Pax Illuminaten

1776. Bavaria. You are an Areopagus, a disciple and founding member of the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati. Your charge: spread forbidden Enlightenment thinking into the highest reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, undermine its authority, and set the stage for revolution.

Pax Illuminaten is a crunchy boardgame that packs a lot of punch in a small box. A few key highlights of the design:

• Players will explore a map of Luminary cards (18th-century figures) and build co-occupied connected networks as they try to accomplish game-winning plots.
• The victory conditions change every game, with a high degree of interaction as players strive to outmaneuver their opponents to achieve the victory conditions first.
• Multi-purpose and multi-suited cards create deep decisions and tough calls. Cards are used for building the map and accomplishing goals, resource generation, actions, and resolving battles between players.
• Core mechanics include area control, territory/network building, and hand management. Mix in a dose of negotiation and double-think/bluffing, and you have Pax Illuminaten.

Overall, the game provides a unique, historical look at the theme combined with rich gameplay and relatively quick playtime, all in a compact package.