Mechanism: Tableau Building

Agent Avenue

Agent Avenue is a competitive card game that combines bluffing, strategic set collection, and a race to uncover your opponent's identity. Set in a colorful anthropomorphic world, players assume the roles of retired spies in a suburban neighborhood, outsmarting each other with cards that can score points or trigger special effects. The game's art brings to life a quirky neighborhood of animal spies.

Use a unique "I split, you choose" mechanic to play one card face-up and one face-down each turn. Your opponent chooses one, influencing both your strategies. Cards feature different agents and tools that impact scoring and game progress on a track, advancing the "catch me" race to uncover the opposing spy.

Outwit your opponents by strategically collecting agent sets and effectively using spy tools. The game ends when a player successfully uncovers their opponent, combining both strategic depth and bluffing elements.

Perfect for those who love a mix of strategy and lighthearted competition, "Agent Avenue" challenges you to think like a spy and act like a friendly neighbor.

—description from the publisher

Undergrove

For over 300 million years, trees have traded nutrients with fungi in a vast underground network. Scientists continue to make new discoveries about this hidden world.

In Undergrove, you are a towering evergreen with an ancient symbiotic connection to the fungi in your forest. As new mushrooms appear, your options expand for converting nutrients and helping your seedlings. Using cube conversion, tile placement, area control, and a tiny bit of engine building, you’ll need to claim the most advantageous locations and optimize your actions to leave the best legacy in the forest. The player with the greatest number of successful seedlings, wins!

● Build a shared forest containing mushrooms with diverse abilities.
● Trade with the mushrooms to get resources based on the partnerships you’ve made.
● Place your seedings in the most advantageous positions to score the most points.

Inspired by real mycorrhizal trading networks. Shape the destiny of your forest with every decision!

-description from publisher

Everdell Duo

In Everdell Duo, you either compete against your single opponent or play co-operatively with another player to earn the most points. You accomplish this by placing workers to gather resources, then use those resources to play cards face up in front of you, creating your own woodland city.

Cards may be played from your hand or from the face-up area on the board called the meadow. However, only cards touching the sun or moon token may be played from the meadow, and players move these tokens each time they perform a turn. Therefore, planning for and timing which cards you play is critical.

Each game you try to achieve various events, the requirements of which differ from game to game, making certain cards and combinations more important to pursue.

The game lasts for four seasons, then players add their scores to determine the winner. If you're playing co-operatively, check the requirements for the chapter you are playing to see whether you have won.

—description from the publisher

Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age

In the ancient realm of Crete, amidst the sun-drenched shores and labyrinthine corridors of Knossos, the fate of the Minoan civilization is yet to be determined. As a member of one of the four illustrious Minoan clans, your destiny beckons you to vie for the prestigious title of Minos, the ultimate leader of your people.

But keep in mind - unlike the tumultuous conquests of other civilizations, the Minoans are renowned for their pursuit of peace and prosperity. In this captivating journey, the essence of your quest lies not in the clash of swords, but in the art of governance and the cultivation of your clan’s unique identity.

As leaders of Minoan clans players are in charge of the first European civilization. Build cities, monuments and other structures, open new trade routes, expand and fight off outsiders out of your land, plan your actions with your clan council, research and issue decrees so your actions will be more powerful than your opponents! You have only 4 rounds to prove you are worthy of the legendary Minos title.

Draft and assign the dice to the programming board. With lower value dice you can secure stronger actions but the higher value dice will help you climb on the tracks and gain their benefits. During the action phase each player takes their dice in order from highest to lowest and performing the pre-planned actions. Players also build their tableau - each card has an instant effect and a triggered reward connected to the specific action or die value they can use to make the action more powerful. Moreover, twice in the game players get Victory Points for their civilization progress in the region.

—description from the publisher

Res Arcana Duo

Res Arcana Duo is both an expansion for Res Arcana (with 35% more cards) and a standalone, two-player game that can be later combined with Res Arcana and its other expansions Lux et Tenebrae and Perlae Imperii.

Gameplay is the same as in the original game: Life, Death, Elan, Calm, and Gold are the essences that fuel the art of magic. Choose your mage, gather essences, craft unique artifacts, and use them to summon dragons, acquire places of power, and achieve victory!

Res Arcana Duo features a new drafting method designed for just two players and a tight set of 16 artifacts. Unlike the base game, it has no attacks, which some couples may prefer.

A game typically lasts 4-6 rounds. In each round, players do these steps:

Collect essences: performs any Collect abilities, and may take essences from components.
Do actions, 1 per turn, clockwise from the First Player, until all players have passed:
place an artifact
claim a monument or Place of Power
discard a card for 1 Gold or any 2 other essences
use a power on a straightened component
pass: exchange magic items and draw 1 card. If you are first to pass, take the First Player token.

Check victory (10+ VPs).

If no one has won: straighten all turned components and begin the next round.