25th Century Games has released Big Sur, a California-themed highway-building card game, into retail.

Cruise along California’s State Route 1 on the Big Sur Coast Highway to check out the views and landmarks along the most scenic driving route in the world – or rather, invite others to cruise on the highway that you build over the course of play.

In Big Sur, players draft cards to use them either as resources to build new road sections or as the road sections themselves. Your linear path of cards will score for connecting terrain types and meeting other conditions. You can also add notable landmarks to your highway for other unique scoring conditions; these landmarks are based on actual scenic lookouts and locations on Big Sur.

Designed by Mondo Davis, Big Sur is for two to four players, ages ten and up, and plays in around thirty minutes. It can be found at retail for only $19.99!

25th Century Games also previously released Kabuki Tricks (see “Kabuki Tricks card game“).

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Alderac Entertainment Group has released Word Wipe, a cooperative real-time word association game, into retail!

Word Wipe is a fast, cooperative, real-time word association game where players work together to clear a growing spread of cards before time runs out. Each table card represents a noun concept, and players must think creatively to connect them through a single shared idea. At any moment, a player can attempt a “word wipe” by choosing a secret word that links their hidden card with one or more cards on the table. They reveal their card, group the cards they are connecting with their clue, and flip a sand timer while the rest of the players race to guess the exact secret word.

You can give clues by arranging or tapping cards, or by tapping a Hint Card to show if your word is a being, place, or thing, but you cannot speak. The gameplay is chaotic, collaborative, and driven by quick thinking. Players are constantly scanning the table, forming connections, and deciding when to take their shot. Successful guesses remove cards from play, while missed attempts add more cards, increasing the pressure for the whole group.

To win, your team must clear all the table cards before time runs out. Every correct guess brings you closer, but every mistake makes the puzzle harder. Stay sharp, think creatively, and wipe the board before time runs out.

Designed by Matt Bahntge and Peter C. Hayward, Word Wipe is for two to ten players, ages ten and up, and plays in ten to fifteen minutes. It retails for $24.99!

Alderac Entertainment Group also previously released Honeypot (see Honeypot card game).  

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MindWare has released Down the Water Spout, an itsy bitsy spider game, into retail.

It’s a rainy day and the Itsy Bitsy Spider and her friends are having a fun time sliding down the water spout. Roll dice and find matches before the sun comes out. If everybody collects 4 cards before the sun comes up, you all win!

Designed by Peggy Brown, Down the Water Spout is for two to four players, ages 3 and up, and plays in ten to twenty minutes. It retails for $21.99.

MindWare also previously released Cudaki (see “Cudaki board game)“.

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Goliath Games has released Sequence Queens, the classic game now with wild queens and a new Queens Court board, into retail.

Move over Jacks – the Queens have taken control! Step into a world of strategy and elegance with SEQUENCE Queens, where alliances are formed and power is rewarded.

This fresh twist on the classic SEQUENCE game introduces the Queens Court, adding a new layer of strategy as you play beautifully illustrated cards, place glimmering gems, and build your path to victory across two boards. Use clever moves, form powerful alliances, and harness the unique abilities of Queens to outmaneuver your opponents.

Play your way with two modes – Queens for a strategic twist or Classic SEQUENCE for timeless gameplay. Will you claim your crown by completing both your SEQUENCE and your Alliance? The realm awaits – long live the Queen! 

Designed by Dexter Stevens, Sequence Queens is for two or more players, ages eight and up, and retails for $19.99.

Goliath Games also previously released The Sims (see “The Sims board game“).  

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Good Games Publishing has released Jisogi, a worker-placement board game about running your own anime studio, into retail.

In this tycoon-style game, players use Staff members (cards placed in front of their personal Studio board) to select from a range of available actions (limited by the type of Staff). Their objective is to release an original Anime composed of 3 Script parts (Setting, Plot, and Twist). Whenever released, players will gain resources and points according to their popularity – determined by the technical level of the Anime and how many genre matches they have to rotating Trend cards.

“Jisogi” comes from “jitenshasōgyō”, an expression that refers to barely keeping a business going (an analogy that a bicycle falls over when its wheels cease rotating). Get ready for a challenging tycoon-style game where you’ll hustle to make your dream Anime against all odds.

Designed by Rodrigo Esper, Jisogi is for one to four players, ages 14 and up, and plays in sixty to ninety minutes. It retails for $59.99.

Good Games Publishing also previously released Mythic Baths (see “Mythic Baths board game)“.

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25th Century Games has released Kabuki Tricks, a card game where players become producers of Kabuki performances, into retail.

It’s showtime in Kabuki Tricks, with players becoming producers of Kabuki performances in which the quality of showmanship depends on the number of tricks to be won.

The game is played over a number of rounds, with each player having a chance to play as the dealer. Each round plays out as follows: Each player gets a hand of a joker and seven random cards, which come in four actor suits. The dealer then arranges the separate actor cards in order to determine the rank of the suits, while also determining whether low or high cards are best.

The dealer leads to the first trick, and all players must follow suit, if possible, except that one non-lead player can play their joker instead of matching suit. When someone plays a joker, they place one of their player cards face down above one of the actor cards; their player card is a bet that they will win 1, 2, or 3 tricks, and the actor they played above is a bet that their final card will be that color.

Additionally, they can either flip the High/Low card to affect which numbers are best or swap two adjacent actor cards to change the rank of the suits. Whoever played the highest/lowest card in the highest rank wins the trick, then leads to the next trick. After seven tricks, players reveal their bets and score: 1 point per trick captured, 1 or 2 points for correctly bidding the number of tricks they won, and 1 point if their final card matches the actor card they chose. Alternatively, if a player’s last card is their joker and they won zero tricks, they earn 5 points. The player with the highest score after adding the scores from each round wins.

Designed by Geoffrey Chia, Kabuki Tricks is for two to five players, ages ten and up, and plays in twenty to thirty minutes. It retails for only $7.99!

25th Century Games also previously released Orbita (see “Orbita card game“).  

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Alderac Entertainment Group has released Honeypot, a unique I stack, you choose set collection card game, into retail!

Honeypot is a quick and simple I Stack, You Choose game with delightful artwork by Kwanchai Moriya!

In Honeypot, players take on the role of secret agent bears trying to gather the best intel and spy supplies without getting stung! Players arrange secret caches for their opponents and carefully sift through the secret caches passed to them. The question is: how far to dig for valuable intel and spy supplies? Have your opponents passed you the sweetest honey, or a swarm of bees?

In this thrilling game of setting traps and trying to avoid them, only the agent with the best instincts will capture the best set of items to come out on top! Honeypot is a set collection game featuring a massive deck of cards so each round the combination of items is a new puzzle. Your goal is to arrange cards into groupings that will encourage your opponents to take the combinations that harm them, while also trying to determine how they have arranged the cards for you.

It’s a delightfully interactive puzzle that evolves as the game progresses and your tableau of cards grows – try to collect the best intel and supplies, but beware, you may end up with items that detract from your score based on the other items you have collected. From the team that brought you the Calico, Cascadia, and Point Salad series, this quick and simple card game has all of the stand-up moments of victory and betrayal while still being easy to teach and perfect to share with your friends and family!

Designed by Joseph Z. Chen, Honeypot is for one to six players, ages ten and up, and plays in fifteen to thirty minutes. It retails for $24.99!

Alderac Entertainment Group also previously released Assemble! (see Assemble! card game).  

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