Tag: Negotiation

Games with a Negotiation Mechanic encourage players to trade resources with each other to gain competitive advantage.

Rising Sun

| T3d-1978
Rising Sun

Rising Sun

The great and forgotten Kami have returned from the underworld, displeased with the affairs of the Empire’s present Shōgun. At the start of spring in the Great New Year, the Kami have gathered their sacred clans with one quest: reclaim the lands of Nippon and return them to their honorable, spiritual traditions. However, each clan is bound by their own proud traditions to a unique vision for this great return and must wage a powerful diplomatic war across eight provinces. Alliances must be forged, betrayal is inevitable, honorable standing rises and falls. Political mandates must be navigated and devastating war must be fought, each won by expert skill and cunning negotiation. And only one may stand victorious at the coming of winter. You, honorable Shōgun, lead one of these great clans. Do you have the strength of honor, virtue, and spirit, as well as the mastery of steel necessary to deliver on this ancient promise?

Rising Sun is a board game for 3 to 5 players set in legendary feudal Japan. Each player chooses a Clan and competes to lead theirs to victory by accumulating Victory Points over the course of the Seasons. Each Clan possesses a unique ability and differs in Seasonal Income, Starting Honor Rank, and Home Province.
Over the course of the game, players will forge and break alliances, choose political actions, worship the gods, customize their clans, and position their figures around Japan. In the process, Honor is a palpable element in Rising Sun: Having high Honor gives several advantages, while having low Honor may grant the allegiance of the darker elements of the world. But above all, Honor settles all disputes: Whenever there is a tie, the tied player with the highest Honor wins.

In Rising Sun, players are encouraged to use diplomacy, negotiation, and even bribery to further their cause. Players can make deals at any point in the game but no deals are truly binding.
Victory Points can be gained in several ways, from winning battles, to harvesting the right provinces, to playing to the Virtues accumulated by your Clan.

The game is played over the course of 4 rounds or Seasons: Spring, Summer, and then Autumn; when Winter comes, the game draws to a close and players calculate bonuses to decide who is the winner.
Each Season is divided into five phases:
1) Seasonal Setup because every Season has a certain Season deck with different cards,
2) Tea Ceremony in which players sit down and negotiate their Alliances for the Season,
3) Political Phase during which players will select Political Mandates to prepare their Clans and position their forces,
4) War Phase, during which players battle over several Provinces, and
5) Seasonal Cleanup.

As already mentioned, the start of the Winter Season signifies the end of the game. Peace falls over the land as it gets covered in white snow, and a new Emperor will rise under the power of the great Kami.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Drafting
  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Bluffing
  • Closed Drafting
  • Negotiation
  • Set Collection
  • Take That
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.29

Moonrakers

| T3d-1978
Moonrakers

Moonrakers

Moonrakers is a game of shipbuilding, temporary alliances, and shrewd negotiation set in a space-faring future. The players form a loose band of mercenaries, but while they are united in name, actual alliances are shaky as players are pitted against each other in the quest to become the new leader of the Moonrakers.

Moonrakers is a deck-building game in which players choose Contracts to attempt alone or with Allies in order to gain Prestige and Credits. After negotiating terms with Allies, players use their decks of Action cards to play Thrusters, Shields, Weapons, Reactors, and Crew to fulfill the requirements on each Contract. Each type of Action card has additional effects such as extra Actions, drawing additional cards, and protecting players from Hazards encountered while attempting Contracts.

Players create powerful decks and gain special abilities by upgrading their ships and hiring Crew Members. This helps them accomplish more difficult and rewarding contracts alone, letting them keep more Prestige and Credits for themselves.

Allies negotiate who will receive the Prestige, Credits, and risk of Hazard from Contracts, but if you don’t make your offers enticing enough players may be tempted to betray you! The first player to 10 Prestige wins, but be careful as hazards encountered on Contracts reduce your Prestige!

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Negotiation
  • Trading

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.00

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

Guild Master

| T3d-1978
Guild Master

Guild Master

Guild Master is a fantasy tabletop game for 2-4 players. Players manage an adventuring guild, competing with each other to become the most famous guild as an escalating series of events threaten the land. In each of the nine rounds, players simultaneously and secretly program orders to send teams of adventurers out to do the following:

  • Recruit more adventurers.
  • Attempt increasingly difficult contracts to gain money, fame and other rewards.
  • Hire builders to upgrade their guild to increase their capacity to do all of that more.

All players then sequentially resolve their planned orders, starting with each players’ 1st order, then 2nd order and so on, and in the order they appear on the board (builders, then adventurers A-F then contracts 1-6).

Players plan and program orders carefully around other players’ likely moves, various strategies, risks, and rewards. They manage their guilds’ growth and optimize combinations between their adventurer abilities and contract rewards to achieve their goals. As the game advances, guilds become more powerful and must rise to meet an increasing number of game state changing threats. Recruiting increasingly powerful adventurers and upgrading your guild capacity are both key to victory. There are various ways to exert control over the board, your dice rolls, and your chances to get what you want.

Most orders are resolved by paying coin or rolling dice based on your adventurers’ skills. Sometimes players resolve these orders alone, and sometimes cooperating with, or in conflict with, other guild’s adventuring teams attempting the same thing at the same time. When players’ orders overlap, coins and negotiated prisoners’ dilemma cooperate/conflict skill checks resolve the contest. Negotiation over shared goals, contract bonuses and reward splits is encouraged and rewarding, but not absolutely required to win.

Everything you do earns you fame (victory points) and other rewards. At the end of nine rounds, any remaining coins are converted to fame at a rate of 5 coins = 1 fame. Then any special prestige upgrade fame is added. The most famous guild is then declared the winner.

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction/Bidding
  • Deck Building
  • Deduction
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Negotiation
  • Take That

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.89

Feudalia

| T3d-1978
Feudalia

Feudalia

After an everlasting period of wars, it’s finally time to collect the spoils. The King has named the feudal lords who will bring glory and prosperity to the conquered lands. To that end, the nobles will have to hire workers and master craftsmen to make their feuds grow as well as helping in the construction of a glorious cathedral, a symbol of the King’s proximity to God.

Feudalia is a deck-building and resource management game for 1-4 players, who will take the roles of the feudal lords of the new lands. Each player will rule three feuds, and all the vassals living in them, who will work those lands to improve their territories, all of it while trumping your opponent’s progress with military incursions into their territories. But the King wants his share too, and the tax collector will appear frequently, taking part of the resources stored by the players.

The goal of the game is to be the first player to earn 10 points. Players earn points by building, either developing their own feuds or helping in the different phases of the construction of the cathedral. During a turn, each player plays their vassals from their hand to gather money and resources, to further invest in new workers or new buildings. Resources can be saved, but be careful! the tax collector will show at your door when you least expect him, and he’ll take half your resources from each feud.

Manage your vassals wisely, hire the best master craftsmen, spend your resources in the cathedral before the tax collector arrives, and become the most prosperous feudal lord in Feudalia!

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Civilization
  • Deck Building
  • Hand Management
  • Negotiation
  • Open Drafting
  • Trading
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.11

Colosseum

| T3d-1978
Colosseum

Colosseum

In Colosseum each player is a Roman impresario – producing great spectacles in his or her arena in the hopes of attracting the most spectators. Players earn wealth and glory for each event run, using it to create ever more ambitious events. They will need to improve their arena, find the best performers, lure the Emperor and his nobles, and manage assets for long-term success to be granted the title of Grand Impresario, with tales of your extraordinary spectacles acclaimed throughout the empire.

As commanded by the Emperor, the greatest celebration in Roman history has continued unabated for 99 days. All of Rome has borne witness to the grandest spectacles the empire has ever seen— all to commemorate the opening of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, the Colosseum.

Tens of thousands have flocked to the city to experience the sight of a hundred gladiators in battle…rare and exotic animals prowling the arena floor…and to hear and see the greatest musicians and entertainers from throughout the empire. But these events have only been a prelude to today — the closing finale! As a master impresario you have prepared for this moment your entire life. Titus himself has taken his seat in the Emperor’s Loge. At the drop of his hand, the final spectacle will begin. Your moment in the sun has come…

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction/Bidding
  • Dice Rolling
  • Negotiation
  • Set Collection
  • Trading

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.76

Catan: Explorers & Pirates

| T3d-1978
Catan: Explorers & Pirates

Catan: Explorers & Pirates

Catan: Explorers & Pirates is the fourth major expansion for The Settlers of Catan (following Seafarers, Cities & Knights and Traders & Barbarians) and it includes five scenarios and three missions; some of the scenarios make use of the missions while others do not.

Catan: Explorers & Pirates differs from the Catan base game in three main ways. First, instead of having only a single island in the game on which players build and compete for resources, three islands are present – but the landscape of only one of these islands is known at the start of the game. Players start on this island, then build ships and bring settlers into play so that they can then travel to new lands. When a ship ends its movement on unexplored territory, that hex is revealed and a randomly-drawn number chip placed on it, with the player earning one resource as a reward – assuming the hex produces resources, that is. (The number of unknown tiles varies from 16 to 32, depending on the scenario.) A settler and ship can be transformed into a port settlement, from which roads and new ships can be built to enable further exploration.

Second, instead of using cities, Catan: Explorers & Pirates allows players to build port settlements for two corn and two ore, with a port settlement supplying one resource when the adjacent number is rolled at the start of a turn. Like cities, port settlements are worth two victory points (VPs), and the number of VPs required to win depends on the scenario.

Third, if a player receives no resources during the production roll (other than on a roll of 7), she receives one gold in compensation. Two gold can be traded with the bank for a resource of the player’s choice. Gold has other uses as well, such as helping you escape from pirates.

The five scenarios included in Catan: Explorers & Pirates are:

• Land Ho! Explore the seas of Catan and discover two new islands to expand your settlements. Once you’ve discovered an island, you must use ships to ferry settlers from one island to another and colonize distant lands. (Introductory scenario)

• Pirate Lairs! In this scenario, pirates prowl the seas along with your trading vessels. Pay tribute to the pirates or drive them off, then find and capture their lairs to earn gold and VPs! (One mission scenario)

• Fish for Catan! The people of Catan are short of food, so it’s time to take to the ocean to fish for meals. These are deep water fish, though, so first you must find their shoals before you can catch them! The Council of Catan will reward players with VPs for returning fish to the island, as well as for capturing pirate lairs. Just watch out for roaming pirates, as not only will they demand gold for tribute, they might also get to the fish before you do! (Two mission scenario)

• Spices for Catan! In this scenario, the Council of Catan wants you to find fish and spices for the people of Catan! As before, they reward the most industrious merchant captains with VPs. Obtaining spice will require you to become friends with the mysterious inhabitants of the Spice Islands, but in return they will not only trade you spices but teach you their knowledge of sailing or even pirate fighting techniques! (Two mission scenario)

• Explorers and Pirates! This lengthy and challenging scenario brings everything from the previous scenarios together! Explore new lands, capture pirate lairs, find fish, and befriend the inhabitants of the spice isles! (Three mission scenario)

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Negotiation
  • Network Building
  • Trading

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.79

Wise Guys

| T3d-1978
Wise Guys

Wise Guys

Wise Guys is a quick-to-learn, cutthroat, area-control board game in which you play as one of four rival gangs seeking to strike it rich as “Rum Runners” on the rough streets of Chicago at the height of the roaring 20s.

Each turn, players wheel, deal, talk, and fight to control locations where they buy and sell alcohol, help politicians get elected, and get help in return or double-cross rival gangs. Negotiate, threaten, and ally with rival gangs when it serves your needs, but be wary of the inevitable knife in the back…

Over six rounds, players take turns driving to locations in the city represented by the grid of cards at the center of the board. Different locations provide access to materials, cash, or clout that the player’s gang members can “acquire” through trade, earning profit from property within their territory or by exploiting parts of the city under the control of a rival gang. All players must maintain a certain discretion as selling too much in one round will draw unwanted attention or else saturate the city in liquor — and your fellow mafioso won’t be too happy about lost profits.

The gang with the most cash at the end of the game wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Area Control
  • Dice Rolling
  • Negotiation
  • Trading
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem

| T3d-1978
Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem

Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem

Based on the hit TV series, in Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem players take the role of rival gangs out to control territory, accumulate contraband and reap the monetary rewards of illegal enterprise.

With each turn gangs must attempt to control a range of sites by assigning gang members and resources to claiming, defending and fighting for money, contraband and guns. However, other players can challenge the right for territory, which will lead to conflict! Negotiate, threaten and ally with rival gangs when it serves your needs, but be wary of the inevitable knife in the back. This game is about making and breaking alliances, and only the gang with the most money at the end of six rounds wins.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Area Control
  • Dice Rolling
  • Negotiation
  • Take That
  • Trading
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.56

Picture Perfect

| T3d-1978
Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect

How do you take the perfect picture of a group of people if you only have one try? Each character has different wishes. Some want to be at the front of the picture; some want to stand next to another; and some really don’t want to be next to that one particular person by any means. Do your best to make everyone happy – even if you don’t actually know all the characters’ preferences…

In Picture Perfect, first released as Der Perfekte Moment, you need to arrange fourteen characters to take the perfect photograph. Each of them has three specific desires that you want to fulfill. Unfortunately, these desires are hidden in envelopes.

During the game, the players try to take a look inside these envelopes to figure out how to place the characters correctly. To do so, they trade their information with others — or maybe try to hide it…

Whoever earns the most points at the end of the game has fulfilled the most desires and becomes the master photographer.

Game Mechanics:

  • Auction/Bidding
  • Deduction
  • Memory
  • Negotiation
  • Puzzle
  • Tile Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 50 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.86