Pack your lucky socks and get ready for an adventure exploring Dragonrealm! Sneak into the Witch’s Cabin, search the Ogres’ Treehouse, or storm the Dragon’s Lair. Add adventurers to different locations in the hopes of getting the most treasure. But watch out for goblins who might get there first and grab the treasure before you! In the end, the player with the most treasure wins.

Using the same thematic world as Dragonwood, players now take on capturing locations using adventurer pawns.

Players will play card melds of straights and sets (color or number) to roll dice to attempt to place units on locations. Once a location is full, it is scored.

New locations are revealed to be captured. Players continue in this manner until a certain number of locations are captured. Each location is worth a value in points and additional points are awarded for other events.

Game description from the publisher:

Dare to enter Dragonwood! Deep in the heart of this mythical forest lurk angry ogres, giggling goblins, and even the famed and fearsome fire-breathers themselves!

In Dragonwood, you collect sets of adventurer cards to earn dice, which you then use to roll against your foes. Stomp on some fire ants, scream at a grumpy troll, or strike the menacing orange dragon with a magical silver sword. Choose your strategy carefully because the landscape of Dragonwood is ever-changing. Only the bravest will overcome the odds to emerge victorious!

Gameplay:

On their turn, players either draw a card or attempt to capture a creature or enhancement. Players draw from the Adventurer deck that contains cards of 5 different colors all numbered 1-12. With these cards players form combinations to attempt a Strike (cards in a row of any color), a Stomp (cards of the same number) or a Scream (cards of the same color). To capture, players roll a number of dice equal to the number of cards they have of the particular combination. Each creature has different minimum values of a Strike, Stomp or Scream needed to capture it, and a Victory Point amount.

The game includes six, six-sided dice with sides 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, and 4 to reduce extremely lucky outcomes. The Dragonwood deck has 42 cards, 5 of which are displayed in the landscape at any time. In addition to creatures, this deck also has enhancements that are captured in the same way as creatures which assist players in capturing creatures, and contains events that also impact play. When both dragons have been defeated, the game is over and the player with the most victory points wins!

Is the best strategy to go for several smaller creatures or save up for larger attacks? Should you grab some enhancements hoping they will pay off, or go immediately for creatures? Do you take chances on some rolls or go for sure things? Every time you play Dragonwood the deck is different, so no two games are the same!

In Dungeon Lords, you are an evil dungeonlord who is trying to build the best dungeon out there. You hire monsters, build rooms, buy traps and defeat the do-gooders who wish to bring you down.

From the publisher's webpage:

Have you ever ventured with party of heroes to conquer dungeons, gain pride, experiences and of course rich treasure? And has it ever occurred to you how hard it actually is to build and manage such underground complex filled with corridors and creatures? No? Well now you can try. Put yourself in role of the master of underground, summon your servants, dig complex of tunnels and rooms, set traps, hire creatures and try to stop filthy heroes from conquering and plundering your precious creation. We can guarantee you will look on dark corners, lairs and their inhabitant from completely different perspective!

Each turn, players use a hand of cards to choose where to place their worker. Actions vary from mining gold, hiring monsters, buying traps etc. Each action has three spots available - with each spot having different effects (e.g. mining gold lets you mine more gold in each spot).
When using the cards, two cards will become locked and will not be able to be used next turn.

There are 4 turns to place actions for each game "year" and two game years in a whole game.
Each turn is identified as a "season". Each season, players will get to see the heroes and events to come in the following season. Thus allowing them to prepare.

At the end of each season (after the first), heroes will be allocated to each player according to their level of evil. Heroes range from mighty heroes to sneaky thieves. Each hero has their own power for which the player needs to prepare for.
Finally, at the end of each year, the heroes will travel down into the dungeon to fight.

Scoring in the game is based upon what you have built, the monsters you have hired and the heroes you have captured.

You and your fellow adventurers stand at the entrance to a dangerous dungeon full of treasure. Will you brave Goblins, Skeletons, and Oozes in order to collect more treasure? Or will you escape to safety, carrying out your loot? Bravery is rewarded, but many a foolhardy adventurer has had to flee when the Dragon arrives!

Dungeon of Fortune is a push your luck dungeon crawl (in the world of Dungeon Roll) for 2-6 players where you compete with your opponents for the best share of the loot. The deeper into the dungeon you go, the more dangerous it will be, but the more loot you will find. Gain Experience from fighting monsters to level up, and keep a close watch for the infamous dragon!

Gather your courage, pack your sword, and roll the dice as you journey through the realm in search of treasure and glory. In the roll-and-write game Dungeons, Dice, & Danger, you explore deep, dark dungeons filled with treasure — and infested with monsters! Do you have what it takes to be a hero of legend?

—description from the publisher

To survive the long and terrible winter approaching, the dwarves need to prepare. It’s time to collect gems, build castles and stock up enough food. The fire dragons are sleeping. The giants of winter, lurking. The fall is precious and is vital to plan your actions wisely.

Dwar7s Fall is a game about collecting gems in order to trade it for food. In the meantime you also will need to build your dwarf kingdom and slay some monsters. In this game you have multiple paths to win by choosing carefully your actions.

Players take turns to perform their actions. Each turn you can do 3 actions (place a realm tile or place one dwarf in a tile or move one dwarf by one tile).

Each tile has a pre-requisite of how many dwarfs of one player are needed to perform one kind of action. For example: emerald mines have always three slots, but you will need only two dwarfs to take one emerald. When this task is done (collect one emerald) your two dwarfs will return to your pool.

When a player completes three goals (both open and secret goals are taken into account), the endgame begins. Players who had not played this round make their last turn and, then, the game ends. The points are calculated and wins the match who has more points.

The galaxy has been a peaceful place for many years. After the ruthless Terran–Hegemony War (30.027–33.364), much effort has been employed by all major spacefaring species to prevent the terrifying events from repeating themselves. The Galactic Council was formed to enforce precious peace, and it has taken many courageous efforts to prevent the escalation of malicious acts. Nevertheless, tension and discord are growing among the seven major species and in the Council itself. Old alliances are shattering, and hasty diplomatic treaties are made in secrecy. A confrontation of the superpowers seems inevitable – only the outcome of the galactic conflict remains to be seen. Which faction will emerge victorious and lead the galaxy under its rule?

A game of Eclipse places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You will explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.

The shadows of the great civilizations are about to eclipse the galaxy. Lead your people to victory!

What if the formation of Earth had gone differently?

In Ecos: First Continent, players are forces of nature molding the planet, but with competing visions of its grandeur. You have the chance to create a part of the world, similar but different to the one we know. Which landscapes, habitats, and species thrive will be up to you.

Gameplay in Ecos is simultaneous. Each round, one player reveals element tokens from the element bag, giving all players the opportunity to complete a card from their tableau and shape the continent to their own purpose. Elements that cannot be used can be converted into energy cubes or additional cards in hand or they can be added to your tableau to give you greater options as the game evolves.

Mountain ranges, jungle, rivers, seas, islands and savanna, each with their own fauna, all lie within the scope of the players' options.

—description from the publisher

Eight-Minute Empire, by Ryan Laukat, is a quick game that implements the Civilization/Exploration theme using card-driven area control (by placing armies and cities in a small map) and set collection (by getting resources from the board and the cards). Players spread through the map in order to collect points at the end of the game by having majorities in regions and continents. All actions (such as land or sea movement, army production, or the founding of cities) are driven by cards that are face-up (six at a time) and available by increasing prices. Cards also contain resources, which also give points when the game ends if properly collected.

Its first version was available as print-and-play, and a regular (Kickstarter funded) version was published in 2013. An expansion featuring a European map is available as an expansion (Eight-Minute Empire: Europe Expansion Board), and a stand-alone sequel has also been published (Eight-Minute Empire: Legends).

From the publisher:
Build an empire and conquer the land in around eight minutes!

In Eight-Minute Empire, 2-5 players take turns selecting a card from six displayed. The card gives a good, and also has an action that the player takes immediately. Actions help players take over the map, but sets of goods are worth points at the end of the game, so players have to balance the two aspects.

Eight-Minute Empire is the super-quick area control game with tough decisions. It's easy to learn and perfect for when you only have a few minutes.

Build a small empire in a land of legends!

Eight-Minute Empire: Legends is a standalone sequel to the area control game Eight-Minute Empire and does not require the original game to play. Just like the original game, players take turns selecting a card from six on display. The card has an action that the player takes immediately, and actions help players take over the map – but what's new and different in this version?


Instead of goods, cards now have special abilities, which give players unique advantages and ways to break the rules throughout the game
Each card has a unique, beautiful illustration of a fantasy creature or location
A modular board for increased variety
New variants


Is Eight-Minute Empire: Legends still playable in eight minutes? Yes, but only if you hurry!

Eight-Minute Empire: Legends is a quick game that implements the Civilization/Exploration theme using card-driven area control (by placing armies and cities in a small map) and set collection (by getting abilities from the cards). Players spread through the map in order to collect points at the end of the game by having majorities in regions and continents. All actions (such as land or sea movement, army production, or the founding of cities) are driven by cards that are face-up (six at a time) and available by increasing prices. Cards also belong to sets, which also give points when the game ends if properly collected.

Description from the publisher:

In Einstein: His Amazing Life and Incomparable Science, players take on the role of Albert Einstein during one of four periods of his life:


Young Einstein, who emerged from obscurity to become a titan of physics
Prime Einstein, an acknowledged leader of modern theoretical physics and international celebrity
Globetrotting Einstein, traveling to the four corners of the world
Wise Einstein, an idealistic sage who transcended science and impacted our social values


Each Einstein has their own deck of Inspiration Cards based on the real happenings of his life. These inspirations give you simple theories to complete. Using ideas from four different branches of science - physics, mathematics, chemistry, and philosophy - represented by four shapes, each Einstein places tiles representing their ideas onto an emergent common board. Players get points for completing their own theories, contributing to the theories of other players, and helping to finish major theories from Einstein's life.

As Albert Einstein transcended science and became a recognizable figure around the world, so the game Einstein focuses on simple rules and quick playability, an accessible strategy game for gamers and non-gamers alike.

In Equinox, mysterious creatures gather in the forest in an effort to write themselves into the legendary storybook and for tales to be shared for countless generations. However, there is room for only four more stories — not every story will be recorded, so the creatures have to be cunning and clever to outwit their opponents and make the cut.

Equinox is a deeply satisfying betting game that gives players agency to influence the outcome of this competition. Each round, players place numbered power cards in front of the creatures, with the lowest-valued creature being eliminated from play. Players also place bets on which creatures they think will make it into the storybook, and you can use the special powers of these creatures to ideally turn things to your advantage.

Fans of Dr. Reiner Knizia might recognize Equinox as a revised edition of the previously released game Colossal Arena, but with two new creatures. Of the fourteen unique creatures, only eight are played in a game, which means more than three thousand different combinations are possible. To celebrate the equinox occurring twice a year, players can select from two distinct box covers, but note that the contents in each box are identical.

In Ethnos, players call upon the support of giants, merfolk, halflings, minotaurs, and other fantasy tribes to help them gain control of the land. After three ages of play, whoever has collected the most glory wins!

In more detail, the land of Ethnos contains twelve tribes of fantasy creatures, and in each game you choose six of them (five in a 2/3-player game), then create a deck with only the creatures in those tribes. The cards come in six colors, which match the six regions of Ethnos. Place three glory tokens in each region at random, arranging them from low to high.

Each player starts the game with one card in hand, then 4-12 cards (double the number of players) are placed face up on the table. On a turn, a player either recruits an ally or plays a band of allies. In the former case, you take a face-up card (without replacing it from the deck) or the top card of the deck and add it to your hand. In the latter case, you choose a set of cards in your hand that match either in tribe or in color, play them in front of you on the table, then discard all other cards in hand. You then place one token in the region that matches the color of the top card just played, and you use the power of the tribe member on the top card just played.

At the end of the first age, whoever has the most tokens in a region scores the glory shown on the first token. After the second age, the players with the most and second most tokens score glory equal to the values shown on the first and second tokens respectively. Players score similarly after the third age, then whoever has the most glory wins. (Games with two and three players last only two ages.)

Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a year have come and gone, but the time has come for new territories to be settled and new cities established. You will be the leader of a group of critters intent on just such a task. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host—you have a busy year ahead of yourself. Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?

Everdell is a game of dynamic tableau building and worker placement.

On their turn a player can take one of three actions:

a) Place a Worker: Each player has a collection of Worker pieces. These are placed on the board locations, events, and on Destination cards. Workers perform various actions to further the development of a player's tableau: gathering resources, drawing cards, and taking other special actions.

b) Play a Card: Each player is building and populating a city; a tableau of up to 15 Construction and Critter cards. There are five types of cards: Travelers, Production, Destination, Governance, and Prosperity. Cards generate resources (twigs, resin, pebbles, and berries), grant abilities, and ultimately score points. The interactions of the cards reveal numerous strategies and a near infinite variety of working cities.

c) Prepare for the next Season: Workers are returned to the players supply and new workers are added. The game is played from Winter through to the onset of the following winter, at which point the player with the city with the most points wins.

Exit: The Game – Advent Calendar: The Silent Storm is an EXIT game and a 24-part adventure story in one. To unravel the mystery of the Silent Storm, you must open a little calendar door every day. Behind each, you will find a new exciting puzzle, the solution of which will help you to move onto the next room. Only if you follow the clues and solve all 24 puzzles will you find the thief and the book...and save Christmas.

Level: Beginner

Exploding Kittens is a kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette. Players take turns drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten and loses the game. The deck is made up of cards that let you avoid exploding by peeking at cards before you draw, forcing your opponent to draw multiple cards, or shuffling the deck.

The game gets more and more intense with each card you draw because fewer cards left in the deck means a greater chance of drawing the kitten and exploding in a fiery ball of feline hyperbole.

Faeries & Magical Creatures is a mythical game where you will learn about and collect faeries from five unique folk. Collect faeries, plant gardens, build faerie homes, and be the first mortal to join the faerie realm.

From that midsummer night when you and your great aunt Victoria gazed from the garden gate of her country manor, and saw the will-o-wisp lights blinking near the edge of the forest, the adventure began!

“What are those?” you asked. “Well, those are the faeries, my dear,” she responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

From that moment, you knew that in the time remaining in your Summer visit, you HAD to get close to one, to speak to one, to befriend a real faerie.

You had no idea what magical secrets would be revealed to you about the many faerie folk, their homes, and their powers.
And now, weeks later, staring into the foggy entrance to their realm, you wonder if you have the courage to enter…

In Faeries and Magical Creatures you will build your deck by drafting unique Faerie cards with amazing artwork from award-winning artist Annie Stegg-Gerard, gain kinship with the faeries, and build your ultimate faerie garden.

How to Play:
Select one of five actions on your turn (draft a new card, play a card from your hand, redraw up to five cards from your discard pile, select and place a polynomial tile in your faerie garden, or place an influence token in on of the five faerie folk areas. The other players will then follow by playing the same action. Once all players have performed the same action, the acting player marker moves so that the next player can choose an action. You can score many different ways via your cards, area control, and tile placement in your garden.

—description from publisher

Animal rescuers gather objects and actions to rescue and release animals in need. Each animal needs a different combination of cards to secure a positive rescue or release, with others unable to be released scoring negative points. Each player has slightly different rules depending on their Meeple. Vet cards throw a random element in typical of what is faced in animal rescue.

In addition, there are a range of map type score tracks your Meeple moves along, with bonus points to be picked up.

The game is asymmetrical in 2 ways - when each player rehomes their own animal type, they receive a different bonus. Also, each animal player type moves differently -

- The dog player can take a shortcut through a dog agility tunnel
- The cat player can hop between adjacent cardboard boxes at no movement cost
- The rabbit player can move diagonally between obstacles as well as orthogonally
- The pigeon player can fly directly over and land on obstacles and fly over water

There will be 2 options for the board in the base game, additional Kickstart exclusive boards, and various expansions including a Horse Player (which can gallop on some moves), additional maps and different full versions of the game to come. Be ready for a lot of twists on the theme and unexpected variants.

Game is designed by the CEO of Farplace Animal Rescue, an avid board gamer, and 100% of the profits will support animal rescue via Farplace.

Fief: France 1429 is a game of dynastic ambition in which players assume the roles of nobles in the 15th century kingdom of France. Each player strives to become the most powerful ruling force in the kingdom by gaining control of Fief and Bishopric territories. In turn, they acquire Royal and Ecclesiastical (church) titles which give their families influence to elect the next Pope and King. Players strengthen their positions by negotiating marriage alliances between their families, setting the stage for love, treachery and deception!

Fief is a classic French-language game and is being re-introduced by Academy Games in English with updated rules, new units, a new and larger consolidated map, and more. This edition also includes additional components, which enhances game play.
The game board represents a portion of the Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages. Villages have square outlines that are connected by roads that allow Lord and Troop movement. The villages are grouped into eight colored background areas that represent individual Fiefs, which are domains given to Lords to preside over. Fiefs have different colored backgrounds and Bishoprics have heavy bordered outlines that include several different Fiefs. Each village also belongs to one of five church Bishoprics; each Bishopric is outlined with a heavy border line and is numbered between 1-5 along the edge of the board inside a Bishop's Mitre.

Each player controls up to four family members, comprised of male and female nobles. These family members will rise in power by gaining Royal and Ecclesiastic Titles.

In Fief: France 1429, a player may attempt to gain control of all the villages in a Fief to gain the Royal Title of Baron, Earl or Duke. For each Fief a player controls, he gains 1 VP. These Titled Lords may now take part in the election for the next King. They may even be a candidate to become King, thus bringing 1 VP and more power to the family! Other members of your family may follow the calling of the Church to gain the Ecclesiastical Titles of Bishop and then Cardinal. These titles allow you to Tithe Bishoprics, taking the Church's (i.e. "your") fair share of income from other Fief Lords! The highest goal your clerical family member can attain is to be elected Pope, bringing 1 VP and special privileges to your family!
You win the game as soon as you have 3 VPs. This is easier said than done and you may need to form alliances with other players through diplomacy and marriage to obtain your goal. When one of your family members marries a noble of another family, the two of you become allied. You now win the game together with 4 VPs and cannot win alone, unless your marriage is annulled by the Pope or your spouse is "mysteriously" murdered or dies of some other foul means!

In addition to being wary of your fellow players, you may draw event cards that can quickly change your destiny. Bounty Event cards are beneficial to the Player and include "Good Harvest", "Good Weather" and "Added Taxes" cards. But some cards are Disaster Cards that can randomly effect all players in specific Bishoprics. These include "The Plague", "Heavy Rain", "Famine", and "Peasant Uprisings"!

Income can be increased by players imposing church tithes on their opponent's villages or taxing their own Fiefs. Players may purchase new Fief titles, improve their village incomes with mills, and fortify their cities.

Players will also need to protect their land and castles. Men at Arms and Knights can be purchased, as well as Siege Engines. If you feel that other players are not running their Fiefs as well as you can, you may try to invade their territories! But you must risk one of your family members to lead the troops into possible battle, where they might be killed or taken prisoner. If two opposing armies are in the same village square, a Battle may be initiated. The players assess the size and strength of their armies, which determine the number of Battle Dice each may roll. Each "f" rolled is a hit. Men at Arms are defeated with one hit, while Knights require three hits to be removed from the battle.

The Kickstarter Edition of Fief: France 1429 included the Fief: France 1429 Expansions Pack and offered 3-D buildings and metal coins as 'add ons.' These items are all still available directly from Academy Games.

This game is the most recent edition of Fief. It re-implements:

Fief (first original edition, 1981)
Fief 2 (second edition with updated rules, 1989)
Fief (third edition with completely revised rules and material, 2011)

For generations, the rats in the old junkyard have been telling each other the great legend about a moon made out of cheese and they want nothing more than to reach this inexhaustible treasure. One day, the little rat children discovered a comic in the junkyard that described the first landing on the moon, and thus the plan was born: Build a rocket and take over the cheese moon!

Fortunately, the junkyard has everything the rats need to build their rocket, and the other animals are willing to support this daring venture — at least if they're well paid. Of course, all the rats work together to achieve this mighty goal. However, each rat family competes to build the most rocket parts and to train the most rattronauts so they can feast on as much of the lunar cheese as possible.

In First Rat, each player starts with two rats and may raise two more. On your turn, you either move one of your rats 1-5 spaces on the path or move 2-4 of your rats 1-3 spaces each as long as they end up on spaces of the same color. Your rats can never share the same space, and if you land in a space with another player's rat, you must pay them one cheese, borrowing cheese from the back as needed. After movement, you collect resources (cheese, tin cans, apple cores, baking soda, etc.) matching the color of the space you occupy or move your lightbulb along the light string, which will boost your income in future turns. (More lights in the junkyard makes it easier for you to find things!)

If you end movement near a store, you can spend resources to buy a backpack or bottle top — or you can steal an item instead, with the rat then returning to the start of the movement track. You can also spend resources to build rocket sections (and score points) or spend cheese in bulk as a donation (and score points).

When you pick up apple cores, you move around the rat burrow to pick up comics or stored food or raise one of your rats from the nursery. Alternatively, you automatically get a new rat when one of your rats reaches the launch pad and boards the spaceship. When a player places their fourth rat on the spaceship — or places their eighth scoring marker on the board — the game ends, and the player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most rattronauts in the rocket wins.

First Rat includes a solo mode as well as variable game set-ups described in the rulebook.