Category: Beginner Games

For a Crown

| OTSG Staff

Coming from noble families, you are ready to do anything to accede to the throne…except that the competition between the pretenders is fierce!

For a Crown is a single-deck, deck-building game. Players recruit new characters, such as mercenaries, then place these cards within a sleeve of their own color. All cards — individual player cards and common event cards — are shuffled into a single deck, which is then drawn card by card, with the relevant player resolving the effect of their card when it’s revealed.

After four rounds, the player with the most rubies wins.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • 30 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.40

Fit to Print

| OTSG Staff

Fit to Print is a puzzly tile-laying game about breaking news, designed by Peter McPherson and set in a charming woodland world created by Ian O’Toole!

Thistleville is the world’s most bustling little town — it’s a challenge to keep up with everything going on, from who took home first prize for their baked goods at the community fair to who has been digging in Mrs. Brambleberry’s carrot patch.

As an editor at one of the local newspapers, your job is to tell their stories!

The front page is due in just a few hours and you have no time for perfection. Grab the big stories before the other papers get a chance, and make sure you get the right photos too. A newspaper is a business, so the money has to come from somewhere — don’t forget the ads! After you’ve picked out a combination of stories, photos, and ads, it’s time to lay out the front page. Did you take enough tiles to fill the paper, but not so many that things have to be cut? Over the course of three hectic days, your skills will be tested as you compete to be the most newsworthy editor!

Fit To Print is a tile-laying game for the whole family. Players simultaneously collect newspaper tiles, stacking them on their desks until they think they have what they need to make the perfect front page. Then, they will yell “Layout!” and begin to lay out the page by carefully considering the placement of centerpieces, articles, photographs, and advertisements. When everything is just right, they yell “Print” to be the first off the press and gain their choice of centerpiece for the next round! This hectic spatial puzzle features over 100 unique newspaper tiles, 6 characters with their own special abilities, as well as 3 decks of Breaking News cards — so that each and every time you play you will be solving a new puzzle!

If real-time games aren’t your style, Fit to Print has a number of alternative modes to satisfy every type of puzzle gamer. In Slo-Mode players take turns drafting tiles from a shared market and arranging them on their front pages. In Puzzle Mode, take a specific set of tiles and piece together the highest-scoring arrangements. Whether you enjoy relaxing solo puzzles on your own, or frenetic action for up to 6 players, you will have a blast helping the critters of Thistleville tell their stories!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.12

EGO

| OTSG Staff

We are not alone! It is the 23rd century, and proof of alien life has finally been discovered beyond our solar system. In fact, recent developments in technology have triggered a cascade of discoveries throughout the galaxy; intelligent life and advanced civilizations are now known across many planets, moons, and asteroids in the Milky Way. Now the race is on to establish interstellar relations with the aliens. The only chance we have of reaching alien life is by pooling our resources to build the required Super Ship. In an unprecedented, albeit uneasy, co-operation between the planetary governments, the peoples of our solar system have finally built the first of these Super Ships. Now, the coalition known as the Extraterrestrial Greeting Organization — EGO — is now ready to launch our first mission.

In EGO, players proceed through a sequence of major and minor events including auctions, drafts, risks, and more. Risks and egos are the lifeblood of this game as players will frequently find themselves in a game of chicken with their rival ambassadors as they try to impress various alien civilizations and earn political power. At the end of the game, players earn significant bonus points or suffer serious penalty points depending on how offensive the aliens find them to be. Ultimately, the ambassador with the most prestige and respect will earn a seat in the Galactic Senate and be crowned the winner of the game.

EGO is a drastic reimagining of the strategic, push-your-luck auction game, Beowulf: The Legend and introduces many innovations by:

  • Revamping the polarizing risk mechanism while preserving its excitement and drama
  • Increasing the set-up variety with a randomized sequence of interchangeable civilization boards
  • Streamlining the endgame push-your-luck token system in which players can score big or suffer immensely
  • Introducing exciting new features such as currency cards and transmission events
  • Balancing the bidding tie-breaker system with the simple solution of ranked cards
  • Speeding up the playtime with a condensed and focused sequence of events
  • Doubling the number of unique special cards that can be drafted as rewards
  • Spicing up the risk events with varying rewards and penalties
  • Sharpening the endgame hand management decisions with tempting rewards following a climactic final auction
  • Broadening the appeal of the theme and presentation with vivid galactic artwork by Marie Bergeron

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction / Bidding
  • Hand Management
  • Modular Board
  • Open Drafting
  • Push Your Luck
  • Variable Set-up

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 40 – 80 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.40

Finspan

| OTSG Staff

You are a marine researcher seeking to find and observe an array of aquatic life in the colorful Sunlight Zone, ghostly Twilight Zone, and pitch-black Midnight Zone of the world’s seas and oceans. In Finspan, the fish you discover over four weeks will generate a series of benefits as you dive deeper into the ocean.

Each dive site specializes in a key aspect of expanding your research:

  • Grow your collection of fish.
  • Discover freshly laid eggs.
  • Hatch eggs into young and consolidate young to form schools.

The winner is the player with the most points gained from fish, eggs, young, schools, and achievements.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.33

Finca

| OTSG Staff

The gameboard of Finca shows the mediterranean island of Mallorca. Players try to crop and deliver the fruits of Mallorca (such as oranges, lemons, almonds, grapes etc.) by means of moving workers on a traditional windmill. Object of the game is to distribute your crop as effectively as possible in order to deliver faster than your opponents.

From the Box: Mallorca, Island of the Wind. A place of golden beaches and a light-blue sea. The almond harvest is at hand, in addition, juicy oranges, lemons, and figs are ready to be picked and taken to the market. Olive trees bewitch the country with their curled branches and sumptuous vineyards invite passers-by to walk among their warm earth. In the midst of this landscape, your centuries-old natural stone farmhouse provides a home and supports your large windmill: your FINCA.
Listen to the wind, which propels your windmill! Then take in the course of the yearly harvest the sweetest and most valuable fruits from the land. Load them on your old donkey cart and travel around the island, selling them everywhere. If you manage this quickly, you will soon be the richest farmer on the island.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.07

Dice Throne: Outcasts

| OTSG Staff

Dice Throne is a combat game, whether 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2, or free-for-all. Select from a variety of heroes that play and feel completely distinct from one another. Attack opponents and activate abilities by rolling your hero’s unique set of five dice. Accumulate combat points and spend them on cards that have a large range of effects, such as granting permanent hero upgrades, applying status effects, and manipulating dice directly whether yours, your teammate’s, or even your opponent’s.

Outcasts is the newest edition of the Dice Throne universe introducing 4 new heroes: Pale Lady, Headless Horseman, Raveness, Necromancer.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Re-rolling and Locking
  • Take That
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.15

Fairy Ring

| OTSG Staff

A ray of moonlight shines in the clearing. The fairies wake up and stretch their wings. Mushrooms pop up from the ground, forming a circle. The first fireflies start to land. Magic is returning to the forest, and now it’s time to prepare for winter…

In Fairy Ring, you want to create a mushroom village to house the fairies in the clearing. Guide your fairy carefully, from village to village, through the fairy ring to gather as much mana as possible. You have two seasons to develop your village before winter begins. Each decision counts towards winning the game.

Game Mechanics:

  • Closed Drafting
  • Modular Board

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.80

Ethnos: 2nd Edition

| OTSG Staff

In the faraway land of Ethnos, a new Age is dawning. The ashes of the old Age have left the Six Regions empty, and the twelve Clans scattered to the winds. Now is the time for a clever leader to unite them into a powerful alliance, skillfully using the unique talents of each Clan to control the Regions.
Do you have the wit and the wisdom to become the next Emperor of Ethnos and usher in a Golden Age?

Unite the Clans to Control Ethnos

What was old has been made new again. The land of Ethnos has been rendered empty and a new Age is beginning. Someone must take up the mantle of Emperor. Will it be you?

In Ethnos 2nd Edition, players must take control of the various clans of Ethnos, gathering members and unleashing them into the six regions. Each clan has different special abilities, and depending on who you choose to lead your groups, different strategies can be employed. 2nd Edition includes updated rules and rules for Solo mode.

  • STRATEGIC AREA CONTROL GAME — In Ethnos 2nd Edition, players gather members of various clans and compete for control of six regions, utilizing each clan’s unique abilities to dominate the land.
  • UNIQUE CLAN ABILITIES — Each clan in Ethnos offers distinct powers, adding deep strategy and diverse playstyles as you choose which clan leaders will guide your groups to victory.
  • COMPETITIVE OR SOLO PLAY — Whether you’re challenging friends or conquering regions solo, Ethnos 2nd Edition provides endless strategic opportunities for players of all experience levels.
  • FOR 1-6 PLAYERS — Perfect for game nights or solo sessions, Ethnos 2nd Edition is designed for 1-6 players, offering dynamic and exciting gameplay for ages 14 and up.
  • UPDATED RULES & SOLO MODE — The 2nd Edition features updated rules for streamlined gameplay and introduces a new solo mode, allowing players to enjoy the game on their own.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.42

Estates, the

| OTSG Staff

The City Council recently approved the zoning map for a new urban development — The Estates — featuring high-end infrastructure and a modern atmosphere for its citizens. Soon after, the banks awarded millions of dollars in loans to six real estate investment firms to help develop this new area. The zoning map for The Estates calls for two rows of four buildings each, located between the River and Main Street. The meadows on the other side of the River are to remain a recreational area for the City.

But, with hopes of larger profits, investors and building tycoons entirely ignore the City Council’s demands and begin developing three rows of buildings instead. The Mayor catches wind of the potential for profit and begins planning a new mansion in The Estates, which would double the value of one of the building rows! With some sketchy building permits, investors begin developing buildings on the other side of the River, beyond the designated building zone. However, the City Council takes rigorous steps to put an end to the racketeering with an ultimatum: As soon as the first two rows are completed, the buildings in the uncompleted row will be torn down, resulting in a huge loss for all who invested there. At the end of the day, the investor with the highest-valued buildings will come out on top.

The players take on the role of investors seeking to make the most money by developing buildings in The Estates. Players will bid for the various building pieces and place them in The Estates to their benefit. All buildings in completed rows score positive points, while all buildings in incomplete rows score negative points. It is possible to have zero completed rows of buildings.

A game of The Estates lasts around 40 minutes and can be played in several rounds to experience a shifting economy.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 40 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.31

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre

| OTSG Staff

Did you know that magical wizards are battling to the death … and beyond … right now!? “Why battle?” you might ask. “What have I got to prove, magic man?” Only who’s the most awesomely powerful battle wizard in the entire realm, that’s what! As a Battle Wizard, you’ll put together up to three spell components to craft millions (okay, not really) of spell combos. Your spells might kick ass, or they could totally blow – it’s up to you to master the magic. You will unleash massive damage on the faces of your wizard rivals in a no-holds-barred, all-out burn-down to be the last Battle Wizard standing. And it doesn’t stop there! Powerful magic items bring on a whole new level of bloody carnage as you and your mighty wizard opponents tear each other limb from limb in an orgy of killing! Do you have what it takes to use epic spells in a war at Mt. Skullzfyre? Will YOU be the Ultimate Battle Wizard!?!

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre is a humorous card game depicting a vicious, over-the-top battle between a variety of comically illustrated wizards. The game focuses primarily on creating three-part spell combos to blast your foes into the afterlife. The unique Dead Wizard cards allow players to stay in the game even after their wizards have been defeated.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.57