Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending April 2, 2021.
Gaming News
- The American Tabletop Awards have announced their nominees for their awards via a Twitter thread this week. GeekDad Game of the Year Abandon All Artichokes is among the games under consideration. Winners will be announced next week. And, disclaimer: GeekDad’s Jonathan Liu is on the ATA committee.
- PAX East has been canceled this year due to, of course, the pandemic. They are “cautiously optimistic” that PAX West and PAX Unplugged, scheduled for fall and winter respectively, will be able to be held as planned.
- Luke Crane has stepped down as vice president and head of community at Kickstarter after launching and then canceling a controversial campaign to create an RPG with content from a series of designers. However, he chose not to disclose the list of designers to those involved, causing many to pull out when the campaign launched and it was discovered that Crane was including work from Adam Koebel, who had broadcast an RPG scenario on Twitch last year that involved sexual assault. Crane apologized for his handling of the campaign, and he and Kickstarter have both said that his departure was a “mutual decision.”
- Level 99 is taking preorders for Bullet[orange], an expansion for Bullet[heart]. Unlike the first game, the expansion is not going to Kickstarter but is instead available directly from the company’s website.
- Mondo will release this summer a single-hero expansion of their popular (and GeekDad Approved) Unmatched series. The hero in the pack: Deadpool. The expansion will be compatible with any other Unmatched set.
- In other Deadpool news, The Op is bringing out Deadpool vs the World, an adult-oriented card game to celebrate the trash-talking anti-hero’s 30th birthday. That title should be on shelves by May.
- Ravensburger announced this week that GeekDad Approved Marvel Villainous is getting a sequel. In Marvel Villainous: Mischief & Malice, players can choose M.O.D.O.K., Madame Masque, or everyone’s favorite love-to-hate villain, Loki. The game is due to be released at the beginning of August, but watch GeekDad for a review this summer.
- Tiny Epic Dungeons, which Jonathan recently reviewed here on GeekDad, is accepting late pledges.
- Z-Man is accepting pre-orders for the Carcassonne 20th Anniversary edition. The new set includes “a high gloss, UV spot print on all the tiles and the box,” and the box “comes with gold foil lettering and trim to really stand out, as well as two unique designs, giving fans the choice to display their copy on either side.” The tiles have new illustrations, and there are 20 new tiles, including 5 new river tiles. Some of the new tiles have as-yet-unspecified new gameplay actions. Finally, the set includes “costume” stickers for the meeples. The edition costs $49.99, but no release date has been specified. Carcassonne is our featured image this week.
- Z-Man has also announced that organized play for Pandemic has been canceled for 2021.
- AEG has released Ecos: New Horizon and is accepting orders on their website at a steep discount: $24.99 instead of $59.99.
- Dicebreaker is reporting that freelance author Graeme Barber has gone public with his displeasure at Wizards on the Coast making substantial and problematic changes to a D&D 5E adventure he wrote, and as a result, he has requested that his name be removed from future printings.
- Petersen Games is making an expansion to Cthulu Wars: Duel (which was previously reviewed here by Ricardo Rebelo) available for free on their website through April 10.
GeekDad Reviews
What we’ve reviewed this week:
- Robin Brooks reviewed Blobby’s Pizza.
- Jonathan Liu reviewed Long Shot: The Dice Game.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Robin Brooks played Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm and Troika.
- Simon Yule played Ticket to Ride, Warhammer Warcry, and Dungeons & Dragons Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
- Jonathan Liu played Steam Up, Machi Koro Legacy, and So, You’ve Been Eaten.
- Paul Benson played Dwellings of Eldervale.
- Will James played My Little Scythe, My Little Scythe Pie in the Sky, and Fossil Canyon.
- Michael Pistiolas played Sprawlopolis, Ugly Gryphon Inn, Food Chain Island, and Cribbage.
- Z. played Dungeons & Dragons: Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
