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Games Played

  With thanks to BoardgameGeek.com and BoardgameNews.com.

  

2009

Funkenschlag/Powergrid

  • author:  Friedemann Friese

  • sponsor:  2F Spiele

The object of Funkenschlag/Powergrid is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities.

However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you're potentially allowing others access to superior equipment.

Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the 'renewable' windfarm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

 Funkenschlag overview 

Chicago Express

  • author:  Harry Wu

  • sponsor: Queen Games

In the game the B&O, C&O, Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads drive from the East Coast across the growing eastern US to Chicago. Smaller, more aggressive railroads like the Wabash spring up to further expand America's extensive railroads. The sharpest railroad executives vie for the maximum return on their investment in this business game lasting about one hour.

Chicago overview 

Small World

  • author:  Philippe Keyaerts

  • sponsor: Days of Wonder

In Small World, players vie for conquest and control of a world that is simply too small to accommodate them all.

Small World is inhabited by a zany cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans; who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth.

Picking the right combination from the 14 different fantasy races and 20 unique special powers, players rush to expand their empires - often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory!

 

 Smallworld overview 

Diamonds Club

  • author:  Rüdiger Dorn

  • sponsor: Ravensbuger

London, 1899: in the renowned Diamonds Club meet four successful gemstone dealers in an ambitious competition: they want to equip magnificently their country estates -- with the profit made from the gemstone trade. To do that, they invest their money in mines, mining rights and the latest technologies. The player who has the most valuable park at the end of the game is the Lord of Diamonds!

 diamonds club overview 

2008

Neuland

  • author:  Peter Eggert/Tobias Stapelfeldt

  • sponsor:  Eggertspiele

Neuland lies undeveloped, providing lots of space; only a few hunters and woodcutters live there.

2 up to 4 Players compete for building up a new civilization in which 15various properties promise prosperity and progress, such as the Abbey, the Guild House, the Town Hall, and a Stronghold. Who wants which buildings and who will get them?

In order to get properties, you first have to build and use production facilities; in each of these buildings, you can manufacture a product that you need for manufacturing a higher value product in another building.

To this end, everybody thinks time and again, ”Would I rather work a long time but infrequently, or a short time but often? How can I manage to put my coat of arms on the coveted properties?“

The first player to place all his coat of arms wins the game.

  

Amytis

  • author:  Cyril Demaegd

  • sponsor: Ystari Games 

590BC. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marries the magnificent Amyitis, the king of Media's daughter. But the beauty languishes for the lush vegetation of her land. Nebuchadnezzar wants to have splendid hanging gardens built for her. Now, the city is getting ready to take up the tremendous challenge which will leave an indelible mark for the centuries to come…

The players embody noble Babylonians in quest of prestige. All along the game, they strive to raise their status by building gardens and their irrigation network, and by trading and recruiting. At the end of the game, the player with the highest prestige is the winner.

 

Leauge of Six

  • author:  Vladimír Suchý

  • sponsor: Czech Games Edition

The year is 1430, a time of unrest and upheaval in the whole of Europe. Nearly 100 years have passed since the founding of the League of Six – a group of wealthy Lusatian towns that banded together to defend their commercial interests and preserve stability and order in the region.

You have been sent to this embattled land in the role of tax collector. As a young, ambitious aristocrat, you hope to stand out so that you will be given a position in the court of Sigismund.

The tax collector who brings in the most revenue for the king, while simultaneously gaining the support of the estates, has the best chance of finding himself by the side of King Sigismund.

The game consists of six turns representing six years. Each player takes the role of a tax collector visiting one of the six cities. The goods collected are placed in the royal stores or estate stores, thus giving the players influence in the court of King Sigismund. The player who gains the most influence wins.

  

In the Year of the Dragon

  • author:  Stefan Feld

  • sponsor: ALEA

In this game, each player takes on the role of a Chinese prince, seeking tomaximize the prosperity and prestige of his province in the ancient Chinaof approximately 1,000 A.D. To assist in these endeavors, the princesmust call upon the diverse talents of their courtiers, from scholars andmonks to warriors and craftsmen. These loyal subjects will lend theirexpertise to the struggle to shield their rulers from the often disastrousconsequences of the myriad untoward events that plague the populacefrom month to month. Be it drought, contagion or Mongol invasion,only foresight and planning will spare the princes and their subjects fromthese fates.The better a player can manage his province and withstand the seeminglyunending onslaught of hazardous events, the more honor and victorypoints he will have to show for it in the end.
 

2007

The Pillars of the Earth, Based on the bestseller by Ken Follett

  • author:  Michael Rieneck/Stefan Stadler

  • sponsor: Kosmos

At the beginning of the 13th century, construction of the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Players are builders who try to contribute the most to this cathedral's construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points. Gameplay roughly consists of using workers to produce raw materials, and then using craftsmen to convert the materials into victory points. Workers may also be used to produce gold, the currency of the game. Players are also given three master builders each turn, each of which can do a variety of tasks, including recruiting more workers, buying or selling goods, or just obtaining victory points. Getting early choices with a master builder costs gold, as does purchasing better craftsmen. Players must strike a balance between earning gold to fund their purchases and earning victory points.  

Leonarda da Vinci

  • author:  Acchittocca; Stefano Luperto, Antonio Tinto, Virginio Gigli, Flaminia Brasini

  • sponsor: daVinci Games

Leonardo da Vinci is a “gamers’ game” for 2-5 players by Acchittocca (a team of Italian game designers). It’s a game where you buy resources to create your brilliant inventions in your laboratories. The game revolves around an innovative process where you deploy the same pawns to power your laboratory as to collect the necessary materials, taking turns committing the pawns at the beginning of each round.
  

Yspahan

  • author:  Sébastien Pauchon

  • sponsor: Ystary Games

1598. Yspahan the fair becomes the capital of the Persian empire. Thus, being placed at the center of the world, the city enjoys a period of cultural and economic blossoming. The cities and villages of the region intend to take advantage of this expansion. Caravans loaded with goods and jewels set out for the desert, bearing the promises of a radiant future...

The players embody merchants trading with Yspahan. Meaning to take advantage of the coming of the Shah’s supervisor, they score points by placing their merchandise in the right shops, by sending them to the caravan, and by constructing buildings.
  

Orgio

  • author:  Wolgang Kramer

  • sponsor: Parker

Europe, about 400 CE. Harsh customs rule the day. Five courageous tribes have set out to conquer new lands: the Huns, the Langobardens, the Goths, the Anglo Saxons, and the Vandals. As you seek new settlement areas for your tribe, you'll strengthen it by enlarging clans, establishing or conquering new countries, and building a powerful sea presence. Whoever scores the most points will stand far ahead of others on the tribe leader path and win the game.
  

2006

Baron

  • author:  Franz Gaudois

  • sponsor: Tilsit

A tactical hexagonal tile-laying game for 2 to 5 players set in the 11th century.  Baron mixes tactic, chance, alliances and treasons.
The medieval landscape is extending throughout the playing time and offers
the players advisabilities to set their knights.
 
   
When a knight is able to be established, he builds a baronnie and gives
points of honor to his lord, according to the value of the tiles which surround him. But a baronnie can be destroyed by other knights and can thus lose a part of its points. The victory is never entirely acquired because each one wants to get the best sites. Consequently, the play is very interactive...

It is necessary to adapt and change tactic during the playing time in order to be victorious.
  

Mesapotamia

  • author:  Klaus-Jurgen Wrede

  • sponsor: Phalanx Games

Mesopotamia is a progressive game, competing for resource and living room but without war.

At the centre is the Ziggurat where you must bring 4 sacrifice tokens to win.

But to deliver them you must have sufficient Mana reserved by praying in temples, which players build. You bring your sacrifices from 4 huts which you build, and you can breed at an empty hut to increase your people. To build huts, temples and Mana, you use rocks and timber that you collect from quarries and forests.

Gradually, you build up your clan and have them do different things. Some stand at temples to pray, some explore and carry resource, others help build or breed. And when you deliver a sacrifice, you kill the messenger too, thus needing to breed more.

Good tile placement helps. Obviously not having to walk far to pick and deliver speeds your game, especially since you need 2 people to build or breed. But the action cards can help a lot, breeding twins, teleporting resource or opponents huts are powerful cards, and the mix of landscape including impassable volcanoes makes planning vital.		  

Ausburg 1520

  • author:  Karsten Hartwig

  • sponsor: ALEA

The game is about Jakob Fugger, who was probably the wealthiest man of his time. “Jakob the Rich”, as he was named in his time, owned so much money that he loaned money to a host of counts and kings. Often, they were not able to repay him in cash so they awarded him special privileges, such as trade rights and offices.
  
2 to 5 players ages 12 and up assume the role of the merchants from Augsburg and try to get what they can - by means of auctions - from the nobility, thus increasing their wealth and particularly their social status.
  

Caylus

  • author:  William Attia

  • sponsor: Ystari Games

Once upon a time ...
1289. To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building side, a city is slowly rising up.

The players embody master builders. By building the King's castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King's favor. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game.
  

2005

Hymalaya

  • author:  Regis Bonnessee

  • sponsor: Tilsit

Each player is the chief of a Hymalayan high plateau tribe trying to extend his tribe's influence in the religious, political and economic spheres. The goal is to become the most proserous caravaneer in all of the Himalaya.

The players collect goods (salt, barley, tea, jade and gold), make offers to monasteries, send out delegations to different regions or bargain to increase their livestock.
 
  
The game is played in 12 turns representing the months in a year, resulting in a length between 60 and 90 minutes.

During play, each secretly plots his caravan's moves of up to six steps. Roads between cities are either dirt tracks, ice tracks or stone tracks. The action markers are likewise marked and have an additional hands symbol which allows you to program a transaction in a settlement. On the back is a sleeping yak which represents a pause in the action sequense. This programming phase is limited to one minute.

At the end of the game the winner (in a four-player game) is determined as follows: First, the player with the least religious influence is eliminated. Second, repeat with political influence. Third, repeat with economic influence. If need be, break any remaining ties by scoring the remaining stocks of resources.

The game seems inspired by various classics: Elfenland for the movement rules, Euphrat & Tigris for the multiple influence scores and the victory conditions, El Grande/San Marco for the regional influences, Roborally for the simultaneous turn "programming", etc.
  

 In Schatten des kaisers

  • author:  Ralf Burkert

  • sponsor:  Hans im Glück

Germany in the late middle ages! It is a time of flourishing cities, influential bishops, the powerful popes, and a pompous aristocracy. In such a volatile climate, no dynasty can remain in power for long.Several aristocratic families seek to acquire the crown of the emperor. But this decision lies in the hands of the seven elector. 2–4 imperial candidates use their knights and cities, marry their barons, and work to influence the electors. But all efforts are useless if the candidate is not elected. But, in the shadow of the properly elected emperor are always those who want to displace him.
  

 Luois XIV

  • author:  Rudiger Dorn

  • sponsor: ALEA

The game is about power and influence in the French court at the end of the 17th Century.
The 2-4 players 12 and up take on the roles of members of the Court, and have about 100 minutes in which to carry out their missions and goals at Versailles. By using cards and influence stones, they influence high-ranking Court attendants, such as the King's Mother or one of the countless Royal mistresses.
Naturally, the Sun King himself has a special role here to.

An excellent time and a high level of tension are guaranteed. The final outcome is in doubt right up to the end. Each game is different. A change of pace but still a highly promising strategy game in the finest alea tradition, one which sits at level 5 on the Alea complexity scale.
  

Das Zepter von Zanvandor

  • author:  Jens Drogemuller

  • sponsor:  Lookout games

The players represent young students of magic competing for the sceptre of Zavandor which gives the position of archmage. To achieve it, they have to accumulate enough magical power and knowledge.

In game terms, the sceptre is gained by accumulating the most victory points.While victory points come from many sources (gems, artifacts, mastering knowledge, and sentinels), defeating the nine Sentinels (represented in the game by the auction process) provides the largest source.
  

2004

5 Years of EuropeMasters. This special edition was celebrated with not 4 but 5 tournament games.  

Media Mogul

  • author:  Richard Huzzey

  • sponsor:  JKLM Games

 Machiavellian game of media rivalry, Media Mogul thrusts players into the role of international tycoons seeking to spread their own operations over the globe.

Winning over audiences with your television, radio and newspaper media with quality content is a key element, but it won't directly bring you victory. Lucrative advertising contracts are needed for you to profit from your media operations, but they bore and repel your audiences, requiring you to balance profit and sustainability at all times. 

  

Ticket to Ride

  • author:  Alan. R. Moon

  • sponsor:  Days of Wonder

 

With elegantly simple gameplay, Ticket to Ride can be learned in 3 minutes, while providing players with intense strategic and tactical decisions every turn. Players collect cards of various types of train cars they then use to claim railway routes in North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who fulfill Destination Tickets – goal cards that connect distant cities; and to the player who builds the longest continuous route.

"The rules are simple enough to write on a train ticket – each turn you either draw more cards, claim a route, or get additional Destination Tickets," says Ticket to Ride author, Alan R. Moon. "The tension comes from being forced to balance greed – adding more cards to your hand, and fear – losing a critical route to a competitor."

  

Hansa

  • author:  Michael Schacht

  • sponsor: Abacusspiele

 Players are merchants of the Hanseatic League. Players take control of the ship and buy and sell goods, establish trading posts, and sail to find new markets. The board is a very simple map of Scandinavia, with arrows from point to point restricting where the boat is able to move. The active player takes control of the boat and must pay to move to each new city where he may either buy, sell, or expand. Players want sets of goods that they can trade for victory points, but also need to expand their market presence to generate revenue.  

Maharadja

  • author:  Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling

  • sponsor: Phalanx Games 

A clever strategic boardgame for two to five players. During the game the players take different roles and travel from city to city in India. Their architects build palaces and houses for the maharadja. Of course, building a palace is expensive. Therefore it is important to earn enough money in the cities. The first player who builds seven palaces is the winner.   

San Juan

  • author:  Andreas Seyfarth

  • sponsor:   ALEA

  

A card game based on Puerto Rico. The pack of 110 cards consists of production buildings (indigo, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and silver) and "violet" buildings that grant special powers or extra victory points. Cards from the hand can be either built or used as money to build something else. Cards from the deck are used to represent goods produced by the production buildings, in which case they are left face-down. A seven-card hand limit is enforced once per round.

In each round or governorship, each player in turn selects from one of the available roles, triggering an event that usually affects all players, such as producing goods or building. The person who picks the role gets a privilege, such as producing more goods or building more cheaply.

Though similar in concept to Puerto Rico, the game has many different mechanics. In particular, there are no colonists and no shipping of goods; goods production and trading are normally limited to one card per phase; and trades cannot be blocked. 

  

  

2003

Lara Croft

  • author:  Arthur Tebbe

  • sponsor:  Identity Games

Based on the computer game 'The Angel of Darkness'. Lara Croft is accused of a murder and tries to find the five pieces of evidence to prove her innocence. At the same time is 'Pieter van Eckhardt' trying to obtain possession of paintings from the museum.

Both quests are taking place in the museum at night. The players sneak in, exposing the system of corridors by opening playing tiles. On five tiles are secret rooms, which contains paintings and/or paintings, which the team try to get out one by one. You get points for the discovery and objects belonging to your quest, but you can also remove tiles the opponents want.

You opponent will do everything in their power to stop you by shooting at you, blocking corridors and stealing your points. Also beware of the guards, which might force you to restart from the entrance. The last piece is booby-trapped, so you need to run for you life to the entrance.

 		  

Netzwerk

  • author:  Corné van Moorsel

  • sponsor:  Jumbo

 Netzwerk is a re-issue of Morisi. The object of the game is for the players to connect city areas (black) via trade routes. These trade routes will pass through the various areas: farmland (yellow), hills (orange), mountains (red), timberland (green) and water (blue). Before trade routes can be built, the players must gain knowledge about these various region types by traveling through them with their pawn. As cities are connected by trade, the players’ success is represented by the size and number of their trading houses in the connected cities.  

Eiszeit

  • author:  Alan R. Moon & Aaron Weissblum

  • sponsor: ALEA

It's a cool, windy day in autumn, some time around 30,000 years ago. For several hours now, a group of hunters have been following a herd of mammoths. Will they succeed? Will they actually be able to bring down one of these giant animals? Its meat would last the entire Tribe for several weeks...

Take on the role of one of these fearless Ice Age tribesmen and try to keep close to the mammoth herds. Of course, everyone else wants to accomplish this as well, so there will always be fights over territory. Who may stay, and who has to leave? Lucky for those with a club handy!

  

Magna Grecia

  • author:  Leo Colovini & Michael Schacht

  • sponsor: Clementoni

 Magna Grecia (The cradle of the civilization) is the main attraction of the year with Clementoni. The game is a joint work of Leo Colovini and Michael Schacht.

The southern region of Italy was called Magna Grecia and was settled 2,500 years ago by Greek merchants and adventurers. Before the arrival of the Greeks, the country was only inhabited by few small tribes. Fruitful soil, navigable rivers, large forests, bronze and silver mines offered enormous development possibilities. Larger cities developed, such as Tarantum, Syracuse, Katane, Locri and Naxos. In addition, numerous villages, of which no trace remains. A local road system promoted trade and rich markets developed in the cities. More and more rivalries between the cities arose, particularly over control of the Oracle, which represented an important source for fame and wealth.

Sufficient material for an evening of play. Each player must successfully settle and develop Magna Grecia. At favorable points, markets are built, villages are developed into cities and interconnected by a road system. Only thus may the interior be opened and the Oracle controlled. Constructing your own large city is often very expensive and it is sometimes worthwhile to build instead in the neutral villages or opponents' cities.

  

2002

Emerald

  • author:  Rudiger Dorn

  • sponsor: Abacusspiele

"Brand new baby dragon! The news spreads like wildfire! And everyone knows what this means: the mother dragon must have acquired a large hoard of gold and gems for the nest of her brood. All knights in the area want a chance at the treasure and race to her mountain."
  
The tasks for the knights are to collect as many as possible gems, gold and treasury cards. But watch out in the cave as the dragon can catch knights. And they end up either as dinner or if you have gold cards in stock bribed free again.
  

Mexica

  • author:  Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling

  • sponsor: Ravensburger

Mexica plots the development of the city of the same name on an island in lake Texcoco. Players attempt to partition it into districts, place buildings and construct canals.

Districts are formed by completely surrounding areas of the island with water and then placing a District marker. The player who founds a district scores points immediately.

Canals and lake Texcoco act as a quick method of moving throughout the city. Players erect bridges and moving from one bridge to the next costs 1 action point regardless of the distance. They must also erecting buildings. This costs action points, the exact number being dependent upon the buildings size.

In the scoring phases of the game, players score points (El Grande style) based upon their dominance in a District. In the 4 player game players with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd most buildings score decreasing numbers of points. Only districts are scored in the first scoring round. In the second scoring round at the end of the game, all land areas are scored, not just districts. Note: For EuropeMasters a new rule is introduced that the maximum points to be scored for a non-district land area is 20 points. Any surplus of landsquares is wasted.
  

Medina

  • author:  Stefan Dorra 

  • sponsor: 999 Games

Each turn you must (if possible) place two pieces on the board, either augment an existing building or start a new one if the current building of that color is as finished as it will ever be. Each player will claim one building of each of the four colors by the end of the game, giving one point per wooden piece attached to said building. Plus, if you own the largest building of a particular color you get a little bonus based on the color you dominate in. Lastly, there are bonuses similar to the color-type for the player who most recently connected one of their buildings to the walls, which grow from the four corners of the city.
  

Titicaca

  • author:  Corné van Moorsel

  • sponsor: Cwali

In Titicaca your tribes try to occupy good fields around the lakes. To benefit from more fields you can form countries with tribes in neighbouring fields. Countries can be combined as long as both countries gain by getting a new type of land in the country. In this way the countries grow bigger and bigger...

Though the game consists of few rules only, its potential is hugh. Each player has a limited amount of weapon tokens in stock. And these weapons are used each bidding rounds. So bid carefully and wise!
  

2001

Africa

  • author: Reiner Knizia

  • sponsor: 999 Games

Players take on the role of Explorers, like dr. Livingston in undiscovered Africa. The playing counters are placed upside down in random locations upon the various places of the board. Each turn the player may elect to move his explorer to a revealed location anywhere on the board, or move twice, each turn moving 0, 1 or 2 adjacent revealed spaces. The explorer may then take an action, such as reveal an unrevealed tile, or move various revealed tiles to other locations. The tiles represent trade goods (of various sets), nomads, animals, gold/ diamonds, and monuments. By collecting sets of goods points can be scored (the more, the better). But also by (smart) moving nomads to free living spaces or animals to hordes.

When the 11th monument is revealed, the game ends. So the length of game is variable...something to keep in mind!!! Africa is a strategic game with an element of luck, revealing of the tiles, but turning tiles only won't let you win the game.
  

 Cartagena

  • author:  Leo Colovini

  • sponsor: Winning Moves/Identity Games

This game represents the famous 1672 pirate-led jailbreak from the fortress of Cartagena. Each player has a group of 6 pirates and the objective is to have all 6 escape through the tortuous underground passage that connects the fortress to the port, where a sloop is waiting for them. By playing your cards smartly and making use of occupied spaces (by your opponents pirates) you can jump your pirates fast forward to freedom and victory.For EuropeMasters the Tortuga version is played, where all cards are kept open. This variant is more challenging and gives an extra strategic edge.
  

Odyssues

  • author:  Dominique Ehrhard

  • sponsor: Jumbo

The players slip into the role of Greek gods with different divine powers. They compete to move Odysseus' ship to different adventures by playing out wind cards or using their divine powers, as depicted on their secret task cards. First player to score 10 points of completed adventures wins.For EuropeMasters new secret task cards were made, as the original task cards are not balanced for a 4 player game. With the new cards each color will score the same amount of points (3 points in total per color). Also for the additional rule applies that no 2 similar adventure tokens may be placed next to each other, if there exists a direct line between the 2 fields.
  

M

  • author: Martin Schlegel

  • sponsor: Abacusspiele

M is a rather abstract strategy game, where players attempt to lay tiles such that they border as many other tiles as possible. The tiles must be of corresponding color, have the same number or symbol. The more borders the tile hits, the more points are scored.Players also have to try to collect 2 colors of tiles (counts as positive points) and avoid the other colors as these points will be substracted from the overall score. vv 

2000

La Citta

  • author: Gerd Fenchel

  • sponsor: Kosmos

Each player is given two cities to start with, a small population and some money. The goal is simple: expansion. Players build farms to feed their people, quarries to finance their expansions, marketplaces to allow growth in their cities, and bath houses to keep their people clean and healthy. Additionally, structures can be built which give the city influence in one of three aspects (religion, health and science). Superiority in one these aspects can cause population to shift from other nearby cities when the Voice of the People (which aspect is requested by the whole population) is decided at the end of each turn. At the end of six turns, the player with the most victory points, which are determined from well-rounded cities, well-fed populations and overall size of population, will be the winner.     
 

Carolus Magnus

  • author: Leo Colovini

  • sponsor: Winning Moves

The games starts with the land tiles arranged in a circle (like small islands). Mercenaries, in the form of small wooden blocks in different colors, can either be placed onto the land tiles or be brought over in the court where the player an try to get or maintain a majority in one or more colors. Once a player has majority of control markers on a piece of land, he can build a tower there. The tower serves as a semi-permanent control marker, as well as a way to win. If two land pieces are controlled by the same player, the land pieces are combined into one, which makes the position harder to take by the other players. The first player to place a set number of towers wins the game, but the game can also end when the land masses are reduced to three or fewer, in which case the player with the most towers placed wins. In case Carolus Magnus is played with 4 players it becomes a teamplay, where 2 players become partners. At the tournament Caralous Magnus is played 2 times per table with a different team setup each game.     
 

Die Fürsten von Florenz

  • author: Richard Ulrich/Wolfgang Kramer

  • Sponsor: Ravensburger/ALEA

This game involves developing renaissance cities to attract various professions, which enriches the cities culturally. Each player is given a city grid and reference chart and attempts to gain the most victory points after seven rounds. Scoring victory points can be done in a variety of ways although the real chunck of it involves generating enough "work" points in a round to play a personality card. There are a variety of personalites ranging from astronomers, artists, architects, etc. Each personality is attracted to a particular combination of building, lanscape feature, and social freedom.

The more the player can match these personality preferences, the more work points are being generated. If a player satisfies the minimum requirement of work points for the round then the personality can be played and the player can then cash out these points for cash and/or victory points.
  

Merchants of Amsterdam

  • author: Reiner Knizia

  • sponsor: Jumbo

Players have to divide their attention on different categories throughout the game to be able to be victorious in the end. The categories are commodity markets, trading colonies, and warehouses in Amsterdam.On a player's turn three cards are drawn and the player decides how they will be resolved for the turn. The player can either remove the card from the game, keep it for himself, or put it up for auction. The cards allow players to advance or place one of their markers in the various categories.
There are also time marker cards which when drawn move the game through various "historical" phases until the last which ends the game. The historical phases follow a period of time in the history of Amsterdam which can range from no effect, scoring rounds for particular categories, bonuses, and towards the end some penalties as wars begin to disrupt business markets.The unique twist in the game is that the game comes with a spring driven auction clock to perform the dutch auctions throughout the game. When the clock is started it ticks down, so the price of the auction goes down.The idea is that as time passes the cost of the card lowers and it is simply an issue of who will pay for it first by slapping down on the clock and thus stopping it at a certain price.
  
 

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