City Building

The largest Roman city north of the Alps in the late Roman Empire was Augusta Treverorum. Founded in the times of Caesar Augustus and built up by generations of Roman architects, this was the Emperor's residence and a world city during this period. The remains of these most impressive structures can still be visited today. Foremost of these great achievements in the city is the massive "Porta Nigra", a large Roman city gate located in Trier, Germany that dates to the 2nd century.

The game Porta Nigra (which translates as "black gate") is set in that place and time with the players taking on the roles of Roman architects working on the city gate of Porta Nigra. Each player commands a master builder, who moves around a circular track on the game board, enabling you to buy or build only where this master builder is located. Moving the master builder to farther locations along the track is expensive, so players must plan their movements and builds carefully. The number and type of actions that may be performed on your turn comes from cards in your personal draw deck.

Buildings are erected physically at the various locations around the city using 3D building pieces.

The year is 1822. After years of decay, it is time to rebuild the medina, located at the foot of the Atlas mountains. The architects and engineers of the city work to erect large and beautiful palaces and to renovate the damaged city wall. As the reconstruction of the old city progresses, the city's inhabitants flock through the alleys, and the contours of the new city gradually reappear!

Each turn, players must place two pieces on the board (except when allowed to skip this with a tea tile), either augmenting an existing building (or starting a new building if the current building of that color is finished), or expanding one of the other features of the city, like the market or the walls. Each player will claim one building of each of the four colors by the end of the game, giving one point per wooden piece attached to the building.

Also, if you own the largest building of a particular color you get a bonus for that color. Finally, there are bonuses for palaces around the well, as well as for the player who most recently connected one of their buildings to the walls, which grow from the four corners of the city.

Medina is a tense game by the great designer Stefan Dorra. This latest edition of the game features a double-sided game board (enabling a two-player game), almost 200 detailed wooden pieces, and updated gameplay, as well as rules and components never before published for this game!

See Medina for the original edition of this game.

The Kingdom of Rolldovia is in turmoil. Her royal highness, the Queen, has decreed that there will be a new capital after the old one was sacked by hordes of barbarians and bandits from the south. As leaders of one of the country's influential noble families, players vie with each other to establish their provincial city as the best home for Rolldovia's new capital. You must choose your city's path in gaining the approval of all others in the kingdom.

Dice City is a "dice-crafting" game in which the locations in your city act as the changing faces of your dice each turn. Use tactics and strategy to press your claim!

You each have several ways to promote your city; create strong armies; construct wondrous buildings; or open up trade routes. The secret is to manage your city and its natural resources carefully to make the best of your fortunes.

Build your own town in Flip City! In this deck-building game, you have no hand at all; instead, you play cards directly from the top of your deck. Winning the game requires delicate strategies...and some luck as well!!

A turn consists of two phases: card playing and building.

Players play cards directly from the top of their deck and may choose to continue unless they have three cry-face icons in play, which ends their turn immediately. When they choose to stop, they move to the building phase.

During the building phase, a player can use the coins gained from their previously played cards to buy a new card or to upgrade a card in their personal discard pile. To upgrade a card, pay the cost and flip it over; upgraded cards remain in the discard pile.

Since all cards in this game are double-sided, be careful not to flip them over accidentally when placing cards into your discard pile or when shuffling your deck.

Whenever a player gains eight or more VP during a single card playing phase, the player wins immediately!

It is the early 1800s, a time of immense construction and urbanization. You are a world-renowned master city planner who has been asked to redesign two different cities. Projects of such significance require the expertise of more than one person, so for each assignment you are paired with a partner with whom to discuss and execute your grandiose plans. Will your planning and collaborative skills be enough to design the most impressive city in the world?

Between Two Cities is a partnership-driven tile-drafting game in which each tile represents part of a city: factory, shop, park, landmarks, etc. You work with the player on your left to design the heart of one city, and with the player on your right to design the heart of another city. On each turn you select two tiles from hand, reveal them, then work with your partners separately to place one of those tiles into each of your two cities before passing the remaining hand of tiles around the table.

At the end of the game, each city is scored for its livability. Your final score is the lower of the livability scores of the two cities you helped design. To win, you have to share your attention and your devotion between two cities. The player with the highest final score wins the game.

The game features play for 3-7 players in 20-25 minutes, a 2-player variant for head-to-head competition as well as a solo variant (Automa).