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Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen

2022-07-04T07:05:17-04:00

Vendor: Gale Force Nine
Type: Board Games
Price: 22.95

Designer	Bill Eberle Jack Kittredge Peter Olotka Greg Olotka Jack Reda
Publisher	Gale Force Nine, LLC
Players	2-4
Playtime	60-90 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Additional Info	358263/arrakis-dawn-fremen http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/358263/arrakis-dawn-fremen/forums/63

Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen is a brutal, cutthroat game about tribal control of Arrakis, more than a hundred generations before the Atreides come to Arrakis.

In the game, you control a tribe of Fremen warriors who are struggling to gather the scarce resources of Arrakis, develop the weapons and sietches you need to survive, and harness the power of sandworms for battle. Gameplay is split into three sections:

Harj — the final part of the game set-up in which players jockey for position
Initiation Cycle — the first cycle of the game, with a few restrictions to ease into gameplay
Cycles — each cycle is split into several phases, with cycles continuing until the game is won

You can conquer Arrakis two ways, by controlling the winning number of sietches at the end of the action phase or by unanimous decision of the council when all players agree that you cannot be prevented from winning...

—description from the publisher

Dune: CHOAM & Richese

2021-12-27T09:07:45-05:00

Vendor: Gale Force Nine
Type: Board Games
Price: 24.95

Designer	Bill Eberle Jack Kittredge Peter Olotka Greg Olotka Jack Reda
Publisher	Gale Force Nine, LLC
Players	3-6
Playtime	120 mins
Suggested Age	45 and up
Expansion For	Dune
Additional Info	346083/dune-choam-richese http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/346083/dune-choam-richese/forums/63

This expansion adds two new factions, the CHOAM and the Richese, to the Dune boardgame, along with 2 new variants.

The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles or CHOAM controlled much of the economic affairs across the cosmos, and had a keen interest in Arrakis above and beyond spice production. Because of its control of inter-planetary commerce, CHOAM was the largest single source of wealth in the Imperium. Influence in CHOAM was a major focus of political maneuvering in the Imperium, both to maximize dividends and also to skim profits. The leaders and bureaucrats of CHOAM were dedicated to controlling vital products that enriched the Great Houses . . . and CHOAM itself.

House Richese, just like the Ixians, had a well-earned reputation for ingenuity, and created important technological inventions. But Count Ilban Richese suffered a number of business blunders that threatened to bankrupt their fortunes. After being ousted from governing Arrakis, they were reduced to selling off important creations simply to raise enough funds to continue their efforts to compete.

This expansion also introduces Leader Skills, which let you assign a skill like Mentat, Swordmaster of Ginaz, or Prana Bindu Adept to one of your leader discs. It also included Advanced Stronghold Cards, which give you a "homefield advantage" when battling in a stronghold you control.

—description from the publisher

Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy

2021-07-15T12:05:32-04:00

Vendor: Gale Force Nine
Type: Board Games
Price: 46.95

Designer	Bill Eberle Jack Kittredge Peter Olotka Greg Olotka Jack Reda
Publisher	Gale Force Nine, LLC
Players	2-4
Suggested Age	12 and up
Additional Info	341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy/forums/63

Take part in one of the most famous science-fiction stories of all time. Dune, A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy builds on 40 years of development, refinement, and evolution from the original classic game. It has the same beloved DNA, flavor, tension, and themes, but with new game-board design, more spice, new streamlined rules, and a new market deck from which you can purchase game advantages. Also, the brand new two-player mode really opens up new gaming opportunities, all making the game more accessible for even the most casual gamer.

In Dune, you will take control of one of the four great factions—House Atreides, House Harkonnen, the Fremen, and the Imperium—all vying to control the most valuable resource in the universe: melange, the mysterious spice only found at great cost the planet Dune. Ship your forces to Dune, harvest spice, seize control of strongholds, and destroy your enemies. Who will control Dune? You decide!

The game is played multiple phases, some of which don't have player specific actions, like in the Spice phase, a Spice Blow card is drawn and spice is added to the board in two territories, or else a Sandworm attacks that last two territories where spice was placed. But on the card phase, each player draws up to a hand of 4 Battle cards, and then may purchase Market cards up to a hand of 3 for 2 spice each. On the Shipping and Movement Phase, players take turns adding forces to the board and then moving forces on the board. Each player's faction has

The game plays 3 to 5 Rounds. Starting on Round 3, the game can end if a player occupies 3 strongholds at the end of the Round. If no one occupies 3 strongholds at the end of Round 5, then the player with the most spice wins (and each stronghold they occupy counts as 5 spice).

Decipher

2020-09-14T11:08:49-04:00

Vendor: HeidelBÄR Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 0.00

Designer	Bill Eberle Peter Olotka Greg Olotka
Publisher	HeidelBÄR Games
Players	2-4
Suggested Age	10 and up
Additional Info	285570/decipher http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/285570/decipher/forums/63

This game is all about thinking up clever words that will be hard to decipher and cleverly combining letter pieces to guess secret words.

Decipher is a different kind of word game for 2–4 players. Players use four differently-shaped letter pieces to create and solve word puzzles. In each round, a different player builds a secret word puzzle. The others know only which letter pieces are in the secret word and gather clues and points by asking about where letter pieces go. Can you decipher the the secret word?

The Letter Piece Game system is a special way to build letters from four different basic shapes. The idea for the Letter Piece Game™ system comes from the game designers of Wordsmith — Bill Eberle, Greg Olotka, Peter Olotka, and Jack Kittredge — whose credits include Cosmic Encounter, Dune, Hoax, and more.

Decipher includes the same playful semi-transparent colored plastic letter pieces found in Wordsmith. A special plastic insert turns the game box into a game component.

—description from the publisher

Dune: Ixians & Tleilaxu

2020-04-22T22:25:04-04:00

Vendor: Gale Force Nine
Type: Board Games
Price: 11.95

Designers	Bill Eberle Jack Kittredge Peter Olotka Greg Olotka Jack Reda
Publisher	Gale Force Nine, LLC
Players	2-6
Expansion For	Dune
Accessories	Folded Space - Dune and Ixians & Tleilaxu Expansion Laserox - Dune Organizer
Additional Info	296579/dune-ixians-tleilaxu http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296579/dune-ixians-tleilaxu/forums/63

This expansion adds two new houses, the Ixians and the Tleilaxu, to the Dune boardgame.

Theilaxu: Led by a small council of Tleilaxu Masters - the fanatic, xenophonbic Tleilaxu were tolerated because of their useful genetic engineering superiority. Although underestimated and loathed by others, they hoped to someday dominate all.

Ixian: The cyborg, Prince Rhombur of House Vernius, leads the Ixians, masters of manufacturing and technologies only they know how to deploy.

Both the Ixians and the Tleilaxu are integral to the economy of CHOAM and the Imperium. The royal family of Ix had once been one of the wealthiest in the Imperium. Because of a successful invasion of Ix by the Tleilaxu and the Emperor’s Sardaukar, and then, after many years, the liberation of Ix by Ixian and Atreides forces, the Ixians and the Tleilaxu are mortal enemies.

This expansion also introduces new game mechanics to help you gain advantages over your rivals.

—description from the publisher

Cosmic Encounter Duel

2020-04-22T22:24:31-04:00

Vendor: Fantasy Flight Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 47.95

Designers	Frank Brooks Bill Eberle Peter Olotka Greg Olotka
Publisher	Fantasy Flight Games
Players	2
Playtime	30 mins
Suggested Age	14 and up
Accessories	Cosmic Encounter Duel Gamemat
Additional Info	298572/cosmic-encounter-duel http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/298572/cosmic-encounter-duel/forums/63

The Cosmic Citizenship Council has announced it will allow two new alien species to join its ranks, but they forgot to make two copies of the filing form — which means that only one species can join! Now, the two candidates must battle for control of the planets to determine who deserves the right to become a Certified Civilization.

Cosmic Encounter Duel is a competitive standalone two-player game in the Cosmic Encounter universe in which you and your closest frenemy race to be the first to control five planets. Each of twenty-seven alien species comes equipped with its own unique abilities that play with the game mechanisms in some way, offering you an edge in the fight, e.g., the Cheater, who can reserve an additional tactic that they can put toward any fight in the game — as long as their opponent doesn't call out how they're trying to "cheat". How your game of Cosmic Encounter Duel plays out will inevitably be affected by which powers each dueling species has and how they play off of one another.

In addition to your unique species and its ability, you have twenty spaceships to traverse the cosmos and maintain control over the five planets you need to become a Certified Civilization. As long as you have a ship on a planet, you have control of it, even if your opponent also has ships there and you must share control. You can deploy these ships to fight in duels, use them to act as reinforcements, or draw them back for a tactful retreat. Just don't lose them to the Warp or let them be claimed by the black void between the stars and end up lost in space forever!

To play, players draw and resolve Destiny cards, which come in three types: Discovery cards, Event cards, and Refresh cards. Discovery cards have you and your opponent discover a planet and duel for control, while Event cards ask you both to test your mettle against a variety of challenges and cosmic calamities, and Refresh cards offer a respite in which you can recover ships, gather allies, and ultimately prepare for another clash.

At the start of a duel, you and your opponent secretly decide how many ships to send to the planet, and once they have been deployed, you can call upon any befriended envoys. To plan your attack, you secretly choose a card from your hand and a standing tactic from your collection to either guard your ships or blast your opponent's ships, then you fight, sending ships to face-off for control of the planet until the winner claims their prize while the loser retreats. After you and your opponent resolve a Destiny card, you check the icon on the bottom of the card to determine which deck to draw from next, then the race continues.

—description from the publisher

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne

2016-08-27T01:01:00-04:00

Vendor: Fantasy Flight Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 56.94

Designer	Bill Eberle Justin Kemppainen Peter Olotka Kevin Wilson
Publisher	Fantasy Flight Games
Players	3-5
Playtime	30-60 mins
Suggested Age	18 and up
Reimplements	Cosmic Encounter
Expansion	Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne – The Wars to Come
Additional Info	204837/game-thrones-iron-throne https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204837/game-thrones-iron-throne/forums/63

Description from the publisher:

In Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne, which uses the game systems from Cosmic Encounter, you and your friends each command one of the Great Houses of Westeros, pitting iconic characters against each other in epic battles and schemes. Negotiate, bluff, forge alliances, threaten your rivals — use every tool at your disposal to spread your influence, establish supremacy, and claim the ultimate prize: the Iron Throne!

In more detail, each turn centers around the resolution of an encounter between two players. These encounters can result in hostilities, startling conquests, and the spread of influence, or they can result in the formation of temporary alliances. And though only two players in any encounter will be the "active" players, your friends might offer you their support — or turn around and offer it to someone else.

The encounters of The Iron Throne resolve quickly, but they are full of opportunities for cunning strategy, devious intrigues, and brokered alliances. Each features a challenger and a defender, and after these players assign characters to resolve the encounter on the behalf of their Houses, other players may offer their support to either side. In this way, an encounter that starts as a contest between the Lannisters and the Starks may escalate and draw in the support of the Tyrells or other Houses.

However, there's more to the encounters of The Iron Throne than this initial jostling for power, even with all the alliances and betrayals it can entail. There are still schemes within schemes, and the bluffs, negotiations, and hidden information that color these encounters as the active players discuss the House cards they intend to play. Of course, there's a very good chance that one or both of them may be lying, but they can offer and even agree to a truce. Or they can bid cards from their hands, hoping to win hostilities with the higher total power.

In the event of a truce, the active players discuss what they may give each other in order to maintain the peace. In the event of hostilities, however, one side will win, and the other will suffer. You might seize influence or take hostages, or you may even have your characters put to the sword.

Win enough of these encounters, though — and find the right ones to lose — and you might find yourself in position to seize the Iron Throne. The goal of the game is to spread five of your influence to your opponents' House cards and take the crown for yourself.