ENGLISH RULES AND STUFF

Full Metal Planete - English rules and more for the excellent French board game Full Metal Planete		Super Xevious - English rules and more for the not-so-excellent Super Xevious by Namco

MY BOARD GAME COLLECTION

Well, not really a collection ... just a list of what I like and what I've bought. All the games are in the basement so hopefully this list prevents us from totally forgetting some game(s) and reminds us to play all of them as often as they deserve to be played :)

Arkham Horror
(121) Players:1-8 Time:180mins BGGrating:7.41171

The town of Arkham, Massachusetts is in a panic. Horrific and bizarre events have begun to occur with increasing frequency -- all seeming to point towards some cataclysmic event in the near future that may spell disaster for everyone. Only one small band of investigators can save Arkham from the Great Old Ones and destruction!"

Arkham Horror was originally published by Chaosium, Inc. almost two decades ago. This NEW, UPDATED edition features stunning new artwork and graphical design as well as REVISED and EXPANDED rules from the game's original creator, Richard Launius."
(from the FFG Fall 2004 catalog)

There will be 16 unique characters in the new edition, each with unique abilities and starting gear. This will include the original 8 characters (all updated with shiny new abilities) and 8 new characters.

The "Powers" in the old edition will be referred to now as "Ancient Ones" for consistency within FFG Call of Cthulhu products. They will work very differently from how they used to, and there will be 8 of them. The way they work in the new edition will be like having 8 different games in one box.

There will be no roll-and-move mechanic. In fact, several elements of the game will allow more decisions, using an innovative new system that . . . has [not] been seen in an adventure board game before.

The map itself is changing to appear more like the Arkham seen in Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu materials.

Arkham Horror - Curse of the Dark Pharaoh Expansion
(5946) Players:1-8 Time:180mins BGGrating:7.88417

Curse of the Dark Pharaoh is an expansion for Arkham Horror and has an Egyptian theme. A museum exhibit has come to Arkham and can either stay as a permanent part of the base game, or visit when you wish.

The expansion includes 166 new cards:
45 new Arkham location cards.
27 new gate cards.
21 new spells.
7 new allies.
4 Benefit and Detriment cards.
18 "Barred from neighborhood" cards.
22 New exhibit items, representing the ancient relics from Egypt

Arkham Horror - Dunwich Horror Expansion
(3955) Players:1-8 Time:120mins BGGrating:8.34805

An expansion for the FFG version of Arkham Horror.

Kevin Wilson, the designer, comments:

"The expansion is big. We had a lot of ideas we wanted to pack into it. There are around 330 cards, a small sub-board, a bunch of new monsters and such, 8 investigators, and 4 ancient ones. I don't want to go into too much detail this early, but the expansion will expand the location decks from 7 cards each to 14 cards each. Some encounters are repeated in the new set to keep from changing the odds of finding them, but the vast majority are new.

Also, the expansion will introduce mythos cards with "gate surges" on them. These work like normal gate openings except that they'll blow open a sealed gate, although the doom track does not advance when that happens. The more common a gate locations is in the mythos deck, the more gate surge cards it will have lurking in wait for it.

And yes, you'll be able to fight the Dunwich Horror. You won't want to, but if you let it sit around after it enters play, you'll be sorry...."

Bang!
(22821) Players:4-7 Time:30mins BGGrating:7.02957

From the back of the box: "The outlaws hunt the Sheriff. The Sheriff hunts the Outlaws. The Renegade plots secretly, ready to take one side or the other. Bullets fly. Who among the gunmen is a Deputy, ready to sacrifice himself for the Sheriff? And who is a merciless Outlaw, willing to kill him? If you want to find out, just draw (your cards)!".

Each player receives a random Role card among Sheriff (1x), Deputy (2x), Outlaw (3x) and Renegade (1x), which is kept secret, with the notable exception of the Sheriff-card which is immediately placed face up. The role distribution depends on the number of players. The Sheriff and up to two Deputies must kill the Renegade and all Outlaws in order to win the game. The (max 3) Outlaws must kill the Sheriff, but may earn rewards by killing each other. The lonely Renegade is simply trying to be the last one alive!
Each player receives also a random Character which is kept face up on table. The number of Bullets in the top right corner determines the number of shots it takes to kill him. Each character has a special ability, e.g. Lucky Duke may draw two cards instead of one and decide which to use every time he is required to "draw", any shot from Slab the Killer needs two Missed!-cards to be avoided, El Gringo may take a random card from any player who hits him, etc.
A player's turn is divided into 3 phases:
1. Draw 2 cards
2. Play any number of cards
3. Discard cards exceeding the hand limit
There are 22 different cards of which 17 has a blue border, indicating that the card stay in play until removed. The rest are discarded immediately after play.
BANG! is the most common type with 25 cards, and this is obviously used to take a shot at another player. Assuming the target is within range can a hit only be avoided by playing one of the 12 Missed!-cards.
Each player is automatically equipped with a Colt 45 with a range of 1, but better weapons are available: the Remington has a range of 3 and the Winchester can hit a target at range 5. Most weapons are kept on the table, but the Gattling is a deadly exception. It can only be used once, but targets all other players!
The "range" is simply the actual distance between players measured in "seats". So the players to your immediate left and right are at range 1, the next seats would be at range 2 and so forth. A couple of cards may change the range.
This information is kept on the cards in the form of easy to understand symbols, and 7 handy Summary cards provide easy guidance during the first game or two.
(edited from Mik Svellov)

Bausack
(21059) Players:1-10 Time:45mins BGGrating:7.08473

Players take turns choosing blocks and giving them to each other to place on their structure. A player may pay a certain number of 'beans' to refuse a block and it gets passed to the next player. When a player's structure falls, they are out of the game. Last player standing wins.

Description of Bandu (1992, Milton Bradley, 2-6 players):
Bandu is based upon the game of Bausack. Each player is given a base block and a number of beans. During a turn, a player chooses a wood block from a common supply and either holds a Refuse or Use auction. All player bid with their beans and the winner/loser must place the piece on their tower. If your tower falls you are out of the game. The last tower standing wins.

My version: Sac Noir

Block Mania
(15987) Players:2-2 Time:120mins BGGrating:6.31358

A game of tactical combat set in the Judge Dredd universe. Players take on the role of rival neighboring blocks. The residents of each block would like to destroy as much of their rival block as possible. Players control these residents as they use whatever they can to vandalize and destroy: spray paint, guns, flamethrowers and heavy lasers.

Block Mania: Mega Mania
(330) Players:3-4 Time:60mins BGGrating:6.59343

3-4 player expension for the 2 player game Block Mania

Carcassonne
() Players:2-5 Time:60mins BGGrating:7.60149

In this fairly light tile-laying offering, players pull a tile from the pool and then place it against one of the previously played tiles. If you create a new object (like a city, road or a monastery), then you can place one of your control markers on the tile to denote your control. Alternately, you can place your marker in the pasture on the tile as a farmer. Markers (called Followers by the publisher and called Meeples by us) cannot directly compete when placed, so to achieve some gains you must place your marker, then use later tiles to connect up to it.

As subsequent tiles are arrayed on the board, objects get bigger or even merge. Once certain objects are completed, like roads and cities, or the monastery is surrounded, then the control marker is returned to you and you score the points. However, farmers are not returned and will score points at the game end (there are several rules variations for the farmer scoring).

Therefore, it's possible to have all of your control markers locked on the board on incomplete objects, and not be able to convert them into farmers later in the game. You must balance the need to score points during the game, and the need to score farmer points at game end.

The goal is to have the most points at the end, which can be tricky to control considering your choice for each turn isn't the tile itself, but rather the placement of the tile that you drew. Think of a more strategic version of Metro's tile placement, with some of the scoring methods from El Caballero or even the Very Clever Pipe game.

The 2003 limited edition package contains the original Carcassonne game, as well as three expansions: "The River", "Inns & Cathedrals", and "Traders & Builders".

My version: Limited Edition (includes expansions)

Dune
(22172) Players:2-6 Time:120mins BGGrating:7.7485

Set thousands of years in the future, Dune the boardgame is based on the Frank Herbert novels about an arid planet at the heart of the human space empire's political machinations.

Designed by the creators at Eon of Cosmic Encounter fame, the game can best be described as Cosmic Encounter set within the Dune universe. It does diverge in several mechanical ways but its heart is still in the same place, that is, it is a game that generates a lot of player interaction through negotiation and bluffing.

Players each take the role of one of the factions attempting to control Dune. Each faction has special powers that overlook certain rules in the game. Each turn players move about the map attempting to pick up valuable spice while dealing with giant sandworms, deadly storms, and other players' military forces. A delicate political balance is formed amongst the factions to prevent any one side from becoming too strong. When a challenge is made in a territory, combat takes the form of hidden bids with additional treachery cards to further the uncertainty.

The game concludes when one faction (or two allied factions) is able to control a certain number of strongholds on the planet.

Frag
(20) Players:2-6 Time:30mins BGGrating:5.7448

Game starts. Enemy in sight . . . Frag him! Grab his stuff! Run! Get a bigger gun! Grab some armor! There he is again! Frag him! Whoa, there's another one. Run . . . you're hit! You're down. Respawn! Grab a weapon! Start again!

Frag is a computer game without a computer. It's a "first-person shooter" on a tabletop. Move your fighter and frag your foes; draw cards for weapons, armor, and gadgets; move through the blood spatters to restore your own health! If you die, you respawn and come back shooting!

Frag Deathmatch
(3326) Players:2-12 Time:45mins BGGrating:6.5

Coming hot on the heels of the Frag boardgame is Death Match. This first expansion set introduces rules for team play, and new board features like barrels, color-coded doors, and water. The Death Match map connects up with one of the maps in the original Frag to create a large playing surface for team games.

This new expansion set makes your Frag games bigger, wilder, and deadlier - let the Death Match begin!

Frag Fire Zone
(2025) Players:2-12 Time:45mins BGGrating:6.2573

Fire Zone thrusts Frag players into two deadly new arenas, where massive pools of boiling lava are as dangerous as the other players. This expansion also features new rules like rocket jumps, knockback effects from weapons, and jump pads.

FRAG Miniatures
(1231) Players:0-0 Time:0mins BGGrating:7.5

FRAG is a game that protrays the action and quick death of a First Person Shooter computer game on the gaming table. The game quickly grew with two expansions.


Finaly there is an expansion to take your FRAG game to the third dimentions. FRAG Miniatures is a box of 6 metal Minis for use with the FRAG game. Included in the box are special rules and varients for using the FRAG minis in your FRAG game.

Each seperate mini has their own special rules that change the game.

If you get two boxes you can use them to make two teams ((red and blue for instance)) for playing classic FPS games like Capture the Flag ((CtF)) or Team Deathmatch.

Full Metal Planete
(1098) Players:2-4 Time:90mins BGGrating:7.75153

In this game of science fiction strip mining, players land on a planet and try and grab as much ore as possible and take off before the game is over. Each player has tanks, boats, barges, mining equipment and a base ship at his disposal and will have to contend with the weather and the other miners. The game uses an action point allowance system and thus is dice free. Each player on his turn has a pool of points that he can divide in a variety of ways, putting all the points into one unit's movement or dividing them among several units. Each turn is timed so players have to think quickly, and once a move has been made it cannot be retracted. The game itself is beautifully put together, with a detailed hexgrid and real metal miniatures for all of the units.

My version: LOTS more fun with the (rare) expansion pack.

In excellent condition, with one extra Weather Hen (came with the PC version).

Full Metal Planete: Plateau Modulaire
(7529) Players:0-0 Time:120mins BGGrating:7.04545

You thought you knew all about Full Metal Planete? Thanks to these 19 modules made of rigid cardboard, positionable in an infinity of combinations, you will be able to compose and discover tens of thousands of unknown sectors of this mythical planet. You want a rather mountainous plateau, or a marsh? You prefer a large river, or a chaotic archipelago? It is up to you to decide. This box also contains additional rules as well as 19 elements of 37 hexagons.

My version: Absolutely mint, with French rules.

Judge Dredd
(5220) Players:2-6 Time:90mins BGGrating:6.122

(FROM THE BACK OF THE BOX) "Mega-City One, a vast metropolis of the 22nd century, where more than 800 million citizens live on a knife-edge of tension. Crime is a way of life for many, but one fact can be relied on - JUDGE DREDD is the law! He's the toughest lawman of them all. Whether the crime is littering or murder, no one escapes his justice. Now you can join JUDGE DREDD in this fast-action game of crime fighting in Mega-City One. You can arrest the Angel Gang, Judge Death, Orlok The Assassin and other notorious lawbreakers - but look out, they're tough, and sometimes you might need a robodoc to fix you up."

Players attempt to arrest perps within Mega-City One. Crimes and perps are randomly selected and players must combine action cards and their Judge's Combat Factors with die rolls in order to beat the perps. Victorious Judges take the perp and crime cards and keep them in-hand until the end of the game where totals are compared to determine the winner. Judges defeated in arrest attempts must spend time healing in the Intensive Card Unit.

Magic Realm
(6467) Players:1-16 Time:240mins BGGrating:6.96425

A major attempt by Avalon Hill to create a role playing game in board game format. Players move about on a hexagonal tiled world as they explore and fight monsters.

My version: 2nd edition

Space Crusade
(1541) Players:2-4 Time:120mins BGGrating:6.76897

SPACE CRUSADE is a cooperative effort between Milton Bradley UK and Games Workshop. It takes the role-playing elements from Milton Bradley's HEROQUEST and merges them with Game Workshop's dark vision of the future.

From the manual....

"One player must control the aliens. This player is called the ALIEN PLAYER. The other players control the three Commanders and their Space Marines. The players are called the MARINE PLAYERS.

Each game is a mission. The missions are detailed in the Mission Manual. The game starts with the Alien Player reading out one of the missions. A mapin in the Mission Manual then shows the Alien player how to setup the game boards and Docking boards. The Mission Manual also tell the Alien player how many, and which, Blip tokens he should take, as well as which Reinforcement tokens he may use."

Space Crusade - Eldar Attack
(7523) Players:2-4 Time:120mins BGGrating:6.6587

Expansion for Space Crusade which adds the Eldar, their leaders, and weaponry.

Space Crusade - Mission Dreadnought
(1568) Players:2-4 Time:120mins BGGrating:6.77867

Expansion for Space Crusade. Adds ultra-heavy weapons and more powerful Chaos Dreadnoughts.

Inspired by the factory siege during the Stalingrad battle of 1943

Star Trek Game
(22) Players:2-4 Time:60mins BGGrating:6.34783

Boardgame themed on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

From the box:

Join the crew of the Enterprise on their travels through space.

Set out from your home starbase, crossing from one starpath to another on your intergalactic voyage. Take part in their exciting missions seeking out unexplored stars.

As you hunt for secret Klingon outposts and investigate Black Holes, be on the alert for attacks from Hostile Aliens!

Complete three missions and head for your home starbase. The first starship commander to reach home wins this challenging space adventure game!

Super Xevious
(12493) Players:2-4 Time:60mins BGGrating:0

Boardgame based off the arcade shooter. Flying your ship about the levels (rolling the dice to move). Battle enemies on the ground by rolling dice, battle ones in the air via card combat. Build up your shields and power up your blaster as you progress through the levels. Each 'level' is a different board, and there's 7 levels (boards) in all. Cute little spaceships for your pieces.

Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition
(21395) Players:3-6 Time:240mins BGGrating:7.8869

From the fantasy flight home page:

The publication of Twilight Imperium Third Edition (TI3) is a historical publication in FFG.s history. Twilight Imperium First Edition was FFG's first game product, and through two popular editions it has garnered a massive audience across the world and the Twilight Imperium name has been a pillar of growth and recognition for FFG.

TI3 is an epic empire-building game of intersteller conflict, trade, and struggle for power. Players take the roles of ancient galactic civilizations, each seeking to sieze the imperial throne via warfare, diplomacy, and technological progression. With new oversize geomorphic board tiles, finely detailed plastic miniatures, hundreds of cards, and a massive plurality of options, TI3 will arrive before an audience that has been starving for epic space conflict since TI2 went out of print in the spring of 2003.

Shipping in a massive (12. x 24.) epic-size box, this new giant-size edition of TI feature more than 200 masterfully sculpted oversize plastic miniatures - the typical TI units (Ground Forces, Cruisers, Dreadnaughts, Carriers, Fighters, PDS, and Space Docks) as well as two new units (the massive War Sun and the Destroyer). TI3 contains new oversize board tiles, more than 400 cards, every known civilization of the Twilight Imperium universe, almost every expansion rule and component ever published for TI, a gorgeous graphical overhaul, and an impressive full-color rules set.

The TI gameplay has been refined and redone by original designer Christian T. Petersen. The new design features faster gameplay, and involves players in a far more active game experience with much less downtime. In addition, TI3 will include new Race Cards, as well as a dramatic new approach to the structure of the gameplay itself using the new "Command" system.

Twilight Imperium Third Edition is nothing short of a massive epic release, and is destined to become a classic for years to come. FFG has directed all its craft, talent, and energy into this massive production. Are you ready for another Age of Twilight?

Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition - Shattered Empire
(822) Players:3-8 Time:240mins BGGrating:9.01744

From the publishers website:

The first expansion for Twilight Imperium Third Edition features four completely new races (never before seen in any of the game's editions), each with its own schemes and talents. Variant sets of Strategy and Objective cards provide an exciting new game experience while introducing new galactic agendas. The expansion will also include two additional colors of plastic units, rules, and enough additional systems for an eight player game using a four ring around Mecatol Rex. This expansion is scheduled to hit stores in November.

My version: This expansion includes a new strategy cards, so no more worrying about the much debated 2 VP Imperial Strategy.