Tag: Deck Building

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

Tyrants of the Underdark

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

Summoner Wars

| T3d-1978
Summoner Wars

Summoner Wars

Summoner Wars puts you in the role of a powerful summoner in control of a unique army, dedicated to taking control of the war-torn planet of Itharia. Display your tactical prowess by summoning units to your gates, outmaneuvering your opponent, and cutting down the enemy summoner to claim victory. Be wary though! The enemy will take advantage of every opportunity they find to destroy you and your army.

Countless units, a wide variety of spells and abilities, and the option to build your own decks, all make for a game sure to entertain, play after play.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 40 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.48

Star Wars Deck Building Game

| T3d-1978
Star Wars Deck Building Game

Star Wars Deck Building Game

The Rebel Alliance fights valiantly against the tyranny of the Galactic Empire. Each new victory brings the Rebels hope, and each heroic sacrifice strengthens their resolve. Still, the Empire’s resources are vast, and the firepower of its Empire Navy is unmatched. With neither side willing to accept defeat, their war rages across the galaxy…

In Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game, a head-to-head game for two players, the galaxy-spanning war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance comes alive on your tabletop. In this easy-to-learn game, you and your opponent each choose a side, playing as either the Empire or the Rebels, and as the game progresses you both strengthen the power of your starting decks and work to destroy each other’s bases. The first player to destroy three of their opponent’s bases wins.

In more detail, each player starts with a unique ten-card deck, with seven of those cards providing only resources to acquire new cards. Six cards from a galaxy deck are always on display, with Rebel cards facing the Rebel player, Empire cards the Empire player, and neutral cards turned sideways. You can spend resources to acquire cards in the galaxy row that don’t belong to the opponent, and you can use attack power to take out cards that do belong to them, gaining a reward in the process.

Each player starts with a base that lacks abilities (Dantooine for the Rebels and Lothal for the Empire), but when that base is destroyed, you get to choose a replacement from your base deck, with each base having a special ability. Choose wisely to counter your opponent’s plans! In addition to having special abilities, capital ships absorb damage meant for your base.

Players also fight for control of a Force track to gain additional resources or make use of “If the Force is with you…” abilities on their cards.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Open Drafting
  • Tug of War

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.01

Star Trek Deck Building Game

| T3d-1978
Star Trek Deck Building Game

Star Trek Deck Building Game

In Star Trek [Deck Building Game]: The Next Generation, players take on the role of Captain of a salvaged Starship. They will search for new allies such as Picard, Data, and other famous Characters. They will Explore space to complete Missions, Encounter Events, and meet Starships that could be friend or foe.

The game features three separate scenarios of play:

  • Explorations [Free For All]: Explore Space to complete Missions, Encounter Events, and Engage Starships.
  • Borg Invasion [Cooperative]: The Borg have come to Assimilate you and everything you know. Band together with your fellow Captains to defend your world and fend off the Borg.
  • Klingon Civil War [Teams]: A rift in power has been created in the Klingon Empire. Form an alliance, gather support, and defeat your enemies to obtain control of the Empire.

The goal of each game varies. While some simply require a point threshold, another game’s goal might be to simply survive.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Deck Building
  • Open Drafting
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.48

Star Realms

| T3d-1978
Star Realms

Star Realms

Star Realms is a fast-paced deck-building card game of outer space combat. It combines the fun of a deck-building game with the interactivity of Trading Card Game style combat. As you play, you make use of Trade to acquire new Ships and Bases from the cards being turned face up in the Trade Row from the Trade Deck. You use the Ships and Bases you acquire to either generate more Trade or to generate Combat to attack your opponent and their bases. When you reduce your opponent’s score (called Authority) to zero, you win!

Multiple decks of Star Realms and/or Star Realms: Colony Wars, one for every two people, allows up to six players to play a variety of scenarios. Also, in the newest version, there are new ways to play that allow up to 6 players with modes like Boss, Hunter, and Free for All. You can also add Star Realms Colony Wars to the deck to make it 4 players. This is the first game of the Star Realms series. When you play Star Realms, you will be able to acquire and use Ships and Bases of any and all of the four factions. Many cards have powerful Ally abilities that reward you for using Ships and Bases of the same faction together, however.

As you acquire cards using Trade, you put them into your discard pile, to be later shuffled into your personal deck. When you draw Ships, you do what they say and they get placed into your discard pile at the end of your turn. When you draw a Base, you play it face up in front of you and may use its abilities once every turn. In addition to Combat being the way you reduce your opponent’s Authority to zero and win the game, it’s also useful for destroying your opponent’s Bases. Some Bases are designated as Outposts. Your opponent’s Outposts must be destroyed before you can use Combat to attack your opponent’s Authority directly.

Star Realms is easy to learn, especially if you’re familiar with deck-building games, but it’s a game that takes time to master. Each time you play, the game is filled with various strategic decision points. Should I take the best card for me or the best card for my opponent? Should I focus on taking cards of a particular faction or on taking the best card available? Should I be focusing on acquiring more Trade or more Combat? Should I attack my opponent’s Base or their Authority? These are just some of the many choices you’ll be faced with. New players needn’t agonize over these choices just to play, but as they become more advanced players, they will find this depth of strategy leads to great replayability.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Sorcerer City

| T3d-1978
Sorcerer City

Sorcerer City

Every year, Sorcerer City gets built and rebuilt in magically new ways, with blocks moving and rotating in crazy directions. You and your fellow players are rival wizard architects in charge of building the same city district over five years, expanding it and rebuilding it to gain the most money, influence, magic, and victory. Unfortunately, Sorcerer City has a bit of a monster problem, so you must work hard to mitigate the effects of marauding creatures who attack your city district. The wizard architect with the most victory points at the end of five years will be crowned the new head wizard of all of Sorcerer City.

Every player starts Sorcerer City with a set of tiles, and in each round you have two minutes to build your city as optimally as you can. In between rounds you buy new tiles to add to your pool and gain other rewards. Beware though, monsters are lurking and will also be added to your deck, no doubt adding some chaos to your plans in the following rounds. After five rounds, add up all the victory points to see who is the master sorcerer builder!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.24