variable player powers

Tapestry

Tapestry is a two-hour game for 1-5 players designed by Jamey Stegmaier.

Create the civilization with the most storied history, starting at the beginning of humankind and reaching into the future. The paths you choose will vary greatly from real-world events or people — your civilization is unique!

In Tapestry, you start from nothing and advance on any of the four advancement tracks (science, technology, exploration, and military) to earn progressively better benefits. You can focus on a specific track or take a more balanced approach. You will also improve your income, build your capital city, leverage your asymmetric abilities, earn victory points, and gain tapestry cards that will tell the story of your civilization.

—description from the publisher

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein

It's been twenty years since Victor Frankenstein died on a ship in the arctic, but his vengeful creature lives on, as does Robert Walton, the sea captain who vowed to kill the fiend before mercy stayed his hand. It's now 1819, and a sinister darkness descends upon the city of Paris. A mysterious benefactor of gigantic stature has emerged in the scientific community, never showing his face, claiming to possess the late Frankenstein's research. He sponsors a grand competition, offering an even grander prize: unlocking the mystery of mortality!

Renowned scientists from around the world come to take part: some drawn to solve this eternal riddle, others coerced against their will. But a certain captain comes as well, one deeply suspicious of the secretive patron, hoping to finally fulfill his vow.

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein is a competitive game of strategic monster building for 2-4 players, inspired by Mary Shelley's classic novel of gothic horror. In the game, the creature demands your help to accomplish what his own creator would not: to bring to life an abomination like itself, a companion to end its miserable solitude. Through worker placement and careful management of decomposing resources, you'll gather materials from the cemeteries and morgues around the city, conduct valuable research at the Academy of Science, hire less-than-reputable associates, and toil away in your lab — all in an effort to assemble a new form of life and infuse it with a "spark of being". Do well, and the creature may reward you during one of its surprise visits; do poorly, and you may come to regret not putting forth more effort. Narrative elements come into play throughout the game, guided by your decisions, leading to potentially unsavory outcomes.

The game ends when you succeed in bringing your creation to life or when the Captain kills the creature, whichever happens first. Then the player with the most points fulfills Frankenstein's dark legacy, becoming his heir, for good or ill...

—description from the publisher

Obscurio

The Sorcerer is out to get you! Find your way among the illusions, but beware of the traitor in your ranks!

The Grimoire guides their team towards the exit using images, upon which they point at certain details. Working together, the other players have to find the exit as quickly as possible while avoiding picking the wrong cards. However, a member of the team is a traitor looking to lead the other players astray. A wide variety of traps are on your way to the exit of the library, making player communication harder!

Obscurio is a family game, an original mix between an image-based communication game and a secret role game in which the players have to be careful when sharing ideas with their team. Supported by rich contents, Obscurio proposes a fresh new experience in its genre by putting the emphasis on the details of the images and the constant doubt created by the presence of the traitor.

Communicate efficiently and avoid the illusions on your way to escape the Sorcerer's library!

—description from the publisher

Moop's Monster Mashup

Description from the publisher:

The marvelous magician Moop is mashing up monsters to meet the marauding munchkins. He's created bizarre new animals such as the Owligator and Kangarooster! But the heroes can fight back with their own mixed-up weapons, including Sockodiles and the Beaver Cleaver. This version of Munchkin is the craziest ever...but it's still Munchkin, so the first player to Level 10 wins!

Moop's Monster Mashup is a standalone game, but can also be combined with Munchkin or any of the Munchkin games.

Foothills

The men who built the railways arrived with sound boots and got their shovels on credit; they were issued tickets, in payment for their work, which could be spent at the Tommy Shop or (more likely) on beer! As a ganger, or foreman, you are responsible for your own team of navvies as they travel through Mid and North Wales: digging the track beds, laying the rails, and occasionally helping a passenger or two along their way. Foothills lets you participate in grand-scale railway construction while paying attention to the small details; manage your navvies' work carefully, and you should be able to let them go to the pub at the end of the day.

Foothills is a tactical and intriguing two-player card game from new designer Ben Bateson and the designer of Snowdonia, Tony Boydell. Using your five action cards cleverly, collect resources, remove rubble, build track and stations, and use the action spaces you unlock, all the while collecting more victory points than your opponent. In the end, the player with the most victory points wins!

—description from the designer