At the turn of the 16th Century, King Manuel I commissioned Portugal’s greatest artisans to construct grandiose buildings. After completing the Palaces of Evora and Sintra, the king sought to build a summer pavilion to honor the most famous members of the royal family. This construction was intended for the most talented artisans — whose … Read more
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Introduced by the Moors, azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese when their king Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The king, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.
In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player’s score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
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Take Time is a cooperative game where players either win or lose together. To succeed, you must strategically play 12 cards facedown around a Clock, following specific rules for each Test. You can work together through a series of games to pass all 40 Tests available in the game. —description from the publisher
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Following a series of calamities that left civilization in shambles, societies around the world are being rebuilt anew in harmony with nature. Scotland lies in ruins and the ancient clans have taken it upon themselves to restore the land. As clan leaders you will compete for strategic control of the land by rebuilding its prestigious … Read more
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Joyride: Survival of the Fastest is a fast-paced, 2-4 player racing game in which you do whatever it takes to beat your opponents through the gates and to the finish line, whether that be through skillfully weaving your way around the track or bashing your opponents out of the way to claim victory. Sometimes the … Read more
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In Race for the Galaxy, players build galactic civilizations by game cards that represent worlds or technical and social developments.Each round consists of one or more of five possible phases. In each round, each player secretly and simultaneously chooses one of seven different action cards and then reveals it. Only the selected phases occur.
For these phases, every player performs the phase’s action, while the selecting player(s) also get a bonus for that phase.For example, if at least one player chooses the Develop action, then the Develop phase will occur; otherwise it is skipped. In it, each player may simultaneously select a development from his hand of cards to build. After revealing the cards, each player adds his development to his tableau of cards on the table and then discards cards from his hand equal to its cost.
The player who best manages his cards, phase and bonus selections, and card powers to build the greatest space empire, wins.The winner is the player with the most victory points.
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You are buying artwork for your museum, always trying to meet the current trends and finding genuine art from your associates. But the famous Belratti is trying to cheat his own fake paintings into your collection. In Belratti, players are split into two roles — buyers and painters — and are playing against the game. … Read more
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In The Vale of Eternity, players are tamers who hunt various monsters and spirits to tame them as minions. In this fantasy world, numerous creatures are living in harmony. Among them, dragons are the most valuable and noble ones, and all tamers dream of taming dragons. The player who manages to tame the most outstanding … Read more
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By adding the Blighted Reach Campaign Expansion, you can also play Arcs in an innovative micro-campaign, where each game is one episode in an epic trilogy that stretches across an even larger galaxy. Everyone begins as petty regents in a dying empire, but your fates quickly diverge. The campaign contains twenty-four fate seeds, each with … Read more
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Arcs is a sharp sci-fi strategy game for 2–4 players, set in a dark yet silly universe. Ready yourself for dramatic twists and turns as you launch into this galactic struggle. Seize the initiative: Take actions with multi-use cards. Copy the leader, pivot to new tactics, or take the initiative for next round. Timing is … Read more
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