Literary Games

Designer Eric Lang, known for his "dudes on a map" games, describes The Godfather: Corleone's Empire - a standalone big box board game with high-quality miniatures - as "thugs on a map". In short, the game is a streamlined, confrontational worker placement game filled with murder and intrigue. In long, you play as competing Mafia families who are vying for economic control of the organized crime networks of New York City, deploying your thugs, your Don, your wife, and your heir on the board to shake down businesses and engage in area-control turf wars. Money, rackets, contracts, and special advantages (such as the union boss) are represented by cards in your hand, and your hand size is limited, with you choosing which extra cards to pay tribute to the Don at the end of each of the five rounds. At the end of the game, though, cash is all that matters, and whoever has the most money wins. The game also features drive-by shootings in which enemy tokens are removed from the board and placed face-down in the river. The Don of that family member must play cards to fish their guys out of the river and return them to duty on the New York battlefield.

Take control of one of the most powerful crime families in New York City

Get ready to make an offer that can’t be refused.

In The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire, players control of one of the five different crime families in 1950s New York City. Everyone is vying to take over the main operations, should Don Vito Corleone meet an untimely end.

Over the course of four acts, players send out Family Members and Thugs to shake down businesses in order to earn money, illegal goods, and other benefits. They battle over territory in Turf Wars and get special bonuses for completing jobs for the Don. Players can add new Allies to their family business, if they’re willing to pay heavy bribes, but having the most money is the key to victory. They have to decide how much they’re willing to spend. During each act, it’s also necessary to pay a tribute to Don Corleone, so players have to launder their money away if they want to be able to keep it.

After four acts, players receive bonuses for the Turf they control and the jobs they’ve managed to pull. The family with the most money will inherit the business of Don Corleone and take control over New York City.

The Age of Conan Strategy Board Game allows players to each control one of the four majors kingdoms of Hyboria. Command armies, wield dark sorcery, or weave cunning intrigue – all are needed in order to conquer your enemies and make your kingdom the most powerful in the world. Yet, even the most powerful of rulers ignores one man at his great peril. Only one kingdom will harness the volatile alliance of the mightiest hero of all – Conan the Cimmerian.

Age of Conan is a massive strategy board game based on the famous sword-and-sorcery hero created by R.E. Howard and designed by the same team of the award-winning War of the Ring game.

The kingdoms of Aquilonia, Hyperborea, Turan and Stygia will fight with armies, magic and gold to subjugate and conquer; but Conan the Barbarian, the greatest Hero of this age, may turn the tide in favour or against any player.

Age of Conan Strategy Board Game features lots of miniatures and top-level components.

From the Manufacturer

This is an age of strife and sorcery. An age of might, splendor, and decadence. In this age, powerful kingdoms fight for supremacy in the Hyborian world. Using armies, magic, and intrigue, these nations strive to expand their borders and increase their riches. Command the legions of imperial Aquilonia, the witches and monstrous creatures of frozen Hyperborea, the sorcerers and demonic servants of dusky Stygia, or the horse-hordes and cunning diplomats of the plains kingdom of Turan. Into this age of empire building, heroic achievements, and vile misdeeds steps Conan the Cimmerian black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, thief, reaver, slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the earth under his sandaled feet. Age of Conan is board game that puts players in control of one of the major kingdoms of the Hyborian age, period of history well known through the tales of Conan the Cimmerian, the barbarian hero created by Robert E. Howard. Players fight with armies, sorcery, and intrigues to make their kingdom the most powerful of the age, and to secure for their side the mightiest hero of all Conan the Cimmerian!

The setting is England at the beginning of the 12th century. The construction of what is to be the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Builders compete against each other to contribute the most to this cathedral's construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points. To play the game, first players must use workers to procure raw building materials, and then use craftsmen to refine the materials into victory points. What actions will you take on your path to victory? Will you seek an audience with the king perhaps, to get to the metal you need? Or should you avail yourself of the support of influential personalities? A brief stay in the monastery could be as beneficial to you as strong ties to your craftsmen. Your workers may also be used to produce gold, the currency of the game. Players are given three master builders each turn, each of which can do a variety of tasks, including recruiting more workers, buying or selling goods, or directly obtaining victory points. Getting early choices with a master builder costs gold, as does purchasing more capable craftsmen. Players must strike a balance between earning gold to fund their purchases and earning victory points. Transport yourself to Medieval England as described by Ken Follett in his best-selling masterpiece novel, Pillars of the Earth.

England in the early and middle 14th Century! 

Journey to Kingsbridge, England, where 200 years ago Prior Phillip oversaw the building of the cathedral renowned as "The Pillars of the Earth." Now farmers, wool dealers, and builders seek wealth and prestige amidst a rivalry between the priory and merchants. As the plague reaches town, nothing remains as it once was. World Without End™ is based on Ken Follett's best-selling novel. Strive to navigate turbulent events, ensuring and balancing your food supply, income, and prestige. Piety and loyalty remain vital, for you must cater to the upper classes. And precious medical knowledge is your greatest weapon against the Black Death. So, gather your power and spirit and rise above your rivals into legend! 

World Without End contains: 

• 1 game board
• 30 gold markers
• 100 cards (4 summary, 4 event, 48 action, 4 chapter)
• 57 markers (20 medical, 11 plague, 12 piety, 14 loyalty, 1 favor)
• 10 die-cut tiles (7 building project, 3 covering)
• 41 wooden resource cubes (25 wood, 15 stone, 1 metal)
• 37 wooden commodity pieces (10 grain, 15 wool, 12 cloth)
• 16 wooden house pieces
• 1 wooden start player piece
• 4 wooden scoring tokens
• 4 player screens
• 1 tax die
• game rules
• bag

The setting is Europe in the time of Elizabeth I. In England, France, Spain and the Netherlands, Catholics and Protestants compete for power and influence. In this politically unstable environment, resourceful operatives and courageous secret agents plot to secure power for their rulers. The balance of power shifts back and forth amidst foiled assassinations, successful rebellions, and futile invasions. And not infrequently, those who sympathize with the weak are expelled from the country. The real enemies, then as now, are not the rival religions. The true battle pits those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else — no matter what the cost. Who will best exploit the changing power conditions in Europe to win the game?.

Shogun is a strategy game by Dirk Henn. As warlords in 16th-century Japan, the players attempt to secure a position of dominance for their respective clans. The most successful Daimyo at the end of the game will become Shogun. To succeed, a player will need not only to control as many provinces as possible, but also to develop his realm by building castles, temples and theaters. The player who manages to build the most buildings in each of the five regions earns valuable bonus points. The Shogun Big Box contains the Shogun base game and the expansions "Tenno's Court" (1), "Samurai" (2), "Military Leader" (3) and "Noble Arts in Japan" (4).

It is 1882, and the old ones are already here. They arrived seven hundred years ago and have been ruling the Planet ever since. The majority of people just get on with their lives, accepting their monstrous rulers. However, a growing band of revolutionaries wish to free mankind from their slavery. These freedom fighters call themselves the restorationists. A secret war has already broken out between the restorationists and the forces loyal to the old ones. The invention of Dynamite has changed the balance of power, and a lone assassin now has the capacity to destroy an old one. In this shadow world of assassins, informers, police agents and anarchists, nobody is quite sure who is who and which side they fight for. 

This second edition of a study in emerald sports new artwork by Ian O'Toole and Tatiana Kuzilova along with a streamlined set of rules that will hopefully help those folks who found the first version a tad complicated. Inconsistencies have been removed and the number of available actions has been reduced to the minimum, whilst still retaining the mood of paranoia from the first edition.

In tales of the Arabian Nights, you are the hero or heroine in a story of adventure and wonder just like those told by Scheherazade to her spellbound sultan. You will travel the land seeking your own destiny and fortune. You will learn stories and gain wisdom to share with others. Will you be the first to fulfill your destiny? The next tale is yours to tell. There is, of course, a winner in tales of the Arabian Nights, but the point of the game is less to see who wins and more to enjoy the unfolding and telling of a great story. 

In this new edition of the groundbreaking storytelling game, you enter the lands of the Arabian Nights alongside Sindbad, Ali Baba, and the other legendary heroes of the tales. Travel the world encountering imprisoned princesses, powerful 'efreets, evil viziers, and such marvels as the magnetic mountain and the fabled elephant's graveyard. 

Choose your actions carefully and the skills you possess will reward you become beloved, wealthy, mighty - even become sultan of a great land. 

Choose foolishly, however, and become a beggar, or be cursed with a beast's form or become insane from terror. You will bring to life the stories of the inestimable book of tales in this vastly replayable board game with over 2002 tales that will challenge, amuse, astound and spellbind you for years to come. 

Game contents 1 game board, book of tales, 1 reaction matrix, 6 stand-up figures, 6 player mats, 125 cards, 100+ counters, 3 dice, rules. For 2-6 players. Takes about 2 hours to play. Tons of replay value.