The two for SPIEL Essen 2024 at Pegasus Spiele The family games Diamant and Tower Up, which have been released in 2014, are all about resource planning. While Diamant relies on the push-your-luck principle for intuitive risk-taking, the construction planners in Tower Up have to proceed strategically when building the city center and keep an eye on not only their own materials, but also those of the competition. In October, Pegasus Spiele also released two new expansions: Nature Awakens for the cooperative expert game Spirit Island, and Aztecs and Oddities for the engine-building family game Imperial Miners from publishing partner Portal Games.
In the push-your-luck game Diamond, three to eight explorers aged eight and over venture into mysterious caves to collect the most gemstones. How far they want to go is up to them. The cave is explored by revealing cards.
The chances of finding gems are just as good as finding a trap. Gems found are divided fairly - any excess remains in the cave. If a trap is uncovered, the adventurers initially get off with a fright - until it appears a second time and snaps shut. This means that all remaining expedition participants are sent back to camp and lose their collected gems. However, those who abandon the expedition in time keep the treasures they have already collected and can also collect the rubies left behind on the way back to camp. Once all adventurers are back in camp, the next expedition begins.
The new edition of the family game by Bruno Faidutti and Alan R. Moon with new illustrations by Paul Mafayon has simple rules for quick, uncomplicated and exciting fun, even for larger groups. The "Relics" variant makes the decision to abandon the expedition even more appealing - but only at exactly the right moment. Diamond is available at a recommended retail price of 19,99 euros.
Tower Up is even more strategic: Here, two to four players aged eight and over play as planners for rival construction companies and build skyscrapers. To do this, they collect the right building materials and place their own ten roofs on the buildings in a way that earns them as many points as possible. However, they must also follow clear guidelines when expanding the city center. This means, for example, that they must continue building on the neighboring skyscrapers, potentially giving their opponents an advantage, because points are collected immediately when a roof is placed on a building - regardless of who built it. Anyone who achieves the three city building goals particularly quickly and dominates the cityscape with their own roofs receives valuable additional points.
The family game by Frank Crittin, Grégoire Largey and Sébastien Pauchon not only impresses with its tactical gameplay, but is also a tactile pleasure, because the skyscrapers are raised three-dimensionally on the game board. Tower Up is available at a RRP of 39,99 euros.
News for fans of Spirit Island
In the strategic expert game Spirit Island by R. Eric Reuss, one to four players take on the roles of powerful nature spirits and join forces to defend their island against the unscrupulous invaders. After the expansions Cracked Earth, Branch and Paw and the Treasure Chest have already been released as high-quality material collections and some additional spirits and scenarios as mini-expansions, the latest expansion, Nature Awakens, has now been available since SPIEL Essen 2024.
With eight new spirits, two new scenarios and a new nation, the expansion, which requires both the basic game and Shattered Earth to play, offers new challenges and many hours of gaming fun for all Spirit Island fans. Nature Awakens is available at a recommended retail price of €49,99 in specialist stores and online.
In Tim Armstrong's engine-building card game Imperial Miners, up to five players aged ten and over dig deep underground to find valuable treasures and dig the most productive mine in the country.
With the Aztecs and Oddities expansion, which is available for a recommended retail price of 14,99 euros, players discover previously unknown peoples: the Aztecs, who possess knowledge of mysterious stories from the past, and the Oddities, who sought refuge in the depths of the underground and are closely connected to the phases of the moon. In addition to memory cards and sun/moon tiles, the game is also expanded with new mine cards.
There is also good news about Bomb Busters. According to the publisher, the reprint is expected to be released in early 2025.
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