Tag: Deck Building

Deck Building is a mechanic where players build a deck of resources that is randomly drawn and used for future turns.

Video Vortex

| OTSG Staff
Video Vortex

Video Vortex

Video Vortex is a competitive deck-building game for 2-4 players set in a radioactive future Earth inhabited by video-obsessed mutants. Each genre-worshiping character must strategically employ their individual mutant powers while battling opponents and navigating game effects in an attempt to seize control of the wasteland.

On their respective turns, players will spend energy to play special cards, power their deck with rentals from the local video store, and eject chosen cards from play to weaken foes. Runtime, the measure of mutant health, is limited and unique to each character. By advancing an opponent’s runtime beyond their limit through Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi attacks, mutants collect “Be Kind” tokens as trophies representative of their conquest. Once three distinctive trophies have been collected, victory is declared by the reigning champion.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.33

Untamed

| OTSG Staff
Untamed

Untamed

This standalone edition increases player factions to 12 allowing up to 4 players to play but includes no rules changes from the original edition.

The Deluxe Edition includes everything from the Spirit Strike Edition, however all your cards are foil (only available in this edition). The box also includes card sleeves, a metal first player token, a collector’s artbook, a box sleeve, and a special foil-stamped box!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.88

Undaunted: Reinforcements

| OTSG Staff
Undaunted: Reinforcements

Undaunted: Reinforcements

In North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group is a thorn in the sides of the Italian forces, disrupting vital lines of communication and striking at strategic targets ranging far and wide. In Normandy, U.S. forces brace against German counterattack, determined to maintain their foothold in the region. The fighting is intense, and the outcome hangs on a knife’s edge. With everything at stake, you desperately need reinforcements!

Undaunted: Reinforcements is a modular expansion that introduces a range of new rules, scenarios, and units. Unleash the might of the German and American tanks and see how your new squad options fare against them in Undaunted: Normandy, or make use of mines, assault aircraft, and other new units as you attempt to outfox your opponent in Undaunted: North Africa. Whether you have one Undaunted game or the other, with Reinforcements you can play for the first time in a four-player mode, or test your mettle in a solo mode by Dávid Turczi and David Digby.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Open Drafting
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 1- 4 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.33

Undaunted: North Africa

| OTSG Staff
Undaunted: North Africa

Undaunted: North Africa

The Undaunted series continues with this two-player deck-building game of tactical combat, pitting the raiders of Britain’s Long Range Desert Group against Italian forces in the North African Theater of World War II.

The North African campaign has begun. Take control of the British Army’s Long Range Desert Group and operate behind enemy lines or command the formidable Italian forces opposing them. In “Undaunted: North Africa”, a sequel to Undaunted: Normandy, players once again lead their sides through a varied series of missions. As casualties mount, wounded soldiers leave the players’ decks, forcing them to adapt in the face of changing tactical circumstances. Use your cards to strengthen your forces, deploy vehicles to advance rapidly across the battlefield, and seize the initiative as you determine the outcome of the North African Theater.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Open Drafting

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.28

Undaunted: Normandy

| OTSG Staff
Undaunted: Normandy

Undaunted: Normandy

June, 1944: Through the D-Day landings, the Allies have seized a foothold on the beaches of Normandy. Now you must lead your troops forward as you push deeper into France and drive the German forces back. You will face intense resistance, machine gun fire, and mortar bombardment, but a great commander can turn the situation to their advantage!

Undaunted: Normandy is a deck-building game that places you and your opponent in command of American or German forces, fighting through a series of missions critical to the outcome of World War II. Use your cards to seize the initiative, bolster your forces, or control your troops on the battlefield. Strong leadership can turn the tide of battle in your favor, but reckless decisions could prove catastrophic as every casualty you take removes a card from your deck. Take charge amidst the chaos of battle, hold fast in the face of opposition, and remain undaunted.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.55

Tyrants of the Underdark

| OTSG Staff
Tyrants of the Underdark

Tyrants of the Underdark

Tyrants of the Underdark is a territory control game with a deck-building element.

Each player leads a house of Drow in a section of the Underdark below the Sword Coast. The Drow house is represented by a deck of cards, with each card being a minion in that player’s deck. Each minion belongs to one of five aspects of Drow society, and those aspects correspond to different strategies in the game, e.g., malice minions excel at assassinating opponents’ troops, while ambition minions are best at recruiting additional minions and promoting minions to your “inner circle”, which is a special zone that increases their value at the end of the game.

When you set up the game, you create an 80-card deck by shuffling two 40-card half-decks together, with the half-decks being Drow, Dragons, Demons, and Elementals.

A central marketplace has new minions that can be recruited through influence, one of two resources in the game; purchased cards are placed in your discard pile, then shuffled together with other cards in your deck when needed. The other resource is power, which allows you to place troops on the game board, expand your forces across the map of the Underdark, manipulate happenings in the city, and assassinate enemy troops.

Players gain points by controlling sites, recruiting valuable minions, promoting minions to your inner circle, and assassinating troops, and whoever ends the game with the most points wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Deck Building

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.55

Transformers: A Rising Darkness

| OTSG Staff
Transformers: A Rising Darkness

Transformers: A Rising Darkness

Become a mighty Decepticon and race to defeat the Autobots in this standalone expansion to the Transformers Deck-Building Game!

This expansion is compatible with the core game and will offer 2 primary modes of play: Competitive mode (the Decepticons squabble amongst each other while they face the Autobots) and Cooperative mode (the Decepticons join their forces to defeat the Autobots). This expansion also introduces rules for Team vs Team games, featuring Decepticon players against Autobot players when combined with the Core Set.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Grid Movement
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Trains

| OTSG Staff
Trains

Trains

In the 19th century, shortly after the industrial revolution, railways quickly spread over the world. Japan, importing Western culture and eager to become one of the Grand Nations, saw the birth of many private railway companies and entered the Golden Age of railways. Eventually, as a result of the actions of powerful people and capitalists, many of these smaller companies gradually merged into larger ones.

In Trains, the players are such capitalists, managing private railways companies and striving to become bigger and better than the competition. The game takes place during the 19th and 20th century in the 2012 OKAZU Brand edition, whereas the 2013 AEG/Pegasus edition is set in modern times, with bullet trains, freight trains and more. You will start with a small set of cards, but by building a more effective deck throughout the game, you will be able to place stations and lay rails over the maps of Osaka, Tokyo or other locations. The trick is to purchase the cards you want to use, then use them as effectively as possible. Gain enough points from your railways and you will ultimately manage the most powerful railroads in modern Japan!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Network Building

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.38

Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures

| OTSG Staff
Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures

Toy Story: Obstacles & Adventures

Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventures reimagines players as the iconic toys from the film — Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep and Rex — who need to work together to overcome hazards and bring about a happily-ever-after ending.

Similar to Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventures features six boxes of cards, each representing a different movie from the treasured property. As each box is unlocked, the content from the associated movie or short is introduced to the game, adding beloved characters like Hamm and Mr. Pricklepants to the mix, as well as obstacles and antagonists to battle, including Sid, Prospector Pete, and many more.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Deck Building

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.83

Super Fantasy Brawl

| OTSG Staff
Super Fantasy Brawl

Super Fantasy Brawl

In the land of Fabulosa, powerful magics have rendered war obsolete. With nothing else to compete for, the bored populace has turned to the Super Brawl for entertainment. These same powerful magics are now used to reach back into the timelines to pluck out the finest warriors from every civilization in order to compete against each other in the greatest entertainment spectacle ever staged.

Super Fantasy Brawl is a fun, fast-paced competitive miniatures board game. Players select a team of three champions and combine their unique action cards to create a synergistic action deck. The game is faction-free, so players have their choice of any combination of champions they wish. Each turn, the players use their hand of action cards to maneuver, attack, displace enemies, and claim objectives to score victory points.

The objectives in Super Fantasy Brawl are only scored at the beginning of a players’ turn, ensuring that you always get a chance to disrupt your enemy’s plans and position your champions to score the objective for yourself. This tactical to-and-fro continues until one player reaches the victory point threshold, declaring themselves the winner and advancing towards victory in the Super Brawl tournament!

Super Fantasy Brawl will also offer a 2v2 mode for 4 players to clash in an all-out melee mashup!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Deck Building
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Team Based
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.28