Here are the latest announcements and stories that caught our eyes this week:
- According to Gaming Rules’ Paul Grogan, there is a cooperative, two-player version of Codenames on the way. While Codenames Duet is still very much in development, an early prototype was displayed at Airecon.
- Games Workshop have released details of their new Warhammer game, Underworlds: Shadespire. It’s a two-player game with just a handful of miniatures. The game will come with cards, which add different attributes to the minis… so a little like X-Wing, but with swords! Tournament play is also promised.
- CMON has announced an organized play program for brick & mortar retailers. Does this mean we might get a chance to play Rising Sun early? Does it?
- The reports from GAMA keep coming in–lots of good games making their ways to our tables, including Ares’ The Hunt for the Ring, a hidden movement and deduction game that uses the beginning of The Lord of the Rings trilogy as its theme. Look for it later this summer.
- (Gulp) Last Night on Earth turns 10 this year (TEN!?!) and Flying Frog will be releasing an anniversary edition of the venerable zombie game.
- The Antoine Bauza travel game, Tokaido, has already seen a massive special edition last year. This week, the game gets a digital version, available on both iOS and Android.
- Jolly Rogers Games Kickstarted a racing game last spring, Championship Formula Racing, or CFR. The game has shipped to backers and, bringing this week, you can pick it up at your game store–just in time for the beginning of the Formula One World Championship, which begins this weekend. (I demoed this at Gen Con last summer, and it’s really good!)
- Renegade Games has a new tile-laying game called Castles of Caladale coming out next week. We will have a review in the next few days, but it’s a wonderful, never-really-permanent-until-the-game-is-over castle rebuilding game with lots of play modes.
- T.I.M.E. Stories will have you showing up in 15th century Spain for the fifth expansion of the popular decksploration game. Look for Lumen Fidei in Q2.
- If Santorini only piqued your interest in building in a board game, keep an eye out for a reprint of Torres from IDW Games. The Spiel des Jahres winner will be on shelves just after Gen Con, in August.
- Kreus, a beautiful card game from CMON, is on shelves this week. It’s a cooperative game, where players take on the roles of Titans, working to create an ideal planet.
- Portal Games has a whodunit boardgame on the horizon. Detective: A Modern Crime Boardgame is story-driven and cooperative and encourages players to investigate clues via their smart phones, laptops, or other internet devices. Is your Google-Fu the best? Find out when Detective finds its way to shelves at the beginning of 2018.
- There’s a legend that six ravens must guard the Tower of London or the monarchy will fall. WizKids has a small(er) game out in April that plays on that legend. Tower of London will have players fighting for control of the tower and gathering ravens. Crown jewels not included.
Finally, here’s what some of the GeekDad Crew has been playing this week:
- Randy Slavey: Wizard, Stare!, Inklings
- Ryan Hiller: Pathfinder RPG
- Mike LeSauvage: Haiku Warrior
- Gerry Tolbert: Wonky, Animal Upon Animal
- Robin Brooks: Evolution, Warhammer Quest, X-Wing, Shahrazad, Monkey Bingo, and Scaredy Cat
- Rob Huddleston: Magic: The Gathering
- Jonathan Liu: 5ive: King’s Court, Flying Kiwis, The Grimm Forest, Hardback (upcoming Kickstarter), Wu Wei: Journey of the Changing Path, The Battle at Kemble’s Cascade, DragonFlame, Hit Z Road, The Island of Doctor Necreaux, Kingdomino, Rise to Nobility (upcoming Kickstarter)
- Dave Banks: Braintopia, Castles of Caladale, Fields of Green, Valeria: Card Kingdoms, Unfair, Planetarium
