Tag: Move Through Deck

Games with a Move Through Deck mechanic require players to play through a deck of cards as quickly as possible to achieve various goals.

Disney Sorcerer’s Arena

| T3d-1978
Disney Sorcerer's Arena

Disney Sorcerer's Arena

Become the next Master Summoner in the battle arena game Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances, an expandable tabletop game inspired by the popular mobile game Disney Sorcerer’s Arena.

Recruit from a battle-ready roster of Disney and Pixar heroes and villains — Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey, Gaston, Aladdin, Demona, Sulley, Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, and Ariel — then combine the cards for your characters into a single deck. You take turns playing standard actions and cards from your hand to move your characters and attack opponents. If you knock out rival characters or occupy certain spaces near the center of the arena until your next turn, you score points. When a player reaches 20 points or runs out of cards in their deck, the game ends at the conclusion of that round, and whoever has the most points wins.

The rules for Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances Core Set are spread out across four chapters, with each chapter building on what’s come before to introduce players to new skills, upgrades, and abilities over multiple games. Multiple expansions will be released for the game line to allow for more team combinations.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Movement
  • Deck Building
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Move Through Deck

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~35 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.50

Port Royal: Big Box

| T3d-1978
Port Royal: Big Box

Port Royal: Big Box

The merchant players in Port Royal, which won the Austrian Game Designers Competition under the title Händler der Karibik, are trying to earn as much as they can out of the Caribbean Sea, but if they set their goals too high, they might take home nothing for the day.

The 120-card deck depicts a coin on the back of each card — with players earning and paying coins throughout the game — and different items on the card fronts. On a turn, a player can first draw as many cards as he likes, one at a time from the deck, placing them in the harbor (an area near the deck). Each card shows one of the following:

  • Person, who stays in a face-up row next to deck.
  • Ship, which the player can attack immediately if he has enough swords on his people cards, after which the ship is discarded; otherwise, the ship stays in the harbor.
  • Expedition, which remains above the harbor until a player fulfills it by discarding people who have the items required for the expedition.
  • Tax Increase, which forces everyone with twelve or more coins to discard half their money, after which the card is discarded.

If the player draws a ship with the same name as a ship already in the harbor, he’s spent too much time dilly-dallying and his turn ends (after using the ship to attack, if possible), with all the cards in the harbor being discarded. Otherwise, the player can stop whenever he likes, then use/acquire one card if three or fewer ships are in the harbor, two cards if four ships are present, and three cards if five ships are present. Players rob ships, collecting the number of coins shown on them, then discarding the card, while they hire people, paying the number of coins depicted. After the active player takes his 1-3 cards, each other player may pay the active player one coin in order to take one card in the same way.

When one player has at least twelve influence points — which are on both people and expedition cards — the game is played to the end of the round, giving everyone the same number of turns, then the player with the most influence points wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Economic
  • Move Through Deck
  • Open Drafting
  • Push Your Luck
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 20 – 50 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.67

Dungeon Party

| T3d-1978
Dungeon Party

Dungeon Party

Dungeon Party is a quick-play fantasy role-playing game played with coasters and a coin.

Dungeon Party is easy to learn, playable in a short time (or extended if that is desirable), has all of the aspects of a classic RPG adventure, and is playable in a bar, restaurant, or at home. The combat mechanism is fun and adds an element of luck and skill without much complexity. The game system is infinitely expandable.

Players will assemble a “dungeon” by creating a stack of coasters that includes rooms, monsters, and treasures. They then adventure through the dungeon by turning over tiles, battling the rooms, defeating the monsters, and looting the treasure. Along the way, they may pick up magical treasures or spells that can help them in their quest. If they survive the dungeon, the player with the most treasure points wins. If they do not, the dungeon wins. But either way, there will be laughs and maybe even a drink or two!

Battles are resolved by players trying to drop quarters on coasters. If they miss, players take hit damage. If they land on the coaster, the monsters take damage. Battles continue until either monster or player is eliminated.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Dexterity
  • Move Through Deck
  • Party Game
  • Role Playing

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.33

The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance

| T3d-1978
The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance

The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance

The Adventure Zone is a wildly popular podcast and series of graphic novels from The McElroy Family. TAZ: Bureau of Balance captures the humor and joy of this world and expands it, allowing you to create your own unique adventures with your family and friends.

In TAZ: Bureau of Balance, you and friends are adventurers charged with retrieving dangerous artifacts from nefarious villains. To succeed, you may have to outwit vile gerblins, armwrestle ogres, or endure the withering criticism of sarcastic specters. Can you work together and overcome all challenges before your health runs out?

TAZ: Bureau of Balance is a cooperative storytelling game for 2-5 players. It uses a dynamically generated dungeon created by combining multiple decks of cards; as challenges are overcome, new challenges are revealed. The mechanics are easy to learn and players are encouraged to describe their heroic deeds. No experience is required, and any group of friends can have a hilarious adventure in about an hour!

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Move Through Deck
  • Storytelling

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.67

5-Minute Dungeon

| T3d-1978
5 Minute Dungeon

5-Minute Dungeon

5-­Minute Dungeon is a chaotic, co-­operative, real-­time card game in which players have only five minutes to escape the randomized dungeon. Communication and teamwork are critical to survival because there’s no time to form a carefully considered plan — and no predicting what dangers lie ahead.

In more detail, players assume the role of one of ten heroes, each with special cards and abilities. Once the five-minute timer starts, the race is on to defeat all the monsters inside the dungeon. In order to defeat a monster, players must match symbols from their hand with ones on the monster’s card. At the end of each dungeon is a powerful dungeon boss — and after the first boss is defeated, the campaign continues to the second boss. Each boss, and each randomized dungeon, gets harder until players reach the fifth and final boss.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Hand Management
  • Move Through Deck

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 5 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.11