Fantasy

Root is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (1 to 6 with the 'Riverfolk' expansion) players battle for control of a vast wilderness.

The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright. The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root.

Root represents the next step in our development of asymmetric design. Like Vast: The Crystal Caverns, each player in Root has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. Now, with the aid of gorgeous, multi-use cards, a truly asymmetric design has never been more accessible.

The Cats play a game of engine building and logistics while attempting to police the vast wilderness. By collecting Wood they are able to produce workshops, lumber mills, and barracks. They win by building new buildings and crafts.

The Eyrie musters their hawks to take back the Woods. They must capture as much territory as possible and build roosts before they collapse back into squabbling.

The Alliance hides in the shadows, recruiting forces and hatching conspiracies. They begin slowly and build towards a dramatic late-game presence--but only if they can manage to keep the other players in check.

Meanwhile, the Vagabond plays all sides of the conflict for their own gain, while hiding a mysterious quest. Explore the board, fight other factions, and work towards achieving your hidden goal.

In Root, players drive the narrative, and the differences between each role create an unparalleled level of interaction and replayability. Leder Games invites you and your family to explore the fantastic world of Root!

—description from the publisher

The game is for 2 teams, divided into two approximately equivalent number of players and takes about 30 minutes to play.

It could remind you of the classic word game known as Taboo, but this one has an interesting twist on gameplay – the opposing team is the one who chooses the words you cannot use. With you having no idea which words are "traps", it’s like dancing on a minefield, when you’re trying to describe your assigned word to the rest of the team.

You take the role of a group of adventurers crawling through a fantasy dungeon full of traps and curses, with a Boss waiting for you at the end.
You have to successfully guess a word that one of your teammates is trying to describe to you. Sounds simple, but it is made fiendishly difficult by not knowing which words you can't say. Because both teams are simultaneously preparing secret traps for each other, words that you can't use. And further you get, the more trapwords you might expect.

Let's see the example of one possible turn when you are trying to give clues for the word "Axe":

You: "It is a thing that a dwarf can…"
Opponents team: "A-ha, dwarf! Gotcha!"
You: "How did you know that? Was it obvious I will use that?"

Or when you would try another approach it could look like this, the successful turn of your team:

You: "This thing is used by a man with a beard, in a checkered shirt...."
One of your teammates: "A coffee maker?"
[Everyone laughs]
You: "He uses it for work in nature."
Another teammate: "A chainsaw!"
You: "He makes smaller pieces from a big plant with it."
Any of your teammate: "An axe!"
You: "Yes! Very good!"

Could you avoid your opponent's trapwords when you don't know what you can't say?

In Maiden's Quest, a maiden — tired of waiting to be rescued — takes it upon herself to fight her enemies and escape.

Maidens use cards from their hands to attempt to defeat an enemy or obstacle. As you play, the game's difficulty grows as enemies of increasing ferocity become active! An innovative turn-and-flip mechanism allows each card to represent up to four items, encounters, or allies.

This fun and easy-to-learn game takes 10–30 minutes if you play non-stop. However, since each encounter is resolved separately, you can stop and stow away the deck at any time, returning to play when and where you left off at a later time! Since no surface is required, you can play while standing in line to get your morning coffee, while you wait for an appointment, or while sitting on the couch at home! Contents include enough for true solo play, co-op, or competitive two-player games, and, with multiple copies, more players can join in!

—description from the publisher

Knuckle Sammich is a small card game, originally made available to Kickstarter backers of KOBOLDS ATE MY BABY! IN COLOR!!! by 9th Level games.

The object of the game is to fill your stomach with all manner of items that kobolds eat...especially babies!!

From the publisher:

YOU ARE LATE FOR LUNCH! By the time that you get to the Kitchens, lunch is nearly over! You and the other slowpokers and lateniks are going to have to make your own, with some KNUCKLE SAMMICHES!

YOU ARE A KOBOLD trying to tooth and claw your way to a full belly by grabbing the last few sandwiches. Along they way, you may just give up the pretense of making sandwiches and eat your friends instead. Watch out for King Torg (ALL HAIL KING TORG!) and maybe you will survive lunch and wind up with a fresh, tasty baby to eat.

KNUCKLE SAMMICH is a fast card game for 2-7 players that involves a little strategy, a little luck, a few cards, and occasionally shouting at the top of your lungs. Great for any age or gamer type. Based on the popular RPG KOBOLDS ATE MY BABY! and featuring the art of JOHN KOVALIC (of Munchkin and Dork Tower and Kobolds Ate My Baby! fame).

GAME SYSTEM

This entry is to allow for discussion/rating of the game system as a whole. It is not for a specific product or release. Versions will appear on the individual item pages.

From the official website: In the Magic game, you play the role of a planeswalker—a powerful wizard who fights other planeswalkers for glory, knowledge, and conquest. Your deck of cards represents all the weapons in your arsenal. It contains the spells you know and the creatures you can summon to fight for you.

This is the grandfather of the collectible card game (or CCG) genre. Cards are categorized as common, uncommon, rare, and mythic rare. Players collect cards and build decks out of their collection.

Players build a deck of cards and duel against an opponent's deck. Players are wizards attempting to reduce their opponent's life total to zero. The first player to reduce his opponent's life to zero (or meet another set win condition) wins the game.

An important part of the game is deck construction, which is done prior to the actual game by selecting what cards are included in a particular deck. There are nearly 20,000 different cards from which to build your deck!

Cards can be lands, which usually generate mana of various colors, or spells, which require a certain amount of mana to be used. Some cards (creatures, artifacts, and enchantments) stay on the board and continue to affect the game, while others have a one-time effect.

Players randomly draw spells to see what they get and can play each turn. Although this limits your choices, there is a lot of strategy in how you play those spells. A robust list of game mechanics, including intricate rules for reactive card play called "the stack," provide for rich tactics and tough choices each turn.

Though traditionally a two-player duel, there are several casual and tournament formats to Magic that allow more players to play.