BGG | The Hotness
Terraforming Mars
In the 2400s, mankind begins to terraform the planet Mars. Giant corporations, sponsored by the World Government on Earth, initiate huge projects to raise the temperature, the oxygen level, and the ocean coverage until the environment is habitable. In Terraforming Mars, you play one of those corporations and work together in the terraforming process, but compete for getting victory points that are awarded not only for your contribution to the terraforming, but also for advancing human infrastructure throughout the solar system, and doing other commendable things. The players acquire unique project cards (from over two hundred different ones) by buying them to their hand. The projects (cards) can represent anything from introducing plant life or animals, hurling asteroids at the surface, building cities, to mining the moons of Jupiter and establishing greenhouse gas industries to heat up the atmosphere. The cards can give you immediate bonuses, as well as increasing your production of different resources. Many cards also have requirements and they become playable when the temperature, oxygen, or ocean coverage increases enough. Buying cards is costly, so there is a balance between buying cards (3 megacredits per card) and actually playing them (which can cost anything between 0 to 41 megacredits, depending on the project). Standard Projects are always available to complement your cards. Your basic income, as well as your basic score, is based on your Terraform Rating (starting at 20), which increases every time you raise one of the three global parameters. However, your income is complemented with your production, and you also get VPs from many other sources. Each player keeps track of their production and resources on their player boards, and the game uses six types of resources: MegaCredits, Steel, Titanium, Plants, Energy, and Heat. On the game board, you compete for the best places for your city tiles, ocean tiles, and greenery tiles. You also compete for different Milestones and Awards worth many VPs. Each round is called a generation (guess why) and consists of the following phases: 1) Player order shifts clockwise.2) Research phase: All players buy cards from four privately drawn.3) Action phase: Players take turns doing 1-2 actions from these options: Playing a card, claiming a Milestone, funding an Award, using a Standard project, converting plant into greenery tiles (and raising oxygen), converting heat into a temperature raise, and using the action of a card in play. The turn continues around the table (sometimes several laps) until all players have passed.4) Production phase: Players get resources according to their terraform rating and production parameters. When the three global parameters (temperature, oxygen, ocean) have all reached their goal, the terraforming is complete, and the game ends after that generation. Count your Terraform Rating and other VPs to determine the winning corporation!
$114.00$75.00
Harmonies
In Harmonies, you will create beautiful landscapes by placing colored tiles. These tiles will create territories for animals and will bring them in to settle in your tiny world! Tactically combine your landscapes and animals to earn the most victory points and win the game. Harmonies captivates with its innovative mechanics: 3D landscape creation, tile placement, and pattern development. Each decision impacts the ecosystem you create, offering a deep and satisfying gaming experience. The game includes a solo mode and an "expert" mode, adding the spirits of nature to the game's animal cards. STRATEGIC YET POETIC GAMEPLAY: Engage in a unique gaming experience where you create your own dreamlike world, combining landscapes and animals to earn victory points. EASY TO LEARN WITH DEEP TACTICAL PLAY: Harmonies offers straightforward rules that open the door to profound tactical decisions, making each game a new challenge. INCLUDES SOLO VERSION: Whether you're looking to enjoy a thoughtful solo game or engage in competitive play with friends, Harmonies caters to all your gaming needs. STUNNING ART DIRECTION: Benefit from Libellud's signature artistry, with 42 beautifully illustrated cards that bring your oneiric landscapes to life. PREMIUM COMPONENTS: Immerse yourself in a tactile gaming experience with 120 wooden tokens and high-quality cards, ensuring durability and a visually appealing setup.
$57.00$46.00
Brass Birmingham
Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game sequel to Martin Wallace' 2007 masterpiece, Brass. Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution, between the years of 1770-1870. As in its predecessor, you must develop, build, and establish your industries and network, in an effort to exploit low or high market demands. Each round, players take turns according to the turn order track, receiving two actions to perform any of the following actions (found in the original game): 1) Build - Pay required resources and place an industry tile.2) Network - Add a rail / canal link, expanding your network.3) Develop - Increase the VP value of an industry.4) Sell - Sell your cotton, manufactured goods and pottery.5) Loan - Take a £30 loan and reduce your income. Brass: Birmingham also features a new sixth action: 6) Scout - Discard three cards and take a wild location and wild industry card. (This action replaces Double Action Build in original Brass.) The game is played over two halves: the canal era (years 1770-1830) and the rail era (years 1830-1870). To win the game, score the most VPs. VPs are counted at the end of each half for the canals, rails and established (flipped) industry tiles. Birmingham features dynamic scoring canals/rails. Instead of each flipped industry tile giving a static 1 VP to all connected canals and rails, many industries give 0 or even 2 VPs. This provides players with the opportunity to score much higher value canals in the first era, and creates interesting strategy with industry placement. Iron, coal, and cotton are three industries which appear in both the original Brass as well as in Brass: Birmingham. New "Sell" system Brewing has become a fundamental part of the culture in Birmingham. You must now sell your product through traders located around the edges of the board. Each of these traders is looking for a specific type of good each game. To sell cotton, pottery, or manufactured goods to these traders, you must also "grease the wheels of industry" by consuming beer. For example, a level 1 cotton mill requires one beer to flip. As an incentive to sell early, the first player to sell to a trader receives free beer. Birmingham features three all-new industry types: Brewery - Produces precious beer barrels required to sell goods. Manufactured goods - Function like cotton, but features eight levels. Each level of manufactured goods provides unique rewards, rather than just escalating in VPs, making it a more versatile (yet potentially more difficult) path vs cotton. Pottery - These behemoths of Birmingham offer huge VPs, but at a huge cost and need to plan. Increased Coal and Iron Market size - The price of coal and iron can now go up to £8 per cube, and it's not uncommon. Brass: Birmingham is a sequel to Brass. It offers a very different story arc and experience from its predecessor.
$75.00
Hot Streak
Hot Streak is a game about betting and racing and SCREAMING!!!!!!! You’re all hard luck gamblers betting on the world’s most off-brand mascots. And unlike most racing games, the races never stops for you to make any decisions. All your sneaky strategizing is done beforehand, so everyone can just sit back, cheer, boo, and scream at a hot dog man.Comes with 4 chunky mascot figures and a ridiculously long pull-out racetrack. Contents: Four Mascot figures 1 pull-out racetrack 1 rulebook 100 dollar bills 18 Betting Tickets 12 side bet cards 53 racing cards
$71.00$64.00
Ark Nova
In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal. Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The cards in question are: CARDS: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards). BUILD: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions. ANIMALS: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo. ASSOCIATION: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks. SPONSORS: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money. 255 cards featuring animals, specialists, special enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a special ability, are at the heart of Ark Nova. Use them to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo and collect conservation points.
$114.00$91.00
Nippon: Zaibatsu (Pre-Order)
This item is a pre-order item with an expected release date of 2026 Orders containing a pre-order items WILL NOT SHIP until the final pre-order item is able to be shipped. Dates and product details are subject to change as new information from the manufacturer is updated. Nippon: Zaibatsu is a new edition of Nippon, a fast-paced, area-majority economic game. Players control "zaibatsu": massive conglomerates of interconnected companies driving Japan's economy in the Industrial Revolution era. During the game, players invest in new industries, build factories and railroads, and produce goods to saturate local markets and fulfill contracts — all to grow their influence and power and to become rulers of the new modernized country. Players are free to choose their playstyle and winning strategy: They choose what they score victory points for, control the game's pace with income turns, and race each other to get the most beneficial factories, markets, and bonuses. All the core mechanisms of the original Nippon are present, but the components, art, and design are upgraded, and many gameplay features are reworked to get the game in line with modern trends. Nippon: Zaibatsu features new resource types, ships are heavily revised with new Iwakura mission rules, factories are much more variable, consolidation turns provide players with new rewards, and much more. Also, the game now has an automa-driven solo mode.
$107.00$91.00
Wondrous Creatures
Wondrous Creatures is a strategic board game that combines an innovative worker placement mechanism with a tableau-building mechanism. The mechanics of placing workers across two hexagonal map spaces while interacting with adjacent icons to obtain resources or to activate various special effects adds a unique puzzle-like fun to the worker placement experience Wondrous Creatures provides. Collect over 100 wondrous Creature Cards and combine the unique abilities of each creature to build your very own powerful tableau!
$102.00$78.00
Dune: Imperium - Uprising
In Dune: Imperium Uprising, you want to continue to balance military might with political intrigue, wielding new tools in pursuit of victory. Spies will shore up your plans, vital contracts will expand your resources, or you can learn the ways of the Fremen and ride mighty sandworms into battle! Dune: Imperium Uprising is a standalone spinoff to Dune: Imperium that expands on that game's blend of deck-building and worker placement, while introducing a new six-player mode that pits two teams against one other in the biggest struggle yet. The Dune: Imperium expansions Rise of Ix and Immortality work with Uprising, as do almost all of the cards from the base game, and elements of Uprising can be used with Dune: Imperium. The choices are yours. The Imperium awaits!
$85.00