The board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending June 7, 2019.
Gaming News
- Most of what I talk about here on Re-Roll is new stuff, but every now and then some news of related old stuff pops up. And this week, there’s really old stuff: namely, that one of the five missing pieces of the medieval Lewis chess set was discovered in a drawer in Edinburgh. The piece, the equivalent of the rook in the set, is due to be auctioned by Sotheby’s and could bring in as much as £1 million. Most of the rest of the original pieces are at the British Museum in London, which is where you can buy a replica set like the one I have, shown in our featured image.
- The OP continues to fill our shelves with movie-inspired board games. Their next release: IT: The Evil Below. The game is described as a “cooperative strategy game [that] follows the seven heroes as they traverse their neighborhood, using character-specific abilities that maintain the needed courage to defeat Pennywise and cease his mounting abductions.” However, “If just one player runs out of health, the objective is failed and Pennywise wins.” The game, meant for 2-7 players 17 and up, is due on shelves this fall.
- Multiple news outlets are reporting that Joe and Anthony Russo, the co-directors of The Avengers: Endgame, have begun work on an animated series for Netflix that will be based on Magic: The Gathering. Surprisingly, it’s the first time in the 26-year history of the game that it will be brought to the screen.
- They’re going fast, but tickets are still available for Gaming with GeekDad, our annual event at Gen Con. If you’re going to be at the convention, buy your ticket now and come hang out with us and try some new games. And if you haven’t yet decided on whether or not to go to Gen Con, there’s still time, but not much: they are now down to a “limited supply” of 4-day passes.
- If you’re a graphic designer interested in working in the industry, Indie Boards and Cards is looking to hire someone to help work on the visual design of games.
- Trains have long been an oft-used theme in games, and the new Foothills from Lookout Spiele is no exception. The two-player game has opponents work to be the first to develop the railroads in 19th-century Wales. It appears to be a spin-off of sorts from 2012’s Snowdonia, but the website isn’t entirely clear on that point.
- A new core set for Pathfinder has been released.
- German published Frosted Games is bringing Watergate to your table this fall. The two-person card game pits Nixon’s White House against journalists trying to uncover the truth. It’s due to be released at Gen Con.
- I mentioned this last week, but it’s worth repeating, in case anyone in my family is still reading: Father’s Day is coming up, which lines up quite nicely this year with the June 13 release of Star Wars: Outer Rim. And the game has a solo mode (Solo mode?), so they don’t even have to play it with me.
GeekDad Reviews
Here are the games we’ve reviewed this week:
- Eric Stanfill reviewed Shaolia: Warring States.
- Michael Pistiolas reviewed Unicorn Glitterluck: A Party for Rosalie.
- Jonathan Liu reviewed Sutakku.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Jonathan Liu played Filler, Sutakku, Zombie Kidz Evolution, Tiny Towns, Adorable Pandaring, Before the Earth Explodes, Black Hat, Bosk, Darwinauts, The Hearmees, My Little Scythe, and Silver.
- Michael Pistiolas played Zombicide: Green Horde, Checkers, and Sword & Sorcery.
- Robin Brooks played Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress, Super Fantasy Brawl, and Scubi Sea Saga.
- Rob Huddleston played Stool Pigeon and The Mansky Caper.
