FallCon - A Cornucopia of Gaming

Published in 2002, Mexica is the third game in the "Mask Trilogy" utilizing the action-point mechanism.

Mexica:

• Designed by: Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling
• Published by: Rio Grande Games
• Number of players: 2-4
• Playing time: 75 minutes
• Player ages: 10+

As a publisher, Rio Grande Games makes excellent board games. Mexica is no exception! The box has a beautiful design and inside you will find inside a gorgeous and beautiful game board.


Mexica is the name that the Aztecs used to refer to themselves. The board game, Mexica, is about creating the home of the Mexicas on the island on Lake Texcoco.

As one of four leaders of the Aztecs, you will spend action points on your turn to wander about the island, building canals, dams, bridges and temples to create the magnificent city of Tenochtitlan.

Players score points depending on how great their temples are in built city districts. Use your action points cleverly to establish your presence and win!

Now the game begins...


The game is divided into two phases. In each of the phases, every player gets a certain number of temples in various sizes from 1-4 points. The bigger the temple, the more action points it will require be built.

Any unused temples from the first phase can be added to the temples in the second phase. In the first phase, players are required to found and create 8 different districts of various sizes. The first phase ends when:

• all 8 districts are founded and
• at least one player has no more temples remaining

When this happens, players play until all have had the same number of turns. Then the scoring of all founded districts will occur. In the second phase, players are required to found and create 7 more districts.

The second scoring is triggered in the same way as the first scoring round. This time, however, all land areas are scored as well. On your turn during the game, your Mexica has six action points to spend. With these action points, you are able to traverse around the island, build temples, found districts, create canals and dams and build bridges.

A district is created when a section of land is bounded by canal tiles. Your Mexica founds a district only if the player marker, the Mexica token, is present in the district. Temples can be built only in areas where a player's Mexica token is present. Scoring is done on a majority basis.

The player who has the temples of the most value scores the highest points. The second place player scores half of the 1st player's score. The third place player scores half of the 2nd player's score. All scores are rounded up.

During the game, players will have a general idea of strategy but will need to be able to quickly react to other players' placements that may affect their plans.


Mexica is an excellent introduction to the action point mechanisms developed in Kramer's and Kiesling's previous "Mask Games". Mexica is fun and interactive and plays in about 75 minutes. It is quite strategic and there are many ways for creative plays.

The other aspect of this game is the visual and tactile nature of the board and playing pieces! At the end of the game, it is breath taking to take a step back and just look at the board!

Happy gaming!
Thushyanthan
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Published in 2008, Pandemic is a type of game where players cooperate with each other to travel around the world and attempt to prevent a world-wide pandemic outbreak!

Pandemic:

• Designed by: Matt Leacock
• Published by: Z-Man Games
• Number of players: 2-4
• Playing time: 45 minutes
• Player ages: 10+

Pandemic is a quick game and allows players to set various levels of difficulties by adding or removing special "epidemic" cards.


At the CDC, you have been informed that there are several outbreaks of four different and deadly diseases. As you watch the screen, you see major cities around the world being infected.

It is your mission to work with your fellow specialists at the CDC to control and find cures for these diseases. Each player will be assigned one of five roles: Medic, Scientist, Researcher, Dispatcher and Operations Expert. Each of these specialized roles provide the player with certain abilities which will be used during the game to fight the outbreaks.

At the beginning of the game, nine random city cards will be drawn.

• Place 3 infection makers on the first three cities
• Place 2 infection markers on the second three cities
• Place 1 infection marker on the last of the three cities

Now the game begins...


Game play of Pandemic is fast as each player performs three steps. First, each player will take up to four actions, then draw two player cards and finally draw a card to indicate a new infected city. A player may use up to four actions among the following choices:

• Move from one city to another
• Build a research station
• Discover a cure
• Treat a disease
• Share knowledge

During the player's actions phase, other members of the team will give suggestions on where to travel and how to best treat diseases. The tension in this game arises when a player draws an "epidemic" card which causes all the cities that were previously drawn to be reshuffled and put on the draw pile.

This means that any city that now was previously infected will be infected again! If there are more than 3 infection cubes in a city, then all adjacent cities will now be infected!


Pandemic is a cooperative board game which means that either all players win or all players lose. If you like games where you have to work with other players to solve problems, then Pandemic is a game that you will enjoy.

The level of interaction in this game is quite high and the game play is easily explained to younger players.

Another bonus of this game, due to its short playing time, is that players will often ask to play another game soon after!

Also, it is fun to try to beat the game on progressively harder levels by increasing the number of "epidemic" cards in play.

Happy gaming!
Thushyanthan

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Amun Re was published in 2003 and was designed by the prolific game designer, Reiner Knizia. The heart of this game is a unique auction mechanism that puts players in an exciting state of tension!

Amun Re:

• Designed by: Reiner Knizia
• Published by: Rio Grande Games
• Number of players: 3-5
• Playing time: 90 minutes
• Player ages: 12+

The components for the Rio Grande Games version of Amun Re are of high quality. They are functional and serve their purpose.


Each player in Amun Re is a pharoah attempting to build the most pyramids. In order to achieve this, players must acquire provinces and farms, buy building stones and finally build pyramids.

The game is comprised of 6 turns of 5 phases.

The first 3 turns are for the Old Kingdom and the next 3 turns are for the New Kingdom.

At the beginning of each turn is an auction where players acquire provinces. On the second auction, players make a sacrifice to Amun Re for gifts.

Players score points depending on how bountiful provinces are. Use your actions, gold and sacrifices cleverly to establish your presence and win!

Now the game begins...


The game is divided into 6 turns of 5 phases each. The phases are a sequential order of game play. First, provinces are selected for auction. This is an open auction where players know the values and bids of other players.

Auctions are done using the following scale for bidding values: 1-3-6-10-15-etc. Once a province has been won, players then proceed, in the following order, to:

• buy power cards
• buy farmers
• buy building stones

Cost for items follow the same value scale as for the auction. For example, to buy two power cards, a player spends 1 for the first power card and 3 for the second power card for a total of 4.

Next, players make a sacrifice to Amun Re for gifts. Instead of making a sacrifice, players can choose to steal from the temple. The player who has made the largest sacrifice is given a choice of 3 gifts from Amun Re. The second highest sacrifice is given 2 gifts and the third highest sacrifice is given 1 gift.

Gifts are chosen from farmers, power cards and building stones. Finally, players then receive income from their farmers or from their traders. After three turns/three provinces, there is a scoring phase after which all the farmers on the board are removed. Only the pyramids and building stones are left. Now it is time for the New Kingdom!

The New Kingdom turns are similar to the first three turns above. The twist being that some provinces are more valuable than others due to the existence of pyramids and building stones.


Amun Re is a fine example of a board game that uses auction mechanisms to drive game play.

Play is tense, especially during the New Kingdom era where auctions are more heated! As well, there are Power Cards which give players exciting bonuses during the game.

The careful use and play of the Power Cards can determine initial and final strategies.

The game at a glance is pretty simple but repeated plays will reveal nuances. Experienced players will know the relative values of provinces and whether or not to bid on a particular province.

Happy gaming!
Thushyanthan
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Published in 2008, Stone Age is a fun-filled jaunt into the times of our ancestors. This game uses dice but with an interesting twist! As a result, there are a number of ways to score points.

Stone Age is:

• Designed by: Bernd Brunnhofer and Michael Tummelhofer
• Published by: Rio Grande Games
• Number of players: 2-4
• Playing time: 60 minutes
• Player ages: 10+

Rio Grande Games is the publisher of this game. When you open the box, you will find inside a gorgeous and beautifully game board and player mats. Also included is a full colour, easily readable rule book and a leather dice cup!


Stone Age is a combination of worker placement and resource collection. Players vie with each other to collect various resources such as wood, brick, stone and gold in order to build huts for their settlements. Of course, the players have to be careful not to spend too many workers on resources as their villagers need to be fed! At the beginning of the game, each player receives:

• 5 workers of their color and
• 12 food units

Now the game begins...

On your turn during the game, you can send out any number of your workers to one of several areas on the game board. Each area of the board will allow you to get different items based on the result of the dice. The number of dice you roll is determined by the number of workers you have in an area.

Game play follows three steps:

• Place workers
• Resolve worker placements / gather resources
• Feed your population

The game board consists of 4 unique groups of areas for:

• Food gathering
• Resource collecting
• Developing your village
• Increasing your civilization's "worth"

Once you place your workers in an area, you may not add any more workers to that area. So, careful thought is needed before placing your workers.

After all the players have placed their workers, the areas are resolved in player turn order.

As an example, if a player has 3 workers in the forest, that player will roll 3 dice (one per worker) and gather wood.

The cost of wood is 3 so if a player rolls a total of 12 on three dice, the player will get 4 wood resources. Brick, stone and gold become more expensive at a cost of 4, 5 and 6.

During the game, players will have a general idea of strategy but will need to be able to quickly react to other players' placements that may affect their plans.


Stone Age is a fun and interactive game that involves dice in a creative and unique way. It is a lot of fun for 2-4 players and takes about 60 minutes to play. It is an interactive and immersive game and players are rewarded for strategic and tactical play.

What really breathes life into this game are the strategic possibilities of the Civilization Cards. While you are developing your village, make sure that your "cultural output", given by the Civilization Cards, is also not neglected.

The Civilization Cards are the main source of points during the game so getting the cards for a reasonable price is something to consider.

Happy gaming!
Thushyanthan

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