Game Descriptions

You are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Gather resources, develop commercial routes, and affirm your military supremacy.  Build your city and erect an architectural wonder which will transcend future times.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at

• 7 Wonders - How to Play.

• 7 Wonders | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Game Play

7 Wonders lasts three ages. In each age, players receive seven cards from a particular deck, choose one of those cards, then pass the remainder to an adjacent player. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, paying resources if needed or collecting resources or interacting with other players in various ways. (Players have individual boards with special powers on which to organize their cards, and the boards are double-sided). Each player then chooses another card from the deck they were passed, and the process repeats until players have six cards in play from that age. After three ages, the game ends.

In essence, 7 Wonders is a card development game. Some cards have immediate effects, while others provide bonuses or upgrades later in the game. Some cards provide discounts on future purchases. Some provide military strength to overpower your neighbors and others give nothing but victory points. Each card is played immediately after being drafted, so you'll know which cards your neighbor is receiving and how her choices might affect what you've already built up. Cards are passed left-right-left over the three ages, so you need to keep an eye on the neighbors in both directions.

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal.

Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The cards in question are:

• CARDS: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards).

• BUILD: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions.

• ANIMALS: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo.

• ASSOCIATION: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks.

• SPONSORS: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money.

255 cards featuring animals, specialists, special enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a special ability, are at the heart of Ark Nova. Use them to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo and collect conservation points.

I will teach the game. You can learn more from:

• Ark Nova | BoardGameGeek

• Ark Nova - Playthrough

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Age of Industry is often described as a "streamlined redesign of Brass: Lancashire", and Wallace himself said "You can now play something with the depth of Brass, but in half the time."  But this understates the game's originality and quality.  See the overview below for details.

I'll teach the game; to learn yourself, use the following resources:

• How to play Age of Industry.

• Age of Industry | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Overview

The theme is the Industrial Revolution; players invest in the production of raw materials, the manufacture of goods, and the transportation networks needed to connect them to markets.  Among the notable differences from Brass Lancashire are the following:

• There is only one era, rail.  This is more than a simplification; it dramatically alters the development process.  In Brass Lancashire (and Birmingham), players must stage, or setup, rail era development in the canal era.  Not having to do this creates a single integral development process.

•  Age of Industry uses region cards instead of location cards.  This is a less random constraint on player strategies.

•  Ships in Age of Industry are meaningful components of the development process (not just raw point generators as in Brass Lancashire).  Ships provide access to goods.

• There are numerous maps for Age of Industry, most with interesting rules adjustments.  I have all of the following ones (player counts in parentheses):

  • New England and Germany (base maps) (3-5).

  • Great Lakes (2) and South Africa (3-5).

  • Japan (3-4) and Minnesota (4-5).

  • Belgium (2) and the USSR (3-5).

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Age of Steam is a highly interactive game of railroad network building that requires continual effort to create routes that ship goods -- for income and points -- before other players grab them, all while coping with the threat of bankruptcy. Adding to the difficulty, every round begins with a turn order auction.

Players begin the game with a handful of track markers, a scant $10, and with a board full of unbuilt hexes with a scattering of colored cities waiting for deliveries of the cubes already laid out on the board. Each round they go through the steps of taking loans, bidding in the auction for player order, selecting powers, building track and shipping goods. Of course, the auction is based on a dollar auction, with all the attendant issues of mis-valued sunk cost.

Challenges that await you:

• Can you finance both the most extensive track network and the most powerful locomotives?

• Which routes will give the best returns on their costs?

• Can you beat the opposition to the most lucrative shipments?

• Will you make enough money to pay your aggressive creditors?

• Competition is brutal, with the game usually going to the player who plans most carefully.

Each self-contained phase in the game keeps players constantly involved in making vital decisions and interacting with other players. Age of Steam also allows towns to be developed into cities, ensuring that no two games are exactly the same.

I'll teach; to learn the game yourself use these resources:

• Age of Steam | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

• Age of Steam Rust Belt map playthrough, Heavy Cardboard.

• Age of Steam - Live playthrough with Paul Grogan and friends.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Amun-Re, by Reiner Knizia, is set along the Nile in ancient Egypt and is played over two periods of time representing the Old and the New Kingdoms. Each period lasts for 3 turns, giving the game a 6-turn structure. In that time players will gain control of regions, build monuments, farm the land, and make sacrifices to Amun-Re.

There is inherent variability in the way the regions come out, as well as the cards you draw as bonus cards, and when you add in the mix of different players this game provides endless challenge and variety. Some players prefer to buy lots of cards, or farmers; some always sacrifice high, while others always steal from the sacrifice; some go for pyramid sets, while others like to win one side of the river; sometimes you get a game where all the farmer regions come out early, or the camel ones - whatever the variability in the game, and for whatever reason, no two games feel alike.  It also shines as a 5 player games that offers depth in about an hour. 

I'll teach; to learn yourself, use the following resources:

• Dad vs Daughter - Amun-Re (teach and playthrough).

• Amun-Re | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

• Amun Re Game Rules | How To Play | PDF Instructions - Board Game Capital 

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.

We'll play "Medium" or the Western Auztralia board. These scenarios put an emphasis on preparing for the Old Ones. If one player is both weak and exposed, the game can end quickly.

AuZtralia is an adventure/exploration game for 1-4 players set in an alternate reality 1930s. A clever mashup by Martin Wallace of many of his favorite game mechanics and themes, it's a semi-cooperative game in which victory by the Old Ones is a likely outcome.

Please know how to play. If you need to learn, watch the short Tabletopia solo game at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3efNTfo6YFo or Heavy Cardboard's teach and full play-through: https://youtu.be/RCYrrrPm_t4.

If anyone wants to bring another copy, we can expand to eight. Or if someone has the new Revenge of the Old Ones expansion, we can play five. 

1932 — the desolate shores of a new world lie before the would-be colonists. They are on a mission to grow food to feed the war-ravaged populations of the world, a war fought against the terrible Old Ones.

However, this new land hides a terrible secret: It is the final lair of those Old Ones not defeated in the war. They are about to rouse themselves from their slumbers and bring terror down on the settlers. At first these attacks seem to be random. After some time, it becomes obvious that there is a controlling mind behind these evil creatures. Somebody, or something, is directing the hordes of zombies, Mi-go and Shoggoths...and possibly even Cthulhu itself!

AuZtralia is an adventure/exploration game for 1-5 players set in an alternate reality 1930s. A clever mashup by Martin Wallace of many of his favorite game mechanics and themes, it's a semi-cooperative game in which victory by the Old Ones is a likely outcome.

AuZtralia: Revenge of the Old Ones enables the game to be played with one player controlling the Old Ones. This allows for up to five players. As well as being able to decide where to place their forces, the Old One player can also summon terrible creatures from the void to create even more havoc. Now you can raise Nyarlathotep or call forth the Hounds of Tindalos to defeat the scourge of humans invading your lands.

Depending on interest and number of players, we'll either play Revenge, the medium level, or the Western Auztralia board. These scenarios put an emphasis on preparing for the Old Ones. If one player is both weak and exposed, the game can end quickly.

I'll teach the game.  To learn yourself, use the following resources:

• BoardGameGeek Auztralia.

• BoardGameGeek Auztralia: Revenge of the Old Ones.

• AuZtralia 4p Play-through, Teaching, & Roundtable discussion by Heavy Cardboard.

• AuZtralia board game: How to Play.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

We'll play "Medium" or the Western Auztralia board. These scenarios put an emphasis on preparing for the Old Ones. If one player is both weak and exposed, the game can end quickly.

AuZtralia is an adventure/exploration game for 1-4 players set in an alternate reality 1930s. A clever mashup by Martin Wallace of many of his favorite game mechanics and themes, it's a semi-cooperative game in which victory by the Old Ones is a likely outcome.

Please know how to play. If you need to learn, watch the short Tabletopia solo game at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3efNTfo6YFo or Heavy Cardboard's teach and full play-through: https://youtu.be/RCYrrrPm_t4.

If anyone wants to bring another copy, we can expand to eight. Or if someone has the new Revenge of the Old Ones expansion, we can play five. 

1932 — the desolate shores of a new world lie before the would-be colonists. They are on a mission to grow food to feed the war-ravaged populations of the world, a war fought against the terrible Old Ones.

However, this new land hides a terrible secret: It is the final lair of those Old Ones not defeated in the war. They are about to rouse themselves from their slumbers and bring terror down on the settlers. At first these attacks seem to be random. After some time, it becomes obvious that there is a controlling mind behind these evil creatures. Somebody, or something, is directing the hordes of zombies, Mi-go and Shoggoths...and possibly even Cthulhu itself!

AuZtralia is an adventure/exploration game for 1-5 players set in an alternate reality 1930s. A clever mashup by Martin Wallace of many of his favorite game mechanics and themes, it's a semi-cooperative game in which victory by the Old Ones is a likely outcome.

AuZtralia: Revenge of the Old Ones enables the game to be played with one player controlling the Old Ones. This allows for up to five players. As well as being able to decide where to place their forces, the Old One player can also summon terrible creatures from the void to create even more havoc. Now you can raise Nyarlathotep or call forth the Hounds of Tindalos to defeat the scourge of humans invading your lands.

Depending on interest and number of players, we'll either play Revenge, the medium level, or the Western Auztralia board. These scenarios put an emphasis on preparing for the Old Ones. If one player is both weak and exposed, the game can end quickly.

I'll teach the game.  To learn yourself, use the following resources:

• BoardGameGeek Auztralia.

• BoardGameGeek Auztralia: Revenge of the Old Ones.

• AuZtralia 4p Play-through, Teaching, & Roundtable discussion by Heavy Cardboard.

• AuZtralia board game: How to Play.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Eurogame Wednesdays have a featured game but will include others depending on how many come and what their interests are.

The featured game this time is Azul.  Azul is an exceptionally beautiful abstract strategy game with a design indebted to Moorish decorative tiles.  Players draw tiles from a central display set, attempting to fill pattern lines and a wall on their player boards.  Play continues through multiple phases, ending on the phase when at least one player has filled a row of their wall.

To learn Azul, watch instructional videos on BGG: Azul | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.  I'll also teach the game.

About Eurogame Wednesdays

We'll play an assortment of exciting games in the Eurogame style. Eurogames emphasize social play, strategy and skill, no player elimination, indirect conflict (typically resource competition), and attention to artwork, component design, and themes. We'll stick with games that take less than two hours to play and aren't more than moderately complex -- loosely speaking, games with a BGG complexity rating not greater than 3.1.

Each event will feature one or two games, and you can bring your own. Contact me if you want to co-host an event or propose a featured game.

Azul is an exceptionally beautiful abstract strategy game with a design indebted to Moorish decorative tiles.  Players draw tiles from a central display set, attempting to fill pattern lines and a wall on their player boards.  Play continues through multiple phases, ending on the phase when at least one player has filled a row of their wall.

To learn Azul, watch instructional videos on BGG: Azul | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.  I'll also teach the game.

Splendor is a card-based engine-building game using as a theme Renaissance merchants buying gems and gem mines to acquire the most prestige points. 

On your turn, you may (1) collect chips (gems), or (2) buy and build a card (a mine), or (3) reserve one card. If you collect chips, you take either three different kinds of chips or two chips of the same kind. If you buy a card, you pay its price in chips and add it to your playing area. To reserve a card—in order to make sure you get it, or, why not, your opponents don't get it—you place it in front of you face down for later building; this costs you a round, but you also get gold in the form of a joker chip, which you can use as any gem.

All of the cards you buy increase your wealth as they give you a permanent gem bonus for later buys; some of the cards also give you prestige points. In order to win the game, you must reach 15 prestige points before your opponents do.

To learn Splendor, use the instructional videos and other resources at Splendor | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.  I'll also teach the game.

Both Azul and Splendor can also be played on Board Game Arena.

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Git along, little doggies, up the GREAT WESTERN TRAIL! It's the 19th Century. You're making your fortune as a rancher herding cattle from Texas to Kansas City, then shipping them by train to points beyond. Compete with up to three other players in order to: Build a diverse herd of cattle! Hire a strong crew of cowboys, craftsmen, and engineers! Construct buildings along the trail to give you bonuses and extract tolls from the other ranchers! "If you cleverly manage your herd and navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of Great Western Trail, you surely will gain the most victory points and win the game."

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL is a fairly heavy Euro (3.71/5.00 on Boardgamegeek.com), rated as the #12 game overall and the #10 strategy game on that website. I will teach the game if needed. We'll use the 1st Edition (as that's what I have) without the expansion.

Game resources are available on Boardgamegeek.com:

• Index of resources and links

• 5 Favorite Things About Great Western Trail (6 minutes)

• How to play video (30 minutes)

• Full playthrough (~2 hours)

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

(David Scheftel)

Cascadia, the 2022 Spiel des Jahres Winner, is a puzzly tile-laying and token-drafting game featuring the habitats and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at:

• Cascadia | Board Game | BoardGameGeek  (note the instructional and playthrough videos just below the Overview)

• Cascadia - How to Play

Overview

In Cascadia you take turns building out your own terrain area and populating it with wildlife. Start with three hexagonal habitat tiles (from the five types of habitat in the game), and on your turn choose a new habitat tile that's paired with a wildlife token, then place that tile next to your other ones and place the wildlife token on an appropriate habitat. Each tile depicts 1-3 types of wildlife from the five types in the game, and you can place at most one tile on a habitat.  Four tiles are on display, with each tile being paired at random with a wildlife token, so you must make the best of what's available — unless you have a nature token to spend so that you can pick your choice of each item.

Ideally you can place habitat tiles to create matching terrain that reduces fragmentation and creates wildlife corridors.  In addition, place wildlife tokens so that you can maximize the number of points scored by them, with the wildlife goals being determined at random by one of the four scoring cards for each type of wildlife. Maybe hawks want to be separate from other hawks, while foxes want lots of different animals surrounding them and bears want to be in pairs. Can you make it happen?  At game's end score for the largest area of each type of habitat, with a bonus if your group is larger than every other player's.  

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

In Castles of Burgundy, take on the role of an aristocrat in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France, initially controlling a small princedom. Build settlements and castles, practice trade along the river, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers to your advantage.

The game is about players taking settlement tiles from the game board and placing them into their princedom which is represented by the player board. Every tile has a function that starts when the tile is placed in the princedom. The princedom itself consists of several regions, each of which demands its own type of settlement tile.

The game is played in five phases, each consisting of five rounds. Each phase begins with the game board stocked with settlement tiles and goods tiles. At the beginning of each round all players roll their two dice, and the player who is currently first in turn order rolls a goods placement die. A goods tile is made available on the game board according to the roll of the goods die. 

During each round players take their turns in the current turn order. During his turn, a player may perform any two of the four possible types of actions: 1) take a settlement tile from the numbered depot on the game board corresponding to one of his dice and place it in the staging area on his player board, 2) take a settlement tile from the staging area of his player board to a space on his player board with a number matching one of his dice in the corresponding region for the type of tile and adjacent to a previously placed settlement tile, 3) deliver goods with a number matching one of his dice, or 4) take worker tokens which allow the player to adjust the roll of his dice. 

I'll teach the game. To learn, use the following resources:

• BoardGameGeek, Castles of Burgundy.

• The Castles of Burgundy 2p Play-through, Teaching, & Roundtable discussion by Heavy Cardboard.

About Eurogame Wednesdays

We'll play an assortment of games in the Eurogame style. Eurogames emphasize social play, strategy and skill, no player elimination, indirect conflict (typically resource competition), and attention to artwork, component design, and themes. We'll stick with games that take less than two hours to play and aren't more than moderately complex -- loosely speaking, games with a BGG complexity rating not greater than 3.1.

Each event will feature one or two games, and you can bring your own. Contact me if you want to co-host an event or propose a featured game.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Take on the role of an aristocrat in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France, initially controlling a small princedom. Build settlements and castles, practice trade along the river, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers to your advantage.

The game is about players taking settlement tiles from the game board and placing them into their princedom which is represented by the player board. Every tile has a function that starts when the tile is placed in the princedom. The princedom itself consists of several regions, each of which demands its own type of settlement tile.

The game is played in five phases, each consisting of five rounds. Each phase begins with the game board stocked with settlement tiles and goods tiles. At the beginning of each round all players roll their two dice, and the player who is currently first in turn order rolls a goods placement die. A goods tile is made available on the game board according to the roll of the goods die. During each round players take their turns in the current turn order. During his turn, a player may perform any two of the four possible types of actions: 1) take a settlement tile from the numbered depot on the game board corresponding to one of his dice and place it in the staging area on his player board, 2) take a settlement tile from the staging area of his player board to a space on his player board with a number matching one of his dice in the corresponding region for the type of tile and adjacent to a previously placed settlement tile, 3) deliver goods with a number matching one of his dice, or 4) take worker tokens which allow the player to adjust the roll of his dice. 

I will teach the game. To learn, use the following resources:

• BGG: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/84876/castles-burgundy.

• Heavy Cardboard: https://youtu.be/hnl3j4Da1dU.

About Eurogame Wednesdays

We'll play an assortment of games in the Eurogame style. Eurogames emphasize social play, strategy and skill, no player elimination, indirect conflict (typically resource competition), and attention to artwork, component design, and themes. We'll stick with games that take less than two hours to play and aren't more than moderately complex -- loosely speaking, games with a BGG complexity rating not greater than 3.1.

Each event will feature one or two games, and you can bring your own. Contact me if you want to co-host an event or propose a featured game.

Mask and vaccination required; booster encouraged.

Capped at 15.

Catan, first released as Die Siedler von Catan in 1995, started a revolution in board game design and play, and has sold over 32 million units in a seemingly countless number of editions and expansions.  

Catan introduced or popularized design ideas that have since become ubiquitous:

• It's a social game based on trading resources with other players.  

• It's an economic optimization game.

• Board hexes can be laid out in any pattern, enhancing the game's replayability.

• It's relatively easy to learn yet has a robust strategic dimension. 

• There's competition but not player elimination, making it a good game to play with family and friends.  

Build a thriving colony on Catan island, gain points from building settlements, upgrading settlements, building the longest road, mustering the largest army, and getting secret victory point cards. Just beware the robber!

I will teach the game, which is quite easy to learn.  We'll play with the base game plus the 5-6 player and seafarer expansions.

For more information, there are resources available on Boardgamegeek.com: 

• https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan.

• https://boardgamegeek.com/video/38661/catan/how-play-settlers-catan-jake-wylie (a 16-minute teaching video).

I will bring these editions and scenarios to choose from:

• Base game with the 5-6 player and Seafarers expansions.

• Settlers of the Stone Age.

• Die Siedler von Nürnberg.

• Das Buch zum Spielen.

• Die Siedler von Catan: Historische Szenarien II.

• Special hexes, including volcanoes and rainforests.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.

Concordia is a peaceful strategy game of economic development in Roman times for 2-5 players. In the game, colonists are sent out from Rome to settle in cities that produce bricks, food, tools, wine, and cloth. Each player starts with an identical set of playing cards and acquires more cards during the game. These cards serve two purposes:

• They allow a player to choose actions during the game.

• They are worth victory points (VPs) at the end of the game.

Concordia requires advance planning and consideration of your opponent's moves. Be sure to watch your rivals to determine which goals they are pursuing and where you can outpace them! Every game is different, not only because of the sequence of new cards on sale but also due to the modular layout of cities. (One side of the game board shows the entire Roman Empire with 30 cities for 3-5 players, while the other shows Roman Italy with 25 cities for 2-4 players.) When all cards have been sold or after the first player builds his 15th house, the game ends. The player with the most VPs from the gods (Jupiter, Saturnus, Mercurius, Minerva, Vesta, etc.) wins the game.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at:

• BGG GameNight: https://youtu.be/ulyNofFySGI.

• Heavy Cardboard: https://youtu.be/Sl3IpqiJRog.

• Concordia | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Vaccination required; booster encouraged.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.

Dune: Imperium is a game that finds inspiration in elements and characters from the Dune legacy, both the new film from Legendary Pictures and the seminal literary series from Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson.

As a leader of one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad, raise your banner and marshal your forces and spies. War is coming, and at the center of the conflict is Arrakis – Dune, the desert planet.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at:

• Dune: Imperium | Board Game | BoardGameGeek  (note the instructional and playthrough videos just below the Overview)

• Dune: Imperium - How to Play 

• Dune: Imperium - Why Own It? Mechanics & Theme Board Game Review

Overview

Dune: Imperium uses deck-building to add a hidden-information angle to traditional worker placement.

You start with a unique leader card, as well as a deck identical to those of your opponents. As you acquire cards and build your deck, your choices will define your strengths and weaknesses. Cards allow you to send your Agents to certain spaces on the game board, so how your deck evolves affects your strategy. You might become more powerful militarily, able to deploy more troops than your opponents. Or you might acquire cards that give you an edge with the four political factions represented in the game: the Emperor, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit, and the Fremen.

Unlike many deck-building games, you don’t play your entire hand in one turn. Instead, you draw a hand of cards at the start of every round and alternate with other players, taking one Agent turn at a time (playing one card to send one of your Agents to the game board). When it’s your turn and you have no more Agents to place, you’ll take a Reveal turn, revealing the rest of your cards, which will provide Persuasion and Swords. Persuasion is used to acquire more cards, and Swords help your troops fight for the current round’s rewards as shown on the revealed Conflict card.

Defeat your rivals in combat, shrewdly navigate the political factions, and acquire precious cards. The Spice must flow to lead your House to victory!

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

The enduringly popular El Grande is an easy to learn area control game set in Renaissance Spain. Players distribute their caballeros in regions seeking influence. It's a very fluid game with interesting multi-player effects.

I'll teach, and you can learn yourself at:

• https://www.boardgamegeek.com/video/112791/el-grande/shut-sit-down-teaches-how-play-el-grande.

• https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93/el-grande.

I own the Decennial Edition, so we could play one of the expansions: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/147170/el-grande-decennial-edition.

About Eurogame Wednesdays

We'll play an assortment of games in the Eurogame style. Eurogames emphasize social play, strategy and skill, no player elimination, indirect conflict (typically resource competition), and attention to artwork, component design, and themes. We'll stick with games that take less than two hours to play and aren't more than moderately complex -- loosely speaking, games with a BGG complexity rating not greater than 3.1.

Each event will feature one or two games, and you can bring your own. Contact me if you want to co-host an event or propose a featured game.

For more information: Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Git along, little doggies, up the GREAT WESTERN TRAIL! It's the 19th Century. You're making your fortune as a rancher herding cattle from Texas to Kansas City, then shipping them by train to points beyond. Compete with up to three other players in order to: Build a diverse herd of cattle! Hire a strong crew of cowboys, craftsmen, and engineers! Construct buildings along the trail to give you bonuses and extract tolls from the other ranchers! "If you cleverly manage your herd and navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of Great Western Trail, you surely will gain the most victory points and win the game."

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL is a fairly heavy Euro (3.71/5.00 on Boardgamegeek.com), rated as the #12 game overall and the #10 strategy game on that website. I will teach the game if needed. We'll use the 1st Edition (as that's what I have) without the expansion.

Game resources are available on Boardgamegeek.com:

• Index of resources and links

• 5 Favorite Things About Great Western Trail (6 minutes)

• How to play video (30 minutes)

• Full playthrough (~2 hours)

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

(David Scheftel)

In Great Western Trail: New Zealand, you are a runholder —  the owner of a sheep station — on the South Island of New Zealand at the end of the 19th century. Recent years have seen your family farm prosper by diversifying your breeds of sheep and by increasing the value of your wool.

With the dawn of the new century, new challenges have arisen. You must acquire new and improved breeds of sheep to ensure the prosperity of your family business and the laborers who work for you.

I'll review the game. If you haven't played it, be sure to learn the rules. Great Western Trail New Zealand - How to Play with Tips is an excellent explanation.

Optionally, watch the full playthrough by Paul Grogan: Great Western Trail - New Zealand: Playthrough & Review.

These and many other resources are available at Great Western Trail: New Zealand | BoardGameGeek.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames.

Git along, little doggies, up the GREAT WESTERN TRAIL! It's the 19th Century. You're making your fortune as a rancher herding cattle from Texas to Kansas City, then shipping them by train to points beyond. Compete with up to three other players in order to: Build a diverse herd of cattle! Hire a strong crew of cowboys, craftsmen, and engineers! Construct buildings along the trail to give you bonuses and extract tolls from the other ranchers! "If you cleverly manage your herd and navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of Great Western Trail, you surely will gain the most victory points and win the game."

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL is a fairly heavy Euro (3.71/5.00 on Boardgamegeek.com), rated as the #12 game overall and the #10 strategy game on that website. I will teach the game if needed. We'll use the 1st Edition (as that's what I have) without the expansion.

Game resources are available on Boardgamegeek.com:

• Index of resources and links

• 5 Favorite Things About Great Western Trail (6 minutes)

• How to play video (30 minutes)

• Full playthrough (~2 hours)

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

(David Scheftel)

In the multi-award-winning strategy game Hansa Teutonica, players are merchants in the Hanseatic League, a medieval confederation of guilds and market towns in central and northern Europe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League).

Players build a network of offices, control cities, and collect bonus markers while improving their merchants' skills. Hansa Teutonica is a highly interactive strategy game as players block and push each other each turn.

The game's many possible strategies can also be tested and perfected on the variant game boards of Hansa Teutonica: Britannia and Hansa Teutonica: East Expansion.

I will teach the game. Probably the most thorough way to learn is by using the following resources:

• Heavy Cardboard's teach and playthrough: https://youtu.be/ibokcze3fFI.

• Instructional videos on BGG pages:

• https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43015/hansa-teutonica.

• https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/286749/hansa-teutonica-big-box. 

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Java is a fascinating island with great potential for development — especially the undeveloped area of central Java with its fertile soil and rich natural resources. These riches are much desired by the rulers of the regions that surround central Java. Each player, as one of the Javanese rulers, tries to develop the region for themselves. Each wants to bring their culture and control to these undeveloped areas. The players irrigate the land and cultivate new rice fields; they build villages and palaces and create cities from the villages.

Each player desires to be the dominant force in the development of this new area. Players earn fame points for building and enlarging palaces, for creating irrigation systems, and for arranging palace festivals. The player with the most fame points after the final scoring wins.

Java is the second game of the Mask Trilogy.

I'll teach, and you can learn about the game at Java | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Liberté, by Martin Wallace, covers the French Revolution from 1789 and the meeting of the Estates General to the Directory and Bonaparte’s coup d’état in 1799.

I will teach the game.  To learn more about it, see Liberté Review by Drive Thru Games.  For additional information visit Liberté | BoardGameGeek. 

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Overview

The game is played in four turns. In each turn there will be a variable number of rounds, followed by an election to see which faction becomes the government. There are three factions, the Radicals (red), the Moderates (blue), and the Royalists (white). The most common action is for a player to place faction blocks on the board. He shows he controls these blocks by placing one of his tokens on top of the stack.

The cards are divided into two sets, set 'A' and 'B'. The 'A' deck is used first and tends to favor the moderates and Royalists. Once this deck has been exhausted the 'B' deck comes into play, which tends to favor the radicals.

The election is triggered when all of one type of faction block has been exhausted. The faction blocks will determine which faction forms the next government. Players are attempting to score victory points by having the most influence in the government and opposition. Points can also be picked up in later turns for being the general in charge at a victorious battle, and for winning elections in specific provinces.

Normally the player with the most victory points will win. However, there are two sudden death game end conditions that may alter the outcome. The first is a radical electoral landslide, triggered by the red faction gaining 17 or more votes. The second is successful Royalist counter-revolution, precipitated by Royalist control of seven counter-revolutionary provinces. In both cases, victory is determined by a different set of criteria, in which accrued victory points do not count. The player who is ahead on points must be aware that one mistake could lead to defeat at the hands of the Jacobins or Royalists!

It is likely that you will never have played a game quite like this one and you may find yourself wondering what strategies to employ. Do not despair! Once you have completed your first game you will realize that amongst the apparent chaos of the game there are many opportunities for long-term planning.

Liberté is #6 in the Valley Games Classic Line.

Merchants of Amsterdam combines area control with a novel and provocative auction mechanism, the Dutch auction clock.

Players are attempting to be in first or second place majorities in a variety of categories throughout the game. These include commodity markets, trading colonies, and warehouses in Amsterdam.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at

• Benjamin Blabs about Merchants of Amsterdam.

• Merchants of Amsterdam | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Overview

Game mechanics are relatively simple, yet the choices can be tough. A deck of cards determines the pace and progress of the game. Each turn, a player is the 'burgermeister' (mayor) and reveals one card at a time and decides whether to keep the card, discard it, or place it up for auction. This decision must be made before revealing the next card. Once a player places the card on the 'keep', 'discard' or 'auction' token, no further card may be placed on that token. Do you keep a card or hold out for a potentially better one? You may be stuck with a card you really didn't want or be forced to auction a card that you don't want your opponents to have.

The cards allow players place one of their markers in the various categories or to advance an existing marker. There are also time-marker cards which, when drawn, move the game through various historical phases until the last one which ends the game. The phases correspond to a period in the history of the Netherlands, and can range from no effect, to scoring rounds for particular categories, to bonuses, and towards the end of the game to some penalties as wars begin to disrupt business markets.

The game offers a variety of viable strategies. Players must obtain majority or secondary status in as many scoring areas as possible while finding the right approach to bidding. Bidding too little puts players behind in area control, but excessively high bids will deprive them of enough money to win the game. Tough decisions abound!

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Ra and Modern Art are part of Reiner Knizia's auction trilogy, the third of which is Medici.  The games are easy to learn, play in an hour or less, and provide a great mix of strategic options and auction drama.

I will teach both games.  Use the following resources to learn yourself:

• How to Play RA, Play The Game HQ.

• Ra | Board Game | BoardGameGeek (including a playthrough video).

• Ra Teaching, Play-through, & Roundtable by Heavy Cardboard.

• Modern Art - How To Play.

• Modern Art | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Ra

• Theme: Players take on the role of leaders in ancient Egypt competing to influence various aspects of life such as monuments, civilizations, and agriculture.

• Gameplay: The core mechanic of "Ra" is an auction system. Players bid for tiles that represent various aspects of Egyptian society. Each auction is a single go-around, and players must bid from a set of four numbered determined at the start of each round. The game is played over three epochs.  Scoring occurs after each epoch and at game end.

• Set Collection: Players try to collect sets of similar tiles. Different types of tiles score points in different ways. Some score at the end of the round while others only score at game end. 

Modern Art 

• Theme: Players are art dealers, aiming to buy and sell paintings by five fictional artists. The goal is to make the most money by the end of the game through savvy buying, selling, and auctioning of artworks.

• Gameplay: Modern Art is known for its variety of auction formats. There are five types of auctions in the game, including open auctions, sealed bids, and fixed-price sales. Each round, players take turns playing cards from their hand representing artworks, and these artworks are then auctioned off according to the type specified on the card.  Listen to noted designer Jamey Stegmaier rave about the auction mechanic.

• Market Dynamics: The value of an artist's paintings depends on how many of their works are sold during a round. This dynamic market system requires players to speculate on which artists' work will be most valuable by the end of the round, adding a layer of strategy to the game.

• Rounds and Scoring: The game is divided into rounds, and at the end of each round, the paintings are valued based on their popularity. Players earn money based on the value of the paintings they've sold.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit Strategy Eurogames. 

Mexica (pronounced me-SHEE-ka*) is the third game in Kramer-Kiesling’s Anthropological Peregrination (AP) trilogy. After having traversed from the Guatemalan Maya-temple excavation of Tikal, into the jungles of Java, players now find themselves back in Mesoamerica in the Valley of Mexico, on a swampy island in the middle of a lake with no outlet, Lake Texcoco, sometimes around the 14th century. The island is beautifully depicted on the game board and overlaid by a grid system of land squares.  Tenochtitlan, the city built by the Mexica's, was the greatest in indigenous Mesoamerica and had a population of over 200,000 in 1519 when the Spanish arrived.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at

• Mexica -- How to Play.

• Mexica | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Game Play

Mexica plots the development of the city of Tenochtitlan 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 move from one bridge to the next, which costs 1 action point regardless of the distance. They must also erect buildings. This costs action points, the exact number being dependent upon the building's 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. The player with the most points wins.

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

* For pronunciation, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexica. 

On Mars is a heavyweight strategy game by Vital Lacerda, known for his intricate, interconnected designs that reward careful planning and deep strategic thinking. This is one of his most ambitious and acclaimed titles—both a logistical puzzle and a thematic epic about building humanity’s first colony on the Red Planet.

Game Resources

• On Mars | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

• How to Play On Mars - Official Tutorial from Gaming Rules!

• On Mars - Playthrough & Review.
  
  

Overview:
Set in a near future where the first Mars missions have already landed, On Mars places you in the role of a corporate pioneer helping to develop the first self-sustaining colony. You'll construct buildings, develop technologies, manage supply chains, and coordinate actions between Mars orbit and the planet surface. The game’s signature mechanic—shifting between orbit and surface—forces players to plan around timing windows and long-term synergies.

Highlights include:

• Deep economic and scientific systems that interact in complex ways

• A dynamic turn structure that alternates between orbital planning and boots-on-the-ground execution
  
  

On Mars is best suited for players who enjoy games like Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova, or Lisboa, and who are up for a rewarding challenge. Expect a richly thematic, brain-burning experience where everything is connected—and every move matters.

Orléans is a medieval-themed game in which you recruit followers and put them to work. Farmers and Boatmen supply you with money and goods; Knights expand your scope of action and secure your mercantile expeditions; Craftsmen build trading stations and tools to facilitate work; Scholars make progress in science; Traders open up new locations for you to use your followers; and last but not least, it cannot hurt to get active in monasteries since with Monks on your side you are much less likely to fall prey to fate.

We'll play either the original game or the Trade & Intrigue expansion (https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204814/orleans-trade-intrigue).

I'll teach; learn yourself using the following resources:

• Orleans -- How to Play.

• Orléans | Board Game | BoardGameGeek (includes overview, instructional, and playthrough videos).

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

If "National parks are the best idea we ever had" (Wallace Stegner), then PARKS, the game based on them, must be pretty darn good! Players compete to see the greatest number of national parks, to visit the most prestigious parks, and to take the best photos of wildlife and scenery. Roam along the hiking trail to gain resources that enable you in visiting parks, taking photos, gaining camping gear to give you an advantage, or reserving choice parks before other players visit them. After four seasons of visiting the national parks, will your memories and photos be the most impressive?

The game is easy to learn. I will teach the game -- no experience needed!   For more information, and to learn yourself, see

• PARKS | Board Game | BoardGameGeek. 

• Parks - GameNight! Se7 Ep41 - How to Play and Playthrough.

• PARKS - Tutorial & Full Playthrough.

Playing time for the first game including teaching should be about an hour, depending on the number of players, but in any case, we should be able to get in two games if people want to stick around. 

Vaccination required; booster encouraged.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.

The Princes of Florence is set in Renaissance Italy, where players assume the roles of wealthy patrons of the arts and sciences competing to gain the most prestige amongst their peers. The game combines a tight economy of resources with a diversity of viable strategies. Players develop their principalities by placing buildings, forests, lakes etc. to inspire artisans to produce great works. These works bring money and prestige.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at

• The Princes of Florence | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

• The Princes of Florence - 5p Teaching, Play-through, & Roundtable by Heavy Cardboard.

Game Play

The game is played in seven rounds.  Each round involves two phases: the auction-phase and the action-phase.

In the auction phase, players bid for a selection of the more powerful elements of your principality. Forests, lakes, parks and jesters inspire your artisans.  Hiring builders makes placement of buildings cheaper and easier: generally, buildings cannot be placed adjacent to each other on your very small player board, but with two builders, the adjacency rule is removed. Prestige cards work like secret objectives which score big-points at game-end. For example, your objective may be to ensure you have more jesters than your opponents, or to have one of each landscape type (forest, lake, park).

In the action phase, players can buy buildings from a common market-place, at a set price. They can also buy "Freedoms" (the freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of travel), along with other bonuses, all of which will enhance the value of the artisans' works. Finally, players can hire new artisans and invoke them to complete their works, bringing in income and increasing prestige by way of victory points.

Buildings are tetris-style shaped pieces of various sizes. They cannot be placed adjacent to each other, unless a pair of builders have been bought, so placement is a tricky exercise in itself. When a work is completed by one of your craftsmen, you can choose to take payment by way of money, victory points, or a combination of the two. Small elements of design like this make the game rich and varied.

The winner is the player with the most prestige points after the final round.

The Designers

Wolfgang Kramer is considered one of the key innovators of modern board games, credited with pioneering area-control mechanics with his game El Grande (also designed with Richard Ulrich) and introducing action-point systems and the familiar victory-point-track-going-around-the-board (in Heimlich & Co published in 1984). He was Germany's first full-time professional game-designer. 

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

Can you balance the demands of keeping your network of cities from going dark, stoking your power plants with costly fuel, buying even more efficient power plants, and planning your future expansion? Now, can you do all this as up to five other players compete against you? Find out in POWER GRID! 

The game combines auctions, network building, cash management, resource purchasing, and a clever mechanism to boost lagging players to make sure it's competitive until the very end. The only problem with the game? The name is better in the original German (Funkenschlag!)

I will teach the game if needed. We'll use the USA map unless there's consensus to use another map (bring your own if you like). 

For more information, there are resources available on Boardgamegeek.com, including this 20 minute teaching video: https://boardgamegeek.com/video/250180/power-grid/power-grid-board-game-how-play-stella-and-tarrant.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.

In Railways of the World, players each take on the role of one of the early railroad barons, building railroad networks to deliver good for income and points.

I'll teach the game. To learn, use resources available from BGG:

• Railways of the World | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

Overview

While all players are attempting to gain income by delivering goods between cities, each player also has a secret goal to achieve. Each player starts with a company that has no money, no track, and only the weakest available locomotive – the John Bull. Companies issue shares to raise capital to spend on construction of track and locomotive upgrades. Once a company has developed a network connecting goods with the cities that want them, delivering those goods makes money for the company and allows it to pay dividends to its stockholders. Players earn points for these deliveries as well as for meeting certain challenges that appear on the “Railroad Operation Cards” drawn every turn. The game ends when a certain number of cities have been emptied of goods cubes – with one last turn to give all players a chance to accomplish their most recent goals.

Railways of the World is a really BIG game.  The Eastern US game board comes in three pieces, each trifolded, creating a map with total dimensions of just over 3' by 4'.

I'll bring the Eastern US, Mexico, and Europe maps.

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Scythe is an engine-building game set in an alternate-history 1920s period. In Scythe, each player represents a character from one of five factions of Eastern Europe who are attempting to earn their fortune and claim their faction's stake in the land around the mysterious Factory. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs.

Each player begins the game with different resources (power, coins, combat acumen, and popularity), a different starting location, and a hidden goal. Starting positions are specially calibrated to contribute to each faction’s uniqueness and the asymmetrical nature of the game (each faction always starts in the same place).

Other than each player’s individual hidden objective card, the only elements of luck or variability are “encounter” cards that players will draw as they interact with the citizens of newly explored lands. Each encounter card provides the player with several options, allowing them to mitigate the luck of the draw through their selection. Combat is also driven by choices, not luck or randomness.

Scythe uses a streamlined action-selection mechanism (no rounds or phases) to keep gameplay moving at a brisk pace and reduce downtime between turns.

We'll teach the game, and you can learn it from sources on the BGG site or from Heavy Cardboard:

• BGG: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe.

• Heavy Cardboard: https://youtu.be/urhAyGhzTwE.

Spirit Island is a complex and thematic cooperative game about defending your island home from colonizing Invaders. Players are different spirits of the land, each with its own unique elemental powers. Every turn, players simultaneously choose which of their power cards to play, paying energy to do so. Using combinations of power cards that match a spirit's elemental affinities can grant free bonus effects. Faster powers take effect immediately, before the Invaders spread and ravage, but other magics are slower, requiring forethought and planning to use effectively. In the Spirit phase, spirits gain energy, and choose how / whether to Grow: to reclaim used power cards, to seek for new power, or to spread presence into new areas of the island.

The Invaders expand across the island map in a semi-predictable fashion. Each turn they explore into some lands (portions of the island); the next turn, they build in those lands, forming settlements and cities. The turn after that, they ravage there, bringing blight to the land and attacking any native islanders present.

The islanders fight back against the Invaders when attacked, and lend the spirits some other aid, but may not always do so exactly as you'd hoped. Some Powers work through the islanders, helping them drive out the Invaders or clean the land of blight.

The game escalates as it progresses: spirits spread their presence to new parts of the island and seek out new and more potent powers, while the Invaders step up their colonization efforts. Each turn represents 1-3 years of alternate history.

We'll teach the game. To learn yourself, check-out the instructional videos and files at:

- Spirit Island Playlist (One Stop Co-op Shop)

- Spirit Island | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

For more information about game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com)

Regarded by many as Reiner Knizia's masterpiece, Tigris & Euphrates is a unique tile placement strategy game. It's set in the ancient fertile crescent with players building civilizations. Players are given four different leaders: farming, trading, religion, and government. The leaders are used to collect victory points in these same categories. However, your score at the end of the game is the number of points in your weakest category, which encourages players not to get overly specialized. Conflict arises when civilizations connect on the board, i.e., external conflicts, with only one leader of each type surviving such a conflict. Leaders can also be replaced within a civilization through internal conflicts.

Tigris & Euphrates is an extraordinary game design with an immense space of tactical and strategic possibilities and a tremendous sense of fluidity, dense interaction, and unpredictability that never goes away. There aren't many games that are, time and again, so exhilarating and mentally exhausting to play.

I will review the game. If you are not already familiar with it, be sure to learn the rules and basics of play from:

• BoardGameGeek Tigris & Euphrates.

• Tigris & Euphrates Teach and Full Play Through.

Now available on Board Game Arena!

For more information about local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com).

Tikal is a game of exploration within the Central American jungles in search of lost temples and the treasures within. Players send their team of explorers into the jungle, exposing more and more of the terrain. Along the way, you find temples that require further uncovering and treasures. Players attempt to score points for occupying temples and holding onto treasure. 

Tikal is the first game of the Mask Trilogy.

It is also regarded as the first Euro game to popularize the action point allowance system (Where the Action’s At (A Guide to Action Point Allowance). Kramer and Kiesling took this mechanic beyond a means to support movement and made it a central focus in and of itself.  Tikal won the 1999 Spiel des Jahres.  Wolfgang Kramer remains the only five-time winner of this honor. In awarding Tikal the SdJ, the jury cited the game’s excellent use of theme and stellar production value.

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at

• Tikal | Board Game | BoardGameGeek.

• Tikal How to Play, Heavy Cardboard.

• Tikal Playthrough, Heavy Cardboard.

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com/planned).

In Tinners' Trail, set in 19th century Cornwall, you represent a mining conglomerate at the height of the tin and copper mining industry. You must buy plots of land across Cornwall in auctions and survey them for tin and copper, always managing your "work points" and money effectively.

Once you have a mine in place, it's time to extract the ore and (ideally) make a profit, but the deeper your mine goes, the more expensive the process gets. To reduce the cost of mining, you can place developments, such as ports, train stations, and adits (drainage tunnels), but there's only so many improvements to go around. Once you have made your money — trying to time the market to sell when prices are high — you can invest it in industries outside of Cornwall, which gains you victory points. The earlier you invest, the better the return. Can you outplay the competition and make the most money, or will you be left without two shillings to rub together?

I'll teach, and you can learn from videos and other material at:

• Tinners' Trail | Board Game | BoardGameGeek

• Tinners' Trail | Alley Cat Games

For more information about upcoming local game events like this, visit Strategy Eurogames (eurostrategygames.com) 

Wingspan is a remarkably beautiful and very well-designed card-driven, engine-building board game.

I will teach the game.  To learn yourself, or simply to learn more about it, check-out the following:

• Heavy Cardboard teach, play, discuss: https://youtu.be/DSkaNFQ0OXU

• Heavy Cardboard playthrough only: https://youtu.be/-pKz4Sbh7rw. 

• How to play by the designer, Elizabeth Hargrave: https://youtu.be/1FnQM8RGPxQ. 

• BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266192/wingspan. 

Overview

You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth:

• Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower

• Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors

• Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them

The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.

About Eurogame Wednesdays

We'll play an assortment of games in the Eurogame style. Eurogames emphasize social play, strategy and skill, no player elimination, indirect conflict (typically resource competition), and attention to artwork, component design, and themes. We'll stick with games that take less than two hours to play and aren't more than moderately complex -- loosely speaking, games with a BGG complexity rating not greater than 3.1.

Each event will feature one or two games, and you can bring your own. Contact me if you want to co-host an event or propose a featured game.

Mask and vaccination required; booster encouraged.

Capped at 15.

Wingspan's bird-themed premise and visually stunning, intricately detailed bird illustrations, along with its challenging but accessible engine building mechanism, have made it hugely popular, with over 1.7 million copies sold. Wingspan's success inspired an outpouring of nature-themed games, of which it remains one of the best.

We will play either the original game or the European Expansion.

I will teach the game.  To learn yourself, check-out the following:

• Wingspan - How to Play.

• Heavy Cardboard teach, play, discuss.

• Heavy Cardboard playthrough only. 

• How to play by the designer, Elizabeth Hargrave.

• Wingspan | Board Game | BoardGameGeek 

Overview

You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth:

• Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower

• Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors

• Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them

The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.

For more about local strategy Eurogames, visit https://www.eurostrategygames.com/.