Which game would you rather play?

In Mangrovia, a light "gamer's game"/family game with a Caribbean mangrove setting, a clever role selection mechanism allows the players to choose two different bonuses/actions as well as the turn order in which they want these actions to be carried ... SHOW MORE 

In Mangrovia, a light "gamer's game"/family game with a Caribbean mangrove setting, a clever role selection mechanism allows the players to choose two different bonuses/actions as well as the turn order in which they want these actions to be carried out — all by placing just one marker. Victory is achievable through a number of viable options, which guarantees high re-playability. The game is a fight over acquiring the best locations for your huts in this appealing and unspoiled landscape. If you manage to do so, you will become the rightful successor of the old chief and win the game. You gain Chief points by having the most huts (and the secondmost huts) along each of the eight divine paths monitored by the statues of Gods. Additional Chief points are earned by controlling sacred locations, by collecting amulets, and simply by building huts at lucrative spaces. Building a hut requires that the space's landscape is "active" and that you can pay the exact price (not overpay) for the space. Therefore, the game feels tight even from the very start. The game gets tighter and tighter towards the end of the game as you have fewer choices of spaces, and as the actions you choose become more and more crucial. In order to succeed in this game, you should carefully choose and time the best possible combination of actions, called "ritual sites". A boat goes from ritual site to ritual site, first on the west side, then on the east side (in opposite order), triggering each action. If, for instance, you choose a ritual site high up, you will have an early choice of cards, but a late choice of space to build your huts or to collect amulets (and vice versa). A fourth action type is to select "active landscapes" and become starting player, which makes it possible to control the next round. After all players have performed two actions, the round ends. The game is usually played over 10-14 rounds and ends when one player builds his last hut. Collecting amulets may be key in this game. Instead of keeping them as Chief points, you may use them to build huts on designated spaces which require payment in amulets instead of cards — and still to the exact price. Building huts on such spaces may be exactly what you need to get the majority along one or two divine paths. In order to gain enough amulets — and amulets of the appropriate values — you should position some of your huts on amulet spaces. The more huts you build on such spaces, the more amulets you can draw. The probability of getting the amulets you need will therefore increase. The game board is built as a matrix system, with some spaces being part of two divine paths while other spaces belong to just one. The spaces that are part of two divine paths are obviously most tempting, but can you afford to build your huts there? ... SHOW LESS 

From the back of the game box: Totaler Krieg! This game stretches from the fjords of Narvik to the sands at El Alamein, from the gates of Moscow to the sandy beaches of Normandy, from the Spanish Civil War to the last days in Berlin and everything i... SHOW MORE 

From the back of the game box: Totaler Krieg! This game stretches from the fjords of Narvik to the sands at El Alamein, from the gates of Moscow to the sandy beaches of Normandy, from the Spanish Civil War to the last days in Berlin and everything in between. No game tells the story of World War II in Europe like Totaler Krieg! This new edition of our popular Krieg! game is still the same highly playable, unpredictable and enjoyable experience it always has been. What’s new is a design and graphic update and expansion to give you more options -- especially if you want to explore the critical pre-war period from 1937 to 1939. What if the Republicans had won the Spanish Civil War? What if Germany and Russia hadn’t signed their Non-Aggression Pact? What if France had modernized its army instead of building the Maginot Line? All of these options are literally in the cards that form the strategies of the three factions -- Axis, Soviet Allies, and Western Allies. Best of all, Totaler Krieg! can be linked with its new Pacific companion game, Axis Empires: Dai Senso! – World War II in Asia & the Pacific, 1937-45, to play the joint Axis Empires scenario, an eye-opening global look at all of World War II. The fate of the world is in your hands! Totaler Krieg means Total War in German. In the game, play moves from Pre-War (where players mobilize their forces and engage in diplomacy) to Limited War (when open conflict begins) to Total War -- at that point, it’s all-out warfare to achieve victory! Includes: Two 22 x 34 inch maps 840 counters on three countersheets 200 cards A 64-page rulebook A 24-page scenario book Play aids and force pool displays ... SHOW LESS