Bluffing

The citizens of Verona have grown tired of the constant quarrel between the houses of Capulet and Montague. As ruler of the region, Prince Escalus has formed a council to help mediate the conflict and bring lasting peace to Verona.

In Council of Verona, players take on the role of influential citizens of Verona and act to use their influence to either add characters to the council or cast them into exile. Through thoughtful hand management of their cards and clever placement of influence tokens, players gain victory points based upon the agendas of the characters at the end of the game. The player with the most victory points wins!

We've all heard the story of Romeo and Juliet – now is your chance to steer the story and determine who will rule Verona once and for all!

Cloud 9 - The Daring Game of Ups and Downs

Players earn points by daring to stay in the basket of a hot air balloon as it rises. Points increase as the balloon climbs from cloud to cloud, but so does the risk of the balloon falling. Should you jump out to save your points or trust that the pilot will take you safely higher?

Everyone places their passenger token into the balloon's basket to start the trip, and receives a hand of six balloon cards. Then, each turn, a different "pilot" rolls an increasing number of specialized dice to see if the balloon can stay aloft. The dice dictate how many of the balloon cards are needed of each color. (There are also optionally played Wild Cards to keep everyone guessing.) Each player decides whether they think the pilot will have the cards to successfully take the balloon up, or whether they should jump out and keep the points earned so far. If they stay, they run the risk of getting no points if the pilot fails. If the balloon does fall, it is placed back on the lowest cloud. Everyone hops aboard and draws one new card, and the next trip begins. When a player earns 50 points the game is over.

Build a galactic empire... In the depths of space, the alien races of the Cosmos vie with each other for control of the universe. Alliances form and shift from moment to moment, while cataclysmic battles send starships screaming into the warp. Players choose from dozens of alien races, each with its own unique power to further its efforts to build an empire that spans the galaxy.

Many classic aliens from earlier editions of this beloved game return, such as the Oracle, the Loser, and the Clone. Newly discovered aliens also join the fray, including Remora, Mite, and Tick-Tock. This classic game of alien politics returns from the warp once more.

In Cosmic Encounter, each player is the leader of an alien race. On a player's turn, he or she becomes the offense. The offense encounters another player on a planet by moving a group of his or her ships through the hyperspace gate to that planet. The offense draws from the destiny deck which contains colors, wilds and specials. He or she then takes the hyperspace gate and points at one planet in the system indicated by the drawn destiny card. The offense vs. the defenses ships are in the encounter and both sides are able to invite allies, play an encounter card as well as special cards to try and tip the encounter in their favor.

The object of the game is to establish colonies in other players' planetary systems. Players take turns trying to establish colonies. The winner(s) are the first player(s) to have five colonies on any planets outside his or her home system. A player does not need to have colonies in all of the systems, just colonies on five planets outside his or her home system. These colonies may all be in one system or scattered over multiple systems. The players must use force, cunning, and diplomacy to ensure their victory.

From the box:

The gameboard is your battlefield. You have an army of men at your disposal and six bombs. Your mission--protect your flag and capture your opponent's flag.

Secretly place your men, bombs, and flag on the gameboard with these objectives in mind. But remember your opponent is doing the same thing, so you must plan a defense as well as an offense.

Once the armies are in place, advance your men. When you're one space away from an enemy, attack. You and your opponent declare ranks. The lower-ranking man is captured and out of play.

You control your pieces and risk your men in battles where the strength of your enemy is unknown. The suspense builds as your men move deeper into enemy territory. Move with caution and courage. The next piece you attack could be a bomb. And when attacked, it could "blast" your man off the board and out of play.

The first to capture an enemy flag is the winner!

This game is similar to, and almost certainly derived directly from, the H.P. Gibsons (UK) game L'Attaque (1909). It is not exactly the same, but not far from it (numbered pieces, spy (same name) can kill the strongest piece but only when attacking, flag, bombs, etc.) These game in turn almost certainly draw on the classic Chinese children's game Dou Shou Qi.

Re-implemented by:

Stratego (Revised Edition) (aka Stratego Fire & Ice)
The Generals
Stratego: Legends
Stratego: Star Wars
Stratego: The Lord of the Rings
Ultimate Stratego
Electronic Stratego
Stratego: Marvel Heroes
Stratego: Star Wars Saga Edition
Stratego: The Chronicles of Narnia

and numerous others.

Similar to:

Admirals
Lu Zhan Jun Qi
L'Attaque
Batalj
Sharpe's Attack

Different Edition Complications
When first produced in Europe, the most powerful pieces had higher numbers. I.e. the Marshall (most powerful piece) was a 10, the General was a 9, and so on. The higher the rank, the higher the number.
When they introduced Stratego in the USA, the numbering was reversed, so the Marshall was a 1, the General 2, and so on. The 1st rank (most powerful) was 1, the second most powerful was 2, 3rd most powerful was 3....
Then, in 2000s Hasbro re-imagined Stratego in the USA and made a few changes. They reduced the number of pieces per side (from 40 to 30), added additional powers, and changed the numbering to reflect the European system.
This caused extreme consternation with many faithful American Stratego fans who preferred the 'old way'. (Actually the second oldest way, but whatever.) Many of these insist on playing Stratego with the 'Marshall 1 system'.
This wouldn't be a problem, except any and all discussions of Stratego are fraught with misunderstandings by those who are unaware of dual numbering systems! Keep this in mind when reading information about Stratego.

Blackmail the printer. Threaten the innkeeper. Bribe the priest. Welcome to Revolution!

Secretly bid against your opponents to gain victory points, control territories (worth victory points at the end of the game) and collect more Gold, Blackmail, and Force tokens for the next round of bidding! Will you try to control the tavern or the fortress? The harbor or the plantation? Knowing where to push for points – and where to back away and let your opponents fight – is the key to victory. Whoever has the most victory points at the end of the game wins. It's a game of bluff, counter-bluff, and surprise!

Bidding tokens have different shapes and colors for easy identification. Colorful cardstock shields keep your bids private, and also provide a handy rules reference during the auction. Brightly-colored wooden blocks allow players to see, at a glance, who controls which colonial-themed territories.

Revolution! is for three or four players. The rules can be taught in minutes, and a complete game takes less than an hour. Each new game lets players find new strategies and tactics.

Get ready for Revolution!