Tag: Deck Building

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

Roll for the Galaxy

Roll for the Galaxy

Roll for the Galaxy

Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires for 2–5 players. Your dice represent your populace, whom you direct to develop new technologies, settle worlds, and ship goods. The player who best manages his workers and builds the most prosperous empire wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Civilization
  • Deck Building
  • Economic
  • Tableau Building
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.78

Resurgence

Resurgence

Resurgence

No one really knows what triggered the One Day War between the superpowers, but a single day is all it took to end the Before World. After the governments collapsed, leaderless groups of survivors huddled in the ruins of once great cities. The climate is brutal, resources are scarce, and mutant tribes are roaming the wastelands. The world desperately needs a hero to rally the people and lift them out of the ruins.

Resurgence is a competitive, Euro-style board game for up to four players. It offers a unique blend of bag-building, hidden worker placement, and resource management that creates a one-of-a-kind gameplay experience. At the start of the game, each player selects a hero in charge of a small band of survivors and a few supplies. Each round of the game, players need to secretly plan where they are going to send their workers in order to accomplish various tasks and exert their influence, whether they’re completing missions around the ruins of Moscow; gathering fuel, food and spare parts; rescuing survivors; learning new skills; or building their base.

Resurgence offers different routes to achieve victory, and in-game events and end-game directive cards provide replayability and variability from game to game. At the end of the game, the hero whose faction is victorious becomes the new leader and unites all the survivor groups in the sanctuary of Hope Island.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.80

Quartermaster General 1914

Quartermaster General 1914

Quartermaster General 1914

Quartermaster General: 1914 is the next title in the critically acclaimed Quartermaster General series by Ian Brody and creates a narrative of the First World War in Europe, reflecting the military, technological, and social changes that occurred over the following four years.

In Quartermaster General: 1914, each card has two different uses: one when played, and another when prepared. On your turn, you have the opportunity to both play and prepare a card. You can also spend cards to draft more troops, or use cards to attrition your opponents. However, your deck represents your overall resources, so moving too quickly through your deck early might result in your unsupported armies being swept away in the final rounds of the game. This is worth it if you can capture Berlin or Paris in 1915, but if your gambit fails, you may have a tough road ahead.

The game ends after 17 rounds of play, or earlier if one side has a commanding lead.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Campaign
  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Team Based
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.63

Puzzle Strike 2

Puzzle Strike 2

Puzzle Strike 2

The cast of Fantasy Strike has acquired magical gems which give power, but at what price? Those who hold too many gems are cursed forever. What’s worse, the ultimate gem to rule them all has been forged into a single, mighty scepter. Whoever holds it wields even more power at an even greater price.

In Puzzle Strike 2, players build their deck as they play, giving them the tools to arrange and manipulate their set of colored gems. These gems can be “crashed” (destroyed) in order to build up power for four different super moves as well as to flood other players with more gems. As this process unfolds, gems will fly back and forth between players as they desperately try to remain under the threshold of corruption. Holding the scepter “helps,” but can also doom the greedy.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 20 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.75

Power Rangers Deck Building Game: Zeo

Power Rangers Deck Building Game: Zeo

Power Rangers Deck Building Game: Zeo

Power Rangers: Deck-Building Game – Zeo: Stronger Than Before is a competitive deck-building game that pits 1-2 heroes against 1-2 villains. In this asymmetrical game, the hero and villain sides play a bit differently, but in the end, they both have the same goal: Crush your enemies! This is playable as a standalone game or can be combined with the Power Rangers Deck-Building Game Core Set for even more possibilities!

During your turn, you play cards to generate shards and energy. You use shards to buy cards or battle adversaries and gain rewards. You can attack the opposing team using attack cards, and when you are attacked, you can defend with block cards. At the end of your turn, you perform any “end of turn” actions, discard cards played that turn, take one damage for each adversary in “The Grid”, then refill your hand to five cards.

The first side to reduce their opponent’s hit points to 0 wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 70 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.71

Power Rangers Deck Building Game

Power Rangers Deck Building Game

Power Rangers Deck Building Game

It’s Morphin’ Time! Or is it time to conquer the world instead?

Power Rangers: Deck-Building Game is a competitive deck-building game that pits 1-2 heroes against 1-2 villains. In this asymmetrical game, the hero and villain sides play a bit differently, but in the end, they both have the same goal: Crush your enemies!

During your turn, you play cards to generate shards and energy. You use shards to buy cards or battle adversaries and gain rewards. You can attack the opposing team using attack cards, and when you are attacked, you can defend with block cards. At the end of your turn, you perform any “end of turn” actions, discard cards played that turn, take one damage for each adversary in “The Grid”, then refill your hand to five cards.

The first side to reduce their opponent’s hit points to 0 wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 70 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.71

Posthuman Saga

Posthuman Saga

Posthuman Saga

You are a survivor in a near-future Europe that has collapsed under the weight of its own political errors, in the wake of a bloody class-war fueled by genetic modifications. In Posthuman, you journeyed to the last bastion of organized human society in the area: The Fortress. A year down the line, you have become an active part of that society and honed the skills you need to fulfill your role there, but the mutants are gaining ground…

Posthuman Saga is a standalone survival game in the Posthuman universe. You play a seasoned member of the Fortress’ militia, sent out beyond the defensive perimeter to explore and hopefully reconnect with outposts the Fortress has lost touch with, while searching for scavengable sites along the way. You have to forge across a crumbled land where resources are spare and mutants roam the ruined mansions and forests alike.

Like the initial Posthuman, this is a sandbox-style survival journey, but the game system in Posthuman Saga differs from that of the first game in the series. Players win by completing various objectives that suit different characters and playing styles. It has an emphasis on tactical choices on two levels: the journey expressed through an innovative modular tile map puzzle and the individual story and combat encounters. The latter are fast, card-based affairs involving tough choices with future consequences. Posthuman Saga boasts over one hundred, finely crafted story scenes with a simple, push-your-luck mechanism that supplements the emergent narrative afforded by the game. Mutation is a way of life in the Posthuman world, and it can have its advantages, but it can easily get out of control…

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction/Bidding
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Pattern Building
  • Push Your Luck
  • Role Playing
  • Storytelling
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.10

Plunderbund

Plunderbund

Plunderbund

You lead a guild striving to dominate the market for illegal goods in the Sprawl, a city rich in history and lawlessness. Recruit and task an army of agents, racketeers, spymasters and others to build your reputation by selling your goods and causing chaos for your rivals. Through a light deck building mechanism you attempt to create the strongest network of agents, racketeers and the most desirable black market goods. Winners and losers are determined by a fun, yet sophisticated, supply & demand mechanic.

Plunderbund combines the innate corruption and profiteering of prohibition Chicago and the lawlessness of the fantasy setting, the Sprawl.

It’s an era before cell phones, e-commerce and customer relationship management tools, an honest guild had to get business the hard way: thieving, sorcery, money laundering and bribery.

Plunderbund is your chance to lead your guild to fame, fortune or disaster as you navigate the whims of the notoriously picky Sprawl consumer and deal with underhanded tactics from rivals determined to steal your business.

Each player will lead a guild with the power to decide where your finite resources are invested. A light deck building mechanic enables you to acquire and improve your black market goods, add agents, add racketeers, disrupt your rivals’ operations or just wreak havoc. Cards are added to your deck through a simple snake draft from a limited selection of over twenty different recruits.

Your guild gains reputation (VPs) as a sophisticated yet simply implemented supply and demand mechanic helps you sell your black market goods to merchants. At the end of the game you will be compared to your rivals on the strength of your network of agents, number of racketeers and black market goods qualities. All this growth comes at a cost, you have to take favors as you try to build your operation without the benefit of any gold in your coffers. As they say “paybacks are hell”. Fail to payback your favors and you pay the price as you see your reputation diminished at the end of the game.

Over the course of twelve months, divided into four seasons, you will build your reputation on the backs of your guild recruits and their abilities.

All seasons have three months. Each month players:
1) Place demand coins
2) Draw cards and payback favors
3) Determine cards to put into play and pay for them
4) Calculate and receive goods

After three months have been played:
1) Compete for demand
2) Recruit guild member using a limited snake draft
3) Start the next season

After the end of the fourth season, the game is over and final reputation is tallied.

There are two key concepts in Plunderbund. The first is the supply and demand mechanism. The game starts with the placement of demand at open merchants. The demand generated is correlated with the products being offered by the guilds. In the early game, demand is mostly based on the appeal and ingenuity of the products. Later, as with any market, quality and price become more important. Each demand coin expresses a customer’s preference. Some customers want the best appeal, some want the best ingenuity, some want the best quality, and some want the lowest price.

Your goal is to win more demand coins than other guilds by having the best network of rogues and the best product. The rogues are your sales team. The more rogues you have in place, the more deals you can win and the more your guild reputation soars. Over the course of the game you will build out your ability to compete for demand.

To win a merchant’s demand coin, you must have an “Agent” on that merchant. If you have the only agent on a merchant, you are nearly certain to win. If another guild’s agent is on that merchant, then you must compete. The winner is the player who is leading in that product attribute. So, if the customer has expressed an interest in high quality then the guild with the best quality has a chance to win.

You can only win a demand coin if you can supply a good. Goods are earned (stolen, fenced, you name it) at the end of each month. The number of goods you generate each month is based on your investment in your supply chain (which lowers price) and quality. For each competition you win, you decide whether you want to take that specific demand coin or pass. If you pass, the demand coin either stays on the board or is won by a rival guild. Suffice it to say, you need goods to have a chance win Plunderbund.

The second key concept is the favor economy. Instead of paying money to get things done for your guild, you take favors. These favors are used to put your guild members to work (each card has a favor cost ranging from zero to four). These favor cards go in your discard pile. Fortunately, paying back a favor is easy. As soon as you draw the favor card into your play area, from your draw pile, it is immediately considered payed back. In this way, favors are an opportunity cost. If you end the game with favors that are not paid back, they are deducted from your end of game score. Favor management is an essential part of Plunderbund.

If you understand these key concepts, then you are ready to build your guild reputation and win Plunderbund.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Deck Building
  • Economic
  • Open Drafting
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 150 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.83

The Pirate Republic

The Pirate Republic

The Pirate Republic

The year is 1713. A rare peace comes to the Spanish Main, but peace has its consequences. With thousands of demobilized sailors, piracy explodes in the West Indies where the port city of Nassau serves as its headquarters. This is the sunrise of the Golden Age of Piracy. It’s a time of conquest and riches, indomitable spirit and fat treasure galleons, pirate utopias and watery graves.

The Pirate Republic is a modular fully cooperative to fully competitive thematic deck building, open-world adventure game for 1–5 players. You are an infamous pirate captain working towards completing mission objectives over three rounds of play. Your mission: Forge the ultimate empire, The Pirate Republic.

– Players can cooperatively work to complete Flying Gang mission objectives to forge the ultimate democracy, the Pirate Republic
– Players who enjoy Hidden Traitor mechanics can add optional Captain Missions that make some captains wily saboteurs who are secretly attempting to sink other players’ ambitions
– Competitive mode creates a race to amass the most Swagger (Victory Points) through daring feats and plunder on the high seas

Devastate merchant shipping lanes, commandeer new ships, raid and conquer heavily defended towns, and plunder New World riches one seaport at a time. Attack, strike fear, and duel your way across the high seas with custom action dice and a deck of unique captain cards. Pillage treasure fleets, squash mutinies, sack forts, recruit crew, duel pirate hunters, and seal your notoriety among the greatest captains. Along the way, battle and bring an end to Spanish, British, Dutch, French, and Danish imperial powers infesting your waters. The Pirate Republic brings the piracy story to life in this swashbuckling blend of adventure and strategy. Even across the centuries, it reminds that if denied the chance to live in freedom, best to go ahead and make your own.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Movement
  • Cooperative
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Tableau Building
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.93

Pathfinder: Adventure Card Game

Pathfinder: Adventure Card Game

Pathfinder: Adventure Card Game

Your Adventure Begins Here!

Belhaim’s tower has just collapsed, its wizard is missing, and local kobolds are whispering the name of a long dead draconic nemesis. And that’s just your first day in town…

This complete cooperative strategy game pits 1 to 4 players against monsters, perils, and traps as you become the heroes of Belhaim. As the town’s new champions, an unending world of adventure awaits. Choose your character’s class; build a deck of equipment, magic, and allies; and explore lethal locations as you journey through an exciting fantasy tale. As your adventures continue, your characters add remarkable gear and breathtaking magic to their decks as they gain incredible powers, all of which they’ll need to challenge more and more powerful threats.

This set includes the storybook and cards for The Dragon’s Demand Adventure Path as well as a modular core for infinite scenarios that allows you to control the difficulty and speed of play.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Move Through Deck
  • Role Playing

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.72