Cosmic Encounter: 42nd Anniversary Edition

Effectively a reprint, this new edition of the classic negotiation game includes cool translucent plastic ships, new art, rules updates, errata, a comic to teach new players, and general stremliningness.

In Cosmic Encounter, each player is the leader of an alien race. On a player’s 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.

Patchwork Express

One of the best 2-player games in recent years now has a version perfect for youngsters! Designed for ages 6 and up, Patchwork Express features the same basic gameplay as Patchwork, but with a smaller playing area and with larger and less complex pieces.

In the game, each player tries to build the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) patchwork quilt on a personal 7×7 game board. To start play, lay out all of the light-colored patches at random in a circle and place a starting marker in a particular location. Each player takes some buttons — the currency/points in the game — and someone is chosen as the start player.

On a turn, a player either purchases one of the three patches standing clockwise of the starting marker or passes. To purchase a patch, you pay the cost in buttons shown on the patch, move the starting marker to that patch’s location in the circle, add the patch to your game board, then advance your time token on the time track a number of spaces equal to the time shown on the patch. You’re free to place the patch anywhere on your board that doesn’t overlap other patches, but you probably want to fit things together as tightly as possible. If your time token is behind or on top of the other player’s time token, then you take another turn; otherwise the opponent now goes. Instead of purchasing a patch, you can choose to pass; to do this, you move your time token to the space immediately in front of the opponent’s time token, then take one button from the bank for each space you moved.

In addition to a button cost and time cost, each patch also features 0-3 buttons, and when you move your time token past a button on the time track, you earn “button income”: sum the number of buttons depicted on your personal game board, then take this many buttons from the bank.

What’s more, the time track depicts six 1×1 patches on it, and during set-up you place six actual 1×1 patches on these spaces. Whoever first passes a patch on the time track claims this patch and immediately places it on their game board.

At some point during the game, dark-colored patches are added to what’s available for players to take, and these pieces are smaller than the light-colored ones, making it more likely that they’ll fill in holes on a player’s board.

Genesys RPG: Denizens of Terrinoth

The denizens of Terrinoth are as diverse as the wondrous lands themselves. As they journey across the realms, adventurers might encounter scholarly Greyhaven wizards, mysterious Latari Elves, gruff Dunwarr Dwarves, mighty rune golems, lyrical sword poets, and even Singhara Pridelords from the wilds of Zanaga. Unless treated with respect or caution, however, these individuals can be as dangerous as any ogre or dragon!

This deck requires the Genesys Core Rulebook and the Realms of Terrinoth supplement to use. It includes cards for 20 adversaries from all across the varied lands of Terrinoth and beyond.

Genesys RPG: Foes of Terrinoth

Terrinoth is a land filled with great wonders that date to the far past of the First Darkness, but it is also filled with terrible dangers. Ghastly undead creatures, ravenous monsters, ferocious dragons, and horrific demons lurk here as well. Adventurers must always be prepared when exploring forgotten treasure vaults and castle ruins, for it is a certainty that they won’t be alone in such places!

This deck requires the Genesys Core Rulebook and the Realms of Terrinoth supplement to use. It includes cards for 20 adversaries from all across the varied lands of Terrinoth and beyond.

Yellow & Yangtze

The period of the Warring States (475-221 BCE) describes a time of endless wars between seven rival states: Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Wei, and Zhao. These states were finally unified in 221 BCE under the Qin dynasty to lay the origin of today’s China, with its two main rivers: the Yellow and the Yangtze.

Yellow & Yangtze, the sister game to the highly acclaimed board game Tigris & Euphrates, invites you to replay this eventful period and to lead your dynasty to victory.

In Yellow & Yangtze, players build civilizations through tile placement. Players are given five different leaders: Governor, Soldier, Farmer, Trader, and Artisan. The leaders are used to collect victory points in these same categories. However, your score at the end of the game is the number of points in your weakest category. Conflicts arise when civilizations connect on the board. To succeed, players’ civilizations must survive these conflicts, calm peasant revolts, and grow secure enough to build prestigious pagodas.

Maiden’s Quest

In Maiden’s Quest, a maiden — tired of waiting to be rescued — takes it upon herself to fight her enemies and escape.

Maidens use cards from their hands to attempt to defeat an enemy or obstacle. As you play, the game’s difficulty grows as enemies of increasing ferocity become active! An innovative turn-and-flip mechanism allows each card to represent up to four items, encounters, or allies.

This fun and easy-to-learn game takes 10–30 minutes if you play non-stop. However, since each encounter is resolved separately, you can stop and stow away the deck at any time, returning to play when and where you left off at a later time! Since no surface is required, you can play while standing in line to get your morning coffee, while you wait for an appointment, or while sitting on the couch at home! Contents include enough for true solo play, co-op, or competitive two-player games, and, with multiple copies, more players can join in!

Professor Treasure’s Secret Sky Castle

That dastardly Professor Treasure is at it again! This time, he’s stolen all the world’s treasures and hidden them away in a secret floating castle! As an intrepid treasure hunter, you and your friends have finally managed to track down the castle. However, another team of explorers is already here!

Professor Treasure’s Secret Sky Castle is a competitive puzzle game in which you and your opponent race to find keys, unlock treasure chests, and collect priceless treasures from around the world and history! Send out your team of treasure hunters, each with their own unique way to explore the castle. But beware! Your opponent will try to thwart your plans and grab the treasure for themselves!

Fairy Tale Fluxx

Fluxx is a card game in which the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw cards, how to play cards, and even how to win. Fairy Tale Fluxx, illustrated by renowned folk artist Mary Engelbreit, brings the zaniness of “the card game of ever changing rules” to the land of “happily ever after”, and the results are fit for a king! Gather Keepers to fit the current fairy tale Goal and you win — but look out for the Witch and the Wolf!

Game of Thrones LCG: Music of Dragons

The long summer has drawn to an end in Westeros. The creeping shadows extend their reach and those who thrive in darkness formulate plots that will change the course of history for the entire world. In Essos, Daenerys Targaryen struggles to secure her position as the queen of Meereen as assassins plot her downfall and a deadly plague runs rampant through the streets. In King’s Landing, Cersei and the Tyrells bicker between one another as unrest sows among the city’s common folk and the Faith of the Seven starts to gain popularity and power. Finally, in the North, Jon Snow is constantly met with resistance as he attempts to perform his new duties as the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. When darkness descends, who will rise and who will fall?

Music of Dragons is the fourth Chapter Pack in Dance of Shadows, the fifth cycle of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. As the story moves into the pages of A Dance with Dragons, you will see the return of the Shadow mechanic from the game’s first edition. Throughout the cycle, you will gain characters, locations, attachments, and events bearing this new keyword, ready to creep in darkness until the opportune moment to strike. With this new layer of mystery and intrigue, you will have to either embrace the underhanded shadowplay, or watch as your House fades into nothingness.