Z-Man Games has announced plans to release Archaeology:  The New Expedition later this month.  A younger-player version of the company’s board game Stone Age is also planned for later this year under the title My First Stone Age.

Archaeology:  The New Expedition is an updated version of designer Phil Walker-Harding’s (Sushi Go!, Cacao) 2007 game Archaeology:  The Card Game, which won a game design award in Australia.  In the game, players take on the role of archaeologists working in the Egyptian desert, exploring an ancient pyramid and collecting artifacts for sale to museums.  In addition to competing with the other players, they must contend with desert sandstorms and thieves.  Gameplay features a “push your luck” style, and scoring is based on set collection.

The new version differs from the previous one mainly through an expansion of the deck that allows for more players, and the introduction of multiple “monuments” to explore, which creates more play variety.  It also features all-new artwork by Atha Kanaani (who contributed to Traders of Osaka).  Archaeology:  The New Expedition is designed for 2 to 5 players.  MSRP has not been announced.

Later this year, Z-Man plans to publish My First Stone Age, a younger-player version of Bernd Brunnhofer’s (Saint Petersburg, Pantheon) award-winning dice game of survival and cultural development in prehistoric times.  The children’s version will be based on the same game mechanics as the original game.  Recommended ages and MSRP have not been announced.

Z-Man founder Zev Shlasinger recently announced his plans to leave the company (see “Zev Shlasinger Exiting Z-Man”).