Founding Fathers is a game for 2-5 players competing to be the man remembered for the writing on the US Constitution.  Play revolves around delegate cards that can be used for several options. "The game also comes with a brief history of the constitutional convention as well as the delegates," Jim Dietz, president of Jolly Roger Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2011.

In this game by Frank Branham and Sandi West, three to four players compete to be the dragon who summons the rains and saves the villages and the harvests. Points aren’t what they seem, for they’re only scored if specific card combinations are captured. The game features calligraphy and artwork by Jacob Walker. A hand takes 20 to 30 minutes. “Played cards are left face up so that card counting is neutralized. Winning a trick requires giving the other team a card from your hand, so as the hand progresses, the cards are more balanced,” Jim Dietz of Jolly Roger Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: Christmas 2004.

In this game for two to four players by Alan R. Moon and Aaron Weissblum, players compete to become the city’s greatest architect by building the most clocktowers. But sometimes carelessness sets in and animals come to call the towers their homes. Can players build towers without cats and mice, and construct enough to be declared the victor? When the decks are gone, the game is over. Play takes about 15 to 30 minutes. “It can be played with an eye-to-card counting or it can be played as a purely social, quick + light game,” Jim Dietz of Jolly Roger Games told TDmonthly.

It’s Halloween and everyone is throwing parties, but no one wants to make a monster mistake and go to a dead party — their social lives wouldn’t have a ghost of a chance after that. In this game of bluff designed by Bruno Faidutti and Gwenael Bousuin, players send partygoers to other players to see if they are welcomed or rejected. Is the guest cool or a geek? Will they help make a bigger, better party or drive people away? “It is fun for kids to play with their parents — without boring the parents,” Jim Dietz of Jolly Roger Games told TDmonthly.

In this two-player game by Alan M. Newman, rivals seek to control China through marshalling their forces and conquering the five main provinces of ancient China. A limited number of armies are available and both players have the same options to choose from, making the game a skillful challenge. Play takes 30 to 60 minutes.

In this game by Carlo A. Rossi, three to six players take turns secretly placing bobbies or evil minions at the tombs of a London cemetery to determine whether the grave has been saved or the body stolen. A round ends when the fate of the entire graveyard is known, but players should be careful: The cards needed to assure victory are the ones worth the most points if they haven’t been used at the end. Play takes 25 to 40 minutes.

In this trick-taking card game by Dan Baden, two to seven players seek to finish secret recipes by capturing tricks (ingredients) played by other players. The catch is, sometimes players have to take ingredients they don’t need, which can set off a chain reaction that destroys everyone’s secret recipes. Play takes about 30 minutes.