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.

Forbidden Desert

| T3d-1978
Forbidden Desert

Forbidden Desert

Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You’ll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the forbidden desert!

In Forbidden Desert, a thematic sequel to Forbidden Island, players take on the roles of brave adventurers who must throw caution to the wind and survive both blistering heat and blustering sand in order to recover a legendary flying machine buried under an ancient desert city. While featuring cooperative gameplay similar to Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert is a fresh, new game based around an innovative set of mechanisms such as an ever-shifting board, individual resource management, and a unique method for locating the flying machine parts.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Cooperative
  • Grid Movement
  • Hand Management
  • Pick-Up and Deliver
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.05

Football Highlights 2052

| T3d-1978
Football Highlights 2052

Football Highlights 2052

Welcome to Football Highlights 2052!

Football Highlights 2052 is like watching TV highlights of early 21st-century football games, with the game play being full of theme but with no time-outs or commercial breaks and all without bogging down in a play-by-play football simulation.

In this quick and interactive game, two players manage their teams, combining both strategy (building your team) and tactics (playing the game) without any downtime. During each half, players alternate playing ten cards to simulate a full game’s highlights. Each card represents both an offensive and a defensive play, both of which will be used to resolve your opponent’s and your own offensive plays.

Do you try to thwart your opponent’s threatened offense, or put up a strong offense of your own? The player who makes the best use of their plays will score the most points through touchdowns, field goals, and even safeties to win the game!

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.36

Fog of Love

| T3d-1978
Fog of Love

Fog of Love

Fog of Love is a game for two players. You will create and play two vivid characters who meet, fall in love and face the challenge of making an unusual relationship work.

Playing Fog of Love is like being in a romantic comedy: roller-coaster rides, awkward situations, lots of laughs and plenty of difficult compromises to make.

Much as in a real relationship, goals might be at odds. You can try to change, keep being relentless or even secretly decide to be a Heartbreaker. It’s your choice.

The happily ever after won’t be certain, but whatever way your zigzag romance unfolds, you’ll always end up with a story full of surprises – guaranteed to raise a smile!

Game Mechanics:

  • Bluffing
  • Cooperative
  • Deduction
  • Hand Management
  • Limited Communication
  • Role Playing
  • Storytelling

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.25

Flamecraft

| T3d-1978
Flamecraft

Flamecraft

Artisan dragons, the smaller and magically talented versions of their larger (and destructive) cousins, are sought by shopkeepers so that they may delight customers with their flamecraft. You are a Flamekeeper, skilled in the art of conversing with dragons, placing them in their ideal home and using enchantments to entice them to produce wondrous things. Your reputation will grow as you aid the dragons and shopkeepers, and the Flamekeeper with the most reputation will be known as the Master of Flamecraft.

In Flamecraft, 1-5 players take on the role of Flamekeepers, gathering items, placing dragons and casting enchantments to enhance the shops of the town. Dragons are specialized (bread, meat, iron, crystal, plant and potion) and the Flamekeepers know which shops are the best home for each. Visit a shop to gain items and a favor from one of the dragons there. Gathered items can be used to enchant a shop, gaining reputation and the favors of all the dragons in the shop. If you are fortunate enough to attract fancy dragons then you will have opportunities to secure even more reputation.

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Hand Management
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.17

Ex Libris

| T3d-1978
Ex Libris

Ex Libris

In Ex Libris, you are a collector of rare and valuable books in a thriving gnomish village. Recently, the Mayor and Village Council have announced an opening for a Grand Librarian: a prestigious (and lucrative) position they intend to award to the most qualified villager! Unfortunately, several of your book collector colleagues (more like acquaintances, really) are also candidates.

To outshine your competition, you need to expand your personal library by sending your trusty assistants out into the village to find the most impressive tomes. Sources for the finest books are scarce, so you need to beat your opponents to them when they pop up.

You have only a week before the Mayor’s Official Inspector comes to judge your library, so be sure your assistants have all your books shelved! The Inspector is a tough cookie and will use her Official Checklist to grade your library on several criteria including shelf stability, alphabetical order, and variety — and don’t think she’ll turn a blind eye to books the Council has banned! You need shrewd planning and cunning tactics (and perhaps a little magic) to surpass your opponents and become Grand Librarian!

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection
  • Tile Placement
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.55

Evolution: New World

| T3d-1978
Evolution: New World

Evolution: New World

The diversity of living organisms inhabiting our planet is astonishing. According to the theory of evolution, random mutations occur all the time, granting new traits to animals and plants. These traits are then tested through natural selection. Animals with beneficial traits propagate more successfully than others, expand their habitat areas, and effectively protect themselves against predators and unfavorable conditions. Such species dominate the ecosystem, while poorly adapted animals become extinct.

Evolution: New World is an updated and extended version of the basic Evolution: The Origin of Species game. It includes both well-known animal traits and new ones, complete with refined descriptions and colorful illustrations. Food is now generated using Area cards, and animals can use shelter to hide from predators.

Game Mechanics:

  • Hand Management

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.33

Ethnos

| T3d-1978
Ethnos

Ethnos

In Ethnos, players call upon the support of giants, merfolk, halflings, minotaurs, and other fantasy tribes to help them gain control of the land. After three ages of play, whoever has collected the most glory wins!

In more detail, the land of Ethnos contains twelve tribes of fantasy creatures, and in each game you choose six of them (five in a 2/3-player game), then create a deck with only the creatures in those tribes. The cards come in six colors, which match the six regions of Ethnos. Place three glory tokens in each region at random, arranging them from low to high.

Each player starts the game with one card in hand, then 4-12 cards (double the number of players) are placed face up on the table. On a turn, a player either recruits an ally or plays a band of allies. In the former case, you take a face-up card (without replacing it from the deck) or the top card of the deck and add it to your hand. In the latter case, you choose a set of cards in your hand that match either in tribe or in color, play them in front of you on the table, then discard all other cards in hand. You then place one token in the region that matches the color of the top card just played, and you use the power of the tribe member on the top card just played.

At the end of the first age, whoever has the most tokens in a region scores the glory shown on the first token. After the second age, the players with the most and second most tokens score glory equal to the values shown on the first and second tokens respectively. Players score similarly after the third age, then whoever has the most glory wins. (Games with two and three players last only two ages.)

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Push Your Luck
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.04

Era of Kingdoms

| T3d-1978
Era of Kingdoms

Era of Kingdoms

A kingdom building card game where 1-4 players compete to take their kingdom from the dark ages to the enlightenment. Outwit and out-plan up to 3 other players as you race to lead your people to prosperity, and make a few enemies along the way.

Era of Kingdoms is a kingdom-building game full of strategy and player interaction. Each turn provides players a wide array of options and tools to improve your Kingdom. You can focus on improving the lands, upgrading from simple meadows to a thriving economic engine. Or perhaps you’d rather use your strength to achieve victory, taking the other kingdoms’ riches. With limited space to build and only three positions for key advisers, strategic decisions must be made to guarantee victory. Includes: Era of Kingdoms Base Game | Trade Route Mini-Expansion | Commerce Mini-Expansion | Ruler Traits Mini-Expansion | All Kickstarter Stretch Goals.

Game Mechanics:

  • Civilization
  • Hand Management
  • Trading

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.22

Equinox

| T3d-1978
Equinox

Equinox

In Equinox, mysterious creatures gather in the forest in an effort to write themselves into the legendary storybook and for tales to be shared for countless generations. However, there is room for only four more stories — not every story will be recorded, so the creatures have to be cunning and clever to outwit their opponents and make the cut.

Equinox is a deeply satisfying betting game that gives players agency to influence the outcome of this competition. Each round, players place numbered power cards in front of the creatures, with the lowest-valued creature being eliminated from play. Players also place bets on which creatures they think will make it into the storybook, and you can use the special powers of these creatures to ideally turn things to your advantage.

Fans of Dr. Reiner Knizia might recognize Equinox as a revised edition of the previously released game Colossal Arena, but with two new creatures. Of the fourteen unique creatures, only eight are played in a game, which means more than three thousand different combinations are possible. To celebrate the equinox occurring twice a year, players can select from two distinct box covers, but note that the contents in each box are identical.

Game Mechanics:

  • Bluffing
  • Hand Management

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 40 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon

| T3d-1978
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon

Revisit the world of Epic Spell Wars. Mercilessly attack your foes and kill them over, and over, ah-and over! Take advantage of your wizard’s special ability tile and familiar card that only you can buy!

It’s an all-out battle to the death for the Annihilageddon trophy in the crazy world of Epic Spell Wars! While fully compatible with other Cerberus Engine releases, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon Deck-Building Game features a whole new world of mayhem…literally.

Mayhem Events, Familiars, Past Champions, Wizards, Spells, Creatures, Treasure, and Wild Magic. It all adds up to an Epic Spell Wars experience unlike anything you’ve seen before. And fans of the series have seen a lot. Yeesh.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.11