Category: Ω Board Games

The Night Cage

The Night Cage

The Night Cage

You awaken in the dark, your skin cold, your mind blank. You have nothing but your fear, a flickering candle, and a question: How long will your light last?

Trapped and crawling your way through a pitch-black labyrinth, equipped with nothing but dim candles, you must work together to explore the maze and escape. Unfortunately, your weak candlelight illuminates only your immediate surroundings. Worse still, horrifying Wax Eaters — monsters who despise the light — lurk in the suffocating darkness for their opportunity to strike.

The Night Cage is a fully co-operative, horror-themed tile-placement game that traps 1-5 lost souls within an unnatural labyrinth of eternal darkness. To win, players must each collect a key, find a gate, and escape as a group.

Escape won’t be easy as each player’s visibility is limited by the weak light of their candle. They illuminate only tiles directly connected to their own, and when players move, tiles that fall into darkness are removed from the game. Doubling back the way you came only opens new paths, the old ones being lost forever with critical keys and gates vanishing if your light move away from them…

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Grid Movement
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.05

Nidavellir

Nidavellir

Nidavellir

Nidavellir, the Dwarf Kingdom, is threatened by the dragon Fafnir. As a venerable Elvaland, you have been appointed by the King. Search through every tavern in the kingdom, hire the most skillful dwarves, recruit the most prestigious heroes, and build the best battalion you can to defeat your mortal enemy!

Each turn in Nidavellir, bid a coin on each tavern. In descending order, choose a character and add this character to your army. Each dwarf class has its own scoring way: blacksmith, hunter, warrior, explorer, and miner. A meticulous recruitment will allow you to attract a powerful hero to your army.

You will also be able to increase the value of your gold coins thanks to the smart “coin-building” system, and get the best of the other Elvalands.

Game Mechanics:

  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.13

New York Zoo

New York Zoo

New York Zoo

Puzzling and animal breeding: Designer Uwe Rosenberg is at his best! In New York Zoo, you are constructing an animal park. Build animal enclosures, introduce new animals and raise their offspring. The game play is straight forward as you have only two turn options: Puzzle a new enclosure tile into your zoo area or gain new animals to populate your animal encounters. But be sure to time your actions well since you want your zoo to participate in as many animal breedings as possible.

Game Mechanics:

  • Abstract Strategy
  • Grid Coverage
  • Puzzle
  • Racing
  • Rondel
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.99

Neon Knights

Neon Knights

Neon Knights

Do you have what it takes to join the Neon Knights? Join the XRL (Extreme Racing League) Tournament today!

In the dystopian future of 2086, the city is split in two. The upper class lives in the upper half of the city while the lower class live in the slums. Cash is illegal in the lower part of the city, and the people there now use casino chips from the old world as currency. The upper class business men have created the Extreme Racing League as an automotive racing sport for entertainment. Anyone with a car who lives in the slums can enter. The prize? You guessed it: A pass to enter the city above, crowned as a Neon Knight (Drivers for V.I.P). What you do when you get there is up to you…and another story in itself.

You’ve spent all your chips on building the car and entering the league. Now it’s time to prove your worth in a racing tournament that can only be won by taking risks, and pushing it to the limit. Do you have what it takes to join the Neon Knights?

Neon Knights: 2086 is a career-driven racing game for 2 to 6 players. You can play single races or in campaign mode which allows you to level up your car and skills as you play. You will advance in your career by buying upgrades and installing weapons and shields on your car. You will also gain fans and sponsorships who will train you in getting the skills you need to become a better driver. During the race you will need to pass over certain street areas to Activate weapons and shield you have on your car, which you can then use on other drivers.

You can go as fast as you want to but some areas of the slums are harder to drive through and will damage your car if you’re going too fast. Will you take those risks?

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Grid Movement
  • Push Your Luck
  • Racing
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.50

NEOM

NEOM

NEOM

NEOM is a modern city-building game featuring simultaneous drafting and tile placement that takes inspiration from games such as 7 WondersCarcassonne, and Sim City. Players compete to build the most impressive city utilizing a tree of 17 different goods (from three different tiers) that can each be unlocked, allowing the placement of increasingly powerful tiles as the game progresses. Tiles also feature roads which must be connected without being rotated, meaning that players must always plan their city layout with an eye to the future.

At the start of each game, players draft cornerstones — powerful, unique tiles that heavily change what is most valuable from game to game.

NEOM has been in development for seven years and the rules and tile set have been iterated on over the course of more than 3,500 games logged in a custom online prototype, leading to an exceptionally well balanced game with a wide variety of viable strategies.

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Closed Drafting
  • Take That
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.60

Nanty Narking

Nanty Narking

Nanty Narking

Immersed deeply in the world of Dickens’s and Doyle’s literature, Nanty Narking moves you into the realities of the myths and legends of the Victorian era. The events in the game are tied to real and fictional characters and places in Victorian London The same London which inspired so many stories…

The action takes place on the city map, with players placing their agents and buildings on the board through card play. Every card is unique. The cards bring the game to life as they include most of the famous characters who have appeared in the various books. The rules are relatively simple: Play a card and do what it says. Most cards have more than one action on them, and you can choose to do some or all of these actions. Some cards also allow you to play a second card, so you can chain actions.

At the beginning of the game, each player draws a secret personality with specific victory conditions, which means that you can never be sure what the other players need to do in order to win. You need to fulfill your goal while also trying to prevent others from winning!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Bluffing
  • City Building
  • Deduction
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Hidden Roles
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.27

Namiji

Namiji

Namiji

In Namiji, you are fishers from the Japan of yesteryear, navigating south of the Japanese archipelago, a few kilometers from the famous Tokaido road. You will need to have a fruitful day at sea to win the game.

To do this, you will have the opportunity to contemplate magnificent marine species, to fish with a line or a net to fill your racks with colorful fish, and haul in your crustacean traps.

You can benefit from stops to improve your fishing equipment, and you will also have to contend with the gods of the sea by setting offerings afloat, or by fulfilling their wishes that they express during your contemplation with the Sacred Rocks, for which they will reward you.

Namiji features gameplay similar to Tokaido. The action spaces are laid out on the game board in a linear track, with players advancing down this track to take actions. The player who is currently last on the track takes a turn by advancing forward on the track to their desired action and taking that action, so players must choose whether to advance slowly in order to get more turns, or to travel more rapidly to beat other players to their desired action spaces. What players are doing on the track differs from what they do in Tokaido.

Game Mechanics:

  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.82

Naga Raja

Naga Raja

Naga Raja

Twin temples of two forgotten divinities containing ancient relics have been discovered in India. You set off on a treasure hunt, racing to find them before your rival, but your progress is slowed by a constantly shifting maze of paths… And eternal damnation awaits anyone foolish enough to uncover the three cursed relics of Garuda!

MOVE QUICKLY… CHOOSE WISELY! A treasure race packed with tough choices, twists & turns!

In this 2-players game, each player moves around their own temple, which has spaces for room tiles and hiding places for 9 sacred and cursed relics around. These relics are placed randomly, face-down, around the temples and worth victory points once flipped face-up.

The first player to score 25 victory points wins the game. However, a player loses if they reveal all three cursed relics! Each round, the players compete to win a new room tile by using cards allowing them to throw fate sticks. The player with the most fate points showing on their sticks wins the room tile and places it in their temple. Each player attempts to create paths leading to their relics, enabling them to flip them face up and score victory points. Yet, Naga symbols on some sticks let you activate cards with powerful effects, so that you can never take anything for granted.

A GAMEPLAY WITH DUAL-USE CARDS AND STICKS

Players must decide how to use the cards in their hands: for throwing sticks or activating their effects? Card effects can be applied on you or opponent’s game and are relating to:

  • Sticks results
  • Relic positions
  • Room positions
  • Card drawing

Results on Fate sticks can be used to win the room at stake (using their Fate points) or to activate cards (using their Naga symbols). There are 3 types of sticks (number of Fate points or Naga faces are different for each type).

DILEMMAS, TWISTS, LOW BLOWS!

No temple room or Relic is locked in place, they can be moved/removed as you or your opponent activate cards… You could turn everything upside-down! For example:

  • Make the maze slide
  • Swap the positions of relics
  • Place a Trap room in your opponent’s Temple
  • Change the results of the sticks
  • Discard action cards from your opponent’s hand
  • Make him throw again his sticks…

IF YOU…

  • Have ever dreamed of being an Indiana Jones, chasing relics in an Indian modular temple…
  • Adore putting a spoke in the wheels of your opponent…
  • Love gameplays balanced between strategy (cruel choices, anticipation) and fun…

then Naga Raja is the perfect game for you!

Game Mechanics:

  • Bluffing
  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Network Building
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.02

Mythalix

Mythalix

Mythalix

Mythalix is a strategy game that will put your critical thinking to the test.

The object of the game is to battle one another in an attempt to collect four Elements. To win an Element you either need to defeat a player or an Elemental Alter.

Before the game begins, all players receive a God to command. Each God comes with their own unique powers and abilities. The game works by tactically choosing a path on the map and rolling the dice to attack in an attempt to evolve into a powerful Deity.

Each player starts their turn by collecting their bounty on captured Gold, Power and Mythical mines. Furthermore, players can build Strongholds, battle enemies or receive bounty from specific hexagons on the board. Controlling areas of land will give bonuses and purchasing Army and Warrior cards will permanently increase the power of the players God. If a player receives the Power of Olympus card, their God can access their Ultra Power – their ultimate ability!

The Player Board has been designed to help each player keep track of their Armies, Warriors, Elements and attack / defence / movement bonuses.

Throughout the game you can tactically forge your path to victory. However if you take too long or choose the wrong path around the map, you give your opponents the chance to become empowered and so the balance of the game can quickly shift the other way.

The first player who combines four elements to create the Mythalix, claims the victory!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Mystic Vale: Essential Edition

Mystic Vale: Essential Edition

Mystic Vale: Essential Edition

Mystic Vale – 2 to 4 players take on the role of druidic clans trying to cleanse the curse upon the land. Each turn, you play cards into your field to gain powerful advancements and useful vale cards. Use your power wisely, or decay will end your turn prematurely. Score the most victory points to win the game!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Push Your Luck

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00