Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending July 30, 2021.
Gaming News
- Restoration Games is bringing back the classic title Omega Virus, and announcing it in a rather unique way: they’ve developed a new card game, Omega Virus Prolog, which, according to the letter that accompanied the card game, is their “way of announcing that [they] will be restoring the frequently requested Omega Virus.” The letter goes on to say that the game will be “another big plastic electronic production.” The card game should be available for purchase at Gen Con and then “with limited retail availability” later in the year. GeekDad Michael Knight has a review of the card game.
- You may have heard about the worldwide shipping industry issues, and, of course, our industry, with most products manufactured in China, is being dramatically impacted. This week, Deep Water Games founder Nolan Nassar posted a tweet that showed that in the last twelve months, the cost of a 40-foot shipping container has gone from $3400 to $21,000. Many Kickstarter projects are on hold as their creators try to figure out how to make that work with their already tight budgets, but even bigger manufacturers are feeling the impact—Restoration Games noted that the card game mentioned above would at Gen Con “worldwide logistics permitting” and Hasbro has announced that they will be raising prices as well. (Remember, Hasbro not only owns mega-popular games like Monopoly, but also Wizards on the Coast, so expect to see prices rise for D&D and Magic: The Gathering as well.) As we begin to move into the holiday season, we will continue to monitor the situation and see how it continues to impact the availability of games. If you are interested in a good summary as to why the situation exists, check out this recent episode of NPR’s The Indicator podcast. On a personal note, please be kind to the creators of delayed Kickstarter projects. They could never have anticipated this, and yelling and berating them online isn’t going to magically make the problem go away.
- Pandasaurus now has their Gen Con pre-orders available for Dinosaur World, The Dinoverse Bundle, Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write, Machi Koro 2, Brew, The LOOP, and Wild Space. Note that these are only available to pick up for those attending Gen Con, and that customers who fail to pick up at the convention will have their products sold to other attendees and that refunds “may be issued at our sole discretion.”
- Also in Pandasaurus news: they are taking preorders for Trek 12, a new roll-and-write title releasing in November.
- Cluedon’t is a spin-off of classic Cluedo (or, as we on this side of the pond call it, Clue). The twist here is that rather than trying to figure out who the murderer is, players instead are the murderers, and are competing to get caught. The game requires a standard Cluedo (or Clue) board and a PDF, which is available to supporters on designer Grant Howitt’s Patreon.
- A holographic shadowless Charizard Pokémon card was sold at auction this week for a whopping $264,000, while a 1993 Magic: The Gathering sealed unlimited starter deck sold for $150,000. I guess I should add “hang on to that Magic starter box” to my list of things I need to tell my past self if we ever get time travel invented.
- Disney Villains is a retheming of the classic social deduction game Werewolf starring, obviously, the villains from various Disney properties. According to an Asmodee Instagram post, more details on the game will be released next week.
- The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, our featured image this week, a semi-cooperative game based on John Carpenter’s 1982 cult classic The Thing (which, of course, was itself based on 1951’s The Thing From Another World), is returning to stores thanks to Mondo. We will have a review coming in the next few months once the game is available.
- Fans of the 3D train robbery game Colt Express can soon buy the base game and all current expansions together with the upcoming release of Colt Express: Big Box. The box will also include a new bandit, Silk.
- Several weeks ago, we reported on a confusing set of tweets between two companies that had branded themselves at TSR. Now, both have divested themselves of the names, with one becoming Solarian and the other Wonderfilled, Inc. Dicebreaker has a detailed post explaining all of the moves around the old brand.
GeekDad Reviews
Here’s what we reviewed this week:
- Paul Benson reviewed Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
- Jonathan Liu reviewed Thunder Rolls.
- Michael Knight reviewed Omega Virus Prolog.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
- Paul Benson played Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress, and D&D: Tomb of Annihilation.
- Michael Pistiolas played Marvel Champions, Hanabi, Can’t Stop, Lost Ruins of Arnak, 6 nimmt!, Barnyard Bunch, and Unicorn Glitterluck: A Party for Rosalie.
- Jonathan Liu played Thunder Rolls, Crash Octopus, Verdant, The 7th Continent, Brew, Hammer Time, Inspector Mouse: The Great Escape, The Key: Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land, Maglev Metro, Moonrakers, and Shelfie Stacker.
- Robin Brooks Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm.
- Michael Knight played Omega Virus Prologue, Almanac: The Dragon Road, and Disney’s Jungle Cruise Adventure Game.
- Z. played Dungeons & Dragons: Curse of Strahd.
- I played Splendor, Disney Villainous: Despicable Plots, and The Kringle Caper.
