by Becky "Merciless Volcano Deity" Topol

Rise of Augustus, also known simply as Augustus, is a high-speed, family-friendly Spiel des Jahres nominee. We've opened a demo for the store, so you are welcome to come and try it if you'd like (maybe at tonight's board game night?). It combines elements of worker placement, time management, push-your-luck, and...bingo? Yes, someone took the basic mechanic of bingo and made it into a real, interesting, strategic game. Players choose three cards to start with, each containing a layout of several symbols such as shields, swords, and daggers, all of varying rarity. Symbol tokens are drawn randomly from a bag, and players must decide which card with a matching symbol they want to place a centurion on. When a card is completed it is scored, and may also trigger special powers like gaining or placing extra centurions, or even destroying another player’s scored card. With cards that vary in difficulty and time needed to complete them, and interlocking effects that can stack and trigger each other, Rise of Augustus is an addictive and easy-to-teach addition to your game night.

Yedo, which will finally be on sale this Friday (tomorrow) after a long wait, has been described as "a souped up version of Lords of Waterdeep." The strategic and highly interactive game places you at the head of a powerful Japanese clan during the golden age of the Tokugawa Shogunate. When a new Shogun takes the throne, it’s an opportunity for all the great clans to stab each other in the back to gain prestige and the favor of the Shogun. Of course, there’s more than one way to collect valuable assets and catch the Shogun’s eye; outright service on important missions is a good way to raise your status, but so is clever manipulation in private meetings, and buying luxury goods from the European merchants will let you outshine your opponents. All the while, spying, kidnapping, and assassinations will help keep the other clans at bay, so tread carefully and choose wisely.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set, the game that we probably heard the most about from GenCon, is the newest transformation of the popular traditional tabletop RPG (role-playing game). One to
four players take on the roles of warriors defending against an ancient
evil that is resurfacing after a long slumber. Choose your class, and
build a powerful deck of allies, equipment, and magic to face down the
dangers of the award-winning Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. After
each game, your characters grow stronger, adding new and more amazing
powers and magic to their decks, which they will need in order survive
the more deadly adventures they will soon face. The Character Add-On Deck,
is also available, with more classes, monsters, weapons, and everything
you need to add a fifth and sixth player to your adventuring party. Now go forth and save the land of Varisia!
Finally we have the second edition of The Downfall of Pompeii by Klaus-JΓΌrgen Wrede, the designer of Carcassonne. This game will speak to history buffs as well as people who enjoy busting out a good maniacal laugh. It takes place during the time immediately before and after the famed eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and you must try to save as many of your own people as possible. In the first phase of the game, all players draw cards to try to populate the city with their meeples. Once the volcano erupts, lava begins flowing through the city, and you must try to maneuver your meeples out of the city gates to safety. You can also trap other players' meeples with the lava flow and throw them into the volcano. Yes, you can literally chuck people into an awesome plastic volcano in this game. I can't wait! Mua ha ha ha.....
