Skull Queen

• Designer: Stefan Dorra
• Publisher: Schmidt Spiele
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3C3y9dZ
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Ahoy, mateys! Time to grab your pirate hats and set sail! Ready to claim the bounty of a lifetime?

You’re each the captain of a pirate ship, and your lookout has just spotted a ship full of bounty on the horizon. You need to line up your pirates so they are ready to board when you attack. Start by placing each Pirate on any one of the 5 spaces on your Plank. Be savvy when playing your cards so you can move your Pirates to the highest value spaces. But make sure you don’t lose a Pirate off your Plank—you don’t want a pirate ending up in the water! A Pirate that has fallen in the water cannot return to your Plank and so will score you 0 points later on. Once you’ve all played all your cards, for each Pirate you have on your Plank, you score the points shown on the space that Pirate is standing on.

Skull Queen is a trick-taking game in which you determine before the game starts whether you will win or lose tricks for every suit. The player who chooses wisely and outplays their opponents will be victorious.

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Alpina

• Designer: Luc Remond
• Publisher: Helvetiq
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 10+
• Time: 20 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4f8ILGO 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Alpina, you explore the Swiss National Park with a camera around your neck to photograph animals in their natural habitat. The spotted nutcracker, grass frogs, and more are waiting for you and offer you a unique opportunity to collect points in an original way that is related to the landscape and interaction with your neighbors.  Do you play a card to score more points, or do you use the opportunity to deceive your opponents? Find the card that allows you to strike a balance between these two objectives, and victory will be yours!

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Fall

• Designer: Giampaolo Razzino
• Publisher: Little Rocket Games
• Players: 2
• Age: 10+
• Time:  20-30 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Autumn has arrived, and the fall flowers color the forest. The robin announces the imminent cold and the hoopoe, almost ready for the great nocturnal migration, feeds itself with the last available food. The fox grows its winter coat and toads swarm the most humid areas of the grove, thriving with mushrooms and deciduous leaves.

In Fall you create, together with your opponent, an autumn ecosystem. You both place leaves tiles in the same environment to grow the forest and host its flora, fauna, and funga. However, each player scores points for different objectives, and only at the end of the game the opponent’s scoring conditions will be revealed, thanks to the Fox, Bird, and Flower scoring cards, which are different for each player in each game. During the game, try to understand your opponent’s strategy, to counteract it and make it turn in your favor. The game uses a single tableau for both players, with variable scoring opportunities for each player.

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Adulthood

• Designer: Johnny O’Neal
• Publisher: Brotherwise Games
• Players: 1-4
• Age: 13+
• Time: 45 minutes
• Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/40hksSR
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Live your best life in Adulthood! Every turn, this game challenges 1-4 players to spend Time and Energy to generate Money, Happiness, and positive Impact. Choose a Career, seek out Experiences, find a Partner, and try to spend time on Wellness while dealing with unexpected Life Events. Featuring the art of Tim Brierly, Adulthood highlights the joys and absurdity of everyday life.

Each turn, players have to choose how to spend their Time, Energy, and Money to maximize their personal Happiness and positive Impact. Spend Time and Energy on your Career to get Money. Seek out Experiences to gain resources and Happiness, spend Time on Health to maximize the benefits of your other efforts, and find a partner to build a relationship with! Earn your way to the top or make a difference in the lives of others! The game ends when a player’s Happiness and Impact tracks meet!

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