Details Emerge from AEG on New City-State of Tempest Games

Mar 28, 2012

AEG has released more information on the upcoming games on their new City-State of Tempest game line, to be released at Essen this October.

The City-State of Tempest is a shared-world game line, where various styles of games exist in the same world, use the same characters, and advance a plot from one game to the next. Featuring various designers, the game line will feature excellent game design in a captivating world of intrigue and malice. Characters appear across the game lines, and bring their personality to each game. While one character may benefit you financially in one game, you can rest assured that if you see that character in another game, though the mechanics may be different, they will again be benefiting your resources.

The City-State of Tempest is a lively metropolis – some say the largest in the world – yet behind the city’s cultured exterior, age-old cabals vie for power, fighting one another for dominance in a society ripe with political and economic turmoil. Led by shadowy figures who command a small cadre of loyal followers, these secret societies work in concert to seize the wealth and power of the fabled City-State of Tempest. Will you defeat your rivals and stake out the most control over the city? Find out in several games, three of which release in October, with more to come in 2013.

DOMINARE
by Jim Pinto
In Dominare, you are the puppet master of a conspiracy seeking to control Tempest. Agents are the key to Dominare. Use your agents to spread your influence through the city, building a network of hidden power to control the most valuable districts and blocks.

In the game, players first draft agents they want. Then, each turn, the players reveal one additional layer of their conspiracy. Each agent is a unique person in the City-State of Tempest, with unique abilities. The higher an agent in in your conspiracy, the more powerful that agent is.

Players spread their influence in key city blocks and districts, use agent and district abilities to further their plans, and manipulate the board to their benefit. Use your agents well, and influence and power will be yours. Use them poorly, and… well, you wouldn’t be the first would-be ruler to vanish into the inky waters of the city canals….

MERCANTE

by Jeff Tidball

A city as large and crowded as Tempest depends on the daily arrival of supplies and foodstuffs, and the wealthiest echelons of society demand the latest goods and luxuries almost as frequently. Domination of this bustling trade is the ultimate goal of every merchant house in the city.

In Mercante, you control one of these merchant houses. Deploy your trusted agents to purchase goods from arriving ships and sell them into the most profitable markets. You must also do more – from “enticing” senators to outright skulduggery – to claim your rightful place at the pinnacle of Tempest’s merchant class. Do you have the business acumen and ruthlessness required to claw your way to the top?

Designed for 3–5 players, Mercante is a game of economic warfare. At the beginning of the game, each player controls one warehouse and two agents. On each turn, goods are purchased at auction and stored in the warehouse to be sold at the various markets when the time is right.

Players compete to accumulate crowns to finance their operations, and senatorial favors (victory points) to win the game. The player who accumulates the most money and favors will control all trade and profit in the City-State of Tempest!

COURTIER (tentative name)

by Phillip DuBarry

The social elite of Tempest live in a world of power, intrigue, and alliances that can often shake the very foundations of the city’s society. In Courtier, you move within these circles of social power to further your goals. Work with established courtiers to gain influence and stymie the rise of your rivals as you attempt to earn or cheat your way into their world.

In Courtier, 2–4 players compete for recognition in the royal court. Your mission is to act as an influence broker, manipulating the levers of power and granting favors to important supplicants. You accomplish this by influencing key people to act at your behest.

Play influence cards to gain sway over a key courtier, or play power cards to manipulate the board in your favor. Control each of the courtiers listed on a given petition, and you earn victory points for completing that request. Bonus points can be earned from cards and abilities. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of the game.