Here are the latest announcements and stories that caught our eyes this week:
- Gamewright announced their 2017 lineup and among games like Cha-Cha Chihuahua, Qwingo, and PDQ, there’s Go Nuts for Donuts!, one of our favorite Kickstarters of the past year. Read the full review of Go Nuts for Donuts! here.
- Renegade Games’ Clank!, possibly the most fun we’ve had with a deckbuilder recently, announced an expansion for the game. Sunken Treasures will have adventurers diving deep underwater to find treasures while (still) avoiding a dragon. The expansion will be available in March.
- Portal Games has opened a pre-order for the Robinson Crusoe-based First Martians. The pre-order will have stretch goals and unique components. There are two separate campaigns and a half dozen standalone missions, all challenging you to survive a most inhospitable planet. My order’s placed — can’t wait!
- Wizkids has published a Bruno Cathala dice-rolling game called Dice Stars. The press-your-luck dice rolling game is available now and is priced at just $19.99.
- Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman have signed on to star in a full length feature film called Game Night, which follows a group of couples who regularly get together to play games when … something goes terribly wrong. (Someone breaks out Candy Land?)
- Want to get an early peek at Asmodee’s escape room game, Unlock!? Well, there’s a print & play scenario that pairs with an app – both are available at no cost.
- The Dice Hate Me meta-game, Time Management, hits shelves this week. Sounds too much like work to me, but Dice Hate Me has a solid track record on putting out great games.
- Mayfair announced that they would be reprinting the Uwe Rosenberg classic, Le Havre, which has been out of print for quite some time.
- With an unusual theme, Hotshots is a cooperative wildfire fighting game from Fireside Games (Castle Panic, Village Crone). It’s a press-your-luck, dice-rolling game where players will have special abilities. The rules aren’t available yet, ahead of a May 31 release, but the product page details some of the mechanics and makes Hotshots look like it is going to be an immense amount of fun!
- Also, we recently announced our Games of the Year. It’s the same process as past years and a little awkward in how we put it together. So we’ve decided to overhaul how we pick the GeekDad Game of the Year. We’re hopeful it will be a better way to do things!
Finally, here’s what some of the GeekDad Crew has been playing this week:
- Randy Slavey: Clever Endeavor, Qwirkle, Qwixx, 7 Wonders, Dominion
- Michael Harrison: Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Coup, Lords of Waterdeep, Carcassonne, Splendor
- Ryan Hiller: Zombicide: Black Plague, Wings of War, Pathfinder RPG
- Rob Huddleston: Star Trek Catan
- Preston Burt: Rampage / Terror in Meeple City
- Anthony Karcz: Star Wars: Armada, Edge of the Empire
- Jonathan Liu: By the Order of the Queen, Queen’s Architect, Mechs vs. Minions, Spaceteam, Scythe, Project NOS, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, Moonquake Escape, La Boca, Go Nuts for Donuts, My Village
- Mike LeSauvage: Axis & Allies, Power Grid, Edge of the Empire
- Gerry Tolbert: Big Book of Madness, Mansions of Madness 2.0, Monza, Warehouse 51, Ice Cool, Lanterns, Clank!, Covert, Imhotep, Three Wishes, Guillotine
- Dave Banks: Santorini, Valeria Card Kingdoms, Villages of Valeria, Dice City, On Her Majesty’s Service
