Category: Ω Board Games

Classified Information

| T3d-1978

In the pursuit of political supremacy, knowledge is key. Since the revolution, two factions have been fighting for power in the dystopian, cyberpunk city of Intellexia. In order to break the years long deadlock and secure control of the city, each faction must uncover their adversary’s secret plans hidden inside their top secret, code-protected briefcase.

Your job, if you are to accept it, is to protect your secret code by cleverly deploying card abilities, by seeking help from the Guards, Assassins, and Sentinels at the local tech-noir guilds, and by encrypting information when you can. But espionage is a two-way street. While trying to deny your opponent information about your secret code, you must try to crack theirs.

Classified Information is a fast-playing (10-minutes or less), 2-player “iterative” deduction microgame that is fully contained within just 18 cards. Each turn a player plays a card from their hand in one of three ways (for its ability, for its guild affiliation or by discarding it out of the game). Once the draw deck is depleted players reveal their secret code and the single card left in their hand, if their card matches a number in their opponent’s code they may win the game, but things may not be so easy if their opponent also matches and has more guards, or has cleverly guarded their briefcase!

Will you be able to access your opponent’s Classified Information?

Game Mechanics:

  • Deduction
  • Hand Management

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 10 – 15 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.25

Claim 2

| T3d-1978

The King is dead! What happened? Nobody really knows, but he was found face down in a wine barrel this morning. It could have been either foul play or his own thirst that did him in. Regardless, the King is dead without any known heirs, so it’s up to the five factions of the realm to decide who will be the new king: Will it be you or your opponent? Do you have what it takes to win over the realm’s factions?

Claim 2 is played in two distinct phases. In phase one, each player gets a hand of cards that they use to recruit followers. In phase two, they use the followers from phase one to compete and win over the five factions of the realms. Each faction has a special power that effects play, and powers can be different in each phase! At the end of the game, the player who has the majority of followers of a faction wins that faction’s vote, and whoever wins the vote of at least three factions wins the game!

Claim 2 is a standalone sequel to Claim, featuring five new factions that can be played on their own or mixed in any combination with the factions in Claim.

Game Mechanics:

  • Take That
  • Trick Taking

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • ~25 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.60

Civolution

| T3d-1978

Hello, student beings! The cosmic faculty of the Technical Academy of Creation is delighted to welcome you to your Civolution, the final exam in Civilization Design!

For this occasion, we prepared a humanoid scenario on an isolated continent. Here, each of you holds the rank of a local deity which is closely linked to its very own civilization and must lead it to success over the other civilizations. Your developmental possibilities are endless and reach from cultural and technical progress to evolutional adaptations. For example, what would you consider more beneficial to your tribes: inventing the wheel or growing wings? Demonstrate your ability to operate your civilization console and show us how well you can adjust to changeable environmental conditions and mild creational chaos.

When the exam ceases after four eras, whoever managed to gather the most success points will not only pass the exam but will become a full member of the Technical Academy of Creation and garner the opportunity to be promoted to the next instance.

Civolution is a medium heavy to heavy euro-style game that utilizes a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. As you figure out how to best use your dice and put your unique cards into play, tons of strategies and paths to victory emerge, though each time you play, you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.

Game Mechanics:

  • Events
  • Modular Board
  • Open Drafting
  • Pattern Building
  • Tech Trees / Tech Tracks
  • Variable Set-up

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 90 – 180 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 4.22

Circus Flohcati

| T3d-1978

In Circus Flohcati, players collect acts from the flea circus to score points, with the game containing ten types (colors) of acts, with acts being valued from 0-7 points.

On a turn, you can choose one of the face-up cards on the table and add that to your hand or flip the top card from the deck and add it to the cards on display. If you flip an action card, you must take that action — often stealing a card from an opponent — then your turn ends. If you flip a card of the same color as any face-up card, then you instead discard the newly revealed card and your turn ends with you getting nothing. Otherwise, you again face the same options: Collect a face-up card or reveal a new card.

If on your turn you have three cards of the same value in hand, you can play this trio on the table for a guaranteed 10 points. The game ends either when someone reveals that they have all ten acts in hand or when the deck has been exhausted. You score only for the highest-valued act of each color, so either avoid taking duplicate colors or ditch them in trios. If you have all ten acts in hand, score a 10-point “gala show” bonus. Whoever has the highest score wins.

Editions of Circus Flohcati bear a player count of either 2-5 or 3-5, but they don’t differ in the rules or nature of the components.

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Push Your Luck
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 15 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.23

Chomp

| T3d-1978

The era of the dinosaurs is here! Your goal in Chomp is to form herds of dinos and make sure they are all fed. Herbivores and carnivores both need food sources, but if the carnies are not properly fed, they don’t mind chomping an herbie to fill their bellies!

Gameplay involves dual rows of goal tiles and dino tiles, and each turn players select one tile to add to their personal arrangement. Goal tiles stay off to the side for endgame scoring, and dino tiles are arranged in front of each player. Dino tiles include three sizes each of herbivores and carnivores. Each tile must overlap previous ones, either on top of a quarter tile, half tile, or even a whole tile, ensuring that any covered dinos are completely hidden.

Adjacent dinos of the same species form herds, which will eat together if connected to a single food source — or die together if they are unfed, adjacent to a tar pit, or next to an otherwise unfed carnivore!

At the end of the game, each living and fed dino scores 1-3 points depending on its size, and the player with the highest score wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Pattern Building
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.56

Anarchy, The 🟠

| T3d-1978

At the end of 1135, Henry I, King of England, died unexpectedly leaving no male heir to reign in his stead. Henry’s daughter, Empress Matilda, believed she should rule by succession. However, the late king’s favorite nephew, Stephen de Blois (“blue-a”), was quicker to the throne, and with the help of his brother, the Bishop of Winchester, was crowned king.

Those loyal to the empress were enraged by Stephen’s coronation and would not accept him as their new ruler. Over the next eighteen years, England saw a breakdown in law and order as civil war spread throughout the country. This conflict came to be known as “The Anarchy”…

In The Anarchy, players take on the role of English nobles loyal to King Stephen. Over five rounds, players must build their domain, defend their castle from attacks by the approaching Angevin armies, and storm strongholds loyal to Matilda with their own crafted siege weapons. The player who can accumulate the most bravery, loyalty, influence and might — while avoiding discontent — will prove to King Stephen they are his most loyal ally, thereby earning his largest earldom.

Game Mechanics:

  • Chaining
  • Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Tech Trees / Tech Tracks

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 4.00

Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened 🟢

| T3d-1978

Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened is a pulp-horror tabletop game for 1-4 players.
You play the role of an intrepid and foolish adventurer exploring a dark jungle river for Secrets.
Each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location and face an Ominous Encounter.
If you overcome the Encounter (using a combination of dice, tokens and cards) you gain Secrets.
The object of the game is to be the player with the most Secrets when the game ends at the Inexplicable Event.

Game play involves rolling dice to achieve combinations: runs, pairs, three or more of a kind, and single die showing a particular number or higher. Dice combinations are spent to overcome Encounters and to acquire the four resources used in the game: Focus, Mystery, Treasure and Feat tokens.

  • Focus tokens are used to activate Swag cards to better manipulate dice results.
  • Mystery tokens are spent to overcome any Encounter when visiting the Yawning Chasm.
  • Treasure tokens are spent to purchase useful Swag cards from the Trading Post which give you a permanent game effect.
  • Feat tokens are spent to play one-shot Feat cards from your hand.

Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened is the third implementation of the Dicequest game system as previously used in Ancient Terrible Things (1st/2nd Edition) and Konja.
The third edition incorporates edited and revised content from all previous iterations and expansions of the game, renovated art and language-independent graphic design into a new and definitive edition of ATT.

Game Mechanics:

  • Push Your Luck
  • Re-rolling and Locking
  • Set Collection
  • Solo / Solitaire Play

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 40 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.17

Big Boss

| T3d-1978

Big Boss is a game of founding companies, expanding existing companies, taking over smaller companies and share buying. The game is explicitly based on the Sid Sackson classic Acquire and shares many similarities to that game though mergers are not as prevalent or crucial in Big Boss. The main differences between the two games include the three dimensional aspect of Big Boss, and the existence of a strong monetary incentive to expand companies that you do not control.

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Market
  • Stock Holding
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.36

Chili Mafia

| T3d-1978

Chili Mafia is a set-collection party card game for 2-8 players. Compete to assemble the most powerful Chili Pepper Gangs (sets of cards) and become the most respected mafia boss. In Chili Mafia, you will find existing Chili Peppers from around the world that are the main characters of the game. Just to mention a few, such well-known Chilies as the Jalapeño, the Tabasco or the Carolina Reaper clash with each other. To reflect hierarchy, each pepper carries points that are in proportion to the respective Chili Pepper’s strength on the Scoville scale. Moreover, the game includes various action and attack cards (inspired by Mafia jargon) that will not necessarily serve your interest. To win, score the most points at the end of the game.

[CLASSIFIED INFORMATION]

Things are heating up in the world. Chili peppers are splitting into factions, leading to organized crime and unrest. The Chili Mafia reigns supreme.
The Ministry of International Chili Security has hired you—a group of agents—to work undercover and round up the most wanted chili pepper mafiosi from around the globe. Your goal is to bring them to Mexico for a peace summit. As you arrive in the Chihuahuan desert, the spicy criminals jump out of your luggage. It’s obvious they have no interest in peace. Instead, they want a showdown. You and your fellow agents have no choice but to seize control of the Chili Mafia. But to gain their respect, you must fight amongst yourselves to determine who will be the most powerful mafia boss. Once you control the peppers, what will you do next?

Players draw and play cards to form gangs and perform actions. When a player draws the last card from the draw pile, they may complete their turn. Then every player (including the one that drew the last card) may take 1 more turn. After the last round, players calculate their scores.

Game Mechanics:

  • Set Collection
  • Take That
  • Team-Based Game

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 8 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.83

Cheating Moth

| T3d-1978

Cheating is forbidden? Not in this naughty game of cards – in fact, you’ll probably have to cheat in order to win.

In Mogel Motte you want to get rid of all the cards in your hand before anyone else. Each player starts the round with a hand of eight cards, with one player (the oldest) receiving the guard bug – which stays on the table throughout the game – and one card being turnd face-up to start a discard pile. The cards are numbered 1-5, with the majority of them having only numbers; some cards have special abilities that come into play when added to the discard pile or in a player’s hand.

On a turn, a player places one card from her hand onto the discard pile; that card must be numbered exactly one higher or lower than the card on top of the discard pile. (The numbers wrap, so a 1 can be played on a 5 and vice versa.) If a player can’t play a card, she draws one from the deck and her turn ends.

There’s another way to rid yourself of cards, though: cheating! Throughout the round, you can make cards disappear by dropping them on the floor, hiding them up your sleeve and so on. You must keep your hand of cards above the table at all times, you can’t vanish more than one card at once, and you can’t rid yourself of your final card this way. The player with the guard bug – and only him! – can call out other players for cheating, and no one can cheat while the accusation is being resolved. If the accusation was false, the Guard must draw a card; otherwise the cheating player takes back the card she tried to lose, is given a card from the Guard’s hand as additional punishment, and becomes the new Guard.

Cheating is a necessity as the “Cheating Moth” cards can’t be played onto the discard pile, but must be disappeared via cheating. (The Guard, however, can play these cards as the Guard is not allowed to cheat.)

The action cards work as follows:

  • Ant: After an ant is played, everyone but the active player must take a card from the draw pile.
  • Cockroach: After a cockroach is played, everyone races to play an identically-numbered card on top of it. Only the fastest player gets to leave her card in place.
  • Mosquito: After a mosquito is played, everyone but the active player must slap the pile of cards. Whoever is slowest receives a card from the hand of all other players.
  • Spider: After playing this, give a non-Cheating Moth card from your hand to another player.

When one player has no cards in hand, the round ends. All other players score 10 points for each Cheating Moth in hand, 5 points for each action card, and 1 point for each number card. After a number of rounds equal to the number of players, the game ends and the player with the lowest score wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Dexterity

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.15