New and well-known board games join the Brain Games range

Thousands of new board games see the light of day every year. Along with new games, already tested values ​​return. This year, too, Brain Games heroically struggled with the very difficult task of choosing which games to localize and prepare for the Latvian and Baltic markets.

Hundreds of board games from different publishers apply for localization every year. The localization process itself begins with testing, where various aspects are taken into account - the size of the game, the target audience, the shelf price, alternatives, thematics, visual appearance, languages, the amount of materials to be translated and much more. In order to please as many players as possible and everyone could find their favorite, Brain Games tries to choose as many different games as possible.

Perhaps the easiest decision is to make Brain Games Publishing games, which are our self-published games that we produce and offer to our partners around the world.

One such game is "Deductio" , which has already gained popularity not only in the Baltics, but also in Spain, Italy, Japan, Korea and elsewhere. Our own number game is a logic challenge for players of all ages . We each have our own secret number, which has a value between 1 and 20. During our turn, we play a clue, revealing a little information about our number to others, or guessing another player's number. A correct guess gives us a point and brings us closer to victory, but if we get it wrong we get a penalty - we have to play two clue cards, revealing more information about our number. A fast and compact card game that will make you think big and small.

Also, one of the freshest games of the moment is our own "QuizWiz" , which, using patty metaphors, is so fresh and hot that it can burn your fingers . "QuizWiz" is a cooperative quiz-type game in which we try together to match the countries to various statements, making as few mistakes as possible.

Unlike classic quizzes, where we have to choose option a, b, c or d and where the answers can be learned quickly, QuizWiz has statements that each have right and wrong answers, so it will be interesting to play the same card dozens of times .

For fans of strategic games, Brain Games has prepared not one, but two surprises this year - "El Dorado" and "Meža".

One of the greatest board game masters of all time, Rainer Knicia is the author of more than 700 published board games. El Dorado is his masterpiece, where players rush through jungles, across waters and around mountains to be the first to reach the lost city of gold. The game is based on an ingenious deck-building mechanic , where not all cards are available at once. A modular playing field allows you to play with a completely different map each time. And to top it all off, there's the fantastic Vincent Dutrey art that makes the game extra beautiful.

Another delightful game is "Forest" , in which we try to create the strongest possible forest with cards . This is a game where everything is completely in the cards. The essence of the game is very simple - during our turn we pick up two new cards in our hands or play a card from our hand. The multifunctional cards make this game extremely interesting. The cards are of trees or animals (or plants/mushrooms). Tree cards are the foundation of our entire forest around which we will play our animals. However, animal cards are always two-sided, and when we play them, we have to figure out which side we will use and which side we will hide. Each card has its own effects, which in different combinations will give us more or less acorns or points. Also, cards mostly have a cost, which are other cards we have to discard from our hand. All this gives us very rich strategic decisions and planning throughout the game!

Additions have also recently been added to our line of card games. Spicy is a bluffing game for both young and old . On our turn, we play a card face down, saying a specific number and a spice. The next player must play a card of the same spice, but with a higher number. At least he has to claim he does. Any other player may challenge this card. The winner of the dispute receives the cards played as points, and at the end of the game the one with the most points wins. A very simple but exciting game that can be learned in a couple of minutes.

On the other hand, "Similo: Animals" is a cooperative card game in which as a team we try to guess the real animal or fairy tale character when we play "Similo: Fables" . One of us will be the game leader who will know which of the 12 animals is the right one. The leader will give clues to the other players, who will gradually discard the animals until, hopefully, the real beast remains. The catch is that all the clues and clues are given using the cards of other animals. A fun and fast card game where logic meets creativity.

Fans of quiz games have a big celebration this year, because not only the game "QuizWiz" but also "Smart10" have joined our range of games. In it, players individually or in pairs answer questions of different categories. Each round, a card is revealed with a question and ten possible answers. If you answer correctly, you get a point and pass the card on, but if you answer incorrectly, you lose all the points gained in this round. A fun quiz with an element of risk where you don't have to wait long between moves.

Speaking of risk elements, Skull is an exciting party game that can be learned in literally a minute . Each player has four discs - three with roses and one with a skull. One by one, the players covertly place the discs in front of them until one of the players starts bidding how many discs he can turn over without revealing any skulls. Other players have the option to raise the bet. As soon as no one bids, the player must start revealing discs. If indeed the skull is not revealed, the player gets the first point (two are needed to win). If, however, the skull is revealed, then the player loses one of his discs by random choice. If there are no more discs - the player leaves the game.

Every year, Brain Game releases not only new games, but also new game expansions . This year, one highly requested and long-awaited expansion was localized -"Winged: Birds of Europe" . "Winged" is probably the most strategic game that we have localized so far, and it has won the hearts of hundreds of players all over Latvia. There are 180 birds in the basic version of the game, but most of them are not found in Latvia. On the other hand, in this extension there are such well-known birds as the house starling, the white wagtail, the hen hawk, the crested swan and many others. Additionally, some of these birds have new types of actions that activate between rounds.

Although the list of localized games is already extensive and impressive, several new additions will be added before the end of the year . The well-known game "King of Tokyo" will return to our shelves with a completely fresh version - "King of Tokyo: The Beginning" , which fits the fun and exciting battle for Tokyo in a smaller box at a friendlier price . No, this is not a lighter version of the game aimed at a younger audience, this is simply a new version that can also be combined with other versions of King of Tokyo. The game has new monsters, new cards, but the game itself remains the same.

For fun game lovers, the latest addition is Catch Sketch , which is probably my favorite party game . In this game, one of us will be the leader, who will have to guess the name that the other players will try to draw on special boards as quickly as possible. The sooner you finish your artwork, the harder it will be to understand, but if you procrastinate too long, you might not get around to viewing it at all. The leader will reveal the drawings one by one in the order in which they were completed, each time trying to guess what the word is that everyone is trying to draw. Both the leader and the player from whose drawing the name was remembered receive points. The feeling when the manager remembers the word from a couple of lines you drew in three seconds is indescribable. Don't worry if you're on "You" with art, because art school graduates don't always win this game.

Also coming soon are two new card games - "Trio" and "5 Towers" .

New versions of Splendor and Halli Cups are also coming soon, which are exciting and familiar games dressed in a more modern design.

Even now, our localization team continues to be active and work on new projects that will be available for purchase next year. The first of them will appear on the shelves shortly after the turn of the year.