Strategy

New Haven

In New Haven, set in colonial New England, players must develop the riches of the land and build a thriving settlement. Players place tiles strategically to a shared game board to cut timber, quarry stone, plant fields of wheat, and fill pastures with fat sheep. Players then use these resources to erect buildings on their own village boards, attempting to complete rows and columns for population points. Whoever can build the biggest and most prosperous town will end up with the biggest population and win the game!

New Haven is a tile-laying game with a drafting component. The center board is the land between the player villages from which resources will be gathered. Players select from their two hidden tiles and play on this board to generate available value in some of the four resources. Once per game, each player can get a shipment which delivers a large value of one specific resource type.

This value is then used by the player to play building tokens on his personal village board. However, he can play only building tokens already owned behind his player screen, with restrictions on how buildings must be arranged. He can elect to play a token face down for more flexibility, but this means a lower score if he successfully completes that row or column of buildings.

Once a player is done building, any value he hasn't used is available for his opponents to use to build! Thus, the goal when placing resource tiles is to generate just enough for what is needed, not the most that can possibly be created. Finally, the player drafts new building tokens for use on future turns; plan your creation and consumption of resources to perfectly match your needs, and you'll be rewarded with additional tokens.

The base game lasts ten turns, and the player who attracts the most colonists to his village by completing roads and avenues of buildings wins the game.

New Haven plays well with 2, 3, or 4 players, lasting about 15 minutes per player, with a bit more time needed for learning games. The game includes a side B game board with some twists, as well as rule variants that can make the gameplay either more forgiving or more strategic.

Royals

In Royals, players take on the roles of the great noble houses of the 17th century, fighting for supremacy in Europe at that time. With the help of the right country cards, they occupy influential positions and obtain bonuses for this in the form of victory points. The higher the rank of the title associated with the position, the more country cards required. Already-occupied positions can be contested by playing intrigue cards.

The game proceeds over three periods, with a scoring taking place after each of them. During scoring, the players with the greatest influence in each of the four countries score victory points. After the third period scoring, the game ends with the scoring of the individual titles. The player with the most victory points wins.

Monarch

In Monarch you play as an heir to the throne. Your mother, the Queen, has lived out her years and will soon pass on the crown. The time has come for you and your siblings to demonstrate your intelligence, compassion, bravery, and strength as leaders. Out perform your siblings to demonstrate your ingenuity and strength. Choose strategies that will bring prosperity to the land and glory to your court. Defend the realm from threats and famine. Only the player with the most majestic court will be named heir.

There are many paths to choose from, but only one will become the next monarch. Who will reign?

Monarch is a light strategy game for 3-4 players that lasts 45 minutes. The primary mechanic is set collection; each of the sisters aims to assemble a court of Court Cards in order to prove her worth: wise advisors, exotic animals, and symbolic regalia. Each of these Court Cards provides crowns, and the sister whose court contains the most crowns at the end of the game becomes the Queen.

There are tricks to assembling a majestic court. Some cards don't work together well: the Astronomer is worth nothing if in a court with the Fireworks because he will be unable to see anything! Other cards work very well together: the Beastkeeper is worth more crowns for each animal she shares a court with.

Booty

Treasures of all types — yet the hard part is not capturing the ship's bounty, but dividing it fairly among the pirates! Players take turns splitting each round's booty into shares for the other players. Different types of treasures have different values, and of course there's the hidden items to keep people guessing. Will you be the quartermaster to give everyone their fair share – but giving yourself the best share?

Each round in Booty, cards representing treasures are revealed. Some are worth points immediately, some items cancel others, some give you a chance (but not a guarantee) for a big payday. The quartermaster, a job that travels from player to player, divides the treasures into shares and also includes the order of picking treasures in the next round. Balancing what you need, what others might want, and trying to get a little extra into your treasure pile is the key to success!

The building cards provide many special benefits that allow for a broad range of strategies every time you play.

Theseus: The Dark Orbit

Theseus: The Dark Orbit puts players in the heart of a conflict between five factions trapped on a space station in deep space. Only one can survive...

Command the marine forces! Use deadly weaponry, setting traps and mines in corridors to defend the human race.

Command the alien race! Use secret passages and ventilation ducts to launch surprise attacks and grow small aliens to take control of the station.

Command the scientists! Use computers and technological devices to gather data and record information about other inhabitants of the station.

Command the Greys race! Use their mind powers to control the enemy and use them for your own purposes.

The fifth faction? It's a mystery. It's precisely why you made the trek to Theseus, and it's precisely why you will die...

In Theseus: The Dark Orbit, players move their pawns around the space station and activate the abilities of different rooms. Every move you take changes the movement possibilities of your opponent. On your turn, you need to think about which room you want to reach and (in addition) how to mess your opponent's movement, which leads to great choices and meaningful decisions.

Rooms abilities change during the game as players install trait cards that give rooms new abilities and skills. Players create Theseus during gameplay by placing traps, smart guns, secret passages and many other features. In every game Theseus looks different; in every game it's deadly for you in a new way...

Rules for team play allow players to engage in incredibly emotional 2-vs-2 battles. With perfectly balanced factions, players will be able to fight engaging and deadly battles as a teams. Each faction has a unique deck of cards, and before the game starts, you discard ten cards from the deck. In basic mode you discard at random, while in tournament (master) mode you choose cards and build your deck. With five factions and 110 cards, the game can provide years of unique experiences.