Unboxed the Board Game Blog

A new, stand-alone game in the universe of the internationally best-selling game, Terraforming Mars! In this time of unprecedented prosperity and advancement for humankind, we are finally ready to expand beyond what once were considered our limits and make a new home among the stars. Ares Expedition is a card game where you take control of an interplanetary corporation with the mission to make Mars habitable (and profitable). Featuring simultaneous action selection and simultaneous resolution, Ares Expedition is a fast-playing strategy game inspired by scientific principles. Will you lead humanity’s new era?

Queen Gimnax has ordered the reclamation of northern lands. As a cartographer in her service, you are sent to map this territory, claiming it for the Kingdom of Nalos. Gimnax’s edicts announce which lands she prizes most, and you will increase your reputation by meeting her demands. But you are not alone in this wilderness. The Dragul contest your claims with their outposts, and so you must draw your lines carefully to reduce their influence. Reclaim the greatest share of the Queen’s desired land and you will be declared the greatest cartographer in Nalos. In Cartographers, players compete to get the highest reputation at the end of four seasons. Each season, players draw on their map sheet and score against unique conditions at the end of the season. The player with the highest reputation at the end of the year is declared the winner.

Use resources to build a village of critters and constructions in this woodland game. From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a peaceful year have passed in Everdell — but the time has come for new territories to be settled and new cities to be established. You will be the leader of a group of critters intent on just such a task. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host— you will have a busy year ahead of you! Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?

Settlers from four major powers of the world have discovered new lands, with new resources and opportunities. Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians and Japanese all at once move there to expand the boundaries of their empires. They build new buildings to strengthen their economy, they found mines and fields to gather resources, and they build barracks and training grounds to train soldiers. Soon after they discover that this land is far too small for everybody, then the war begins…

Roll the dice, create your domino and watch your kingdom grow! Domino by domino fill in your map while entrusting the territories of your kingdom to loyal nobles. Use the power of the wizards to cast spells and strengthen your domain! In this head to head battle, will you be crowned King?

In Mandala Stones, you use artists to collect colorful stones in towers that you then score.

You are movie producers in a failing film production company. You have one last chance to make a successful film - otherwise the company will collapse and you’ll never work in this town again! You have to use the resources at your disposal to produce this film on time and under budget, ensure it’s a high enough quality, and make some sense of the resulting story. No time to waste - roll camera! Roll Camera! is a cooperative or solo dice worker placement game of resource management and a central geometric puzzle representing your shooting arrangement. You throw the custom D6 Crew dice, each face representing a different production department (camera, light, sound, actor, production design, visual effects) and assign them to actions, either on the main board or on your individual player boards. Your player board features a specific head of department (Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer or The Star) and contains unique action spaces that can be used on your turn. Place the Crew in specific arrangements matching those on the Shot cards, resolve the constant Problems getting in your way, and hold production meetings to play Idea cards from your hand to help out. Everything costs time and money, and you lose if either one runs out. You must also ensure your film reaches a certain level of Quality in order to win! At the game's end, you'll have a unique sequence of completed Shot cards which you can "premiere" using the story cues -- it's the filmmaking game that results in a "real" movie!

Life was hard in the early days of human history. Our ancestors were hard workers, but through ingenuity learned to make much of this work easier. Over time, they developed tools to collect resources and develop human civilization. In Stone Age, you take on the role of a human in this bygone era. Beginning with archaic tools, you collect wood, stone, and gold to attain higher levels of knowledge and build sturdier structures. With resources being scarce, you must compete for the limited number of spaces on the board that produce them while also gathering food to feed your growing tribe. Through diligence and insight, you can forge your way through the early days of recorded history and build the foundation of human civilization.

Pass the sushi! In this fast-playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by. Score points for making the most maki rolls or for collecting a full set of sashimi. Dip your favorite nigiri in wasabi to triple its value. But be sure to leave room for dessert or else you’ll eat into your score! Gather the most points and consider yourself the sushi master!

In The Networks, you and your opponents are new television networks, and you need new programming. For this, you’ll need Shows, Stars, and Ads. Shows need Stars and Ads. Stars give you bonus viewers (points), and Ads give you extra money. You’ll need everything you can get; you'll have a small amount of resources and time, and you must grab the latest hot show before your opponents. And some Stars will give their best effort only if you put them on in the proper conditions. For example, some Stars only want to be put on dramas. Other Stars want to be the only Star on the show. And your Ads will give you the most money only if you put them on in the correct time slot. Finally, Shows age and viewers lose interest, so you have to keep your line-up fresh by canceling shows and sending them into reruns. Fortunately, you can get viewers from your reruns, and you'll get bonuses if you get a lot of shows of the same genre throughout the game. If you need a special push, Network Cards can give you special powers — but will a Network Card be better than another action? You'll have to make that call. The player with the most viewers after five seasons wins!

Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway.

Congrats, filmmaker! Your career is finally finding its footing, thanks to your determination, luck, and more than a few questionable scripts. While other filmmakers burden themselves with “important” movies that have “big” budgets and are “good,” YOU are wisely blazing a trail in the opposite direction: the B-Movie! Yes, the B-movie - low on budget, but high on thrills, chills, and bloody spills. This may not be the glamorous side of Hollywood but if you roll your dice right, it could still be profitable! This time around, you'll have access to new roles and specialized equipment to help you get the job done. But your responsibility to produce a watchable film is as demanding as ever! Your movies now have unique genre requirements: crime, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, western -- or some kind of mixed-up genre soup combination. The whole thing is causing more disorganization and chaos than ever before... There's even less time to waste - Roll Camera!!