Tag: Take That

Games with a “Take That” mechanic allows players to take actions that actively hinder an opponent’s progress in-game.

Hidden Leaders

| OTSG Staff

The island of Oshra is in turmoil. Following the death of the Emperor, the conflict between the Hill Tribes and the Imperial Army escalated. While the Water People try to maintain balance between the old rivals, the Undead aim to escalate the war. All hope rests on the six children of the Emperor: Who of them will claim the throne?

In Hidden Leaders, you take the role of one of six secret leaders, each of them is allied with two of the four factions/colors. By playing heroes into your tableau, either openly or secretly, you influence the outcome of the conflict.

At the end of the game, one of the four factions will win:
Red leading > Red victory
Green leading > Green victory
Tie between Red & Green > Blue victory
Red & Green in War Zone > Black victory
Each player who is aligned with the winning faction can claim the victory. However, they must have more heroes of this color than any competitor.

Hidden Leaders is a quick, light strategy card game with direct player interaction. It combines tableau building and deduction elements with its unique winning mechanism. This is a game of great tension with no-down time, that’s fast to learn. Its distinctive artwork and character names will make you smile.

—description from designer

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.82

Here to Slay

| OTSG Staff

Here to Slay is a competitive role-playing fantasy strategy card game that’s all about assembling a party of Heroes and slaying monsters (and sometimes sabotaging your friends too) from the creators of Unstable Unicorns.

In this game, you’ll assemble a full party of heroes to slay dangerous monsters while working to avoid the sabotage of your foes. The game also includes items you can equip to your heroes, 1V1 challenge cards, and roll modifiers to tip the odds in your favor.

The first person to successfully slay three monsters, or build a full party with six classes, wins the game!

Every player gets to choose a party leader character to represent them throughout the game. Each party leader card has a class and a skill that gives you an edge over your opponents. Whether you enjoy fighters, bards, wizards, or thieves, you’ll find a party leader that’s right for your play style – but choose wisely, because you only get one party leader for the whole game!

Your heroes are brave adventurers, ready to attack monsters and go head to head with your foes! The game includes over 40 unique heroes. Each hero card has a class and an effect, and each hero’s effect has a roll requirement. In order to use a hero’s effect, you must roll two dice and score equal to or higher than that effect’s roll requirement. Heroes take advantage of items, magic and modifiers to increase their chances of making their dice rolls.
In order to slay that monster, you must roll two dice and score equal to or higher than that monster’s roll requirement. Be warned: Each monster has a roll range in which they’ll fight back, and if you score within that range, your party might be in grave danger…

Don’t like what your opponent just played? Throw down a challenge! Challenge cards can be played instantly to try to stop another player from playing a hero, item, or magic card. Playing a challenge card initiates a 1V1 challenge in which you and another player both have to roll the dice. If they win the challenge, they still get to play their card, but if you win the challenge, you get to send their card directly to the discard pile!

— description from the publisher

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.68

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle – Defence Against the Dark Arts

| OTSG Staff

Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Battle Defence Against the Dark Arts is a competitive deck-building game for two players, inspired by Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle. In this fast-paced game, players take turns playing cards, taking actions and acquiring new cards to build a more powerful deck as their defensive skills improve. Stun your opponent three times to win!

With the noticeable rise in Dark Arts activity, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has authorized practical Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons to ensure that students are prepared to defend themselves. Under the supervision of Hogwart’s teachers, students will cast Spells and Hexes, use Items, and gain Allies to stun their opponents and protect themselves from evil forces.

THIS IS A STAND-ALONE GAME. While inspired by Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle, none of the content in this game is designed to be incorporated into that game.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.77

Guillotine

| OTSG Staff

The French Revolution is famous in part for the use of the guillotine to put nobles to death, and this is the macabre subject of this light card game. As executioners pandering to the masses, the players are trying to behead the most popular nobles. Each day the nobles are lined up and players take turns killing the ones at the front of the line until all the nobles are gone. However, players are given cards which will manipulate the line order right before ‘harvesting’ heads, which is what makes the game interesting. After three days of chopping, the highest total carries the day.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.27

Guildhall Fantasy: Box of Holding

| OTSG Staff

Guildhall Fantasy: Box of Holding contains 4 Guildhall Fantasy games all in one spot! Feel free to mix and match the different sets for new experiences each time you play!

Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship

Do you have a thirst for adventure? Is your middle name danger? Do you just like treasure? Form a party of adventurers to help you be victorious! The more members of each class you have, the greater the bonus they’ll give you – but be careful; your opponents might try to poach your party members!

In Guildhall Fantasy: Fellowship, 2-4 players compete to create the perfect party by recruiting adventurers into their guildhall chapters. Collect sets of cards with unique abilities to control the table, and complete a full chapter to claim victory cards. Will you go for points quickly, or build up your special powers? Which will lead to ultimate victory? Only you and the gamemaster know!

Guildhall Fantasy: Alliance

In Guildhall Fantasy: Alliance, each profession grants you special abilities, and these abilities grow stronger the more of that profession that you collect. When you cash in that profession set for victory points, however, you lose the ability until you can build it up again.

Guildhall Fantasy: Coalition

In Guildhall Fantasy: Coalition, each profession grants you special abilities, and these abilities grow stronger the more of that profession that you collect. When you cash in that profession set for victory points, however, you lose the ability until you can build it up again.

Advanced Guildhall Fantasy: The Gathering

There can be only… Wait! There is another!

Guildhall Fantasy: The Gathering is a standalone game in the Guildhall series, featuring six never before seen professions. Additionally, this set contains two mini expansions: “The Chapter Masters” and “The Master Houses”.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

GUBS: A Game of Wit and Luck

| OTSG Staff

GUBS: A Game of Wit and Luck invites you to partake in the secret struggle of the Gubs. Each player competes to build the largest, strongest colony by the time the three dreaded Letter Cards emerge from the deck and end the game. Their world is a place filled with danger; from giant Omen Beetles who consume the delicate Gub Cities to Flash Floods to deadly Wasps, your gubs hardly stand a chance on their own… but arm them with Spears, let ride the valiant Toad Riders, build Mushroom Barricades and lead your colony through the forest underbrush and to victory.

Wit and Luck. You’ll need them both. The gubs are counting on you.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.36

Grimm Forest, the

| OTSG Staff

Welcome to The Grimm Forest, where family members of the legendary Three Little Pigs are having an epic house building competition. But this is no ordinary competition as all the most famous Fairy Tale characters will be looking on and occasionally lending a hand.

Who will benefit most from the cunning of Robin Hood, the beauty of Snow White, the bountiful gifts of the Golden Goose or the dark witchcraft of the Evil Queen?

Using only their wits, a handful of sharp steel tools, and a few stacks of resources gathered at great risk from fields, brickyards, and even the dark and deadly Grimm Forest itself, each player must compete to be the first to build 3 Houses and gain the title of Royal Builder.

Players are encouraged to use any of the devious tricks they have read about in the many books of Fables found throughout the land. Some will have their plans wrecked by that villain of old, the Big Bad Wolf, while others will gain bricks, straw, and wood by the cart load.

Who will brave the dangers, avoid foul monsters, and bring home the victory? There is only one way to find out… get ready to venture into …The Grimm Forest!

Grimm Forest is a 2-4 player strategic game of Hidden Movement, Resource Gathering, and House Building. It is a medium weight game that plays in approximately 45-60 minutes.

During the game, players will play cards secretly to move to various Location boards where they attempt to gather resources. Using their deduction skills and a hand full of Fable cards, players attempt to guess each other’s plans and make the most of their actions while disrupting the other player’s plans.

After resources are collected during the Gather Phase, players will enter a Building Phase where they can use those resources to build Wood, Straw, or Brick Houses. Whenever a player builds a Wall Section on one of their houses, a helpful Friend from the nearby forest comes to lend a hand. Players may choose to accept the help of that Friend, but occasionally it makes more sense to send that Friend to a different player, sometimes discarding their current Friend in the process.

With 16 unique Fable cards and 12 powerful Friend cards, gathering resources in the Grimm Forest can be a difficult and challenging endeavor.

Work hard, deduce correctly, avoid the treachery of the other builders and the sharp teeth of the lurking monsters, and you just might have a chance!

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.93

Grifters: Nexus

| OTSG Staff

Grifters operate on the fringes of The Dystopian Universe, eager to take advantage of every opportunity to profit from the chaos caused by the resistance. Players take on the role of powerful crime bosses, building their criminal organizations by carefully recruiting new operatives with specialized skills. During the game, the players’ criminal teams will steal ISK from the government, powerful corporations, and each other via cons, blackmail, daring heists, and a multitude of other nefarious deeds. As always, money is power in The Dystopian Universe and the player with the most ISK at the end of the game is the winner.

Grifters: Nexus is a standalone game that is also an expansion for Grifters, which was released by Indie Boards and Cards in 2016. Nexus uses the same core “cool down” mechanisms found in Grifters, and introduces 15 new specialist cards, new mechanisms and a new job card system.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Grifters

| OTSG Staff

Grifters is a hand-building game that has all the fun of deck-building games, without the deck. Set in the Dystopian Universe, players take on the role of powerful crime bosses, building their criminal organizations by carefully recruiting new operatives with specialized skills and directing their team’s nefarious deeds. All of your specialists are either in play or in your hand, ready to be used as you command. This unique hand-building mechanism gives you total control of your strategy.

Grifters is all about stealing as much money as you can from the corrupt government, malicious corporations, and your rival players. Each player starts the game with a hand of six Specialist cards, each with unique abilities. Your objective is to use this team of six Specialists to recruit more criminals, complete jobs, steal from the government coffers and swindle your opponents.

Each specialist has a special ability and skill. On your turn you can play a single specialist to perform their ability, or you can play a team of specialists to use their combined skills to complete a job. This means every specialist is a valuable asset to your criminal enterprise, earning immediate benefit through abilities and valuable end-game bonuses by completing jobs against the same target. And because all the cards in your deck are always available, you decide how to maximize your play.

Grifters uses a unique card “cooldown” system to control the use of your cards. On your turn, you play one or more specialist cards into the first “Night” of your hideout. If you already have a specialist card, or a team of specialist cards, in night one those cards advance to night two and push other cards through your hideout.

When a card is pushed out of the third night of your hideout it enters the refresh area. Any cards in your refresh area will return to your hand at the end of your turn.

The game ends when the coffers run out of money, there are no more jobs left to complete, or if there are no more specialists cards left for recruiting. End game bonuses are calculated for completing multiple jobs against the same target. The player with the most money wins.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.79

Good Cop Bad Cop (Third Edition)

| OTSG Staff

You’re a cop in a corrupted police district where you have to figure out who’s on your side and who’s not with the ultimate goal of eliminating the leader of the opposing team. You’ll use guns, equipment, deduction, and some social engineering to assist your allies and take down your enemies. But be quick ’cause there aren’t enough guns for everyone!

The 3rd Edition gives Good Cop Bad Cop, overall, makes the game a little easier to learn and play. It adds usability improvements in the graphic design of the cards, simplifies the wording of the equipment, reduces the rulebook to a single page, adds an equipment reference sheet, and removes player numbers on equipment entirely.

The set of equipment has been culled to provide a more consistent experience that keeps the game always moving towards a conclusion. One equipment was removed, one was added as new, and a few others were taken from expansions and promos.

The box art and design is new as well and it is the first game of the Pull the Pin Games line. The 3rd Edition is still compatible with all previous expansions and promos.

—description from the publisher

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 4 – 8 Players
  • 20 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.33