Economic

Age of Galaxy (Second Edition)

Age of Galaxy is a strategic 4X game that places you in control of an interstellar alliance consisting of three factions with unique powers. You can explore systems, colonize planets, research technologies, build galactic cruisers, and much more. You have many potential paths to victory based on how your factions work together and the main ideology of your alliance. The five ideologies:

Supporters of Science commit themselves to lifelong research on new technologies, convinced that knowledge is the only way forward.
Upholders of Militarism are merciless aggressors who conquer by might, regarding wars as a means to an end.
Keen adopters of Diplomacy prioritize relations between factions, acting tactfully while competing to become the head of the Congress.
Factions that value Industrialism undertake ambitious construction schemes to turn planets into highly-developed cities and industrial complexes.
As for factions that advocate Culturalism, they take pride in cultivating spiritual and cultural growth, always curious about the insights the mysterious "relics" might offer.

Faction cards can be played in multiple ways, with players either integrating them into their empire or sacrificing them for one-time benefits through agreements. More than thirty factions are included in the game.

This second edition of Age of Galaxy introduces an enhanced solo mode, new graphic design, and improved components to enrich the gameplay experience.

Raising Chicago

During the 19th century, the elevation of the Chicago area was just a few feet higher than the shoreline of Lake Michigan. For many years, there was little or no naturally occurring drainage from the city surface, and this lack of drainage caused unpleasant living conditions. Standing water harbored pathogens that caused numerous epidemics including typhoid fever and dysentery, culminating in the 1854 outbreak of cholera that killed six percent of the city's population. The crisis forced the city to take the drainage problem seriously. In 1856, engineer Ellis S. Chesbrough drafted a plan for the installation of a citywide sewerage system and submitted it to the city council, which adopted the plan.

However, due to the minimal elevation above the lake, the sewer could not be built underground and had to be built at street level. The city council then decided to implement a radical idea: Prevented from digging down, they instead decreed the buildings of the city would be raised to allow the new sewer system to be hidden under the new street level. Representing one of the four companies that were created to tackle the problem of raising the buildings of Chicago, it's up to you to gather resources, take on the most attractive projects, and help solve the sanitation crisis of the city.

On your turn in Raising Chicago, you place a tile on a resource slot associated with one of five building projects, then claim the resource you covered. After all players have placed tiles, each project is evaluated. The winning player pays resources to complete the project, claims the project reward, then places all of their tiles associated with that project as levels underneath the building onto a space on the board. Players earn points for placing buildings cleverly, doing the most work in a ward, and meeting the demands of council people.

Only the most successful player will win, so play strategically to prove you can raise buildings the best in Raising Chicago!

—description from the publisher

Suna Valo

In Suna Valo, two individuals take on the task of establishing their own farm in the Solarpunk world of Overgrown. Located in the picturesque "Sunny Valley" (Suna Valo), nestled at the foot of a mountain and crisscrossed by a broad river, the village of Foriro has been erected — a place of new beginnings! The farmers in this village supply valuable goods using their transport drones and river ships.

The construction of your farms is made possible through farm cards across various categories. Cultivate vast grain fields, and harvest beautiful water lilies or blue flowers. Deliver your sheep's wool to the village for clothing production or collect eggs from your free-roaming chickens. But amidst your explorations of the surrounding lands, don't forget to reinforce your fleet of transport drones!

Suna Valo features an innovative purchasing mechanism. Secure the right cards before your opponent does, snatch up the more valuable ones, and host prestigious events! Each time you acquire a new card for your farm, you activate an entire column of cards, causing your farm to flourish. However, you must also earn the resources to cover the costs of these cards.

After three game rounds, the player with the most victory points emerges as the winner of this peaceful competition, having contributed the most to the development of Foriro!

—description from the publisher

Pacific

We journey now to the Pacific Ocean. From California to Japan, the peaceful sea is ringed by rumbling mountains. Animals, some of them tourists, fill every conceivable niche; boats dot the waves; and businesses and industries thrive on the coasts. It is this world that you will exploit, or make friends with, or perhaps just pass through.

Your goal in Pacific is to earn more money than anyone else, whether through fishing, hotels, factory work, or business. The game lasts ten rounds, and at the start of each round, each player reveals one card from their hand at the same time. Next, all players reveal which one of the revealed cards they want to use, then they simultaneously use their chosen card.

Each player has their own playing board with five areas on it in a circle: Japan, California, Peru, Polynesia, and Coral Sea. To use a card, you carry out the text in the box, then "run" the 1-2 areas listed on it.

Most cards have text like "[area]:[symbols]", such as "California: (hotel)" or "Each area: (fish)" or "An empty area: (boat)(boat)", so you'll place the appropriate token(s) in the named area(s). The card might have other text as well instructing you to move tokens, swap one token for another, "run" an area, etc.

To "run" an area, you take an action with each token in it: hotels earn you money, boats earn you money based on fish in the area, fish move clockwise to the next area, and factories let you remove tokens for money. Special tokens have unique abilities, and you can carry out these actions in whatever order you wish.

After ten turns, whoever has the most money wins.

INK

Ink is an unforgiving medium. However, when mastered with care, its spontaneity and brilliance can create visual effects of astonishing richness.

INK invites you to deploy your talent by creating sumptuous paintings worthy of the greatest collections.

Combining tile placement, resource and hand management, and pattern recognition, Ink challenges players to complete high-value contracts by carefully placing ink tiles to form harmonious patterns. The trick lies in balancing spontaneity with planning, every move you make affects not only your current canvas, but the options you'll have in future turns.