Spring Into Games with These

With Spring comes the start of local farmer’s markets.  Gresham’s Farmer’s Market begins May 12th and is located downtown between 2nd and 3rd street.  Mark your calendars and come to downtown, check out the local fare and when you’re here stop in and say hi and see what new games have arrived.


In keeping with the ‘farmers theme’ we carry these farming-themed games.  You will also find them open and on our demo shelves ready to be played.

Agricola
Z-Man Games

     In Agricola, you are farmers living in two-room wooden huts with an empty farmyard striving to improve your quality of life. Opportunities are plentiful during the course of the game to build up your home, improve your fields, and breed animals. You and your spouse may want to start a family. Doing so, gains you an extra action for each new member.  Just be careful not to start your family too soon or grow to big as you have to be able to feed them all at each Harvest stage.
     A game of Agricola consists of 6 stages which are divided into 14 rounds with a Harvest at the end of each stage.   At the end of the game, the winner is the farmer who has established the best farmyard. Running a farm has never been this exciting!





Agricola: Farmers
of the Moor Expansion
Z-Man Games

Already have Agricola?  Add the Farmers of the Moor expansion to enhance your game play.  This Agricola expansion adds a set of new improvements, forests, horses, and another requirement during the Harvest stage – fuel.  Besides feeding your family you must acquire fuel and heat your home.








At the Gates of Loyang
Z-Man Games
At the Gates of Loyang is the immediate predecessor to Agricola.
     After each harvest, you as framers meet at the gates of Loyang to trade your produce.  You make deliveries to your regular customers and sell vegetables to casual customers for lucrative profit.  But vegetables can also be bartered at market stalls or used as seed to plant new fields.  Helpers, each with different skills are available to assist you in your strategies and tactics.
     A game of At the Gates of Loyang is played over 9 rounds with 3 phases per round. The most successful farmer will be the one who makes the most progress on the Path of Prosperity within the given time frame.


The Farming Game
The Weekend Farmer Co.
     Harvest the fun with the strategy game invented in Goldendale, Washington on the seat of a tractor.
     In The Farming Game, you are farmers starting with 20 acres inherited from your Grandpa but no cash.  Since this isn’t a large enough farm to make a living for a family, you get a part-time job in town.  With each trip around the board you receive a year’s wages which you plow back into the farm.  Your dream is to build your farm large enough to be able to quit the job in town, come home to be your own boss, and farm full time.  If you can do that without going broke, you win the game.
     Put on some overalls ’cause it’s time to plow the back forty on your kitchen table!



So, come to downtown Gresham and you too can be a farmer.




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. 
Discover board games and Discover the fun!

This Week’s Game Events: May 9th – 11th

This week we have these strategy games scheduled for a night of free, fun playing.  
Our goal is to provide an opportunity for gamers to meet other gamers. Or, become a gamer.
You don’t have to be an experienced player.  So, reserve a seat and come play.


Weds. May 9th   6pm – 8pm
  We have Small World and Kingdom Builder

Small World
From: Days of Wonder
Kingdom Builder
From: Queen Games


Fri. May 11th   6pm – 8pm
We have Stone Age and Patrician

Stone Age
From: Rio Grande Games
Patrician
From: Mayfair Games

Come in the store to sign up or send an email from our  Contact Us.  We look forward to having you join us on game night.

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. 
Discover board games and Discover the fun!

This Just In: Catan Junior

We’re expanding our games aimed at young kids with this just in from Mayfair Games/ Catan Studios:

From Mayfair Games come this fun Catan game for kids ages 6+.


In Catan Junior kids are pirates going from island to island setting up their Pirate Camps that gain them valuable resources (called equipment cards).  Use these equipment cards (wood, barrels, swords, goats, and gold) to build additional ships, build Pirate camps, and purchase Coco Help Cards.  In order to get to the islands, players must build a chain of ships from island to island.  Players may also solicit the help of Coco the Parrot by purchasing Coco Help Cards and may trade their equipment cards with fellow players.  As you’re sailing along just beware of the Ghost Pirate as he will keep you from getting your valuable resources but drive him out and you’ll get to claim the Ghost Castle as yours.  Be the first player to build seven Pirate Camps and you’ll win.




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. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.




News Flash: This Week’s Table Top Episode 3 Features Tsuro, Zombie Dice, and Get Bit

We bring you this week’s Table Top episode hosted by Star Trek’s Wil Wheaton on Felicia Day’s YouTube Channel Geek and Sundry.




This week three games are featured: Tsuro, Zombie Dice, and GetBit!
Wil’s guests are Rod Roddenberry, Ryan Higa, and Freddie Wong.  The interaction among these guys is funny and entertaining.    So, watch and see who has unbelievable luck or “magic” as Wil calls it.






Zombie Dice
Steve Jackson Games
Zombie Dice 2
Steve Jackson Games
Tsuro
Calliope Games



You can find Tsuro and Zombie Dice and Zombie Dice 2 available on our store shelves.



Continue to follow us on Facebook and/or here on our website where we’ll bring you the latest Table Top episode.


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. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.




What’s Happening in Gresham

Jazz is Back! 


Downtown Gresham is having “Adventures in Jazz” this Saturday night from 7pm to 10pm.
Here’s who’s featured:
Tom Grant at Jazzy Bagel
Stan Bock & friends at Local Cow & Hoppy Brewer
Eddie Parente, Linda Hornbuckle, & Frank Tribble at Cafe Delirium
Randy Porter & Tom Wakeling at Boccelli’s
Paul Mazzio & friends at Asian Thai Bistro

It’s all free so come for some great jazz music and stop by and say hi on your way to the jazz.

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. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

New Game Arrivals: Apr 25th – 28th

Arriving to the store are these two great games that couldn’t be more diverse in FUN.  One, a highly interactive hilarious game and the other a fierce sci-fi war game with incredible components.

Donkey…It’s A Kick!
From: Cleveland Kids

Donkey…It’s A Kick! is the game that’s as much fun to lose as it is to win.  This unpredictable card game will have you saving for 4 of a kind one round and building a barn out of your cards the next.  Be the first player to master whatever crazy challenge comes your way and quickly grab a Donkey Puck…but watch out for the Kicker!  Nothing is as easy as it sounds.  You may be slapping your fellow players with a “High Five” one minute and plotting revenge against them the next.  The fun multiples when players start losing and become Donkeys.  Donkeys stay in the game with only one purpose:  To get the rest of the players out!  Win the game by outwitting your opponents, dodging the Donkeys, and being the last player standing.

~AND~

Nexus Ops
From: Fantasy Flight
The race to control the Rubium begins!

Nexus Ops is a board game of fierce sci-fi battles and fantastic alien creatures in which players control factions of corporate troops and indigenous life forms on an alien moon.  Players deploy troops from their home bases as they explore the moon, mine resources, purchase troops, win battles, and fulfill missions to win the game.

The game board setup is comprised of single-hex and double-hex tiles allowing for many different configurations and provides a unique battlefield for every play.  The awesome alien creature minatures make this game even more “off the charts”!

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. We are here to help you discover the fun in board games.

Game Profile: Steam

Rails To Riches




Mechanics Auction Bidding, Network Building, Tile
Placement, Pick-up & Delivery
Theme Economic, Railroad
Publication Mayfair Games, 2009
Ages 12+
Time 120
Players 3 – 5
Description
Steam designed by game designer Martin Wallace, contains a beautiful, double-sided game board.  The map on each side depicts terrain, towns, and cities at the start of the railway age.  The map of the northeastern USA and neighboring Canada is played with 3  to 4 players.  On the reverse side is a map of Europe’s lower Rhine and Ruhr region for a 4 or 5 player game.


Mayfair game overview:

In Steam players build
railroads and deliver goods along an ever-changing network of tracks and
stations.  Players build the tracks,
upgrade towns, improve towns, improve their train, and grab the right goods to
make the longest, most profitable deliveries. 
Score your deliveries and add to your income or victory points,
balancing your need to invest against your quest to win the game.



We have an open copy of Steam available in our Demo Games Library for you to come in and try.

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Continue to
check in for the latest in board games.
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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, Cobble Hill, and
Dowdle.

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


Game Profile: London

Rebuild the city of London after the fire of 1666.


 Mechanics Card Drafting, Hand Management, Area
Control/Influence
Theme Economic, London
Publication Mayfair Games, 2010
Ages 12+
Time 90
Players 2 – 4
Description
Here is Mayfair Game’s overview of London, a card-driven board game:

London
starts just after the Great Fire of London and ends with the advent of the 20th
century.  In the game you will be
responsible for running part of the city. 
You must balance finance with grandeur, with your achievements being
measured in victory points.  However, you
must be careful not to let rising poverty swamp your efforts.

London is very much a
card game.  The cards are divided into
three decks to create a sense of historical development.  You will create a sense of historical
development.  You will create a Building
Display, a line of cards laid out in front of your position at the table.  The cards in your display will give you
various benefits, such as money, victory points, and reduced poverty.  The majority of cards will only have an
effect when you decide to run your city.

Money is important, in
that you need it to pay for some cards and to buy land.  How much money you make depends on what cards
you have on your Building Display when you run your city.  If you do not have enough money you can always
take a loan. Buying land allows you
to gain more cards and to reduce the impact of poverty.  The board is divided into areas which are
referred to as ‘boroughs’.  Each borough
has a purchase cost, the number of cards you then pick up, and how many victory
points you score at the end of the game. 
Where you buy land can be significant, as the effect of some cards
depends on which borough you own.

Poverty is a big
issue.  Generally you increase your
poverty when you run your city.  You can
reduce your poverty through having certain cards on your Building Display.
The game will end when the
deck has been exhausted.  You now count
up your victory points.  These are gained
from the boroughs you have building counters in, the cards played on to your
Building Display and money in hand.  You
will lose victory points if you have any poverty points and/or outstanding
loans.

London is another game created and designed by Martin Wallace.

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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: Age of Industry

A pure economic game where one must seek the most efficient way to make a profit.

Mechanics Card Drafting, Hand Management, Network Building
Theme Industrial Revolution
Publication Mayfair Games, 2010
Ages 13+
Time 120
Players 2 – 5
Description
Age of Industry is a business game designed by Martin Wallace and is set during the 19th
century, when many countries around the world were experiencing their own
particular industrial revolution.  Your
aim is to make money, which you do by creating new industries.  There are six industry types in Age
of Industry; cotton mills, factories, coal mines, iron works, parts and
ships.  You also have a number of railway
counters.  When you build an industry you
must take the counter with the lowest technology level from your display.  As you build industries higher level
technology counters become available.

To earn money you must
first build industry counters and then contrive to have them flipped, which
will earn you profit.  Building an
industry counter requires the play of a card, the expenditure of money, and
possibly coal and/or iron.  The card you
play will either determine the type of industry you can build or which location
you can build in.  When counters flip depends
on the type of industry.  Cotton Mills
and Manufacturing counters are flipped when they sell their goods via ports
and/or market counters.  Parts are
flipped when something is sold via them. 
Coal mines and iron works are flipped when all the cubes on them are
removed. And, ships are flipped when the two connected spaces are used up.

As well as building
industries, you can build railways. 
Railways are required for the movement of coal and iron, and allow goods
to be sold to ports and markets. 
Building your own railways increases the number of potential locations
you can build in.  Railways will also
earn you money but only at the end of the game.

The game ends when the
deck of cards is exhausted.  You then
earn money for railways, pay off any loans, and score points for the money you
have left and the buildings you have on the board.  The player with the most points wins.  The board is double sided giving you two
options of play.  One side is a map of
Germany and the other side is New England.


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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: Automobile

 Any color you like… as long as it’s Black!
 
 
Mechanics Commodity Speculation
Theme Economic, Auto Industry
Publication Mayfair Games, 2009
Ages 13+
Time 120 – 150
Players 3 – 5
Description
Automobile is a Martin Wallace game with a beautiful board
and high quality components.  Automobile
carries you back to the birth of America’s car industry, when inventors,
craftsmen, and entrepreneurs created a wild array of marvels and misfortunes.
Players select one of
six pioneers from the industry, such as Henry Ford or Walter Chrysler to help
them along in each of the four rounds. 
Players must build factories in order to produce the three general
market classes of autos; mass market, middle-class, and premium-class.  Accumulating Research & Development cubes
will be necessary in order to build new factories that in turn will produce
newer makes of cars.  As new factories
are built, older ones will need to be closed because, as in real life they
become costly to maintain.  Adding a
parts factory will reduce your auto production costs.  Additionally, there is a supply and demand
factor.  Players must balance the number
of auto’s they produce with the changing demand within each market
segment.  Produce too many and you’ll
incur loss cubes that cost you money.
Now that you’ve produced
fleets of cars, the question is can you sell them all?  There are several methods available to make
the sales, but the number of sales per method is limited.  Some limits are obvious while other limits
are not so clear until after the autos are built.  Executive decisions allow players to get advertisement
markers and discount markers. 
Advertising increases your car sales. 
Discounting increases your sales, but reduces the income from those
sales.
As in any good economic board game the player with the most assets at the end wins.  Money management is critical at every step in
the process.  Strike the best balance,
shift the right gears to best your rivals, and you’ll be rich. Now, roll up
your sleeves and start making cars!


From the publisher, Mayfair Games, here is “Glover’s” game overview.




We have an open copy of Automobile available in our Store Demo Library for you come in and try out.


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Continue to tune 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.