New Game Round-up: Build a New World for Yourself in Beta Colony, and Hit the Tracks Anew in Downforce: Danger Circuit

It all started when the Imperium seized control of Earth and declared martial law, sentencing those who opposed their will to immediate death or worse fates. It seemed as if all hope was lost, but before their edict could be carried out, a group of defectors managed to wrest control of the Ridback, a Class–II jumpship, and flee with as many of the condemned as they could save.

It has been close to seven years that these refugees from Earth have called the Ridback home, and finally the crew has found a planet with promise. They have managed to establish outposts around it, and now the great burden falls on you to expand these small “alphas” into a full-fledged Beta Colony. Success will mean that your people will be able to begin life anew on exoplanet 14 Bos c, or, as they have renamed it, "Victus" — Latin for "way of life".

In Beta Colony, you play as one of five Directors working to create prosperous colonies. If you earn the most Confidence Points (CP), you will be elected as the first leader of Victus. Players will collect the needed building materials to produce and erect colonization pods – Defense Stations, Science and Tech Towers, Living Quarters, Agriculture Pods, and Water Treatment Centers – on the varied terrain of Victus.

Using a unique "rolldell" mechanism (dice + rondel), Beta Colony is a mid-weight strategic game for players of all levels. Each round, the start player rolls their set of four colored dice. All other players duplicate that roll with their own dice. Players take two actions each round, one action at a time in turn order, with each action using two dice. Players will use one die to move and one die to activate the location to which they moved. Die color and value affect how each of the seven unique locations are used. Players will build colonization pods at each of three colonies to gain the confidence of the settlers and lead them to glory!

In Broadhorns: Early Trade on the Mississippi players take the role of merchants based in St. Louis, financing cargo expeditions down the Mississippi River during the early part of the 19th century. The game is played over the course of a year through the varying seasons, each presenting its own challenge. During the game, the players will finance a number of trips. With each one they will need to obtain a boat (known as a broadhorn or flatboat) and purchase cargo. The player receives a higher return for their cargo the farther down the Mississippi they travel. Some of the cargo is perishable so time is of the essence. In addition, there are travelers willing to pay for passage down the Mississippi.

The players begin the game in St. Louis with a small amount of gold. They will be able to afford only the smallest of three sizes of broadhorns for their first expedition; when they have earned more gold they will choose between smaller faster broadhorns and larger broadhorns with more cargo room. They will load their broadhorns with cargo from five available types: apples, flour, pork, fur and whiskey. Apples, flour and pork are perishable and the players have a limited time to deliver them before they spoil. The players may stop at any town along the way and deliver their cargo and purchase more, the farther down the river they sell their cargo the greater the return. Players may also pick up travelers at various towns to earn additional gold by taking them to their destination.

According to Chief Operations Officer, Jacob Way: "We're going to have a full line of products by the end of 2018 through the partnership with EmperorS4 and what we're going to create in-house. What's got me really excited is that this is a two way street. We're going to be signing a variety of North American properties and handling localization into the Asian market!"