Abstract Strategy

In Knarr, you are the leader of a band of Vikings that you send to new destinations. Manage the recruitment of your crew, and choose the best territories to explore. Depending on the destinations reached (for trading or influence) and the Vikings who accompany you, you can increase your reputation to gain even more wealth. Each turn, you:

Place a new member in your Viking crew, activate the effects of all of them with the same icon, and get another one from those available under the matching color on the central board, or

Explore new destinations, with the opportunity to trade with those places and get more gains or reputation.

Lacuna is a game for 2 players about collecting flowers on a pond at night. It takes seconds to set up and plays entirely on a cloth mat.

The rules are simple: draw an imaginary line between 2 flowers, place a pawn, and collect both flowers.

—description from the publisher

TANIS, named after the ancient city in Lower Egypt, is a unique tile-digging game for 2 players. The game begins with 40 beautiful wooden domino-sized tiles randomly placed in the custom-made box. These tiles represent pieces of scrolls that the players are trying to reassemble in this fast-playing competitive game. The players also have cards that provide special powers that may be used to enhance their actions. A single game takes under 20 minutes to complete.

-description from graphic designer

Patterns - A Mandala Game is another area control design by Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert. Patterns draws you in as you take turns swapping tiles from the large mandala at your table. Each player tries to mark contiguous colored areas as territory. Start by spreading the unique tea towel play mat first and creating a mandala by all but 2 out of 54 colorful mandala tiles. Whoever claims most point in the end, wins.

"Gartenbau is a 2-4 player game in which players place and lay tiles in a tableau to meet the growing requirements of drafted flower tiles. A dual track rondel combined with three layers of tile laying are at the core of this beautiful game.

Take on the role of a gardener, seeking to wield your green thumb to grow a well-balanced, mature garden before the growing season ends.

You will sow seeds and grow a variety of plants to fill out your garden. In addition, if you meet the complex growing condition of your Flowers, you'll earn Prestige Points for your horticultural achievements.

The player who earns the most prestige at the end of the game is crowned The Master Gardener.

Gartenbau is set in the late 19th century and all of the artwork used in this game is vintage from that era. This game is dedicated to all of the unknown artists who created wonderful works for various seed and flower catalogs during that period, leaving their mark on a beautiful era for garden art."