It's New Game Friday! David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games.
Here’s what is new this week:
- Agueda
- Florista
- Two Empires
This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Agueda
Agueda is a game for 2 to 4 players. Each player has their own street column of 3 umbrellas which they try to match with the colors in the same column of the objective stack.
Colorful umbrella lovers unite in this simple game of color-matching to your specific pattern in your specific column. This will be harder than it sounds, as the six available actions will ensure the board changes every time someone takes a turn, whether because they move cards around or flip them over to the other side - planning ahead might just be futile here unless you can sneak in some subtle moves to set yourself up for victory. Lining them up scores you a point, and then the game resets to do it all over again.
Two Empires
Two rival civilizations clash as they expand their borders and vie for control of important territories. You must lead your people to victory, as only one empire is destined to rule the land.
If you like area control games and building a map as you play, this one is definitely worth a look. A very competitive game where the orientation of the cards cannot be altered as they are placed, and you are trying to make the highest-scoring areas for yourself while minimizing the point potential for your opponent. All cards have the same features, and are double-sided but get mixed and flipped as part of the pre-game setup so you’ll never be sure what is coming up in the deck. And this probably isn’t doing the game justice at all. If you like Skulls of Sedlec, you will want to check out this game from the same designer. Never played Skulls? Apart from needing to fix that immediately, here’s one more comparison: if you enjoy Squire for Hire you might just enjoy this one, although instead of making your own bags of loot you are both competing on the same map, placing cards to interfere as best as you can with each other. Honestly, give this one a look. It sounds like a real gem.
Florista
Florista is an easy to learn PNP game you can play solo or with your friends. You play as a florist trying to make the most beautiful flower bouquet.
An interesting theme choice for a roll-and-write game, and it actually sounds like a great fit for the game. Like all other games of this genre, the rules area pretty simple which lets you get started faster. Because of the small printing job needed, this also opens the way for a great game to print and toss into the laminator or into clear protective sheets for dry erase marker usage...especially for the artistically challenged like me. But if you have an artistic bone in your body, maybe using some colored pencils to craft the bouquet as you play will provide a really delightful end product to share and show off.
Check out all of the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Game of the Week: Palm Island
Palm Island is a portable game that you can take with you anywhere. Sitting, standing, waiting, riding, flying, relaxing, alone, or together you can play Palm Island no table required.
Using a deck transforming mechanic, a player uses just 17 cards over 8 rounds to shape their island and overcome its unique challenges. Store resources to pay for upgrades and upgrade buildings to access new abilities. Each decision you make will alter your village from round to round. At the end of 8 rounds calculate your victory points.
This little game is definitely portable. I’ve not played it while flying, as my cape tends to obscure my view at the most inopportune times already, but it definitely fits the bill in other aspects. With a very easy-to-understand system of gathering resources on cards to use to pay to upgrade/flip/rotate other cards, this one is a fun journey through the same 17 cards multiple times. I’ve even played this one in bed without issues - so long as I remembered to keep a light on while playing. If you like games that are unique, this one will fill a part in every collection due to its table-free nature.
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!