Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending January 29, 2021.
Gaming News
- Tabletop games remain the top category on Kickstarter, with 2020 being another record-breaking year. According to ICO Partners, games bringing in a staggering $236,629,466 in the last year, up 33% from 2019, which was also a record year. There were 3,163 funded games on the site in 2020. The good news for the industry is that while the number of successful games projects continues to rise (2,712 were funded in 2019), the number of failed campaigns has remained fairly stagnant—1,319 in 2020, compared to 1,297 in 2019. 70% of all game projects in 2020 were funded. Also, a majority of the funded games—1611—needed less than $10,000, so while the games that raise millions continue to get the headlines, most games are smaller affairs by smaller publishers.
- Fans of Machi Koro will be happy at the news that, after a several-year absence, the game is returning to shelves at Target.
- Asmodee and Game in Lab have released the results of a clinical study showing that board games “can have significant beneficial effects for those suffering from Alzheimer’s.” Game in Lab is also announcing a series of grants to further the research on the potential benefits of games.
- Classic CCG Warlord: Saga of the Storm turns 20 this year, and to celebrate AEG is releasing an all-new celebration pack that adds new cards to the game.
- At their January preview event, Games Workshop announced that the new Warhammer Quest will feature vampires.
- According to Boardgamegeek, MindWare Toys released a “collector’s edition” of Qwirkle at the end of last year. Schmidt Spiele plans to release this as a “10th-anniversary SdJ-winner” edition in September 2021.
- Casual Game Revolution announced their game of the year: Calico, which you will remember was a GeekDad Game of the Year Finalist. GeekDad’s Jonathan Liu is one of the judges for this award.
- Portal Games is making a licensed Dune game using their Detective system.
- The Op and Asmodee have teamed up to release Spot It! editions based on Spongebob Squarepants and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
- Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition is a revision of the superhero card game featuring all-new art and streamlined rules. It will be on Kickstarter soon.
- In case you’re wondering, the answer to the question “what is the world record for the number of Jenga blocks stacked on a single vertical block?” is 693, set last November by 12-year-old Auldin Maxwell of British Columbia.
- In other record news, a rare, autographed “Black Lotus” card from the 1993 Alpha edition of Magic: The Gathering (that was the first-ever print run of the game) sold for $511,100 this week. The case the card is enclosed in is signed by Christopher Rush, the artist and designer of the card. The winner of the auction is unknown as of this writing.
- Hans-im-Glück will release a 20th Anniversary edition of Carcassonne this spring. The new version will feature specially-illustrated tiles with “detailed easter-eggs” and a sticker sheet of “costumes” for the game’s classic Meeples. Also included will be the mini-expansions “The River,” “The Abbot,” and a new “anniversary” expansion with 15 brand new tiles. As of now, Z-Man, the American publisher of the game, has yet to announce whether or not they will bring the anniversary edition to the US.
- An anniversary edition that we do know is coming, however, is Ticket to Ride: Europe, celebrating 15 years on the market. Keep a lookout here on GeekDad for a detailed review of the game coming soon.
GeekDad Reviews
What we’ve reviewed this week:
- Michael Knight reviewed Reload.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Jonathan Liu played Ghost Writer, Three Sisters, Umbra Via, and Valeria: Card Kingdoms – Darksworn.
- Michael Pistiolas played Gloomhaven, Marvel Champions, Survive Escape from Atlantis!, and Sentinels of the Multiverse.
- Michael Knight played Reload and Almanac: The Dragon Road.
- I played Azul: Summer Pavilion, our featured image this week.
