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That games turns out to be Elfenroads, with that being the name of designer Alan R. Moon's first take on this design in 1992 from his own White Wind Games. That version of Elfenroads evolved into Elfenland and the subsequent Elfengold expansion, with those items now being included in the new 2015 Elfenroads along with a new version of that game titled Elfensea. Here's an overview of the setting and gameplay from RGG:
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In Elfenland, young elves have to pass a very special test before they are accepted as grownups. All elf girls and elf boys receive a map of Elfenland, and they have to visit as many famous towns in Elfenland as possible, using the common types of transportation: dragons, unicorns, giant pigs, elfcycles, troll wagons, magic clouds, ferries and rafts. These types of transportation, however, are available in limited numbers and can be used only in specific regions. Thus, an exciting race starts among the elves to find out who will make the best use of the available transportation. The one who visits the most towns wins.
Elfengold, an expansion for Elfenland, adds gold coins to the game that players use to bid for the Travel Counters and other new items. It also adds Gold Value Tokens to the towns that indicate how much gold players earn for visiting a town. Two magic spells and a new obstacle — a Sea Monster — are included as well as two round cards to allow for longer games up to six rounds.
In Elfensea, as in Elfenland, young elves have to pass a special test before they are accepted as grownups. The same rules apply in Elfensea as in Elfenland, except as described in the rules. The game board map is different, and the common types of transportation — dragons, unicorns, giant pigs, magic clouds, whales and rafts — differ somewhat as well. As in Elfenland, these types of transportation are available in limited numbers and can be used only in specific regions. Thus, an exciting race starts among the elves to find out who will make the best use of the available transportation. The player with the most points wins.
The RGG website lists a release date of Sept. 18, 2015, but release dates on that site appear to be generated randomly by gnomes since they often don't relate to when a game will actually be released.Elfengold, an expansion for Elfenland, adds gold coins to the game that players use to bid for the Travel Counters and other new items. It also adds Gold Value Tokens to the towns that indicate how much gold players earn for visiting a town. Two magic spells and a new obstacle — a Sea Monster — are included as well as two round cards to allow for longer games up to six rounds.
In Elfensea, as in Elfenland, young elves have to pass a special test before they are accepted as grownups. The same rules apply in Elfensea as in Elfenland, except as described in the rules. The game board map is different, and the common types of transportation — dragons, unicorns, giant pigs, magic clouds, whales and rafts — differ somewhat as well. As in Elfenland, these types of transportation are available in limited numbers and can be used only in specific regions. Thus, an exciting race starts among the elves to find out who will make the best use of the available transportation. The player with the most points wins.
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That said, Xeno Invasion designer Tom Lehmann has started posting teasers from this expansion — teaser #1 and teaser #2 — ahead of its release, whenever that turns out to be.
• While neither Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Invasion nor the forthcoming reprint of Transeuropa will be shown at Gen Con 2015, Tummelson says that Roll for the Galaxy: Ambition may be demoed during that con — and I'd like to emphasize "may". Ideally I'm not getting anyone's hopes up without reason, but I also wanted to mention that the possibility of playing this in Indianapolis might exist.
• Also coming in 2015 from RGG, according to the designer, is Matt Calkins' Tin Goose, which was referenced in a 2013 article in Inc. Magazine despite the game not being available! Here's an overview of the game:
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Tin Goose is a game about the early years of commercial air travel. Beginning as a regional operation with just an airmail route and a "tin goose" (the Ford Trimotor), players build an airline empire through the 1930s and 40s. As the game progresses, planes improve, being safer and more fuel efficient while having a longer range. Companies become more organized and shed their early inefficiencies. The stakes of a disaster — crashes, strikes, and oil shocks — get higher.
A deck of 96 cards includes all of the planes and events that enter the game. Of these, only about 36 are played in any given session, and all of those exist in players' hands at the outset. The result is a game of "calamities" with more planning and less luck: A skillful player seeing high bids on the safest planes may guess several bidders are holding crash cards.
A deck of 96 cards includes all of the planes and events that enter the game. Of these, only about 36 are played in any given session, and all of those exist in players' hands at the outset. The result is a game of "calamities" with more planning and less luck: A skillful player seeing high bids on the safest planes may guess several bidders are holding crash cards.
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