fighting

Nexus Ops is a light-medium science fiction war game. The game boasts a hexagonal board that is set up differently every time, as well as (in the Avalon Hill edition) cool "glow" miniatures and lots of combat. Players control competing futuristic corporations that battle each other for control of the moon's Rubium Ore. By winning battles and fulfilling Secret Missions, you can obtain victory points.

Units are composed of various alien races and have stats similar to those used in the Axis & Allies series. Combat is also similar. Players who lose battles are compensated with Energize cards which grant them special powers later. Players can also obtain Energize cards by controlling the Monolith, a raised structure in the center of the grid. The first person to reach the required number of victory points wins the game.

Go down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run.

Admit it. You love it.

This award-winning card game, designed by Steve Jackson, captures the essence of the dungeon experience... with none of that stupid roleplaying stuff. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items. And what magic items! Don the Horny Helmet and the Boots of Butt-Kicking. Wield the Staff of Napalm... or maybe the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. Start by slaughtering the Potted Plant and the Drooling Slime, and work your way up to the Plutonium Dragon...

And it's illustrated by John Kovalic! Fast-playing and silly, Munchkin can reduce any roleplaying group to hysteria. And, while they're laughing, you can steal their stuff.

Other

Part of the Munchkin series.

Munchkin is a satirical card game based on the clichés and oddities of Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games. Each player starts at level 1 and the winner is the first player to reach level 10. Players can acquire familiar D&D style character classes during the game which determine to some extent the cards they can play.

There are two types of cards - treasure and encounters. Each turn the current players 'kicks down the door' - drawing an encounter card from the deck. Usually this will involve battling a monster. Monsters have their own levels and players must try and overcome it using the levels, weapons and powers they have acquired during the game or run away. Other players can chose to help the player or hinder by adding extra monsters to the encounter. Defeating a monster will usually result in drawing treasure cards and acquiring levels. Being defeated by a monster results in "bad stuff" which usually involves losing levels and treasure.

In May 2010, Steve Jackson Games made the "big announcement." Many rules and cards were changed. See The Great 2010 Munchkin Changeover for details. Of note to Munchkin fans, the Kneepads of Allure card, which had been removed in the 14th printing, was added back to the game but modified to be less powerful.

Sequels:

The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin
Munchkin Apocalypse
Munchkin Axe Cop
Munchkin Bites!
Munchkin Booty
Munchkin Conan
Munchkin Cthulhu
Munchkin Fu
Munchkin Impossible
Munchkin Legends
Munchkin Pathfinder
Munchkin Zombies
Star Munchkin
Super Munchkin

A cooperative game of adventure for 1-5 players set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

It is named after the book series by the same name recounting the adventures of the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends.

Designed for 1-5 players, this boardgame features multiple scenarios, challenging quests, and cooperative game play. Players explore the game world, which is built during the game by laying out tiles, using ready-made player characters and encountering enemies with corresponding miniatures. Encounters are generated by drawing cards and resolved using a D20 die. All players win together, depending on the scenario, by escaping, saving others or overcoming a threat.

Game description from the publisher:

In an age of great battles, valiant leaders, and unscrupulous mercenary armies, fortune lies within your grasp.

Ventura is a board game of nobility and conquest for 2-4 players. Set in 14th century Italy, Ventura puts players in control of warring noble houses, each vying for control of the country's growing wealth. Balance your house’s earnings and maintain your hired soldiers to keep your family’s noble standing. Remember, the best armies are also the ones that cost the most!

With more than 120 plastic pieces, 40 Territory tiles, 4 Family Boards, a scoring board, and over 100 cards, Ventura will whisk players into a world of warring mercenaries and noble families, all seeking control of Italy’s burgeoning wealth.

Game description from the publisher:

In Wiz-War, wizards wage no-spells-barred magical duels deep in an underground labyrinth. This classic board game of magical mayhem for 2-4 players, created by Tom Jolly in 1983, pits players' wizards against each other in a stupendous struggle for magical mastery. Win by stealing other wizards' treasures and hauling them back to your base, or just score points by blasting the other wizards. The last wizard standing always wins.

Staying true to the spirit of the game that has entertained players for years, as well inspiring an entire genre of games, this 2011 edition of Wiz-War caters to the imagination and the funny bone. Casting an enriched array of spells, your wizards race through an underground maze, avoiding fireballs, werewolves, and psychic storms. Subtle game enhancements by Kevin Wilson and Tom Jolly promote faster play and clarify card effects.

Re-implements:

Wiz-War

(This entry is separate from Wiz-War based on reports from the designer that the new edition has expanded components and significant rules changes; it's also easier to merge two games that are the same than split two games in one listing that turn out to be different.)