you did not set aside. Then you you the number value, so three www.piatnik.com steal them from other players. set aside dice, again lassos and or more dice Number Four earn Seven dice show numbers and nuggets; numbers can now only you four nuggets only! Lasso EVALUATION symbols for nuggets and lassos. be set aside if they are identical symbols have value Zero, but if You roll all seven dice and set to numbers already set aside or you have set aside three or more Dice game For families aside at least one die, showing if you rolled again another three lasso symbols you can take the Version: multi lassos and/or nuggets and/or or more identical numbers. You nuggets earned in this turn from Rules: cz de en fr hu it pl sk a minimum of three identical can never re-roll dice already set another player. If the chosen In-game text: no numbers. aside. If you cannot set aside one player does not have enough Comments: Then you decide if you want to or more dice after a re-roll, your nuggets you take only those Nice version of the Can’t Stop mechanism * More he has. If you could set aside all than three numbers don’t seven dice correctly you have an- yield a higher score * Good other turn. When all nuggets are mix of chance and some tactic owned by players you win with Compares to: most nuggets. All dice game with stop/continue The wish for Gold can make you mechanism greedy – so, can I roll the third Andere Ausgaben: lasso and steal nuggets from my Currently none neighbor who currently owns most of them? Well, let’s roll for it! Gold Nugget is a nice and fast version of the Can’t Stop mechanism, good family fun in which, as usual, less can be more at the end! 

parts, a so called animal board INFORMATION showing an animal family and PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: HASE HÜPF! two animal tiles with the baby 1-4 2+ 10+ MOVEMENT BY COLOR BALL animals of the kind. In the basic game Wo ist meine Designer: A. Wrede, C. Cantzler Familie? you need to combine Artist: Katja Senner Price: ca. 12 Euro Games for toddlers are a special motor skills with rolling the color animal board and animal cards. Publisher: Ravensburger 2013 challenge and Ravensburger has ball and assembling the puzzle The boards are displayed open- www.ravensburger.de mastered this challenge now for parts for animal families. faced, the cards are sorted by many years by providing fan- The color ball is a special feature, backside color. EVALUATION tastic games for children ages 2 a ball split in four color segments You roll the color ball and turn and up. that always stops in a way that up the top card from the stack Educational, movement For children Hase hüpf! is a movement and one of the segments points up- of this color. All players now take Version: de agility game for this age group, wards providing a dice result. the card to the corresponding Rules: de topic of the game are animals The game uses this color ball board while moving like the pic- In-game text: no and baby animals as well as ani- made from cloth and eight tured animal and imitating the Comments: mal sounds and also training of puzzle boards made up of three animal’s sound. Series Spielend Erstes Lernen * Cooperation Children that are a bit older can with ZNL * Components play Farbball-Lotto: All animal geared to toddlers * Lots boards are distributed to play- of educational content transported by fun ers, the color ball is rolled and Compares to: an animal card of this color is Dice game featuring puzzle parts turned up. Andere Ausgaben: If you can use the card for your Currently none puzzle you receive it and if you are first to complete the puzzle you win. A seemingly simple game, yet it trains motor skills, colors, sound recognition and imitation, agility and assigning, but most of all provides lots fun for toddlers! 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 28 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at HELVETIA CUP / JENGA BOOM t PLAYED FOR YOU

team that scored the most goals INFORMATION after 90 minutes. In case of a tie PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: HELVETIA CUP there is a penalty shootout. The 2 6+ 45+ DRAGONS VS. MANIACS set-up is done after randomly determining the first attacker, Designer: F. Crittin, G. Largey according to the rules. In each Artist: L. Mastroianni, O. Debons Price: ca. 58 Euro Soccer is boring, soccer with the Maniacs from Valé. phase of a round there are player Publisher: Helvetia Games 2012 dragons is better! You train a soc- You get interested already when relocation and action phase. www.helvetia-games.ch cer team in a fantasy setting that unpacking the game, because In the relocation phase of a has astonishing similarities to you find a two-page rule for round you move players, in the EVALUATION Switzerland, and you play single the family game and a 24 pages action phase you acquire the matches or championships. booklet with rules for the so ball for a pass or a shot at the Sports simulation For families A team is made up from a goal- called geek version; so I restrict goal: then the defending team Version: multi keeper, four outfield players, two myself to presenting the family becomes the attacking team Rules: de en fr it replacement players and the version here. and a relocation phase follows; In-game text: no trainer, you can either imperson- In general the standard soccer the timer marker is moved to Comments: ate the Dragons from Basela or rules apply and the winner is the the next red time square. After a Two rules for family and expert versions * Very goal trainers can substitute play- beautiful components in- ers and the game continues with cluding painted miniatures the basic setup. A game lasts the * Well-written rules virtual 90 minutes of a standard Compares to: Other ball game simulations in a game with two runs of the timer fantasy setting along the time track. Andere Ausgaben: Helvetia Cup provides fantastic Currently none fantasy fun based on real soccer rules and thus a felicitous sport simulation, and all this is done with a wink and a glance at Swit- zerland, in its family version this is really a family game! 

your turn you press the arrow INFORMATION button to start the detonator PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: JENGA BOOM = timer; then you take –using 1+ 6+ 5+ DON’T FORGET one hand – a Jenga block from TO PULL THE DET CORD! anywhere below the highest Designer: not stated layer – you can touch blocks to Artist: not stated Price: ca. 20 Euro Jenga – a synonym for all dex- mite sticks, the timer in disguise. test if they are sufficiently loose, Publisher: Hasbro 2013 terity games in which you must When you set up the game you but always using only one hand www.hasbro.at stack things, and this is what you pull the “fuse” cord out of the – and place the block that you need to do here, too! timer and then press the start have just pulled out on the high- EVALUATION 36 wooden Jenga blocks of- button to make the platform est position on the tower, again fer their familiar appearance, rise. Then you stack the 36 blocks shifted by 90 degrees as regards Dexterity game For families marked the game Jenga Boom, as usual on the basis, arranged to the previous layer. Then you Version: multi simple rectangular pieces as usu- in layers, three blocks per layer press the button marked with a Rules: de en (19 lang.) al. What’s new is the basis – were each layer shifted by 90 degrees square. When the detonator „ex- In-game text: no nicely and with lots of imagina- as regards to the previous one. plodes“ or when the tower falls Comments: tion shaped like a pack of dyna- Now you play in turns: To start due to any other reason the win- Standard-Jenga in combination with a gimmick * ner is the player who last pressed Introduces time pressure the the end-of-turn button with- and a chance element out causing the tower to fall. Compares to: Jenga as we know and love Other dexterity games with timer, other Jenga editions and yet the timer introduces a Andere Ausgaben: chance element which some- Currently none how creates havoc with the en- deavor to create a stable tower and somehow also ruins the fun from good advice like „no, not there, it will tumble, put it rather on the opposite side“ and – yet somehow, I don’t know why – it is fun all the same! 

WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 29 PLAYED FOR YOU u KUDDELMUDDEL / LEGEND

item that is identical to one item INFORMATION on one of the two end cards of PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: KUDDELMUDDEL the row. If you are quickest to lay 2-4 5+ 15+ CLEAN UP THE HOUSE! out seven cards in a row you hit the bell. Now all other players Designer: H. Shafir, G. Burkhardt check your row of cards. If the Artist: Yaniv Shimoni Price: ca. 16 Euro The chaos about the house cards. You randomly take one row is correct and free of mis- Publisher: Amigo Spiele 2013 needs a bit of sorting; 80 cards card from the middle for your takes you keep all cards in the www.amigo-spiele.de show items in ever-changing starting card and place it on the row in a stack, all other players combinations, there are always table. Then you take always one but back their cards face-down EVALUATION three items pictured on one card. card from the middle – if you and a new round begins. If you The bell is placed on the table cannot use it you put it back did make a mistake you put Row forming with cards For children and the cards, shuffled face face-down. If a card is of use to back your cards face down into Version: de down, are distributed around you you can place it at the end of the middle and must pass for the Rules: de the bell. All play simultaneously, the row, either left or right. For a remainder of the round. In-game text: no after a starting signal you try for card to be useful and fitting the When the last card is taken from Comments: yourself to form a row of seven new card must show at least one the middle of the table, you Nicely combined standard mechanisms * Pretty draw- may keep your cards if at that ings * Trains observation moment you have laid out the and tempo longest row of all players and if Compares to: the row at that moment is free of All games on correlations of card details mistakes. Now all count the cards Andere Ausgaben: in their stock or lay them out in a Currently none row; if you have most cards you win. Kuddelmuddel is nicely made, a nice version as well as combination of standard mechanisms, if you have a good memory for images this can help. 

the complete race you have 30 INFORMATION points that you can allocate to PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: LEGEND upgrades for your car. At the start 1-6 14+ 45+ THE HISTORY OF 1000 MIGLIA of a leg you roll dice for weather conditions and from the second Designer: Carlo Amaddeo stage on cars start each leg ac- Artist: Carlo Amaddeo Price: ca. 40 Euro In 1925 the Mille Miglia Cup are either flat, ascending or cording to the order of arrival Publisher: WBS 2012 was created, a race around Italy descending, the car cards list at the finish of the previous leg. www.wbsgames.com which held from 1827 until 1957; the characteristics of all cars. A turn comprises selection and the game pictures the period Depending on the status of the noting down of speed, move car, EVALUATION from 1927 to 1933. On the his- road you roll the black dice for cope with or implement techni- toric route from Brescia to Rome a dry surface or the blue dice cal actualities and modify speed Car racing game With friends and back again to Brescia very for a wet one. You decide on a on the table, if necessary. A leg Version: multi different cards raced each other, year you want to play and then can either end with a Flying Ar- Rules: en it + es nl interestedly watched by specta- on the length of the race and fi- rival at the finish line or with a In-game text: yes tors along the route. nally choose a card that fits the check point. For a Flying Arrival Comments: The details of the track parts year. When you choose to play you can use any speed and start Separate edition for family game and expert game * the next leg with exactly this No upgrade available from speed. For a check point you family to expert game * must brake to achieve the maxi- Good racing simulation * Historic details nicely incorporated mum speed that is allowed and Compares to: your starting speed for the next All games on car racing with altera- leg will be Zero. tions to car characteristics Legend offers an attractive and Andere Ausgaben: elegant simulation of a historic Currently none car race, a family version is available in a separate edition. The atmosphere of the race has been nicely caught, the flow of the game is challenging and is fun, too! 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 30 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at MAFIA CITY / MAGNUM SAL t PLAYED FOR YOU

of the Mayor you score locations INFORMATION in order of their number or in the PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: MAFIA CITY order of choice by the player who 3-5 12+ 90+ CORRUPTION AND FIGHTS FOR POWER controls the Mayor. If you are in control of a location you score Designer: Petr Bĕlík one victory point and you can Artist: Petr Bĕlík, Marek Piza Price: ca. 40 Euro Players are bosses of Mafia clans ment the effect of the card or to use the effect of the location. Publisher: Stragoo Games 2012 and want to acquire most victory implement the effect of the hat For Strategy you can retract Ma- www.stragoo.cz points as a mark of their power symbol; those cards are the core fiosi by taking them back or leave in town. The game is played in element of the game und usu- them in place. For End of Round EVALUATION rounds comprising four: Action, ally mean something bad will the starting player changes and Location, Strategy and End of be happening to other players. you draw cards. If you acquire Worker placement With friends Round. When all players have passed, the necessary number of victory Version: multi For Action you use action cards the Location Phase begins; in this points, you win. Rules: de en or place a Mafioso or pass; sev- phase you score all locations, that Mafia City uses simple rules to In-game text: yes eral Mafiosi are stacked. Actions is, you check who controls a loca- provide a game of dense and Comments: cards are either played to imple- tion; depending on the location challenging atmosphere with Very interactive * Attractive components * Good rules a lot of interaction; Actions and * You need to be ready for card effects are always very conflict much related to the topic and Compares to: sometimes somewhat drastic, The broad variety of games with a Mafia topic just like you imagine Mafia to be Andere Ausgaben: like, up to the decision of taking Currently none back Mafiosi or leaving them in place – all in all not a game for tender-footed players. Another positive aspect of the game are the beautiful components, from three miniatures for Policeman, Hitman and Mayor to poker-chip- alike discs for your Mafiosi. 

three phases you win with most INFORMATION money from salt and tools. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: MAGNUM SAL In the Muria expansion a new 2-5 10+ 120+ MURIA salt mine is opened, new buildings are constructed and you can Designer: M. Krupiński, F. Miłuński play with five players. The board Artist: Piotr Nowojewski Price: ca. 15 Euro 1368 AD: The King of Poland es- each player has one action, in all for Saltworks and Foreman’s Publisher: Leonardo Games 12 tablishes the Cracow Salt Mine. other rounds two actions; two Building supplements the main www.gryleonardo.pl We as managers of the mine actions of a kind if you like, but board, the main shaft of the basic will work hard to be best sup- not twice in the same building. game is replaced with the new EVALUATION plier of the king. On the board Actions are Placing or Moving a shaft. There are new Tool cards you must find minerals, mine miner, Extract salt, Place a miner and you select seven of the new Worker Placement For experts them, take them above ground, into a building as Assistant, Visit tools. The rules of the basic game Version: multi sell them or deliver them to the a building or Pass. At the end of a stay in place, but a player with a Rules: de en pl king. Three phases of the game phase all leave mines and build- Cart can now cross two adjacent In-game text: no comprise several rounds each; ing; new orders are laid out and chambers or shaft sections free Comments: in the first round of a phase the mine is prepared again. After of charge, for a maximum of two Now also for five players * Again very attractive salt cubes. The phases I and II end components * Good, clear after five completed orders. It is rules * Still a challenging suggested that you use all new game for experts demanding exact planning elements of the expansion to- Compares to: gether to achieve an optimum Magnum Sal Core game, other result. Worker Placement games Challenge, demand and inter- Andere Ausgaben: action of the game are kept up Currently none when playing this expansion, you need to plan exactly once again and try to achieve an optimum strategy – if you like Mag- num Sal you cannot pass by this expansion for it. 

WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 31 PLAYED FOR YOU u PARTY & CO GIRLS / PELE-MELE

of the passport spots. The finish INFORMATION spot must be reached with an ex- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: PARTY & CO GIRLS act die roll. If you master all this 2-4 8-14 30+ WHO WILL ACCOMPANY SARAH TO PARIS? first and arrive at the airplane you win! Designer: not stated The mix of tasks and questions Artist: not stated Price: ca. 19 Euro Sarah can take only one of her you must master a task for this is, as in the predecessor Party Publisher: Jumbo 2012 friends to Europe with her and topic – Green for Look, Pink for & Co, exactly geared to the tar- www.jumbo.eu has decided to take the friend Fashion, Yellow for Mixed and geted age group – for instance who is first to bring her four Purple for Leisure. If you master in the Leisure category „Beyoncé EVALUATION specified accessories and reach the task or answer the question sings the hit song Telephone in the airport with her passport. you get another turn. When you a duet with Lady Gaga, Jennifer Party game For children You draw a card that shows the master tasks posed by the large Lopez or Katy Perry?”, or in Mixed Version: de accessories you need to col- spots on the board you take the “Which symbol sits at the end of Rules: de nl lect, roll the die and move your corresponding accessory. In or- a sentence – comma, semicolon In-game text: yes marker. Depending on the spot der to pass the pilot, you must or period?” Fashion for instance Comments: you reached with your marker pick up your passport from one demands “Name three famous Nice components * Mix of questions targets age- top models in 30 seconds” and group exactly Look “Which make up product is Compares to: used to darken lashes?” Party & Co, and other party Once again, a nice mix of tasks games and questions, mastered with Andere Ausgaben: Jumbo Netherlands standard mechanisms. The topic fits the target group and the components are strongly remi- niscent of a famous dressing-up doll; a nice touch are the individual invitation letters for the four characters in the game and the nicely selected accessories you must collect. 

put it into your own home area INFORMATION at the border of the board. You’re PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: PELE-MELE your marker ends the turn on a 2-4 5+ 25+ COLOR CHIPS ACCORDING TO DEMAND smiling Smiley you demand a chip from any other player, he Designer: Horst Pöppel decides which one he gives you. Artist: not stated Price: ca. 18 Euro A colorful, eye-catching board place your marker on the spot When the move ends on a spot Publisher: Spieleverlag H. Pöppel 13 – 11x11 spots show either one of this color; by the way, there which a frowning Smiley you www.poeppel-spieleverlag.de color only or a color marked with are spots in six colors. must give one of your own chips a Smiley or are black-and-white. You roll and move your marker in to a player of your choice. On the EVALUATION On this board you distribute six any direction to the nearest spot joker spot in the middle4 of the chips each in four colors at the in the color you rolled, there can board you can either take a chip Placement/collecting game For families start of the game. Now you need be more than one marker on a from one of the joker spot in the Version: de to collect color chips according spot. Black-and-white spots are corners or demand a chip or give Rules: de to a task card which you random- barrier spots and can only be away a chip! Take care! You must In-game text: no ly draw at the start of the game; crossed in one direction. When collect four chips corresponding Comments: then you roll the die once and you reach a chip you take it and to the task card, but can never Sophisticated collecting game * Limits demand hold more than four chips at any quick reactions on wrong time. Should you have to take a colors * Chance from dice fifth chip, you have lost instantly. difficult to balance * Mini- mum age seems on the low side This rule and the barrier spots Compares to: make for a very tactical game, be- Collecting games with limitations of cause you must get rid of wrong amounts colors as fast as you can! So joker Andere Ausgaben: and smiley spots are very much Currently none in demand, but take care when discarding chips, because chips on action spots deactivate them. Sophisticatedly simple! 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 32 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at RALLY FALLY / RATTUS CARTUS t PLAYED FOR YOU

on the card – you can turn the INFORMATION card any way you like to deter- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: RALLY FALLY mine the direction of your flight 2-4 5+ 20+ TREASURE HUNT ON A FLYING CARPET – and then let go of the Flying Carpet. Now the carpet piece Designer: M. Schackert, J. Elias either sticks to the board or has Artist: Patricia Limberger Price: ca. 30 Euro Heavenly treasure hunt on flying are magnetic and represent the tumbled into a wind shear and Publisher: Ober. Magnetspiele 12 carpets, just like in stories from A Flying Carpets, so that the carpet slides downwards until stopped www.huchandfriends.de Thousand And One Nights! You pieces cling to some spots on by another magnetic zone on must fly to treasures, depicted the board and slide downwards the board. You are allowed to EVALUATION on the treasure card, on a tilted, from other spots. Each player push other Flying Carpets that partly magnetic game board. is dealt a treasure card which block your path forward with Movement/magnetic effects For children First you assemble the „sky“ for shows the order in which trea- your carpet. If you reach your tar- Version: de the flying hunt for treasures, sures are collected, and receive get treasure, even if by sliding off, Rules: de as a tilted plane made up from a set of Flight cards. In your turn you mark it with your small car- In-game text: no game box and game board. The you choose a card, move the carpet piece. Flight cards you used Comments: board is partly magnetic, pieces pet piece according to the arrow are set aside, you get them back Enchanting design * Stable, functional components * when you have used all cards Simple rules * Astonish- once. If you are first to reach all ing effects * Trains spatial necessary treasures you win. perception Rally Fally is one of those game Compares to: First game of this kind for which you need all superla- Andere Ausgaben: tives, enchanting, charming, it Currently none works well and is very beautiful, and the sophisticated flight simulation using magnetism is simply marvelous. And as you can place the board in different ways there are no memo effects to speak of on the wind shears. 

this building and name the num- INFORMATION ber of cards you want to use and PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: RATTUS CARTUS then place them on the table 2-5 10+ 45+ RATS, PEST AND FOLLOWERS face-down. Then buildings are scored; first each player scores Designer: Åse & Henrik Berg the cards he played for himself Artist: Alexandre Roche Price: ca. 26 Euro Black Death is ravaging Europe. and ten rounds, each round com- - for influence for each popula- Publisher: White Goblin 2012 Players as princes of their realms prises five phases: tion card you play, a rat for each www.whitegoblingames.com rival for succession to the dead Draw new building cards, sup- card that does not correspond to King; they travel across the land plements, enter building and the special action of the chosen EVALUATION searching for followers. You visit play population cards, score building and effects in relation buildings to acquire various ad- buildings and end of round. For to special cards; then all players Card game With friends vantages and followers, but, after supplements you use the supple- can implement the special action Version: de all, Black Death is afoot and you ment action on one of the face- of the chosen building, with the Rules: de en fr nl + es hu ru should keep an eye on the rats. up cards on display and then exception of the last round. In-game text: no Depending on the number of choose one of the buildings; In the end you score victory Comments: players you play between eight there you mark the first spot in points for most influence on Good Components * Well- written, concise rules * Very the guilds, most population and attractive implementation joker cards in hand and for ma- of the board game jorities with special cards in play. Compares to: But, should you have accumulat- Rattus ed more rats than there are nuns Andere Ausgaben: Currently none pictured in the Nunnery Row you die; among the survivors you win with most victory points. An excellent transformation of the board game into a card game, well planable despite the Nunnery Row for a chance element, forcing you to keep a close watch on the amount of rats you are collecting. 

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it is allowed that more than one INFORMATION ring ends up on the same toad- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: RING-WURFSPIEL stool. When you have thrown 2-6 6+ 10+ ROPES AND TOADSTOOLS all rings you add up the values of the toadstool that have a ring Designer: not stated around them. If you achieve the Artist: not stated Price: ca. 30 Euro Throwing games are among the spiel / Basic Game and a variant highest score, you win. If you Publisher: Die Spiegelburg 2012 most favored games for outdoor Wurfmeisterschaft / Throwing play several rounds you score a www.spiegelburg.de games, and in this version of Championship. point for each round you win, throwing rings Spiegelburg has The Grundspiel can be played marked by any item you can find EVALUATION packed the mechanism very at- by 2-6 players: The wooden in the meadow. tractively and sturdily into a box. toadstools are lined up with The version Wurfmeisterschaft Dexterity games For families Five big toadstools made from some distance between them, is intended for 2-4 players; you Version: multi wood are numbered from One the numbers all face the same di- line up the toadstools in order Rules: de en es fr it nl to Five, other components are rection. In your turn you take all of their numbers. Each player In-game text: no four rings made from ropes and four rope rings and try to throw takes one rope ring and in turn Comments: a sheet of rules offering a Grund- them over a toadstool. Of course tries to throw it over Toadstool Enchanting packaging and design * Standard mecha- #1. When all have thrown their nisms nicely dressed-up rings, the rings are collected Compares to: again; if you hit #1 you can now All outdoor dexterity try to hit Toadstool #2; all others games must try again to throw the ring Andere Ausgaben: Currently none around #1; and so on. If you are first to hit Toadstool #5 with your ring, you win. Nicely implemented, designed and packed, easily transported in the carrier box or the net bag that comes with the game, all in all lots of fun! Let’s go and find a meadow! 

place a character that is alone in INFORMATION a room into an adjacent room IN THE PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: RUMBLE DUNGEON or start a conflict in a room 3-6 8+ 20+ WHO’S THE BEST BLUFFER? where several characters are assembled. To start a conflict you Designer: Olivier Saffre simply remove one character; re- Artist: Kwanchai Moriya Price: ca. 15 Euro Out of the House and into room + chest on opposite ends moved characters are lined up in Publisher: Flatlined Games 2012 the Dungeon, but there is not of the dungeon and place a char- order of their exit from the dun- www.flatlinedgames.com enough room, either, there are acter in each room. Each player is geon. If you sit next to the trea- monsters and adventurers who secretly assigned two character sure chest you can take it to an EVALUATION want to grab the King’s Treasure. tiles and two markers of his color, adjacent room; if you manage to So you must try to keep your one of those marker is placed on reach the entrance you can leave Bluff/deduction game For families own character in the dungeon the scoring table. the dungeon with the chest and Version: multi to the end or escape the dun- Then players in turn have one get in line as last player to leave Rules: de en es fr nl geon with the King’s Treasure. action until only one character the dungeon, you have won this In-game text: no You display a dungeon of 12 is left in the house. In your turn round regardless to who really Comments: cards, place entry and treasure you must do an action – either leaves last. When eleven charac- Compact packaging * Nice for in-between or begin- ters have left the dungeon you ners * Funny family game score for your character that has * Can be combined with left the house later. After three Rumble in the House such rounds with newly assigned Compares to: Rumble in the House, Viva il Re and characters for each round you games on bluffs on positions win with most points. Andere Ausgaben: A bit of deduction, a bit of bluff, Currently none the more inconspicuous the better and the more players the more randomly; but it is fun and can be combined with Rumble in the House, the entry to the dungeon is turned into the cel- lar stairs of the house. 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 34 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at SCHATTEN ÜBER CAMELOT / STEAM t PLAYED FOR YOU

and stack it or implement it; you INFORMATION need to remember the number ÜBER PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: SCHATTEN CAMELOT values of cards, because if you 1-7 8+ 45+ DAS KARTENSPIEL attempt a quest you name the quest and sum up the total ru- Designer: B. Cathala, S. Laget mor value for the chosen quest Artist: Julien Delval Price: ca. 20 Euro Rumors are rife in the realm; sons numbers between 2 and 5 or in the stack of rumor cards. When Publisher: Days of Wonder 2012 and daughters of the Knights of with a question mark as well as the sum is ranging from 11 to www.daysofwonder.com the Round Table must disperse with 1-3 swords. Those cards, 13, your attempt at the quest those rumors and fend of the together with cards for Morgana was successful and you receive EVALUATION shadows – but who is the trai- and Merlin, make up the rumor white swords, if the sum is lower tor? This is determined at the deck. you must take black swords, you Card game For families start of the game, secret loyalties In each turn you choose one ac- failed at your attempt. Once in Version: multi are assigned. The young knights tion. You can either listen to ru- the game you can accuse an- Rules: de en fr must face a series of quests, rep- mors, attempt a quest or accuse other player of being the traitor, In-game text: yes resented by five different kinds a knight. To listen to a rumor again swords are given out de- Comments: of cards which are marked with means you turn up a rumor card pending on loyalty. You continue Very beautiful design * Flair of the board game nicely play until seven white or seven transferred * Simplified black swords are on the table – rules * Good entry into the Camelot was saved or has fallen. genre cooperation against a secret traitor The game comes with a solo and Compares to: an expert version. Shadows over Camelot Contrary to the demanding Andere Ausgaben: board game the card version is Currently none targeting families, the flair has been kept, the mechanisms have been very much simplified; all in all the game offers a nice introduction to the genre of cooperation against a secret unknown traitor. 

a completed connection, shares INFORMATION you issued lose you 3 victory PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: STEAM points for each share. 2-6 13+ var MAP EXPANSION #3 Map Expansion #3 offers a double-sided game board; one side Designer: Wallace, Dontanville features maps for Japan, Hok- Artist: Jared Blando + Tean Price: ca. 20 Euro Topic of the game is the great issuing shares, determine order kaido and Singapore, the other Publisher: Mayfair Games 2013 age of track building for rail- of play, choose actions, building side for Western USA, including www.mayfairgames.com roads; in the basic game you of track, move commodities, in- track tiles and rules. use boards for part of the USA come, costs, income reduction, The expansions Singapore and EVALUATION or Germany. Players lay track, supplements of commodities Hokkaido are both intended for develop towns, enhance the and moving round marker. After two players, the Japan expansion Railway game For experts maximum distance of railway en- a preset number of rounds you for 3-4 players and Westward, Ho! Version: en gines and secure commodities win with most victory points can accommodate 4-6 players; Rules: en for themselves to deliver them which you acquire at the end of there are changes in the rules In-game text: yes for income or victory points. A the game for the income you can for the beginners and standard Comments: round of the game comprises accrue and for each segment of games and you need the core Third expansion for Steam * Only for use with the game for all those expansions; in basic game * Four different the Singapore expansion there is scenarios * Complete with no difference between introduc- rules and track tiles tory and standard game. Compares to: Steam, Age of Steam and all expan- What goes for the two previous sions expansions, Map Expansion #1 Andere Ausgaben: for Midwestern USA / Belgium & Currently none Luxemburg and Map Expansion #2 for Great Britain / California & China also goes for this one: If you own the core game and like to play it, you will love this well- made and interesting expansion, in which the map for Japan is a special challenge. 

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outposts to exchange commodi- INFORMATION ties for Tugrik and commodities. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: TASCHKENT Areas are scored in numeric order. 2-4 8+ 60+ JADE FOR SILK In clockwise order you sell one commodity and receive Tugrik Designer: Peer Sylvester OR cards from the display and Artist: Klemens Franz Price: ca. 24 Euro At the crossroads of the ancient and Three you roll the die, Round then remove one trade outpost; Publisher: Mücke Spiele 2012 silk road we sell iron, indigo and Three is only played for a result sold commodities are placed on www.spielmaterial.de jade for Tugrik = money, silk and of 3, 4, 5, o6 six, and Round Four huts without such a commodity. spices. only happens for a result of 5 Using trade routes you can sell EVALUATION Each player starts with three or 6. Possible actions are place commodities of the same color trade outposts, camel herders, a a trade outpost, set up a hut, in an adjacent region. When the Tactical trade game With friends hut and a screen, commodities move the camel herder or take last commodity of one kind or Version: de and card displays are prepared. 1 Tugrik. Then you have a camel the last action card is taken the Rules: de en In the course of the game one herder action in which you move action round is finished and after In-game text: no trade round comes after 2-4 ac- the camel herder (again). the trade round the game ends. Comments: tion rounds. After round Two In a trade round you use trade The player owning the lowest Interesting board design * Good components * Well- amount of Tugrik must drop out interlacing mechanisms * of the game; the other players Good tactic is necessary score sets of trading cards and Compares to: you win with most points. All collecting and swapping games with a trade topic Taschkent is a tactical game Andere Ausgaben: with the permanent dilemma English editions of unpredictable numbers of action rounds - so you must make optimum use of the two action rounds that will always happen – and the necessity to make a lot of money because you do not want to have to quit at the end! A game that you should not miss! 

now on all play simultaneously INFORMATION and search for words fitting the PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: THÉMATIK topic and starting with one of 2-10 8+ 10+ SOMETHING STINGING, WITH K OR R the five letters in the grid. If you find a word, you take the highest Designer: Carlo E. Lanzavecchia point card in the row next to the Artist: Stéphane Gantiez Price: ca. 11 Euro Again a small square tin, also 20 cards for points are laid out in letter, beginning with the one of Publisher: Cocktail Games 2013 holding a folder on Cocktail a grid of 4 x 5 cards, all numbers value four. If two people name www.cocktailgames.com Games, with a subtitle of „Small in one column, topic and letter the same word, the quicker one games for all“, and Thématik is a cards are shuffled separately. scores. All words must be said EVALUATION game for all, and as so often in A game comprises five rounds; clearly and loudly, so you must France a game for all is a game in each round you draw five pay close attention and if nec- Word and association With friends on words and letters, this time letters and add them from top essary protest, a word cannot Version: fr with a familiar basic mechanism: to bottom next to the number be scored when the majority Rules: fr you must win mist rounds by rows. This results in a grid of 5x5 of players reject the word. The In-game text: yes finding words on a given topic cards. Then one of the players round ends when – depending Comments: which start with a certain letter. draws and reads it out. From on the number of players – either Can be played in other languages * Simple rules one or two rows of point cards * Fast play * You need to are empty. If you have most find correct words and pay points you win the rounds, after attention on repetitions five rounds you win the game Compares to: All association games on words on with most points. topics and letters Thématik is yet another good Andere Ausgaben: game and a good example Currently none for how to transform standard mechanisms into good games; the challenge in Thématik is fast thinking and at the same time paying attention to the words that are named by other players. Good, fast and good, fast fun! 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 36 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at TING RATZ-FATZ / TOP-A-TOP PLUS t PLAYED FOR YOU

mechanisms into an interactive INFORMATION collection of educational games. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: TING RATZ-FATZ It is also possible to use the pen 1-6 4-8 20+ ZAHLEN UND BUCHSTABEN without an adult narrator, as the Ting pen works as a narrator, quiz Designer: Hajo Bücken master and trainer for numbers Artist: M. Leykamm, E. Skibbe Price: ca. 13 Euro Ratz Fatz is the common heading ting and telling games. and letters and also controls all Publisher: Haba 2012 for a series of games in which the Ting is the product name by solutions. Furthermore, the pen www.haba.de mechanism is basically the same: Haba for an interactive talking/ poses training exercises. There The components of the game are listening pen; this pen provides are four games, called Assign EVALUATION always accompanied by stories, sounds, information or music and name!, Sort!, Snatch up! texts and games, an adult tells or corresponding to an image and Look closely! The boxes also Educational game For children reads the stories and players sort when you touch the image with provide stickers which you apply Version: de the components or allocate them the pen. to the playing pieces and which Rules: de to pictures ore us it for games The two games of Ting Ratz Fatz activate related information In-game text: yes according to the rules provided, Buchstaben and Ting Ratz Fatz when touched with the pen. As Comments: but also for self-invented spot- Zahlen now combine those two in other similar system you can Contains four games * Can be played alone or assisted download for free the data files by an adult * Educational necessary for a game from the contents well transportet * web, the pen must be acquired Challenging games separately, it does not come with Compares to: All games with Ting pen and all Ratz the games. Fatz games The Ratz Fatz game mechanisms Andere Ausgaben: are a given choice for using the Currently none mechanisms of the Ting pen with them, the games are proven and tested, are fun to play and mas- terly transport the educational content, and of course you can also play without the pen when there is someone to read, tell and explain. 

tate a musical instrument; bomb INFORMATION – stand up or, if you are already PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: TOP-A-TOP PLUS standing, jump into the air; spi- 3-6 6+ 15+ HANDS UP FOR THE SPIDER der – put your arms up; female doll pointing a finger – touch an- Designer: Agnieszka Migdalska other player’s arm, he may take Artist: Szwedzki Price: ca. 9 Euro Top-A-Top Plus is a stand-alone to the images on those discs. If evasive action; female doll with Publisher: Kuznia Gier 2012 independent game as well as an you make a mistake you take all left hand pointing down – you www.kuzniagier.pl expansion for Top-A-Top, which discs laid out; if you are out of put your hand on the stack of was published in 2011 and for discs you win. the player who played the card; EVALUATION which it provides a new, blue You lay down a disc on the table if you are last to do so you lose. If level of difficulty. The aim of the and all react to the image on it: it is the last card you must touch Party game With friends game is very simple: React cor- Colored clown – put your hands the open stack in the middle; Version: multi rectly! The rules are very simple, over your ears; Rasta doll on face – joker, you can make up Rules: de en fr l + sk too – players put their cards, white background – put hand your own rules; finally, dog + In-game text: no that is, their cardboard discs, over your mouth; the same doll cat – women must meow, men Comments: on the table and react correctly on a spotted background – imi- must bark, or you make up rules Funny drawing * Simple rules * Good party game for big/small, blond/brown or Compares to: whatever opposites occur to you. All reaction games A funny, witty filler for in-be- Andere Ausgaben: tween, or to determine who Top-A-Top pays fort he drinks, or as a party game or for a birthday party, in any case funny, harmless and basically for all occasions! In combination with Top-A-Top the possibilities and also the chances to make a mistake are of course much funnier and much bigger! 

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it hard to see your drawing. The INFORMATION lenses come in three degrees of PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: TWISTED EYES difficulty, yellow for easy, blue for 4+ 7+ 30+ DISTORTION AND DISTRACTION medium and green for difficult. The images themselves are tak- Designer: not stated ing from the categories object, Artist: not stated Price: ca. 15 Euro Another run-of-the-mill draw- there should be the same num- entertainment and locations, Publisher: Goliath 2012 ing game? Yes, in a way, but not ber of players in each team. The the back sides of the cards are www.goliathgames.de quite, albeit one team member basic mechanism of the game marked accordingly for a first drawing and the others guess- is the same as in all other draw- clue. You roll the die and move EVALUATION ing at the image, but the per- ing games – one team member the team marker to the next son drawing has to wear special draws, the others must guess the spot of this color on the board. Drawing game For families glasses. object within the time frame giv- Then you put the lenses of the Version: multi Let’s start with preparations – en on the task card. The person same color into the glasses and Rules: de nl you make up two to four teams who draws must wear special the current team artist draws a In-game text: yes from a minimum of two players distortion glasses in which spe- task card and rolls the die again Comments: to each team, and if possible cial lenses are placed that make for his image. Standard mechanisms * Improved and spiced up The artist must not talk or gesture, due to the glasses * Mice he cannot use letters or numbers selection of images in his drawing and must remain Compares to: seated while drawing. When the Pictureka and other drawing games team members guess correctly in Andere Ausgaben: Currently none time you roll again and move the team marker forward. The team whose marker reaches the finish first wins the game. Standard mechanisms for a standard party game for friends and families, spiced up and made more challenging with those glasses – a nice, fun game which is absolutely worth a try! 

general rule: Secret signs under- INFORMATION neath the table are prohibited. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: VOLL AUF DIE GLOCKE Then each player is dealt four col- 4 6+ 15+ WRINKLE YOUR NOSE OR SNIFF or cards; if this gives you three or four identical cards or two joker Designer: not stated you must draw new cards. Then Artist: L. Yvers, L. Jorio Price: ca. 13 Euro This is a card game where you team draws a card to determine four color cards are placed into Publisher: Megableu 2012 need to collect four identical col- how you must transmit your se- the middle and all play at the www.hutter-trade.de or cards and inform your partner cret sign to your partner, either same time. You swap one card with the help of secret signs and with eyes or mouth or gesture from your hand with one from EVALUATION messages to score a point. or vocally or with the help of an- the display until nobody wants At the start of a game you agree other fantastic idea of your own. to swap anymore and a new dis- Card collecting game For families on a number of rounds and form Then you must agree on a secret play of four cards is laid out. If you Version: de two teams, partners confront sign according to that card and hold four identical cards you give Rules: de fr each other. 54 color cards and do so without giving the other your secret sign as unobtrusively In-game text: no six cards “secret sign” are shuffled team a chance to find out what as possible so that your partner Comments: face down and separately. Each you agree on. There is only one can hit the bell and call out “Voll Cute mechanisms * Simple rules * Advantage in keep- auf die Glocke”, if he should hold ing track of the opposition four identical cards, too, he calls * Needs for to play “Mega-voll-auf-die-Glocke und Compares to: scores 2 points for the time. The First game with this combination of mechanisms cards must be shown for proof. If Andere Ausgaben: you spot the opposing sign and Super Kem’s, Megableu hit the bell on time to announce it you win a point for your team. Amusing, simple and difficult at the same time, and be careful, a false alarm loses you a point! If you manage to keep an eye on what others collect you have an advantage. 

Color codes, target groups, features, icons and GABIS are 38 ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 explained on page 5 and at the bottom of pages 66 and 67 www.gamesjournal.at VOODOO MANIA / WELT DES GARTENS t PLAYED FOR YOU

missing combination you name INFORMATION it and put the card on the stack. PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: VOODOO MANIA This of course changes search- 2-6 7+ 20+ DAMN AND BLAST! ing conditions for all players, because all now look for the new Designer: Martin N. Andersen missing combination. But there Artist: S. + O. Freudenreich Price: ca. 8 Euro Voodoo adepts do their kind exactly one defined combina- is another possibility to discard Publisher: HUCH! & friends 2013 of magic and need to discard tion of utensil and color is miss- a card – you can also put a card www.huchandfriends.de all necessary utensils first. The ing. Each player holds his own on the stack on which exactly the game comprises 91 double- stack of face-down cards - the same combination is missing as EVALUATION sided utensil cards; each side amount varies with the number on the current top card on the of the cards shows four out of of player - and takes three cards discard pile. This stops discarding Card shedding, reaction For families five utensils – doll, mask, potion, from the stack in hand. One card for all, you call Voodoo, all players Version: multi amulet and top hat – in four out is laid out face-up and all now but the one who called Voodoo Rules: de en fr nl of five colors – red, yellow, green, play at the same time trying to draw a card from the bottom In-game text: no blue and purple; which means find the missing combination of the discard pile and place it Comments: that on each side of each card on their cards. If you have the at the bottom of their personal Images easy to distinguish * Fast reaction and rethink- stack. A new search for utensils ing is necessary * High begins. When you are out card, replay value all others score one point for Compares to: each remaining card; if you have Card shedding games with search criteria implementation fewest points after three rounds Andere Ausgaben: you win. Currently none One should really have Voodoo magic in hand to keep track of the utensils in this funny, witty challenge to look closely and spot combinations quickly and to react even faster before another player places his card. 

provides four answers to each INFORMATION question; the number of cor- PLAYERS: AGE: TIME: WELT DES GARTENS rect answers can vary from one 2-5 14+ 45+ QUIZ ON ALL THINGS GREEN to three. The questioner reads out the question of his choice Designer: not stated from the top card and then all Artist: Sabine Kondirolli + Team Price: ca. 20 Euro Welt der/des … World of … fea- Four guessing boards are laid four answers one by one – if you Publisher: HUCH!& friends 2013 turing topics from wine and beer out around the scoring disc, each believe one of the answers to www.huchandfriends.de to cooking, automobiles and player takes a flower for his mark- be correct you place a chip on books, on all that is of interest to er on the scoring discs and three the board with the number of EVALUATION connoisseurs, goes on being a guess chips of this color. Then the answer. Of course you can very successful series in the range players together decide on the use all your chips and thus give Quiz with a special topic With friends of games from Huch!&friends number of question cards they a guess on up to three answers. Version: de that has now been expanded want to play, the amount de- When all guesses are given they Rules: de with “Welt des Gartens”, a game termines length of play, twelve are scored. If you got one an- In-game text: yes that provides information and cards take about 45 minutes. swer wrong you must take back Comments: checks knowledge. A question is read out, the card all chips. If all your guesses were Attractive components * Well-working nice mecha- correct you advance your flower nism * Good selection of by the number of your correct questions guesses. Compares to: As in all other editions this mech- All games in the series „Welt der …“ at HUCH! & friends anism works well, somehow the Andere Ausgaben: chance of several correct answers Currently none makes one risk more, empha- sized by the fact that besides not moving the flower marker there is no penalty for wrong answers. Another beautiful elegant quiz for which you need not know everything but learn a lot and from which you might acquire a new hobby. 

WIN The Games Journal now also available as eBook! www.gamesjournal.at For all information on that check our website. ISSUE 450 / APRIL 2013 39 NEW ARRIVALS u A QUICK GLIMPSE ON NEWCOMERS

DIE BIENE MAJA EL FLORADO FINDE DEN FREUND! FÜHL‘ DOCH MAL Publisher: Studio100 Media Publisher: Logis Publisher: Noris Spiele Designer: Laima Kikutienè Designer: Wolfgang Dirscherl

A huge rain cloud darkens the corn poppy meadow; Maja 64 playing cards show four kinds of animal in different colors You really have to have it at your fingertips in order to find and her friends try to bring as much honey as possible to the and moods; players need to find cards with one or two identi- the correct shape in the bag. The game comprises 30 wooden bee hive before it gets too wet. The meadow tiles are laid cal characteristics. Eight cards are laid out face down in a shapes, there are five copies of each of the six varieties. Play- out face down. Each player has a disc for a playing piece and circle. You turn up one card and follow the instructions on the ers are the “groping kid” in turn and roll the symbol die; this throws this disc onto the meadow so that it hits one or more card, for instance turn up the 2nd card to the right, and so on, die determines the shape that must be found in the bag. The of the face-down meadow tiles. A water lily is set aside, a dan- until you get back to the starting position or until you stop other players are dice kids and roll the standard dice in turn; delion tile you stack for yourself and also a honey flower tile, voluntarily. When you stop you take cards you turned up, re- when one of them manages a double before the the groping but this one also allows you to secretly look at two face-down place them from stock and group and display cards you took. kid has found the correct shape this player becomes the new tiles. If you hit another player’s disc, you must give him one You can have up to five cards in hand and cannot change groping kid. When the groping kid finds the correct shape it of your tiles. When the fourth water lily is turned up, you win groups already displayed; when the stack is empty groups are keeps it and rolls again. When you have collected six shapes with most flower tiles.Version: de * Rules: de * In-game text: no scored. Version: multi * Rules: de en * In-game text: no you win. Version: de * Rules: de * In-game text: no

Dexterity game for 2-4 players, ages 4+ Spotting game for 2-6 players, ages 5+ Tactile game with dice for 2-4 players, ages 4+

KLEINE REGENBOGENRAUPE QWIRKLE TRAVEL STIBITZ Publisher: Haba Publisher: Schmidt Spiele Publisher: Ravensburger Designer: Udo Peise Designer: Susan McKinley Ross Designer: Heinz Meister

All want to play with the little rainbow caterpillar, so players The game sounds easy: You form and elongate rows of the Raven Rico loves to steal beautiful things and you must look try to be first to complete their own caterpillar by lining up same color or the same shape to score points! You draw 6 closely to see what he managed to pinch now. 40 items – four all the pieces. Each player holds a set of eight cards with the pieces. The player with most correlations in these 6 pieces copies of ten different ones – are spread on the table and same backside and lays out head and tail of the caterpillar; lays out a row. Then in turn each player can place one or each player is given four raven chips. In each round another the remaining cards – each of them depicts one of the colors more pieces to form new rows or to extend existing rows or player secretly removes one item and all other try to figure on the die – are shuffled and stacked open-faced. Then you exchange 1-6 pieces for new ones. In rows of the same color out the missing item as quickly as possible. If you are first roll the die; if you have this color on top of your tack you can each shape can only be present once, and in rows of the same to name the correct item you can discard one of your raven insert this card between head and tail of your caterpillar. If shape each color only once. Newly placed pieces must have chips. If you make a mistake you must take a raven chip. If you are first to be out of cards you win. contact to other pieces already placed, but not necessarily to you are first to get rid of all your raven chip you win. Younger Version: multi * Regeln: de en es fr it nl * Text im Spiel: nein each other. You score points for each piece in each row that players use only three sets of items. you form or extend. Version: multi * Rules: de fr it * In-game text: no Version: multi * Rules: de fr it * In-game text: no

Version: multi * Rules: de en es fr it nl * In-game text: no Tile placement game for 2-4 players, ages 6+ Spotting and memo game for 3-6 players, ages 4-8

STORY CUBES PREHISTORIA TOP TRUMPS SPECIALS TRASH PACK WARHAMMER INVASION BLUTQUEST Publisher: The Creativity Hub Publisher: Winning Moves Publisher: Heidelberger Spieleverlag Designer: Rory O‘Connor Designer: Eric W. Lang

A small box holds nine dice, each dice features six different Choosing your card’s best attribute, beating (trumping) your SCHILD DER GÖTTER and unique images, abstract or not, that can be interpreted opponent’s card, and winning the cards played in the round – The Core Set holds four pre-constructed card decks for Empire and or named in many ways. This gives you 54 images or terms to already a Classic! Cards are dealt evenly to all players. The ac- Dwarves against Orks and Chaos. With Battle Pack cards you can play with: You roll all nine dice, choose any for the starting die tive player chooses an attribute on his top card (no shuffling adapt Core Decks to your preferences and strategies. The card types in and tell a story. This story must feature all nine images on the of the deck!) and calls out the corresponding value – all other the game are Unit, Tactics, Quest, Support und Draft. Aim of the game dice in any order; You can play alone or in a group; in a group players check their cards for the value of this attribute – the is to set fire to two out of three regions of the opposing capital. The each player tells a story and you vote for the best or each player with the highest value gets all cards of this round. In Blutquest/Bloodquest Zyklus is the 5th cycle of Battle Packs. Schild player must continue the story by using one of the cubes. case of a tie cards go on the table and the winner of the next der Götter / Shield of the Gods is the 6th pack in the cycle compris- Preshistoria/Urzeit is one of three expansion packs with three round receives those too. ing cards 101-120. A shield forged among the stars was sent from dice, images come from the dinosaur/prehistoric times genre. Themeset: Specials The Trash Pack heaven awaiting the hero carrying it into battle? Will it be enough to Version: de * Rules: de en es fr it nl * In-game text: no Version: de * Rules: de * In-game text: yes stop the hordes of destruction? Version: de * Rules: de en es fr * In-game text: yes

Narrative game with dice for 1 or more players, ages 6+ Card/quiz game for 2 or more players from age 8 Battle Pack for Warhammer Invasion, for 2 players, ages 13+

Color codes for target groups (Headline Color) Color codes for features (Bar in Evalution box) For children + learn With friends Chance Strategy Knowledge Communication Dexterity 40 For families For experts Tactic Creativity Memory Action HIGHTLICHTS AMONG GAMES t FROM THE MUSEUM

RECOMMENDATION #91 HUGO KASTNER RECOMMENDS PLAYERS: Designer: Martin Wallace 3-6 Artist: P. Dennis, I. Legge AGE: AGE OF STEAM Price: ca. 30 Euro 13+ Year: 2003 STEAM AGE À LA WALLACE Publisher: Warfrog TIME: http://www.treefroggames.com 120+ Dear reader! One might believe that it all start to the very last minute. Of course, you started in the year of 2002. Martin Wallace set can enhance your financial means by issuing out to enrich the universe of railway games shares, but this has its price, too, you pay out Competence Info+ Chance by a new tactical game called “Age of Steam”. dividends which can reduce your profit to The eastern USA was the geographical set and zero. Everything must be planned carefully, Yes, even “Age of Steam” has a small amount of chance, as the necessary commodities are not its topography the basis for building railway permanently revenue is balanced against always available. But this railway game truly lays tracks, transporting commodities and plan- expenditure. To keep up the monetary bal- a clear track towards tactic and strategy. You ning for optimization. I started this paragraph ance of this steam age demands a lot from a need perseverance and concentration because the learning curve of all players rises sharply with “one might believe”, because, indeed, there railway fan, no doubt about it, regardless at due to additional experience from each addi- are some parallels to the railway game Voll- which country you do try your hand. And to tional map of Age of Steam. dampf (Original: Lancashire Railways”), also allow for the plans of the other railway tycoons Hugos EXPERT TIP published by Martin Wallace. Bruno Faidutti, in your own strategy has to be called the “art of (1) The rules are, unfortunately, rather colorless in in his wonderful diction that is as pithy as it is what’s possible”. Age of Steam takes into really the true sense of the words and hard to read. For- tunately, there is the Internet. You should down- informative, says that he takes “Age of Steam” new realms of play, according to the tenor of load the Rules Summary. (2) In order to avoid a to be a felicitous advancement of the very in- the world-wide fan community. sudden drop-out of another player this penalty teresting Volldampf, published one year earlier. All maps of the Age of Steam system have for a bankruptcy round has proved itself as useful: The player remains on “0”, but gets only four Then, as is only to be expected in our profit and their own allure, all bring the varied multitude instead of five $ in the following Find an expert expansion oriented society, things happened of railway history in different countries and re- to explain Bridge to you. Learning Bridge from a book is possible, but the intricacies can only be in rapid succession: Maps of England, Wales gions to your table and all provide ever new acquired in practical play, starting already with and Ireland (2003), Western USA and Germany challenges for players by their very individu- the bidding procedure and continuing through- (2004), Scandinavia and Korea (also in 2004) ally adapted special rules, which must be em- out the game. as well as France and Italy (2005) promised the phatically noted in contrast to today’s deluge Hugos FLASHLICHT makers at Warfrog some additional weapons in of nearly unchanged expansion for today’s Age of Steam is a truly many-layered, continually the fight for fans of steam. The last two editions successful games. And all those maps and growing system for a railway game in a class of its own, but beware! This is only for experts and mentioned have been pre-published as proto- rules take into account the geopolitical situa- fans of extensive, complex planning. If you want types by Winsome Games. And, finally, Spiel ’05 tion of each country – where else do you get to have an easy game you must confine yourself to railway games like “Trans America” or “Ticket to at Essen introduced some notable “Expansions” something like this? The Steam Age definitely Ride” and their expansions. But if you have cross- with Austria, Switzerland and The Netherlands. was the time of ground-breaking and coura- over between a nostalgic Steam Horse evening [from: WIN Nov. 2005] In the following years geous adventurers and financial tycoons. Well, and a more than demanding 18xx strategy on your mind, then I can warmly recommend to many more maps for Canada, Egypt, Chile, and if you are of that cut in pioneers … the first delve into one of the countries in the Age of even for Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica and Bar- track is quickly laid! Steam universe (including Railroad Tycoon). bados or Puerto Rico were designed. If your taste PREVIEW: runs in that direction you can travel around the Comments to: [email protected] MAKA BANA Age of Steam Empire in full blast at the Austrian Homepage: www.hugo-kastner.at  BEACH HUT ROMANCE ON PACIFIC BEACHES Games Museum in Leopoldsdorf im Marchfeld Website: www.spielen.at

What is this system about? What is lit up by our usual lamp? On the one hand you must connect towns by railway tracks for the pur- pose of transporting different commodities to the cities of the respective colors. Engines are a purely fictitious means of transport and help to master the various laps and to accrue large profits. But transport must be financed – and money is more than scarce, from the IMPRESSUM Offenlegung nach dem Mediengesetz: Medieninhaber, Eigentümer, Verleger und Hersteller: Verein „Österreichisches Spiele Museum“, vertreten durch Obfrau Dipl. Ing. Dagmar de Cassan, Raasdorferstrasse 28, 2285 Leopoldsdorf im Marchfelde, Österreich, Telefon 02216-7000, mail-to: [email protected], Internet: www.spielejournal.at - www.gamesjournal.at - Chefredakteur: Dipl.Ing. Dagmar de Cassan Blattlinie: Die Blattlinie ist die Meinung aller Redakteure, freien Mitarbeitern und Gastautoren. Die Spiele zur Erstellung der Rezensionen stellt das Österr. Spiele Museum für die Dauer der Arbeit kostenlos zur Verfügung. Niemand erhält Sach-,Service-, Geldleistungen von den Verlagen. (Alle nicht namentlich gekennzeichneten Rezensionen zu den Spielen sind von Dagmar de Cassan) English Edition Version 1.0 Copyright (c) 2013 by Spielen in Österreich - Die Spiele Collection, Spiele Kreis Wien, Österreichisches Spielefest, Spielefest, Wiener Spiele Akademie, Spiel der Spiele und zwei Spiele-Symbole sind eingetragene Warenzeichen. Ihre Email-Adresse: Wir versenden oft an unsere Mitglieder, Abonnenten und Interessenten eine Erinnerung für Termine und sonstige Infos. Wenn Sie noch nie eine Email von uns erhalten haben, fehlt uns Ihre Email!

Icon explanation GABIS explanation on page 5 Solo Play Two Players Large Groups Recommended Mimimum Age 41