Québec, Tokaido, Sentient, and The Adventurers Return for Another Table Run | BoardGameGeek News

by W. Eric Martin

Time for another round-up of new editions of older games that will delight some, befuddle others, and be overlooked by most:

▪️ At SPIEL Essen 24, French publisher Funforge revealed that it had sold its Tokaido game line to Stonemaier Games in order to fulfill outstanding crowdfunding campaigns without asking backers for additional funds.

In late March 2025, Stonemaier Games revealed that its edition of Tokaido will be available on its website as of April 2, 2025, with the game reaching retail outlets by the end of that month. This edition includes a new Automa mode (that will also be available separately) to enable solo play in what was previously a 2-5 player game, as well as a revised rulebook “for clarity and accessibility” and other graphic changes that enable this edition to remain compatible with existing expansions.

▪️ In 2009, AEG released The Adventurers: The Temple of Chac from designers Guillaume Blossier and Frédéric Henry, with this game being followed by 2011’s The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus from Fantasy Flight Games.

In March 2025, CMON revealed a crowdfunding project for revamped editions of the first two games, as well as a third game in the series titled The Adventurers: Tomb of the Pirate Queen. These new editions are credited to Chris Hamm, Fred Perret, and Travis Chance — along with a “based on” credit to the previous designers — and the crowdfunding campaign promises new mechanisms, artwork, miniatures, characters, gear, and treasure…which seems like a “have your cake and eat it, too” promise of returning those older games to market, while also having something brand new.

Other changes include updated traps and rooms, no player elimination, streamlined components and final scoring, and “improved dice actions for deeper gameplay”.

▪️ Renegade Game Studios continues to roll out new editions of older Axis & Allies titles, with the next release along these lines being Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge, a Larry Harris design that debuted in 2006 from Avalon Hill. No gameplay changes are evident in this April 17, 2025 release.

▪️ Another game re-appearing from Renegade is Sentient, a 2017 design from J. Alex Kevern that I covered at the time. This July 2025 release features a solo mode (yes, again!), a game board, revised player boards, poker-sized cards instead of tarot-sized, and a lower MSRP of US$40.

For those not familiar with the game, you can read Beaudoin’s 2011 designer diary or this summary:

Québec puts you at the head of a rich family that wants to leave its name in history by building Québec city. The game spans four centuries during which you erect the most prestigious buildings and places of the city, but construction alone is not enough; you also have to ensure your presence in the great spheres of power. It is up to you and your opponents to build Québec City in your colors!

Each player takes 5-7 turns per century, starting new buildings, completing buildings, taking leaders, or sending workers to a zone of influence. By contributing to the numerous buildings, players acquire influence with the authorities of the time: religion, politics, commerce, and culture. Players also help build the famous Citadelle.

Extra crispy

During a scoring round at the end of each century, players earn points for the workers they managed to place in the five zones of influence. The player with the majority in a zone cascades half of their workers by moving them to the next zone. Workers moved in this way allow a player to score even more points. If a player still has the majority in the next zone, their workers cascade again – a potentially devastating ripple effect. This mechanism illustrates the interrelationship between the great zones of influence. Players must not only fight to get majorities, they must also erect the most prestigious buildings.

The game ends after the fourth century, then players receive points for the buildings they completed. The player with the most points wins.