The board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending October 26, 2018.
A quick announcement: as of this week, I am taking over writing Re-Roll for the venerable Dave Banks.
Gaming News
A quick summary of this week’s boardgame news:
- Of course, the biggest news in gaming is that the Essen Game Fair is currently happening in, well, Essen, Germany. That means lots of new previews and new board game stuff will be hitting the internet over the next four days. You can get updates via Asmodee’s Twitch stream, from the con or BoardgameGeek’s broadcasts, also on Twitch. And, someday, I’ll manage to figure out a way to get there in person.
- The only surprising thing about USAopoly’s release this week of Candyland Willy Wonka is that it took this long to connect those two properties. I assume that the classic children’s cardboard-based activity will now feature player elimination and introduce a “last kid standing” mechanic, in keeping with the theme, and thus finally become a game.
- Speaking of licensing: Codenames Harry Potter will also be hitting shelves this week.
- I missed Corsair Leader when it was on Kickstarter, but a solitaire WWII aerial combat game? Definitely going on the Christmas list.
- This week’s image is from Magic Maze. (Read the review here.)
- River Horse, the company that continues to make classic ’80s movies that no one thought needed board game versions into board games, is releasing Highlander. I’m guessing it involves fighting each other until there is only one, at least until the next game, when it turns out that “there can be only one” meant “really, several, as long as we can keep the franchise going.” Be sure to invite any Scottish friends over to play the game with bad Spanish accents.
- Two new releases this week that will definitely make their way to my house: Sports Dice Football and Sports Dice Baseball.
- In case you don’t have enough miniatures that need painting in your life, Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress adds yet another game to the series this week.
- If you like playing your favorite games on your devices, this will make you happy: Asmodee Digital has a Spiel Promo Days sale going on, meaning digital versions of games like Ticket to Ride, Small World, and Colt Express are as much as 65% off right now.
- Dreamworks has announced plans to make a Mice and Mystics movie.
- Fantasy Flight has released a preview of a set of Darth Vader-related cards for the upcoming Across the Galaxy expansion to Star Wars: Destiny.
- We don’t tend to cover much Kickstarter news here, because we do that a lot elsewhere, but this was intriguing enough to include anyway: Assassin’s Creed – Brotherhood of Vengence is a tactical miniatures boardgame hitting Kickstarter in early November.
GeekDad Reviews
Games we’ve reviewed this week here on GeekDad:
- Jonathan Liu reviewed the fantasy war game Skulk Hollow.
- Michael G. Pistiolas took a look at the civilization building game Monumental.
- Greg Howley wrote up a comprehensive look at Sentinels of the Multiverse.
- And Dave Banks did our annual write-up of Halloween-themed games.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Logan Giannini played Spiel Des Jahres winner Azul, along with Heaven and Ale, Orbis, and High Society.
- Jonathan Liu had a bit of an off week, only getting in five games: Ganymede, KOI, Mutants, Spy Club, and New Salem.
- Robin Brooks played Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault, Lord of the Rings: Quest to Mount Doom, and Thieves.
