August 2011 New Specialty Toys — Board Games

The Aggravation Game Board is a 20" Hexagon, made of solid Black Walnut, with the addition of (24) Inlaid Birch Pegged Spots, and with a beautiful wood grain enhanced by a non-toxic hand rubbed natural oil finish. The set includes: (24) 25mm (1") dia. solid opaque glass marbles of which there are (4) each of (6) different colors, plus (6) colored Dice to match the (6) sets of colors of the glass marbles. Plus instructions along with a velour pouch with a double drawstring. "The game board is designed to be able to set out permanently on display as a decorative piece when not being played with. This type of setting invites family participation more often. The family that plays together enjoys life a lot more," Charles H. W. Hall, owner of Charlie's Woodshop, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Elder Sign lets players control investigators who must successfully endure adventures within the museum in order to gather clues, items, and the eldritch knowledge they need to seal the rifts between dimensions and prevent the Ancient One’s arrival. A clever and thematic dice mechanic pits their exploration against monsters and the sheer difficulty of staying sane and healthy while investigating the most dangerous exhibits and most terrifying instances of insanity. Elder Sign recreates the Lovecraftian thrills of eerie suspense and mind-numbing horrors in a cooperative game players can finish in one to two hours. Rules, card text, and innovative dice mechanics expertly designed by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, the designers of Arkham Horror, all blend in a game that’s quick to learn, quick to play, strategic enough to reward frequent replay, and eccentric enough to immerse players in the museum’s supernatural intrigue. "For those who love Arkham Horror, Elder Sign provides faster gameplay with an easier-to-understand mechanic. Dice add a bit of chance to the fun of it all, and the horror theme brings a bit of spookiness," Molly Glover, sales associate at Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2011.

Shards of the Throne is an epic expansion for Twilight Imperium, adding new races, new units, and many new options to create a power struggle in the far reaches of the galaxy. Mercenaries, Mechanized Units, and all-new Flagship units give players more options for customizing their fleets and Ground Forces, while the Political Intrigue option will crank up the agendas and espionage of the political phase. Also adding Race-Specific Technologies, alternate Strategy Cards, new System Tiles, Space Domains, and an all-new scenario that puts one player in control of the legendary Lazax Empire, Shards of the Throne creates a completely new way to wage galactic conquests. "There are no other games like Twilight Imperium. It's a fascinating game of interstellar diplomacy and strategy that captures the imagination from the first turn," Molly Glover, sales associate at Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.

In the second edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, three to six players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as they vie for control of the Iron Throne through the use of diplomacy and warfare. Based on the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Through strategic planning, masterful diplomacy, and clever card play, players spread their influence over Westeros. "Devotees of A Song of Ice and Fire need look no further to get their Westeros fix. This updated edition of the beloved Game of Thrones board game deepens the experience, bringing the intrigue, military might, and cunning of the fight for control of the Iron Throne to players' tables," Molly Glover, sales associate at Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 2011.

Deadwood is a board game of cowboys and control for 2-5 players, and is playable in 1-2 hours. Players control a gang of cowboys and send them into the vulnerable town of Deadwood to control businesses and collect as much money as they can. The player with the most cash at the end of the game is the winner. The 26 possible buildings that can be constructed in Deadwood promise variety in each game. With three possible ways for the game to end, your every decision either to stay at a building, instigate a shootout, or build the railroad can change the course of the game. "This fast-paced, family-friendly game is a winner with anyone who appreciates the Wild West, dueling, and immersive gameplay," Molly Glover, sales associate at Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly. September 2011.

The Domino Express Maxi Power Plus set combines the fascinating action of falling dominoes with even more exciting stunts. It comes with a rocket tower, 2 straight and 2 curved speed tracks, a plane launcher, 36 speed dominoes and over 100 regular dominoes to stack up and watch fall. This set is hours of fun for both new domino fans, as well as the experienced pro. Launch date: July 2011.

Ticked Off is a game that gives players the opportunity  to crush and impress their friends with their vast smartitude. Fast, fun and easy to play. 1. Bet on the first category...highest bid sets the mark to beat. 2. Reveal the Mystery Category. Start the timer. 3. Jot down as many answers as you can before the timer goes off. "A whole new twist on party games involving categories and matching answers, plus it comes with a unique 45 second electronic timer! You just gotta get TICKED OFF!" Frank DiLorenzo, president of R&R Games, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2011.

Players Roll, Pass and Kick their way to victory in this head to head football game. The game pits two football teams in a classic gridiron match.  Playable by 2-4 players, ‘coaches’ call plays using the cards available in their hands. Yardage gained or lost is determined by the roll of the dice. Strategic play calling makes all the difference... The right offensive play might get a lot of yardage... unless the defense sets up correctly to stop it. Fumbles, interceptions, sacks, penalties, deep passes, breakaway runs... it’s all in here. "This is the most fun football board game in a box AND there will be 6 expansion sets available that allow you to completely customize the game with 24 different teams," Frank DiLorenzo, president of R&R Games, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2011.

The Horned Rat expansion for Chaos in the Old World introduces a fifth player to the race toward corruption. With beautifully sculpted playing pieces, all-new powers, and an array of exciting upgrades, the fearsome Skaven stand ready to scurry across the face of the Old World. Players of the existing Ruinous Powers can meet the foul vermin head on with a host of new gameplay options, including alternate upgrade and Chaos cards. Meanwhile, veterans will find engaging challenges with new expert-level Old World cards and gameplay variants. Prepare to join the battle for dominance. Launch date: June 2011.

This hungry Dino has stolen another dinosaur’s eggs. Roll the die to choose which egg to rescue first, then carefully reach in and take out the egg…but watch out. No one knows when this intimidating Dino might leap out. Win the game by rescuing the eggs before the Dino attacks. Launch date: July 2011.

Wordsearch!™ is the word search race game. The game is played on a board that rotates to reveal the new words to search for. The first player to find the word marks it with their colored tiles. This game is fast-paced and fun. It also has some twists and turns where players can remove words found by their competitors. The game includes 20 different word search puzzles. Launch date: July 2011.

The apprentices to the Master Wizard have accidentally lost some objects in The Magic Labyrinth. Now, they must try to collect them before the Master notices that they are missing. However, this magical maze has invisible walls that the little wizards keep bumping into, forcing them to start all over again. Players become one of the wizard apprentices and make their way through the Magic Labyrinth to collect as many of the lost objects as they can. "With it's unique game mechanics, the maze that players are trying to navigate is actually hidden below the board instead of above," Rebekah Zetty, director of operations at Playroom Entertainment, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2010.
Awards: 2009 Kinderspiel des Jahres, Major Fun Award, 2010 Arets spill, Parent's Choice Recommended.

In FURT, players race to be first into the fiery mouth of the FURT volcano with each roll of the color-coded die. Along the way, they might find themselves speaking like a robot, impersonating a stamp collector, doing fork acupuncture on their neighbor, or acting like a sugar donut, just to name a few. Players win by being the first to make it to the mouth of the FURT volcano and withstanding the ultimate Straight-Faced Challenge, in which other players take turns saying funny words to try to make them laugh. Launch date: August 2011.

Gold Mine is a unique tile-laying game in which players build a maze of mine tunnels and control miners that traverse the mine collecting gold nuggets. Players race to be the first to collect enough gold to exit the mine and stake a claim. It may sound easy, but the greedy miners have several tricks up their sleeves in order to gain an advantage—including sneaking through secret passages, fighting for gold, and scaring away other miners with bats. With a different game board every time, a great balance of luck and strategy, and the addition of optional rules, this game doesn't get old. For 2-6 players; game time is 30-60 minutes.

The volcano on the players' island has sprung back to life, unleashing rivers of molten lava in every direction. Players direct lava from the volcano at the center of the island toward the surrounding villages. If lava enters a village, it will heat up and eventually burn. Occasionally, lava will spring up from anywhere on the island and cause even more devastation! To hold back the lava, players can build walls of various materials or play cards to rotate, replace, and remove lava tiles as well as cool down and fortify their own villages.  After the volcano has finished erupting, the player whose village is at the lowest temperature wins. For 2-6 players; game time is 30-60 minutes. Launch date: October 2011.

Based on the popular website (ranked in the Top 10 comedy websites by CNN), Awkward Family Photos combined classic and never-before-seen Awkward Family Photos with open-ended questions to inspire laughter and creative discussion among players. 4-6 players.

KATATU, which means ‘three’, is a unique abstract strategy board game, very rich in history, that takes its roots from a 3000 year old game that was played originally in Italy and Egypt and eventually made its way to Southern Africa. KATATU is adapted from this ancient game that has never before been available in a packaged form to the Western part of the world until now. Very easy to learn, but hard to master, KATATU can take some surprising twists and plays in about 15 minutes. Ages 5 and up. Where Tic-Tac-Toe leaves off, KATATU picks up.
Awards: 2012 Game of the Year and 2012 Preferred Choice Award from Creative Play Magazine; 2012 Seal of Approval National Parenting Center; Dr. Toy 2012 winner Best New Products; 2011 Preferred Choice Award Creative Child Magazine; TDmonthly Magazine Staff Pick August 2011

Chaostle is a board game that has many levels of strategy, from picking a starting army to moving throughout the multi-level castle towards victory. Chaostle has many fates that constantly effect the game, ranging from mild setbacks to cataclysmic earthquakes. These unpredictable twists of fate can be either from the card of happiness or the card of doom. Chaostle offers a wide range of fantasy characters to strategically build an army. The game comes standard with sixteen of these custom collectible miniature characters. Chaostle features 23 three-dimensional castle walls that are secured onto the game board. The fantasy fighters can move any direction throughout the castle including up and down stairways to change levels.

Control the flow - control your opponents. Game for 2 to 4 players. Game time: 30-45 minutes. Control the flow by altering the flow directional tiles. Gain a reward token each time you either push an opponent's pawn out of the board or into an existing infinite loop. Collect most tokens at the end of the game to win.

Burning bridges behind you is not all bad! In this game it's the only way you can win.
Game for 2 or 3 players. Game time: 15 - 30 minutes. Take turns in moving from island to island across a bridge. After crossing the bridge set the bridge on fire. Once the fire is set no one can move or jump over it. The game continues until there are no more bridges remaining, all the scorch points have been awarded. The player with the highest count of scorch points wins.

Each player is a daemon that guides and influences the main character. The game is a struggle between daemons to control main character's mood by using the environment surrounding the character. Daemons take turns playing cards to trigger the environment to shift the mood. Each player's actions directly affect decisions and strategy of the other players. The game ends when Moody enters the mood wheel. Players uncover both mission cards and check how close they are to Moody's final mood determined by the mood marker. Each space gives 1 point. Count how far is the distance from your mission mood to the final mood marker. The player with the least points wins the game. Each game can end up in a draw between 2 players. Play more than one game to truly establish who is the MOOD MASTER.

Players move on a 6 x 6 game grid. Movement is determined by roll of dice and coordinates embedded in each game place. Along the way players can pick up booster cards which can help them get to the target area or hinder the efforts of their opponents. The seemingly simple concept of transferring the game pieces from start to finish takes a different shape in Avodome. The game “twists and turns” after each move and is never decided until the last playing piece of one player lands on the target area. No player is ever in the lead since the boosters add a special dynamic to the game where a player seemingly “in the lead” can be blocked, forced back and actually loose the game to a player who appears to be “dead last”.

Features 36 party gras bead strings, 300 party gras cards, 1 rule sheet, for ages 13 and older. 4 to 12 players. Party gras is a perfect way to spice up any social occasion. Unlike other games, you won’t be stuck sitting around a table. Players stand up, move around and try to cleverly complete the lively mission on their cards. Mind control: make someone refuse to throw away the trash. Caught in the act: catch someone text messaging. Talk it out: find someone who likes werewolves better than vampires. Players must use charm and wit to get those sparkly beads away from others, all while they’re trying to get beads from their opponents. Collect the most beads to win. 10 or more minutes to play. Created by GaZima Games.

Diception is a strategic board and dice game for 2 to 4 people. Players must bluff and bid their way through the game. Each Diception board game comes with 20 dice, a Second Chance Cube, four high quality genuine leather tumblers, instruction booklet that reveals multiple different ways to play, and a convenient and durable carrying case, complete with carrying strap.