variable player powers

Theme:

Game is themed around a purification ritual of the ancient Etruscan people, who predated the Roman Empire around 6th century B.C. Each player represents a different temple, faithful to the divinities Achvizr, Alpan, Leinth, and Thalna. On "Tagete's" day, the Etruscan Haruspexes [priests] proceed down the path of purification to the Velthumena Altar.

Goal:

Each player has 8 pawns representing "Haruspexes" [priests] in their color. Each player is trying to move their priests along the path of purifiction from their home temple to the altar at the center of the board. One player may also choose the path of darkness and consecrate themselves to the divinity "Tuchulcha" with the goal of elminating all rival priests. This role is only available in 3 and 4 player games. If a player chooses this path, then another single player may consecrate themselves to "Lasa Vecuvia" with a different set of powers. This player's goal is to now move their priests to set "passages" on the path and place 4 seals to win the game. This role is only available in 4 player games.

Players win by having the most priests in the center altar at game end. If a player chooses Tuchulcha's power, they win by eliminating all other priests, and lose if any priest enters the altar. A player that chooses the Lasa Vecuvia power wins only by placing all 4 seals.

Gameplay:

Game plays with 2, 3, or 4 players. Each player begins the game with 8 pawns on their home temple. On their turn players roll 2 dice. If doubles are rolled, the player may throw a third die. Then player chooses to move one or more of their pawns the number of pips shown on each die. For example, if a 5 and a 2 are rolled, a player may move one pawn 5 and another 2, or one pawn 5, and then 2 [not seven at once]. This is important as where you land can be significant on each move. Players move their pawns around a spiral path approaching the altar at the center. Along the way players will encounter other players' pawns, and special spaces on the path. These spaces can increase the "spiritual strength" of players' pieces by two times of three times [Mystical Stones], or "passage" spaces can banish them to the Tuchulcha forest. While Mystical Stone spaces are powerful in defense, pawns must move off these spaces as soon as they can. Pawns can normally pass through each other regardless of owner. Any number of a single player's pawns may occupy a single space. However, when a pawn would land on another player's by exact count, it must equal the "spiritual strength" of the player's pieces in the space. Normally, spiritual strenght is one per pawn, but in the 2x or 3x spaces these are multiplied respectively. If a moving player can eqaul the spiritual strength of pawns in the space, then the occupying pawns are banished to the Tuchulcha forest. These pawns are essentially out of the game, but can be used to activate the alternate "Tuchulcha" player role. Once a pawn banishes an opponent's pawn, it may not move again this turn. 2 player game uses 2 "neutral" colors which any player can move during their turn. 3 player game adds the optional Tuchulcha player role, and 4 player adds both Tuchulcha and Lasa Vecuvia roles to play.

At any time one and only one player [in 3 and 4 player games], may choose to take on the role of Tuchulcha [a god of destruction]. To activate this power, the player must "sacrifice" 3 pawns. These pawns may come from the home temple, altar, path, or Tuchulcha forest. Once activated, the Tuchulcha player's new objective is to eliminate all other players' pawns. As soon as one other player's pawn enters the altar, Tuchulcha loses and is eliminated from the game. This can make this role selection a risky move. However, this player gains powerful new abilities. Tuchulcha's pawns can never be banished to the forest, he rolls 4 dice and selects the 3 best, and no longer has to stop after banishing an opponent's pawn.

If a player chooses to be Tuchulcha in a 4 player game, then another [and only one] player may take the role of Lasa Vecuvia. This player must still have 4 active pawns in play to activate. This player's objectives are now to "seal" the 4 passages along the path. These passages normally banish pawns to the forest, but when the Lasa player lands a pawn on the passage, she places a seal token on the passage and removes the pawn from play. Once she places all four seals in this manner she wins the game.

Components:

32 high quality wooden pawns in 4 colors
4 green wooden dice with gold pips and rounded corners
1 double sided game board for 3 and 4 player games
1 full color illustrated rules booklet

To be the produced version of Aquarium Derby. The board is covered with hexes containing arrows. A player plays the movement card lying facedown in front of themselves then chooses a new one for NEXT turn. Each movement card describes movement relative to the arrow on your current space. The biggest problem is that you are frequently not on the space you were on when you played that movement card

The cool part are the action points which can be used over the course of the game a la Trip Tickets in Wildlife Adventure to save yourself and hose everyone else in further ways. It also adds a touch of a puzzle element as there are usually a couple of ways to save yourself from a bad situation.

Players represent various office holders in the ruling Junta. Depending upon his office and the various cards he holds, each player has a certain number of votes. These are important as they must first elect El Presidente and then vote on the budget that he proposes. Here's where it can get sticky. El Presidente draws cards face down from the money deck (which varies in denomination from $1 to $3) and must propose a budget for the year, distributing the money as he sees fit amongst the various offices. Of course, loyalty to him is usually rewarded, while those pesky "thorns in his side" are usually cut off completely. The beauty of all this, though, is that El Presidente can — and most always does — keep some of the loot for himself. And since no one but he knows the value of what he drew, no one knows how much he's keeping. Suspicion is always keen.

Players may attempt to assassinate the other players by guessing where they will be from among five locations. Players who successfully assassinate another player take that player's money, as the only safe money is the money that has been deposited in a Swiss bank account, and the only way to get to the bank is to survive the assassination round.

If the players are unhappy, and there is an excuse, they can call for a coup, where the opposition players seek to take control of a majority of the power centers. Rebel players control the forces of the role which they were assigned (e.g. army, navy, air force), and players loyal to El Presidente do the same, seeking to control the strongholds until the rebellion is quelled.

The goal is to amass the greatest wealth secreted away in your Swiss bank account.

In Augustus, you vie with your fellow players to complete "objective" cards for special powers and ultimately for victory points. Each card has 2-6 symbols which you must populate with legionnaire meeples in order to complete the card. These symbols are drawn one at a time from a bag, with all players gaining the benefit equally, but interestingly, the bag contains more of some symbols than others.

So the pivotal skill you'll deploy is in making your choice of which three objectives you'll start the game with (you're dealt six) — balancing potential difficulty of completion against value of the reward — and then which of five available objectives you'll add to your plate each time you complete one of your three. The game ends when someone completes seven objectives.

Game description from the publisher:

Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You'll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the forbidden desert!

In Forbidden Desert, a thematic sequel to Forbidden Island, players take on the roles of brave adventurers who must throw caution to the wind and survive both blistering heat and blustering sand in order to recover a legendary flying machine buried under an ancient desert city. While featuring cooperative gameplay similar to Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert is a fresh new game based around an innovative set of mechanisms, such as an ever-shifting board, individual resource management, and a unique method for locating the flying machine parts.