Tag: Set Collection

Games with Set Collection mechanics require players to collect resources in sets to achieve various rewards.

Fantasy Fluxx

| OTSG Staff

Fluxx is a card game in which the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw cards, how to play cards, and even how to win.

At the start of the game, each player holds three cards and on a turn a player draws one card, then plays one card. By playing cards, you can put new rules into play that change numerous aspects of the game: how many cards to draw or play, how many cards you can hold in hand or keep on the table in front of you, and (most importantly) how to win the game.

In Fantasy Fluxx, you want to gather your friends for a party — an adventuring party, that is! Pack up your Second Breakfasts, and set off on a classic quest with your faithful companions: the Helpful Elf, the Dwarven Warrior, the Gallant Swordsman, the Wise Old Wizard, and of course, the Humble Young Hero! Learn from the Cranky Magic Teacher how to use your Wand to cast spells like Invisibility or Fireball! You may need them as you encounter the Dreaded Pirate, or when you find out that Captured Princess is actually the Mother of Dragons! Will you and your fantasy favorites survive the Final Showdown with the Dark Lord?

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 10 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.50

Fairy Tale

| OTSG Staff

Players use card drafting and simultaneous action selection to score points while interfering with other players’ ability to do so. The game consists of four rounds. In each of them, players are dealt five cards. They simultaneously select one each and pass the remainder, repeating until done. Then, they start playing cards simultaneously, playing three and discarding two. When the cards are revealed after each selection, card abilities turn other cards face-up or face-down. At the end of the four rounds there are 12 cards in front of each player. The players each score based on their face-up cards.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.77

Fado: Duetos e Desgarradas

| OTSG Staff

“The Great Day of Fado” is coming.

There is no memory of such an event, thousands of tourists and fado lovers from all corners of the world are expected. Managers from all over the country are working on the organization of the event. From north to south of Portugal, one, two and even three shows are planned simultaneously. It will be days, nights and, sometimes, even early morning parties!
Failure is out of the question, and to organize the perfect show, it is necessary to choose the best artist, the right alignment, the perfect melody and the most appropriate of the scenarios. It is the ideal time for some managers, hitherto unknown, to show how much they are worth.

No one will miss and this is your moment to shine!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 20 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.75

Exploding Kittens

| OTSG Staff

Exploding Kittens is a kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette. Players take turns drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten and loses the game. The deck is made up of cards that let you avoid exploding by peeking at cards before you draw, forcing your opponent to draw multiple cards, or shuffling the deck.

The game gets more and more intense with each card you draw because fewer cards left in the deck means a greater chance of drawing the kitten and exploding in a fiery ball of feline hyperbole.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~15 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.08

Everdell Farshore

| OTSG Staff

The Forever Sea is calling…

The rugged coast north of Everdell Valley is a land brimming with adventure and mystery. Stalwart sailors search for bountiful islands and valuable treasures. Dutiful monks inhabit abbeys and scriptoriums, meticulously translating and illuminating. Hard-working folk gather resources and build their cities in unison with the ever-changing waves of the mighty ocean.

Welcome to Everdell Farshore, a standalone game set in the country of Farshore. Through each season, you lead a crew of critter workers to build up a prosperous city and to explore the enchanting ocean beyond. You must plan your actions carefully in order to build and to sail, for only by adapting to the winds of change will you succeed.

The wind is high. The sun is breaking the horizon. It is time to set sail for adventure!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 40 – 80 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.83

Everdell Duo

| OTSG Staff

In Everdell Duo, you either compete against your single opponent or play co-operatively with another player to earn the most points. You accomplish this by placing workers to gather resources, then use those resources to play cards face up in front of you, creating your own woodland city.

Cards may be played from your hand or from the face-up area on the board called the meadow. However, only cards touching the sun or moon token may be played from the meadow, and players move these tokens each time they perform a turn. Therefore, planning for and timing which cards you play is critical.

Each game you try to achieve various events, the requirements of which differ from game to game, making certain cards and combinations more important to pursue.

The game lasts for four seasons, then players add their scores to determine the winner. If you’re playing co-operatively, check the requirements for the chapter you are playing to see whether you have won.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 2 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.74

Enchanted Plumes

| OTSG Staff

In Enchanted Plumes, players strive to complete magical peacocks by assembling plumes in sparkling rows from top to bottom.

Skillfully placing feather cards of the same color from row to row is key, as the top row value will count against your score, while all lower rows count as positive values.

Once the peahen card is revealed, the player with the most valuable plumes wins the game and is bestowed with the luck of the peacock!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.38

Emberleaf

| OTSG Staff

Emberleaf is a competitive card-dancing and tile-placement board game.

As a brave Emberling, your mission is to rebuild your home in the heart of an ancient forest. To succeed, you’ll explore the wilderness, gather resources, clear dangerous areas, and construct new homes for your kin. Along the way, you’ll recruit heroes into your fellowship, each bringing unique skills that will help empower your team. But beware – space in the forest is limited, and other Emberlings have their own plans.

The game features:

  • Card Dancing: Place hero cards within your moving grid to activate skills and enhance your fellowship. Slide cards to trigger powerful combinations and charge them at the perfect moment for even greater effects.
  • Tile Placement: Build vibrant villages to address the diverse needs of your villagers.
  • Engine Building: Recruit heroes to acquire new skills and empower your existing fellowship.
  • Resource Management: Navigate the forest, clear dangerous areas, and collect essential resources.

Every decision you make shapes the destiny of your people. Can you rise to the challenge, guide your village to prosperity, and win the heart of your fellow Emberlings?

—description from the publisher

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.06

Draftosaurus

| OTSG Staff

Your goal in Draftosaurus is to have the dino park most likely to attract visitors. To do so, you have to draft dino meeples and place them in pens that have some placement restrictions. Each turn, one of the players roll a die and this adds a constraint to which pens any other player can add their dinosaur.

Draftosaurus is a quick and light drafting game in which you don’t have a hand of cards that you pass around (after selecting one), but a bunch of dino meeples in the palm of your hand.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~15 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.25

Doomlings

| OTSG Staff

Somewhere on a doomed and distant planet, life has emerged, competing for supremacy until the world’s inevitable destruction. The object of the game is to score the most points by the time the world ends. Score points by playing Traits for your Doomlings’ species, making them more adaptable, resilient, and mischievous. As your Doomlings assert their dominance, Catastrophes will befall the planet, causing setbacks for each competing species. When the third Catastrophe inevitably strikes, the world ends, and the Doomlings with the strongest set of traits gets to look the Apocalypse in the eye and declare…“I scored the most points!”

Throughout the game, players draw Trait cards from a community pile, and then play them for points. Traits can also have special abilities and bonuses, allowing players to build a wide range of winning combinations. The game is played in rounds, using Age cards, which have different rules that players must follow. But be warned, hidden in the Ages are Catastrophes: special rounds with adverse effects that force players to adapt their strategy.

Doomlings adds a fun twist to hand management, by introducing the “Gene Pool” mechanic. Your Gene Pool is your hand size: it is unique to you, and it can increase or decrease through special Traits, or even Catastrophes. Doomlings includes 6 colorful Gene Pool counter cards, elegantly tracking how many cards you should hold at the end of your turn. There are opportunities to increase your Gene Pool (hand size), which can give your species a leg up by providing a larger pool of Traits to select from each turn.

A lightweight card game for 2-6 players, Doomlings can be played casually amongst friends, or competitively by the gaming enthusiast family. Because there are no duplicate cards, and Age cards are chosen randomly, no two games are ever the same. While the game itself can be learned in 5 minutes or less, don’t be fooled: with 100+ unique Traits—in Red, Blue, Green, Purple and Colorless—and rare, powerful Dominant Traits, there are countless combinations of play to be discovered.

A typical game takes between 20-45 minutes, depending on the number of players and sequence of events. Advanced-play expansion packs are also available, including a Hidden Objective expansion for a fun twist to the game. Doomlings requires no dice or additional pieces, just a jolly embrace of the inevitable end of the world!

—description from the designer

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.65