Tag: Worker Placement

Games with a Worker Placement mechanic require players to coordinate various workers as those workers gather resources.

Stardew Valley

| OTSG Staff
Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley

A cooperative board game of farming and friendship based on the Stardew Valley video game by Eric Barone. Work together with your fellow farmers to save the Valley from the nefarious JojaMart Corporation! To do this, you’ll need to farm, fish, friend and find all kinds of different resources to fulfill your Grandpa’s Goals and restore the Community Center. Collect all kinds of items, raise animals, and explore the Mine. Gain powerful upgrades and skills and as the seasons pass see if you’re able to protect the magic of Stardew Valley!

The goal of the game is to complete Grandpa’s Goals and restore the Community Center, which requires you to gather different types of resources represented by tiles. You have a fixed amount of turns to accomplish this. This is driven by the Season Deck of 20 cards, one of which is drawn each turn to trigger certain events. Cooperatively the players decide each turn where they will focus their individual actions and place their pawn in that part of the Valley. Using their actions, they visit specific locations, trying to gather resources to complete their collective goals. Actions include things like: watering crops, trying to catch fish, rolling dice to explore the mines, and many more. When the Season Deck is exhausted, the game ends.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Dice Rolling
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 200 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.76

Spectre

| OTSG Staff
Spectre

Spectre

In SPECTRE: The Board Game, you take on the role of one of the many iconic villains from the James Bond film franchise, competing with one another to become Number One of the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion, a.k.a., SPECTRE.

Are you simply in the game to acquire gold bullion, or are your aspirations more philosophical, safe in the knowledge that the world would be better off with you running it? Each villain has their own plot inspired by films such as Dr. No (1962) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971) driving them along the path to becoming SPECTRE’s Number One. No matter how hard you try, though, 007 is always there, waiting to disrupt your plans and reveal your secrets.

SPECTRE: The Board Game features iconic weapons, locations, and characters from the James Bond films. You will be able to assemble devices, spy on your opponents, blackmail your rivals in order to build your own criminal empire, and strategically deploy your agents around the globe to infiltrate key installations. You need to work behind the scenes to develop your nefarious plots and become 007’s biggest threat, so grab your Persian cat and call your favorite henchman as you prepare your newest monologue — it’s time to get down to business and start building that moon base and world-destroying megalaser!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Auction/Bidding
  • Cooperative
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 20 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.67

Speakeasy Blues

| OTSG Staff
Speakeasy Blues

Speakeasy Blues

Speakeasy Blues brings players back to 1920s Prohibition Era New York City when hooch smuggling, mobsters, dirty cops and the rich and famous ruled the nights. In order to make your mark as well as your fortune, you’ll need to create the most prestigious speakeasy of the time before the 18th Ammendment is repealed.

Collect expensive items such as yachts or cars to prove your worth. Invite in well known historical figures of society of the time to class up the joint. Make deals with mobsters while being careful to hide them from view during classy soires lest they detract from your reputation. Do favors for dirty cops to add to your set collection as well as to allow you to bust any mobsters on the attack from competing hooch vending entrepreneurs.

Of course, there is Jazz to liven up the night and add bonuses to your action selections as well as Soires to provide additional cash flow and reputation to your gin joint. So roll the dice, draft a set for worker placement and enjoy a strategic and thematic delve into the high society, law breaking, liquor driven endeavors of the time. May the most hoppin’ and shakin’ speakeasy win!

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Set Collection
  • Take That
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.86

Space Station Phoenix

| OTSG Staff
Space Station Phoenix

Space Station Phoenix

Space Station Phoenix is a worker-placement and resource management game set in one of Earth’s possible futures. The players are representatives of the Galactic Council, sent to Earth to build space stations to observe and perhaps interact with humanity.

Players begin the game with nine ships and a station hub. These ships act as action spaces that players use to gather resources, explore the nearby planets, and build their stations. Turns are fast and straightforward; either take ship action or take income.

Many games start players off with a small resource engine which they build up to a bigger one. In Space Station Phoenix, players start with the best production engine they will ever have and proceed to break it down part by part. As the game progresses, their actions get more efficient, but the number of ways to take those actions starts to diminish.

Space Station Phoenix also features deep re-playability with millions of possible starting positions and station parts combinations.

Game Mechanics:

  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.82

Roll for the Galaxy

| OTSG Staff
Roll for the Galaxy

Roll for the Galaxy

Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires for 2–5 players. Your dice represent your populace, whom you direct to develop new technologies, settle worlds, and ship goods. The player who best manages his workers and builds the most prosperous empire wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Civilization
  • Deck Building
  • Economic
  • Tableau Building
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.78

Rise to Nobility

| OTSG Staff
Rise to Nobility

Rise to Nobility

Five years after the events of Cavern Tavern, where a fragile peace was brokered between The Five Realms, the High Queen Tabita Orestes has ordered a new city to be built. The city of Caveborn will be the capital of the Five Realms, a place where all the races will learn to live together in harmony, with the main purpose being to bring them closer and prevent another war.

The Queen needs to keep the alliance between the races and ensure that Caveborn is peaceful and prosperous. To that end, a Settlers Council has been formed with Berk the Town Clerk as its chairman — but Berk is getting old and needs a successor. Are you that person?

Rise to Nobility is a worker (dice) placement game set in the same fantasy world as Cavern Tavern. You each own a small piece of land in the newly built city, and your job is to rise from anonymity, make your way to the title of lord, and take over the head seat at the Stone Council.

You can achieve this by upgrading your land and increasing its value, satisfying the demands of the settlers’ council, attracting and housing as many settlers as you can, accommodating their needs, finding them jobs, and helping them develop from apprentices to guild masters, thus insuring you have people in high places all around the city of Caveborn.

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Economic
  • Set Collection
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 25 – 150 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.28

Resurgence

| OTSG Staff
Resurgence

Resurgence

No one really knows what triggered the One Day War between the superpowers, but a single day is all it took to end the Before World. After the governments collapsed, leaderless groups of survivors huddled in the ruins of once great cities. The climate is brutal, resources are scarce, and mutant tribes are roaming the wastelands. The world desperately needs a hero to rally the people and lift them out of the ruins.

Resurgence is a competitive, Euro-style board game for up to four players. It offers a unique blend of bag-building, hidden worker placement, and resource management that creates a one-of-a-kind gameplay experience. At the start of the game, each player selects a hero in charge of a small band of survivors and a few supplies. Each round of the game, players need to secretly plan where they are going to send their workers in order to accomplish various tasks and exert their influence, whether they’re completing missions around the ruins of Moscow; gathering fuel, food and spare parts; rescuing survivors; learning new skills; or building their base.

Resurgence offers different routes to achieve victory, and in-game events and end-game directive cards provide replayability and variability from game to game. At the end of the game, the hero whose faction is victorious becomes the new leader and unites all the survivor groups in the sanctuary of Hope Island.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.80

Reavers of Midgard

| OTSG Staff
Reavers of Midgard

Reavers of Midgard

Reavers of Midgard is a single worker placement game with elements of set collection, dice combat and engine building set in the Champions of Midgard universe.

In Champions of Midgard, your quest was to become Jarl. You battled back the trolls, draugr and some of the epic monsters that once threatened the sanctity of your humble port town. Now it’s time to go on the offensive.

In Reavers of Midgard, you’ll be looking to gain glory by raiding nearby villages for their riches, sacking well-fortified castles and battling both man and monster on the open seas. You’ll not only need to take your rowdy crew of vikings and the food needed to keep them happy along for the ride but you’ll also have to recruit a crew of elite warriors – the Reavers.

Reavers can be used in three different ways. They can be made your ship’s leader, earning you a one-time bonus and enabling your warriors to be more versatile in combat. They can also be used to rally more warriors to your cause, filling your ship to the brim with the right fighters for the right situations. Finally, they can also be used to help your crew specialize, earning you a bonus every time your crew sails into battle.

Whoever can earn the most glory after six rounds will be the winner.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.91

Rajas of the Ganges

| OTSG Staff
Rajas of the Ganges

Rajas of the Ganges

Through tactics and karma to wealth and fame…

In 16th century India, the powerful empire of the Great Moguls rises between the Indus and the Ganges rivers. Taking on the role of rajas and ranis – the country’s influential nobles – players in Rajas of the Ganges race against each other in support of the empire by developing their estates into wealthy and magnificent provinces. Players must use their dice wisely and carefully plot where to place their workers, while never underestimating the benefits of good karma. Success will bring them great riches and fame in their quest to become legendary rulers.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Economic
  • Network Building
  • Racing
  • Tile Placement
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 75 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.89

Raiders of Scythia

| OTSG Staff
Raiders of Scythia

Raiders of Scythia

Many centuries ago, the Greek, Persian and Assyrian empires controlled vast amounts of land and riches. Yet, despite their fortifications and imposing armies, rumours began spreading of a formidable foe in the lands above the Black Sea. They came on horseback. Fierce warriors, both male and female. Skilled with the sword, axe and bow. But they weren’t mindless savages. Their artisans were renowned for their ability to craft detailed trinkets of gold. They fashioned leather armour and improvised the recurve bow. They trained eagles for hunting and war. Some even believe they inspired the Greek tales of the Amazons. But they were more than legend or fable. They were the Raiders of Scythia.

The aim of Raiders of Scythia is to be the player with the most Victory Points (VP) at the game’s end. VP are gained by raiding Settlements, taking Plunder and completing Quests. Players will need to assemble a Crew, train Animals and gather Provisions. The game ends when there is only 2 unraided Settlements or 2 Quests remaining on the Main Board.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 80 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.69