Political

In 12th century Japan, the Minamoto and Taira clans vie for power while retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa plays his rivals against one another. One of the three factions will triumph to impose the coming social order. In the shadow of these elite powers, a few ninja scheme to exploit the chaos. Daring raids, skill mastery, and subtle intrigue are essential to establishing one’s honor. When the new era dawns, one ninja will flourish as the Ninjato, the Invisible Sword of the ruling family.

Ninjato is the newest board game from CrossCut Games, makers of Galactic Emperor, and published by Z-Man Games, IELLO, and White Goblin Games.

Newest game from the pair that made 1960: The Making of the President. The goal here is to be the founding father with the most renown at the end of the game, which consists of the making of the US constitution.

Each round, an article of the constitution is put up for consideration, which is either a Federalist, Anti-Federalist, Big State, or Small State issue. Players have a hand of three delegate cards that represent their respective states and also have a special ability. Players may use these cards' special abilities, use the cards to vote for or against the issue under consideration, or to try and claim tokens in each of the four types of issues. When a round ends, the issue either passes, or is flipped to its opposite side (Federalist/Anti or Big/Small).

Players score points for having voted with the majority, and also for having tokens matching the issue types that are voted into the constitution.

In a galaxy far, far away...

The pig clans are in a furious competition to control the planets which produce the precious acorns from which the Beer can be brewed. The Beer is a source of power and strength for those who drink it. You are the head one of the six great pig clans; you must impose your Beer recipe and thus become the most powerful pigs in the Universe!
You will have to fight, negotiate, cheat, corrupt...

Space Pigs is a humorous game of conquest which freely borrows from Star Wars, Dune, and all those SF chestnuts.

In the Celestial Empire of the Ming Dynasty the leading families vie with one another for political power and influence over the Imperial government. They do not compete by brazen force of arms, but within the confines of Confucian philosophy. Subtle influence is wielded, gifts are given and received, setting up a network of relationships that will lead one family to dominate the government under a benign Emperor. Players of Confucius participate in this discreet and delicate struggle for power. As well as influencing the three principal ministries of government, leadership of the great exploration and trading fleets will bring renown to the one who heads them, and glory attends the general leading invasions of foreign lands.

Rex: Final Days of an Empire, a reimagined version of Dune set in Fantasy Flight's Twilight Imperium universe, is a board game of negotiation, betrayal, and warfare in which 3-6 players take control of great interstellar civilizations, competing for dominance of the galaxy's crumbling imperial city. Set 3,000 years before the events of Twilight Imperium, Rex tells the story of the last days of the Lazax empire, while presenting players with compelling asymmetrical racial abilities and exciting opportunities for diplomacy, deception, and tactical mastery.

In Rex: Final Days of an Empire, players vie for control of vital locations across a sprawling map of the continent-sized Mecatol City. Only by securing three key locations (or more, when allied with other factions) can a player assert dominance over the heart of a dying empire.

Unfortunately, mustering troops in the face of an ongoing Sol blockade is difficult at best (unless, of course, you are the Federation of Sol or its faithless ally, the Hacan, who supply the blockading fleet). Savvy leaders must gather support from the local populace, uncover hidden weapon caches, and acquire control over key institutions. Mechanically, this means players must lay claim to areas that provide influence, which is then "spent" to (among other things) smuggle military forces through the orbiting Sol blockade. Those forces will be needed to seize the key areas of the city required to win the game. From the moment the first shot is fired, players must aggressively seek the means by which to turn the conflict to their own advantage.

While the great races struggle for supremacy in the power vacuum of a dead emperor, massive Sol warships execute their devastating bombardments of the city below. Moving systematically, the Federation of Sol's fleet of warships wreaks havoc on the planet's surface, targeting great swaths of the game board with their destructive capabilities. Only the Sol's own ground forces have forewarning of the fleet's wrath; all others must seek shelter in the few locations with working defensive shields...or be obliterated in the resulting firestorm.

Although open diplomacy and back-door dealmaking can often mitigate the need for bloodshed, direct combat may prove inevitable. When two or more opposing forces occupy the same area, a battle results. Each player's military strength is based on the sum total of troops he is willing to expend, along with the strength rating of his chosen leader. A faction's leaders can therefore be vitally important in combat...but beware! One or more of your Leaders may secretly be in the employ of an enemy, and if your forces in combat are commanded by such a traitor, defeat is all but assured. So whether on the field of battle or the floor of the Galactic Council, be careful in whom you place your trust.

All this, along with a host of optional rules and additional variants, means that no two games of Rex: Final Days of an Empire will play exactly alike. Contributing further to replayability is the game's asymmetrical faction abilities, each of which offer a unique play experience.

Reimplements:

Dune