Ready Set Bet

• Designer: John D. Clair
• Publisher: AEG
• Players: 2-9
• Age: 14+
• Time: 45-60 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by AEG, also played with designer at GenCon

John D. Clair is prolific game designer, with designs spanning many different genres – we have looked at a number in the past: Mystic Vale, Cubitos, Dead Reckoning and Ecos to name a few.  I have found the quality of his designs across these different game types to be nothing short of amazing.

Ready Set Bet is a “racing” game, but in a betting sense.  Here, you do not control any of the horses in the race – in fact, they move on their own based on the luck of the dice.  Instead, you bet in real time on the results of the race in progress.  For now, you’ll need to have someone serve as the house player – responsible for rolling the dice, moving the horses, and hopefully injecting interesting commentary to the game.  By the time the game is released, there is supposed to be a companion app, voiced by the designer himself, that will automate the horse action for you.

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Dulce

• Designer: Julio Nazario
• Publisher: Stronghold Games
• Players: 1-4
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with review copy from publisher

Dulce places players in the competitive world of sweets. You need to plant your fields strategically with cacao, coffee, peanuts, and vanilla, then use those beans efficiently to make the best confectionaries around! Using every resource is necessary to beat out your competition.  The catch here is that everyone plays with the same cards – and I don’t mean the same deck of cards; literally, each player gets the same card to use each turn, so you’ll have to make better use of the cards than your opponents!

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San Francisco

• Designer: Renier Knizia
• Publisher: rebel studio
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 14+
• Time: 45 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by distributor, Asmodee NA

Say the publisher:  “For San Francisco, the first half of the 20th century is an era of dynamic growth and new opportunities. It’s also a chance for you — junior urban planner — to take part in a contest for the most amazing reconstruction plan of the city. Sit down with your sketchbook and create a project that will make you stand out from the competition. Design a beautiful city in this game by Reiner Knizia, world-famous board game designer.  In the board game San Francisco, you become an urban planner whose goal is to create the greatest redevelopment plan of the famous city in California. Design districts in each of the five types, racing against all the other planners. Choose the right moment to take on new projects — but be careful, if you take on too many projects it’ll be harder to gain more. Earn more prestige by cleverly designing a system of cable car connections. Lay foundations and carefully design the nearby landscape, allowing you to build new skyscrapers. Create a new vision of San Francisco that will gain the most rewards, and win through fame and recognition.”

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Kites

• Designer: Kevin Hamano
• Publisher: Floodgate Games
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 10+
• Time: 10-15 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Kites, the players work together as a team to try to keep all their kites in the air.  The kites are represented by sand timers, and as long as there is sand in the top portion – the kite remains in the air!  The goal is to keep all the kites in the air until the day is through (you have played all the cards in the deck).

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Gang of Dice

• Designer: Reiner Knizia
• Publisher: Mandoo Games
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by Mandoo Games

Says the box: “The boss is going to retire. As one of his lieutenants, you need to take over the reins of the family. But you’re not alone in this race… Gather as many minions as possible to show that you are a true leader. Don’t be too power-hungry though, as it would displease the boss – he could even get rid of you with a bomb! How far will you go to take his place?” Continue reading →

No Mercy

• Designer: Reiner Knizia
• Publisher: Mandoo Games
• Players: 2-5
• Age: 8+
• Time: 15 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by Mandoo Games

No Mercy is a press-your-luck game in which you draw cards to get points — but you don’t want to draw too often because then you might lose all your gains!  I thought that I had seen a similar game in the past from the more accomplished “Gaming Doctor”, but per BGG – this is a new design.  There are a couple of different versions floating around in different languages – HIT! In French, Pelusas in Spanish – each with different art.  This may also be the same as Family Inc (German, Piatnik) – but my google-fu and bgg-fu skills are not quite up to the task to know for sure.

Says Google Translate (as the rules are only in Korean): “It ‘s time to go hunting for the bounty !  Catch the criminals and become the best bounty hunter .  Sometimes you have to take the bold challenge and steal your opponent’s bounty.  But be careful , as you may lose all your bounties if you get too greedy .  There is no mercy in the rules of No Mercy .  Only a sober gamer can win this game. “

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