More precisely referred to as "action drafting", this mechanism requires players to draft individual actions from a set that is available to all players. Players generally draft actions one-at-a-time and in turn order. If the game is structured in rounds, then all actions are usually refreshed so that they become available again for drafting. There is usually(*) a limit on the number of times a single action may be drafted in the same way for the same price. Once that limit is reached, an action can no longer be taken until a subsequent round or until the action space is no longer occupied by another player. As such, not all actions can be taken by all players in a given round, and action 'blocking' occurs.
Actions are commonly drafted by the placement of game pieces or tokens on the selected actions. Each player usually has a limited number of pieces with which to participate in the process. Some games achieve the same effect in reverse: the turn begins with action spaces filled by markers, which are claimed by players for some cost.
From a thematic standpoint, the game pieces which players use to select actions often represent workers of any given trade (this category of mechanism, however, is not necessarily limited to or by this thematic representation). In other words, players often thematically "place workers" to show which actions have been drafted by individual players. For example, in Agricola you start with two family members who can be placed on action spaces to collect resources or take certain actions like building fences. When someone places a piece on a given space, that action is no longer available until the next round.
In 1923 the bootlegger Owney Madden acquired an establishment in Harlem, New York, and named it the "Cotton Club". His idea was to use it as a cover to sell alcohol during Prohibition, but the place grew in popularity, and talented artists such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, and C....
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The world you know no longer exists. There is no government. No army. No civilization. The United States has collapsed, and now thirty years after the war started, new powers finally try to take control over the ruined country, try to establish a new order, try to control others and create a new cou....
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Using the central board in A Feast for Odin, players have to hunt, gather basic materials, refine those materials, develop their production-buildings, build/buy ships, and raid settlements.
The resulting earnings are placed on the players' board in the best possible pattern to produce income and ....
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It's been twenty years since Victor Frankenstein died on a ship in the arctic, but his vengeful creature lives on, as does Robert Walton, the sea captain who vowed to kill the fiend before mercy stayed his hand. It's now 1819, and a sinister darkness descends upon the city of Paris. A mysterious ben....
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Alma Mater has players serving as a headmaster of one of the independent universities in the 15th century. Players seek to strengthen their school's reputation and standing. To achieve these goals, players need to recruit the best staff and students, exchange knowledge with other schools, and become....
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It is the late 26th century. Earth is recovering from a catastrophic explosion that exterminated the majority of the population centuries ago and made most of the surface uninhabitable due to unearthly weather conditions. The surviving humans organized along four radically different ideologies, call....
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In Archipelago, players are Renaissance European powers competing in the exploration of a Pacific or Caribbean archipelago. They will explore territories, harvest resources, use those resources in markets both internal (for their use and that of the natives) and foreign (to sell it in Europe), build....
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In Automania, you run a car factory, trying to produce the most popular cars in the market. To achieve this, you buy tiles to upgrade and customize your factory, and hire specialist employees to help you.
Central to the game are the factory boards: Each player has a factory with three assembly li....
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Its the mid-19th century. The city of Barcelona is the most densely populated city in all of Europe. Shortly after the old city walls were finally destroyed, Ildefons Cerdà, who is now considered the inventor of urbanism, presented the plan for the creation of the "Eixample", the expansion that Bar....
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In the dystopic 1930s, the industrial revolution pushed the exploitation of fossil-based resources to the limit, and now the only thing powerful enough to quench the thirst for power of the massive machines and of the unstoppable engineering progress is the unlimited hydroelectric energy provided by....
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Beyond the Sun is a space civilization game in which players collectively decide the technological progress of humankind at the dawn of the Spacefaring Era, while competing against each other to be the leading faction in economic development, science, and galactic influence.
The game is played ov....
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With a group of pioneers, you have left civilization behind to settle along the shores of Boonlake, a long-forgotten region inhabited by humans long ago. This unexplored area beckons you! Become part of a new community and commit yourself to the common good. Explore the landscapes, build houses and ....
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Stake your fortunes in the mysterious island world of Bora Bora. Journey across islands, building huts where the resilient men and women of your tribes can settle, discovering fishing grounds and collecting shells. Send priests to the temples, and gather offerings to curry favor with the gods.
In....
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Bruxelles 1893 is a worker placement game with elements of bidding and majority control. Each player is an architect of the late 19th century and is trying to achieve, through various actions, an architectural work in the Art Nouveau style. The most successful building yields the most points. Each p....
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In 1897, Art Nouveau is taking over the streets of Brussels as the World's Fair opens its doors. The time has come to cement your name in the History of Art. To achieve all of this, you must construct magnificent buildings, create, sell and exhibit works of art, and shake hands with the city's noble....
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The "Arte di Calimala" — the guild of cloth finishers and merchants in foreign cloth — was one of the greater guilds of Florence, who arrogated to themselves the civic power of the Republic of Florence during the Late Middle Ages. The woolen cloth trade was the engine that drove the city’s eco....
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Carnegie was inspired by the life of Andrew Carnegie who was born in Scotland in 1835. Andrew Carnegie and his parents emigrated to the United States in 1848. Although he started his career as a telegraphist, his role as one of the major players in the rise of the United States’ steel industry mad....
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Carson City is a strategic game played in four rounds, and in each one of them, the players choose a character from the seven available that gives certain advantages.
After selecting characters, your cowboys are placed on action track locations that allow you to construct buildings, houses, or ro....
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Following along the same lines as its predecessor (Agricola), Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a worker-placement game at heart, with a focus on farming. In the game, you are the bearded leader of a small dwarf family that lives in a little cave in the mountains. You begin the game with a farmer and his....
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Champions of Midgard (formerly Defenders of Nidaros) is a middleweight, Viking-themed, worker placement game with dice rolling in which players are leaders of Viking clans who have traveled to an embattled Viking harbor town to help defend it against the threat of trolls, draugr, and other mythologi....
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Coal Baron – or Glück Auf in German, after a greeting German miners use when wishing one another luck – has players sending miners underground to dig tunnels and acquire coal, which comes in four levels of quality and is used to fulfill contracts.
The game lasts three rounds, and in each rou....
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Coloma is the town where an unexpected event happened that shaped history of the Western Frontier. In the winter of 1848 a man building a sawmill on the South Fork of the American River spotted some bright nuggets in the tailrace waters below. Sure enough, it was gold! Though he tried to keep his di....
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It is the late 1960s, and a new generation of young people cherish freedom, friendship, and love by creating gatherings where everyone can come together in peace and enjoy the ultimate life experience — music festivals! Everyone wants to see The Cascadians, Tikki Tooraid, and Great Western Cowboys....
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In the age of exploration the players arrive at a new home far away from their homeland. They try to settle the big island and each player tries to explore one part of it by placing landscape tiles. Landscape tiles grant resources and those are used to erect buildings with special abilities. Barrier....
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Axia — a land with a glorious past, a most uncertain present, and an even more unpredictable future. Populated by what has been described as a fervent and warm-blooded people, Axia is in crisis – economic, social, and political: the longest-running recession in its modern history, the highest in....
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Good times in the tiny kingdom of Emara: During the reign of King Thedorius the Wise, wars, uprisings, and other inconveniences became a thing of the past. Thedorius always cared more for the well-being of his subjects than for power or riches. Therefore, only the nobleman who is able to care for Em....
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In Crystal Palace, players take on the role of a nation at the time of the first World Fair in London (1851), trying to create a buzz with spectacular inventions and the support of famous and powerful people.
Crystal Palace is a dice-placement game in which the players themselves determine the st....
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Dune: Imperium is a game that finds inspiration in elements and characters from the Dune legacy, both the new film from Legendary Pictures and the seminal literary series from Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson.
As a leader of one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad, raise your ....
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Egizia: Shifting Sands is an updated version of the beloved strategy game Egizia. Players travel down the Nile, placing boats as they go, to collect resources that will help them construct some of Egypt's most famous monuments. With new monuments to build, new cards to collect, and a constantly shif....
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Welcome to Encyclopedia! The year is 1739, and as aspiring naturalists and adventurers, you’ve been hired by the Comte de Buffon - Darwins predecessor - to help him create the first encyclopedia of natural history. To do so, you’ll be conducting research, organizing ambitious expeditions and pub....
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You find yourself in a dystopian cityscape with a few workers at your disposal to make your mark on the world. Like most people in dystopian fiction, your workers are oblivious to their situation. This world is all they've ever known, and you may use them at your whim.
The world as we know it has....
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Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a year have come and gone, but the time has come for new territories to be settled a....
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The universe is organized into many federations which trade, intrigue, develop… One of these federations, still not fully developed yet (5 member planets so far) wants a new delegation to join them, but you are not the only one having your sights set on the federation. The Federation challenges yo....
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In Florenza, the players are the heads of the most powerful families in Florenza during the Renaissance period. The goal of the game is to become the most famous patron of the arts by hiring the most famous artists of the period and financing their works.
Each player can commission artworks in hi....
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Return to a bustling Plymouth Harbor in 1572 as an aspiring Elizabethan captain making preparations for three exciting voyages to the Spanish Main in search of fame and fortune! As captains, players will have to plan their missions and provision their ships accordingly.
Francis Drake is a race to....
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Gutenberg is a board game for 1-4 people in which players will play as the pioneers of printing in the 15th century. By carrying out orders, they will build their wealth and fame. By improving their printing workshops and gaining the support of patrons, they will develop their production capacity. T....
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Electric vehicles (EVs) have become more common since 2014 and are the future of the automobile industry. They are superior vehicles due to them being more efficient, easier to maintain, cleaner, and cheaper to run. They are computerized machines that use AI to improve safety and in the near future ....
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Keyper is a game with high player interaction for two to four players played over four rounds. Each round represents a season: spring, summer, autumn and finally winter.
Each player starts the game with their own village board, a mini keyp board, 12 village tiles, a keyper (waving meeple) in thei....
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You've just inherited an old restaurant and you must turn it into a successful business! Hire personnel, order the right ingredients and be ready to serve the customers that enter your restaurant. The success will depend entirely on your efficiency in the kitchen!
Kitchen Rush is an innovative re....
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In La Granja, players control small farms by the Alpich pond near the village of Esporles on the island of Mallorca. Over time, the players develop their farms and deliver goods to the village. Players are vying to earn the title of "La Granja" for their country estate!
Over the course of 6 game ....
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In 1413, the new king of England, Henry V of Lancaster, has ambitious plans: The unification of England and the conquest of the French crown!
Each player takes the role of the head of an ambitious aristocratic family. Secure your family's legacy and provide the best support for the young king and....
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You are famous - one of the most well-known names of the early 19th Century. That's not enough for you, though. You want to leave a legacy, with your name living far into the future. Make strategic relationships, well-timed investments, and marvelous heirlooms to leave a lasting mark. Most important....
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Lorenzo de' Medici, also known as "Lorenzo il Magnifico" (Lorenzo the Magnificent), was one of the most powerful and enthusiastic patrons of the Italian Renaissance.
In Lorenzo il Magnifico, each player takes the role of a head of a noble family in a city during the Italian renaissance. You try t....
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On an uninhabited island in uncharted seas, explorers have found traces of a great civilization. Now you will lead an expedition to explore the island, find lost artifacts, and face fearsome guardians, all in a quest to learn the island's secrets.
Lost Ruins of Arnak combines deck-building and wo....
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Madeira is an island officially discovered early in the 15th century by Portuguese seafarers. Madeira, the Portuguese word for wood, refers to the dense forest that covered its wild, fertile landscape. This, and its strategic position far into the Atlantic Ocean made the island one of the most signi....
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In Mangrovia, a light "gamer's game"/family game with a Caribbean mangrove setting, a clever role selection mechanism allows the players to choose two different bonuses/actions as well as the turn order in which they want these actions to be carried out — all by placing just one marker. Victory is....
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Messina 1347 takes place during the introduction of the plague epidemic (a.k.a. the "black death") and the spreading of its infection through town. During this time period, merchant ships delivering luxury goods to Europe brought to these countries an unprecedented epidemic — and one of the first ....
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Mint Works is a light and straightforward worker placement game. Its compact size makes it easy to put in your pocket and take it anywhere. Its simple rules make it easy to introduce new players to the genre of worker placement.
During the game each player will have a limited amount of Mint Token....
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In Mombasa, players acquire shares of chartered companies based in Mombasa, Cape Town, Saint-Louis, and Cairo and propagate trading posts of these companies throughout the African continent in order to earn the most money.
Mombasa features a unique, rotating-display hand-mechanism that drives gam....
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Nusfjord is a tranquil fishing village in the Lofoten archipelago in northern Norway. Fifty years ago, business was blooming when the codfish would come for spawning. Today, Nusfjord is more of a museum than a village, with less than a hundred people living there. Imagine how beautiful this place mu....
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You are the head of a respected but troubled family estate in mid-19th century Victorian England. After several lean decades, family fortunes are looking up! Your goal is to improve your estate so as to be in better standing with the truly influential families in Derbyshire.
Obsession is a game o....
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Following the success of unmanned rover missions, the United Nations established the Department of Operations and Mars Exploration (D.O.M.E.). The first settlers arrived on Mars in the year 2037 and in the decades after establishment Mars Base Camp, private exploration companies began work on the cr....
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In Ora et Labora, each player is head of a monastery in the Medieval era who acquires land and constructs buildings – little enterprises that will gain resources and profit. The goal is to build a working infrastructure and manufacture prestigious items – such as books, ceramics, ornaments, and ....
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During the medieval goings-on around Orléans, you must assemble a following of farmers, merchants, knights, monks, etc. to gain supremacy through trade, construction and science in medieval France.
In the city of Orléans and the area of the Loire, you can take trade trips to other cities to acq....
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Mid-22nd century, after 300 years of unconsciousness, the water rising engulfs the last emerged lands. Fighting for their lives, the survivor’s settlements must remain above the sea level. You live in the Otys colony and you must retrieve the past civilizations debris in the depths to build the fu....
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Outlive is a management/survival game in a post-apocalyptic universe in which nature has overcome its rights amongst the world of Men. In Outlive, players have six days (turns) to send heroes gathering resources during the day, while avoiding threats from other players and reinforce their settlement....
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Paladins of the West Kingdom is set at a turbulent time of West Francia's story, circa 900 AD. Despite recent efforts to develop the city, outlying townships are still under threat from outsiders. Saracens scout the borders, while Vikings plunder wealth and livestock. Even the Byzantines from the ea....
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You are one of Pharaoh’s children. Like your brothers and sisters, you will spend a huge part of your life preparing for your journey towards the Afterlife. Getting the support of loyal nobles and talented artisans, building a magnificent burial chamber, making offerings to the Gods… here are th....
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Raiders of the North Sea is set in the central years of the Viking Age. As Viking warriors, players seek to impress the Chieftain by raiding unsuspecting settlements. Players will need to assemble a crew, collect provisions and journey north to plunder gold, iron and livestock. There is glory to be ....
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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 su....
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In Russian Railroads, players compete in an exciting race to build the largest and most advanced railway network. In order to do so, the players appoint their workers to various important tasks.
The development of simple tracks will quickly bring the players to important places, while the moderni....
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“You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot further with a smile and a gun.” -Al Capone
Chicago in the Roaring 20s. Prohibition has made liquor business illegal and now criminal gangs operate in the underworld to try and take control of the city. Blood, influence, power, and money a....
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Italy during the 15th century was a country full of intrigue and magnificence. The tumultuous political conditions created the perfect breeding ground for the birth of a new form of government (called Signoria) and the rise of the most ambitious noble families. After having acted in the dark for a l....
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It's the year 1899, and strange phenomena are being observed in places like Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt. Time goes crazy, and newly discovered crystals have exhibited strange properties that allow for the creation of fantastic apparatuses.
In a race to exploit these discoveries, the rapi....
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Theme and overview:
Unlike in other cultures, the desert Tuareg men, known as Targi, cover their faces whereas women of the tribe do not wear veils. They run the household and they have the last word at home in the tents. Different families are divided into tribes, headed by the ‘Imascheren’ ....
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Travel back in time to the greatest city in Mesoamerica. Witness the glory and the twilight of the powerful pre-Columbian civilization. Strategize, accrue wealth, gain the favour of the gods, and become the builder of the magnificent Pyramid of the Sun.
In Teotihuacan: City of Gods, each player c....
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In an ancient world forgotten by time, enormous titans terrorize the land. Five tribes have been fleeing from the titans for centuries, but things are about to change. Growing city-states pledge to end the reign of terror, determined to take on the titans and make the world a safer place for all. Ea....
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This age of art and capitalism has created a need for a new occupation - The Gallerist.
Combining the elements of an Art dealer, museum curator, and Artists’ manager, you are about to take on that job! You will promote and nurture Artists; buy, display, and sell their Art; and build and exert y....
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Designer Eric Lang, known for his "dudes on a map" games, describes The Godfather: Corleone's Empire — a standalone big box board game with high-quality miniatures — as "thugs on a map".
In short, the game is a streamlined, confrontational worker placement game filled with murder and intrigue....
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At the beginning of the 13th century, construction of the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Players are builders who try to contribute the most to this cathedral's construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points.
Gameplay roughly consists of using workers to pr....
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Autumn is not the best time to climb up on a scaffold in Moscow, but it is still far better than doing so in the winter. Tsar Ivan wants to see results and our team will prove to him that we are the best builders in the city. We are sure to finish off those decorative arches with the brightest shini....
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In 1271, 17-year-old Marco Polo started on a journey to China with his father and older brother. After a long and grueling journey that led through Jerusalem and Mesopotamia and over the "Silk Road", they reached the court of Kublai Khan in 1275.
In The Voyages of Marco Polo, players recreate thi....
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This War Of Mine: The Board Game is the tabletop adaptation of the award-winning video game that pictures the drama of civilians trapped in a war-torn city.
You will enter this experience as a group of civilians trapped in a besieged and conflict-ridden city, enduring many hardships that often te....
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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 t....
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Trickerion is a competitive Euro-style strategy game set in a fictional world inspired by the late 19th century urban life and culture, spiced with a pinch of supernatural.
Players take on the roles of rival stage illusionists, each with their own strengths and characteristics. They are striving ....
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In Troyes, recreate four centuries of history of this famous city of the Champagne region of France. Each player manages their segment of the population (represented by a horde of dice) and their hand of cards, which represent the three primary domains of the city: religious, military, and civil. Pl....
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Tzolkin: The Mayan Calendar presents a new game mechanism: dynamic worker placement. Players representing different Mayan tribes place their workers on giant connected gears, and as the gears rotate they take the workers to different action spots.
During a turn, players can either (a) place one o....
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Life in the village is hard – but life here also allows the inhabitants to grow and prosper as they please. One villager might want to become a friar. Another might feel ambitious and strive for a career in public office. A third one might want to seek his luck in distant lands.
Each player wil....
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Vinhos (the Portuguese word for "wines") is a trading and economic game about the business of wine making. Despite its small size, Portugal is one of the world's leading wine producers. Over six years of harvests, cultivate your vines, choose the best varieties, hire the best oenologists, take part ....
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In Viticulture, the players find themselves in the roles of people in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany who have inherited meager vineyards. They have a few plots of land, an old crushpad, a tiny cellar, and three workers. They each have a dream of being the first to call their winery a true success.
Th....
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Wayfarers of the South Tigris is set during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate, circa 820 AD. As brave explorers, cartographers and astronomers, players set off from Baghdad to map the surrounding land, waterways, and heavens above. Players must carefully manage their caravan of workers and equipme....
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Natural disasters will soon be a thing of the past!” proclaimed Professor Sêni Lativ, Project Chief of Meteorological Manipulation at Lightning Technologies. Tests of his new invention, the Weather Machine, showed positive results. Visions of quelling floods, subduing cyclones, and ending drought....
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Japan, 1605 – Hidetada Tokugawa has succeeded his father as the new Shogun, ruling from the great city of Edo (a.k.a. Yedo), the city known in present times as Tokyo. This marks the beginning of the golden age of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the so-called Edo Period that will last until 1868. Natura....
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Once Yokohama was just a fishing village, but now at the beginning of the Meiji era it's becoming a harbor open to foreign countries and one of the leading trade cities of Japan. As a result, many Japanese products such as copper and raw silk are collected in Yokohama for export to other countries. ....
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