Set in ancient Egypt in a time of chaos and revolts, Saqqara is a game with lots of bluffing, speculation and development for 2-5 players. The players assume the role of nomarch in ancient Egypt and attempt to influence the country's government and economy. They sent merchants to the market to collect goods to develop their province, recruit workers to build pyramids, and claim fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The player who succeeds in developing his province best by cunningly making use of the privileges of the pyramids and claiming a large area on the banks of the Nile wins the game and becomes Egypt's new leader.
Watch out for beggars, thiefs and sneaky bluffing nomarchs from other provinces. They want the same as you: power over Egypt.
• ICv2 has posted news of another Quarriors! expansion from WizKids titled Quest of the Qladiator. According to ICv2, this expansion will have 40 new dice and 26 new cards, wit six new creature types and two new spell types.
• In "old" news, German publisher AMIGO Spiel released a new version of Wolfgang Kramer's Heimlich & Co in May 2012, and in addition to the graphics overhaul to make it match modern AMIGO releases, the game now includes a "Top Secret" variant that use 26 Top Secret cards added to the game for this purpose. No clue as to what changes in the game play, but Kramer notes on his website that the variant results in a much shorter playing time.
• On their Inspiration to Publication blog, designers Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim announced that they've signed a deal with Queen Games for their pirate-themed design "Swashbucklers". Well, almost signed anyway. As noted in the announcement: "Our third game is 99% of the way to being signed..." Keep counting those chickens, boys!
• Italian publisher dV Giochi has announced its release plans for late 2012, with two titles debuting at Spiel 2012, being released in Europe in late October 2012, and appearing in the U.S. around December 2012 due to travel across that annoying ocean that prohibits easy movement between Europe and North America. The first title is Bang! 10th Anniversary, the title bearing witness to the debut of Emiliano Sciarra's Bang! in 2002. Here's a summary of what's included in the box:
The second item is also from Emiliano Sciarra, and it puts a new spin on a familiar game:
Samurai Sword will be published in co-operation with the Japanese publisher Hobby Japan.