Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending December 3, 2021.
Gaming News
- We have begun the process of playing through all 10 of our Game of the Year finalists. Be sure to watch GeekDad.com and our social accounts for an announcement of the winner early next week.
- Renegade Game Studios has launched their 12 Days of Giving. Each day through December 11, they will post a video of one of their games, along with a contest to win that game. The featured title will also be 10% off that day.
- WizKids has released Bequest, a drafting, set-collection, “I cut, you choose” game where players compete to be the sole heir of an evil genius’ estate.
- Ravensburger has released Pokémon: Labyrinth, which sets the classic maze puzzle game in the world of Pikachu.
- In other Pokémon news, Chinese officials seized nearly eight tons—yes, tons—of counterfeit cards at the Shanghai airport last week, according to Yicai Global Media. The shipment, which was headed for the Netherlands, is reported to be “one of the biggest fake IP hauls in recent years.” The game has seen a massive uptick in popularity, due largely to lockdowns from the pandemic, creating shortages as the publisher simply can’t keep up. Of course, because we can’t have nice things, people have responded to this in the worst ways possible, including resorting to harassing workers at retail outlets like Target and even getting violent. In response to that, several big-box retailers, including Target, had announced earlier this year that they will no longer stock trading card games. Sigh.
- Classic gateway game Carcassonne is getting a fresh coat of paint. Both the third edition original version and a newly released Big Box set feature all-new artwork on the cover and a revamped rulebook. The new versions of the game are currently available in French and German; no date for an English release has been announced. However, the 20th-anniversary edition of the game is now being shipped to those who pre-ordered it (I got mine about a week ago), and its revamped rules use “meeple” for both the singular and the plural, something that this writer, at least, is not OK with.
- Survive: Escape from Atlantis is coming back in an all-new 30th-anniversary edition from Stronghold Games.
- Deck-building game Star Realms is getting a box set release, thanks to Wise Wizards Games. The set will have the cards from the original core set, along with the Gambit Set expansion. It will also include a board for sorting the cards, scoring cards, and new Challenge Cards.
- Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons, may soon have a D&D-themed restaurant. The Griffin & Gargoyle Project has said that they hope to open the restaurant in 2024, which will feature an “immersive experience” for fans of fantasy IP, which will also include LOTR and Harry Potter. The property will also feature retail space and a bar.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads played this week:
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Michael Knight played Disney Villainous, Fantasy Realms, Thunderstone Quest, and Dune: Imperium.
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Michael Pistiolas played Glitterluck Unicorn: A Party for Rosalie, Downforce, Orleans, and Mice & Mystics.
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Jonathan Liu played Sabobatage and Dune: Imperium.
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Robin Brooks played Overdrive.
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Paul Benson played Final Girl, Dungeons & Dragons Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and Dune: Imperium.
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I played The Great Dalmuti (our featured image this week), Ticket to Ride, Horrified: American Monsters, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Gorinto, and Dune: Imperium.
