New Game Round-up: Command Polish Forces in First to Fight, Move More Goods with Alban Viard & Run Around Like a Maniac in Soqquadro

The title of First to Fight refers to the famous slogan and poster distributed in European countries after Poland was the first country to be attacked by Germany in September 1939. This game, released in cooperation with Fundacja Niepodległości (Foundation for Independence), takes place throughout the entirety of World War II, with the players taking the roles of commanders of the Polish forces that are fighting on numerous fronts: Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, etc. By allocating their troops in different regions of the world, they aim to carry out missions (including the most famous battles of WW2) and earn victory points (VPs). The players do not "own" or control the soldiers, which are represented by neutral cards, moved by the players around the board, and activated only when it is the time to play a mission card in a given region; that said, their particular specialization may increase a player's chance to win a mission. The player with the most VPs at the end of the War (May 1945) wins.

The game presents true historical characters, events and places. First to Fight shows the scale of various activities that took place during the war – but it is not a wargame. Over its 40-70 minute playing time, a player will get to know many people and places that played an important role in achieving the victory over Germany. Among the soldiers to command, you can find Antoni Chruściel ps. Monter, August Emil Fieldorf ps. Nil, Jan Kozielewski ps. Jan Karski, Zdzisław Jeziorański ps. Jan Nowak, Stanisław Maczek ps. Baca, Jan Piwnik ps. Ponury, Zofia Rapp-Kochańska ps. Marie Springer, Stanisław Skalski, Elżbieta Zawacka ps. Zo, Witold Urbanowicz ps. Kobra. In order to win the game, you will have to train your soldiers and send them to various fronts – from the cold regions of Northern Europe, through the sun-baked deserts of Northern Africa and peaceful (only in theory!) Western Europe, to Warsaw, always fighting to the last bullet and the last soldier! All characters and events presented in the game were real.

In Adventures Bazar, the player merchants try to earn money by selling equipment — weapons, armor and tools — to heroes who wish to fight against an old dragon in a nearby cave. What the heroes doesn't know, though, is that the merchants have an arrangement with the dragon as naturally they're interested in keeping their source of gold, the great lizard, alive.

Each player has a personal game board, and each turn they play, then reveal a number of equipment cards. Each hero card displays that hero's desired equipment and priorities. Once the cards are revealed, the heroes buy from the cheapest stand according to their priorities as long as they have money.

Soqquadro is an innovative party game in which what's happening away from the table is as important as what's happening on it.

In this real-time game, all players simultaneously roll a die, then either execute the action or roll again. Possible actions include taking a card, changing a card, or running. (Yes, running!) When you take the run action, you must resolve cards that direct you to search in particular rooms in your playing area (or some other defined location) to find specific objects based on one or more constraints. As soon as you have an object, you can place it on the card and advance 1-3 spaces on the game board. Certain spaces on the game board trigger challenges among players!

The cards come in three colors to identify their difficulty level.