Rio Grande Games gets dicey, artsy, and Friese

Rio Grande Games has five games scheduled to hit shelves later this year. 

Dice Realms is a dice customization game from Tom Lehmann, of Race for the Galaxy and Res Arcana fame. In Dice Realms, two to four players each control a realm represented by two dice. Each face of the dice represents a different element of your kingdom: farming, mining, military, etc. You can acquire additional dice as well as mitigation assets to reroll your dice or set a dice. Your dice can be updgraded by changing out the removable faces, and not all updgrades are available every game, increasing replayability. Based on the dice results, players collect grain, coins, and victory points. There is also a Fate Die rolled every round that can create attacks against all players or require each player to feed their people (pay one grain for each dice in your kingdom) or receive negative victory points. Players can also attack each other. Attacks that overcome your defenses can cost you grain, cost you the use of a dice that round, or replace one face in your kingdom with a destroyed face. Dice Realms feature art by Martin Hoffmann and Claus Stephan. It is scheduled to release this December. 

Next up is Art Decko, originally released as Promenade. Two to four players take on the role of art collectors accumulating hands of gold and painting cards. There are five different types of paintings. In the game, there will be galleries that want a specific breakdown of paintings. Players will acquire new cards by discarding cards from their hand. The value of gold cards and paintings will fluctuate based on the market rating, which is influenced by how many of that card type have been acquired by the players. Art Decko is designed by Ta-Te Wu. It features art by Lauren Brown, Alex Eckman-Lawn, Brigette Indelicato, Kwanchai Moriya, Alison Parks, Heather Vaughan, and Ta-Te Wu. It is scheduled to release in October. 

Rio Grande Games also announced two imports games designed by Friedemann Friese, Faiyum and Free Ride. Originally published by 2F-Spiele, these games will be getting a Rio Grande Games publication later this year. In Faiyum, players take on the role of advisors attempting to fulfill the pharaoh's wishes by cultivating a flood plain with settlements, roads, and fewer crocodiles. Free Ride is about building rail lines across Europe. Both games feature art by Harald Lieske.