Azure

• Designers: Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert
• Publisher: Bitewing Games
• Players: 2
• Age: 8+
• Time: 20 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3RjFga2
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

The Lung Mei, or dragon paths, are lines of energy that cover the Earth. They are derived from the Four Auspicious Beasts: the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North. When a path runs in a straight line, that energy builds in power, but these paths can be broken up by barriers such as mountains, which diffuse the energy. Invoke the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts, carefully channel their energy through the Earth, and triumph in this battle for qi and wisdom that will shape your destiny and intertwine it with the Beasts of legend.

In Azure, players position their stones to gather qi (cards) and wisdom (points) from the realm. They also compete to bring the Auspicious Beasts to their aid. The first player to reach the end of the path of wisdom wins.

Players take turns placing a stone, gathering boons from the space they cover, and gaining the favor of Auspicious Beasts. In order to place a stone in a space, the player must be able to pay the qi cost. The color of the domain (board) tells you the color of qi needed, and the number of boon symbols in the space tells you the amount of qi needed. Through careful management of the qi cards in your hand, you’ll be able to grow in power.

Thanks to the four double-sided boards that can be connected, flipped, and oriented in any way in a 2×2 grid, Azure features over 24,000 different layouts. Azure also includes the Gifted module for experienced players — a variable one-time-use ability that can help turn the tides in your favor.

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Warp 99

• Designer: Reinhard Staupe
• Publisher: Bezier Games
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4fEhs9k
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Zoom through space in the super-fast card game Warp 99!

On your turn, add 1 card to your own growing card row—it has to be a bigger number than the last one, and NO repeating colors!

Then blast as many cards as you can onto the 2 middle piles using cool rules like Same Color, Plus 1, or Total 10. Get Stuck? Change the rules! Match extra rules? Get bonus cards! Empty your hand? Get another turn!

Score big points by making long card rows and get 15 more points every time you use up your Personal Draw Deck. First to reach 99 points wins!

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La Patisserie Rococo

• Designers: Stefen Malz, Louis Malz
• Publisher: Eagle-Gryphon
• Players: 1-5
• Age: 14+
• Time: 60-150 min
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4wPtaVv
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Welcome back to the Rococo era! Louis XV reigns in France and is hosting a grand festival in the gardens of Versailles. Everyone is clamoring for you to provide tantalizing and delicious pastries for the event. This isn’t just about your pâtisserie – it’s about creating a presence at the most prestigious festival of the era that provides the chance to gain everlasting fame, prestige, and opportunities to gain favor with important nobles.

In La Pâtisserie Rococo, players represent the pastry shops (les pâtisseries) and pastry chefs (les pâtissiers) that are preparing pastries for sale and for show at the Versailles Garden Festival. Using the unique deck-building mechanism from Rococo, players hire staff to create recipes, acquire quality ingredients, and bake delicious desserts. Then comes the challenging decision of whether to sell these delectable creations for profit or present them for possible awards. The player who creates the most acclaimed desserts will gain fame and the respect of the king and his nobles.

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Emerald Echoes

• Designer: Rita Orlov, Chelsea Stark, Lauren Bello
• Publisher: PostCurious
• Players: 1+
• Age: 14+
• Time: 4 or more hours
• Allplay link: https://www.allplay.com/board-games/emerald-echoes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Emerald Echoes is a narrative puzzle adventure featuring beautifully-illustrated puzzles and tactile artifacts. Through the eyes of a historical researcher, players uncover the story of a legendary alchemist and her companions. Told over four chapters, Emerald Echoes is a standalone sequel to The Emerald Flame.

The Emerald Flame concludes with a dramatic fissure between an alchemist, Marketa, and her close friend and confidante, Hannah. Hannah then furiously sends Marketa out of Prague, and many years go by with no contact between the two. Over time, Hannah comes to regret her actions, and now seeks to mend the rift in their relationship. Marketa, however, proves difficult to find, and the path to reconciliation is paved with unexpected challenges. This is where our story begins… 

But it’s not the whole story. The other part is happening in the margins—through the messages between two researchers. Brought together by their shared interest in these recently unearthed historical documents, the two begin to correspond. Navigate the artifacts with their communication by your side and uncover what happened to Hannah and Marketa. 

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Oasis: New Life on a Distant World

• Designers: George Feledichuk, David “Duvey” Rudow, Leo Taylor 
• Publisher: The Op Games
• Players: 1-5
• Age: 10+
• Time: 45-60 mins
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4wKaSou
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Cultivate a vibrant biome where the circle of life fuels the ecosystem’s survival!  In Oasis: New Life on a Distant World, you embody the forces of nature on this primal planet, shaping the planet’s biodiversity by guiding the life cycles of its many bizarre species. Your goal is to cultivate a balanced, vibrant biome where the circle of life fuels the ecosystem’s survival Timing is key, however, as the annual floods will wash away plants and animals below the floodline at the end of each round. You must manage your hand of cards and maximize your actions to outplay your opponents and build the most dynamic and highest-scoring biome.

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Splendor Duel and the Counterfeiters expansion 

• Designers: Marc Andre, Bruno Cathala 
• Publisher: Space Cowboys
• Players: 2
• Age: 10+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4aSuCOg ,  https://amzn.to/4fAEBdF
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Confront your rival guild in a race for victory. Take Gem and Pearl tokens from the common board, then purchase cards, gather bonuses, royal favors, and prestige. Discover new twists and strategic opportunities derived from Splendor, the original best-selling game. Acquire cards with impressive powers, take advantage of special Privileges, and fight over scarce access to Pearls.

Splendor Duel is a two-player only standalone game based on Splendor that retains some of the main gameplay mechanisms of that design, while being a bit more complex, dynamic, interactive, rich, tense, and mean. The game features a main board shared by both opponents, card powers, and three victory conditions.

The Counterfeiters expansion add 8 new Royal cards and a daring new twist: the Counterfeiters — 4 paste gem tokens and 15 cards that bring deeper asymmetry and reshape all strategies. This tiny expansion fits seamlessly into the base game box — because once you’ve played it, there’s no going back. Are you ready to play by your own rules?

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