In The Hall of The Mountain King, Zona, New Unsolved Case Files, Unlock, Tiny Towns, Funkoverse and More!

In the Hall of the Mountain King

In the Hall of the Mountain King box cover

Play as trolls rebuilding your abandoned kingdom under the mountain in In the Hall of the Mountain King. With muscle and magic, you’ll unearth riches, dig out collapsed tunnels, and carve out great halls as you raise the toppled statues of your ancestors to their places of honor at the heart of the mountain. Gameplay is driven by the innovative cascading production system. Timing and tactics are key as you work to restore your home to its former glory and win the crown!

Working on the same game board with the other players (but beginning at your own entrance), you’ll dig a competing network of tunnels by spending increasingly valuable materials to lay polyomino tiles onto the map. You want to extend your tunnels to connect with buried gold and materials, with workshop locations that can transform resources, and especially with toppled statues. Statues are key to scoring, and you’ll spend carts to move them through the tunnels to prime scoring locations near the heart of the mountain.

A major aspect of the game is the cascading production. You begin with a line of four trolls, and every troll shows the combination of resources — gold, stone, iron, marble, carts, runes, and hammers — that it produces. When a new troll is hired, place it above two other trolls, forming a “pyramid”. The new troll activates, gaining its resources, and any trolls beneath it ALSO activate, gaining any resources that they have room to carry. In this way as you hire more trolls, you gain bigger and bigger windfalls of resources as the end of the game nears. The timing of your hiring turns versus your building turns is important as you try to maximize your cascades while making sure you get the trolls you want from the shared market and also stay competitive on the map.

The game ends shortly after the last player hires their sixth troll, then the player with the most honor (earned for digging tunnels of increasing quality, for excavating great halls, and for moving statues closer to the heart of the mountain, especially onto matching pedestals) is crowned the Mountain King and wins!

 

Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl (Rental Copy Available)

Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl - front

Zona is an adventure board game designed for 1-4 players. To win the game, player must reach the sarcophagus of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant before other players. The sarcophagus opens only when player had previously collected 2 Secrets from underground facilities known as Secret Locations. Players must hurry because there is a time limit to the game. When the Final Emission strikes, everything is lost…

GAMEPLAY
Each turn players take 2 Actions (move, explore, combat etc.) and then everyone read an Event Card which contains text for short adventure. At the end of turn, a News Card is drawn by the first player and resolved by him.

MOOD
This board game emphasis the aspect of survival. Zone depicted on the playing board is an extremely hazardous and isolated area with very limited access to functional equipment and supplies. Players must remember to frequently repair their Items and buy new ones. It is also crucial to rest to reduce Fatigue and heal Damage.

STALKERS
Each player takes role of 1 Scavenger from the 10 included in the game. Each Scavenger has their own Special Skill, set of basic Skills and starting equipment. Values of stats such as AwarenessAgility or Intellect determine how good they are in avoiding dangers and traps, fighting mutants or gathering Artifacts from anomalies. The story of Scavenger explains his/herPersonal Goal – the reason for arriving to the Zone. Differences between Scavengers makes playing each one of them completely unique.

Clinic: Deluxe Edition (Rental Copy Available)

Box cover with sleeve

Your Town Center is flourishing, but as the city grows, the need for emergency medical care grows with it. Fortunately, you and your business partners have the wherewithal to build a clinic to help those in need of more than first aid. You quickly get a pre-admissions facility built to help process and route the different cases into the appropriate queues. Unfortunately, just before groundbreaking, your differing views of the ideal clinic cause a schism between you, and you go your separate ways, with patients already lining up in pre-admissions. Each of you decides to build the clinic of your dreams, trying to hire doctors, nurses, and maintenance staff, and build new modules, specialized services, and even parking, in order to meet the needs of the patients ailing in pre-admissions.

This is your Clinic! Build it however you like to give patients the care they need, so you can make your Clinic the most popular one in town!

Possible exhaustive list of differences between the Deluxe edition and previous edition:
– The rules have been totally rewritten
– The rules offer two sets up for beginners and experts
– The rules include a solo variant
– Many bonuses and penalties have been changed such as when a Patient dies in your hospital, the turn order has been updated and clarified
– The box includes a bag of wooden laser cut meeples for the cars, the doctors, the staff and the nurses

 

Tajuto

Tajuto, ABACUSSPIELE, 2019 — front cover

In 532, Buddhism arrived in Japan, and took its place alongside Shintoism, which is the official religion. Prince Shotoku, seduced by this new religion, commissioned Buddhist monks to construct a village endowed with an immense garden, in which 8 pagodas ( tajuto) would be erected. He announced that once the fourth tajuto was complete, it would make this city an important pilgrimage destination for all Buddhists around the world. The Buddhist monk who has attained the highest level of Spirituality, through deep Meditation and other mental qualities, at this precise moment will be rewarded, and the Prince will name them “Great Guardian of the Sacred Garden of the Eight Pagodas”, and this monk will become the overseer of pilgrimage.

In Tajuto, players take on the roles of the Buddhist monks, trying to achieve the highest spirituality. On their turn, they can activate their action tiles to draw (and build) pagoda tiles from the bag, make offerings to gain meditation points, and acquire tiles that will help them progress more quickly or earn them spirituality points. Activating more than one action tile or acquiring tiles costs meditation points. The game ends once the fourth pagoda is finished. The player with the most spirituality points wins.

The key feature of the game is drawing the pagoda tiles from the bag. The pagoda tiles have a decreasing size per level. Players are welcome to blindly rummage around to try to recognize the floor by its size, but they aren’t likely to be able to detect the color this way, so drawing the floor size they want depends on their tactile recognition, but they have to weigh their odds to draw the color they want.

Tiny Towns: Fortune

Tiny Towns: Fortune

The smaller creatures of the forest have created a civilization free of predators, and they look to you as mayor to guide their growing and thriving town. However, the area is small, and resources are scarce. The clever use of limited resources will determine the most successful tiny town.

In the expansion Tiny Towns: Fortune, the creatures of the forest have found a way to trick each other into thinking shiny bits of metal have arbitrary value. It’s very useful — so much so that you can use this thing called “money” to get other creatures to give you almost anything in return for the right number of shiny bits. If only earning money weren’t so difficult!

Unsolved Case Files

THE MURDER MYSTERY GAME THAT LETS YOU BE A COLD CASE DETECTIVE!

READ THE CASE FILE
Read the cold case file with documents, photographs, newspaper clippings and much more.

SOLVE 3 OBJECTIVES
Solve 3 objectives to move through the case and get more evidence you need to convict the killer.

ONLINE ANSWER KEYS
Visit the online answer key to prove you solved the cold case or get hints and keep investigating.

Jamie Banks – Case: B17-11201994

Jamie Banks - Cold Case Murder Mystery Game

NOVEMBER 11, 1994: The quiet Massachusetts town of Verona was rocked by the apparent suicide of a local 18 year-old high school student.

Police ruled the death a suicide but Jamie Banks did not commit suicide. She was murdered!

Your job is to unravel the mystery of what happened on that morning of November 20, 1992 using the investigator’s original case file.

Are you up to the challenge? Do you have what it takes to solve a cold case? Let’s find out!

Max Cahill – Case C4-10261995

Max Cahill - Cold Case Murder Mystery Game

On October 26th, 1995, the campus of a small Georgia college, Tubman University, was shocked by the brutal murder of the newly-appointed dean of the history department.

The victim, Max Cahill, was working late in his office when the killer bludgeoned him to death. Despite several viable suspects, police were forced to close the case because they couldn’t determine how the killer got to Max while avoiding detection by video surveillance cameras.

Your job is to solve the mystery by finding evidence that will re-open the case and convict the real killer. But who was it?

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park JP100, Funko Games, 2019 — front cover

“Hold on to your butts!” And face off in the ultimate battle of epic proportions.

In the Funkoverse Strategy Game, you combine your favorite characters and go head-to-head in exciting game scenarios.

Each turn, you select one of your characters and perform two actions. Each character has access to basic actions like moving and challenges as well as several unique abilities that may be performed only by spending ability tokens. Funkoverse uses an innovative “cooldown” system—the more powerful the ability, the longer it will take for the ability token to become available again—so players have to spend their ability tokens wisely. Each character in Funkoverse is unique, so players are encouraged to try out different combinations of characters and items in order to discover their favorite synergies and powerful strategies for the different game scenarios.

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park #JP100 is a standalone game that features:

  • Unique playable characters, including Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, Ray Arnold, and Raptor from the movie Jurassic Park
  • Memorable locations to explore, including the Visitor Center and the Raptor Paddock
  • Items to enhance to your team, including Raptor Claw and Goggles
  • Ray Arnold as a Pop! figure for the first time ever
  • Amber Points, some with Mosquitos (because dino-DNA is hard to find!)
  • The ability to combine these figures with other Funkoverse titles to create the team of your dreams

 

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park 101 

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park JP101, Funko Games, 2020 — front cover

“Life, uh, finds a way.” Chomp, stomp, and roar your way to victory in the ultimate battle of chaos.

In the Funkoverse Strategy Game, you combine your favorite characters and go head-to-head in exciting game scenarios.

Each turn, you select one of your characters and perform two actions. Each character has access to basic actions like moving and challenges as well as several unique abilities that may be performed only by spending ability tokens. Funkoverse uses an innovative “cooldown” system—the more powerful the ability, the longer it will take for the ability token to become available again—so players have to spend their ability tokens wisely. Each character in Funkoverse is unique, so players are encouraged to try out different combinations of characters and items in order to discover their favorite synergies and powerful strategies for the different game scenarios.

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Jurassic Park #JP101 is a standalone game that features:

  • Unique playable characters, including Dr. Ian Malcolm and T. rex from the movie Jurassic Park
  • Memorable locations to explore, including The T. rex Paddock and Isla Nublar Lab
  • New dice to add some chaos to your gameplay
  • Flare Item to enhance your team
  • Amber Points, some with Mosquitos (because dino-DNA is hard to find!)
  • The ability to combine these figures with other Funkoverse titles to create the team of your dreams

 

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Golden Girls 101 – Dorothy and Sophia

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Golden Girls GG101, Funko Games, 2020 — front cover

“Thank you for being a friend.” Go on a sassy, retro adventure with some of your favorite Golden Girls in the ultimate Pop! battle.

In the Funkoverse Strategy Game, you combine your favorite characters and go head-to-head in exciting game scenarios.

Each turn, you select one of your characters and perform two actions. Each character has access to basic actions like moving and challenges as well as several unique abilities that may be performed only by spending ability tokens. Funkoverse uses an innovative “cooldown” system—the more powerful the ability, the longer it will take for the ability token to become available again—so players have to spend their ability tokens wisely. Each character in Funkoverse is unique, so players are encouraged to try out different combinations of characters and items in order to discover their favorite synergies and powerful strategies for the different game scenarios.

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Golden Girls #GG101 is a stand-alone game that features:

  • Unique playable characters, including Dorothy Zbornak and Sophia Petrillo
  • Memorable locations to explore, including Mr. Ha Ha’s Hot Dog Hacienda and The Supermarket
  • Purse Item to enhance your team
  • The ability to combine these figures with other Funkoverse titles to create the ultimate dream team

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Aggretsuko

Funkoverse Strategy Game Expansions: Aggretsuko, Funko Games, 2020 — front cover

Funkoverse Strategy Game: Aggretsuko is an expansion for any standalone title in the Funkoverse line-up that features the title character from the animated show of the same name.

Nova Luna

Nova Luna cover, German/English version 2019, Pegasus Spiele 59050G

The new moon is a symbol for a new beginning, the perfect time to start something new and to plan your future — and that is what Nova Luna (lat. for new moon) is all about. In each round of this abstract tile-laying game, you have to plan your future anew, developing a new strategy to cope with what the moon wheel has to offer you.

On each turn, you have to decide which new tile from the moon wheel to place in front of you. Every new tile brings a new task you have to fulfill. In order to do so, you need to place tiles of the correct color adjacent to the task you want to complete, but these of course again bring you new tasks. Each time a task is solved, you may place one of your markers on it. So decide wisely and be the first one to place all your markers.

Big Book of Madness: The Vth Element

The Big Book of Madness: The Vth Element, IELLO, 2020 — front cover (image provided by the publisher)

The Big Book of Madness: the Vth Element is an expansion for The Big Book of Madness base game. Your goal remains the same: you must close the book before succumbing to madness. But will you be able to handle the new Dark Matter and Phobias?

The Dark Matter and the Phobias are two different modules that can be played together or separately.

The Dark Matter module adds the Vth Element and the following game elements: the Dark Book, Dark Curses, Dark Monsters and new Magicians.

Phobia Cards are Madness Cards with a permanent constraint.

Unlock: Timeless Adventures

Unlock! Timeless Adventures - Front Cover

Unlock! Timeless Adventures features three new “escape room” scenarios that you can play on your tabletop.

Unlock! is a co-operative card game inspired by escape rooms that uses a simple system which allows you to search scenes, combine objects, and solve riddles. Play Unlock! to embark on great adventures, while seated at a table using only cards and a companion app that can provide clues, check codes, monitor time remaining, etc. The three scenarios are

  • The Noside Show
  • Arsène Lupin and the Great White Diamond
  • Lost in the ChronoWarp

Trogdor!: The Board Game

cover

For centuries, the legendary wingaling dragon Trogdor the Burninator has terrorized the peasant kingdom of Peasantry with his scorching flames and greased-up beefy arm. Now, he has descended from the mountains once again and will not stop until he burninates the entire countryside and all those unfortunate enough to get in his way!

A cult of hooded creepos calling themselves the Keepers of Trogdor have devoted their lives to aiding the mighty dragon in his quest for total and complete burnination. That’s where YOU come in!

In Trogdor!: The Board Game, you and up to five friends — or maybe people you just paid to come over — take on the roles of these acolytes of the Burninator, each with their own unique abilities and magical items. Take turns guiding Trogdor on his destructive lost weekend around Peasantry. Help him avoid pesky knights and archers, devour peasants, burninate the countryside, and, of course, the thatched roof COTTAGES!!

Planet

Cover

The spark of life is about to jump from your hands to spread out in the world. Deploy your mountain ranges and your deserts, spread out your oceans and your glaciers. Handle wisely your continents to form environments suitable for the apparition of animal life and maybe you’ll manage to create the most densely populated planet!

In Planet, each player receives a planet core without anything on it. Each turn, players choose a tile with mountain/ice/forest/desert on it and place it on the planet. Then the player who fulfills the most conditions for the appearance of certain animals gains its card.

Cabo: Deluxe Edition

front of the box

Spy, swap, and peek to find Cabo the unicorn in this simple card game.

Your goal in CABO is to minimize the total value of your cards, but you don’t know what all your cards are at the beginning of the game. By using certain powers to peek at your own cards, spy on your opponent’s cards, or swap a card with an opponent, you can try to minimize the value of your cards. When you think you have the lowest value, you can call “CABO” to end the round, but everyone else gets another turn. In the end, the player with the lowest total wins; can you shed your cards quicker than your opponents?

This second edition of CABO features modified rules, a scorepad, four player reference cards, and all new artwork. Rules modifications include the following:

  • Plays 2–4 players (instead of 2–5)
  • Cards taken from the discard pile remain face up for the rest of the game, even when in front of players (instead of always keeping cards face down)
  • Penalty for non-matching cards: Keep all cards including the one drawn — one more per additional cards that do not match (instead of no penalty)
  • 10 point penalty for missing a CABO call (instead of 5)
  • All players score the sum of their points; if the CABO caller has (or is tied for) the lowest sum, they get 0 points (instead of the lowest player always receiving 0 points)
  • The round ends after a CABO call or the deck runs out (instead of just when CABO is called)
  • Limit of one reset to 50 when your score=100 exactly (instead of unlimited resets)