Re-Roll: This Week’s Tabletop Game News

Here are the latest announcements and stories that caught our eyes this week:

(Time to make up for some slow news weeks!)

• • Penny Arcade announced a tabletop convention, PAX Unplugged. The new con will take place in Philadelphia November 17-19, conflicting with BGGCON. (Hopefully just a one-time calendar glitch!)
  • Carcassonne has another expansion on the way: Manege frei! (German for “clear the way!”) It’s the tenth expansion for the game and features the circus coming to town.
  • I love the Valeria series, both Valeria Card Kingdoms and Villages of Valeria, and can hardly wait for the upcoming Quests game. In the meantime, Villages has a couple of expansions coming out this month: Guild Halls and Monuments. Both foil pack expansions will be available on February 24 and will set you back five dollars each.
  • One of my favorite abstract strategy games is Onitama. The Arcane Wonders game is great fun, requires some deep thinking, and has lots of replayability. That long tail gets even longer in May when Sensei’s Path, a card expansion for the base set, comes out.
  • Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game gets another group of expansion, Wave X. The new ships include a quadjumper, Sabine’s TIE fighter, U-wing, TIE Striker, and an Upsilon-class shuttle. All ships are available now.
  • Fantasy Flight also launched an expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. The Mûmakil Adventure Pack has our heroes battling jungle perils and predators and is also available right now.
  • The final item of Fantasy Flight news in this week’s roundup is that Runewars Miniature Game is now supported by their Organized Play program. Kits will be making their way to stores later this spring, so check with your local game store for details.
  • This is pretty epic. WizKids is going to reprint their Red Dragon Trophy Plaque. This is a mounted red dragon head and measures 34″ x 18″ x 25″ and weighs almost 30 pounds. The retail price is three bills, but the first shipment sold out in nothing flat. BUT! If the red dragon isn’t your thing, rumor is that a similar sized Mind Flayer will be available soon!
  • T.I.M.E. Stories‘ fourth expansion, Expedition: Endurance, will make its way to stores next week. If you want an idea of the adventure at hand, check out this preview.
  • Cryptozoic released a sequel to the hilarious bluffing party game, Spyfall. Cleverly named Spyfall 2, the game is in stores this week.
  • Quadropolis (Quadro Polis?) from Days of Wonder has an expansion coming this spring. The tile-laying, city-building game will now feature Public Services tiles–police stations, maternity wards, reprocessing plants, and more.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a cooperative game from Jasco Games, will hit shelves next week. Stop evil by fighting the forces of evil and defeat the Big Bad by yourself or with up to five others.
  • Also in stores next week is Kingsport Festival: The Card Game from Passport Game Studios. Based on the board game and set in a Lovecraftian setting, it features lots of dice rolling and playing some dark, evil, and terrifying cards. Your sanity is still at risk as a high priest of a shadow cult. Creepy!
  • Asmodee announced a new game this past week, Dice Forge. Featuring resource management and some unique mechanics (and clever components), you try to outmaneuver your opponents to perform more heroic feats in both the divine realms and the world. Dice Forge will be available 2Q this year.
  • Eric Lang has been on a bit of a roll, cranking out games at a blistering rate and winning the Diana Jones award in 2016 for his prolific work and just all around excellence. We knew his next game, the highly anticipated Rising Sun, would be offered on Kickstarter from CMON. Now we know the date: March 7. As they say on the internet, take my money!

Finally, here’s what some of the GeekDad Crew has been playing this week:

• Mike LeSauvage: Star Wars Card Game, Pokémon TCG
• Gerry Tolbert: Tak and Trick-taking the Trick-taking Game
• Jonathan Liu: Dice of Crowns, Heroes of Land, Air & Sea, Siege, Element, Jump Ship!, Santorini, Stowaway 52, Clank! Sunken Treasures, Dragon Racer, Food Truck Champion, PACG: Mummy’s Mask, Roll for the Galaxy: Ambition, Shadowrift
• Robin Brooks: Kiwetin, Mechabrick, and Gangs of Commorragh
• Sophie Brown: X-Wing, Pizza Party, Star Wars Carcassonne
• Ryan Hiller: Pathfinder RPG
• Rob Huddleston: Star Wars Destiny
• Michael Harrison: Arkham Horror LCG, Yspahan, Colt Express, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Lords of Waterdeep, Carcassonne, and Sentinels of the Multiverse
• Dave Banks: Shiba Inu House, Unspeakable Words, Hive Mind, 7 Wonders: Duel, Starfall, Onitama, Valeria: Card Kingdoms

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