Sail the Chao Phraya River, and Engage in a Battle Through History with Sabaton

Sail the Chao Phraya River, and Engage in a Battle Through History with Sabaton
Board Game: Phraya
As we near the end of 2021, I find myself with a large number of newly released or upcoming games in my inbox and on browser tabs about which I know very little, but about which I know just enough to make me want to share info in this space, so let me post teasers for a few of them here:

Alberto Millán's Phraya was demoed at SPIEL '21 by Spanish publisher DMZ Games, and the 2-4 player game due out in 2022 bears this short description for now:
Quote:
Set in the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand, the century-old floating market swarms with merchants moving from one stall to another in their own boats. Water markets were centers of economic activity, and now you can relive the experience of one of those ancient merchants.

Phraya is a commodity-speculation, pick-up-and-deliver game in which players trade from stall to stall while trying to get the best prices, make offerings in the temples to win Buddha's favor, buy their own stalls to do business, and even approach the king's barge.
Family Frakass will be the first game from both designer Alexandre "Mamantin's" Thinnes and publisher BTT, about which I know nothing beyond what's been submitted to the game's BGG page. In short, this is a co-operative "beat 'em up" game for 1-3 players in which you're trying to clear stages so that you can reach the boss, then defeat that character to triumph. On a turn, you have three action points available to move, strike, or take other actions with your cards in hand, although you can't take the same action twice in a row and you might prefer to hold cards so that you can build combos specific for your hero.

What caught my eye here is the teaser image, which is not unique in the world of "beat 'em up" designs, but my eye was caught anyway.

Board Game: Family Frakass

• Italian publisher Scribabs and German publisher Pegasus Spiele worked together previously on the 2019 release of Armata Strigoi, a co-operative fantasy game based on the music of German power metal band POWERWOLF, and now they're partnering on A Battle Through History, which is described as the "official Sabaton board game", Sabaton being a Swedish heavy metal band.

Here's an overview of this 2-5 player game from designers Erik Burigo, Pär Sundström, and Marco Valtriani that's currently due out on December 13, 2021:
Quote:
In A Battle Through History, each player wears the clothes of a time-traveling storyteller whose journey through historical eras enables them to relive epic battles alongside legendary troops and heroes.

Board Game: A Battle Through History

During a game, players play era tiles into the "Gear of History" to customize their deck of cards and move their character in space and time in order to fight and recruit troops from different historical battles or challenge opponents in player vs. player combat. As you build an army made of soldiers from different ages, you use it to collect relics from different places and times. Whoever collects the greatest units and the bravest heroes, leads them to victory, and gathers relics during their travels wins the game.

Related

Designer Diary: Merchants of Magick

Designer Diary: Merchants of Magick

Dec 09, 2021

As of November 2021, Merchants of Magick pre-orders are being delivered, and hopefully it will show up at your local game store soon. It's been a journey getting to this point, and I wanted to...

Brew Potions, Stack Penguins, and Avoid Vampire Hunters with Playte

Brew Potions, Stack Penguins, and Avoid Vampire Hunters with Playte

Dec 08, 2021

While researching the catalog of Korean publisher Playte — formerly known as OPEN'N PLAY — ahead of an October 2021 post about a trilogy of new releases, I discovered many titles on the...

Bring Dinosaurs Back to Life...Again...in Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

Bring Dinosaurs Back to Life...Again...in Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

Dec 07, 2021

At Gen Con 2021, U.S. publisher Funko Games teased an upcoming title based on the Jurassic Park IP:A @JurassicWorld-based legacy game is in the works from @FunkoGames for release in Q3 2022. This...

Designer Diary: Of Murderous Rabbits, Crossbow-Slinging Squirrels, and Medieval Manuscripts, or A Tale of Illumination

Designer Diary: Of Murderous Rabbits, Crossbow-Slinging Squirrels, and Medieval Manuscripts, or A Tale of Illumination

Dec 07, 2021

I've been designing board games for two decades now, and with a Nigel Tufnel's worth of published designs behind me, I think I've detected three trends or perhaps even (to sound fancier about it)...

Game Overview: Templari, Don, and Serengeti, or A Forbidding Game

Game Overview: Templari, Don, and Serengeti, or A Forbidding Game

Dec 06, 2021

I'm a fan of minimalist game designs, games that throw you and your fellow players into a pit to face a specific, relatively simple challenge that is not, in fact, simple since you all keep...

ads