Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending July 2, 2021.
Gaming News
- Underdog Games is seeking a family to spend 90 minutes a night, each night, for a week to play games without devices. The family will be provided with games to play and will be interviewed before, during, and after the week. They will also be paid $2500. They are accepting applications through July 31.
- Asmodee’s Game in Lab research group and Analog Game Studies have partnered to host GENeration Analog, a two-day virtual summit for board game research and inclusivity. The event will feature over 30 panelists and three keynotes discussing how the evolution of societal attitudes around tabletop RPGs can have broad impacts that last for generations.
- Amazon and Asmodee have teamed up to sue third-party vendors who are selling counterfeit games through Amazon. According to ICv2, the suit alleges that Samuel Katz, doing business as Crazy Leaf, and Gig Trading Inc. sold counterfeit editions of two Dixit expansions. “The complaint included claims for trademark infringement, false designation of origin and false advertising, and for violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and asks for an injunction halting the counterfeiting operations, for the court to impound inventory, for the court to require the defendants to account for their sales of infringing products, and for damages and fees.”
- GeekDad 2020 Game of the Year winner is now available as a beta on Board Game Arena, so if you’re still waiting to check out the game, now’s the time.
- Kotaku is reporting that shipping for board games has increased by as much as 300-400%, another impact of the global delays in shipping. Some Kickstarters have announced drastic increases in what they’re charging for shipping, while more traditional manufacturers and retailers are looking at how they can manage the rising costs. If you’re interested in a more detailed look at the state of global shipping right now, NPR’s The Indicator From Planet Money podcast did an episode on it last week.
- Iello will be releasing Sticky Cthulu this summer. Based on Stick Chameleon, the children’s game lets players roll dice to catch and eat cultists.
- WizKids has announced Turbo Sleuth, a “real-time detective game” in which players solve puzzles and try to be the first to reveal the identity of a murderer before time runs out. The game can be pre-ordered at your local game store.
- Torpedo Dice is an interactive roll-and-write from Stratus Games in which players use the patterns of the pips on dice to fire torpedoes at their opponent’s submarines. The game is available now.
- Super Mega Lucky Box is the latest from Sushi Go! creator Phil Walker-Harding. The educational game has players marking off spaces on a 3×3 grid based on cards drawn and will be released by Gamewright sometime this year.
- According to Dicebreaker, Roll20 has added safety tools to its online RPG titles. These include a safety deck addon and a bundle of free safety tools from Evil Hat Productions. Both can be used by any RPG on the Roll20 system and are free to use.
- Dicebreaker also has a very good overview of the conflict over the last couple of weeks between two companies calling themselves TSR. One, founded in 2011 by Jayson Elliot and two sons of original D&D creator Gary Gygax, severed ties this week with the other, founded in 2020 by Ernest Gygax, after Ernest’s company made many racist and transphobic remarks on Twitter.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Jonathan Liu played The 7th Continent, Battle Bears, and Gravwell: 2nd Edition.
- Michael Pistiolas played Barnyard Bunch, Unicorn Glitterluck: A Party for Rosalie, and Marvel Champions.
- I played Seastead, our featured image this week.
