The board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending June 21, 2019.
Gaming News
- My fellow GeekDad Robin Brooks wrote up a nice piece on UKGE.
- The Origins Game Conference was last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, which means that the Origins Awards were also announced. The Board Game of the Year was Root, while Best Game Accessory went to this $450 thing to hang on your wall. Vlaada Chvatil and his game Mage Knight were inducted into the Hall of Fame. I suspect the Origins Awards might be a bigger deal if they were backed by a website that got updated more frequently, but in the meantime, you can see the complete list of winners on Tabletop Wire.
- Monopoly Voice Banking is the latest iteration of the world’s worst game. It has some kind of voice thing that almost certainly doesn’t make it any less horrible.
- The Op, Maker of All Things Licensed, has a line of board games based on Toy Story 4 coming out over the next few months, including a collectible chess set and a co-op deck builder.
- Asmodee Digital has released Catan for the Nintendo Switch. The game includes the Seafarers expansion, while the Cities & Knights expansion is available for an additional charge.
- We reported here a few weeks ago that the administration’s latest barrage in the trade war with China could include a 25% tariff on board games. Scott Gaeta of Renegade Games wrote a good post breaking down fact from fiction and the possible impact on the industry should the tariff go into effect.
- And speaking of Renegade, they also announced Clank Expeditions: Temple of the Ape Lords!, an expansion to the classic deck builder. The game will be on shelves in September, with a special early release available at Gen Con.
- Only ONE ticket remains for our annual Gaming with GeekDad event at Gen Con. Don’t miss out!
GeekDad Reviews
Here are the games we’ve reviewed this week:
- Jonathan Liu reviewed Darwinauts and Quacks of Quedlinburg. He also wrote up a review of Sovereign Skies, but the designer decided to cancel the Kickstarter campaign later that day, with plans to relaunch at some point.
- I reviewed Tricky Tides, which is our featured image this week.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Jonathan Liu played Zombie Kidz Evolution, Sovereign Skies, First Orchard, Path of Light and Shadow, The 7th Continent, Dog Rush, Meduris, Sprint!, Tussie Mussie, Unicorn Glitterluck, and Walking in Burano.
- Greg Howley played Photosynthesis, King of Tokyo, Spirit Island, Smash Up, and Gubs.
- Robin Brooks played Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault.
- I played Mapmaker, Mansky Caper, Tiny Towns, Camel Cup, Stool Pigeon, The Quacks of Quedlingburg, Villianous, Dixit, Ticket to Ride, and Star Wars Outer Rim.
