Hey PI-Fans,

We keep piling boxes into place and they keep arriving.

Arguably that’s a good problem to have, even while we run ourselves ragged stacking things up.

This week sees new renditions of three modern classic board games with 7 Wonders, Catan and Ticket to Ride all landing new spinoffs on the store shelves. Landing this week are the eco-disaster Catan: New Energies, a new Catan variant that places the game on a death-clock towards ecological disaster, changing up strategies and build orders as a hazard timer slowly ticks down, placing all players under pressure to make the switch to green technologies.

If you want something faster and more bite sized, up next is Ticket to Ride: Paris, the newest addition to the Ticket to Ride city boxes, this time taking a detour to the streets of the storied French capital. Trundle through the city on a trolley bus and score the tricolor for bonuses in this new 15 minute addition to the Ticket to Ride family.

Alternatively, take the Hobbits to Isengard with The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth, a new game built on the 7 Wonders Duel game engine. Telling the storied tale of Frodo’s travels to Mt Doom and the minions of Sauron opposing his quest, Duel for Middle-earth keeps the card draw engine of the original game with a neat Lord of the Rings conceptual twist as players struggle over the Ring of Power.

We’re doing our best to keep things going folks, so pop on by and give us a shout!

 

  • Kenneth, PI-Manager

 

 

A dark rumour rises from Mordor. The Eye turns to Middle-earth. The hour has come. The Fellowship is reunited. The Heroes prepare for battle. Will you play as the Fellowship of the Ring to defend the free races and destroy the One Ring? Or will you play as Sauron and pursue Frodo and Sam while deploying your hordes to the gates of the enemy cities? The destiny of Middle-earth is in your hands!

In this evolution of the 7 Wonders system, The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth introduces multiple additional win-conditions which can rapidly tilt the game in a player’s favor. Each turn, players will draft cards for their tableau, providing additional resources and additional abilities which they can use to score or sway the game in their favor.

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth
2 Players, 30-45 mins, Ages 10+

 

Welcome to the city of light! Find yourself transported to the glamorous Paris of the roaring twenties. Jump aboard an open platform bus, cruise down Champs-Elysées Avenue, admire the Eiffel Tower, and conclude your day by enjoying a picturesque sunset from a charming terrace in Montmartre — all without leaving your table.

In this fast-paced Ticket to Ride game, players race one another to visit the most iconic locations of the French capital and complete their Destination Tickets. On a turn, you either collect transportation cards, spend these cards to claim a route on the game board, or draw tickets that show two locations you need to connect with routes. In Ticket to Ride: Paris, when you claim a blue, white, or red route, you keep a transportation card of this color in front of you instead of discarding all of the cards. When you collect a card of each color, you’ve made a French flag, then you discard these cards and score bonus points.

Ticket to Ride: Paris
2-4 Players, 15 mins, Ages 8+

 

It’s the 21st Century, and Catan is at a crossroads. Long gone is the agrarian society of the island’s Viking ancestors. Today’s Catanians need energy to keep society moving and growing, but pollution is wreaking havoc on the island.

You must decide: Invest in clean energy resources, or opt for cheaper fossil fuels, potentially causing disastrous effects for the island?

CATAN: New Energies is a new standalone game rooted in classic CATAN mechanisms of harvesting, trading, and building. New gameplay elements including power plants, energy tokens, and environmental events that add new strategies and stories to a familiar foundation.

Catan: New Energies
3-4 Players, 45-60 mins, Ages 12+