News From Game Trade Magazine

Today we received our latest issue of Game Trade Magazine.  It looks like summer will be an interesting time at Off The Charts Games.

Game Trade Magazine 
Issue # 147

Here are a few of the board games that will be available from our distributors in June and July:

Sky Traders
Fantasy Flight Games



Sky Traders is a game of adventure, commerce and intrigue!  Evade ruthless Wind Pirates and manipulate the commodities market.  Trade your way to fame and fortune.







Pirates of Nassau
Gung Ho Games



Pirates of Nassau allows players to be a pirate operating fro the infamous Port of Nassau.  Capture and plunder the merchant ships that ply the nearby trade routes and us your ill-gotten gains to improve your ship and hire a motley crew of buccaneers.

Risk: StarCraft
USAopoly

Risk: StarCraft will see players choose from the terran, protoss, or zeng factions and six unique heroes before going head-to-head in this board game classic.









Battle Beyond Space
Z-Man Games

In Battle Beyond Space players discover a signal from an ancient race.  It is their only known working technology.  Now four different fleets answer the siren’s call, intent on claiming the artifact for themselves. – at all costs.






Our Game Trade Magazine will be out and available for you to peruse.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

Expanding The Game Library: aMAZEing Labyrinth

The aMAZEing Labyrinth
From: Ravensburger



We’ve just added a copy of The aMAZEing Labyrinth game to our Game Library. This is truly a fun little game. Even though the game is designed for the younger set, Lynn and I found it to be both interesting and entertaining.  The object of the game is to collect treasures.  However, your pawn can get moved as the paths are changed.   It can be a real challenge to line up the paths to get to your treasures.




Coming Soon to our Game Library are:

Automobile
From: Mayfair Games
~AND~

Dragon Valley
From: Diamond K Games

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.

More Game Arrivals

Check out these cool games that just arrived:

Cyclades
From: Matagot (Asmodee)

Dive into the Greece of the Mythical Ages and discover Cyclades, a game of strategy with exceptional game materials.
Players strive to control Metropolises with the aid of Greek Gods and Mythical Creatures.



~And on the Lighter Side~

Hike
From: Mooseache Games
Hike is the perfect card game for your next camping trip.
There are seven suits of cards in the deck (tree, bird, bug, hiker,etc) plus some specialty cards.  Each suited card has three additional suits indicated at the bottom that dictate which suits can be played by the next player.  Use the specialty cards to create twists and turns in the game. The objective is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. The player who gets rid of all of their cards scores points based on the number of unplayed cards remaining in the other players’ hands.  So, brave the elements, blaze the trail, but watch out for avalanches, getting lost and finding poop.


Come in and see us for fun games.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game.


Game Profile: Cyclades

Dive into the Greece of the Mythical Ages and
discover Cyclades


Mechanics Area Control, Auction Bidding, Dice Rolling
Theme Greek Mythology
Publication Matagot/Asmodee, 2009
Ages 13+
Time 60 – 90
Players 2 – 5
Description
Cyclades is from the duo game designers Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc (Mr. Jack and DiceTown) and is part of Matagot’s XL
Collection.

Set sail for the
Cyclades in the heart of Ancient
Greece. With the blessing of the gods of Olympus, and support of fabulous
mythological creatures, recruit troops, build ships, erect fortresses and
ports, build Metropolises. The struggle to shine your city will be terrible!


Cyclades is a strategy game
where players strive to control two Metropolises in order to win.  The game board represents the Islands that
make up the Cyclades archipelago. On each turn players will bid for the right
to use one of five available Greek Gods. 
Each God grants their own special power including the right to summon
Mythical creatures to help the controlling player.  During the action phase, players will be able
to recruit fleets, troops, priests, and philosophers.  They will also be able to build buildings of
various types.  Buildings and
philosophers are used to develop Metropolises that are necessary to win.  Fleets and troops are used not only for defenses but to attack and conquer an
opponent’s holdings including their Metropolis.  Why build, when
you may find it easier to attack and conquer. 
Priests give players the ability to manage their gold better during the
auction phase.  The player who bids well,
manages their gold, and uses the Gods and Creatures best will control two Metropolises and gain victory as
the supreme leader of the Cyclades.
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Continue to check in for the latest in board games.
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~


Come and visit us at 30 NW 2nd Street in Historic Downtown Gresham. We have a full range of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, dice games and more. Also for the puzzle enthusiasts we carry quality puzzles from Ravensburger, White Mountain, and Cobble Hill.

We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area.

Game Profile: Dice Town

Welcome to Dice Town, the city of luck and prosperity!



Mechanics Dice Rolling, Set Collection, Simultaneous
Action Selection
Theme Wild West
Publication Matagot/Asmodee, 2009
Ages 13+
Time 30 – 45
Players 2 – 5
Description
Travel to this Wild West
town ruled by the roll of the dice.  In Dice
Town, each player has five poker dice, a dice cup and some money. Simultaneously,
players shake their dice in their cups. 
The cups are flipped over towards the table keeping the dice hidden.  Players then select which dice to keep,
reveal them and set them aside.  Continue
rolling the remaining dice until each player has built a poker hand with their
five dice.  On each roll a player may
keep one die at no cost and must pay $1.00 for each additional die kept.  When all players have completed their poker
hands, it is time to go into town (the game board) and take action at each of
the seven locations.  The Gold Mine
yields valuable nuggets, while the Bank can be robbed of cash.  Go to the General Store and steal special
action cards or victory point valued equipment cards.  In the Saloon, you win the favor of the Girls
and use their charms to steal from one of your opponents.  As the Sheriff with a reputation for taking
bribes, you decide any tie breakers.  The
player with the best poker hand gets control of the mayor and the Town Hall.  Here you are awarded a property claim and
possibly some additional claims if your hand contains Aces.  If by chance your poker hand is unlucky and does
not take you to one of the profitable town locations, you may go and visit Doc
Badluck and gain a little consolation.

The game goes as many
rounds as it takes to either exhaust all of the gold nuggets from the Gold Mine
or all of the property claims from the Town Hall.  Victory points are awarded for gold nuggets, money,
General Store equipment cards, and property claims.  The player with the most points wins.
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~
Continue to check in for the latest in board games.
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~


Come and visit us at 30 NW 2nd Street in Historic Downtown Gresham. We have a full range of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, dice games and more. Also for the puzzle enthusiasts we carry quality puzzles from Ravensburger, White Mountain, and Cobble Hill.

We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area.

New Game Arrivals: April 5th – 11th

In the store this week are these games:

Star Trek: Next Generation:
 Premier Edition
From: Bandai Games

Star Trek: Next Generation: Premier Edition
In this deck-building game you have three options:
1) Play as a Free For All
2) Team up and play the Klingon Civil War
3) Form a Cooperative and play The Borg Invasion

Star Trek: Next Generation:
The Next Phase
From: Bandai Games

Just released in 2012 is another in Bandai’s Star Trek: The Next Generation deck building game is The Next Phase.  This can be played as a stand-alone game or combined with the Premier Edition.

~AND~

Last Will
Rio Grande Games

Last Will is a game for those players who want a break from the usual economic games.  The object is to get rich from your uncle’s inheritance.  The catch is you have to be the first to spend all your money as fast as you can, in accordance with your uncle’s Last Will.





Come in to the store and check out these super fun strategy games.

At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at our store.  We are here to help you discover your game

Game Profile: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Name Star Trek: The Next Generation Premier Edition
Byline Build Your Deck and Explore the Star Trek Universe






















Mechanics Deck Building, Card Drafting
Theme Sci-Fi
Publication Bandai, 2011
Ages 13+
Time 60 – 90
Players 2 – 5
Description
Star Trek is a deck building game with a couple of interesting
twists.  The most significant twist is
that there are three different ways to play. 
The first approach is every player for themselves with the first to
reach 400 points wins the game.  The
second approach is a partnership game called the Klingon Civil War Scenario.  A special set of 25 cards are introduced into
the Space Deck to facilitate this two-on-two battle.  The third approach is called the Borg
Invasion which utilizes 25 special cards in the Space Deck to turn the game
into a cooperative game with players focused on defeating the Borg.
Unlike the TV series or
the movies, players start with a relatively ordinary starship and crew.  Players must manage their cards to build an
all-star cast of characters from The Next Generation.  Player can use diplomacy to gain a faster and
a more powerful starship, or they can just decide to fight and defeat those
other ships to collect the points.  In
any case there are missions to be accomplished, events to defeat, and battles
to be won.  Some battles involve ships
encountered in space, some involve other players but all lead to the final
frontier and victory among the stars.
Additional Release: (2012) Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Next
Phase.  This game can be played
as a stand-alone or combined with The Premier Edition.
Star Trek: Next Generation
The Next Phase





















At Off The Charts Games, we have a fabulous selection of family games, strategy
games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, and dice games. We proudly
serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area. Come and visit us at
our store.  We are here to help you discover your game

Game Profile: Dragon Valley

Rise of Corundia


Mechanics Chit-Pull System, Area Movement, Tile Placement
Theme Fantasy
Publication Diamond K Games, 2012
Ages 13+
Time 120
Players 2 – 4
Description
Dragon Valley is a strategy game set in the mythical Kingdom of
Corundia.  A place overrun by Dragons and
Orcs.  Now you and select others have
been chosen to lead the defenses of mountain passes in exchange for lands and
the title of Baron. Players will use buildings with special abilities, king’s
aid cards and units of Trebuchets, Archers, and Knights to defend against units
of Battering Rams, Orcs, and Dragons.
Each round in Dragon
Valley starts with an interesting twist. 
The player with the lower score randomly selects three building tiles,
four king’s aid cards, and five units (a combination of good units and bad
units).  That player will now divide
those items into piles.  The other
players will now select which pile they would like to take to play.  The dividing player will have last choice.  Next units are deployed with good units going
to the keeps in their baronies and bad units to the mountain passes in their
region.  Now each player gets their turn to
either move friendly units or build buildings before the enemies advance.
Friendly units and buildings
can be used to defend against the enemies. 
Friendly units can also be used to charge forward and lay siege to enemy
territory.  Points can be scored on
offense.  Points can be scored on
defense.  Points can be lost for weak
defense.  There are several really
different strategies to score and win. 
The first player to score and hold 30 points at the end of a game round
will be the winner and heir to the King of Corundia.
We have an open copy of Dragon Valley is available in our Store Demo Library for you come in and try out.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~
Continue to check in for the latest in board games.
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~


Come and visit us at 30 NW 2nd Street in Historic Downtown Gresham. We have a full range of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, dice games and more. Also for the puzzle enthusiasts we carry quality puzzles from Ravensburger, White Mountain, and Cobble Hill.

We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area.

Game Profile: Last Will

With your Uncle’s last will, bankruptcy leads to riches!



Mechanics Set Collection, Worker Placement, Action Point Allowance
Theme Bankruptcy
Publication Rio Grande Games, 2011
Ages 13+
Time 45 – 75
Players 2 – 5
Description

Your uncle has died.  Hooray!  This is your chance to become rich.  You never knew your uncle, but you have heard stories.  He was one of those millionaires who achieved staggering wealth during the development of Victorian England.  He was also a bit of a hermit, too focused on his business to have any friends.  On his deathbed he surveyed his vast riches and realized that he never took the time to enjoy them.  And so he decided to leave his fortune to his most competent relative – the one who is the best at enjoying the pleasures money can bring.  In his last will, you uncle stated that each surviving relative will receive a certain amount.  Whoever can spend that amount the fastest will get the rest of the fortune.  But don’t think that spending all that money will be as easy as it seems.

Last
Will is a game for those
players who want a break from the usual economic games.  The object is to get rich from your uncle’s
inheritance.  The catch is you have to be
the first to spend all your money as fast as you can, in accordance with your
uncle’s last will.  So, when getting rid
of a lot of cash, planning is essential.


A game of Last Will consists of, at
most, 7 rounds with each round having 5 phases.  After the Setup Phase, the essential Planning
Phase begins.  In this phase players have
the opportunity to not only set the player turn order, but to also determine
the number of cards they can draw, the number of errand boys they can use, and
the number of actions they can take.  In
the Errand Phase, you will use your errand boys to get the best reservations,
arrange the most expensive entertainments, and manipulate the prices of
properties.  In the Action Phase, players
utilize the cards in their hand to spend as much money as possible.  Some events allows players to increase their
spending by bringing a guest, or their dog, maybe even ride a horse to the
event, or hire their own chef.  If a
player can’t spend fast enough they can hire helpers who may be willing to
steal from them and charge fees for their services.

All-in-all players are trying to reach a point where their houses
are falling down, their racing dog never gets out of the starting gate, their
favorite restaurant is overcharging for their meals and now they are
broke.  Congratulations. They win.

We have an open copy of Last Will available in our Store Demo Games Library for you to come in and try out.



~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~
Continue to check in for the latest in board games.
~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~


Come and visit us at 30 NW 2nd Street in Historic Downtown Gresham. We have a full range of family games, strategy games, Euro-style games, war games, card games, dice games and more. Also for the puzzle enthusiasts we carry quality puzzles from Ravensburger, White Mountain, and Cobble Hill.

We proudly serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area.


Most Popular Games: 2012 1st Quarter Results

For the curious-minded, our Top 10 Best Sellers for the 1st Quarter are:

1. Ticket to Ride
Days of Wonder
2. Redneck Life
Gut Bustin’ Games

3.  Alien Frontiers
Clever Mojo
4. Ticket To Ride Europe
Days of Wonder
5.  D&D: Castle Ravenloft
 Board Game
Wizards of the Coast
6. Kingdom Builder
Queen Games
7.  A Game of Thrones
Board Game
Fantasy Flight
8. Mr. Jack
Asmodee
9. Carcassonne
Rio Grande Games
10. Ticket To Ride India
Map Collection
Days of Wonder

Pop into the store and check out these popular strategy games and family fun game.


 At Off The Charts Games  we have a wide selection of family games, strategy games, euro games, war games, card games, dice games, and puzzles.   Our goal is to help you put fun on your table. We are here to serve Gresham and the greater Portland and Vancouver area.
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