Four New Titles from WizKids for Mid-2019: Nemo Rising, Palm Trees, Sovereign's Chain & Europa Base Alpha

Four New Titles from WizKids for Mid-2019: Nemo Rising, Palm Trees, Sovereign's Chain & Europa Base Alpha
Board Game: Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror
• Another month brings another four titles announced by WizKids — or at least that's how it feels sometimes. The company's director of board games, Zev Shlasinger, has wide-ranging tastes, which makes it hard to know what to expect from WizKids. You need to approach each game on its own terms to see whether they might be suitable for you.

The largest game in the batch is Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror, a 1-4 player design from Andrew Parks and Matthew Cattron that plays in 90 minutes and that bears this description:

Quote:
Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror is a co-operative board game that follows the new adventures of Captain Nemo and the crew of the Nautilus, as reintroduced by C. Courtney Joyner in his novel Nemo Rising. The game allows 1-4 players to assume the roles of the protagonists of the series — Captain Nemo, Sara Duncan, Adam Fulmer, or Ulysses S. Grant — as they explore new worlds, overcome dangerous obstacles, and complete challenging missions.

As you and your fellow players work together, you can choose to explore one of two scenarios. The first scenario is the Undersea Grotto in which you must venture outside the Nautilus to gather supplies while avoiding sea hydras, deep sea scavengers, and the mechanical Kraken. The second scenario is the majestic City in the Sky in which you must thwart Robur the Conqueror and his army of foot soldiers, war dogs, and steam-powered creations. Special action cards and customized dice allow you to attempt dangerous tasks and overcome powerful enemies in order to save the world.
Nemo Rising: Robur the Conqueror bears a September 2019 release date.

Europa Base Alpha, a 2-4 player game from Garrett Herdter, takes you from the world of pulp fiction to the world of pulp science fiction. Here's an overview of the game, which is due out in June 2019:

Quote:
There is no Cold War that is more chilling or isolated than on the untouched surface of Jupiter's moon, Europa. The nations have broken apart and are now in a race to get defenses established on Europa before it is too late. Will you take control of Europa with the largest network of installations, or will you be left in lunar dust?

In Europa Base Alpha, players compete to build the grandest network of moon bases on Europa made up of missile silos, communication towers, global command centers, personnel bunkers, and intergalactic transports. Cards and dice are used to help you build your bases as well as hinder other players. Bases need certain icons rolled, and cards can be played to aid in getting those icons or to hinder an opponent by requiring more icons, having them roll fewer dice, etc. The player with the most points earned from built moon bases will take control of Europa and win!

Europa Base Alpha includes an "Invaders" expansion for more variability!
Board Game Publisher: WizKids (I)
• Also due out in June 2019 is Palm Trees by Andrew J. Smith, which allows for 2-6 players with a playing time of 20 minutes as long as everyone avoids snacks during the game:

Quote:
Palm Trees comes with 78 cards that represent fronds and coconuts. All of the cards have rules telling you the crazy ways you have to hold them: between thumb and pinky only, palm and index finger only, can't touch other cards, and more. Pick challenging cards for your opponents, and hope they drop their cards! The best tree wins! To add to the fun, Palm Trees includes trunk tattoo sleeves to wear on your tree-arm!

Palm Trees can also be played in teams of two. One player is growing palm trees in both their hands, while their partner places the cards into those trees. Be the first team to place six cards in each tree to win!
Sovereign's Chain is due out in August 2019, and this 2-4 player game by Robert J. Hudecek will probably be a lot easier to imagine playing once we can see some of the cards. For now, though, we have this description:

Quote:
Sovereign's Chain — a strategic, cutthroat card game — is so named due to the class cards played in front of players that form chains. You can play cards onto your own chain or those of your opponents. While most cards are played face up, which activates their abilities, some can be played face down to be activated later. Class cards come in two suits — stars and planets — and to win, you must have the highest difference in points between these two suits when someone's chain reaches seven cards. To add a wrinkle to the game, a small deck of event cards is included, with unique effects that change the game completely.
From gallery of W Eric Martin

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