With so many games at Gen Con, there were many I didn’t actually get to play–some because I simply didn’t have time, but also some because they were just announced at the show. This year, because Gen Con was earlier than usual, I know a lot of publishers had trouble getting finished copies in time, and a lot of releases have been pushed back to Essen in October instead.
Dice City is an upcoming title from AEG that has you using dice to activate various locations in your city: each die color corresponds to one row in your tableau, and the number rolled shows which column gets activated. You can build new locations on top of existing ones, changing the abilities. It looks like a fun concept, maybe something a little like Machi Koro and a little like Imperial Settlers. It’s going to be released at Essen this year, and is already up for pre-order from AEG. [UPDATE: This pre-order is only for Essen pick-up. The rest of us will have to wait until later, sadly.]
Five Tribes is getting an expansion next month: Artisans. It adds a new set of location tiles that start in the center of the board, including a pit that can’t be traversed. There are also mountain ranges that interfere with movement as well. The Artisans are a new tribe, adding a new ability to the mix, and there are a few new djin as well.
Takenoko is also getting an expansion: Chibis. There’s a girl panda now, which means an opportunity to make baby pandas. (Kids: ask your parents.) The baby pandas (represented by the tokens) give various abilities. There are also some new land tiles: one grows all three colors of bamboo, one serves as a new water source, and so on. The expansion is due in September.
Another new one from Asmodee is Discoveries: The Journals of Lewis & Clark. While it looks similar to the original Lewis & Clark because it shares some of the same iconography and graphics, it’s actually a standalone game with distinct gameplay. You travel along the river, making discoveries and recording them in your journal.
Flick ‘Em Up is a dexterity game (and you know I love those) from Pretzel Games. It’s a western shootout, and the giant versions they had at the show were constantly filled with players (wearing cowboy hats, naturally). It’s already been released, but has been selling out fast. The second print run is due in October, so keep your eye out for it. At Essen, the first expansion will be released, introducing horses that serve as ramps for your meeples.
Long time fans of Looney Labs may remember Icehouse Pyramids (later renamed Looney Pyramids). They’re a game system: colored plastic pyramids in three sizes that nest in each other and can be used to play a host of different games. I collected a bunch of these about a decade ago before they started becoming harder to find (and before the newer packaging). Andy and Kristin Looney shared with me that next year they’re planning to bring back the Pyramids with Pyramid Throwdown. It’ll be a big box with the Pyramids and lots of the other accessories you can use to play the various games (and of course all the rules). I’m pretty excited to see how this will turn out. You can sign up to get updates here.
Designer Gil Hova of Formal Ferret Games showed me a quick demo of his upcoming game Bad Medicine. It’s a party game about pharmaceutical companies pitching drugs to remedy various ailments. But the drugs, of course, have side effects–which are then treated with the next round of drugs. It looks great, and our resident physician Gerry Tolbert is planning to review it when he gets a copy.
Cryptozoic had a demo prototype of Attack on Titan, based on the manga series. The game is designed by Antoine Bauza and Ludovic Maublanc. One player controls the Titan, and the others work together to defeat it. The heroes can use cannons on the nearby building or can jump and climb onto various levels of the Titan, but the Titan has ways of destroying cannons and knocking the heroes to the ground. I didn’t play it myself but I got to see part of a demo, and it looks like it will be a pretty fun 1-vs-all game.
Strife, which made an appearance at Gen Con last year and was subsequently funded on Kickstarter, had its formal debut this year, with lots of people getting to play the finished game at the booth. I saw some artwork for an upcoming version, this one with a steampunk theme. It sounds like there are plans for multiple versions of Strife set in different time periods, each with its own set of 10 heroes, and you may even be able to mix and match them. I’ve gotten to play the finished version of the original game (review forthcoming) and I’m excited to see what’s in store.
I mentioned in my post about Evolution that I was predicting aquatic species as the next expansion. Well, I got a sneak peek and… I was wrong. It’s actually about climate. There’s a track that shows the current climate, from cold to temperate to hot. Both cold and hot climates will cause your population to die off, but there’s more plant food in hot climates and less in cold climates. To handle that, you’ll have new traits like heavy fur (great for cold climates but bad for warm climates) or sweat glands. Some of the traits will cost extra food to maintain. And now, when you put in a card for the food supply, it will also move the climate track up or down. The expansion is still in its early stages and is being tweaked, but I love the idea and am looking forward to adding this to the mix.
Garbage Day is an upcoming title from Mayday Games, and it’s all about avoiding your responsibilities. (Hmm, maybe they stole this idea from my kids.) The house is a mess, but nobody wants to take out the trash. So you start piling cards on top of this plastic trash can–the holes in the cards you play have to be open below–and if things fall over, you’re stuck taking out the trash. A silly, light dexterity game that should be a fun filler.
A couple of other games announced that I don’t have pictures of: a deluxe anniversary edition of Tsuro, plus some more Legendary deck-building games from Upper Deck: Firefly and Big Trouble in Little China! Those are both expected next year, so sit tight. And coming in October from Z-Man Games: Pandemic Legacy. Yep–it’s for those people who think Pandemic is too easy. What if you lose Buenos Aires entirely? Or what if your Medic is lost and you just have a regular civilian with no special abilities? Things aren’t looking so great…
Keep going: Cosplay!
Great write up, looks like it was fun. What’s the deal with the Star Wars Holochess? It that something this is going to be released.
Unfortunately I don’t know much about the Star Wars holochess because it’s something I walked by early on and nobody was there at the time. It looks similar to this limited-edition collectible from Sideshow Toys: http://www.sideshowtoy.com/collectibles/product-archive/?sku=2142