Tag: Campaign

Board games with a campaign mechanic typically play across more than one sitting, and progress carries over between sessions.

Inis

Inis

Inis

Inis is a game deeply rooted in Celtic history and lore in which players win by being elected King of the Island (Inis). Players can try to achieve one of three different victory conditions:

  • Leadership: Be the leader — i.e., have more clan figures than any other player — of territories containing at least six opponents’ clans.
  • Land: Have your clans present in at least six different territories.
  • Religion: Have your clans present in territories that collectively contain at least six sanctuaries.

Over the course of the game, players also earn deeds, typically chanted by bards or engraved by master crafters, that reduce by one the magic total of six for any condition. While one victory condition is enough to claim the title of King, a game of experienced players usually has a tight balance of power, emphasizing the leadership of the capital of the island.

At the start of each round, players draft a hand of four action cards (with 13 action cards for three players and 17 for four players) during the Assembly. Action cards not played at the end of one season are not held for the next. Players also have access to leader cards for the territories that allow it and where they were elected leader during the assembly. Each Assembly reallocates those cards. Finally, they collect “epic tales” cards that depict the deeds of the ancient Irish gods and heroes, like Cuchulainn, the Dagda, Lugh and many others. These will be kept and used to inspire the clans and achieve extraordinary feats…under the right circumstances. The cards provide a variety of actions: adding clans, moving clans, building/exploring, and special actions.

Careful drafting, hand management, bluffing (especially once players understand the importance of passing their turn), good timing, and a precise understanding of the balance of power are the keys to victory. After a discovery game you’ll be ready for a full and epic game, where an undisputed player will be king by the Assembly for his merit and wisdom.

While Inis has “dudes” that are “on a map”, it’s a beginner’s mistake to play this as a battle game because eliminating other clans reduces your chances of scoring a Leadership victory condition. Peace among different clans, with or without a clear territory leader, is the usual outcome of a clan’s movement. Battles will occur, of course, as the Celtic clans can be unruly and a good player will listen to his clan’s people (i.e., his hand of cards). That battle aspect is reflected in the clan’s miniatures representing warriors. Woodsmen, shepherds and traders complete the set of twelve minis for each player; these occupations have no impact on the game, but give it flavor.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Campaign
  • Closed Drafting
  • Hand Management
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.88

Hour of Need

Hour of Need

Hour of Need

The pages of Modern-day Saga Comics are filled with heroes and villains doing battle across both reality and the shared inter-dimensional space of the Astrallacy. While nefarious villains seek power and material wealth, valiant heroes fight to defend those that are caught in the middle of these epic conflicts—it is these everyday people that make reality worth fighting for, and now is their hour of need!

Hour of Need is a cooperative game of comic book action for 1–4 players (or up to 6 players with available expansions). Designed by Adam and Brady Sadler, Hour of Need is the latest installment in their line of Modular Deck System (MDS) games. Set in an original world inspired by modern comic books, Hour of Need puts players in the roles of diverse heroes attempting to thwart dangerous villains from carrying out nefarious deeds!

In each game of Hour of Need, players will need to use their chosen hero decks to tactically solve problems and thwart their chosen villain’s schemes, as presented by the chosen issue deck and board. Utilizing simultaneous turns that provides the framework for collaborative strategy, players have to work together to reveal the villain and prepare for the final showdown!

Featuring fast gameplay, highly-detailed miniatures, and a variety of modular fixed decks for heroes, villains, and issues, Hour of Need lets players create their own comic book stories in the MDS Comics world!

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.80

Far Away

Far Away

Far Away

Far Away is a two-player cooperative board game about discovery, survival, and the crushing loneliness of being the only two humans for lightyears.

Join the Federation Alliance, a bureaucracy with an ambitious charter of mapping new worlds and a minimalist budget. Succeed in a variety of missions on randomly generated worlds with unique ecosystems, without luxuries like radios, landing gear, and medical supplies. Trust in your partner is paramount since, without radios, you can’t communicate (in real life) after separating on the game board.

Survive, and you’ll be rewarded with a meager paycheck. Succumb to the planet, and you’ll find help is too Far Away.

The Far Away Program

 

The Federation Alliance started the Far Away program nearly 50 cycles ago to discover and explore new worlds. The missions we undertake are of vital importance to galactic prosperity. However, budget setbacks have forced us to reduce operational expenses. That’s where you, the willing explorer, can help!

Explorer Duties

 

The Federation has several active missions for you to choose. Each offers unique challenges and potential sub-objectives we would love for you to accomplish off-the-clock. Thanks to the randomly generated universe, every mission attempt will be different.

Once you’ve selected a mission and crashed into the planet (landing gear has been deemed “optional”), you must begin surviving. Your goal is to complete the mission and rebuild your ship. You will fail if you die of hunger, loneliness, or multiple grievous injuries. Don’t fail!

Be forewarned: communication will be a challenge. Radios will not be provided, so the only way to communicate with your partner is to be in close physical proximity. Plan ahead! This not only allows you to strategize, but also prevents the psychological meltdown that comes with being alone on an alien world.

Alien Creatures

 

Each planet has a unique ecosystem. Experts have identified upwards of 32 creatures in the known universe, each with their own behavioral patterns.

Explorers will be tasked to Realistically and Objectively Log Events Performed Logically by Animals and Yourself (ROLEPLAY). Creature behavior is dictated by their diet, temperament, and other factors. Explorers are provided a quick guide to educate them on default creature movement, but we encourage explorers to embrace their inner-alien and log the creature actions with creativity and vibrant storytelling.

The Far Away Recruitment Kit

 

Your exploration kit can be delivered straight to your home. Inside the 5.75# box, you’ll find over 800 pieces. We have included an instruction manual so you can assemble your spaceship with minimal government intervention. Please register your DNA online so we can credit your account upon mission completion.

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Limited Communication
  • Role Playing

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 90 – 150 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.91

Familiar Tales

Familiar Tales

Familiar Tales

Familiar Tales is a co-operative, deck-building, fantasy adventure for 1-4 players. It’s an exciting narrative game in which players take on the roles of a wizard’s familiars, entrusted with saving and raising a displaced princess. They must keep her safe from the evil forces that would see her dead, but when it comes to children, it is not enough to merely survive! The familiars know that every choice they make will affect the young one in their care. If they are victorious and the throne is reclaimed, what kind of woman will sit upon it?

Players will explore a massive world through the pages of a fantastical story book filled with branching paths and memorable characters. Fight off enemies, and explore the many nooks and crannies of an enchanted world. Experience a professionally narrated, fully scored, decade-spanning fantasy epic. Easily downloadable for both Mac and Windows, this browser-based app is required to play Familiar Tales. Think of it as an automated game master and storyteller! The app also features a digital, searchable rulebook.

An innovative card play system allows players to level up their familiars by building and customizing their skill decks. Players will use their skill cards to perform all manner of exciting actions throughout their campaign.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Deck Building
  • Narrative Choice

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.75

Eleven: Football Manager Board Game

Eleven — the number of players you have on the pitch at any given time, with those players making all the difference between being the best team and the worst. But every team knows that to be the best in the league it takes a lot more than players; it also takes an incredible manager.

Eleven: Football Manager Board Game is an economic strategy game set in a world of sport. Your task is to manage and grow your own football club over the course of a season. During the game, you hire staff members, including trainers, physical therapists, PR specialists, and directors. You acquire sponsors, expand the stadium infrastructure, and take care of your club’s position in social media. Among the many tasks on the list are transferring new players and choosing the right tactics for each of the upcoming matches.

Eleven can be played multiplayer or solo. The solo mode includes six different scenarios that challenge players with different starting situations and goals for the season. In the beginning, the task is simple: You have to climb the steps of the football leagues and achieve the appropriate experience. You may have to manage the club in a crisis, and at other times you will have to rejuvenate a football team of players that are not so young anymore. You may also have to fight against time to try to complete the stadium before the deadline!

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Closed Drafting
  • Dice Rolling
  • Economic
  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.27

Zombicide: Night of the Living Dead

Zombicide: Night of the Living Dead

Zombicide: Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game is a standalone game in the Zombicide franchise based on the George A. Romero movie of the same name.

In Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game, players take on the role of the movie’s main characters, holed up in an isolated house while the dead come to life all around them. The original movie sees the few survivors hunkering for safety in the house as the ghouls (as they’re called in the film) pose a continuous threat from outside. It’s a tense psychological thriller full of gritty moods and dark themes, but the game lets the survivors take the fight to the hordes of the undead. The game uses standard Zombicide mechanics.

There are two variants included in the game: Romero – where the characters have the attributes from the original movie and Zombicide: where the movie characters have had their attributes amped up to meet the Zombicide world – but always have the chance of regressing to their original Romero character.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.43

Zombicide: Green Horde

Zombicide: Green Horde

Zombicide: Green Horde

This sequel to the Zombicide: Black Plague will bring players back into a world of deadly medieval fantasy, this time filled with infected orcs and goblins who will put survivors to the ultimate test. This green menace is not only stronger than their human counterparts, but they also tend to gather into massive hordes that ambush the survivors when they least expect it.

Set in the same medieval era as Black Plague, players will take on the role of Survivors looking to defeat the shuffling, undead menace by any means possible.

In Green Horde, up to six players can join the battle for survival. They’ll combine forces and work cooperatively to accomplish their goals, and against all odds, stay alive. Fans of the Zombicide series have become familiar with the Walkers, Runners, Fatties, and Abominations that shuffle around, looking for victims. But the creatures they will face are not just zombie humans, they’re zombie orcs! The Survivors will have to gear up with a wide variety of medieval equipment if they hope to outlast these fearsome foes. Zombie Orcs are stronger than the classic zombie and represent a stiffer challenge to even seasoned undead-hunting veterans.

A new challenge for the Survivors is the Horde. It represents a growing group of Orc zombies that are ready to enter the board in an unexpected location and ambush the Survivors. As zombie cards with the Horde symbol are drawn, one extra zombie miniature of the same type is set aside, collectively forming the Horde. They will be locked into place until an “Enter the Horde!” card is drawn, spawning the Horde on the board. Any Survivor caught on their own near this roving menace would best beat a hasty retreat.

With such menacing new foes, the Survivors are going to have their hands full dealing with the Green Horde. Luckily, they’ll have some new weapons and spells on their side to help combat the rotting masses. Things like the Lava Burst, the Norse Sword, and the Bone Kukri will all be helpful when hacking through a pack of the undead. Oh, and if they should gather together too tightly, the Survivors can always hit them with the catapult…(did we not mention the catapult?).

Zombicide: Green Horde includes ten new challenging quests, featuring some of the toughest scenarios a Survivor has ever had to face. With new terrain, like ledges and water holes, and the ever-present threat of the Green Horde making an appearance, the team will have to plan their routes carefully. Sometimes avoiding trouble is better than facing it head on! Zombicide: Green Horde is the next chapter in the ever-evolving world of Zombicide. There’s no rest for the Survivors if they hope to battle their way to a new hope and a new beginning.

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.49

Zombicide: Black Plague

Zombicide: Black Plague

Zombicide: Black Plague

Zombicide: Black Plague takes the zombie apocalypse into a fantastical medieval setting! The arcane powers of the Necromancers have unleashed a zombie invasion in the age of swords and sorcery, and it’s up to your group of straggling survivors to not only stay alive during these dark times, but to take back the realm and punish those responsible for the apocalypse!

Zombicide: Black Plague allows you take control of paladins, dwarves, knights, and magicians, wielding powerful swords, crossbows, and even magic spells to defeat the zombie hordes and its Necromancer overlords. The classic Zombicide rules have been revamped for this new incarnation of the game, while still retaining the nonstop action, tense atmosphere and easy-to-learn rules that made Zombicide a classic. Equip your survivor with equipment like chainmail armor or shields to defend against the undead, pick up spell books to perform fantastic enchantments, or light up a pool of dragon bile to create an all-consuming inferno of dragon fire!

Take on the zombie invasion from the medieval streets to secret vaults that create quick passages through the citadel (and often hold special artifacts). Chase down the elusive Necromancers to keep them from multiplying the zombie masses. And tackle a whole new set of missions through which your group of survivors will become the heroes of the land (or the last victims of the zombie massacre).

Game Mechanics:

  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 60 – 180 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.50

Zombicide: 2nd Edition

Zombicide: 2nd Edition

Zombicide: 2nd Edition

Zombicide, the board game, has taken the world by storm with over two million copies sold since its release in 2012 and spawning a cult franchise of cooperative zombie slaying all over the world. In Zombicide, zombies are controlled by the game, while players take on the role of survivors who must co-operate in order to survive and thrive in a world overrun by the bloodthirsty undead. Find guns and gear to take the fight to the zombies through 25 different scenarios linked by a branching story as you pick your way through an infested city.

Zombicide (2nd Edition) features refined and streamlined rules, including updates to target priority for ranged attacks, interactions with doors, and vehicle mechanisms. A new dark zone feature, a zone that hides zombies from survivor’s attacks, has been added as well. Zombicide (2nd Edition) will include new components and miniatures as well, including plastic dashboards and new child survivors. Returning players will be able to use their existing collection from previous Zombicide releases as well.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.46

Zombicide

Zombicide

Zombicide

Zombicide is a collaborative game in which players take the role of a survivor – each with unique abilities – and harness both their skills and the power of teamwork against the hordes of unthinking undead! Zombies are predictable, stupid but deadly, controlled by simple rules and a deck of cards. Unfortunately for you, there are a LOT more zombies than you have bullets.

Find weapons, kill zombies. The more zombies you kill, the more skilled you get; the more skilled you get, the more zombies appear. The only way out is zombicide!

Play ten scenarios on different maps made from the included modular map tiles, download new scenarios from the designer’s website, or create your own!

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Campaign
  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Managment
  • Player Elimination

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.54