Bluffing

Strike of the Eagle is the first game in the Fog of War series of block games to be published by Academy Games.

The year is 1920. World War I has ended, but the battle for Europe has just begun. The Soviet leaders, Lenin and Trotsky, plan to spread the workers’ revolution by blasting through Poland in order to support the growing communist movements in Germany, France and Britain. Only the armies of Poland stand in the way of the Bolshevik tide. Therefore, these armies to invade the Soviet Republics.

Strike of the Eagle is an operational level block game that allows the player to experience the tension of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. This mobile war featured a return of sweeping cavalry attacks combined with new weaponry innovations such as planes, tanks and armored cars.

The heart of the Fog of War series lies in players placing secret orders on the map to bluff, mislead and outplay their opponents! The composition of each player’s wooden block armies remain hidden from their opponent until they are engaged in battle. Combat is resolved without dice, maximizing skillful play! Action cards are pivotal to the game in that they allow players to either modify how many orders they may issue, add army reinforcements or modify a battle’s resolution.

Strike of the Eagle includes several scenarios for 2-4 players. Some are short games that can be played in an hour, up to the full campaign that can last several hours.

Strike of the Eagle is based on The Eagle and The Star. This english edition has been totally reworked from the ground up with an expanded mounted map, new cards, streamlined rules, new army and leader blocks, new scenario setup rules and additional scenarios.

Did you see a ghost? Or are you fibbing? In Fibber, kids wear special glasses that can hold "nose" pieces and play picture cards in order, and then tell everyone what they're playing. If you don't have the next card in order, you must play a different card - but don't get caught fibbing or your nose will grow! When the silver nose piece is played the game ends and shortest nose wins the game!

You are head of a family in an Italian city-state, a city run by a weak and corrupt court. You need to manipulate, bluff and bribe your way to power. Your object is to destroy the influence of all the other families, forcing them into exile. Only one family will survive...

In Coup, you want to be the last player with influence in the game, with influence being represented by face-down character cards in your playing area.

Each player starts the game with two coins and two influence – i.e., two face-down character cards; the fifteen card deck consists of three copies of five different characters, each with a unique set of powers:

Duke: Take three coins from the treasury. Block someone from taking foreign aid.
Assassin: Pay three coins and try to assassinate another player's character.
Contessa: Block an assassination attempt against yourself.
Captain: Take two coins from another player, or block someone from stealing coins from you.
Ambassador: Draw two character cards from the Court (the deck), choose which (if any) to exchange with your face-down characters, then return two. Block someone from stealing coins from you.

On your turn, you can take any of the actions listed above, regardless of which characters you actually have in front of you, or you can take one of three other actions:

Income: Take one coin from the treasury.
Foreign aid: Take two coins from the treasury.
Coup: Pay seven coins and launch a coup against an opponent, forcing that player to lose an influence. (If you have ten coins or more, you must take this action.)

When you take one of the character actions – whether actively on your turn, or defensively in response to someone else's action – that character's action automatically succeeds unless an opponent challenges you. In this case, if you can't (or don't) reveal the appropriate character, you lose an influence, turning one of your characters face-up. Face-up characters cannot be used, and if both of your characters are face-up, you're out of the game.

If you do have the character in question and choose to reveal it, the opponent loses an influence, then you shuffle that character into the deck and draw a new one, perhaps getting the same character again and perhaps not.

The last player to still have influence – that is, a face-down character – wins the game!

A new & optional character called the Inquisitor has been added (currently, the only English edition with the Inquisitor included is the Kickstarter Version from Indie Boards & Cards. Copies in stores may not be the Kickstarter versions and may only be the base game). The Inquisitor character cards may be used to replace the Ambassador cards.

Inquisitor: Draw one character card from the Court deck and choose whether or not to exchange it with one of your face-down characters. OR Force an opponent to show you one of their character cards (their choice which). If you wish it, you may then force them to draw a new card from the Court deck. They then shuffle the old card into the Court deck. Block someone from stealing coins from you.

Copyright La Mame Games 2012. This game is not authorized for posting on Steam.

Queen's Necklace is a game of gem-selling, influence, and intrigue at the Court. Two to four players compete in the role of Royal Jeweler to sell rare jewels to the Queen and her court.

Jeweler's loupe in hand, you must decide how best to spend your hard-earned ducats: on the acquisition of beautiful gems (diamonds, emeralds, and rubies); or to buy the favors of the various court followers. After three years of craftsmanship, the jeweler who sells the most precious gems and builds the largest fortune will receive the coveted title of King's Jeweler and a place at the Court!

Set in Paris, on the eve of the French Revolution

From the slums, where purse-snatchers and courtesans work their respective trades, to the inner salons of the Louvre, where confessors, royal astrologers, musketeers, and court favorites mingle and scheme in hushed conversations. The position of King's Jeweler has suddenly become a lot more dangerous!

VivaJava: The Coffee Game is all about finding that perfect blend of beans to create the next best-seller in the coffee houses and kitchens of the world.

In the game, players send their researchers to hot spots around the globe to gather the perfect bean. This may bring them into contact with other players who are also on the hunt, creating a crucial choice: Go it alone and continue to research, or join forces with that opponent, hoping to combine beans from both player's bags and share the score with a superblend. Going it alone with research can often prove useful as players spend time in the lab developing abilities that grant them an advantage. However, in VivaJava the bold taste of victory will go only to those players who are able to balance solitary research with cooperation amongst their fellow gamers.

The rich depth of varying strategies and social play will satisfy most players' thirst for unique gameplay, but VivaJava has even more brewing. This flexible game can accommodate up to 8 players, and through smooth simultaneous actions, play is quick and constant with little downtime.