Heavy Games 9 - Shut Up & Sit Down

Fields of Arle

In the worker placement game Fields of Arle, set in the German region of East Frisia, players develop an estate and expand their territory by cutting peat and building dikes.

The game covers nine half-years with alternating summer and winter seasons, and each season allows or denies specific player actions. Different and detailed manufacturing processes allow a player to create goods needed to expand her estate. In addition, trades with adjoining municipalities can help a player gain the needed resources or goods for building and expanding.

In 1942, the Japanese empire exploded across the Pacific, conquering everything before them. The only large land mass still held by the Allies was Australia, which they desperately needed as a staging area for a planned U.S. led counter-attack. The Japanese knew of the importance of Australia, but lacked the resources to conquer it, so they decided on the next best thing: Isolate Australia from the United States by building an airfield on the island of Guadalcanal, from which planes could disrupt the Allied supply lines.

The United States, ill-prepared as it was for any offensive actions, immediately attacked with the 1st Marine Division under the command of Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, caught the Japanese by surprise and easily took control of the airfield. The Japanese 17th Army, under the command of Lt. Gen. Harukichi Hyakutake, counterattacked with an ever-increasing number of troops. For the next four months a titanic struggle took place in the air, on land and on sea as the isolated Marines and U.S. Army fought for their lives to hold their tiny perimeter around the airfield against the might of the Japanese Empire.

Conflict of Heroes: Guadalcanal – Pacific Ocean 1942 recreates this struggle on your tabletop and includes gorgeous beach and jungles maps of the South Pacific, amphibious landing craft, the USMC, Japanese Banzai Charges, night combat, and much more.

America in the 19th century: You are a rancher and repeatedly herd your cattle from Texas to Kansas City, where you send them off by train. This earns you money and victory points. Needless to say, each time you arrive in Kansas City, you want to have your most valuable cattle in tow. However, the “Great Western Trail” not only requires that you keep your herd in good shape, but also that you wisely use the various buildings along the trail. Also, it might be a good idea to hire capable staff: cowboys to improve your herd, craftsmen to build your very own buildings, or engineers for the important railroad line.

If you cleverly manage your herd and navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of Great Western Trail, you surely will gain the most victory points and win the game.

Cry Havoc is a card-driven, asymmetric, area control war game set in a brutal, science fiction setting. Each player commands one of four unique factions with varying abilities and units. The game includes 54 custom miniatures, a large format board, and over one hundred unique cards, all with stunning new artwork.

Quartermaster General: 1914 is the next title in the critically acclaimed Quartermaster General series by Ian Brody and creates a narrative of the First World War in Europe, reflecting the military, technological, and social changes that occurred over the following four years.

In Quartermaster General: 1914, each card has two different uses: one when played, and another when prepared. On your turn, you have the opportunity to both play and prepare a card. You can also spend cards to draft more troops, or use cards to attrition your opponents. However, your deck represents your overall resources, so moving too quickly through your deck early might result in your unsupported armies being swept away in the final rounds of the game. This is worth it if you can capture Berlin or Paris in 1915, but if your gambit fails, you may have a tough road ahead.

The game ends after 17 rounds of play, or earlier if one side has a commanding lead.

It is a time of unrest in 1920s Europa. The ashes from the first great war still darken the snow. The capitalistic city-state known simply as “The Factory”, which fueled the war with heavily armored mechs, has closed its doors, drawing the attention of several nearby countries.

Scythe is a Worker Placement/Economic Engine board game set in an alternate-history 1920s period. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor. In Scythe, each player represents a character from one of five factions of Eastern Europa who are attempting to earn their fortune and claim their faction’s stake in the land around the mysterious Factory. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs.

Each player begins the game with different resources (power, coins, combat acumen, and popularity), a different starting location, and a hidden goal. Starting positions are specially calibrated to contribute to each faction’s uniqueness and the asymmetrical nature of the game (each faction always starts in the same place).

Scythe gives players almost complete control over their fate. Other than each player’s individual hidden objective card, the only elements of luck or variability are “encounter” cards that players will draw as they interact with the citizens of newly explored lands. Each encounter card provides the player with several options, allowing them to mitigate the luck of the draw through their selection. Combat is also driven by choices, not luck or randomness.

Scythe uses a streamlined action-selection mechanism (no rounds or phases) to keep gameplay moving at a brisk pace and reduce downtime between turns. While there is plenty of direct conflict for players who seek it, there is no player elimination.

Every part of Scythe has an aspect of engine-building to it. Players can upgrade actions to become more efficient, build structures that improve their position on the map, enlist new recruits to enhance character abilities, activate mechs to deter opponents from invading, and expand their borders to reap greater types and quantities of resources. These engine-building aspects create a sense of momentum and progress throughout the game. The order in which players improve their engine adds to the unique feel of each game, even when playing one faction multiple times.

Pit the mighty Blood Angels Terminators against a lethal swarm of agile Genestealers in this two-player board game. Inside the cramped confines of a derelict Space Hulk known as the Sin of Damnation, the Blood Angels must fight to save Mankind from the alien menace that lies within.

Games of Space Hulk are played on a gaming area made up of high-quality card tiles which fit together to create the cramped confines of the Space Hulk. Each of the 16 missions included in the boxed game uses a different set-up, or alternatively you can assemble the pieces in any way you like and create your own bespoke games.

The rules to play the game and 16 missions are all contained within two full colour booklets: the Rulebook and Mission Book. There are also 35 plastic Citadel miniatures, including: 11 Blood Angels Space Marine Terminators, 1 Blood Angels Space Marine Librarian in Terminator armour, 22 Genestealers, and 1 Broodlord. Also included are three plastic mission objectives models: a dead Space Marine on throne, a Blood Angels artefact and a Cyber-Altered Task Unit.

In addition to the booklets and miniatures, you will receive a set of high-quality card tiles that make up the gaming board. Included are: 110 gaming counters, 77 corridor and room sections, 2 new boarding torpedoes , a turbo-lift, 20 doors with plastic stands, 1 mission status display, a sand timer and 5 dice.

After 12 months of development, Mat Hart and Rich Loxam are pleased to present “Guild Ball”, a tabletop medieval football wargame. Playing the role of the team coach, you will take control of a Guild Ball football (soccer) team and with a combination of tactics and strategy attempt to outscore your opponent whilst simultaneously trying to achieve additional secret political objectives and agendas.

17 lbs of Nightmare Horror Gaming

224 Page Rulebook, 17 Hard Plastic Sprues of Miniatures, 1000+ Matte Game Cards, 400+ Unique pieces of Art and 86 Full Page Illustrations.
Kingdom Death: Monster is a fully cooperative tabletop hobby game experience. Unite to survive by hunting monsters and collectively guiding the development of your settlement through a 25 year, self-running campaign. Every choice – from each showdown space moved, each desperately crafted piece of gear, to what Principles your settlement upholds – can have lasting impact on this highly replayable and challenging game experience.

“Life is Battle; Battle is Glory; Glory is ALL”

In Blood Rage, each player controls their own Viking clan’s warriors, leader, and ship. Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world! It’s the Vikings’ last chance to go down in a blaze of glory and secure their place in Valhalla at Odin’s side! For a Viking there are many pathways to glory. You can invade and pillage the land for its rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan’s stats, or even die gloriously either in battle or from Ragnarök, the ultimate inescapable doom.

Most player strategies are guided by the cards drafted at the beginning of each of the three game rounds (or Ages). These “Gods’ Gifts” grant you numerous boons for your clan including: increased Viking strength and devious battle strategies, upgrades to your clan, or even the aid of legendary creatures from Norse mythology. They may also include various quests, from dominating specific provinces, to having lots of your Vikings sent to Valhalla. Most of these cards are aligned with one of the Norse gods, hinting at the kind of strategy they support. For example, Thor gives more glory for victory in battle, Heimdall grants you foresight and surprises, Tyr strengthens you in battle, while the trickster Loki actually rewards you for losing battles, or punishes the winner.

Players must choose their strategies carefully during the draft phase, but also be ready to adapt and react to their opponents’ strategies as the action phase unfolds. Battles are decided not only by the strength of the figures involved, but also by cards played in secret. By observing your opponent’s actions and allegiances to specific gods, you may predict what card they are likely to play, and plan accordingly. Winning battles is not always the best course of action, as the right card can get you even more rewards by being crushed. The only losing strategy in Blood Rage is to shy away from battle and a glorious death!

Fields of Arle

Conflict of Heroes: Guadalcanal – The Pacific 1942

Great Western Trail

Cry Havoc

Quartermaster General: 1914

Scythe

Space Hulk

Guild Ball

Kingdom Death: Monster

Blood Rage

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