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What’s Hot: Top Board Games of October 2021

What’s Hot: Top Board Games of October 2021

Grab this fall's best board games with Bandit’s top 5 picks for October, because not even pumpkin spice can compete with these goodies.

5. Marvel Champions: The Card Game: The Mad Titans Shadow

Marvel Champions: The Card Game - The Mad Titan's Shadow

Number of Players 1-4
Playtime 45-90 Min
Suggested Ages 14+
Designer(s) Michael Boggs, Nate French, Caleb Grace
Publisher Fantasy Flight Games

This 1-4 player game is the most recent fix for Marvel fans.

The universe is full of good and evil. Mighty heroes clash with dastardly villains in all galaxies, but one threat has risen above the others. One being has made himself a scourge on all life, whose power is unrivaled over all the cosmos.

Obviously, we are referring to Thanos.

In this 3rd campaign expansion for Marvel Champions: The Card Game, players must challenge the forces of Thanos. This massive expansion brings a brand-new campaign featuring 5 thrilling scenarios putting you against members of the zealous Black Order, including Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and the Mad Titan himself. As with past expansions, you can play these scenarios individually or as part of a bigger campaign, and with a slew of new modular encounter sets, there will be tons of opportunity to mix things up for all of your Marvel Champions content. Obviously, a new wave of expansions means more heroes as well, and The Mad Titan’s Shadow starts off with the mighty champions Adam Warlock and Spectrum, both of whom come with fully pre-built and ready-to-play decks out of the box.

Preorder Marvel Champions:  The Card Game: The Mad Titans Shadow online now!

4. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea Board Game

Number of Players 2-5
Playtime 20 Min
Suggested Ages 10+
Designer(s) Thomas Sing
Publisher Kosmos

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a lightweight, quick playing, trick taking card game for 2-5 players.

Players work together looking for the lost continent of Mu. This brand new adventure brings your crew deep down into the abyss on a search for the fabled sunken land. How far you get depends on how well you work together. Card by card, trick by trick, your search party discovers the challenges that lay ahead and makes a path to Mu.

While the core of the game is the same as the original Crew, it includes some exciting new surprises! Communication between your crew members is extremely limited by your submerged state, it’s also critical to your success to discover the hidden land in the murky depths which depends not only on winning tricks, but also on negotiating the order they are won. If things don't go as planned, you may just be able to salvage the operation, but it will take an almost flawless execution and perhaps a little luck to finally reach Mu.

Preorder The Crew: Mission Deep Sea online now!

3. ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo

ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo Board Game

Number of Players 1-5
Playtime 45-60 Min
Suggested Ages 10+
Designer(s) Scott Rogers
Publisher Ravensburger

Set to release this October is ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo, you are Nostromo crew members Ripley, Lambert, Parker, Brett, or Dallas. During the game, collect scrap, craft items, and fulfill objectives. The crew loses and gains morale as they encounter the Alien and other situations. If crew morale drops to zero, players lose the game.

Turns have 2 phases. In the Crew Action phase, players stalk through the Nostromo's halls, collecting scrap, crafting items, trading scrap and items with other players, and using items and their special abilities. If the Alien sits within 3 spaces of the player holding the incinerator, the player can use it to send the Alien back to its nest.

During the Encounter phase, players draw and resolve an Encounter card.

Once the players fulfill their objectives, they face one of five final missions, each with their own set of requirements. Players must meet the final mission's requirements at once to win the game. Players can also bring in Science Officer Ash for a more challenging game. Ash travels throughout the ship, removing scrap and forcing the crew to lose morale.

Preorder Alien: Fate of the Nostromo online now!

2. 7 Wonders Architects

7 Wonders: Architects Board Game

Number of Players 2-7
Playtime 25 Min
Suggested Ages 8+
Designer(s) Antoine Bauza
Publisher Repos Production

The newest game in the 7 Wonders lineup is releasing this month, 7 Wonders Architects is a lightweight game that plays in approximately 25 minutes and allows 2-7 players to participate.

In 7 Wonders: Architects, players race to become a leader of the ancient world by creating an architectural wonder that will last through the ages.

Players get an un-constructed wonder at the start of the game and must gather resources to build their society, develop a military to navigate conflicts, oversee resource management, research science improvements, and collect civil victory points as they compete to leave their mark on world history.

Preorder 7 Wonders: Architects online now!

1. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley Board Game

Number of Players 1-4
Playtime 45-200 Min
Suggested Ages 13+
Designer(s) Eric Barone, Cole Medeiros
Publisher ConcernedApe

This hot pre-order selection is for 1-4 players, and set to release this month. We can’t wait to get our hands on this fantastic game!

Stardew Valley is a cooperative board game of farming and friendship is based on the Stardew Valley video game by Eric Barone. Work with your fellow farmers to save the Valley from the nefarious JojaMart Corporation! To succeed, you will need to farm, fish, and find all kinds of different resources to fulfill your Grandpa's Goals and restore the Community Center. Gather all kinds of items, raise animals, and explore the Mine. Gain powerful upgrades and skills and when the seasons pass see if you can protect the magic of Stardew Valley!

The objective of the game is to complete Grandpa's Goals and restore the Community Center, which requires you to collect different types of resources (tiles). Players have a fixed amount of turns to accomplish this, which is driven by the Season Deck of 20 cards, one of which is drawn each turn to trigger events. Together players decide each turn where they will focus their individual actions and place their pawn in that part of the Valley. Using their actions, they visit certain locations, attempting to gather resources to complete their collective goals. Actions include: watering crops, trying to catch fish, rolling dice to explore the mines, and more. When the Season Deck is finished, the game ends.

Preorder Stardew Valley online now!

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