Re-Roll: This Week’s Tabletop Game News for the Week Ending December 11, 2020

Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending December 11, 2020. 

Gaming News

• We here at GeekDad are very pleased to announce that Abandon All Artichokes, the deck-destroying game designed by Emma Larkins and published by Gamewright, is our 2020 Game of the Year. You can read our announcement for our reasons why we selected it from our list of finalists. Artichokes is available at online retailers, directly from the publisher, or your local friendly game store. It is also our featured image this week.
• Audiobook publisher Podium Audio and game design studio Twogether Studios are joining forces to create what they are calling “the first-ever tabletop game tied to an audiobook.” The print-and-play microgame, inspired by the fantasy-based adventure series Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko, will be available to readers after they purchase the series’ fourth book, Glory to the Brave, from Audible. You can also download the game from Podium Audio.
• Twogether was in other news this week as well, announcing that their game The Adventure Zone: Bureau of Balance would not be sold on Amazon this holiday season, meaning that fans of the game would need to buy it from local game stores instead.
• According to a press release, players who purchase Evolution for the Nintendo Switch “before January 10th, 2021, will receive an exclusive Tiger Skin and the Arms Race Promo Pack.” You can view a trailer for the game on YouTube.
• Pretty much everyone who is serious about playing games likely has dreams of publishing a game of their own. To help in that process, Alderac has a blog post this week that details the process of submitting a game to AEG, and is honest about the prospects of success (spoiler: they aren’t good).
• Takkure, a cyberpunk rugby game from Zenitminiatures, completed a successful Kickstarter campaign and is now available for pre-order. No word on whether or not you can do that cool pyramid move like they do in real rugby games.
• Fantasy Flight has a bunch of new releases this week, mostly centered around Star Wars Armada and the introduction of Clone Wars-era ships to the game.
• Chamber, a sci-fi “playset” set in the ’60s and inspired by things like X-Files, is now available as a name-your-price download for the Agon roleplaying game.
• According to ICv2, GAMA has made some changes to the Origins Awards for next year. Due to the large number of nominees received this year, they are dividing up the board game and RPG categories, expanding their total number of awards to 14.

GeekDad and GeekMom Reviews

• Paul Benson reviewed The Batman Who Laughs Rising.
• Michael Knight reviewed GeekDad Approved Mississippi Queen.
• Jonathan Liu reviewed Mass Transit and GeekDad Approved Zombie Teenz Evolution.
• Simon Yule gave us a first look at Warhammer Warcry: Catacombs.

What We’re Playing

Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:

• Michael Pistiolas played Gloomhaven, Shipwrights of the North Sea, The Crew, Can’t Stop, and Welcome to.
• Michael Knight played Mississippi Queen and Pan Am.
• Z. played Dungeons & Dragons.
• Jonathan Liu played Under Falling Skies, The Isle of Cats, Marvel United, Pan Am, Pandemic Legacy: Season 0, Roll for Adventure, and Via Magica.