Board Games | New Releases

nana, which was later reprinted as Trio, is a card game in which players are looking for three of a kind. The deck consists of 36 cards, numbered 1-12 three times. Players receive some cards in hand, which they are required to sort from low to high, and the remaining cards are placed face down on the table. On your turn, choose any single card to reveal, either the low or high card from a player's hand (including your own) or any face-down card from the table. Then, do this again. If the two cards show the same number, continue your turn; if they do not, return the cards to where they came from and end your turn. If you reveal three cards showing the same number, take these cards as a set in front of you. If you are the first player to collect three sets, you win — except that a player wins immediately if they collect the set of 7s or two sets that add or subtract to 7, e.g., 4s and 11s. Note that nana and Trio contain identical components, but nana is labeled for 2-5 players, while Trio is labeled for 3-6 players. Trio has slight changes to the rules, with players using all cards no matter the player count. Additionally, you play in normal mode — winning with three sets or the 7s — or "spicy" mode, winning with two linked sets or the 7s. Finally, Trio includes rules for playing in teams with four or six players.

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Sheep in Disguise is a vibrant and strategic card game about protecting adorably-helpless Sheep from being devoured by the many outrageous and dangerous predators of the world. Collect Flocks of Sheep, keep them safe from Attacks, and use Action cards to destroy anyone that gets in your way! Players take turns drawing cards to collect matching sets of disguised Sheep and a variety of powerful Action cards. When a player has collected 3 Sheep of a kind, they must be placed face up on the table immediately. This set of 3 Sheep is called a Flock. In a 4 player game, the first person to collect 4 unique Flocks is the winner. On their turn, a player may use as many Action cards as they like by playing them to the Discard. They may also make one trade with the Field per turn. The Field is a constantly changing group of cards in the middle of the table that players can exchange cards with to help them build a strong hand. The Field guarantees that the game isn’t completely luck of the draw and allows the player to strategize and build combo moves in order to progress their game. Players can also target an opponent's Flock by placing an Expose card on top of it. This Action exposes the Flock's disguise, leaving them vulnerable to an Attack! Players must choose to take the risk of leaving their Flock exposed or pay to remove the Expose card, ensuring the Flock's identity remains a secret. When an Attack card is drawn, all Exposed Flocks are destroyed! Be strategic and be devious. If you play your cards right, you can turn the Attack card into an extremely powerful tool to help you get ahead... otherwise, you may end up as the victim. If you find yourself falling behind, don't worry! All players are in it until the very end and one big move is all it takes to flip the whole game on its head!

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Crabs in a Bucket is a fast-paced shedding type card game for 2-6 players that blends luck, strategy, and a cast of colorful crab characters. The goal of the game is to be the first player to play or discard their entire hand. At the beginning of the game, players are dealt 7 cards each from the deck. The deck consists of 52 suited cards (resembling a standard deck) and 22 "Joker Crabs," which are unsuited. In the process of playing and discarding their hands, players utilize two separate discard piles, one for suited cards (referred to simply as "The Discard Pile") and another for Joker Crabs (referred to as the Joker Pile). Suited cards may be played on the discard pile on top of other cards that match their suit or number. Once a suited card is played, a player may also discard all cards of higher value of the same suit from their hand. Jacks, Queens, and Kings have special effects referred to as "punishments." As long as a Jack, Queen, or King is on the top of the discard pile, no Joker Crabs may be played. Additionally, if a player cannot play on them, they must draw cards at the end of their turn. Joker Crabs, all based on real crab species, have unique effects. 21 of these cards may strategically benefit the player, by, for instance, forcing an opponent to draw from their hand or allowing them to play unique combos. One of the Joker Crabs--the Lobster--functions as a sort of barrier to victory, since it cannot be played. Players must find creative ways of discarding it without playing it. In addition, some general rules keep gameplay streamlined. For instance, players may not exceed 10 cards in their hand at the beginning of their turn. If, for some reason, a player begins their turn with over 10 cards, they may discard down to 10 cards before initiating their turn.

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    It's 1995...you've got a paper due first thing in the morning and your trusty computer has chosen tonight to slow to a crawl. You reboot, you task kill, you pet the monitor gently, no dice. You're filled with dread as you realize you have only one option left. That's right. Clear your schedule, baby, it's time to D-D-D-DEFRAG! Defrag is a hand management grid puzzle game in which you are attempting to rearrange and consolidate various file fragments before exhausting your resources. Defrag has several solo and multiplayer game modes, including a series of increasingly difficult challenges with unique goals.

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    Diatoms is a puzzly tile-placement and pattern-making game where players create their own microscopic mosaic, based on an obscure Victorian art form. Hidden in the water all around us are tiny lifeforms known as “diatoms.” These microscopic algae cells come in a variety of exquisite geometric shapes and patterns. Their outer layer is made with silica, giving them a glass-like quality. Here at the Society for the Microscopic Arts, we collect these diatoms and delicately arrange them on slides into beautiful, tiny mosaics. As part of your induction into the Society, you will each create your own entry for today’s Exhibition of Microscopic Mosaics. In Diatoms, you compete with your fellow players to collect and place diatom shapes into a mosaic form. You take turns placing tiles representing algae colonies. From that placement you earn diatoms of different colors and shapes. You then strategically place these diatoms on your personal board, taking care to consider how your arrangement will be scored at the end of the game. In the base scoring, you'll want to achieve matching colors, shape variety, and symmetry along your mosaic's central lines. Each time you play, you may also have a "guest" judge card that brings a unique scoring criteria to the game. Diatoms also includes a solo variant where you collect diatom tiles as in the main game while trying to create a mosaic that fulfills specific requirements from mosaic commission prompts.  

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In Maps of Misterra, you play as explorers have discovered a mystical and unknown island. Your goal: Explore the island and complete your personal and hidden objectives while proposing a correct cartography of the island to earn maximum points. To set up, place a central board representing the island on the table, and give each player a personal map they will use to transcribe their discoveries. Each turn, players choose two actions among these: Move their explorer pawn on the central board. Discover new terrains close to your explorer pawn, choosing from four randomly drawn tiles. Claim control of areas. A type of terrain on the central island must be explored twice before being validated. Thus, the unvalidated terrain types can change — "You thought you saw grass? You were mistaken." — and then your personal map will no longer match the central board. You have to find the ideal balance between your personal objectives, and a correct cartography of the island.

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 It’s summer time, and amid the forest lies the glade. In The Glade, you fill your personal forest board with sets of forest tiles (played from your tile rack) that feature creatures, leaves, and forest fruits. Create sets of three tiles to place one of your toadstool counters onto the central glade board. Complete a set of four tiles to add a toadstool to your store. Claim toadstool counters from the glade for your store by playing matching forest tiles. Play toadstool counters into enclosures in your forest to create extra actions. When one player has played all twelve of their toadstool counters or when all the forest tiles have been drawn from the bag, the player with the most points wins. After playing the basic game, progress to the "matching" game in which you also match your forest tiles to the creatures, leaves, or forest fruits on your forest board.

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