New Game Arrivals: Apr 25th - 28th

Arriving to the store are these two great games that couldn't be more diverse in FUN.  One, a highly interactive hilarious game and the other a fierce sci-fi war game with incredible components.

Donkey...It's A Kick!
From: Cleveland Kids

Donkey...It's A Kick! is the game that's as much fun to lose as it is to win.  This unpredictable card game will have you saving for 4 of a kind one round and building a barn out of your cards the next.  Be the first player to master whatever crazy challenge comes your way and quickly grab a Donkey Puck...but watch out for the Kicker!  Nothing is as easy as it sounds.  You may be slapping your fellow players with a "High Five" one minute and plotting revenge against them the next.  The fun multiples when players start losing and become Donkeys.  Donkeys stay in the game with only one purpose:  To get the rest of the players out!  Win the game by outwitting your opponents, dodging the Donkeys, and being the last player standing.

~AND~

Nexus Ops
From: Fantasy Flight

The race to control the Rubium begins!

Nexus Ops is a board game of fierce sci-fi battles and fantastic alien creatures in which players control factions of corporate troops and indigenous life forms on an alien moon.  Players deploy troops from their home bases as they explore the moon, mine resources, purchase troops, win battles, and fulfill missions to win the game.

The game board setup is comprised of single-hex and double-hex tiles allowing for many different configurations and provides a unique battlefield for every play.  The awesome alien creature minatures make this game even more "off the charts"!

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: Steam

Name Steam

Byline Rails To Riches

Mechanics Auction Bidding, Network Building, Tile Placement, Pick-up & Delivery

Theme Economic, Railroad

Publication Mayfair Games, 2009

Ages 12+

Time 120

Players 3 - 5

Description

Mayfair game overview:

In Steam players build railroads and deliver goods along an ever-changing network of tracks and stations.  Players build the tracks, upgrade towns, improve towns, improve their train, and grab the right goods to make the longest, most profitable deliveries.  Score your deliveries and add to your income or victory points, balancing your need to invest against your quest to win the game.

Steam contains a beautiful, double-sided game board.  The map on each side depicts terrain, towns, and cities at the start of the railway age.  The map of the northeastern USA and neighboring Canada is ideal for 3  to 4 players.  Use the map of Europe’s lower Rhine and Ruhr region when playing a 4- or 5-player game.

Steam is a game designed by Martin Wallace.


At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: London

Name London

Byline Rebuild the City After the Fire of 1666

 Mechanics Card Drafting, Hand Management, Area Control/Influence

Theme Economic, London

Publication Mayfair Games, 2010

Ages 12+

Time 90

Players 2 - 4

Description

Mayfair’s game overview:

London start just after the Great Fire of London and ends with the advent of the 20^th century.  In the game you will be responsible for running part of the city.  You must balance finance with grandeur, with your achievements being measured in victory points.  However, you must be careful not to let rising poverty swamp your efforts.

London is very much a card game.  The cards are divided into three decks to create a sense of historical development.  You will create a sense of historical development.  You will create a Building Display, a line of cards laid out in front of your position at the table.  The cards in your display will give you various benefits, such as money, victory points, and reduced poverty.  The majority of cards will only have an effect when you decide to run your city.

Money is important, in that you need it to pay for some cards and to buy land.  How much money you make depends on what cards you have on your Building Display when you run your city.  If you do not have enough money you can always take a loan.
Buying land allows you to gain more cards and to reduce the impact of poverty.  The board is divided into areas which are referred to as ‘boroughs’.  Each borough has a purchase cost, the number of cards you then pick up, and how many victory points you score at the end of the game.  Where you buy land can be significant, as the effect of some cards depends on which borough you own.

Poverty is a big issue.  Generally you increase your poverty when you run your city.  You can reduce your poverty through having certain cards on your Building Display.
The game will end when the deck has been exhausted.  You now count up your victory points.  These are gained from the boroughs you have building counters in, the cards played on to your Building Display and money in hand.  You will lose victory points if you have any poverty points and/or outstanding loans.

London is another game created and designed by Martin Wallace.


At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: Age of Industry

Name Age of Industry

Byline A Pure Business Game

Mechanics Card Drafting, Hand Management, Network Building

Theme Industrial Revolution

Publication Mayfair Games, 2010

Ages 13+

Time 120

Players 2 - 5

Description

Age of Industry is a business game designed by Martin Wallace and is set during the 19^th century, when many countries around the world were experiencing their own particular industrial revolution.  Your aim is to make money, which you do by creating new industries.  There are six industry types in Age of Industry; cotton mills, factories, coal mines, iron works, parts and ships.  You also have a number of railway counters.  When you build an industry you must take the counter with the lowest technology level from your display.  As you build industries higher level technology counters become available.

To earn money you must first build industry counters and then contrive to have them flipped, which will earn you profit.  Building an industry counter requires the play of a card, the expenditure of money, and possibly coal and/or iron.  The card you play will either determine the type of industry you can build or which location you can build in.  When counters flip depends on the type of industry.  Cotton Mills and Manufacturing counters are flipped when they sell their goods via ports and/or market counters.  Parts are flipped when something is sold via them.  Coal mines and iron works are flipped when all the cubes on them are removed. And, ships are flipped when the two connected spaces are used up.

As well as building industries, you can build railways.  Railways are required for the movement of coal and iron, and allow goods to be sold to ports and markets.  Building your own railways increases the number of potential locations you can build in.  Railways will also earn you money but only at the end of the game.

The game ends when the deck of cards is exhausted.  You then earn money for railways, pay off any loans, and score points for the money you have left and the buildings you have on the board.  The player with the most points wins.  The board is double sided giving you two options of play.  One side is a map of Germany and the other side is New England.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: Automobile

Name Automobile
Byline Any Color You Like... As Long As It's Black!

 Mechanics Commodity Speculation

Theme Economic, Auto Industry

Publication Mayfair Games, 2009

Ages 13+

Time 120 - 150

Players 3 - 5

Description

Automobile is a Martin Wallace game with a beautiful board and high quality components.  Automobile carries you back to the birth of America's car industry, when inventors, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs created a wild array of marvels and misfortunes.

Players select one of six pioneers from the industry, such as Henry Ford or Walter Chrysler to help them along in each of the four rounds.  Players must build factories in order to produce the three general market classes of autos; mass market, middle-class, and premium-class.  Accumulating Research & Development cubes will be necessary in order to build new factories that in turn will produce newer makes of cars.  As new factories are built, older ones will need to be closed because, as in real life they become costly to maintain.  Adding a parts factory will reduce your auto production costs.  Additionally, there is a supply and demand factor.  Players must balance the number of auto’s they produce with the changing demand within each market segment.  Produce too many and you’ll incur loss cubes that cost you money.

Now that you’ve produced fleets of cars, the question is can you sell them all?  There are several methods available to make the sales, but the number of sales per method is limited.  Some limits are obvious while other limits are not so clear until after the autos are built.  Executive decisions allow players to get advertisement markers and discount markers.  Advertising increases your car sales.  Discounting increases your sales, but reduces the income from those sales.

As in any good economic board game the player with the most assets at the end wins.  Money management is critical at every step in the process.  Strike the best balance, shift the right gears to best your rivals, and you'll be rich. Now, roll up your sleeves and start making cars!

From the publisher, Mayfair Games, here is "Glover's" game overview.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Goes "Off The Charts": Set Cubed

Monday was a glorious day for a game of Set Cubed up on Dog Mountain.

Playing Set Cubed was a great way to relax after the hike up to the top.

Set Cubed
From: Set Enterprises

Set Cubed is a game where players connect their dice with those already on the board.  Play up to three dice per turn making as many SET's as possible.  Rack up the points by using bonus squares.

The views of the Gorge were awesome .




At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Earth Day Goes Eco Fluxx

This is what we did today in celebration of Earth Day:

Planted a Tree

and

Eco Fluxx
Looney Labs

A game of Eco Fluxx at Gresham City Park

How did you spend Earth Day?

Fluxx is simply a fun family card game.  Come in and see all the themes it comes in.


At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

This Just In: Intrigue Promo Card

Exciting news we have Intrigue promo cards for Lords of Waterdeep!
This Intrigue card is an Attack card.  After inflicting the specified harm on your opponent you then give the card to that player. -- ooh that could really hurt.

Inevitable Betrayal Promo Card
Lords of Waterdeep
From: Wizards of the Coast

Receive free an Intrigue - Inevitable Betrayal promo card with the purchase of Lords of Waterdeep.

Lords of Waterdeep
From: Wizards of the Coast

Lords of Waterdeep is from the designers of Dungeons and Dragons and is a fast-paced game of constantly changing fortunes, where players take on the role of a Lord of Waterdeep.  Through their agents, they recruit Adventurers and send them on quests designed to win favor and spread their influence throughout the city.  Expand your treasury, purchase buildings, assign agents - choose your actions wisely and you can become the supreme Lord of Waterdeep!

Catch this game overview:

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

News Flash: Settlers of Catan Featured Game on Geek & Sundry's 2nd Episode of Table Top

In case you don't already know from our previous posting, there is a new YouTube series hosted by Star Trek's Wil Wheaton called Table Top. It is a weekly feature on Felicia Day's Channel Geek and Sundry. Below is the 2nd episode as well as the description.

Wil Wheaton and guests, Jane Espenson (Writer & Producer-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Caprica, BSG, Game of Thrones), James Kyson (Actor - Heros, & Hawaii 5-0), and Neil Grayston (Actor - Eureka) play Settlers of Catan!

Settlers of Catan  has been a popular strategy game within our family for the past 15 years.  Our favorite way to play is to add the Seafarers Expansion, randomize the tiles, randomize the numbers, and make it a 6-player game.  For those who like a more aggressive game we recommend the Cities and Knights Expansion.

We have Setttlers of Catan as well as the Expansions and the 5-6 player Extensions available in store and on the shelf.


At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: Lords of Waterdeep

Name Lords of Waterdeep

Byline Gold and Double-Dealing Flow Freely in the City of Splendors

Mechanics Quests, Worker Placement

Theme Medieval & Fantasy

Publication Wizards of the Coast , 2012

Ages 12+

Time 60

Players 2 - 5

Description

The Lords of Waterdeep is a new strategy Euro game from the world of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).  This game is not the typical dungeon crawl that you find in D&D’s other games (i.e Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Legend of Drizzt).  The basis of Lords of Waterdeep is the completion of quests through city building and worker placements.

Players score victory points for completing a series of quests.  Quests are completed by using four types of adventurers: Clerics, Fighters, Rogues, and Wizards.  Completion of quests brings rewards along with victory points.  Adventurers are gained through the use of buildings put into play within the city of Waterdeep. Agents are the workers in this worker placement game. They can be placed in any of the basic buildings or in any of the advanced buildings that have been constructed by any of the players.  The various can grant adventurers, additional quests, and Intrigue cards. Intrigue cards are one of three types: 1) Attack cards that hinder or penalize your opponent, 2) Utility cards that do something beneficial like grant resources, and 3) Mandatory Quest cards that can force opponents to complete a minor quest before finishing other quests.   A game of Lords of Waterdeep last eight rounds.  The player with the most victory points wins.  Each player will receive a Lord Card at the start of the game.  Each Lord card grants end-of game bonus victory points for meeting certain conditions.

In summary, this is a game with many levels of strategy.  Place your agents in any one of nine basic buildings that are available every game or in any one of the twenty four unique advanced buildings that can be constructed.  Collect the right mix of adventurers to complete as many of the sixty quests as possible.  Use the buildings you control and your intrigue cards to hold back your opponents and advance you own points for completed quests and your secret agenda from your secret Lord card.  Happy questing.


Here is a game play video from Wizards of the Coast

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

News From Game Trade Magazine

Today we received our latest issue of Game Trade Magazine.  It looks like summer will be an interesting time at Off The Charts Games.

Game Trade Magazine 
Issue # 147

Here are a few of the board games that will be available from our distributors in June and July:

Sky Traders
Fantasy Flight Games

Sky Traders is a game of adventure, commerce and intrigue!  Evade ruthless Wind Pirates and manipulate the commodities market.  Trade your way to fame and fortune.

Pirates of Nassau
Gung Ho Games

Pirates of Nassau allows players to be a pirate operating fro the infamous Port of Nassau.  Capture and plunder the merchant ships that ply the nearby trade routes and us your ill-gotten gains to improve your ship and hire a motley crew of buccaneers.

Risk: StarCraft
USAopoly

Risk: StarCraft will see players choose from the terran, protoss, or zeng factions and six unique heroes before going head-to-head in this board game classic.

Battle Beyond Space
Z-Man Games

In Battle Beyond Space players discover a signal from an ancient race.  It is their only known working technology.  Now four different fleets answer the siren's call, intent on claiming the artifact for themselves. - at all costs.

Our Game Trade Magazine will be out and available for you to peruse.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

Expanding The Game Library: aMAZEing Labyrinth

The aMAZEing Labyrinth
From: Ravensburger

We've just added a copy of The aMAZEing Labyrinth game to our Game Library. This is truly a fun little game. Even though the game is designed for the younger set, Lynn and I found it to be both interesting and entertaining.  The object of the game is to collect treasures.  However, your pawn can get moved as the paths are changed.   It can be a real challenge to line up the paths to get to your treasures.




Coming Soon to our Game Library are:

Automobile
From: Mayfair Games

~AND~

Dragon Valley
From: Diamond K Games

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

More Game Arrivals

Check out these cool games that just arrived:

Cyclades
From: Matagot (Asmodee)

Dive into the Greece of the Mythical Ages and discover Cyclades, a game of strategy with exceptional game materials.
Players strive to control Metropolises with the aid of Greek Gods and Mythical Creatures.

~And on the Lighter Side~

Hike
From: Mooseache Games

Hike is the perfect card game for your next camping trip.

There are seven suits of cards in the deck (tree, bird, bug, hiker,etc) plus some specialty cards.  Each suited card has three additional suits indicated at the bottom that dictate which suits can be played by the next player.  Use the specialty cards to create twists and turns in the game. The objective is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. The player who gets rid of all of their cards scores points based on the number of unplayed cards remaining in the other players' hands.  So, brave the elements, blaze the trail, but watch out for avalanches, getting lost and finding poop.

Come in and see us for fun games.


At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

Game Profile: Cyclades

Name Cyclades

Byline Dive into the Greece of the Mythical Ages and discover Cyclades

Mechanics Area Control, Auction Bidding, Dice Rolling

Theme Greek Mythology

Publication Matagot/Asmodee, 2009

Ages 13+

Time 60 - 90

Players 2 - 5

Description

From Matagot’s XL Collection and the duo Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc (Mr. Jack and DiceTown) comes Cyclades.  

Set sail for the Cyclades in the heart of Ancient Greece. With the blessing of the gods of Olympus, and support of fabulous mythological creatures, recruit troops, build ships, erect fortresses and ports, build Metropolises. The struggle to shine your city will be terrible!

Cyclades is a strategy game where players strive to control two Metropolises in order to win.  The game board represents the Islands that make up the Cyclades archipelago. On each turn players will bid for the right to use one of five available Greek Gods.  Each God grants their own special power including the right to summon Mythical creatures to help the controlling player.  During the action phase, players will be able to recruit fleets, troops, priests, and philosophers.  They will also be able to build buildings of various types.  Buildings and philosophers are used to develop Metropolises that are necessary to win.  Fleets and troops are used not only for defenses but to attack and conquer an opponent’s holdings including their Metropolis.  Why build, when you may find it easier to attack and conquer.  Priests give players the ability to manage their gold better during the auction phase.  The player who bids well, manages their gold, and uses the Gods and Creatures best will control two Metropolises and gain victory as the supreme leader of the Cyclades.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game

Game Profile: Dice Town

Name Dice Town

Byline Welcome to Dice Town, the City of Luck and Prosperity!

Mechanics Dice Rolling, Set Collection, Simultaneous Action Selection

Theme Wild West

Publication Matagot/Asmodee, 2009

Ages 13+

Time 30 - 45

Players 2 - 5

Description

Travel to this Wild West town ruled by the roll of the dice.  In Dice Town, each player has five poker dice, a dice cup and some money. Simultaneously, players shake their dice in their cups.  The cups are flipped over towards the table keeping the dice hidden.  Players then select which dice to keep, reveal them and set them aside.  Continue rolling the remaining dice until each player has built a poker hand with their five dice.  On each roll a player may keep one die at no cost and must pay $1.00 for each additional die kept.  When all players have completed their poker hands, it is time to go into town (the game board) and take action at each of the seven locations.  The Gold Mine yields valuable nuggets, while the Bank can be robbed of cash.  Go to the General Store and steal special action cards or victory point valued equipment cards.  In the Saloon, you win the favor of the Girls and use their charms to steal from one of your opponents.  As the Sheriff with a reputation for taking bribes, you decide any tie breakers.  The player with the best poker hand gets control of the mayor and the Town Hall.  Here you are awarded a property claim and possibly some additional claims if your hand contains Aces.  If by chance your poker hand is unlucky and does not take you to one of the profitable town locations, you may go and visit Doc Badluck and gain a little consolation.

The game goes as many rounds as it takes to either exhaust all of the gold nuggets from the Gold Mine or all of the property claims from the Town Hall.  Victory points are awarded for gold nuggets, money, General Store equipment cards, and property claims.  The player with the most points wins.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game