Category: Party Games

Decrypto

| T3d-1978

Players compete in two teams in Decrypto, with each trying to correctly interpret the coded messages presented to them by their teammates while cracking the codes they intercept from the opposing team.

Each team has their own screen, and in this screen they tuck four cards in pockets numbered 1-4, letting everyone on the same team see the words on these cards while hiding the words from the opposing team. In the first round, one team member from each team takes a code card that shows three of the digits 1-4 in some order, e.g., 4-2-1. They then give a coded message using synonyms of the code words so that their teammate can guess the sequence. If the teammates guess incorrectly, the team receives a black mark of failure.

Subsequent rounds have the same structure, except now the other team can attempt to guess your code. If they’re correct, they receive a white mark of success; if not, then the first team must guess the number correctly or take a black mark of failure. (Guessing correctly does nothing except avoid failure and give the opposing team information about what our hidden words might be.)

The rounds continue until a team collects either its second white mark (winning the game) or its second black mark (losing the game). Games typically last between 4-7 rounds. If neither team has won after eight rounds, then each team must attempt to guess the other team’s words; whichever team guesses more words correctly wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Communication Limits
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Team-Based Game

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 8 Players
  • 15 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.83

Deadwood 1876

| T3d-1978

There’s gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and you’ve come to find (or steal) your share. You’re staying at one of the three major establishments in Deadwood where you and your associates are working together to steal some of the gold-filled safes floating around town. But you suspect that the “friends” you’re working with are secretly plotting to keep all the gold for themselves. Will you be ready to turn on them before they shoot you in the back?

In Deadwood 1876, you use cards from your hand to try to win Safes from other players. Safes contain Badges, Gold, or Showdown Guns. Near the end of the game, players with Badges get extra turns. After the final turn, the team with the most Gold will advance to the Final Showdown. There, teammates will have to fight each other to the death using Showdown Guns. The last person alive is the winner!

The game is a balance between teamwork and selfishness. If a player uses all of their best cards to hunt down Gold for their team, they’ll be defenseless to fight against their teammates if they go to the Final Showdown. But if a player only goes after Guns and saves all of their best cards, their team might not have enough Gold to actually reach the Final Showdown. If someone on your team doesn’t seem to be pulling their weight, they might be plotting to steal your gold after using you to get to the Finals! There may come a point where you need to gather Showdown Guns instead of Gold, or attack, mislead, frame, abandon, or banish your own teammates.

Deadwood 1876, volume 3 in the “Dark Cities” series from Facade Games, can have 2-9 players. Learn in 20 minutes, play in 20-40 minutes.

—description from the publisher

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Team-Based

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 9 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.90

Danger the Game

| T3d-1978

The World is a Dangerous Place!

Disappointed fathers, depressed giant squids, dynamite on train tracks, and so much more! It’s up to you to rescue those in need. Use your skills, tools, and imagination to devise foolproof plans and save the day!

The first victim is the person who lives the most dangerously. Each of the other players is called a rescuer. The victim draws and reveals a danger card containing the perilous situation they are caught in. The rescuers then place one skill card and one tool card from their hands which they will utilize to tell a story of how they will save the victim. While a Rescuerer presents their rescue story another can play a plot twist on their cards tripping them up and changing the story for more engaging play. the Victim awards the Danger card to the Rescuer with the best Rescue.

All cards are written for embellishment and lateral thinking. “Able to transform into a rock” well what kind of rock are you?!

Game Mechanics:

  • Storytelling
  • Card Game

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 12 Players
  • Difficulty Weight 1.25

Cover Your Kingdom

| T3d-1978

Cover Your Kingdom is an insanely fun, fast-paced, ruthless game based off of Cover Your Assets. In this game, each player will take on the role of a ruler to their own kingdom which, through some unfortunate accident, has lost all of its legendary creatures and therefore all of its magic. Your job is to recruit clans of these legendary creatures back to your kingdom, either in the Valley or the Mountains, by playing sets of the same creature. However, your rival rulers can lure your clans away from your kingdom by playing a matching creature, triggering a back-and-forth match battle until one person cannot or does not want to play another card. You can protect your existing clans by playing a new one on top of them, rotated 90 degrees from the previous one, as only the top clan in the stack can be recruited. 

Cover Your Kingdom also introduces Free Creatures, which do not join kingdoms but can be played to utilize their special abilities, giving you an edge over the other kingdoms. Whoever ends up with the most magic from the creatures in their kingdom wins the game!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Set Collection
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 8 Players
  • 25 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.83

Cover Your Assets

| T3d-1978

In Cover Your Assets, you have one simple goal: be the first to become a millionaire. You will do this by stacking sets of valuables such as jewels or piggy banks. But be warned, your assets are very vulnerable! On their turn, other players can play a matching asset to steal your stack. You can play another matching asset card to prevent the thievery, sparking a back and forth battle until someone runs out of cards. Alternatively, you could cover your assets by playing a new set which always goes on top of your previous one (or stealing one yourself). Now, people have to steal your new assets before they can get to your true valuables. Be clever, be careful, and be sure to cover your assets!

Game Mechanics:

  • Set Collection
  • Hand Management
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.13

Cockroach Poker

| T3d-1978

Cockroach Poker is a game filled with filthy critters that has nothing to do with poker – but everything to do with bluffing. The goal of the game is to force one player to have a set of 4 cards of one type of the 8 total critters – ranging from roaches to rats to bats to stinkbugs – making them the sole loser. This is done by a player passing a card face down to another player, claiming it as one type of card. The receiving player can either 1) flip it over, declaring whether or not they believe the first player or 2) peek at it and pass it to the next player, either saying what it is or bluffing. If you’re right in your accusation, the original player keeps the card. If you’re wrong, you keep the card. Keep the critters out of your play space, and don’t be the only loser!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Set Collection
  • Single Loser Game

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.10

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

Challengers! Beach Cup

| T3d-1978

Challengers! Beach Cup is an interactive deck-management game for 1-8 players that plays in about 45 minutes independent of player count. With the tournament gameplay style, you meet another opponent every round.

In the Deck Phase, you choose new members and add them to your deck, which might consist of a wizard, alien, cat, gangster and kraken. Dozens of distinct characters with more than forty effects create a unique experience every game. Choose from seven different sets and discover new strategies and synergies every game.

In the Match Phase, stay in possession of the flag to win the trophy of that round. Try to get the most fans and trophies over the course of seven rounds to be able to qualify for the final. If you can best your opponent in the final, you win!

Challengers! Beach Cup contains a 16-card “Trainers” expansion that gives each player a unique power. Some give you bonuses when defending, some when you’re on the offensive, and others can extend your bench or even let you rearrange your deck.

Challengers! Beach Cup is a standalone game that can also be mixed with Challengers! to create new set combinations and new experiences.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 8 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.15

Burn the Witch

| T3d-1978

Step back into a dark period in our past, when frenzy and paranoia dominated peoples’ perception of ‘the other’, driving communities across Europe to take the most extreme measures against their fellow man… or woman, as history would have it.

Burn the Witch is a game of social deduction where players are divided into two factions (zealots and sympathizers), which are pitted against each other in a bid for survival. Players represent houses, comprised of two to four villagers, one or more of whom may be a witch. The zealots win by uncovering the identity of all witches in play—a discovery made only through fire. The sympathizers win by keeping the witches’ identities hidden. With witches forming a small minority, the sympathizers’ only chance for success depends on their ability to employ cunning and misdirection as they seek to outwit the other players by turning the zealots’ xenophobia and pyromania back onto themselves.

The game typically goes for 45-75 minutes and concludes when either every witch in the village has been uncovered or enough innocents have been wrongly condemned that the witch hunt is called off, and the sympathizers win.

Game Mechanics:

  • Hidden Roles
  • Player Judge
  • Roles with Asymmetric Information
  • Traitor Game
  • Voting

Game Specifications:

  • 5 – 15 Players
  • 45 – 75 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.75