Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending August 13, 2021.
Gaming News
- Pandasaurus announced That Time You Killed Me, “a narrative game that introduces new scenarios with unique rules and components as you play. As with any game about mucking about across time, you must play through this content in a strict, unalterable order. Play through 4 different Chapters, each with its own rules and components and increasing difficulty!”
- PSC Games is teaming up with Sega and Creative Assembly Games on a board game based on the world-renowned video game, Total War: Rome. Few other details are available at this time, but PSC does have a form for fans to sign up to get details as they become available.
- HABA has announced that they will not be attending any of the remaining big cons this year, including Gen Con, Essen, and Origins.
- Speaking of Gen Con, the organizers have announced a new pandemic-related policy. Whereas before they were going to only require masks for those who were unvaccinated, they announced earlier this week that instead, they were going to require masks for all attendees in all “indoor and crowded outdoor spaces.” They say that over 90% of those planning to attend have self-reported as being vaccinated and that all staff has been fully vaccinated, but the rise of the Delta variant has led to the decision to requires masks for everyone. In a tweet announcing the decision, they said that they might still require vaccinations, but it’s already too late for that: with the convention now just barely over a month away, there would not be time for someone to start to process to get vaccinated. This new policy has not caused any GeekDad writer to reconsider the decision to skip the convention this year, but we are all very hopeful that everyone will do their part for society, get vaccinated, and allow us all to attend Gen Con in 2022.
- Polygon has a nice piece this week with an overview of Great Western Trail Second Edition, which is supposed to be available at Gen Con.
- CMON continues to work on developing Masters of the Universe: The Board Game, and has a new “designer diary” post detailing the progress so far.
- There’s a new survey out by Wizards on the Coast about both Magic: The Gathering and D&D. The 50-question survey asks participants about their relationship to the games, past playing history, and thoughts on the games moving forward.
- The Indie Game Developer Network has released the list of nominees for their Indie Groundbreaker Awards. The awards will be handed out in five categories, with Crescendo Giocoso Ritornello, Honey & Hot Wax, Karanduun, Our Mundane Supernatural Life, and Space Goblins up for the top Game of the Year prize. The winner will be announced prior to the start of Gen Con.
- Rio Grande has announced the next title by Race for the Galaxy designer Tom Lehmann. In Dice Realms, “each player rules a small realm, represented by two customizable dice. The removable die faces allow for the strategic improvement of farming, mining, defense, upgrades, and more.” The game will feature “18 customizable dice with more than 650 individual dice faces” and allow for “hundreds of hours of gameplay with more than 320,000 unique starting setups.” It should be available by the end of the year for only $119.95.
- Gayming Magazine and Wizards of the Coast are working with LGBTQ+ charity Mermaids, which is a “charity working to support transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse children, young people, their families” to run a D&D live stream event next week to raise funds via the Tiltify platform. The event will feature Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as DM, and be streamed on Thursday, August 19 simultaneously on both Twitch and YouTube.
- Another streaming D&D event will feature Nathan Fillion and several members of the cast of The Suicide Squad as part of the CelebriD&D series.
GeekDad & GeekMom Reviews
Here’s what we reviewed this week:
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Paul Benson reviewed GeekDad-Approved Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game and Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn.
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Elizabeth MacAndrew reviewed Funkoverse: Marvel.
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Michael Knight reviewed GeekDad-Approved Fantasy Realms.
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Robin Brooks had two posts on Kill Team: Octarius: a “first thoughts” overview and a look at narrative play.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
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Paul Benson played Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game, What Next?, Dune: Imperium, Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress, and D&D Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
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Michael Pistiolas played Ticket to Ride, Marvel Champions, Euchre, and Hearts.
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Jonathan Liu played Birdwatcher, The 7th Continent, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo, The Feds, Lands of Galzyr, Nanga Parbat, Hammer Time, The Little Flower Shop Dice Game, Shadows of Infinity: Shards of Salvation, and Steam Up.
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Michael Knight played Fantasy Realms, Evacuate, and Alien Puppies.
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Robin Brooks played Abandon All Artichokes, D&D Dungeon Mayhem, and Fluff.
- I played Alhambra: Roll & Write, our featured image this week, and Disney Gargoyles: Awakening.
