Our 5/17 session will be a request night 

Please email me with any requests, so our table leaders can prepare accordingly.

Pollen

2x (led by Sean) 2023 retheming of Knizia’s 2009 Samurai Card Game. Butterflies, June Bugs and Bees replace Helmet, Buddha and Rice tokens with typical funky Knizia final scoring.

For Sale Autorama

(led by Drew) Stefan Dorra’s 1997 classic auction card game of Real Estate and Checks that resolves in 20-30 minutes got a makeover in 2021 with an automobile theme and an optional extra round that introduces advisors to the mix. Most seem to conclude that the advisors add an unnecessary complication to an already classic, elegant opener or closer.

Archaeology: The New Expedition

(led by Tim) Australian author Phil Walker Harding’s 2016 revision of his 2007 card game of open drafting and set collection, combined with pushing one’s luck. This version adds tent cards, new treasure types and more cards to allow for five players. Some treasure values got adjusted and the inclusion of six monuments (instead of one) to have more variety when exploring.

Ra

2x (led by Drew and K-ban) Dr Knizia’s classic 1999 auction and set collection tile game received the deluxe treatment from 25th Century games in 2023, as Ra had gone out of print despite multiple publishers in the past 20+ years. A perfect open information unique auction system combined with a push your luck aspect makes this a tense but quick midweight game. 

Downforce

(led by Ethan) Wolfgang Kramers 1974 abstract racing game became Nikki Lauda’s Formel Eins, Top Race, Daytona 500, Detroit Cleveland Grand Prix and finally as Downforce in 2017. The newest implementation of Herr Kramer’s classic includes an improved system for the pre-race car ownership auctions, betting at 3 intervals and multiple driver powers. 

Palaces of Carrara

(led by Tim) This 2012 Kramer/Kiesling design that featured set collection and tile placement was updated in the 2022 second edition and given the deluxe treatment. This edition includes a revised set of rules, as well as a completely new advanced version that  includes many new strategies and ways of scoring. Statues, which allow the scoring of buildings in a multitude of new ways are introduced in this version. The advanced version was played.

Ingenious

(led by Sean) Knizia’s 2004 abstract tile laying game, Einfach Genial, has been reprinted several times (most recently in 2018) as Ingenious.

Players take turns placing colored domino-style tiles on a game board, scoring for each line of colored symbols that they enlarge. The trick, however, is that a player’s score is equal to their worst-scoring color, not their best, so they need to score for all colors instead of specializing in only one or two.

Tutenchamun

(led by K-ban) Knizia’s 1993 tile based set collection game has been reprinted several times by a variety of publishers, the latest a 2021 deluxe edition by 25th Century games. Players sail their boats down the Nile collecting artifact tiles along the way, trying to earn points for having the majority (2nd place scores half) of a set when completed. This version added God tiles which permit breaking certain game rules.