Board Game Posts

Welcome to Ankh-Morpork, the largest, smelliest, and most 'interesting' city on Discworld. The city's patrician, Lord Vetinari, has disappeared, and the citizens are calling out for firm leadership.

Will one of the noble families take control of the city, or will the people welcome the return of the king to restore peace? Then again, Vetinari's absence may have been temporary and his spies could be spreading around the city, ready to start pulling the levers of power for their master.

Ankh-Morpork is a relatively simple game. When it is your turn you play a card, do what it says on it, and then fill your hand back up to five cards. …

Buildings - Storm Surge

Bank: Immediately gain four coins from the supply. At the beginning of the storm surge phase, gain 1 VP for every four of your coins.

Dike Association: Immediately advance your dike point marker three spaces on the dike track. At the beginning of the storm surge phase, advance your dike point marker two spaces for every three dike points you have.

If you reach any progress tokens, do not resolve their effects.

Estate: Immediately build two fences without paying resources. At the beginning of the storm surge phase, gain 3 VP for each of your pastures. …

TV, beer, nookie ... it's Friday night at Chez Geek! In this game, you and your friends become roommates - for as long as you can stand each other. The object of Chez Geek is to be the first to reach your personal Slack Goal. So read on, and see how it's done...

Components

• 202 Life Cards (yellow backs)
• 17 Job Cards (purple backs)
• 4 blank life Cards
• 1 blank Job Card
• Slack Tokens
• Six-side die
• Rulebook

Setup

There are two types of cards, Life and Job. These go in sepa- rate piles. Each player (or roommate) will need table space for his room - that is, the cards he has played for Activities and Things, and the People who have come over to visit. …

Do you know where the panda lives? Do you know where the babirusa lives? Do you know what a babirusa is? In the game Fauna, you are not expected to know all the answers, simply gather your wits and make an educated guess.

You are right on target? Great! You are close? That's good too, since you score partial points. The more you play, the better you get. Playing Fauna involves some fun betting for points, but don't get cocky, as this may cost you your hide. …

The Gifts of the Caliph

This expansion "The Gifts of the Caliph" can be used with the basic game of Asara, and also may be combined with the professional version of the game.

Setup

Place golden treasures on the five market space shown below. For the basic game, remove the four Gift cards with the lighted windows and use the remaining twenty Gift cards.

Shuffle the Gift cards and put them in a face-down pile next to the board. At the beginning of the game and at the start of each new year, randomly distribute the top five Gift cards face-up to the spaces marked with treasure chests on the board. …

To make deals and earn a fortune, you need good connections with influential investors. By bringing the right people to the bargaining table, negotiating wisely, and offering them a piece of the action, you can amass millions and stand atop the business community. But watch out for competitors who will botch your handiwork with underhanded tricks in order to turn your potential deal into their personal profits!

Components

• 98 Influence cards
• 15 Deal cards
• 1 Game board
• 6 Investor placards
• 1 Marker
• 1 Rulebook

The Board

The gameboard shows 16 potential business deals. Each of these deals shows a number of dividends …

They gazed at the large structure of colorful blocks neatly stacked before them. The goal was simple: climb to the highest level possible. Getting there was more challenging than original- ly thought. Only one climber will make it to the top. Will it be you?

Your goal is to climb to the highest level of the structure. To help with your climb, you may move and rotate blocks. Ladders can be used to climb large distances.

Your blocking disk will prevent other players from using a specific block. Use your tools wisely and at the right time to make the best possible moves in your adventure to the top! …

The players assume the roles of the royal houses of Lancaster and York, who fought the War of the Roses (both sides sported a Rose on their arms) between 1455 and 1485 for control of the throne of England. Each will try to bring the largest areas under their control.

Components

• 1 playing board
• 52 double-sided markers
• 24 power cards
• 8 Hero cards (4 for each side)
• 1 Crown marker

Object of the Game

The winner of the game is the player with the largest contiguous areas marked with his color of Rose. …

Know the Board

At the start of the game, newer players are always peering at the board, trying to look for their destination start and end points. Some will even point to the board while they do this.

If you already know where everything is, you can avoid giving away useful information to your opponents. Furthermore, you can spend less time worrying about where your destination cards are, and concentrate on your opponents, leaving you ready to spot exactly the kind of behavior I've outlined, giving you an edge. …

This is chess . . . with a difference! The goal remains the same: to checkmate the enemy king. But the moves may be a bit unusual . ..

Each player has a deck of cards, each modifying the traditional rules of the game in a different way. Every move is a surprise! In Knightmare Chess, victory is never certain until the last move.

Components

• 160 oversized full-color cards
• Rulebook

Setup

You'll need a standard chessboard with its pieces set up as usual. Decide who will move first. Shuffle your own deck and draw the top five cards as your beginning "hand". You may look at these cards. …