New games for March 20, 2020 - The Caravan of Mummy Skulls

It's an All Free New Game Friday! And David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games, which include our first 2 Spanish titles from Salt & Pepper Games.

Here’s what is new this week:

• Caravana al Oeste
• Expansiópolis
• Mint Control Solo Mode
• Night of the Mummy
• Skulls of Sedlec

Once again, all of these new games are free and there are many more free games available.

Caravana Al Oeste (Spanish Language version of Circle the Wagons)

Each player in Circle the Wagons is fixin' to build up their own boomtown, but only one'll build the best in the West! 

Blaze a trail by draftin' cards 'round the circle and placin' 'em in yer town, tryin' to connect matchin' territories to score prosperity points! But don't forget about them three bonus cards in the center of the circle that can score ya even more points — that is, if ya play yer cards right. With darn near five thousand unique ways to score and millions of draftin' and placin' combos, you'll never build the same town twice!

Technically you could play this without knowing what the cards say on the back, because the gameplay is very much language-independent. Circle the Wagons is, in my esteemed opinion, one of the best games in the Button Shy lineup and one of the best fast-playing 2-player games out there period. If you wanted an excuse to try this game out, this might be your chance to grab a really fun, fast title and brush up on your spanish-reading skills (and for those who are native spanish speakers, hopefully you get to enjoy having this great game in your language!)

Expansiopolis (Spanish Language Version of Sprawlopolis)

In Sprawlopolis, 1-4 players work together to build a new city from the ground up. Using only 18 cards and a variable scoring system, the game is never the same twice. Each turn, players will play 1 card from their hand to the growing city, trying to score as many points as possible. Players will have to communicate and plan without revealing their own cards in order to most efficiently develop large areas in each of the 4 zone types. Watch out though, the city hates paying for road maintenance so each road will cost you points in the end. When all cards have been placed, the game ends and players see if they have met dynamically generated minimum score for their game. Can you meet the demands of the officials, work with your fellow planners and build the ultimate urban wonder? It’s time to find out!

I think I like this name better than Sprawlopolis, and while the name has changed the gameplay is everything you already know and love (maybe) or could finally try out and find you love. Yes, it is the Spanish version of the game, much like Circle the Wagons, but once again you could easily play the game as it comes. Even moreso because you can look up the card# to find out the scoring condition it says, so no translation skills required. Find out why many people believe this is an excellent, phenomenal solo game (that I can never seem to do well at!), and feel free to also let some friends join in as it allows you to play cooperatively up to 4.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/five24labs/mint-control-the-minty-fresh-area-control-game

We previewed Mint Control a few weeks back, but now it has a solo mode! Here's a quick reminder of the gameplay.

The Mint Series is back again with a deep strategy meets ease-of-play area control game that fits in your pocket, teaches in under a minute, and plays in 30.

Straight from the brilliant Gallifreyan minds at Five24Labs comes their next bigger-on-the-inside Mint Tin game: Mint Control. If you have played any of the previous titles in their games, you know they value providing strong decision-making experiences contained within extremely compact rulesets and this one promises to be no different. If you like area control games and want something different than another generic “dudes on a map” game chocked full of overpriced minis, this might be the refreshing change of pace for your collection. As always, these games play 1-4 and I imagine the experience scales as well as the other games in the Mint series have so far.

Night of the Mummy

The Mummy’s curse has brought all the exhibits to life and they’ve crashed the Museum of Unnatural History’s annual masquerade ball!

Night of the Mummy is a 20-minute game of hidden roles and logical deduction for 4-8 players aged 10 and up. Each player takes on the role of a classic monster at a masquerade party - identify and expose everyone else to break the curse and escape!

Social distancing got you down? The good news is that this game plays 4-8, meaning your group remains small. Not only that, from the looks of this you could easily get a massive Skype call or something similar going to play this game, as you don’t necessarily all need to be in the same place. You might need a moderator person to make sure everyone gets a unique role without duplicating, but I’m sure you’re clever enough to figure a way out. The premise is simple: you’re asking players to dance and they either respond with a YES or a NO based upon their personality, and it will also determine if they show their face of hide it while dancing with you. Be the last unaccused player standing to win!

Skulls of Sedlec (Kickstarter Preview!)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/239309591/skulls-of-sedlec/

You are novice monks, competing to create the best arrangement of skulls.Dig up graves from the graveyard to reveal cards, take cards into your hand to collect skulls, and arrange the cards from your hand into a stack. Whoever better honors the deceased’s last wishes will score more points.

The Bone Collector will then judge each player’s completed stack and declare one as the most exceptional.

I know what you’re thinking: this is the coolest theme you’ve ever heard. I’m thinking that, too, after all. There is a very spatial element to the game, as you are “building” a pyramid from the base up (essentially) with the corpses you draft. Scoring is based on the skull type and its positioning in relating to its scoring method - such as Royals score for every Peasant and Royal skull below them in the pyramid. It has a lot of excellent buzz going on and now is your chance to find out why at the low price of free with this PNP opportunity!

This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games

For all of the new games, visit https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games

Game of the Week: Squire for Hire

Squire for Hire is a tile-based inventory management game for 1-2 players. Each Squire takes turns completing quests and adding loot to their bag. Keep vital items in your bag for when you need them, pack efficiently, and try to eliminate junk to be the Squire with the highest scoring bag!

This game is clever. I’ve heard this one mentioned recently, and after looking more closely I’ll be printing this off while it is free! I’m getting a building vibe from this week’s slate of games, at least the final four of these all have building aspects to them. This one you are constructing a bag of loot by covering spaces so that pieces of loot are added fully into your bag. This promises the same fun, fast-paced card placement and scoring fun that I’ve enjoyed in similar games with my wife, making this a perfect way to defeat our hours at home. Bonus points: the cards also have some bits of flavorful story to explain why you need to possess, or use, the items indicated on the card for your placement into your bag!

Check out Game of the Week here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/game-of-the-week

See you next week with more information on our newest print and play games!