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Archmage cover
BGG · needs curation

Archmage

Starling Games (II) · 2018

BGG #6335
1–460–120 min6.6
A few magically talented individuals, their devoted followers in tow, have been drawn from their villages across the twisted wilderness to the Ruined City. At the very heart of the city, the cursed Tower of Magic rises into the broiling clouds. From this vantage the Archmage and her Order of Mages ruled these lands for an Age, drawing together the warring magics of the mythic races into one all-powerful and cohesive force. That was, of course, before The Ending. The Ruined City is now home to but a fragment of the mythic races that once served the Archmage and her Order. And until now, no human has dared step foot in these forsaken streets. The newcomers, of human stock, are the descendants of the ancient Mages, now outcasts living in camps in the farthest reaches of the lands. Unusual shows of power in their home villages have already gathered them small but enthusiastic bands of followers. And now they have travelled to meet with representatives of the mythic races, to seek their wisdom and magical secrets. The mythic races are the keepers of six very different spheres of magic, with very different abilities. It was only the power of the Archmage that long ago found ways to combine the spheres and gain higher and higher levels of magic. Now, much of the magic of the mythic races is lost, and the newcomers, having come so far, are told they must now travel the lands to reclaim lost relics sacred to the races. It seems the journey to absolute magical power has only just begun... Archmage is a euro-thematic hybrid, where players take on the role of fledgling Mages, traveling the lands to recover ancient relics, gather followers, and train apprentices in six spheres of magic and beyond. As the power of their Order grows, they will pit apprentices against each other, and attain unheard of spells and magical powers, building their own Mage tower to watch over the lands and weave their magics. When the time of reckoning comes, a new Archmage will rule. Each turn is formed of two phases: The Journey: A Mage travels across the map (formed of hex tiles): discovering new locations; deploying followers to gather relics from Ruins, Libraries, Sacred Glades, and other locations sacred to each of the mythic races; and encountering and dealing with the followers of their opponents. Journey's End: A Mage will finish each Journey in a specific location where they can perform a specific action. Ending a Journey on a Town will let the Mage call on their Followers to deliver the relics and resources they have gathered. Ending in a Settlement (where the spurned descendants of the Mages fled after the Ending) will let a Mage recruit more Followers to their Order. Ending with a Mythic Race will let the Mage train Followers as Apprentices specialising in the magic of that Mythic Race (at a cost of the Relics with which the magic must be weaved). Ending in the Wilderness will let the Mage's followers take more physical control over the area. Ending in the Mage's Tower (once it has been built), will let the Mage train and test their Apprentices. On the floor of the tower (player board) is a mandala in which the Apprentices stand. Moving apprentices on the mandala will change the sorts of spells the Order has access to. Testing apprentices sees one apprentice advance to a higher level and allows an Order to discover new spells and magics beyond what any of the Mythic Races could individually know, and to add to those magics to their spell library. Spells provide Mages with a range of options for strategic and tactical play. Archmage has a modular spell system, with 18 spells included in the base game, and expansions planned to add more sets. Spells are used by expending a cost in Relics, the magical currency of the game that is unique to each mythic race. The game is played over a number of turns, depending on the player count. After the last turn, the Mage with the most powerful Order of Mages, is declared the new Archmage and power is restored to the lands... until the next time!
Valpiedra: Descensus ad tenebras cover
BGG · needs curation

Valpiedra: Descensus ad tenebras

Present Is Future Games (PIF GAMES) · 2025

BGG #6337
1–440–60 min7.9
Valpiedra is a cooperative adventure and tactical combat game set in a cursed village overrun by demonic creatures emerging from an infernal rift. From 1 to 4 players take on the role of heroes descending into the catacombs to retrieve a sacred relic and seal the portal to hell before the world is lost. Throughout the game, the group will explore levels filled with enemies, make critical decisions, and carefully manage their health, equipment, and resources. Combat is resolved with dice and unique hero abilities, as players face creatures that evolve, summon reinforcements, or bend the rules of the game. The goal: descend to the depths, recover the relic, and ascend before corruption or death consumes you. Valpiedra offers constant tension and high replayability through creature cards, optional modes, and random events. Will you dare to go down… and return?
Empires of the Ancient World cover
BGG · needs curation

Empires of the Ancient World

Warfrog Games · 2000

BGG #6338
3–5120–180 min6.6
Going back to the age of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, you control the destiny of your empire--building armies, annexing neutral provinces, trading across the Mediterranean, and fighting battles. The heart of the game is its innovative card combat system. The full-color cards allow the use of pikes, swords, war bands, elephants, heavy cavalry, foot skirmishers, light horse, siege towers, artillery, and galleys. Special cards allow you to develop better military leaders, diplomats, traders, and engineers. However, winning the game is not just about having the largest empire. The player with the largest army will also lose the most victory points, so he had better use his forces well. If warfare is not to your taste then you can trade your way to victory, by having the largest trading empire.
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Melee at Murdershroom Marsh cover
BGG · needs curation

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Melee at Murdershroom Marsh

Cryptozoic Entertainment · 2017

BGG #6343
2–630 min6.5
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Melee at Murdershroom Marsh ratchets up the EPIC with several new innovations: Cantrips! Add extra effects to your spell by discarding some extra cards. More zing for the spell-flinging! Bad Trips! The colors, man ... the colors. If your spell has lots of different glyphs, a Bad Trip card resolves twice! Dual-Glyphed Deliveries! If you’ve ever had trouble matching your glyphs, relief is here! Everlasting! Most of the Treasures in ESWIII don’t go away when you die. Collect 'em all!
Sweden Fights On cover
BGG · needs curation

Sweden Fights On

GMT Games · 2003

BGG #6344
2240 min7.7
Sweden Fights On is a tactical battle game featuring four battles from the later half of the Thirty Years War. It is the second volume in the Musket & Pike Battle Series covering warfare in the 17th Century. This volume traces the fall, revival, and pinnacle of Swedish military fortunes after the death of King Gustav II Adolf at Lützen in 1632. The Musket & Pike Battle Series transitions from the English Civil War period (This Accursed Civil War, Vol. I) to the Thirty Years War period with added features such as limbered guns, double-sized batteries, and organic regimental artillery. The system emphasizes command and control. Armies are divided into three or four wings. Each wing has an order that limits the types of actions that units of that wing may perform. Victory goes to the commander who can coordinate the actions of these wings in the heat of battle. Units are infantry brigades, cavalry regiments, and artillery batteries. Rules include Cavalry Charges, use of the cavalry's pistols to skirmish or use in close combat, artillery grazing fire, infantry techniques of fire including advancing, retreating, and salvo firing. Play is highly interactive, and a battle can be played through in one sitting. The four battles in Sweden Fights On are: Nördlingen 1634 Though the Swedes struggled with command after the death of King Gustav II Adolf, they continued to exploit the momentum he had generated. A strong Swedish force pushed into Bavaria under the joint command of Duke Bernhard and Field Marshal Horn. The Habsburgs effected a union of forces with their Spanish cousins at Nördlingen, besieging the Protestant stronghold. The Swedes were drawn into a trap. Wittstock 1636 The Cannae of the Thirty Years War. Field Marshal Banér had his lines of communication cut by an Imperial-Saxon army under General Hatzfeld. In a daring plan, Banér divided his numerically inferior force and launched a double envelopment. In a desperate struggle for Vineyard Hill, General Torstensson's cavalry held the line just long enough for General King's cavalry to make the march around the Imperial right flank. 2nd Breitenfeld 1642 Field Marshal Torstensson caps a brilliant campaign with a siege of the Imperial fortress of Leipzig. Archduke Leopold commanding a larger Imperial army rushes to engage the Swedes. Within sight of the same ground of Gustav Adolf's greatest victory from eleven years past, the armies met. The Imperials had hopes for another Nördlingen, yet they got another Breitenfeld. Jankau 1645 Field Marshal Torstensson launches a surprise winter campaign aginst the unprepared Imperial forces in Bohemia, catching the Emporer himself virtually unguarded at Prague. With all haste, General Hatzfeld is recalled and an army cobbled together to stop the Swedes. The armies came together in the wooded hill country southeast of Prague. COUNTERS 772 full-color die-cut counters. MAP Two 22"x34" full-color back-printed mapsheets OTHER: One 10-sided dice 24-page Series Rulebook 40-page Playbook (including Lion of the North conversion rules) 1 11x17 Player Aid card
Movers & Shakers cover
BGG · needs curation

Movers & Shakers

Quined Games · 2026

BGG #6346
1–460–120 min7.2
In the late 19th century, Bengal became a key hub for railway expansion in British India, surpassing earlier developments elsewhere in the country. The East Indian Railway Company led the charge, beginning with the Howrah–Hooghly line in 1854. Driven by strategic, economic, and export needs, the rail network rapidly spread across the region. By century's end, Bengal had one of India's most extensive and vital railway systems, powering both commerce and colonial control. In Movers & Shakers, you play as a railway magnate in 19th-century Bengal, competing to transport goods, fulfill contracts, and invest your profits wisely. Over two rounds, you'll use your own and rival trains to move crates between Benares and Calcutta, aiming to build wealth through sharp planning and bold decisions. Only the most ambitious and efficient tycoon will rise to shape the future of Bengal's railways. Each round has two phases. During the action phase, players choose a card from their hand and perform the action shown on the card, as well as the action linked to the slot where the card was placed. These slot effects vary, so careful planning is essential. During the administration phase, players evaluate the shipping zone of the board, which affects deals and modifies turn order. After two rounds, the player who has built the greatest wealth wins. —description from the publisher
Craftsmen cover
BGG · needs curation

Craftsmen

G3 · 2013

BGG #6349
2–5120–180 min6.6
A long, long time ago in a distant kingdom, there was a town, a town so small that the cartographers in the kingdom did not bother to put it on any of their maps. The mayor of the city decided to change this. He sent messengers all around the kingdom to announce that a skillful, smart and experienced entrepreneur was needed to elevate the economy of this small town. The price for this effort would be a memorial on the main square of the town, eternal glory, and the satisfaction from a job well done. Years passed before the candidates finally reached the city. The mayor had never been happier, but he didn't know which of the entrepreneurs would be most suitable for the position, so he decided to give each of them a chance to prove that he was the long-awaited entrepreneur. Each of the candidates received five helpers who were admittedly not very bright, but who were certainly loyal and obedient. They have three years to prove their craftsmanship and skill, and after this time, the mayor will decide which candidate most deserves the honorable position. In Craftsmen, players try to gain appreciation points by building production buildings, creating connections between these buildings, producing raw materials and consumption goods, or buying them outright. They can also gain points by sending produced goods to the farthest parts of the world. In the end, whoever has the most appreciation points wins.
The Wars of Marcus Aurelius cover
BGG · needs curation

The Wars of Marcus Aurelius

Hollandspiele · 2018

BGG #6356
130–90 min7.5
A solitaire, CDG-flavoured, strategic-level game set during the Marcomannic Wars, 170CE-180CE. Playing from the perspective of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, your goal is to defeat and pacify three different tribes while managing off-map wars and rebellions, troop shortages, limited resources, and the effects of plague—all while maintaining your standing with the Senate and people of Rome. The Marcomannic Wars were a series of conflicts fought by the Romans against a loose coalition of German and Sarmatian tribes along the Danube from 166CE to 180CE. After crushing a Roman army and killing as many as 20,000 Roman soldiers near Carnuntum, German barbarians ravaged the Danube provinces and besieged Aquileia, marking the first time a hostile force had entered Italy in nearly 300 years. Meanwhile, Sarmatians invaded Dacia and Costoboci descended deep into the Balkans and Greece as far as Athens. It took Rome more than a decade to restore peace, with war and plague extracting a terrible cost of human and material resources. The game covers the war from the disastrous Battle of Carnuntum in 170CE to Marcus Aurelius' death in 180CE. Each turn (lasting one year) is divided into four rounds: early campaign, late campaign, winter and an attrition/house keeping round. At the start of each round, the player draws three barbarian cards and resolves their effects. Barbarian cards activate enemy tribes (restoring their morale or causing them to advance), trigger off-map conflicts, or cause special events such as plague, mutiny, or rebellions. On their turn, the Roman player draws a set number of cards (5 during the early campaign, 3 during the late campaign, and 1 during winter) and plays as many or few as they choose for either actions or events. Actions include: attacking barbarian tribes; building forts; moving legions; and increasing "Imperium Points.” Many cards can also be played for historically based events, such as the "Lightning miracle" depicted on the Column of Marcus Aurelius; and the "Galen" event that mitigates the effects of plague. All cards must be used by the end of the year or discarded, except for one card that can be held over into the next year by use of the "Meditations" deck. Battles are resolved by rolling 1d6 for the Romans and 1d6 for the Barbarians. The Roman role is modified by the number of legions assigned to the front and the combat rating of the leader. Cards can be spend to commit "reserves" to avoid a defeat or eke out a victory. Other cards including "Ambush," "Tactical Superiority" and "Route" can affect the outcome of battles. Enemy die rolls are modified by the morale of the tribe and the terrain, representing the barbarians' knowledge of the lands north of the Danube and Romans' difficulties in maintaining supply lines. Players can lose in a number of ways: if the Marcomanni break through into Italy the game immediately ends. Suddenly death also occurs if the player's Imperium Points (IP) drop into "usurpation." If all three tribes have not been defeated and pacified by 180CE the game also ends in a loss. The player wins by driving barbarians back into their home space and defeating them there. Once a tribe is defeated they must be kept pacified by building forts and keeping troops assigned to garrisons, or they may break their treaty and rejoin the fight (as happened historically). Final victory occurs if all three tribes have surrendered. The player's score takes into account the number of years that have elapsed, their IP level, and the number of off-map conflicts they have resolved.