Tag: Mechanism

Assault on the Castle

| OTSG Staff

In Assault the Castle, players are fierce medieval Lords who want to destroy opponents’ castles by using fearsome siege machines. At the beginning of the game, players, by using cards, physically build their own castles upon a special basement mat. With regards to the building phase, there actually are no limits, as long as the castles can stand properly. During the game, players turn-by-turn draw siege cards that activate siege machines. In such cases, players will throw cards against their opponents castles, to make them fall.

The last standing castle wins the game!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.00

Ascension: Dawn of Champions

| OTSG Staff

Where there were once six realms, now only a single remains: New Vigil. In Ascension: Dawn of Champions, you take on the role of your faction’s Champion to guide them to victory in this world of new alliances and ancient foes.

New Champion cards let you play as a faction leader, building your reputation to unlock powerful cards and effects. This set also includes new multi-faction cards to acquire and defeat, including Constructs and Monsters!

As with all other Ascension sets, Ascension: Dawn of Champions can be played as a standalone game or combined with other Ascension games.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.25

Apiary 🟡

| OTSG Staff

In a far-distant future, humans no longer inhabit Earth. The cause of their disappearance (or perhaps their demise) is unknown, but their absence left a void ready to be filled by another sentient species.

Over the span of untold generations, one species of the humble honeybee evolved to fill that void. They grew in size and intelligence to become a highly advanced society. They call themselves Mellifera, and they have made substantial technological advances in addition to the technology they adapted from human ruins, up to and including space travel.

In Apiary, each player controls one of twenty unique factions. Your faction starts the game with a hive, a few resources, and worker bees. A worker-placement, hive-building challenge awaits you: explore planets, gather resources, develop technologies, and create carvings to demonstrate your faction’s strengths (measured in victory points) over one year’s Flow. However, the Dearth quickly approaches, and your workers can take only a few actions before they must hibernate! Can you thrive or merely survive?

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.97

Antiquity Quest 🔵

| OTSG Staff

Your goal in Antiquity Quest is to have the highest score a the end of the game. You can choose to play either a single round for a quick game (20-30 min) or a complete game in which you’ll tally scores over three rounds (60-90 min)

Each player is dealt two sets of 10 cards at the start of a round. You’ll pick up one set, this is called a hand. The second set, called a cache, remains face down on the table until you’ve played all of the cards from your hand.

You’ll take turns drawing, playing, and discarding cards as you work on creating your own collections and sabotaging the collections that belong to other players.

Collections consist of Antiquity and Treasure cards. The six suits of Antiquity cards represent six ancient civilizations. Treasures are their own suit and are more rare and valuable. The more challenging a collection is to create. the more it’s worth.

A round ends once a player has completed at least five collections and played through all of the cards in their hand and cache. That player earns a bonus for going out first. Every other player takes on last turn and then scores are tallied.

Your score at the end of each round is the combination of bonus points from going out first, points for completing collections ,and points for the cards you play. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

Here’s what to expect in this bold and exciting set collection game:

You’ll strive to create collections of Antiquities and Treasures.

The more challenging a collection is to create, the more it’s worth.

Beware! Your competitors can, and will seek to sabotage your efforts.

Careful planning, brilliant strategy, and a stroke of luck will bring you success!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 8 Players
  • 30 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.20

Aleph Null 🟢

| kithorning

As a successful Magician, you have been able to fund a lifetime of research by delivering to the petty demands of liars, philanderers, gluttons and the least of Humanity.

How refreshing, then, when a client should emerge with a commission of horrifying simplicity that has the potential for acquiring a vast amount of knowledge – perhaps the ultimate knowledge – albeit at the expense of many millions.

“Release the denizens of Hell into the Earth, with Baphomet – The Sabbath Goat – at their Head, for one night only and let them run amok. Let us see the consequences – for aesthetic reasons only, of course.”

However, do not expect this matter to proceed without interference from the Church and/or from Hell itself: the best-laid plans do not always go the way expected.

Inspired by the Black Easter novellas by James Blish, the aim of Aleph Null is to successfully summon the demonic Prince Baphomet who, when he appears, expects there to be no cards in your hand, the main deck and the discard pile; if there are any cards remaining in these ‘zones’, you lose. However, ‘not losing’ in this way doesn’t mean that you have won: any cards still in play also count against you – too many and you shall lose also. The sooner you ‘win’, the better your chance of surviving any due punishment.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 Player
  • 15 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.70

AFFLICTION: Salem 1692 🟡

| kithorning

The hysteria over witches among the people of Salem swept the region like a disease in 1692. As is the case in any tragic event, there are those whom will use the circumstances to their advantage. Under the veil of the witch-hunt lie other motivations; power, greed, revenge and righteousness.

AFFLICTION: Salem 1692 is a game set in the hysteria of a witch-hunt. Use your influence to whisper in the ear of the magistrate, judge, governor or minister to protect some and have others arrested. Salem was a chance to gain property, exact revenge and prove one’s righteousness.

The characters in the game were actual residents of the Salem region. This is the closest possible simulation of actual events in a game to date.

GAMEPLAY: Players will take turns placing a “messenger” (worker) to select actions. After all workers are placed, actions will be resolved in the order they appear on the main board.

EXONERATE – Take 2 Accusation Tokens off of any Colonist.
FIRST PLAYER TOKEN/PROTECTION – Use a letter from the Governor to prevent one Colonist from being arrested and take the First turn, next turn.
GAIN INFLUENCE/USE COLONIST ABILITY – Generate Influence and use the abilities of Colonists that you have in your Circle.
ARREST – Spend Influence equal to a Colonist’s adjusted Reputation to Arrest.
SPECTRAL EVIDENCE – Use this token to prevent a Colonist from Generating Influence and using their Colonist ability.
ACCUSE – Place accusation tokens to reduce Colonist’s Reputations to make them easier to arrest.
GAIN/REMOVE FEAR – Gain Fear Tokens or remove a fear token from another player (used to weaken Colonists)
BRING COLONIST INTO CIRCLE – Spend Influence equal to a Colonists Base Reputation and bring them into your Circle.

Play will cycle between accusing, arresting and protecting your interests. Fear provides an alternative way to function when necessary.

END GAME: Increase Mather and Mary Spencer Hill are shuffled in with the bottom 6 cards of the Colonist deck. When either of them appears in the play area, the game immediately ends.

VICTORY CONDITIONS: All players will receive victory points for the Reputation value of each Colonist that have arrested or brought into their circle, victory points for the property of those they have had arrested and for the number of influence tokens they have at the end of the game. Each player will also receive points for having specific families arrested or protected, depending on the player tile they are given.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.75

Adventures of Robin Hood, the 🟢

| kithorning

Take on the roles of Robin Hood and his companions as you struggle against Prince John and the sheriff in this innovative cooperative board game. Your adventures will take place on a “living” game board, that “remembers” what you have accomplished in previous missions and unveils new secrets and actions as you further the campaign. Everything is easy to assemble and disassemble, making set up and clean up as quick as can be!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.82

Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance, The 🔵

| kithorning

The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance, based on the very popular podcast and series of graphic novels of the same name, lets players embark on their own adventure as they attempt to rescue various artifacts of immense power. Battle a myriad of enemies, from scary to sarcastic, as you and your friends work through a dynamic dungeon made from numerous decks of cards – ensuring that each game will be different!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.71

Adventure Party: the Role-Playing Party Game 🟢

| kithorning

Adventuring Party takes your favorite moments from RPG’s and puts them into a great guessing game! Over the course of 3 Adventure Scenarios, players will take on the role of a brave adventurer and describe in epic detail their plans for that adventure. Of course, however, the dice always have different plans, and after making a secret d20 roll, you will then recount what actually happened. The goal of the game is to have the GM guess what number you rolled as accurately as possible, thereby earning the most Experience Points possible.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 8 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

300: Earth & Water 🟢

| OTSG Staff

Step back into history during the Greco-Persian war as you and a friend choose a side in this historic conflict. Will you be the great Persian Empire, seeking to maintain its hold over the eastern Mediterranean, or the Greeks rallied around Athens, defending your home? In this card driven game, you will raise armies, play events, and maneuver your troops to defeat the other player and claim victory for youself!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • ~40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.36