Sponsored.  2024 saw Office Dog Games release their first game on the market with Word Traveler, a light, collaborative party game for 2-5 players in which players struggle to navigate one of four beautiful, tourist destination cities while using a very limited set of words.  Players get to be travelers lost in Tokyo, London, Paris, or New York, using only cardinal directions and small phrases of the local language to try to find their way to their top destinations.  With a combination of a clever path and good communication with the limited words available to you, you may be able to visit all the spots you want to… Or you might find yourself at an entirely different set of landmarks if you weren't able to get your idea across to the locals (your friends who have to interpret your limited clues).  Everyone shares a score and gets to try their own hand at both roles, so it's a fun, low-stress game to have ready to play when a collaborative game fits your group's vibe!

A few months later, Office Dog showed their breadth when they debuted River of Gold at Gen Con.  River of Gold is a medium-weight Eurogame in which players take the role of merchants trading on the Rokugan (the eponymous River of Gold), trying to gain wealth, glory, and wisdom.  Whether you choose to invest in infrastructure along the banks or focus on maximizing fulfilling contracts for clients as you sail the river, you will build your own fortune in this fun and beautiful game for 2-4 players.  River of Gold is also endlessly replayable, with each of the different clans having their own pair of asymmetrical abilities to choose from, and your available options every turn limited by the roll of the die. (For the players who hear that and are immediately wary: Don't worry!  The game has a built-in mechanic to let you influence die rolls and let you control your own fate—to an extent.)  For people who don't love Eurogames where you’re picking between dozens of options every turn, the die limiting your choices makes the game more approachable, and for players who love to craft intricate plans across turns, you can use divine favor to tip the die towards the number you need.

The ability to appeal to newcomers while still having an engaging strategic core earned River of Gold a spot on the finalist list for gateway games with the Origin Awards, and it has also found itself on dozens of top ten lists, from The Dice Tower to Tantrum House!  If you're looking for a new fun, mid-weight strategy game with a beautiful setting that has been endorsed by a river of reviewers and earned the Dice Tower Seal of Excellence, look no further than River of Gold!

Speaking of the Origin Awards, Office Dog’s January 2025 release, The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game™, has also placed on the finalist list for its category!  Read all about the award-nominated game in its announcement article here.

If you can't wait and want more of Office Dog now, good news!  They just released Crafting the Cosmos, a gorgeous game with premium components in which players harness the powers of light, gravity, time, and chemistry to build their cosmos and fill it with stars, nebulae, and even life.  Read all about it and check out the gallery in this article!

Keep up with Office Dog Games on Facebook and Instagram! (@officedoggames)

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