Tag: Variable Player Powers

Elder Sign

| OTSG Staff

It is 1926, and the museum’s extensive collection of exotic curios and occult artifacts poses a threat to the barriers between our world and the elder evils lurking between dimensions. Gates to the beyond begin to leak open, and terrifying creatures of increasing strength steal through them. Animals, the mad, and those of more susceptible minds are driven to desperation by the supernatural forces the portals unleash. Only a handful of investigators race against time to locate the eldritch symbols necessary to seal the portals forever. Only they can stop the Ancient One beyond from finding its way to Earth and reducing humanity to cinders.

Elder Sign is a fast-paced, cooperative dice game of supernatural intrigue for one to eight players by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, the designers of Arkham Horror. Players take the roles of investigators racing against time to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient One. Armed with tools, allies, and occult knowledge, investigators must put their sanity and stamina to the test as they adventure to locate Elder Signs, the eldritch symbols used to seal away the Ancient Ones and win the game.

To locate Elder Signs, investigators must successfully endure Adventures within the museum and its environs. A countdown mechanism makes an Ancient One appear if the investigators are not quick enough. The investigators must then battle the Ancient One. A clever and thematic dice mechanism pits their exploration against monsters and the sheer difficulty of staying sane and healthy, all within the standard game duration of one to two hours.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 8 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.34

Dragonlance

| OTSG Staff

In the Dragonlance Boardgame, each player commands an army of dragons in search of the fabled Dragonlance. The first player to snatch the Dragonlance from the top of the central tower and successfully deliver it back home wins! But be careful! Your opponents will attack your dragons, trying to make them crash-or even steal the Dragonlance and use it against you. The game comes with a large hex mapboard, 30 dragons figures in six different colors, two sets of rules (Basic and Advanced), Cards, dice, altitude markers and more.

Game Mechanics:

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.82

Dice Throne: Season Two – Battle Chest

| OTSG Staff

The Battle Chest contains all 4 sets from Season Two.

Dice Throne is a game of intriguing dice, tactical card play, powerful heroes, and unique abilities.

It’s a fast-paced 2-6 player combat game (1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2, or free-for-all). Select from a variety of heroes that play and feel completely distinct from one another. Attack opponents and activate abilities by rolling your hero’s unique set of five dice. Accumulate combat points and spend them on cards that have a large range of effects, such as granting permanent hero upgrades, applying status effects, and manipulating dice directly (yours, your teammate’s, or even your opponent’s).

Dice Throne: Season Two introduces a roster of new heroes and intriguing new matchups.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Take That
  • Team-Based Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.16

Dice Throne: Season One

| OTSG Staff

Dice Throne is a game of intriguing dice, tactical card play, powerful heroes, and unique abilities.

It’s a fast-paced 2-6 player combat game (1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2, or free-for-all). Select from a variety of heroes that play and feel completely distinct from one another. Attack opponents and activate abilities by rolling your hero’s unique set of five dice. Accumulate combat points and spend them on cards that have a large range of effects, such as granting permanent hero upgrades, applying status effects, and manipulating dice directly (yours, your teammate’s, or even your opponent’s).

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Re-rolling and Locking
  • Take That
  • Team-Based Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.07

Dice Throne: Marvel

| OTSG Staff

In Marvel Dice Throne , you become one of eight of Marvel’s most famous heroes, including Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Loki, Thor, Doctor Strange, and Miles Morales Spider-man! Every Marvel Dice Throne hero was painstakingly designed and balanced to provide the most thematic experience possible, allowing you to truly embody your favorite heroes like no other game. Featuring all-new mechanisms and asymmetrical designs, these are our most innovative and exciting heroes yet.

Marvel Dice Throne is a heart-pumping, fast-playing game of skilled card play and dice manipulation supporting multiple modes of play, including 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2, or free-for-all.

Attack your opponents and activate abilities by rolling your hero’s unique set of five dice. Accumulate combat points and spend them on cards that have a large range of effects, such as granting permanent hero upgrades, applying status effects, and manipulating dice directly (yours, your teammate’s, or even your opponent’s).

All 8 heroes are compatible with the entire Dice Throne ecosystem
Use upgrade cards to improve your hero abilities as the game progresses
Play action cards strategically to manipulate dice and surprise your foe
Features a deluxe, highly functional, Battle Chest storage system
Each hero in the Battle Chest has their own beautiful set of custom swirl dice

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Take That
  • Team-Based Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • 20 – 40 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.15

Dice Miner

| OTSG Staff

The Dwarves once lived beneath three mighty mountains. After centuries of war they defeated their age-old enemies the Dragons. Moving to the surface, the Dwarves built magnificent cities and won renown for their heartening beer.

But the Dragons have returned. Now, the Dwarves must remember their roots, clear old tunnels, and return to ancient caverns while fighting their primeval foes.

In each of three rounds, custom dice are rolled onto the mountain. You are a Dwarf hero, drafting dice for your hoard. Scores are tallied after each round before you re-roll your dice and the mountain is refilled.

Ultimately, Dice Miner is a game about drafting the dice you covet, adding them to your hoard, and pushing your luck to build massive combos and score as many points as you can.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Open Drafting
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 20 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.66

Dead by Daylight: The Board Game

| OTSG Staff

In Dead by Daylight: The Board Game, a team of four resourceful Survivors face off against a single supernatural Killer in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.

As one of four Survivors, explore the trial grounds, discover props, and utilize your unique perks as you work to uncover and repair generators. Repair four generators and open the exit games to escape and win! As a Killer, hunt down the survivors, wound them, and place them on sacrificial hooks to summon a sinister force. With enough sacrifices, you are able to appease The Entity and win!

Each turn, players will plan their moves by secretly selecting paths on the board to move along. Each time a player moves, they will reveal new features of the board, called props, which they can interact with to further their objectives or to hinder their opponents.

Survivors are able to utilize many different props to aid in their survival and navigation of the trial. Killers can make use of fewer props—instead, they interact with the Survivors using their attack or their unique power. Each Killer has a different power that will completely change the way the game plays. Both Killers and Survivors have perks which grant them special abilities. Experienced players can customize their characters with various perk configurations, offering even more replayability.

The basic game comes with 7 Survivors, 6 Killers, and 2 maps. The Collector’s edition includes 17 Survivors, 16 Killers, 4 maps, and additional miniatures to create the ultimate Dead by Daylight experience.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Simultaneous Action Selection
  • Team-Based Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.28

D6: Dungeons, Dudes, Dames, Danger, Dice and Dragons!

| OTSG Staff

In D6, you’re playing the role of players playing a role-playing game. That boat you needed? It’s already in the harbor. That pit? It’s already been dug. Every adventure will be different, but your objectives will remain the same.

Collect the bounties. Kill the monsters. Gain the glory. The most glorious hero will prevail!

Game Mechanics:

  • Chit-Pull System
  • Contracts
  • Cooperative Game
  • Role Playing
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Take That
  • Team-Based Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.42

Cthulhu: Death May Die

| OTSG Staff

In Cthulhu: Death May Die, inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, you and your fellow players represent investigators in the 1920s who instead of trying to stop the coming of Elder Gods, want to summon those otherworldly beings so that you can put a stop to them permanently. You start the game insane, and while your long-term goal is to shoot Cthulhu in the face, so to speak, at some point during the game you’ll probably fail to mitigate your dice rolls properly and your insanity will cause you to do something terrible — or maybe advantageous. Hard to know for sure.

The game has multiple episodes, and each of them has a similar structure of two acts, those being before and after you summon whatever it is you happen to be summoning. If any character dies prior to the summoning, then the game ends and you lose; once the Elder One is on the board, as long as one of you is still alive, you still have a chance to win.

The episodes are all standalone and not contingent on being played in a certain order or with the same players.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative Game
  • Role Playing
  • Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game
  • Solo / Solitaire Game
  • Variable Player Powers

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.50

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done

| OTSG Staff

Move your knights, erect buildings, and go crusading to spread the influence of your Order. When the Orders get too strong, King Philip will become nervous and disband all Templar orders, ending the game.

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done uses a combination of rondel and mancala mechanisms. Each player has their own rondel, which they can upgrade over the course of the game, that controls their action choices during the game. Your faction gives you a special power to control your rondel, and the buildings you erect will help you form a strategy.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Majority / Influence
  • Mancala
  • Rondel
  • Tech Trees / Tech Tracks
  • Variable Player Powers
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 40 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.48