Board Game News #2

The holiday break from board game news is over, and beautiful new boxes promising hours of fun are hitting the market. Let's take a look at a few of them together. We'll also check out some interesting pre-order titles.

Something for everyone: Merchants Cove

Business rules the world. It's no different in this visually stunning board game. Eager customers arrive at Merchants Cove craving powerful magical items. Players take on the roles of merchants who must prepare their goods.

The base game includes an Alchemist, a Blacksmith, a Captain, and a Chronomancer. The trick is that each merchant uses their own unique player board, mechanics, and procedures. One combines marbles and uses engine-building, another uses dice, random selection, or tile sliding. As a result, playing as each merchant is a unique experience, but everyone has the same goal - to sell as many goods as possible to eager customers.

Merchants Cove is one of those games that looks great on any table. The box contains a number of beautifully crafted components, and the miniatures are a highlight too.

The base game is designed for 2 to 4 intermediate players, but several expansions were released alongside the base game, adding new elements and merchants. This increases the maximum number of players to 5.

For beginners and kids: Mushroom Paradise

It's said that the Czech Republic is a mushroom picker's paradise. Young and old alike head into the woods to collect tasty fungi. This hobby is the focus of the fast and easy card game Mushroom Paradise. In it, players set out to collect mushrooms. They fill their baskets and try to complete columns on the game board. Each mushroom has a randomly selected hidden value at the start, and whoever manages to collect the most "valuable" mushrooms wins.

To keep things interesting, each player only holds two clues about the mushroom values. You have to watch what other players are collecting and try to guess which mushroom is worth gold and which one is worth ignoring.

Mushroom Paradise is a quick game that even younger players can handle. It's most fun for the tricksters among us who enjoy a bit of bluffing.

For advanced players: Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

This piece belongs in the hardcore category. It's a 4X game where you will explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. If the Civilization series rings a bell, you'll feel right at home. 2 to 4 players choose from a number of nations at the start. The beginnings are tough. You establish small settlements, cautiously explore the surroundings, and gather necessary resources.

As your empire grows, you invent new technologies, and sooner or later, the first skirmishes between neighbors occur. At the end, everyone tallies their points, and the best player wins.

Through the Ages is definitely not a simple game for newcomers. It assumes players know some basic principles. Just a first look into the box, packed with components and miniatures, might scare some people off. But in the end, everyone agrees that despite its complexity, the game doesn't have overly complicated rules and flows nicely. Expect a game session to take several hours. However, the reward is one of the best experiences that civilization games can provide.

And what makes this edition monumental? In addition to the polished and modernized base game, the box also contains two other expansions. You won't find this much plastic and cardboard in one box anywhere else…

Pre-order: Call to Adventure

Mindok is preparing a very interesting fantasy card game Call to Adventure, which has quickly become one of the most anticipated titles of this autumn for many of us. And not just because of the beautiful illustrations. Up to 4 players take on the role of an unknown hero who creates an epic story through their actions.

Will the runes be in your favor and help you complete a series of challenges before gaining other important resources? Will you take the path of an honorable hero, or will you turn to the dark side? The game is about combining the right runes and a bit of luck. However, only the adventurer who gains the most destiny points can win.

Pre-order: Radlands

The second upcoming novelty is another card game, this time a duel game called Radlands. Life in a post-apocalyptic world is never easy. Ruthless gangs roam the inhospitable wastelands, fighting for the most important resource: water.

Both players are in charge of managing their three camps, which they must defend at all costs. You will recruit new gang members, use their abilities, and activate special card powers that can bring something useful in the future. The game has simple rules and minimal text on the cards, but it offers a breathtaking number of combinations and tactical options.

When you add a unique visual style and a bit of humor to all of that, it's no wonder this game immediately gained attention all over the world.

author Karel Krajča