Tag Archives: ares games

Witchdom: new game by ALBI starts to hit US stores on April 3rd

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Witchdom

It’s brewing time! Employ the most powerful witches, gather necessary resources and brew magic… Witchdom, a family-friendly card-driven game where players recruit witches, gather ingredients, and brew potions to grow their clan and score the most points, starts to hit US stores on April 3rd.

Published by ALBI and designed by Michal Peichl, Witchdom is distributed by Ares Games in North America. Gamers can order it from the best game retailers, like Miniature Market, or purchase directly on the Ares Games web shop.

In the game, 1 to 5 players lead rival clans of witches, recruiting promising apprentices and guiding them through their magical training. To prove their worth, each apprentice must gather the right resources, learn potion recipes, and successfully brew a potion to become a full member of the clan.

Accessible, fast-paced, and beautifully illustrated, Witchdom has a short playtime (30+ minutes) and is suited for families, casual gamers, and fans of light strategy card games.

Witchdom

Ares Games expands its distribution partnerships to Europe

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Ares Games, master distributor in North America for some of the best European publishers, has extended its distribution partnerships with Galakta Games (Poland), Tabula Games (Italy), Albi (Czech Republic), Nuts! Publishing and Don’t Panic Games (France) to support these companies with distribution in Europe as well as overseas.

Many new and classic games, including best-sellers like This War of Mine, Mysthea, Mini Rogue, Fighters of the Pacific, and Dirt & Dust are now available in Ares’s Italian warehouse to supply European distributors and retailers. The same logistical hub also allows Ares to service the UK market.

Gamers in Europe and UK can now get the English edition of these games simply by ordering them on the Ares Games online shop. Distributors and retailers can contact Ares Games at sales@aresgames.eu for more information.

Mega Empires: The Far East coming in 2026 from Ares Games and Colossus Games

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Following the release of Mega Empires: The West and Mega Empires: The East, Ares Games and Colossus Games have announced two new epic games in the Mega Empires series: Mega Empires: The Far East North and Mega Empires: The Far East South. These games will explore peoples, dynasties, and historic developments from the easternmost regions of Asia, from Japan to Indonesia. Each game is a standalone product, designed for 3 to 5 players; they can also be combined together or with previous Mega Empires sets. Mega Empires: The Far East will be launched with a crowdfunding campaign in 2026 – a preview of the two sets’ cover art, by Odysseus (Teotihuacan: City of Gods and World Wonders) was unveiled.

Mega Empires: The Far East – North and South will feature brand-new maps, fresh civilization advances, unique calamities, and innovative mechanics. Although designed for smaller groups of 3-5 players, they can be combined into a larger experience for up to 10 players. The designers plan to further develop the series with a future expansion, The Silk Road, to connect all Mega Empires titles into a single, epic game for 3 to up to an incredible 30 players, or any number in between with variations in setup.

What is Mega Empires?

Mega Empires is the new version of the legendary Mega Civilization board game, designed by Colossus Games and published by Ares Games. It builds on that epic foundation, making the system accessible to player counts from 3 to 18 players, from shorter 3-hour scenarios to legendary day-long sessions. Players lead their civilizations by trade, conflict, and cultural advancement, as they expand from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age.

Mega Empires: The West and Mega Empires: The East are two stand-alone games, compatible with each other. In Mega Empires: The West, 5 to 9 players lead civilizations from the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East, while in Mega Empires: The East, 3 to 9 players develop their civilizations from the Middle East to India. Accessories can be separately purchased to further complement these two games and enhance the player’s experience.

Gen Con 2025: Dirt & Dust releases with a Rally Championship and Play with the Designer sessions

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Dirt & Dust

Dirt & Dust, a strategic rally game where deck-building and dice placement decide who conquers the course, will debut at Gen Con 2025, with the first copies available for sale, demos at Ares Games and Albi booths, and special activities: the Gen Con Rally Championship and three Play with the Designer – Petr Čáslava. 

The Dirt & Dust: Gen Con Rally Championship is a board game rally tournament to celebrate the launch of the game, competing head-to-head with other players. It will run along the four days of the show – every two hours, up to four players will launch onto a specially designed test track, crafted exclusively for this unique Gen Con event. Albi’s demo team will explain all the rules and get players fully race-ready.

Dirt & Dust is a medium-complexity board game for experienced players who enjoy taking risks. A single race takes around 90 minutes. Players will be able to follow race results online through an app — and who won’t be happy with its time, can come back and try again. Every driver will get a foil card as a reward for taking part in the championship, and every day Albi will award the first three drivers with its games, such as Karak, Karak II, Atol, and Rail Line, alongside Dirt & Dust merchandise items, and a winner’s trophy.

For more information and to join the Gen Con Rally Championship, check the tournament events at Gen Con website.

At Ares Games’ booth (#229), Dirt & Dust will be in demo all the time and the first copies of the game will be available for sale – in a limited quantity shipped specially for the show. Each copy purchased at Gen Con will include the promo pack Alternative Ghost Drivers, with two alternative cards for solo play.

Players will also have the chance to meet the game designer Petr Čáslava, to play the game and get copies signed, in three “Play with the Designer” sessions – Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM.

Gen Con 2025: Ares Games presents Tedoku, a new Roll-and-Write Puzzle Game

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Tedoku

Tedoku, a clever Roll, Flip, and Write game for any number of players, will be presented as preview at Gen Con Indy 2025. Due to release at Spiel Essen 2025 (October 23-26), the game combines the logical satisfaction of Sudoku with the spatial challenges of polyomino puzzles, and it can be played solo or as a group, as players only need a pencil and their own sheet.

Players have a sheet with a 9×9 grid, and over 20 rounds they fill it accordingly with their dice rolls and card draws. At the start of each round, one card is flipped and the Tedoku die is rolled. The card designates a grid zone – a row, column, or 3×3 sector – while the die shows which polyomino shape must be drawn. Rotate, mirror, and fill the grid better than everybody else for the ultimate score – or challenge yourself with a solo game.

Designed by Sandro Blasich, Tedoku is a fast and rewarding game of logic, geometry, and careful planning. All players use the same inputs, placing the shape so that at least a part of it touches the indicated area. After 20 turns, they score points for completed rows, columns, and sectors. The highest score wins, with ties broken by the fewest empty squares.

Tedoku will be present for the first time at Gen Con. Visit Ares Games’ booth (#229) to check out the game and all other new and upcoming releases.

Ares Games announces Aeterna

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Aeterna

Lead a Roman family from the founding of Rome to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, trying to increase your influence over the Eternal city: Aeterna, a new historical-themed game by Martin Wallace, is now releasing in retail, and starts to hit the US stores on February 4th. Developed by Ergo Ludo Editions, Aeterna is published in English language and distributed worldwide by Ares Games, under license from MS Edizioni. The game will be available in Europe and other regions in the coming weeks.

Aeterna presents a great historical setting with deep gameplay. In the game, 2 to 4 players take the role of a Roman “Gens” (family) and will try to increase their prestige through three Eras – the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire.

Their goal is goal to increase their influence over the city by ruling over the 7 Hills, contributing to the construction of monuments and buildings, and supporting the conquest of the provinces – always being careful to keep the citizens happy, as unrest in the Hills under their direct control could put them in a bad light.  

With an exciting mix of worker placement, majority control, card drafting, and strategic planning, each game takes place over three rounds and may last 1 to 2 hours (about 30 minutes for player). 

Purchase: Miniature Market

Aeterna

Ares Games announces two games in partnership with Red Cat Games

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Ares Games will release the English edition of Balconia on February 4th: the first of a partnership with Armenian game studio Red Cat Games, Balconia is a light, 2-player tactical game where players build a 3D apartment complex block by block, balancing strategy and luck to meet balcony-scoring conditions. Another title in partnership with Red Cat will follow later this year: Perfect Mismatch, a fun party game that will test your associative thinking, is scheduled to be released in May 2025.

Balconia

Balconia’s blend of spatial strategy, tactical decisions, and the playful theme of apartment life makes it an engaging, quick-to-play game for both casual and experienced gamers. The players try to fulfill the preferences of quirky residents. Some love flowers, others adore cats, while some just want peace. The goal is to score points by arranging blocks to meet the scoring conditions of the balconies facing you.

Each turn, one player selects a building block, while the other decides where to place it in the grid. The first player starts by revealing a building block and choosing which two adjacent sides will be available for scoring. The other player then picks one of those sides and places the block, ensuring it’s adjacent to previously placed blocks. Players take turns choosing and placing blocks, working to strategically align scoring elements on their side of the building while restricting their opponent’s options.

Balconia is designed by Paul Schulz for players aged 10 and up and is perfect for quick head-to-head play – a game lasts about 20 minutes.

Perfect Mismatch

The next game by Red Cat to be published in English by Ares Games is Perfect Mismatch, a casual game where 2 to 8 players are challenged to guess words from a card using unusual associations of attributes as hints. Is there anything that is equally square and non-stop? Or extremely herbal, but not verbal at all?

Each turn, one player takes the lead and describes a secret word as precisely as possible by swiping beads toward the attributes on the two sides of a tablet – romantic or problematic, fingerless or fragile, wearable or helpful, extremely entertaining or not washable, and so on… Meanwhile the rest of the players should hurry to vote for their chosen word. The faster they are, the more points they will get.

Designed by Alexander Peshkov, Perfect Mismatch can be played both in competitive or cooperative modes, in about 20 to 30 minutes, sharing plenty of laughs while discussing hilarious attribute combinations and the associations they trigger.

Ares Games and DAM Things!’s Viking Route, a game with compass, magnets, and lots of action, is now live on Kickstarter

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Viking Route

Viking Route, a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players with an ingenious compass-and-magnets movement mechanic, has launched on Kickstarter, with an initial funding goal of $15,000. In Viking Route, players will brave the wind and set sail on an incredible adventure aboard a magical Drakkar. Influenced by magical Ravens, sent by Odin to steer your course, and by the winds of Fate, they will face powerful and monstrous creatures out of the Norse Mythos, fulfill challenging quests, and prepare for the final battle to avert Ragnarök. The project will run on Kickstarter until December 20th.

Designed by Martino Chiacchiera, Luca Maragno, and Guido Albini, and developed by DAM Things!, Viking Route is  produced by Ares Games. In spite of its endearing art style, the game suitable for everyone – thanks to its strong aesthetics and fantastical setting, its strategic nature and adjustable difficulty levels, it will present even experienced players with a challenging gaming experience.

Viking Route is played on a beautiful three-dimensional Viking ship and a scenario board, where the Drakkar is represented by a compass. Multiple magnets (the Ravens and Wind) are manipulated by the players to steer the course of their ship. Players must also manage the resources of the Drakkar and their hand of cards to confront opponents and achieve the goals of their quests. The game can be be played either independently or as part of a continuous campaign, ending in an epic final confrontation to prevent Ragnarök.

Viking Route

The Viking Route project on Kickstarter offers two Pledge Levels: Viking, at $55, for a copy of the retail edition of Viking Route and a selection of stretch goals, and Jarl, at $65, for a copy of the Kickstarter edition of the game, including Viking miniatures and all unlocked stretch goals. The suggested retail price of the regular edition (not including the Kickstarter contents) will be $59 USD.

The contents of the standard version include the 3D Drakkar, 2 sails, a compass, 4 miniatures with magnet, 4 heroes and 8 enemies standees, Hero and Enemy sheets, 4 game boards, 43 cards (Fate, Enemy, World, Help of the Gods), Fate and Help of the Gods boars, and over 70 counters, markers and tokens. The Kickstarter Edition will feature miniatures for the heroes and several premium components to be unlocked during the campaign, to make the game even richer and more exciting. The project will present funding goals for the most important funding milestones, and a series of daily missions related to social goals.

Viking Route is expected to ship to backers in September 2025 from Ares Games’ main warehouse in the USA and from secondary warehouses in Australia, Canada, Italy, UK and China. No customs charges will apply to backers in Australia, Canada, EU, UK, China and other Asia-Pacific countries, or the US.