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|  Scotland Yard | | | | | |
| CAT AND MOUSE GAME OF DEDUCTION
In Scotland Yard, one of the players takes on the role of Mr. X. His job is to move from point to point around the map of London taking taxis, buses or subways. The detectives – that is, the remaining players acting in concert – move around similarly in an effort to move into the same space as Mr. X. But while the criminals mode of transportation is nearly always known, his exact location is only known intermittently throughout the game.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Hidden Moves
Category2:
Rating: Not Rated
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 1983 |
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| shadows over Camelot | | | | | |
| GOOD VERSUS EVIL, A TWIST WITH TRAITORS
Shadows over Camelot is a cooperativesemi-cooperative hand management and deduction-based board game for 3-7 players.
Each player represents a knight of the Round Table and they must collaborate to overcome a number of quests - ranging from defeating the Black Knight to the search for the Holy Grail. Completed Quests place white swords on the Round Table; failed Quests add black swords andor siege engines around Camelot. The knights are trying to build a majority of white swords on the Table before Camelot falls.
On each knights turn they take a heroic action, moving to a new Quest, building their hand or playing cards to advance the forces of good. However, they must also choose one of three evil actions, each of which will bring Camelot closer to defeat.
Moreover, one of the knights may be a Traitor - pretending to be a loyal member of the party but secretly hindering their fellows in subtle ways, biding their time, waiting to strike at the worst possible moment...
But enough words... Don your cloak, climb astride your warhorse and gallop into the Shadows to join us in Camelot!
The expansion allows up to 8 players.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Cooperative
Category2: Secret Roles
Rating: 5
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2005 |
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| A Game of Thrones: The Board Game | | | | | |
| STRATEGY WAR GAME OF CONQUEST AND POWER
King Robert Baratheon is dead, and the lands of Westeros brace for battle.
In the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as they vie for control of the Iron Throne through the use of diplomacy and warfare. Based on the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Will you take power through force, use honeyed words to coerce your way onto the throne, or rally the townsfolk to your side? Through strategic planning, masterful diplomacy, and clever card play, spread your influence over Westeros!
To begin the game, each player receives an army of Footman, Knight, Siege Engine, and Ship units, as well as a set of Order tokens and other necessary components. Each player also receives a deck of unique House Cards, which are used as leaders in battles against rival Houses.
Each round in the game is made up of three phases: the Westeros Phase, the Planning Phase, and the Action Phase. The Westeros Phase represents special events and day-to-day activities in Westeros. There are three different Westeros Decks, and each denotes a different global action, potentially affecting all players.
The Planning Phase is perhaps the most important. Here you secretly assign orders to all of your units by placing one order token face down on each area you control that contains at least one unit (Knight, Footman, Ship, or Siege Engine). This portion of the game emphasizes diplomacy and deduction. Can you trust the alliance that you made? Will you betray your ally and march upon him? Players may make promises to each other (for aid or peace, for example), but these promises are never binding. The result is tense and compelling negotiations, often ending in backstabbing worthy of Westeros!
During the Action Phase, the orders are resolved and battle is entered! When armies meet in combat, they secretly choose one of their House cards to add strength to the battle. Finally, the Houses can consolidate their power in the areas they control and use that power in future turns to influence their position in the court of the Iron Throne and to stand against the wildling Hordes.
In addition to featuring updated graphics and a clarified ruleset, this second edition of A Game of Thrones includes elements from the A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords expansions, including ports, garrisons, Wildling cards, and Siege engines, while introducing welcome new innovations like player screens and Tides of Battle cards.
Tides of Battle cards are an optional mechanism that brings an element of unpredictability to combat, representing erratic shifts in the momentum of war due to factors such as weather, morale, and tactical opportunity. During each combat, both players draw one Tides of Battle card from a communal deck, and its value modifies the strength of his chosen House card. Whats more, such a card may also contain icons that can affect the outcome of the battle...all of which delivers a new level of intensity to your military engagements.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 14
Category1: War Strategy
Category2: Area Control
Rating: 4
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2011 |
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| Cosmic Encounter | | | | | |
| GALAXY CONQUEST THROUGH NEGOTIATION
Build a galactic empire... In the depths of space, the alien races of the Cosmos vie with each other for control of the universe. Alliances form and shift from moment to moment, while cataclysmic battles send starships screaming into the warp. Players choose from dozens of alien races, each with its own unique power to further its efforts to build an empire that spans the galaxy.
Many classic aliens from earlier editions of this beloved game return, such as the Oracle, the Loser, and the Clone. Newly discovered aliens also join the fray, including Remora, Mite, and Tick-Tock. This classic game of alien politics returns from the warp once more.
In Cosmic Encounter, each player is the leader of an alien race. On a players turn, he or she becomes the offense. The offense encounters another player on a planet by moving a group of his or her ships through the hyperspace gate to that planet. The offense draws from the destiny deck which contains colors, wilds and specials. He or she then takes the hyperspace gate and points at one planet in the system indicated by the drawn destiny card. The offense vs. the defenses ships are in the encounter and both sides are able to invite allies, play an encounter card as well as special cards to try and tip the encounter in their favor.
The object of the game is to establish colonies in other players planetary systems. Players take turns trying to establish colonies. The winner(s) are the first player(s) to have five colonies on any planets outside his or her home system. A player does not need to have colonies in all of the systems, just colonies on five planets outside his or her home system. These colonies may all be in one system or scattered over multiple systems. The players must use force, cunning, and diplomacy to ensure their victory.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: Negotiation/Diplomacy
Category2:
Rating: 5
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2008 |
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| Pit | | | | | |
| A GAME OF SPEED TRADING
The original game was invented by Harry E. Gavitt and published in 1903 by Gavitt Publishing and Printing. In that game players deal and trade cards to corner the railway stock market. Be the first to get all the cards of one railway line, call out “Topeka” and you’ll win the hand!
But Pit, the more famous version, adapted by noted psychic Edgar Cayce, was first published by Parker Brothers in 1904 and in many editions since. In this loud, real-time trading game, players are given the task of cornering the market in one type of commodity. There are as many suits as there are players, and all the cards are dealt out at the start of each round. When the trading begins, players offer sets of cards to each other in the hopes of completing a set for themselves. If youre successful, you ring the (optional)bell and yell out, Corner on wheat! (or whatever your commodity is). You then score points depending on which it was - some are more valuable than others. Two cards labeled Bull and Bear may be used to add wildpenalty cards to the gameplay.
Most editions support up to 8 players, but at least one allows up to 10.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 7
Category1: Cards
Category2: Real Time
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 1903 |
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| Tsuro | | | | | |
| OUTLAST YOUR OPPONENTS BY STAYING ON THE BOARD
A beautiful and beautifully simple game of laying a tile before your own token to continue its path on each turn. The goal is to keep your token on the board longer than anyone elses, but as the board fills up this becomes harder because there are fewer empty spaces left... and another players tile may also extend your own path in a direction youd rather not go. Easy to introduce to new players, Tsuro lasts a mere 15 minutes and actually does work for any number from 2 to 8.
Tsuro has an Asian spiritual theme - the lines representing the many roads that lead to divine wisdom, and the game as a whole representing the classic quest for enlightenment.
This theme is very light and the game essentially plays as an abstract.
The game consists of tiles with twisting lines on them, a 6x6 grid on which to lay these tiles and a token for each player. Each player has a hand of tiles. On your turn you do two things: place a tile from your hand onto the board next to your token and move your token as far as it can go along the line it is currently on, until it is stopped by an empty space with no tile in (yet), the edge of the board or colliding with another players token. If your token reaches the edge of the board or collides with another players token, you are out of the game. The aim of the game is to be the last player left with a token on the board. Strategy therefore consists of trying to drive your opponents either into each other or off the board whilst extending your own route in directions that will make it difficult for your opponents to do the same.
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Abstract Strategy
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2004 |
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| For Sale | | | | | |
| BUY AND SELL REAL ESTATE
For Sale is a quick, fun game nominally about buying and selling real estate. During the games two distinct phases, players first bid for several buildings then, after all buildings have been bought, sell the buildings for the greatest profit possible.
The Überplay 2005 Edition has new art, rules and card distribution changes, and it accommodates 3-6 players.
The Gryphon 2009 Edition uses the Überplay art for the faces of the property cards, while replacing most other art. The rules are the same as the Überplay edition, with the exception of the rounding rule.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Auction/bidding
Category2: Cards
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 1997 |
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| Saboteur | | | | | |
| BUILD OR DESTROY THE PATH TO TREASURE
Players take on the role of dwarves. As miners, they are in a mine, hunting for gold. Suddenly, a pick axe swings down and shatters the mine lamp. The saboteur has struck. But which of the players are saboteurs? Will you find the gold, or will the fiendish actions of the saboteurs lead them to it first? After three rounds, the player with the most gold is the winner.
With the help of Dwarf Cards, the players are assigned their role: either miner or saboteur. The roles are kept secret- they are only revealed at the end of the game.
The Start Card and the three Goal Cards are placed onto the table, each seven card widths apart from each other. The Goal Cards are placed face-down. The gold is on one of the Goal Cards, but nobody knows which.
Players have cards in hand. On a players turn, he must do one of three things: place a Path Card into the mine, play an Action Card in front of a player, or pass.
The Path Cards form paths leading to the Goal Cards. Path Cards must be played next to a already-played Path Card. All paths on the Path Card must match those on the already-played cards, and Path Cards may not be played sideways.
The miners are trying to build an uninterrupted path from the Start Card to a Goal Card, while the saboteurs are trying to prevent this. They shouldnt try and be too obvious about it, however, lest they be immediately discovered.
Action Cards can be placed in front of any player, including oneself. Action Cards let the players help or hinder one another, as well as obtain information about the Goal Cards.
Once a player places a Path Card that reaches the gold, the round is over. The miners have won and receive cards with gold pieces as their reward.
The round is also over if the gold could not be reached. In that case, the saboteurs have won and receive the gold pieces.
Once the Gold Cards have been distributed, the next round begins. The game is over at the end of the third round, with the player with the most gold pieces being the winner.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 10
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Secret Roles
Category2: Cards
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2004 |
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| Dixit Odyssey | | | | | |
| PARTY GAME OF IMAGINATION, MISDIRECTION AND OBSERVATION
Dixit Odyssey is both a standalone game and an expansion for Jean-Louis Roubiras Dixit, which won Germanys Spiel des Jahres award in 2010.
Game play in Dixit Odyssey matches that of Dixit: Each turn one player is the storyteller. This player secretly chooses one card in his hand, then gives a word or sentence to describe this card – but not too obviously. Each other player chooses a card in hand that matches this wordsentence and gives it to the storyteller. The storyteller then lays out the cards, and all other players vote on which card belongs to the storyteller. If no one or everyone guesses the storytellers card, the storyteller receives no points and all players receive two; otherwise the storyteller and the correct guesser(s) each receive three points. Players score one point for each vote their image receives. Players refill their hands, and the next player becomes the storyteller. When the deck runs out, the player with the most points wins.
Dixit Odyssey contains 84 new cards, each with a unique image drawn by Pierô and colored by Marie Cardouat, artist of Dixit and Dixit 2. It also includes a folding game board, 6 new rabbit scoring tokens (12 total), and a box large enough to hold all the Dixit cards released to date.
Dixit Odyssey includes enough components for up to twelve players and also has variant rules for team play and for new ways to play with the cards.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 12
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Party
Category2:
Rating: 4
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2011 |
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| Lifeboats | | | | | |
| FOREVER LOSE YOUR FRIENDS AFTER PLAYING THIS GAME
Also known as Rette Sich Wer Kann (Each Man for Himself) and often times referred to as The Lifeboat Game, this pure negotiation game puts a different spin on the typical ocean catastrophe. There is been a boating accident, and a rag-tag group of six lifeboats is trying to make its way to one of several islands just over the horizon. However only one boat will make any forward progress in a given turn, so players try to convince everyone to vote for his particular favorite. To further complicate matters, the sailors cant seem to decide which boat they want to be in, so theyre constantly jumping out of boats to swim to another one. As if all that was not enough, one of the boats springs a leak each turn. If the boat is at maximum occupancy when the leak occurs, then players vote to decide who to toss to the sharks!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: Negotiation/Diplomacy
Category2:
Rating: Not Rated
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 1993 |
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| Seven Card Slugfest | | | | | |
| REAL TIME GAME FOR MULTI PLAYERS
All was peaceful in the idyllic land of Indines until a powerful artifact, the Belt of Beatdown, was discovered by the villainous Wardlaw OBrien. With the belt, OBrien was able to absorb the bar-fighting powers of the greatest fist-fighters across the world. OBrien scheduled a world-wide pub crawl and invited all the greatest fighters in the land to take part. Can you become the greatest fist-fighter in the World of Indines by fighting your way through seven rounds, punching and gouging your way to supremacy?
At the start of 7-Card Slugfest, each player chooses one of eleven characters and takes a set of seven cards associated with that character. In each set, four cards are simple punches – doing a variable amount of damage – while three also have special effects. At the beginning of each round of the game, players shuffle their deck and place it face down in front of them. A stage card is flipped over to show the rewards for first, second and third most KO points earned this round.
When someone yells fight, the players simultaneously start picking up cards from their decks, looking at them, then playing them on another character. Whenever a player runs out of cards, they take a drink token from a common supply. Their characters stamina is ten, plus or minus the value of that drink token. When everyone has played his cards, the next step is to resolve the stacks of cards played on characters, applying damage in the order it was dealt. If a characters stamina is equalled or exceeded, the character who achieved the knockout earns a KO point. If a character survives all the punches aimed at him, then he receives the KO point. Players can also score two KO points for knocking out Boris, a non-player character. KO points are turned into gold according to each rounds stage card, and the player with the most gold at the end of seven rounds wins.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 0
Category1: Cards
Category2: fighting
Rating: Not Rated
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Skull & Roses | | | | | |
| BLUFFING GAME WITH BIDDING
Skull & Roses is the quintessence of bluffing, a game in which everything is played in the players heads. Each player plays a face-down card, then each player in turn adds one more card – until someone feels safe enough to state that he can turn a number of cards face up and get only roses. Other players can then overbid him, saying they can turn even more cards face up. The highest bidder must then turn that number of cards face up, starting with his own. If he shows only roses, he wins; if he reveals a skull, he loses, placing one of his cards out of play. Two successful challenges wins the game. Skull & Roses is not a game of luck; its a game of poker face and meeting eyes.
Skull & Roses Red features the same gameplay as Skull & Roses, with the only change being alternate rules that allow each player to control two biker gangs. Both Skull & Roses Red and Skull are playable on their own, with each game containing six different biker gangs. Each Skull or Skull & Roses set can be combined with another to allow for games with more than six players.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Bluffing
Category2: Cards
Rating: Not Rated
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2011 |
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| Super Blow Water | | | | | |
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Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 20
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Cards
Category2: Party
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2011 |
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| Panic on Wall Street! | | | | | |
| LOUD PARTY GAME WITH A CLEVER BIDDING MECHANISM
In Panic on Wall Street! you take on the role of a freewheeling capitalist out to outmaneuver your competitors and earn your place as a great industrialist.
Players are divided into managers and investors. Your goal is to earn more money than any other manager (if you are a manager) or more money than any other investor (if you are a investor) by the end of the fifth round.
Each round managers and investors negotiate with each other in a noisy, two-minute free-for-all to set a purchase price for shares in the managers companies. Investors then collect income from the shares they purchased but not until a roll of the dice brings (sometimes drastic) changes to the economy, with major consequences for the balance sheet of each player. Managers collect what they are owed from investors, pay fees for each of their companies, and buy new companies at auction.
After five rounds of play (5 months), the manager and the investor who have accumulated the most money are each declared victors, the undisputed masters of commerce.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 11
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Auction/bidding
Category2: Party
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2011 |
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| Speculation | | | | | |
| PREDICT THE MARKET TO BUY AND SELL STOCKS AT THE RIGHT TIME
In Speculation, players buy and sell shares of stock, trying to have the most money at the end of the game.
Each player has a hand of nine cards; eight of them match the company shares that are available for purchase, while the ninth card is a Bank Holiday card. Each of the eight companies has 2-5 shares available, depending on the number of players, and each player starts with a randomly drawn share. At the start of the game, place six movement tiles (numbered 1-6) in one bag and six action tiles (trade x3, rank +1, rank -1, no action) in another bag.
Each round, the starting player draws one tile from each bag. If he draws a rank +1 or rank -1, he moves one share price indicator (a.k.a. brick) of his choice up or down one rank on the movement track that organizes the company bricks. If he draws a trade, each player buys andor sells one share to the bank. Players then simultaneously choose one of the two cards in their hand and reveal them. If no one played a bank holiday card, then in turn order, the brick associated with each company card advances on the movement track a number of spaces equal to the movement tile drawn, ignoring occupied spaces. The value of a companys shares depends on the location of its brick on the movement track and its position relative to all of the other bricks. If one or more bank holiday cards were played, the bricks move only half the distance or dont move at all.)
Players each draw a new card, and the bags pass to the next player in clockwise order, who becomes the starting player for the next round. If a trade tile was drawn, return all tiles to their respective bags first. The rounds continue until one or more company bricks reach the end of the movement track. At the end of that round, players cash out their holdings and whoever has the most money wins.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1:
Category2:
Rating: Not Rated
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 0 |
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| La Boca | | | | | |
| La Boca, the most famous neighborhood in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, was populated by many Italian immigrants when first founded. The area is best known today for its eccentric skyline, with the houses having been built from scrapped fishing boats and the metal being colorfully painted to create a patchwork effect across the neighborhood.
Creating skylines of similar beauty and eccentricity is the goal of the construction teams that play La Boca. In shifting teams of two that sit across from one another, players try to create skylines on challenge cards – but the players can see the completed image only from their point of view, so they must consult with one another constantly to make sure each colored block ends up in the right location while racing against the timer. The faster the players complete their building, the more points they score. Then the next team takes a seat, breaks down the blocks, then begins building anew. Whoever has the most points after a certain number of rounds will stand atop La Boca and glory in the cheers of the Argentinian public!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 6
Category1: Puzzle/Maze
Category2: Real Time
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Article 27 | | | | | |
| NEGOTIATE AND BLUFF LIKE A POLITICIAN FOR YOUR COUNTRY
Article 27: The United Nations Security Council Game gets its title from – yes, you guessed it – Article 27 of the United Nations Charter, which includes these two provisions:
1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.
In this negotiation game, each player represents one member of the UN Security Council and will both present and be presented with different proposals.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Bluffing
Category2: Negotiation/Diplomacy
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2012 |
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| Pandánte | | | | | |
| GAMBLING AND BLUFFING WITH PANDAS
Pandánte is a gambling game played by the Pandas of the Pandalands in the Fantasy Strike universe. In this game, lying is okay. (Humans use the softer term bluffing.) You can lie about which abilities you have access to, and you can lie about whether your cards are strong enough to win the pot! And if you win a pot by lying, you gain the favor of a Panda Lord. Be careful, though, because other players can call you out on your lies for fun and profit.
Each round (called a gambit), players try to build the best hand they can from their two private cards and five community cards, similar to gameplay in Texas Holdem Poker. Over the course of a gambit, players bet several times while making claims about how good their hands are and using abilities to influence the game. Each suit gives access to a different ability and if you dont have the one you need, just lie about it and hope you get away with it.
You can play Pandánte as a social game with a definite win condition and no player elimination, or you can play it as an ongoing gambling game in which players are eliminated when they lose their money, like in Poker. You could even play with real money if youre Panda enough.
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 13
Category1: Cards
Category2: Bluffing
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| The Amberden Affair | | | | | |
| KILL OR FIND THE KILLER TO MAX OUT SCORING
In The Amberden Affair, players serve as domestic servants for a grand soiree held in the esteemed Amberden Manor. While busily carrying out orders for three distinguished dignitaries, observant footmen realize that one of their own has malicious objectives that threaten the very lives of the ones they are there to serve.
In the game, players try to earn points by completing as many orders as possible by taking item cards from locations in the room and bringing them to their proper recipients. They must also attempt to identify the Miscreant Impostor, the player who is secretly trying to poison certain targets while accomplishing regular orders. The player with the most points at the end of three rounds wins!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: Deduction
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Chicken Caesar | | | | | |
| VOTE AND NEGOTIATE TO VICTORY
In Chicken Caesar, players represent aristocratic ancient Roman chicken families trying to create a legacy for their family name. Each family has several eligible roosters eager to jump into the world of politics, getting rich and creating a legacy by any means necessary.
Roosters gain renown for their families by occupying various political offices. Low-ranking officers dont yield much fame, but they hold both the purse strings and the power of the sword. A few roosters in the lower offices of Aedile and Praetor, together with the votes of a few well-paid (and temporary) allies, can clear a path to the luxury and recognition that come with the titles of Censor, Consul, and even Caesar.
Being Caesar isnt easy, though: fail to bribe and bargain to ensure the welfare of the whole coop and todays Caesar is tomorrows Coq au Vin. Dead roosters dont earn any more points, but they do offer opportunities for their surviving relatives to exaggerate their accomplishments. All that matters, in the end, is historys judgment, and history can be rewritten.
Mechanically, players gain and maintain areas of influence through negotiation and voting. The game features a Suffragium marker that players pass after voting to either promote a Rooster to a higher office, or throw him to the fox. Players can also strategically demand bribes for their votes or even refuse to vote (pass) to gain a later advantage.
Murder, betrayal, votes for cash, fragile alliances, and bloody vendettas will separate the legendary families from the forgotten ones in the struggle to become – and remain – Chicken Caesar!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: Negotiation/Diplomacy
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2012 |
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| Joomba | | | | | |
| HUMAN HAVING ANIMALS FUN
Joomba! is a simple party game in which players want to claim as many cards as possible. On a turn you reveal an animal card so that all players can see it; each card features four types of animals on it, with one animal type being present once, another being present twice, another three times, and the final type four times. Competing against everyone else, you must identify the animal that appears on the revealed card a number of times equal to the number on the back of the next card in the deck, then imitate the sound that animal makes.
The rules for Joomba! include three different ways to play.
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 6
Category1: Party
Category2: Real Time
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2012 |
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| Prohis | | | | | |
| BLUFF TO TRANSPORT ILLEGAL GOODS
In Prohis, each player embodies a smuggler who tries to make a fortune by transporting illegal goods — a highly precarious activity since the other players have the opportunity to check your cargo or even seize it if they find suspicious items.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Bluffing
Category2: Negotiation/Diplomacy
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| One Night Revolution | | | | | |
| ENEMY OR FRIENDS?
One Night Revolution (formerly One Night Resistance) is a super fast game of secret identities for 3 to 10 players that combines all the deductive and chaotically fun elements of the One Night Ultimate Werewolf series with more structured game play. The result is a very addictive game that is easy to learn and will be played over and over again.
Every player starts with a specialist role and an ID (either Government Informant or Rebel Fighter). At night the Informants reveal themselves to one another — assuming any exist, that is, as at all player counts between zero and three Informants are in play — then all players complete their specialist action in a clockwise order (removing the need for a rigid scriptapp and reducing the potential to accidentally reveal your role). Specialist actions include gathering information, switching roles, and helping players in their attempt to identify the Informant(s) before the day is over. If a majority of players identify an Informant, the Rebels wins — but if the Informant(s) remain hidden, they win!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 10
Age & Difficulty: 14
Category1: Secret Roles
Category2: Bluffing
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Co-Mix | | | | | |
| BECOME THE MASTER OF STORY TELLER
Co-Mix is a storytelling game about comics. (Thats a surprise!) Players will have a set of cards in their hands, each one representing a different panel of a comic book. Theyll have a bit of time to create a simple plot, mixing the panels they have and creating a full comic page, following the theme of the story. The fun part comes when those crazy stories get actually told...and reviewed!
Co-Mix tests players imagination and creativity, putting them in the shoes of comic writers with a strict schedule. They need to think quickly, get inspiration by the panels in their hand (with hundreds of panels included in the game), craft their story, and expose their creations to each other.
Co-Mix is a game for everyone. The inspirational illustrations, with their varied set of characters, actions and settings, guides the players through the creation of short, fun and (more often than not) crazy stories that are sure to cause more than one laugh.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 10
Age & Difficulty: 6
Category1: Party
Category2: story telling
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| Hannin Wa Odoru (Criminal Dance) | | | | | |
| In this game, players will get 4 cards in their hand. In turn they play a card one by one. A player win the game if he can catch the culprit, or he play his culprit card or when he play a dog card and finds a culprit.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Party
Category2: Deduction
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Dead Mans Chest | | | | | |
| Dead Mans Chest is a dice game of bidding and bluffing for three to eight pirates. The game includes rules, a treasure chest dice shaker, two special dice and 24 gems.
The game is driven by a bid and challenge system. Players roll the dice in the chest and present the closed chest to the next player with a challenge based on their value. Will they call your bluff or choose to roll and raise the bid to the next player. But beware the challenge of DEAD MAN, as there is no higher bid!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Bluffing
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Revolution | | | | | |
| POWER, BLACKMAIL OR BRIBE TO THE REVOLUTION
Blackmail the printer. Threaten the innkeeper. Bribe the priest. Welcome to Revolution!
Secretly bid against your opponents to gain victory points, control territories (worth victory points at the end of the game) and collect more Gold, Blackmail, and Force tokens for the next round of bidding! Will you try to control the tavern or the fortress? The harbor or the plantation? Knowing where to push for points – and where to back away and let your opponents fight – is the key to victory. Whoever has the most victory points at the end of the game wins. Its a game of bluff, counter-bluff, and surprise!
Bidding tokens have different shapes and colors for easy identification. Colorful cardstock shields keep your bids private, and also provide a handy rules reference during the auction. Brightly-colored wooden blocks allow players to see, at a glance, who controls which colonial-themed territories.
Revolution! is for three to six players. The rules can be taught in minutes, and a complete game takes less than an hour. Each new game lets players find new strategies and tactics.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Area Control
Category2: Auction/bidding
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2009 |
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| Mystery of the Abbey | | | | | |
| DEDUCTION OF MURDER MYSTERY
Mystery of the Abbey is a whodunit game with a twist. A monk has been murdered in a medieval French Abbey. Players maneuver their way through the Abbey examining clues and questioning each other to find out who is the culprit. A masterful game of deduction!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Deduction
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 1995 |
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| Spyfall | | | | | |
| FIND THE SPY OR FIGURE OUT THE LOCATION
Spyfall is a party game unlike any other, one in which you get to be a spy and try to understand whats going on around you. Its really simple!
Spyfall is played over several rounds, and at the start of each round all players receive cards showing the same location — a casino, a traveling circus, a pirate ship, or even a space station — except that one player receives a card that says Spy instead of the location. Players then start asking each other questions — Why are you dressed so strangely? or When was the last time we got a payday? or anything else you can come up with — trying to guess who among them is the spy. The spy doesnt know where he is, so he has to listen carefully. When its his time to answer, hed better create a good story!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: Party
Category2: Deduction
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| Thieves | | | | | |
| In the speedy bluffing card game Thieves!, players are crafty crooks making a break for it after a huge heist! You must carefully amass the greatest stash of loot while keeping an eye on the growing police presence -- if a raid is triggered, the player with the most loot at that moment is busted and loses all the loot they are holding! Then the game continues, with more loot and raids on the horizon! Can you escape in the end with the biggest share of loot?
Each round you draw a card and play one from your hand. Will you play a loot card face down in front of yourself, so no one knows what youre holding? Or will you play it face up in front of another player to overload their stash? Police cards and special Thief cards are there to affect the game as well. If a player draws a getaway car, it has to immediately be played on the table, and when a seventh getaway car shows up, the player with the most valuable loot wins the game!
Thieves! is a simple, interactive card game that will captivate both beginners and advanced players!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Party
Category2: Cards
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Hoax | | | | | |
| When an unscrupulous business magnate meets an undignified end, a fierce competition for his estate begins.
In Hoax, three to six players each take on the secret identity of a member of Vargas’ family or household. No matter what your identity, your goal is to eliminate all your competitors by catching them in a lie – but making a false accusation will take you out of the game. If you want to make informed accusations, you must amass resources and spend them to investigate other players. To win, you have to both avoid accusations and judiciously make them, all the while making your opponents believe that all your lies are true. Whoever is devious enough to outlast all the other players wins!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 14
Category1: Bluffing
Category2: Deduction
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2016 |
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| Diamonds | | | | | |
| Diamonds is a trick-taking card game in which players collect Diamonds — not cards bearing that suit, mind you, but rather actual Diamond Crystals (acrylic crystals) included in the game.
What makes the game of Diamonds different from other trick-taking card games is that when you cannot follow suit you get a Suit Action based on what suit you do play. Suit Actions are also taken by the winner of each trick, as well as at the end of a full Round of play.
Suit Actions will enable players to take Diamond Crystals from the Supply, moving them to their Showroom (where they may score 1 point) or to their Vault (where they will score 2 points). The Vault is a secure area, but the Showroom is vulnerable to theft by the other players.
Minimum Players: 2
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Cards
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| Incan Gold | | | | | |
| Incan Gold is a quick, fun and tense game in which you and other adventurers explore an old Incan temple in search of gold and treasure. In each of the five rounds, you secretly choose if you want to continue exploring the temple in search of more treasure or retreat to the safety of your camp with your share of the treasure that has been discovered so far.
Each time that an explorer braves new territory, more treasure or a danger appears. When a second card of the same type of danger is turned over, all exposed treasure is buried, leaving the remaining adventurers with nothing. Do you flee the dangerous temple with your portion of the treasure that has been uncovered so far or do you venture into the exciting temple in search of more hidden valuables?
After five rounds of exploration, whoever has the most treasure is the ultimate explorer and winner!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Luck driven
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2006 |
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| Karesansui | | | | | |
| As Grade Two monastery initiates in Karesansui – the cutthroat game of Zen gardening – it will be your great honor to tend the Masters rock gardens. Each morning the Grade Ones arrive with rocks theyve gathered, then haul away the rocks that you dont need anymore – but there arent enough Grade One initiates to go around, so there will be competition for the best selection of rocks. The Grade Ones will give their new rocks to whoever gives them the fewest old rocks to haul away.
Keep in mind while creating your garden, however, that certain combinations of rocks must be avoided! Every afternoon, the Feng Shui Masters come by to check your work. Youll receive demerits for any forbidden combinations – but youll also receive demerits for your laziness if you dont add new stones each day, so you must find a balance.
The Masters final evaluation will come with no advance warning. The Initiate who has the fewest demerits will advance to Grade Three, while the one with the most demerits will be kicked down to Grade One, joining the others in the daily search for new rocks...
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: set collection
Category2: Auction/bidding
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2003 |
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| Happy Pigs | | | | | |
| As pig farmers in Happy Pigs, players compete on raising healthy pigs by executing strategic combinations of “Actions” (Feed, Mate, Purchase, and Sell) and “Tools” (Vaccines, Nutritional Supplements and Birth Amulets) for each round. Both the frequency to take these “Actions” and the number of “Tools” a player can purchase are restricted by the number of players choosing to take the same action in any given round. Also, from time to time there are unexpected events (such as Pig Shows and Sausage Fest) which offer players great opportunities to outperform their peers.
There are four rounds to each season, and all unvaccinated pigs die at each season change. The game concludes at the end of four seasons, when all pigs are sold off at different prices in accordance with their sizes. The player with the highest profit at the end wins the game.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: other
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Waka Tanka | | | | | |
| Waka Tanka is a very light bluffing card game in the Bullshit family. Players are Native American shamans who want to impress the tribe by conjuring various animal spirits and having long discussions with them. The problem is that the shaman doesnt always remember the right incantation and somewhat calls the wrong spirit — hoping no one will notice.
Each player in turn plays an incantation card face down in front of an animal totem. Other players can call the bluff if they think its not the right animal. A player can also try a full ceremony if he thinks enough incantations have been made to a given animal spirit. A player wins by getting rid of all their incantation cards or fulfilling two ceremonies.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Bluffing
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2016 |
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| Unusual Suspects | | | | | |
| Incredible! The shifty thief who operates undisturbed from months is about to be caught! After copious failures, a team of detectives has a secret weapon: a witness. However this witness is quite weird; he doesnt remember anything about the appearance of the criminal, but he knows everything about their habits and behavior. Will the investigative team be able to find out the criminal only from these elements?
In Insoliti Sospetti (Unusual Suspects), one player is the Witness and the other players play the part of the Investigative Team. The Witness knows the real identity of the Guilty and tries to make the Team hit it only with his answers. The Team asks questions to the Witness and, depending on his answers, will exclude the innocent suspects after players have discussed what they learned.
Insoliti Sospetti can also be played competitively or collaboratively (team vs team). In the latter case, a grid of twelve suspects is created. Every round the team reveals a question card and the Witness has to answer yesno. According to the answer, the team has to remove suspects until only the Guilty one is on the board.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 18
Age & Difficulty: 13
Category1: Party
Category2: Deduction
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: In Stock
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Deception: Murder in Hong Kong | | | | | |
| Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a game of deduction and deception for 4-12 players that plays in about 20 minutes.
In the game, players take on the roles of investigators attempting to solve a murder case – but theres a twist. The killer is one of the investigators! Each players role and team are randomly assigned at the start of play and include the unique roles of Forensic Scientist, Witness, Investigator, Murderer, and Accomplice. While the Investigators attempt to deduce the truth, the murderers team must deceive and mislead. This is a battle of wits!
Minimum Players: 4
Maximum Players: 12
Age & Difficulty: 14
Category1: Secret Roles
Category2: Deduction
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: In Stock
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2014 |
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| Kobayakawa | | | | | |
| Kobayakawa is a game of bluffing and deduction, and the player that ends up with the highest numbered card wins the round. In this stylish new game from Jun Sasaki, components are kept at a minimum - there are only 15 cards and a handful of crest tokens.
Players each start with a random card in hand, and the rest is put in a pile at the center of the table with the first card flipped face up (this card is called the Kobayakawa).
The rules are simple: Each round, players take a turn and either discard their card face up in front of them and take a new one from the deck, or turn a card from the deck to replace the current Kobayakawa. After each player has taken a turn, they each decide if they want to compete for this round by putting a crest token on their card. Players that decided to compete then all reveal their card at once and compare their number.
The player with the highest number wins, but the player that has the smallest numbered card also adds the number of the current Kobayakawa on top of it.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 9
Category1: Luck driven
Category2: gambling
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2013 |
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| Broom Service: The Card Game | | | | | |
| Broom Service: The Card Game focuses on the bravecowardly mechanism used in the Broom Service board game (and before that Witches Brew).
Additional Comment
This game is #2 in the Alea very small box series. It includes an expansion for the Alea big box series game Broom Service.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Cards
Category2: Bluffing
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: In Stock
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2016 |
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| Sidibaba | | | | | |
| In Sidibaba, players take on the role of Sidibaba and his friends who are searching for hidden treasure in a cave. One of the players (the moderator and also the Leader of the thieves) has a map of the maze and helps guide the other players by providing visions (using tiles) of what lies in front of Sidibaba and his friends, such as a corridor with branching tunnels. After discussion amongst themselves, the other players must decide which way to take, and which of their special powers to use to move along the track; if they cannot agree, then they must vote.
Unfortunately for the Sidibaba and his friends, the Leader of the thieves (the game moderator) knows that Sidibaba and his friends are in his cave and are after his treasure. Sidibaba and his friends win if they manage to get the treasure and get out of the cave before their oil lamps go out. The leader of the thieves wins if Sidibaba and his friends dont get out of the caves in time, or when he manages to catch Sidibaba and his friends when they dont have a spare oil lamp left. As a result, each camp has its own objectives and its own mode of operation.
Sidibaba is a real-time game in which players have a limited amount of time to negotiate or else theyll watch their torches go out one by one, eventually leaving them lost in the dark.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 7
Age & Difficulty: 14
Category1: Real Time
Category2: Puzzle/Maze
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2008 |
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| One Night Ultimate Vampire | | | | | |
| No moderator, no elimination, no werewolves.
In One Night Ultimate Vampire, the sun has just set, and vampires have descended on your sleepy little town, slowly turning the villagers into even more vampires. Fortunately, the village has several residents with special powers, with most willing to help eliminate this fanged menace!
One Night Ultimate Vampire is a fast game for 3-10 players in which everyone gets a role: The nefarious Vampire, the well-meaning Cupid, the sneaky Assassin, or others, each with a special ability. In the course of a single evening, your village will decide who among them is a vampire...because all it takes is finding one vampire to win!
One Night Ultimate Vampire can be combined with One Night Ultimate Werewolf or One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak or both games.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 10
Age & Difficulty: 8
Category1: Deduction
Category2: Secret Roles
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Anomia | | | | | |
| Anomia plays off the fact that our minds are positively brimming with all sorts of random information: things to eat, pop songs, websites, etc... Sure, under normal circumstances, its easy to give an example of a frozen food or a dog breed, but youll find that your brain works a little differently under pressure!
To play, draw and reveal a card from the center pile. Does the symbol on your card match one on another players card? If so, you must quickly face-off with the other player by giving an example of the person, place, or thing on his card before he can do the same for yours. If you blurt out a correct answer first, you win his card and the drawing continues.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong! Wild cards allow unlike symbols to match, increasing the number of things to which you must pay attention. Cascading face-offs can occur when you hand over a lost card, thereby revealing a new top card on your play pile.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 10
Category1: Party
Category2: Cards
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: In Stock
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2010 |
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| Kill Doctor Lucky Anniversary Edition | | | | | |
| In this notorious game, an inversion of Clue, you hate Doctor Lucky. Maybe he left you out of his will. Maybe he killed your pet rock. Whatever the reason, you want him dead. Unfortunately, so do the other players. Since you dont want to go to jail, you need to make your attempt in secret; if anybody can see you, whistle nonchalantly, and let the Doctor live ... until next time.
Players move around the mansion, collecting murder weapons (to make the murder attempt stronger - doubly so if the weapon is used in an appropriate location); failure cards (to thwart opponents plans); and movement cards (to try to get together with Doctor Lucky in a secluded location for his inevitable demise.) Players try to convince others to use up their failure cards first, the better for when their own attempts come.
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 12
Category1: card drafting
Category2: Bluffing
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2016 |
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| Spyfall 2 | | | | | |
| Spyfall is a party game unlike any other, one in which you get to be a spy and try to understand whats going on around you. Its really simple!
Spyfall is played over several rounds, and at the start of each round all players receive cards showing the same location — except that one player receives a card that says Spy instead of the location. Players then start asking each other questions — Why are you dressed so strangely? or When was the last time we got a payday? or anything else you can come up with — trying to guess who among them is the spy. The spy doesnt know where he is, so he has to listen carefully. When its his time to answer, hed better create a good story!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 12
Age & Difficulty: 13
Category1: Secret Roles
Category2: Party
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: In Stock
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2017 |
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| The Mystery of Dattakamo | | | | | |
| This is a deduction through conversation game. Exercise your vivid imagination and infer the thing that comes into your opponent’s mind by using the sense of touch.
Due to the nature of the game, the visually impaired people can enjoy and play, too!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 8
Age & Difficulty: 5
Category1: Party
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Not available
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2015 |
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| Get Bit Deluxe | | | | | |
| Get Bit! is a card game where players are competing to stay alive as the others are being eaten by the shark.
The order of the swimmers is determined by simultaneously playing cards face-down then revealing the values. The number on each players card determines position in line (higher numbers in front, lower numbers in back), however ties dont move. The swimmer at the back loses a limb to the shark and is flung to the front of the line! The process is repeated until only two swimmers remain on the table. When this happens, the swimmer at the front of the line wins the game!
Minimum Players: 3
Maximum Players: 6
Age & Difficulty: 7
Category1: Cards
Category2:
Rating: 3
New Copy for sale: Can be ordered
In-store Play Copy: In Store
Year Published: 2007 |
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