Vendor: Matagot
Type: Board Games
Price:
12.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Matagot |
Players | 2-5 |
Playtime | 30-30 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Vendor: Queen Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
66.95
Designer |
Rüdiger Dorn Mike Elliott Stefan Feld Dirk Henn Emanuele Ornella Louis-David Péloquin Michael Rieneck Marko Ruskowski Frank Sander Michael Schacht Stefan Schiltz Macel Süßelbeck Klaus-Jürgen Wrede |
Publisher | Queen Games |
Players | 2-6 |
Playtime | 45-60 mins |
Suggested Age | 8 and up |
Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Board Games
Price:
30.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | KOSMOS |
Players | 1-4 |
Playtime | 50 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Vendor: Ultra PRO
Type: Board Games
Price:
8.96
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Ultra PRO |
Players | 2-4 |
Playing Time | 30 mins |
Suggested Age | 8 and up |
Relive the epic adventures of Frodo Baggins and his hobbit companions in this easy-to-learn, dice-rolling game!
In Lord of the Rings: Journey to Mordor, Sauron threatens to push Middle-earth into eternal darkness in his desire for the One Ring. All hope lies on Frodo Baggins and his friends from the Shire. Your task: Bring the One Ring to Mordor, then destroy it in Mount Doom.
With each roll of the dice in The Lord of the Rings: Journey to Mordor, players make decisions and try to move their hobbits as quickly as possible to get to Mount Doom. Players must be bold enough to choose the right dice symbols and shake off the Nazgul.
Vendor: Queen Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
197.95
Designers |
Stefan Feld Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Queen Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playing Time | 75-120 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Vendor: R&R Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
35.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck |
Publisher |
R&R Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 30-35 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Vendor: Queen Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
29.95
Designer |
Stefan Feld Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Queen Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playing Time | 75 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Expansion For | Merlin |
Vendor: Queen Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
34.95
Designer |
Stefan Feld Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Queen Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 75 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Expansion For | Merlin |
Vendor: Queen Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
69.95
Designers |
Stefan Feld Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Queen Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 75 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Expansions |
Merlin: Arthur Expansion Merlin: Knights of the Round Table Merlin: Morgana Expansion |
Vendor: Lacerta
Type: Board Games
Price:
54.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Gryphon Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Honors |
Note: This game is in Polish. The game itself is language independent. English rules can be found here.
Welcome to Santiago, the second largest city in Cuba, home of legendary rum and birthplace of the revolution! The chaotic streets hum with the sounds of bustling crowds and busy commerce. Cargo ships constantly arrive and depart from the port. Demand is continuous, if unpredictable, for a supply of local products such as exotic fruits, sugar, rum, tobacco, and cigars.
In Santiago de Cuba, your business card says "broker", but in reality you're a shady wheeler-dealer who arranges deals with the locals and with corruptible officials to move goods and meet the demand of those ever-present cargo ships – and your ability to procure these goods is only as reliable as your "connections".
At the start of the game, nine locals – the Cubans – are randomly arranged on a path around Santiago, with the port being the tenth location on the circuit. Each Cuban has a different ability: e.g., give a player two tobacco, give a player a good of his choice, force opponents to give you something, give money or victory points (VPs), and seize a building or allow a player to use a previously seized building. What are these buildings? At the start of the game, twelve buildings are randomly placed on the game board in four color-coded groups (white, yellow, etc.) of three. As with the Cubans, these buildings give players a special ability when used: convert tobacco to cigars, change VPs to money or vica versa, increase the value of goods delivered to the ship, render a Cuban inactive for the next round, and so on.
Players will deliver goods to seven ships throughout the course of the game. The demand for each ship is determined via a die roll; the active player rolls five dice – one for each type of good – then chooses four of the values rolled to represent demand for goods of the same color as the die.
All players share a car and travel around the island together. On a turn, the active player can move the car to the next location on the path (whether Cuban or port) for free, or pay one peso for each spot moved beyond that. After taking a Cuban action, the player then must move his player piece to a building of the same color as the flower on that Cuban. If he takes an action in a building owned by someone else, that player earns 1 VP. (One Cuban allows a player to use the same building where his piece is currently located.)
If a player moves to port, players take turns delivering all goods of one type to the ship to meet demand, adjusting the demand dice as needed. A player earns 2-4 VP for each good delivered; a player doesn't have to deliver goods. If the ship's demand isn't met after everyone delivers or passes, the VP bounty per good is increased by one and the ship remains in place – unless the value was already at 4 VP, in which case the ship sails. In this case, or when all the demand is met, a new ship comes into port with new demand values.
After seven ships have sailed, the players earn 1 VP for every three goods still on hand, then tally their VPs. The player with the most VPs wins, with ties broken by goods remaining, then money.
Each game poses new tactical challenges for the players, thanks to ever-changing combinations of buildings, Cuban inhabitants and demand for goods.
Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Board Games
Price:
43.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | KOSMOS |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60-90 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Board Games
Price:
13.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | KOSMOS |
Players | 3-4 |
Playtime | 30 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Vendor: HUCH! & friends
Type: Board Games
Price:
36.95
Designer | Inka Brand, Markus Brand, Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | HUCH! & friends |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 45-60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Vendor: Fantasy Flight Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
13.59
Designer |
Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Fantasy Flight Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 20 mins |
Suggested Age | 8 and up |
Vendor: Mayfair Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
59.54
Vendor: Mayfair Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
34.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Mayfair Games |
Players | 3-6 |
Playtime | 20 mins |
Suggested Age | 8 and up |
Honors | 2012 Games Magazine Best New Family Game Winner |
The third game based on the German web cartoon "Nichtlustig" by Joscha Sauer.
It features the Mafia Lemming characters from the cartoon.
From the publisher's website:
"Real lemmings want to jump off the next cliff.
Members of the different lemming mafia families aren't any different.
Because in the game, there is not only one, but six members of the suicidal species, they make a contest out of it:
They all run to the lake and the first one who jumps in the lake wins.
And it wouldn't be a real race if you couldn't place bets on the result!
Each player has his favorite lemmings and tries to use the dice results to influence the race."
Vendor: Mayfair Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
29.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck Stefan Stadler |
Publisher | Mayfair Games |
Players | 2-6 |
Playtime | 120 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Expands | The Pillars of the Earth |
Note: This is not a standalone product and you'll need the base game The Pillars of the Earth to play.
With this expansion, new elements of the novel come into the play. The players can put mercenaries for the crusades at the disposal of the king, send their building masters to Toledo, or take over the office of the tax collector. And with the enclosed material, the game can be played with a fifth or sixth player.
Vendor: KOSMOS
Type: Board Games
Price:
56.95
Vendor: Rio Grande Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
22.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Rio Grande Games |
Players | 2 |
Playtime | 40 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Who is the best angler?
One player takes the role of the two anglers and tries to catch as many fish as possible. The other player takes the role of the fish and with bluff and skill tries to hinder the anglers from catching fish. The angler player decides where to fish, but must do so in the dark (that is, he cannot really see where the fish are), as the fish cards are placed face down. Because of this, he does not know whether he is catching a fish or garbage. Also, when he is lucky enough to catch a fish, he will not know until he lands it how valuable it is. With clever movement of his fish, the fish player tries to get garbage and small fish onto the anglers hooks.
After one game, the players switch roles. After two games, the player with the most points is the winner.
Gone Fishing! is part of the Kosmos two-player series.
Vendor: Pegasus Spiele
Type: Board Games
Price:
44.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Pegasus Spiele |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Even for the mightiest pirates there comes a time when they must retire from their lives of invading and plunder — but what's coming afterward? Well, on the five peninsulas of Grog Island, they can invest their loot in rock-solid businesses, such as peg-leg shops, carpentries for figureheads, workshops for voodoo dolls, or the infamous "Grog Hole" pub.
The core of Grog Island is its unique auction mechanism, which uses five colored dice. The players use these dice and the pips on them to create and raise bids. While the winner of an auction can claim buildings on certain peninsulas, the players who have passed are also rewarded: Not only do they receive goods like grog bottles or treasure maps but they also visit merchant ships where they can trade these goods for money, parrots or treasure chests. The auction mechanism of Grog Island makes for tactical and interesting gameplay as in certain moments, passing can be almost as rewarding as winning an auction. Finding the right balance between bidding and backing out is the key to winning.
The game ends as soon as one player has claimed a certain number of buildings, then all players score the secret goal cards they received both at the start of and during the game. These cards may give points for majorities on peninsulas as well as for claiming certain types of buildings or collecting certain goods. The player with the most points wins.
Vendor: Adlung-Spiele
Type: Board Games
Price:
13.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Adlung-Spiele |
Players | 3-5 |
Playtime | 45 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Honors |
Note: This game is Multi-languages including English
Palastgefluster translates literally as "Palace Whisperings"
"At the royal court, discontent prevails, the royal household is dissatisfied. The first intrigues are schemed: The marshall lets the treasurer in on his plans, and the lady's maid whispers secretly with the magician. At the worst, persons of equal rank huddle together. In this case, dark whisperings are in the air which the king will penalise with severe sentences. But loyal subjects will secure the King's favour and win the game."
Aim of the game:
Each player tries to play their cards so that each character exists only once in their display. If they do not succeed in doing so, all the others rise in the king's favor and will be rewarded. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins the game.
Vendor: Gryphon Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
31.95
Designer | Michael Rieneck |
Publisher | Gryphon Games |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Honors |
Welcome to Santiago, the second largest city in Cuba, home of legendary rum and birthplace of the revolution! The chaotic streets hum with the sounds of bustling crowds and busy commerce. Cargo ships constantly arrive and depart from the port. Demand is continuous, if unpredictable, for a supply of local products such as exotic fruits, sugar, rum, tobacco, and cigars.
In Santiago de Cuba, your business card says "broker", but in reality you're a shady wheeler-dealer who arranges deals with the locals and with corruptible officials to move goods and meet the demand of those ever-present cargo ships – and your ability to procure these goods is only as reliable as your "connections".
At the start of the game, nine locals – the Cubans – are randomly arranged on a path around Santiago, with the port being the tenth location on the circuit. Each Cuban has a different ability: e.g., give a player two tobacco, give a player a good of his choice, force opponents to give you something, give money or victory points (VPs), and seize a building or allow a player to use a previously seized building. What are these buildings? At the start of the game, twelve buildings are randomly placed on the game board in four color-coded groups (white, yellow, etc.) of three. As with the Cubans, these buildings give players a special ability when used: convert tobacco to cigars, change VPs to money or vica versa, increase the value of goods delivered to the ship, render a Cuban inactive for the next round, and so on.
Players will deliver goods to seven ships throughout the course of the game. The demand for each ship is determined via a die roll; the active player rolls five dice – one for each type of good – then chooses four of the values rolled to represent demand for goods of the same color as the die.
All players share a car and travel around the island together. On a turn, the active player can move the car to the next location on the path (whether Cuban or port) for free, or pay one peso for each spot moved beyond that. After taking a Cuban action, the player then must move his player piece to a building of the same color as the flower on that Cuban. If he takes an action in a building owned by someone else, that player earns 1 VP. (One Cuban allows a player to use the same building where his piece is currently located.)
If a player moves to port, players take turns delivering all goods of one type to the ship to meet demand, adjusting the demand dice as needed. A player earns 2-4 VP for each good delivered; a player doesn't have to deliver goods. If the ship's demand isn't met after everyone delivers or passes, the VP bounty per good is increased by one and the ship remains in place – unless the value was already at 4 VP, in which case the ship sails. In this case, or when all the demand is met, a new ship comes into port with new demand values.
After seven ships have sailed, the players earn 1 VP for every three goods still on hand, then tally their VPs. The player with the most VPs wins, with ties broken by goods remaining, then money.
Each game poses new tactical challenges for the players, thanks to ever-changing combinations of buildings, Cuban inhabitants and demand for goods.
Vendor: The Game Master BV
Type: Board Games
Price:
28.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck Stefan Stadler |
Publisher | The Game Master BV |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Fortuna is situated in the Roman Empire, during Caesar's reign.
The players are ambitious Romans striving for influence in the Roman Empire. While striving for power, happiness and wealth, they leave their own village and travel towards the City of Rome. The road to Rome is long and there are many ways to reach your life purpose. As a hardworking farmer you can work the land and grow large quantities of grain and wine. A clever farmer irrigates the land to improve the yield of his harvest. Trading your harvested goods for the best price may bring you the means to move up the ladder of the Roman hierarchy. When will you decide to move on and buy yourself an army of Centurions? Or will you choose the sacred way of Religion and serve the ruthless Roman Gods? Along the way, you will have the opportunity to find happiness and wealth in marriage. Will you take this chance to become happy or not? If you contribute well to the Roman Empire, you will grow in the favor of the Emperor and move further to Rome. Will the citizens of Rome welcome you jubilantly?
Coming nearer to Rome and the Emperor's Palace the tension in the game becomes higher. Which of the players has contributed most to the Empire? And which of the players has saved the city in times of crisis? Just when water and food supplies become exhausted or Centurions are needed to protect Rome against a hostile invasion, only the most prestigious Romans show their courage and value. The Emperor will reward this Roman with golden Fortuna coins, and the deeper the crisis, the richer the reward. When a player has reached the centre of Rome, only the player who has done most for the Emperor and the People of Rome will become Victorious.
Make sure to be in the City of Rome so you are able to take that triumphal march to Victory!
How to win the game?
The player with the highest number of Victory Points at the end of the game wins. The game ends when one player gets to the Center of Rome (the Palace of the Emperor), than this final round is completed. Scoring in the game is partly based on the number of steps you have made towards Rome = each step is one VP. The other Victory Points are scored by collecting the right combination of privilege cards and resources. The VP scored with the privately held privilege cards stays a secret till the end of the game when the total scoring is revealed.
Vendor: Rio Grande Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
54.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck Stefan Stadler |
Publisher | Rio Grande Games |
Players | 2-5 |
Playtime | 120 mins |
Suggested Age | 12 and up |
Expands | Cuba |
Vendor: Rio Grande Games
Type: Board Games
Price:
55.95
Designer |
Michael Rieneck Stefan Stadler |
Publisher | Rio Grande Games |
Players | 2-5 |
Playtime | 120 mins |
Suggested Age | 10 and up |
Honors | |
Expansion | Cuba: El Presidente |
Cuba prior to the revolution: Under turbulent circumstances, the villages of the island strive for independent wealth and influence. Who can buy and sell his products and goods on the domestic market profitably or take in the most on the trading ships? Who can send the right delegate to parliament in order to influence the government legislative process, or erect distilleries, hotels and banks at the right moment to the benefit of his village?
Whoever has accumulated the most victory points in Cuba by the end of the game wins. Players earn victory points by shipping merchandise from the harbor, but also by erecting and using buildings, and by abiding by the law.