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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First up: We use a cast of strange creatures to capture trophies in Challengers!
Next: We roll the dice and hit the gas in Rallyman: DIRT
And lastly: We travel to Mallorca for a succulent harvest in Finca
Challengers!
Designed by: Johannes Krenner, Markus Slawitscheck
Published by: 1 More Time Games (2022)
Players: 1 – 8
Ages: 8 & up
Playing time: 45 minutes
Challengers! is a deck-management game where characters and creatures yield abilities and powers to help you grab trophies in hope of getting to the grand finale.
The game is played over 7 challenge rounds, and then the final two players with the most trophy points square off head to head in the final victory round. All players’ starting cards are the same, but that changes quickly, because each round, you will pick new cards to add to your deck, while strategically removing cards and thinning your deck along the way.
All players play simultaneously in a series of head to head competitions. Play your deck, one card at a time. Each card has a number. Back and forth, players will play enough cards until they have an equal sum or higher than their opponent. Bested cards are retired to a “bench”, where there are 6 bench spots. Each bench spot can hold one type of card. If your bench fills up and can not handle any more bested cards, you lose the round. You also lose the round if you run out of cards to play without beating your opponent.
Try to get the most trophies over the course of seven rounds to be able to qualify for the final. If you can best your opponent in the final, you win Challengers!
Rallyman: DIRT
Designed by: Jean-Christophe Bouvier
Published by: Synapses Games (2022
Players: 1 – 6
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 45 – 60 minutes
Rallyman: DIRT is a roll and move racing game, so to move around the track, you’ll be rolling dice! Each player will have a mixture of Gear, Brake and Coast dice at their disposal to get their car speeding along the track. Each die can only be rolled once per turn. Each die has a certain number of Warning symbols. If you get 3 in one roll, you’ll lose control of your car, increasing your time and potentially damaging your vehicle!
Rallyman: DIRT is all about you and the track – planning the perfect trajectory is the key to success! You’ll have to adjust your driving technique to tackle the challenges of each stage, from sharp corners to open water, obstacles and bumps.
The player who crosses the finish line with the lowest time is the winner, rally you are!
Finca
Designed by: Wolfgang Sentker, Ralf zur Linde
Published by: Pandasaurus Games (2024), Originally published in 2009
Players: 2 – 5
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 45 minutes
Finca is a worker placement and resource management game, which takes place on Mallorca, Island of the Wind. A place of golden beaches and a light-blue sea. The almond harvest is at hand, in addition, juicy oranges, lemons, and figs are ready to be picked and taken to the market. Gather as many of Mallorca’s resources as possible and deliver them to the island’s communities.
Each player controls a set number of farmers on the resource wheel. Take one of two actions: move a farmer, or, make a delivery of goods. Move a farmer by moving them the number of spaces equal to the number of farmers on that space, then collect the number of resources on that resource wheel, taking the same quantity of that resource as there are farmers on the space. If you cross a donkey line on the wheel, take a donkey card. Donkey cards allow you to make your other action, which is delivering goods. Fill the baskets on the donkey card, make the deliveries to the Fincas on the main board, and then collect those tiles to score points. When a finca is out of tiles, whoever has the most tiles with those goods on them, gets the bonus points.
Most points wins, and the victor becomes an island unto themselves!