Gameplay
The point of the game is to gain the most "dominance points" before the continent of Pangea has broken apart. These are earned by controlling different areas on the board, each of which has a terrain type that is randomly assigned at the beginning of the game. The game is played over a number of turns, where each turn, a player is given five "power points". The player spends these points to take different actions, such as increasing the units in a controlled area, moving to an area he controls, and battling with an opponent for control of an adjacent area. When a player gains control of two or more areas with a similar terrain type, his species gains a new power, represented on a power card. Additionally, a player gains power cards based on the actions performed during the turn. These power cards can be used to help in battles or to gain additional "power points" towards more actions on a turn. At the end of each turn, the player flips over an event card and determines what event occurs as well as how much time has passed. Once the action occurs, the card is placed in a row and the total amount of time on the cards in the row is added together. If 25 million or more years have passed (are in the row), the piece of the continent shown on the last card breaks away from Pangea. Once all 6 smaller continents have broken apart, the game ends, and the person with the most "dominance points" wins.
Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turns rotate among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game. The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and, in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.
WarCry is an out-of-print collectible card game set in the world of Warhammer Fantasy and published by Sabertooth Games. The base game cards were released in 2003, with newer expansions introduced in the months since. A video game adaptation, titled Warhammer: Battle for Atluma, was created for the PSP in 2006.
The Wheel of Time Collectible Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game published by Precedence Entertainment in December 1999 and based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time fantasy novel series. The game was somewhat unusual among contemporary collectible card games because it required a play mat with tokens and customized six-sided dice to play. It uses some similar game mechanics to the Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game and the Tomb Raider Collectible Card Game, which were also published by Precedence.
Memoir '44 is a light wargame or war-themed strategy board game for two players. It was created by Richard Borg and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. Illustration done by Julian Deveil and Cyrrile Dejuan. The game can be played with up to six players if played in teams and up to eight players in the "Overlord" scenarios. However, "Overlord" requires two copies of the game. It received the 2004 International Gamers Award for General Strategy, 2-Player category and The Wargamer 2004 Award for Excellence. The game is published in English and French by Days of Wonder.
Greyhawk Wars is a fantasy board wargame that was published by TSR, Inc. in 1991. The game was designed by David Cook as a strategic simulation of the eponymous Greyhawk Wars on the fictional world of Oerth, the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Risk Godstorm is a Risk variant board game published by Avalon Hill and designed by Mike Selinker with developers Richard Baker and Michael Donais. The cultures of the Celts, Norse, Greeks, Egyptians, and Babylonians clash for supremacy of the ancient world. Players invade territories, play miracle cards, sink Atlantis, and conquer the underworld. The latter is a significant addition to the Risk series, as soldiers do not leave the game when they are killed, but instead go to their heavens and then embark to take over the underworld. In October 2024, Renegade Game Studios released a new version of Risk: Godstorm, a variant of the army-building game in which players try to call to summon their culture’s gods as they battle for dominance. The new edition of Risk: Godstorm includes the original game’s five civilizations – Greek, Celtic, Babylonian, Norse, and Egyptian – and the original map that focused on Europe and Northern Africa. From the images on Risk: Godstorm’s page, this appears to be very similar or identical to the 2004 version published by Hasbro.
Dreamblade is a collectible miniatures game created by Wizards of the Coast that debuted on August 9, 2006, the day before Gen Con Indy. The game is a strategy contest that includes an element of chance which comes into play through various die rolls.
CAV or Combat Assault Vehicle is a miniatures wargame by Reaper Miniatures.
Twilight Imperium is a strategy board game produced by Fantasy Flight Games and Asmodee in the genre of science fiction and space opera. It was designed by Christian T. Petersen and was first released in 1997. It is now in its fourth edition (2017), which has large changes over previous editions. It is known for the length of its games and its in-depth strategy. As of 2024, its compelling gameplay and enduring popularity have been hailed by Nerdist and Polygon as one of the "greatest board games ever made."
Wyvern is an out-of-print collectible card game featuring dragons and wyverns battling for treasure. The game was produced by U.S. Games Systems, with the first, "Premiere Limited", card set launched in January 1995. In 1997, the "Kingdom Unlimited" edition was released, featuring 277 cards, and marking the end of production.
StarCraft: The Board Game, published by Fantasy Flight Games, is a game inspired by the 1998 computer game StarCraft. Players take control of the three distinctive races featured in the video games, the Terrans, the Protoss, or the Zerg, to engage in battle across multiple worlds in order to achieve victory. Each of the three races features a fairly different playing style. A prototype of the game was shown at BlizzCon 2007, with pre-release copies sold at Gen Con 2007 and Penny Arcade Expo 2007. It was publicly released in October 2007.
The Last Crusade is an out-of-print collectible card game originally published in December 1995 by Virginia-based Chameleon Eclectic Entertainment until the company closed in early 1999, at which time Pinnacle Entertainment Group took over production.
We the People is a board wargame about the American Revolution, published by Avalon Hill in 1993 and designed by Mark Herman. We the People was the first wargame to use cards as the primary way to control the pace and tempo of play, with a strong element of fog of war through the hidden card information. This started a new genre of wargames that have emphasized competitive play and a strong historical narrative.
Magic: The Gathering is a video game published by MicroProse in March 1997 based on the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. It is often referred to as Shandalar after the plane of Shandalar, where the game takes place. The player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure and role-playing elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. An oversized version of Aswan Jaguar was included in the game box.
Catan: Traders & Barbarians is the third expansion to the Settlers of Catan games, developed by Klaus Teuber. It contains a series of new scenarios and small variations, which are meant for two, three, or four players, with limited compatibility between the other two expansions, Catan: Seafarers and Catan: Cities & Knights. Three of the modules had been previously offered as "mini-expansions", though two have new rules in Traders. The expansion itself is named for one of the scenarios therein.
Age of Mythology: The Boardgame is a board game created by Glenn Drover based on the video game Age of Mythology. It was released in 2003 by Eagle Games. Up to four players may play the game, but extra parts may be purchased from Eagle Games to allow eight players to play.
Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game is a 2010 board game created by Kevin Wilson based on the Sid Meier's Civilization series of video games and published by Fantasy Flight Games. While the previous board game based on Sid Meier's Civilization, published by Eagle Games in 2002, was based on Civilization III, the 2010 version takes its primary inspiration from Civilization IV. Its expansions, Fame and Fortune and Wisdom and Warfare, also began to incorporate concepts derived from Civilization V.
Cabals: Magic & Battle Cards is a digital collectible card game designed by Mika Rosendahl and developed by Finnish studio Kyy Games. The game combines a board mechanic and cross-platform online multiplayer gameplay. Cabals: The Card Game was published on November 30, 2011, for iPhone, iPad, Android and Internet Browsers. The newly named Cabals: Magic & Battle Cards was released on April 11, 2014.
Forbidden Desert is a cooperative board game developed by Matt Leacock and published by Gamewright Games. It is a sequel to the game Forbidden Island. It is also available on mobile.
The 7th Continent is a 2017 storytelling cooperative board game designed by Ludovic Roudy and Bruno Sautter.
