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2011
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Best Family Game of 2011
In King of Tokyo, you play mutant monsters, gigantic robots, and strange aliens—all of whom are destroying Tokyo and whacking each other in order to become the one and only King of Tokyo.

At the start of each turn, you roll six dice, which show the following six symbols: 1, 2, or 3 Victory Points, Energy, Heal, and Attack. Over three successive throws, choose whether to keep or discard each die in order to win victory points, gain energy, restore health, or attack other players into understanding that Tokyo is YOUR territory.

The fiercest player will occupy Tokyo, and earn extra victory points, but that player can't heal and must face all the other monsters alone!

Top this off with special cards purchased with energy that have a permanent or temporary effect, such as the growing of a second head which grants you an additional die, body armor, nova death ray, and more.... and it's one of the most explosive games of the year!

In order to win the game, one must either destroy Tokyo by accumulating 20 victory points, or be the only surviving monster once the fighting has ended.

First Game in the King of Tokyo series

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Year Published: 2011
Designers: Richard Garfield
Publishers: IELLO
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Best Family Game Nominee of 2011
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Kevin Lanzing
Publishers: Indie Boards & Cards
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Mike Elliott
Publishers: WizKids
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Dominic Crapuchettes
Publishers: North Star Games
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Donald X. Vaccarino
Publishers: Queen Games
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Kevin Lanzing
Publishers: Indie Boards & Cards
2011
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Best Game of 2011
The galaxy has been a peaceful place for many years. After the ruthless Terran–Hegemony War (30.027–33.364), much effort has been employed by all major spacefaring species to prevent the terrifying events from repeating themselves. The Galactic Council was formed to enforce precious peace, and it has taken many courageous efforts to prevent the escalation of malicious acts. Nevertheless, tension and discord are growing among the seven major species and in the Council itself. Old alliances are shattering, and hasty diplomatic treaties are made in secrecy. A confrontation of the superpowers seems inevitable – only the outcome of the galactic conflict remains to be seen. Which faction will emerge victorious and lead the galaxy under its rule?

A game of Eclipse places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You will explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.

The shadows of the great civilizations are about to eclipse the galaxy. Lead your people to victory!

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Year Published: 2011
Designers: Touko Tahkokallio
Publishers: Lautapelit.fi
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Best Game Expansion Nominee of 2011
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Rob Daviau
Publishers: Hasbro
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Richard Garfield
Publishers: IELLO
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Brian Engelstein
Publishers: Z-Man Games
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Nate French
Publishers: Fantasy Flight Games
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Mike Elliott
Publishers: WizKids
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Martin Wallace
Publishers: Treefrog Games
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Stefan Feld
Publishers: alea
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Mike Elliott
Publishers: WizKids
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Vlaada Chvátil
Publishers: WizKids
Year Published: 2011
Designers: Rob Daviau
Publishers: Hasbro
2012
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In Mice and Mystics, players take on the roles of those still loyal to the king – but to escape the clutches of Vanestra, they have been turned into mice! Play as cunning field mice who must race through a castle now twenty times larger than before. The castle would be a dangerous place with Vanestra's minions in control, but now countless other terrors also await heroes who are but the size of figs. Play as nimble Prince Collin and fence your way past your foes, or try Nez Bellows, the burly smith. Confound your foes as the wizened old mouse Maginos, or protect your companions as Tilda, the castle's former healer. Every player will have a vital role in the quest to warn the king, and it will take careful planning to find Vanestra's weakness and defeat her.

Mice and Mystics is a cooperative adventure game in which the players work together to save an imperiled kingdom. They will face countless adversaries such as rats, cockroaches, and spiders, and of course the greatest of all horrors: the castle's housecat, Brodie. Mice and Mystics is a boldly innovative game that thrusts players into an ever-changing, interactive environment, and features a rich storyline that the players help create as they play the game. The Cheese System allows players to hoard the crumbs of precious cheese they find on their journey, and use it to bolster their mice with grandiose new abilities and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

Mice and Mystics will provide any group of friends with an unforgettable adventure they will be talking about for years to come – assuming they can all squeak by...



Expansion advice:

For those who have expansions for this game the recommended order by the game designer for playing them is as follows (see original post HERE):

Sorrow and Remembrance (Base game)
Cat's Cradle (Lost Chapter 1)
Heart of Glorm
The Ghost of Castle Andon (Lost Chapter 2)
Downwood Tales
Portents of Importance (Lost Chapter 3), connected to the story in Tail Feathers



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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jerry Hawthorne
Publishers: Plaid Hat Games
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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Vital Lacerda
Publishers: Giochix.it
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Joanna Kijanka
Publishers: Portal Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Geoff Engelstein
Publishers: Stronghold Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Aaron Dill
Publishers: Gale Force Nine, LLC
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Vital Lacerda
Publishers: Giochix.it
2012
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Best War Game of 2012
1812 - The Invasion of Canada

The year is 1812. War is raging across Europe and Russia. Napoleon, emperor of France, is seeking to dominate Europe through conquest. France’s enemies, led by England, are engaged in a desperate struggle to defeat Napoleon. England, in dire need of men, is impressing men to serve in its navy. Included are Americans who are pressed into service at gunpoint.

The young American nation objects. Eager to defend its sovereign rights and to strengthen its position in North America, the United States declares war on Britain on June 18, 1812. Taking advantage of the British Army being occupied in its struggles against Napoleon, American forces invade Canada in order to drive the British from its last remaining colony on North American soil. Surprised, Britain reels from the attack and now has to face another enemy threat on another front.

In 1812 - The Invasion of Canada, players take on one of the roles of the major factions that took part in the War of 1812. On the British side these are represented by the British Regulars (Redcoats), Canadian Militia and Native Americans; and the American Regular Army and American Militia comprise the American players. Players for each side will cooperate with each other in order to plan and conduct their campaigns. Each side will attempt to capture Objective Areas on the map. When a truce is called, the side that controls the most enemy Objective Areas wins.

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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Beau Beckett
Publishers: Academy Games, Inc.
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Best War Game Nominee of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jason Matthews
Publishers: GMT Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Ed Beach
Publishers: GMT Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Volko Ruhnke
Publishers: GMT Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Dan Verssen
Publishers: Dan Verssen Games (DVG)
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jason Matthews
Publishers: GMT Games
2012
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Best Game Artwork of 2012
In Mice and Mystics, players take on the roles of those still loyal to the king – but to escape the clutches of Vanestra, they have been turned into mice! Play as cunning field mice who must race through a castle now twenty times larger than before. The castle would be a dangerous place with Vanestra's minions in control, but now countless other terrors also await heroes who are but the size of figs. Play as nimble Prince Collin and fence your way past your foes, or try Nez Bellows, the burly smith. Confound your foes as the wizened old mouse Maginos, or protect your companions as Tilda, the castle's former healer. Every player will have a vital role in the quest to warn the king, and it will take careful planning to find Vanestra's weakness and defeat her.

Mice and Mystics is a cooperative adventure game in which the players work together to save an imperiled kingdom. They will face countless adversaries such as rats, cockroaches, and spiders, and of course the greatest of all horrors: the castle's housecat, Brodie. Mice and Mystics is a boldly innovative game that thrusts players into an ever-changing, interactive environment, and features a rich storyline that the players help create as they play the game. The Cheese System allows players to hoard the crumbs of precious cheese they find on their journey, and use it to bolster their mice with grandiose new abilities and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

Mice and Mystics will provide any group of friends with an unforgettable adventure they will be talking about for years to come – assuming they can all squeak by...



Expansion advice:

For those who have expansions for this game the recommended order by the game designer for playing them is as follows (see original post HERE):

Sorrow and Remembrance (Base game)
Cat's Cradle (Lost Chapter 1)
Heart of Glorm
The Ghost of Castle Andon (Lost Chapter 2)
Downwood Tales
Portents of Importance (Lost Chapter 3), connected to the story in Tail Feathers



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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jerry Hawthorne
Publishers: Plaid Hat Games
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Best Game Artwork Nominee of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Régis Bonnessée
Publishers: Libellud
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Paul Peterson
Publishers: Alderac Entertainment Group
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Paolo Mori
Publishers: Marabunta
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Devin Low
Publishers: Upper Deck Entertainment
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Régis Bonnessée
Publishers: Libellud
2012
It's your lifelong dream – to join the Star Patrol and be part of the crew of an interstellar Starship. You've worked hard, graduated from the academy, and received your first assignment as part of a team of young recruits, confident in your training and ready to be put to the test. Nothing can possibly go wrong as you are prepared for anything...

You are the Space Cadets.

Space Cadets is a fun and frantic cooperative game for 3-6 players who take on the roles of Bridge Officers of a Starship. Each officer must accomplish his specific task in order for the team to successfully complete the mission. You might be the...


Helmsman, plotting the ship's course through asteroid fields and nebulae.
Engineer, using dominoes to get enough power to each system.
Weapons Officer, completing puzzles to load the torpedoes and flicking a disc down a track to launch them.
Shield Officer, using tiles to form poker hands to get the strongest shields.
Sensor Officer, using your sense of touch to scan and lock on enemy targets.
Captain, setting the plan and making sure that everyone stays focused and does their job.


If your crew can work together to accomplish the mission goals, you just might make it home in one piece.

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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Geoff Engelstein
Publishers: Stronghold Games
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Most Innovative Game Winner of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Kristian Amundsen Østby
Publishers: Queen Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Bryan Pope
Publishers: Arcane Wonders
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Carl Chudyk
Publishers: Asmadi Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Simone Luciani
Publishers: Czech Games Edition
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Kristian Amundsen Østby
Publishers: Queen Games
2012
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In Core Worlds: Galactic Orders – the first expansion to Core Worlds, the deck-building card game of intergalactic conquest – players begin to forge alliances with the six Galactic Orders, powerful organizations that have maintained their independence in the midst of a crumbling empire. These Orders consist of the Galactic Senate, the Science Guild, the Merchant Alliance, the Mining Coalition, the Order of Knighthood, and the Mystic Brotherhood. The Galactic Orders expansion focuses on these six independent organizations and their influence upon a galaxy at war.

Each Galactic Order is represented on the table by a large Galactic Order card that specifies the special power associated with that Order, and each player starts with 20 Faction Tokens that match the Faction symbols on their Starting Decks. Whenever a player deploys a Unit or plays a Tactic with a Galactic Order icon on it, he gets to place his Faction Token onto the corresponding Galactic Order card. Players must choose between leaving their Faction Tokens on the Galactic Order cards to score points at the end of the game, or removing their Faction Tokens in order to use the unique special powers associated with each Order.

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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Andrew Parks
Publishers: Stronghold Games
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Best Game Expansion Nominee of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Richard Garfield
Publishers: IELLO
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Tory Niemann
Publishers: Clever Mojo Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Antoine Bauza
Publishers: Repos Production
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Vlaada Chvátil
Publishers: WizKids
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Richard Garfield
Publishers: IELLO
2012
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All of the eligible young men (and many of the not-so-young) seek to woo the princess of Tempest. Unfortunately, she has locked herself in the palace, and you must rely on others to take your romantic letters to her. Will yours reach her first?

Love Letter is a game of risk, deduction, and luck for 2–4 players. Your goal is to get your love letter into Princess Annette's hands while deflecting the letters from competing suitors. From a deck with only sixteen cards, each player starts with only one card in hand; one card is removed from play. On a turn, you draw one card, and play one card, trying to expose others and knock them from the game. Powerful cards lead to early gains, but make you a target. Rely on weaker cards for too long, however, and your letter may be tossed in the fire!

Number 4 in the Tempest: Shared World Game Series

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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Seiji Kanai
Publishers: Alderac Entertainment Group
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Best Party Game of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Dominic Crapuchettes
Publishers: North Star Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Rüdiger Dorn
Publishers: alea
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Stephen Glenn
Publishers: Asterion Press
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Rikki Tahta
Publishers: Indie Boards & Cards
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Dominic Crapuchettes
Publishers: North Star Games
2012
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Best Small Publisher of 2012
In Mice and Mystics, players take on the roles of those still loyal to the king – but to escape the clutches of Vanestra, they have been turned into mice! Play as cunning field mice who must race through a castle now twenty times larger than before. The castle would be a dangerous place with Vanestra's minions in control, but now countless other terrors also await heroes who are but the size of figs. Play as nimble Prince Collin and fence your way past your foes, or try Nez Bellows, the burly smith. Confound your foes as the wizened old mouse Maginos, or protect your companions as Tilda, the castle's former healer. Every player will have a vital role in the quest to warn the king, and it will take careful planning to find Vanestra's weakness and defeat her.

Mice and Mystics is a cooperative adventure game in which the players work together to save an imperiled kingdom. They will face countless adversaries such as rats, cockroaches, and spiders, and of course the greatest of all horrors: the castle's housecat, Brodie. Mice and Mystics is a boldly innovative game that thrusts players into an ever-changing, interactive environment, and features a rich storyline that the players help create as they play the game. The Cheese System allows players to hoard the crumbs of precious cheese they find on their journey, and use it to bolster their mice with grandiose new abilities and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

Mice and Mystics will provide any group of friends with an unforgettable adventure they will be talking about for years to come – assuming they can all squeak by...



Expansion advice:

For those who have expansions for this game the recommended order by the game designer for playing them is as follows (see original post HERE):

Sorrow and Remembrance (Base game)
Cat's Cradle (Lost Chapter 1)
Heart of Glorm
The Ghost of Castle Andon (Lost Chapter 2)
Downwood Tales
Portents of Importance (Lost Chapter 3), connected to the story in Tail Feathers



Read more Read less
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jerry Hawthorne
Publishers: Plaid Hat Games
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Best Small Publisher Nominee of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Bryan Pope
Publishers: Arcane Wonders
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Ryan Laukat
Publishers: Red Raven Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jason Maxwell
Publishers: 8th Summit
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Aaron Dill
Publishers: Gale Force Nine, LLC
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Bryan Pope
Publishers: Arcane Wonders
2012
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Best Production Values of 2012
Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game is a tactical ship-to-ship combat game in which players take control of powerful Rebel X-wings and nimble Imperial TIE fighters, facing them against each other in fast-paced space combat. Featuring stunningly detailed and painted miniatures, the X-Wing Miniatures Game recreates exciting Star Wars space combat throughout its several included scenarios. Select your crew, plan your maneuvers, and complete your mission!

Whatever your chosen vessel, the rules of X-Wing facilitate fast and visceral gameplay that puts you in the middle of Star Wars fiercest firefights. Each ship type has its own unique piloting dial, which is used to secretly select a speed and maneuver each turn. After planning maneuvers, each ship's dial is revealed and executed (starting with the lowest skilled pilot). So whether you rush headlong toward your enemy showering his forward deflectors in laser fire, or dance away from him as you attempt to acquire a targeting lock, you'll be in total control throughout all the tense dogfighting action.

Star Wars: X-Wing features (three) unique missions, and each has its own set of victory conditions and special rules; with such a broad selection of missions, only clever and versatile pilots employing a range of tactics will emerge victorious. What's more, no mission will ever play the same way twice, thanks to a range of customization options, varied maneuvers, and possible combat outcomes. Damage, for example, is determined through dice and applied in the form of a shuffled Damage Deck. For some hits your fighter sustains, you'll draw a card that assigns a special handicap. Was your targeting computer damaged, affecting your ability to acquire a lock on the enemy? Perhaps an ill-timed weapon malfunction will limit your offensive capabilities. Or worse yet, your pilot could be injured, compromising his ability to focus on the life-and-death struggle in which he is engaged...

The Star Wars: X-Wing starter set includes everything you need to begin your battles, such as scenarios, cards, and fully assembled and painted ships. What's more, Star Wars: X-Wing's quick-to-learn ruleset establishes the foundation for a system that can be expanded with your favorite ships and characters from the Star Wars universe.

Reimplemented by Star Wars: X-Wing (Second Edition)

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Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jason Little
Publishers: Fantasy Flight Games
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Best Production Values Nominee of 2012
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jerry Hawthorne
Publishers: Plaid Hat Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Raphaël Guiton
Publishers: CMON Global Limited
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Daniel Clark (I)
Publishers: Fantasy Flight Games
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Simone Luciani
Publishers: Czech Games Edition
Year Published: 2012
Designers: Jerry Hawthorne
Publishers: Plaid Hat Games
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