The use of various symbols and devices to signify individuals and groups dates to the age of antiquity. Warriors often decorated their shieldswith patterns and mythological creatures. Heraldry refers to the design, display and study of armorial bearings, a shield used to identify a person or family. The concepts and systems of regular heraldic designs were developed by heraldic officers between 1000AD and 1300AD during a period known as the High Middle Ages.
Originally conceived to assist with identification in battle, the beauty and intricacy of various heraldic designs meant that they survived the abandonment of armor on the battlefield and preserved the honor of the family line. To this day, we still see their use by individuals, organizations, corporations, towns, cities, and regions. To blazon arms means to describe them in the language of Heraldry, which has its own vocabulary, syntax and grammar based strongly on an anglicized version of Norman-French. A game of Blazon allows you to act as a herald, designing your own heraldic shield by acquiring elements, placing them on your Shield board, and earning distinctions through careful choices.
Take on the role of a gardener, seeking to wield your green thumb to grow a well-balanced, mature garden before the growing season ends.
You will sow seeds and grow a variety of plants to fill out your garden. In addition, if you meet the complex growing condition of your Flowers, you'll earn Prestige Points for your horticultural achievements.
The player who earns the most prestige at the end of the game is crowned The Master Gardener.
Gartenbau is a 2-4 player game in which players place and lay tiles in a tableau to meet the growing requirements of drafted flower tiles. A dual track rondel combined with three layers of tile laying are at the core of this beautiful game. Gartenbau is set in the late 19th century and all of the artwork used in this game is vintage from that era. This game is dedicated to all of the unknown artists who created wonderful works for various seed and flower catalogs during that period, leaving their mark on a beautiful era for garden art
Ra is an auction and set-collection game with an Ancient Egyptian theme. Each turn players are able to purchase lots of tiles with their bidding tiles (suns). Once a player has used up his or her suns, the other players continue until they do likewise, which may set up a situation with a single uncontested player bidding on tiles before the end of the round occurs. Tension builds because the round may end before all players have had a chance to win their three lots for the epoch.
The various tiles either give immediate points, prevent negative points for not having certain types at the end of the round (epoch), or give points after the final round. The game lasts for three "epochs" (rounds). The game offers a short learning curve, and experienced players find it both fast-moving and a quick play.
Three Sisters is a strategic roll-and-write game about backyard farming. Three Sisters is named after an indigenous agricultural technique still widely used today in which three different crops - in this case, pumpkins, corn, and beans - are planted close together. Corn provides a lattice for beans to climb, the beans bring nitrogen from the air into the soil, and the squash provides a natural mulch ground cover to reduce weeds and keep pests away.