Author: T3d-1978

The Big Score

| T3d-1978
The Big Score

The Big Score

The vault at Centennial City Bank is currently rumored to be holding a record amount of cash, precious diamonds, ancient artifacts, and highly-sensitive digital information. As the boss of one of the city’s most notorious crime organizations, robbing that vault for all it’s worth is constantly on your mind. There’s only one problem—this job is too big for just your crew alone. You’re going to need help from some of your biggest rival crime bosses if you want to succeed. You’ll need to join forces on a series of smaller jobs in order to acquire the skills and resources you’ll need to pull off the biggest heist the city has ever seen—but watch your back! Once you and your new partners in crime are inside the bank vault, it’ll be every boss for himself. If you manage to safely escape the scene with more loot than your rivals, you’ll be revered as the city’s most notorious crime boss. Hire your crew, plan the heist, and get ready for the big score!

The Big Score is a competitive game for 1-6 players that plays in 30-60 minutes. The game is structured into two distinct halves.

In the first half of the game, players use card drafting to carefully choose which specialists to add to their crew. They secretly decide how to assign them to various small heists throughout the city, and they need to pick just the right moment to send in their most skilled expert to ensure a job’s success! If these plans go well, players steal a variety of loot: cold hard cash, diamonds that escalate in value as more are gained, artifacts that are profitable for the player with the largest collection, and hard drives full of information that become lucrative only if hacked with a digital key.

In the second half of the game, individual player abilities come into play as the players attempt the mother of all heists—the big score. Players risk being busted by the cops as they steal even more loot in an exciting, press-your-luck grand finale inside the vault at Centennial City Bank!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Push Your Luck
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Between Two Cities

| T3d-1978

It is the early 1800s, a time of immense construction and urbanization. You are a world-renowned master city planner who has been asked to redesign two different cities. Projects of such significance require the expertise of more than one person, so for each assignment you are paired with a partner with whom to discuss and execute your grandiose plans. Will your planning and collaborative skills be enough to design the most impressive city in the world?

Between Two Cities is a partnership-driven tile-drafting game in which each tile represents part of a city: factory, shop, park, landmarks, etc. You work with the player on your left to design the heart of one city, and with the player on your right to design the heart of another city. On each turn you select two tiles from hand, reveal them, then work with your partners separately to place one of those tiles into each of your two cities before passing the remaining hand of tiles around the table.

At the end of the game, each city is scored for its livability. Your final score is the lower of the livability scores of the two cities you helped design. To win, you have to share your attention and your devotion between two cities. The player with the highest final score wins the game.

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Closed Drafting
  • Negotiation
  • Set Collection
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 7 Players
  • ~25 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.82

Betrayal at House on the Hill

| T3d-1978

Betrayal at House on the Hill quickly builds suspense and excitement as players explore a haunted mansion of their own design, encountering spirits and frightening omens that foretell their fate. With an estimated one hour playing time, Betrayal at House on the Hill is ideal for parties, family gatherings or casual fun with friends.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a tile game that allows players to build their own haunted house room by room, tile by tile, creating a new thrilling game board every time. The game is designed for three to six people, each of whom plays one of six possible characters.

Secretly, one of the characters betrays the rest of the party, and the innocent members of the party must defeat the traitor in their midst before it’s too late! Betrayal at House on the Hill will appeal to any game player who enjoys a fun, suspenseful, and strategic game.

Betrayal at House on the Hill includes detailed game pieces, including character cards, pre-painted plastic figures, and special tokens, all of which help create a spooky atmosphere and streamline game play.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Map Addition
  • Modular Board
  • Player Elimination
  • Storytelling
  • Team Based
  • Traitor Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.40

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate

| T3d-1978

The shadow of Bhaal has come over Baldur’s Gate, summoning monsters and other horrors from the darkness!

As you build and explore the iconic city’s dark alleys and deadly catacombs, you must work with your fellow adventurers to survive the terrors ahead. That is, until some horrific evil turns one — or possibly more — of you against each other. Was it a mind flayer’s psionic blast or the whisperings of a deranged ghost that caused your allies to turn traitor? You have no choice but to keep your enemies close!

Based on the award-winning Betrayal at House on the Hill board game, in Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate you’ll return to Baldur’s Gate again and again thanks to the fifty included scenarios only to discover it’s never the same game twice.

Can you and your party survive the madness, or will you succumb to the mayhem and split (or slaughter!) the party?

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Map Addition
  • Modular Board
  • Player Elimination
  • Storytelling
  • Team Based
  • Traitor Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.56

Baseball Highlights: 2045

| T3d-1978

American baseball was on its last legs as a spectator sport. Football had become the predominant national pastime — that is until the year 2032, the year baseball decided to revolutionize the game and regain the throne!

Starting in 2032, baseball games were shortened to six innings. Pitchers were encouraged to have bionic arm implants to improve their pitching. These cyborgs, or ‘Borgs as they’re affectionately known, were immediately popular and soon ruled the league. In 2041, robotic players were introduced to get more offense back into the game. These robots were similar to designated hitters in that they were used only to bat and did not field. However, recent reports indicate fielding ‘Bots are on the way.

Now in 2045, human players are still in the game and known as Naturals. They are the best fielders by far but are sorely challenged when it comes to hitting and pitching. Some Naturals have learned to hit by swinging before the pitcher starts his windup, which gives them a chance to hit the ball. Although it’s hard for a Natural to get into the league, those who do are popular. Many Naturals have named themselves after the great players of pre-2032 baseball by taking a first and last name borrowed from different star players of the past. The fans love them, and their presence on the team ensures good revenue!

The stage is now set! The fans are energized and root fanatically for their new favorites, be they ‘Bots, ‘Borgs or Naturals!

Baseball Highlights: 2045 is like watching TV highlights of early 21st-century baseball games, with the gameplay being full of theme with no outs or innings and without bogging down in a play-by-play baseball simulation. In this quick and interactive game, two players build their teams as they play, combining both strategy (building your team) and tactics (playing the game) without any of the downtime. During each “mini-game”, each player alternates playing six cards to simulate a full game’s highlights. The mini-game includes defensive and offensive actions, and your single card play may include elements of defensive and/or offensive plays. Do you try to thwart your opponent’s pending hits, put up strong offensive action of your own, or use your better players to do both? Players buy new free agents after each mini-game to improve their roster, and the team who wins the most mini-games in the series is the champ!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Solo / Solitaire
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 1, 2, or 4 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.20

Bargain Quest

| T3d-1978

Bargain Quest is a game of adventure and capitalism for 2-6 players. Players will take the role of shopkeepers in an adventuring town plagued by monsters. Players must draft items and then secretly choose which items to place in their windows to attract wealthy heroes to their shops.

Once all heroes have been equipped, they venture out to battle against monstrous threats, earning money and prestige for the shop they represent. Throughout the game players will encounter new heroes and monsters while upgrading their shops and hiring employees. Once the third monster is defeated the player who has earned the most gold and prestige is the winner.

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction/Bidding
  • Closed Drafting
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.01

Bad Company

| T3d-1978

Build your own gang and customize it to suit your plans. Gather resources to complete heists and money to recruit new gang members. And make sure you escape the police! A unique and fun game from the award-winning designers of Automania and Trails of Tucana.

Bad Company supports up to 6 players with very little downtime. It also includes a solo mode where you try to outsmart the police.

Each player has a player board with 11 gang members. You may upgrade them by placing overlapping cards onto them. This way, the visual appearances of your gang members change as they gain more abilities.

Each round, the active player rolls four dice and divides them into two pairs (pay coins to reroll). Each pair of dice activates one gang member on the active player’s board. All other players may use one of the pairs to activate a single gang member on their own boards.

Activating a gangster provides resources needed to complete heists, money to upgrade your gang members, or advance your car through the city.
You want to advance your car, because you need to stay ahead of the police in order to collect loot along the city route.

You gain points by completing heists, upgrading your gang and by driving your car through the city.
Some completed heists provide special abilities which you can build your strategy around.

The game ends when a player completes their 6th heist, or when any car reaches the dock on the city track, and the player with the most points wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Majority / Influence
  • Contracts
  • Dice Rolling
  • Set Collection
  • Solo / Solitaire Play
  • Variable Set-up

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.92

Back to the Future: Back In Time

| T3d-1978

“Wait a minute, Doc, are you telling me you built a time machine…out of a DeLorean?”

The photo of the McFly family is slowly fading… It’s 1955, and you’re wrapped up in a time paradox with Biff, Lorraine, George, and Doc Brown! Cooperate to move around Hill Valley to get the DeLorean ready, avoid Biff and his gang, help George and Lorraine fall in love, and crank the DeLorean up to 88 MPH — all just in time for the lightning to strike the Clock Tower, sending you back to the future!

In the fully co-operative game Back to the Future: Back in Time, each player takes on the role of a major character from the movie: Marty McFly, Doc Brown, Jennifer Parker, or Einstein the dog. The objective of the game is to have the characters move around 1955 Hill Valley, collecting certain items in an effort to fix Doc’s famous DeLorean time machine, defeat Biff Tannen and his gang of trouble-making friends, while ensuring that Marty’s parents fall in love. Only when that is accomplished can players then accelerate the DeLorean to 88 MPH down Main Street before the clock tower strikes 10:04 pm!

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling
  • Push Your Luck
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~50 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.40

Babylonia

| T3d-1978

The Neo-Babylonian empire, especially under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 B.C.), was a period of rebirth for southern Mesopotamia. Irrigation systems improved and expanded, increasing agricultural production. Urban life flourished with the creation of new cities, monuments and temples, and the consequent increase in trade.

In Babylonia, you try to make your clan prosper under the peace and imperial power of that era. You have to place your nobles, priests, and craftsmen tokens on the map to make your relations with the cities as profitable as possible. Properly placing these counters next to the court also allows you to gain the special power of some rulers. Finally, the good use of your peasants in the fertile areas gives more value to your crops. The player who gets the most points through all these actions wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Abstract Strategy
  • Area Control
  • Hand Management
  • Network Building
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.40

Azul: Summer Pavilion

| T3d-1978

At the turn of the 16th Century, King Manuel I commissioned Portugal’s greatest artisans to construct grandiose buildings. After completing the Palaces of Evora and Sintra, the king sought to build a summer pavilion to honor the most famous members of the royal family. This construction was intended for the most talented artisans — whose skills meet the splendor that the royal family deserves. Sadly, King Manuel I died before construction ever began.

In Azul: Summer Pavilion, players return to Portugal to accomplish the task that never began. As a master artisan, you must use the finest materials to create the summer pavilion while carefully avoiding wasting supplies. Only the best will rise to the challenge to honor the Portuguese royal family.

Azul: Summer Pavilion lasts six rounds, and in each round players draft tiles, then place them on their individual player board to score points. Each of the six colors of tiles is wild during one of the rounds.

At the start of each round, draw tiles at random from the bag to refill each of the five, seven, or nine factories with four tiles each. Draw tiles as needed to refill the ten supply spaces on the central scoring board. Players then take turns drafting tiles. You can choose to take all of the tiles of a non-wild color on a factory and place them next to your board; if any wild tiles are on this factory, you must take one of them. Place all remaining tiles in the center of the table. Alternatively, you can take all tiles of a non-wild color from the center of play; you must also take one wild tile, if present.

After all tiles have been claimed, players then take turns placing tiles on their individual boards. Each board depicts seven stars that would be composed of six tiles; each space on a star shows a number from 1-6, and six of the stars are for tiles of a single color while the seventh will be composed of one tile of each color. To place a tile on the blue 5, for example, you must discard five blue or wild tiles from next to your player board (with at least one blue being required), placing one blue tile in the blue 5 space and the rest in the discard tower. You score 1 point for this tile and 1 point for each tile within this star connected to the newly placed tile.

If you completely surround a pillar, statue, or window on your game board with tiles, you get an immediate bonus, taking 1-3 tiles from the central supply spaces and placing them next to your board. At the end of the round, you can carry over at most four tiles to the next round; discard any others, losing 1 point for each such tile.

After six rounds, you score a bonus for each of the seven stars that you’ve filled completely. Additionally, you score a bonus for having covered all seven spaces of value 1, 2, 3 or 4. You lose 1 point for each remaining tile unused, then whoever has the most points wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Pattern Building
  • Set Collection
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.07