Tag: Worker Placement

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

Tungaru

| T3d-1978
Tungaru

Tungaru

In a time when early sea-faring Polynesians roamed the Pacific they came across the archipelago of Tungaru, today also known as Gilbert Islands. Rich in nutrients and resources they set about colonising these lands and spreading their culture.

Tungaru sets players as early Polynesians in this dice placement and resource conversion, medium-weight euro game. Players will jump from island to island in an effort to recruit Nomads as new tribe members, colonise land, spread their culture and exchange goods. Players use dice as workers, Leader cards which are blind revealed which are then given to your neighbour and custom shaped meeples specific to their tribe. All in an effort to be the most successful tribe!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Area Movement
  • Civilization
  • Dice Rolling
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.91

Time of Empires

| T3d-1978
Time of Empires

Time of Empires

In Time of Empires, take charge of a civilization and lead it through the ages from antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution to modern times.

Each epoch spans a preparation phase, an action phase, and a scoring phase. Other players have accepted the same charge you have and will be grappling with life through the action phase simultaneously with you in real time. Your two 30-second sand timers will trigger your actions — expanding your territory, building wonders, and discovering new technologies — while a soundtrack keeps the tempo of history. You probably won’t be able to look everywhere at the same time, so try to ensure that you don’t overlook a potential attack because you’re too busy helping to complete a wonder!

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Control
  • Civilization
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • 45 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.29

Tidal Blades

| T3d-1978
Tidal Blades

Tidal Blades

Welcome Heroes! Many magnificent contestants have signed up for the tournament but only a handful will be chosen to join the Tidal Blades, the elite guards of our island realm. To succeed in the Tournament and be chosen as a Tidal Blade, you must compete in Challenges held in the 3 Arenas, rise to the top of the Champion’s Board, and protect the realm from the ever increasing threat of the Monsters from the mysterious Fold.

It has been fifteen years since the Great Battle; 15 years since the Arcanists from the Citadel of Time made their terrible choice and created the Fold; 15 years since the last assemblage of Tidal Blades. The Arcanists folded space and time to stop the onslaught of creatures from the depths, but now new Monsters have appeared, the hard-earned days of peace are coming to a close and the islands need protection. A tournament has been called, the Arenas are ready, the inhabitants of all the islands are gathering, and young heroes from across the realm are showing up to compete to be named a Tidal Blade: Hero of the Reef.

In Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef, each player takes the role of a young hero competing to be named a Tidal Blade. The tournament takes place over 5 Days and Nights. By gathering the needed resources, signing up to compete in Challenges and timing your arrival at different islands you can make the most of your Hero’s turns and rise in the ranks of the contestants.

Each day you will send your hero to take actions on the different Locations and to undertake Challenges. Each action will gain you the resource or effect listed on the action space as well as the Location bonus. At the Arenas you may then attempt a Challenge that matches your Location, and at the Fold you may battle a monster. Completing Challenges and fighting monsters will advance your character in the four traits of Focus, Spirit, Resilience and Synergy.

Each Tidal Blade will be judged at the end of the 5 rounds based on the Challenges they have completed, the level of each of their Traits, their standing on the Champions Board, and the monsters they have fought.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Dice Rolling
  • Hand Management
  • Open Drafting
  • Set Collection
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 60 – 90 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.87

The Taverns of Tiefenthal

| T3d-1978
The Taverns of Tiefenthal

The Taverns of Tiefenthal

In the village of Tiefenthal lies “The Tavern of the Deep Valley”. There, all citizens from the area gather, but it’s important to attract new, wealthy guests for only then is there enough money to expand the tavern, which will then lure nobles into the tavern as well. But which tavern expansion is best? Should you focus on money? Or rather ensure that the beer will keep flowing?

In The Taverns of Tiefenthal, the challenge is to skillfully choose the dice and develop your personal deck of cards as profitably as possible. The game is structured with five modules so that your group can add extra levels of complexity as you become more familiar with the game.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deck Building
  • Dice Drafting
  • Dice Rolling
  • Open Drafting
  • Worker Placement

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.69

Stardew Valley

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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

| T3d-1978
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