Tag: Hand Management

Hand Management is a game mechanic in which players are rewarded for playing cards in a specific order. This mechanic often encourages players to hold cards for later turns.

Ivion: The Hound and the Hare

| T3d-1978
Ivion: The Hound and the Hare

Ivion: The Hound and the Hare

Ivion combines the intensity of a fighting game with the strategy of deck-building card games to create an experience unlike any other. In Ivion, your deck IS your character, and you build it from a variety of classes and specializations. Each character type has numerous cards from which to choose, along with wildly different playstyles. Mix and match them to create your own, unique character!

Upon the field of battle, crush your opponent with various strikes, stabs, slashes, spells, and other mayhem at your disposal. Be careful, though, as they have numerous ways to block, dodge, parry, fizzle, and disrupt your assault. Only one can be the victor, and the battle will be bloody!

In Ivion: The Hound and The Hare, you can battle as the wise and faithful Saint or the deceptive and cunning Illusionist. They can battle one another or any other character in the Ivion line of games.

Game Mechanics:

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

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.67

Inis

| T3d-1978
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

Imperium The Contention Deluxe Edition

| T3d-1978
Imperium The Contention Deluxe Edition

Imperium The Contention Deluxe Edition

Only one may wield the Void Scepter.

Seize the Void Scepter in Imperium: The Contention, the 4X card game. Choose one of six factions, each with a preconstructed deck, or build your own from a complete collection of over 300 cards! Expand your empire, deploy your fleet, move your ships into position, and battle your enemies. Seizing the Imperial Capital may lead you to victory… or ruin.

There are many paths to ruling the Imperium. Your favor represents your Imperial influence. Gain 8 favor, or claim 8 worlds, and the Void Scepter will be yours! Gain the Imperium’s favor by destroying enemy worlds or through political intrigue. Employ politicians, spies, megacorps, and mercs. Take the Imperial Capital by force, and use the seat of power to convince the Imperium only you are worthy.

Now is the time! Lead your civilization to new heights and claim the Void Scepter!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Civilization
  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.82

Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North

| T3d-1978
Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North

Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North

 

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Civilization
  • Hand Management
  • Tableau Building
  • Take That
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.84

Imperial Settlers

| T3d-1978
Imperial Settlers

Imperial Settlers

Settlers from four major powers of the world have discovered new lands, with new resources and opportunities. Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians and Japanese all at once move there to expand the boundaries of their empires. They build new buildings to strengthen their economy, they found mines and fields to gather resources, and they build barracks and training grounds to train soldiers. Soon after they discover that this land is far too small for everybody, then the war begins…

Imperial Settlers is a card game that lets players lead one of the four factions and build empires by placing buildings, then sending workers to those buildings to acquire new resources and abilities. The game is played over five rounds during which players take various actions in order to explore new lands, build buildings, trade resources, conquer enemies, and thus score victory points.

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Civilization
  • Closed Drafting
  • Hand Managment
  • Open Drafting
  • Tableau Building
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.77

Ignite: Kickstarter Collection

| T3d-1978
Ignite: Kickstarter Collection

Ignite: Kickstarter Collection

Many ages have past since the use of magic broke the world. Since then, the races of Oshos have lived in an unstable peace. Yet as memory slips to myth, and myth slips to legend, the “Great Races” once more begin meddling with magic, and the tainted power corrupts the land yet again. Lava swallows up whole villages and a terrible famine spreads. “Lower” nomadic races begin rising up, pillaging and raiding nearby towns for food. Peace is no longer an option. War is here, and only one race can reign supreme.

Ignite is a dueling deckbuilder where players battle miniatures across a variably built board. Each player has 3 units of their chosen race, each with its own asymmetrical race ability.

Each unit has 3 hit points. When your unit takes a point of damage you insert a dagger into the back of the miniature. The player who inflicts the last point of damage keeps the unit as a trophy. Whoever has the most trophies at the end of the game wins.

Each card in your hand can be played for its honor value (allowing you to buy more cards) or for its battle effect (affecting your units and cards). Knowing when to battle and when to invest is incredibly important.

In the middle of the board is the bazaar. While one of your units is here it may sell a card. Selling a card allows you to trash it (removing it permanently from your deck) and gain honor equal to its original cost, allowing you to buy more powerful cards. The bazaar is powerful, but also dangerous as your opponents are often right there next to you.

There are 4 special types of terrain in Ignite and you’ll have to choose how best to use them.

  • Village: Allows you to purchase a card, but a successful attack against you will do additional damage.
  • Forest: Protects you from ranged attacks, but fire attacks will spread through the entire forest.
  • Water: Necessary for certain powerful spells, but freeze and lightning attacks will spread through the entire body of water.
  • Lava: If you are pushed into lava, your unit immediately dies.

In Ignite there is a strength and weakness to everything. Invest too early in powerful magic attacks, and you won’t have any honor to purchase more valuable equipment when you need it. Invest in bows and arrows to gain a range advantage over the enemy, but remember, you can only shoot arrows if you also have a bow in your hand. Prefer getting up close and personal with melee weapons? Just be sure you have mounts available to bring your unit within striking distance.

Ignite comes from our love of deckbuilders. The main complaints against deckbuilders are that they (1) have minimal player interaction, playing a lot like solitaire (2) have an anti-climactic end-game (3) often feel the same after a few games. We built a deckbuilder where negotiation, alliance-making, and begging were legitimate strategies. Where the end of the game is the most exciting part. And where you will never play the same game twice (between the asymmetric race abilities, variably built board, and incredibly varied weapons, items, and spells).

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Deck Building
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Negotiation
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 8 Players
  • 40 – 160 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.00

Ierusalem: Anno Domini

| T3d-1978
Ierusalem: Anno Domini

Ierusalem: Anno Domini

Jerusalem, spring 33 AD: A crowd gathers at the city gates to welcome Jesus of Nazareth as he prepares to celebrate the Passover seder with his apostles and followers. With a revolutionary message, he has garnered supporters everywhere but also looks of suspicion among religious authorities. The Last Supper will soon be celebrated, and the fate of one of the most influential characters in human history will be sealed.

In Ierusalem: Anno Domini, we represent one of the communities of followers of Jesus of Nazareth who, coming to Jerusalem from nearby towns and villages, want to approach the place of the Last Supper and position ourselves as close as possible to the seats of Jesus and his apostles. The closer we are, the more points we earn at game’s end. We also score for offering tokens and parable tiles we’ve accumulated.

Different locations are shown on the board: the market, the desert, the mountain, the lake, and the temple. After sending our followers to one of these locations, we obtain stones, bread, and fish, as well as denarii or cards that allow us to do more than one action. Among these actions, players can choose between listening to a parable, going to the table, changing seats, or doing a favor, among other things. All this happens while the patience of the Sanhedrin runs out. When this happens, as symbolized by a tile moving in a marker, the endgame is triggered.

However, the main element of the game is the cards. Each card has a symbol corresponding to one of five key locations in the game. As we play them, we form combinations that allow us to bring the apostles to the table of the Last Supper. The optimal placement of our followers around Jesus and the apostles will also be done through the management of letters, as well as various resources at our disposal.

Behind a very immersive theme, Ierusalem: Anno Domini will not disappoint lovers of good challenges. Players have a wide range of possibilities at their fingertips and multiple ways to earn points. Preparing the best strategies to get the most out of your followers will be one of the keys to victory. Devout gamers don’t need to look further: Here is your game!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Gird Coverage
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Set Collection
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.10

Heroes Wanted: The Stuff of Legend

| T3d-1978
Heroes Wanted: The Stuff of Legend

Heroes Wanted: The Stuff of Legend

THIS JUST IN…

A dark cloud looms over Zeta City, one that speaks with a forked tongue and tells of ill omens and other generally bad stuff. In the wake of the retirement of Fastodon, the World’s Fastest Mammoth, all manner of foul evil has emerged to wreak havoc. From sinister deities once relegated to myth to arcane menaces who have hovered at the fringes of our mundane world, all have been waiting for just such an opportunity and now return with visions of conquest. After all, one less Champion means one less obstacle in the way of their nefarious machinations. But hope is not lost! As we have learned in recent news, ambitious heroes eager to prove their mettle are patrolling the rooftops and alleys. Among them are practitioners of the mystic arts and noble gods from great pantheons, each able to face the rising tide of villainy for the sake of all that is good and right. A day of decisive battle is descending upon Zeta City, and from it shall emerge…

The Stuff of Legend!

Heroes Wanted: The Stuff of Legend expands the Heroes Wanted universe as Supernatural and Mythic heroes join the fray, while mechanisms such as feats and curses introduce all-new tactics and the price for using them. All that along with even more heroes, villains, Quirks, and two new scenarios will add even more variety and complexity to your Heroes Wanted experience. So, are you ready to step up and be more than just a hero and become a legend?

RIGHT WRONGS. UPHOLD JUSTICE. BECOME A LEGEND.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Pick-Up and Deliver

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.00

Heroes Wanted

| T3d-1978
Heroes Wanted

Heroes Wanted

As soon as you saw the ad in today’s Tribune, the certainty flooded over you. At last, this is your chance, the reason for all your training! All that work waterproofing your utility belt and practicing your one-liners will finally pay off. You call into work sick, feed the cat, and turn on your police scanner, waiting nervously for the first call–or at least, the call that’s close enough for you to get there first. You’ll stop at nothing to join your heroes, The Champions of Zeta City, and woe to any wannabe crime fighters who stand in your way!

Heroes Wanted is a tactical board game for 1-5 superhero hopefuls, attempting to fulfill their dreams of becoming a member of Zeta City’s exclusive crime fighting super team: The Champions of Zeta City. Each time you play, you will create a unique superhero comprised of two hero cards. You will then choose a scenario and face a different villain (or villains), but the objective remains the same: gain as much fame as possible by KO’ing minions, completing headlines, and thwarting the villain. At the end of each game, the superhero with the most fame is the winner and joins the prestigious ranks of The Champions of Zeta City.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Pick-Up and Deliver

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.61

Hallertau

| T3d-1978
Hallertau

Hallertau

The Hallertau in Bavaria, Germany is the largest continuous hop-producing region in the world. It prides itself upon being the first in Middle Europe to cultivate hops. This game is set around 1850, when the Hallertau became what it is today.

As chief of a small Bavarian village in the Hallertau, your objective is to increase its wealth and prestige in the eyes of the world.

To achieve this, you will need to supply the local crafts folk with goods from agriculture and sheep breeding.

Place your workers, play your cards right, and let your village shine!

  • Progressive Worker Placement: Action spaces can be used multiple times, becoming more expensive in the process.
  • Two-Field Rotation System: Fields lose their potency over time so fallowing fields allows them to become increasingly effective.
  • Card Combos: You can play cards at any time; this timing—and the combination of cards—can be very powerful.
  • Sheep with an Expiration Date: Breeding sheep early comes with a lot of perks, but, eventually, sheep will die of natural causes.

Game Mechanics:

  • Economic
  • Hand Management
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 50 – 140 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.30