Preview Archives - Unfiltered Gamer https://unfilteredgamer.com Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:46:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.7 Kickstarter: Era of Atlantis https://unfilteredgamer.com/review-guest-post-era-of-atlantis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=review-guest-post-era-of-atlantis https://unfilteredgamer.com/review-guest-post-era-of-atlantis/#respond Mon, 09 Sep 2024 18:49:12 +0000 https://unfilteredgamer.com/?p=23887 The post Kickstarter: Era of Atlantis appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

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Publisher: Seajay Games
Player Count: 3-5 Players
Game Length: 120 Minutes
Kickstarter: September 30-October 30

Click here to see the Kickstarter campaign

Era of Atlantis is a worker placement and area-control board game by Seajay Games set in a distant mythical-scifi past.

The unique twist about this game is that you control two nations at the same time and share each one with another player! The lesser valued one at game end determines your score.

You are playing a secret society seeking to expand the two powerful nations you control during the mythical antediluvian age, 12000 years ago. This includes legendary civilizations such as Atlantis, Lemuria and Hyperborea.

Cooperate and compete with your rivals to become the most successful one before the Era of Atlantis ends either in glory or in cataclysm!

In Era of Atlantis, you are a secret society seeking to expand the powerful nations you control during the mythical antediluvian age, 12000 years ago. You have two of these under your control and share each one with a rival. You also have a secondary goal trying to bring “light” or “darkness” to the world. Working with and against your rivals you must prove to be the most powerful secret society in the world before the Era of Atlantis ends either in glory or in cataclysm.

This is an area-control and worker placement game with a unique twist. You control two nations with the lower-valued one counting for your score at game end. This means you will usually try to balance the two. You also share control of each one with another player, who has the same interest in the success of that nation as you do. Switching control of a nation is also possible, but difficult.

There are ways to score a few additional points for yourself only, such as with your remaining mystical energy or by fulfilling secret objectives.

The game is played over a variable number of rounds, with each player taking a turn per round. There are two main ways to gain new areas for your nation: militarily or politically. You can also expand your abilities by constructing buildings or acquiring powerful special actions. A nation will grow more successfully the better its two controlling players can cooperate.

Era of Atlantis is the successor game to Galactic Era and plays in the same universe (chronologically the prelude). There is also a campaign game mode where you can play both games together.

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Coming Soon: Thames & Kosmos 2021 Lineup! https://unfilteredgamer.com/coming-soon-thames-kosmos-2021-lineup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=coming-soon-thames-kosmos-2021-lineup https://unfilteredgamer.com/coming-soon-thames-kosmos-2021-lineup/#respond Fri, 12 Feb 2021 23:59:25 +0000 https://unfilteredgamer.com/?p=21242 The post Coming Soon: Thames & Kosmos 2021 Lineup! appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

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Thames & Kosmos has announced it slate of 2021 games including new EXIT games and follow up to the hit The Crew: The Quest for Planet 9!

Escape Room Games for the Home! 

The EXIT: The Game series allows you to bring the excitement, intensity, and team spirit of an escape room to your living room. In each EXIT game, your team starts out locked in an imaginary room or trapped somewhere. You must solve a series of riddles and puzzles in order to unlock doors and objects, and reveal new riddles. Each correct solution brings you to another riddle and eventually to freedom.

EXIT: THE GATE BETWEEN WORLDS 

An ancient map has led you deep into a cave and through a strange gate to another world. Can you solve the riddles and find your way and back home? 

EXIT: THE CURSED LABYRINTH 

During a tour of a historic castle, your attention is diverted to an intriguing labyrinth in the middle of the castle’s garden. When the gate slams behind you, the only way out is through. Can you solve the riddles and escape the impenetrable labyrinth? 

EXIT: KIDNAPPED IN FORTUNE CITY 

Criminal activity is rampant in Fortune City, and now the sheriff has disappeared. Can you solve the riddles and stop the kidnapping before it’s too late? 

EXIT: THE DESERTED LIGHTHOUSE (WITH PUZZLE)

You trudge along the dark, rocky coast seeking shelter from the raging storm. Drenched to the bone, you look up to see a brilliant beam of light pierce the curtains of rain. A lighthouse! But suddenly and inexplicably, the light goes out. You glance out into the water and spot a ship. It is heading straight for the cliffs! You realize that it is up to you to race to the top of the lighthouse and turn it on again before the ship crashes on the cliffs! But many puzzling obstacles stand in your way. 

In this EXIT game, there are riddles within riddles, hidden within four 88-piece jigsaw puzzles. Like other EXIT titles, The Deserted Lighthouse has no game board, but it also has no riddle cards. Instead, there are four jigsaw puzzles that you will find and assemble, one at a time. Each completed puzzle reveals a location containing more riddles to decipher.

EXIT: THE SACRED TEMPLE (WITH PUZZLE) 

Crooked treasure hunters have broken into the office of your university’s archaeology department! Your professor has disappeared without a trace — and so has a book with old records about a hidden temple. You must act quickly and chase down the criminals. Your pursuit will take you deep into a mysterious jungle on a small island. You must find the professor in time and save the revered treasures of the temple before they fall into the hands of the devious robbers! 

In this EXIT game, there are riddles within riddles, hidden within four 88-piece jigsaw puzzles. Like other EXIT titles, The Sacred Temple has no game board, but it also has no riddle cards. Instead, there are four jigsaw puzzles that you will find and assemble, one at a time. Each completed puzzle reveals a location containing more riddles to decipher. 

THE CREW: MISSION DEEP SEA 

In this highly-anticipated follow-up to the original cooperative card game — winner of the 2020 Kennerspiel des Jahres — players work together to search for the lost continent of Mu. This new adventure takes your crew deep down into the abyss on a search for the fabled sunken land. How far you get depends entirely on how well you work together as a team. Card by card, trick by trick, your search party will discover the challenges that lie ahead and forge a path to Mu. This new version of The Crew has the same innovative cooperative trick-taking mechanic as the highly lauded original game — but with some exciting new surprises! 

While communication between your crew members is severely limited by your submerged state, it is also critical to your success; finding the hidden land in the murky depths depends not only on winning tricks, but also on carefully negotiating the order in which they are won. If things don’t go as planned, you might just be able to salvage the operation. But it will take near flawless execution and perhaps a little luck to finally reach Mu. 

UBONGO: THE BRAIN GAME TO GO 

In this fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn puzzle game, you race the clock to fit a set of interlocking tiles perfectly into a specific area. Based on the original hit board game Ubongo, this compact version features 15 colorful plastic tiles, 20 puzzle cards with over 200 puzzles, and a plastic game board that doubles as a durable travel case. Slide in a puzzle card and give your brain a workout! The puzzles get progressively more challenging as you go. Pass the game around to challenge your family and friends. Who is the master layout artist and who is spatially challenged? 

ANDOR: THE FAMILY FANTASY GAME 

Venture into a land of fantasy and legend! In this cooperative family role-playing game, each player chooses one of four powerful heroes: the magician, the warrior, the archer, or the dwarf. Your heroic journey begins with a mission to rescue some wolf cubs that are lost in a dangerous mine. But, before embarking on your search, your party must get past Mart, the bridge guard, by completing all of his tasks. Only then will he let your party cross his bridge and enter the mine. However, danger still lurks on the horizon, as a dragon encroaches on the castle Rietburg just as you approach the mine. Should he arrive at the castle before your heroes rescue the wolf cubs, your party will lose the mission — and the game. If your party rescues the cubs first, you win! Andor: The Family Fantasy Game features gameplay that is similar to the popular Legends of Andor, but more approachable to younger players, making it a great introduction to the entire Legends of Andor series of games.

ANNO 1800 

Anno 1800 is an epic city-building strategy board game based on Ubisoft’s popular PC game of the same name. Players strive to build up their industrial might as they develop an island society at the dawn of the industrial age. Investing in their nautical fleets enables trade and expansion to new territories in the old and new worlds, but players must focus above all on maintaining the health and happiness of the citizens of their home islands. While the population is initially satisfied with food and clothing, in time it will demand valuable luxury goods. Players must plan their development strategies and supply chains carefully while keeping an eye on the distribution of specialized roles within their territories. The objective of the game is to plan for an even distribution of farmers, workers, craftsmen, engineers, and investors. But beware, because the competition never sleeps. Players may steal new achievements out from under each other’s noses at any time! Whose island will prosper and whose will fall? 

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD 

The year is 1193, and the county of Nottingham, England is suffering under the oppressive rule of the corrupt Prince John and his henchmen. In this cooperative family board game, players take on the roles of Robin Hood and his Merry Men as they battle the wicked rulers in the city and throughout Sherwood Forest. Designed and illustrated by Michael Menzel, the award-winning creator of the Legends of Andor game series, this game features a beautifully illustrated gameboard that changes over the course of the game and a gorgeous, faux-leather-bound, 216-page hardcover storybook that narrates the story and advances the gameplay. 

An innovative game mechanic allows you to move your character figures freely around the gameboard; you do not need to follow one set route. The gameboard also has interactive panels that are flipped to reveal hidden characters and new gameplay elements during play. As your quest progresses, you open these panels and speak to various characters who alter your course. A quickstart game in the rulebook effortlessly launches you into the action. Grab your bow and arrow and join the fight for justice and equity!

FANGS 

What team is the player sitting next to you on? Are they a blood-sucking vampire? A ferocious werewolf? Or just a hapless chump trying not to get bitten? And what team do they think you’re on?! 

In FANGS, it’s werewolves v. vampires v. humans. This thrilling social deduction party game challenges players to determine which one of these three secret roles each other player has assumed. Since you don’t know who you can trust when the game begins, you must attempt to conceal your role from the other players while working to identify your allies and your enemies. Werewolves are out to expel vampires from the game; vampires aim to expel werewolves; and the humans are just trying to avoid detection and survive until the end of the game. Throw in some secret weapons and ulterior motives, and this party game for 5 to 8 players makes for a howling good time. 

FANGS is an amped up werewolf-style social deduction game that is playable without a game leader and without an app. With lots of information to suss out and analyze, it elevates the social deduction game to the next level. Each player has a specific role with unique goals and win conditions, forcing players to act in ways others might not expect. On a player’s turn, they choose between multiple actions, but limiting factors make it so there are justifications and excuses for any action. The addition of a strong storyline gives this social deduction game the added feeling of a role-playing game. The design of the gameboard makes the game easy to learn and play, so all your friends and family can get in on the action. 

LOST CITIES ROLL & WRITE 

Begin your expedition on one of six colored paths by rolling the smallest possible numbers on the dice. Each turn, decide whether to continue an expedition or start a new one. Acceleration fields and artifacts provide opportunities to advance quickly, but you’ll have to carefully consider which paths to take on which roll. If you make good progress, victory beckons — but if an expedition gets stuck, you will lose points just as quickly as you earned them! This small and portable format is the perfect Lost Cities game for on-the-go fun. Simple rules and a short play time make this game ideal for family game nights. 

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Preview: Zu Tiles: Hime https://unfilteredgamer.com/preview-zu-tiles-hime/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=preview-zu-tiles-hime https://unfilteredgamer.com/preview-zu-tiles-hime/#respond Fri, 06 Nov 2020 16:49:37 +0000 https://unfilteredgamer.com/?p=20710 The post Preview: Zu Tiles: Hime appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

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Designed by Josh Bakken | Published by ZU Studios
2 Players | 20-45 Minutes

ZU Tiles: Hime is a strategic tile placement game based loosely on the creatures and compatibilities referenced in the Chinese Zodiac. In the game players place creature tiles in the playing area with the goal of trying to complete a 2X2 square of creature tiles where all creatures in the 2X2 square are compatible with their orthogonal neighbors. Once a “compatible square” is completed (which can consist of creatures controlled by either player), all tiles in the square are removed from the playing area by the player who completed the square. 1 point is scored for each tile removed. So, for a 2X2 square, that would mean 4 tiles would be removed and the player responsible for completing the square would score 4 points. The first player to 12 points wins!  

With ZU Tiles: Hime the gameplay is much more centered around strategy and tile placement than it is about combat. Although there is a combat element if a player wants to go that route in an effort to try to score points. This aspect of the game may be appealing to parents and others who are more interested in maybe teaching or playing a strategy game than they are interested in a game focused on combat or battle.

The theme is meant to be lighthearted and fun (people have been known to actually laugh out loud). The creatures all have interesting and fun Action tiles they can use to manipulate the tiles in the playing area. For example, Rabbit has a tile called ‘Rabbit Leap’ that allows it to jump over tiles. And Ram has a tile called ‘Push’ that allows it to move and push other tiles along with it as it moves. 

As far as how gameplay works, each player starts with a deck of 40 tiles. Those tiles are randomized and are placed in 5 stacks of 8 tiles each in front of each player. Each player draws 5 tiles from any stack in front of them and the game is ready to start. The youngest player goes first and on their turn they can do any or all of the following 5 actions in any order.

Those actions are:

Place a tile with a STR and INT value into the playing area

Start an Action Stack (see rule book for more information)

Start a second Action Stack

Start a Battle (see rule book for more information)

Discard 2 tiles to draw 1 new tile

Then when a player is finished with their turn, they draw 1 tile from any stack in front of them. If a player ends their turn without doing any actions, they have the option of drawing an additional tile. Then it is the next players turn. Play proceeds in this manner until either player scores 12 points and wins the game. Or, if a player needs to draw a tile, but they cannot do so because they are out of tiles, they would immediately lose the game.

Zu Tiles: Hime is a game that has been in development off and on for about 16 years. The game was initially conceived in late 2003 by Josh Bakken with a very rough and early version being completed by Bakken in mid 2004. The game was more or less shelved until 2018 when the dust was blown off and work was done by Bakken to overhaul, improve, and clean up the earlier rules and mechanics. A complete new set of art was also commissioned for the game from 2019-2020.

The inspiration for the game came as a result of various different influences and experiences. Bakken was a champion trading card game player of multiple different card games in the mid-90s. Those experiences helped him develop his ideas around the Action Stack mechanic used in the game. The ideas around the compatible square mechanic came as a combined result of conversations about the Chinese Zodiac and his experiences with a game prototype where players drew glass beads out of a bag.  

As to who the game appeals to, well in my mind it’s really two types of people: 1) Strategic minded children and the parents/caregivers who want to encourage and have a bit of fun supporting that in a child. And 2) Adults who are extremely or ‘hyper’ competitive with other hyper competitive adults. Now I wouldn’t ever want those two groups to actually play with each other, but when I think about who I think will enjoy the game the most, I do think those two groups would both really have a lot of fun with ZU Tiles: Hime.

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Coming Soon: Silver Dagger https://unfilteredgamer.com/coming-soon-silver-dagger/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=coming-soon-silver-dagger https://unfilteredgamer.com/coming-soon-silver-dagger/#respond Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:17:41 +0000 https://unfilteredgamer.com/?p=20283 The post Coming Soon: Silver Dagger appeared first on Unfiltered Gamer.

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Bezier Games has announced that Silver Dagger will be hitting stores this October just in time for your Halloween game night! Silver Dagger is the fourth stand-alone game in the engaging Silver card game series by Ted Alspach.

The Silver games possess the basic mechanics of the traditional card game Golf; the main objective is to shed cards and points as fast as possible however, this series introduces tons of unique abilities making the strategies ever-changing and very interesting!

In Silver Dagger you’ll find 14 all new roles & abilities, some of which will have you changing up the direction of game play as part of your overall strategy! Both the Dagger token and the #11 Reverser will allow you to do this – extremely helpful when there are threatening Zombies approaching your village! The #4 Zombies in Silver Dagger are an interesting twist in this particular deck – they are almost impossible to discard, even in matching sets! Once they become faceup in a village, they are able to be given to the previous player in the rotation; you’ll be scrambling for a Reverser once your neighbor reveals one!

Fortunately, there are some extremely helpful roles to help you like the Debt Collector, which subtracts a point for each card held by your opponents at the end of the round, and the Halfling, who has the power to divide your entire score for the round in half! Like in all Silver games, you may call for a vote when you think you have the least amount of points at the table to achieve a score of zero for the round and gain possession of the dagger token…however, with the possibility of getting negative points with a Debt Collector, your strategy may be to NOT call!

Each of the Silver games is unique in their own way but, they are also fun to mix and match to create a custom deck of your favorite abilities! Pre-order Silver Dagger now on the Bezier Games website; join the Bezier Games Wolfpack today and score the whole series for just $70 throughout the month of September!!!

https://beziergames.com/collections/silver-1

Want to try before you buy? Download the Silver game app on iOS or Android for FREE today, recently updated with all of the fun abilities from Silver Bullet!

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Mystery Dice (Now on Kickstarter) https://unfilteredgamer.com/mystery-dice-now-on-kickstarter/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mystery-dice-now-on-kickstarter https://unfilteredgamer.com/mystery-dice-now-on-kickstarter/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:18:20 +0000 http://unfilteredgamer.com/?p=1982 I have a soft spot for mystery bags and boxes. I love a good deal and if I believe in the quality of the company, I don’t mind my items being random. Especially if already love pretty much everything available from the company. Enter Gate Keeper Games, known for their famous Halfsies Dice sets and […]

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I have a soft spot for mystery bags and boxes. I love a good deal and if I believe in the quality of the company, I don’t mind my items being random. Especially if already love pretty much everything available from the company.

Enter Gate Keeper Games, known for their famous Halfsies Dice sets and over a dozen successful Kickstarter campaigns.

I love my Mint Green Neutron Dice featured here. When I saw them I exclaimed to John Wrot (owner of Gate Keeper Games) that the colors and shimmer reminded me of mermaids, which is one of my obsessions.

These are quality dice.

And they come with a cute tower shaped box. You may have seen them hiding on my bookshelf in some of my Calli’s Corner videos lately!

Back to John Wrot.

He got a little shifty-eyed after that. Said he was working on a secret project – couldn’t say much at that point.

Just kept peering around and looking out my window as if he expected someone to be hiding there with a camera!

Well, after plying him with water (it was a 100 degree type of day in southern California), I did get about as much as you’ll hear in this video from him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mGlH9vIP-U

Ooooooo. Mysterious.

New size? New shapes? New colors? Weird dice?

Count me (and about 1,609 backers at the time of writing this) in!

And, count me in for being one of those guest designers and making my mermaid dice design a reality. If you don’t already know, I’ve designed Moonshell: A Mermaid Game, coming to Kickstarter soon, also featuring…you guessed it. Mermaids.

I can’t wait to get creative with this. I have a few things in mind, but if you have ideas let me know in the comments!

“It’s more than just dice, it’s about an experience!”

Check out the Mystery Dice Campaign.

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