Unboxed the Board Game Blog

A game of heroes, lies and unfortunate fish for wannabe heroes!. You sit in The Hero's Return, a tavern renowned for its heroic clientele. You're not a hero, but you talk a good game. You and your friends are holding court, regaling the crowds with your tales of derring-do. Can you fight your way through a drunken haze to concoct the best boasts? The most believable? Or at least ones that are funny? Voted card game of the year at the UK Games Expo.

Inspired by the medieval fortress in southern France of the same name, Carcassonne is a tile-laying game in which players fill in the countryside around the fortified city. Players choose from tiles that depict cities, roads, monasteries, and fields; each new tile placed creates an ever-expanding board on which players can then add their followers. Players score points by having followers on features as they're completed. The player who makes the most strategic placements of tiles and followers will score the most points and win the game.

To be selected for the coveted post of Master Builder, you must impress the monarchy by constructing a majestic medieval metropolis. In Citadels, players use the local citizens to acquire gold and build districts to complete their city. Players draft characters each round, looking for those who provide the desired special abilities to further develop their cities—or hinder their opponents' efforts. Hire the elusive Thief and pick one of your rival’s pockets, or commission the Artist to beautify your districts and increase their value. Plot, scheme, and deceive your way to the top as you attempt to predict your opponents’ actions and foil their plans. Only the best city will earn its steward the title of Master Builder.

In many ways "Dungeon!" is similar to Dungeons & Dragons, although much simplified and transformed into a board game. Players explore a dungeon that is divided into levels of increasing difficulty, fighting monsters for valuable treasure. As players venture deeper into the dungeon, the monsters become more difficult and the treasure more valuable. Several character classes each have slightly different fighting abilities – most notably the wizard, who can cast spells. Combat is simulated using dice; players roll the dice to attack a monster, and if unsuccessful, the dice are rolled to determine the effect of the monster's counter-attack. The winner is the first player to bring a certain amount of treasure back to the Dungeon's entrance.

Taverns and turncoats, merchants and magic… oh my! Enter the Hooting Owl tavern, where magicians and merchants make their moves, or the Black Cat tavern home of crooks and scheming sorcerers. As a fellow merchant, you will need to bend in, collect and trade magical objects to become the richest merchant in Kameloot. Watch out for turncoats, and traitors, there is no mercy in the taverns!

In the best-selling family classic, you are a king seeking new lands to expand your kingdom. Match tiles, claim crowns and expand your land to build the most impressive Kingdom! But be careful, other kings will try and claim the same terrain!

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 The Quacks of Quedlinburg, players are charlatans - or quack doctors - each making their own secret brew by adding ingredients one at a time. Take care with what you add, though, for a pinch too much of this or that will spoil the whole mixture!

The bustling market in Nottingham is filled with goods from all over the kingdom. Most of it is entirely legal, however, Prince John is looking to make sure no contraband gets sold. He’s tasked the Sheriff to inspect Merchant’s wares, looking for any illicit goods. The Sheriff’s shrewd, but not above taking a bribe to look the other way. Which Merchant will end up getting the best goods through and make the largest profits in the market stalls?

The kingdom is in total chaos! Work together to guide this brave rolling knight through 20 adventures filled with twists and traps. Players each hold on to a lever and guide the moving platform in all directions, sliding the knight to follow the right paths while beating obstacles. As challenges become more difficult, hold on to your lives to make it to the highest level and win! Slide Quest turned a video game concept into a board game where dexterity and cooperation are keys to success.

Hidden far away from our time lies a valley of unimaginable riches. Drawn by the lure of gold, silver, and precious jewels, adventurers from all over the world soon find their way there. While some of them still carefully choose commissions and provisions, others quickly rush off to bring valuable gems back to their patrons. But those who wish for fame and fortune will have to be cleverer than their opponents!

The Inns & Cathedrals expansion adds more ways to shape the Medieval countryside in the award-winning tile-laying game Carcassonne. Eighteen Land tiles feature two new buildings that open additional avenues to scoring points. Construct imposing cathedrals that increase your cities' value, or build humble inns along your roads to double the value of your thieves. But be careful! An incomplete feature that uses an inn or cathedral scores no points at the end of the game.