New Arrivals This Week 12/3/13 to 12/9/13

by Becky "Floppy-Eared Hero Puppy" Topol

DC Comics Deck-Building Game actually arrived last week, but just too late to get into the blog post. The mighty heroes of the Justice League of America - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more - are ready to fight for truth and justice, and you get to decide how! Each player chooses an oversized Hero card, each with its own special powers, and starts with a deck of ten cards. From there you must acquire defensive cards to deflect the attacks of the endless stream of villains and minions, as well as defensive cards to defeat them! With simple rules and fast setup, DC Comics Deck-Building Game is a concise new take on the deck-building genre and makes for a great gateway game, or a quick filler for more experienced players!

Flash Point: Fire Rescue - Veteran and Rescue Dog Expansion Pack also snuck in late last week. This pack contains two new specialists for your firefighting team: the veteran and the rescue dog. The veteran is not the best at any one thing, but his long history of experience helps your whole team become more effective, and gives him a knack for avoiding danger. The flop-eared rescue dog is able to get to victims quickly and drag them out to safety. Plus, it’s incredibly cute.

Blueprints is a building game for two to four players who take the part of architects trying to construct buildings out of various materials. Each kind of material is represented by different colors of dice, with orange representing wood, green representing recycled materials, black representing stone, and clear representing glass. Every turn players take blueprint cards and take turns selecting dice from the pool. Then, you must place the dice on your blueprint to build the structure. Each kind of material scores based on different criteria, so you must place your dice strategically in order to score as many points as possible, win architecture prizes, and become the most successful architect in Blueprints!

After tons of people asked us about it, Francis Drake is here! Packed full of gorgeous art and high-quality pieces, Francis Drake is a worker-placement game that puts you in the shoes of a Golden-Age captain. You must stock your ship with all the goods you need to win a race from England to the Spanish Main, where the riches of the Aztec and Incan Empires await. Follow the paths of the real journeys of Francis Drake, and attempt to snag him as the leader of your mission! Collect treasure into your chests, court rich investors, stock up on ammo and food, and try to get information from the mysterious Informer. There are countless ways to try to outplan, outwit, and outgun your opponents as you swashbuckle around the world in Francis Drake.

Going, Going, GONE! is a high-energy bidding game that challenges players to keep their cool while juggling five simultaneous auctions. As the Auctioneer counts down from ten to one, bidders must drop their wooden cubes into the five transparent Auction Cups in the hope of winning Item Cards. When the countdown ends, the player with the most cubes in each cups wins the Item Cards for that auction. Sets of cards can be sold throughout the game, but players who hold onto a set til the end can make even more money. An easy-to-learn game, Going, Going, GONE! is perfect for auction hounds of all ages!

Wave 2 of starship miniatures for Star Trek Attack Wing is here! This wave includes the Federation’s U.S.S. Excelsior, Dominion Koranak, Klingon I.K.S. Koraga, and Romulan R.I.S. Vo. Use these new ships and weapons to explore, defend, and conquer new reaches of the galaxy!

We've also received a shipment of classic abstract strategy games! Our popular maple/walnut chessboard is back in 14" and 15" sizes, as well as the very elegant ebony/maple board. Small magnetic chess sets with storage drawers are back in various shapes, all perfect for travel. For players of the ancient game of Go, we now have a beautiful large wooden board with black and white playing stones. We also have a great new Shogi board with drawers to hold the pieces.

Added to our Game Demo Library this Week: Loco Lingo Building Site, Zingo Sight Words, You’ve Been Sentenced!, Word on the Street Jr.