Convention season has begun. The smell of fresh cardboard and food trucks is in the air. It’s time, once again, for everyone to start talking about what’s happening in Indianapolis. Gen Con is hands down the biggest tabletop gaming convention in the USA, and arguably the largest in the world. With that much people, panels, and punched cardboard all around – it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why I take this time each year to help focus that wishlist and map out potential paths through the hall.
Before we get to the list, it’s important to break down my criteria for what I consider while making it for those who haven’t seen my past suggestions:
- Gen Con is full of wonders in the tabletop gaming world. While RPGs, miniatures wargaming, and even LARPs are at your fingertips in the halls – this list focuses solely on the board and card game arena.
- Games are taken from the Board Game Geek Gen Con Preview list. The preview is made up of titles submitted by publishers as what will be available at the con.
- Only games listed as ‘available for sale’ at the convention are on this list. With the number of purchasable games already in the hundreds, this list focuses on helping consumers at the con find what they might want to take home.
- There won’t be any expansions, as folks generally know if they like the game or not already, so I don’t need weigh in on that. I do make exceptions for ‘stand-alone’ expansions that don’t require the base game.
- This list seems to get longer each year. There will more than likely be plenty of games that aren’t included because they haven’t been added to the preview list or I’m just not as excited as others. Feel free to comment and share the titles you’re excited about in the comments.
And with that — let’s get to it.
Blue Orange Games:
Planet: I became curious about what Blue Orange was up to with Planet the moment I saw some preview images of people holding something that looked like enormous 12-sided dice in their hands, adding panels to each side. Much like the title suggests – the players are building planets and hoping to see life grow there. I love the tactile nature of this one.
Deepwater Games:
Realm of Sand: When I stopped by Deepwater’s booth at PAX Unplugged last year, Realm of Sand was an exciting release I was told to look forward to. Technically this is a late 2018 release, but if Deepwater wants to have it on their release list, I’m going to add it to mine.. This game reminds me of a combination of a couple games I enjoy to become something else. Buying and placing tiles/shapes into a confined space from Princes of Florence and the resource building engines of Splendor. It looks fantastic.
Gamelyn Games:
Tiny Epic Mechs: There are so many Tiny Epic games on the market that they made their own carrying case. Though other than Tiny Epic Quest, I’ve been happy just to play other people’s copies of the other titles. But when I saw them put one of their meeples in a mech suit and move it across the board, I was in. If you haven’t cared for any of the Tiny Epic games until now, I don’t know if this one will turn you into a believer. But if you love mechs and crazy sci-fi, this might get you to that table.
Grand Gamers Guild:
The Artemis Project: I love a game that involves dice placement as long as there’s a variety of actions worth doing and some way to mitigate terrible rolls. The more I see of Artemis project, the more I think it fits well in that niche with some really fun dice placement to explore and expand the setting of the game. I love the art, love the mechanisms, and I like that there’s a hard limit to the number of turns so the game doesn’t outstay its welcome.
HABA:
Honga: Haba is full of games that are easy enough for kids to grab hold of but still complex enough for adults to have fun too. Honga grabbed my attention not only for the fun Honga figure in the middle of the board that wants to wander into your part of the village, but also because it does a good job of making players decide between a good move that will help either cause an upgrade or score them points – and the move that will make sure Honga doesn’t come over to them and eat up all their food.
Mountains: When other games in your lineup include sabertooth tigers and unicorns, you might think it’s hard to pick up a game about a hike in the mountains. And yet, this game does some really interesting things. There’s the simple-yet-interesting challenge of remembering who has what resource as you try to borrow your way up the path. And just when you fall in love with the mechanics, they finish the one-two punch with little trail books that you literally stamp when you finish your hikes. Solid mechanisms AND novelty? Sign me up.
Unicorn Glitterluck: Cloud Stacking: Unicorn Glitterluck is a series from the folks at HABA that I’ve often heard of but never played. It’s hard not to hear something about a game in a bright pink box that looks like generic My Little Pony but is not lacking in the fun department. This new installment looks to be very similar to Animal Upon Animal – a must-have for any gaming house with kids in my opinion – but adds a bit more complexity as far as choosing what gets stacked and how you win. It looks great – especially if you have kids into dexterity games.
Hobby Japan:
Master of Respect: It was only just recently that I started hearing about Master of Respect, but I’m certainly listening now. I like how aspects of the mechanisms really work well with the theme. New students don’t know what they’re doing, so they can actually decrease respect, whereas well-trained students are a boon. I like that you can show respect to follow an action, but that it gives the player points. This is a well-designed game that marries theme and mechanics well. Much respect for this one.
Junk Spirit Games:
Battle of the Bards: I’ll have to admit that I only started looking at this one because of the overwhelming wave of emails, tweets, and messages I got saying that a game was coming out about gathering the greatest group of bards to rock a stage. That said – it’s on the list not just because the quickest way to my gaming heart is through bards and stories, but because it looks like a really fun dice and card game. There’s a lot of potential in utilizing roadies to make sure your set is what you need to rock the tavern.
Mantic Games:
Hellboy: I’m a huge fan of everything Hellboy. Red is one of my favorite characters in fiction – hands down one of my favorite characters in comics. So I had a deep need for it to be good. Having seen a handful of preview videos and reviews for it – I’m happy to see what they’ve done with it. The use of unique, upgradeable dice that allow you to put more effort and focus on doing one task well as opposed to more actions with more chance for failure is especially interesting to me. I thoroughly plan on getting this one as soon as I can.
Mondo / Restoration Games:
Unmatched: The first time I played Star Wars Epic Duels was in my friend Craig’s basement. Our regular D&D game couldn’t happen, but we wanted to play something. So we grabbed the box and I tried in vain to stand against Darth Vader. So when Restoration Games announced Unmatched, I knew I’d want to try it out. When they followed that up with the fact that they’d teamed up with Mondo to leverage some of the myriad licenses they had at their disposal, this became a must.
The OP:
Die Hard: Something that I’ve been really surprised with is how games based in movie IPs are turning out so well. I think the biggest draw for me in this game is the idea that the game features a one vs. many play style. One brave cop against a team of trained thieves. I also like that there are decisions to make of what abilities to play per act, improving and bringing them with you to following acts.
Plan B Games:
Century Golem Edition – Eastern Mountains — Like the original Golem Edition game – Eastern Mountains is just a retheme of the second game in the series proper – Century: Eastern Wonders. Yet instead of adding Century: A New World – the third in the series – to the list, I’m adding the second Golem edition because I personally find the artwork and components greatly superior in this edition. There’s also the fact that I’m just excited that this is event possible. Golem Edition was originally announced as a limited edition of the first game with no intent on giving the other games this treatment.
Portal Games:
Imperial Settlers – Empires of the North and Imperial Settlers Roll & Write: I’m going to post both of these games under the same listing because I’m interested in both of them for the same reason. I love Imperial Settlers. The only reason it isn’t in my library currently is because another Portal game I love is very similar to it that kept beating it to table called Alien Artifacts. So when they announced that they were going to be releasing a Roll & Write version of the game, as well as a game that is highly influenced by what the original game did while providing a new experience – they have my full attention.
Ravensburger:
Jaws: Yup. Another popular IP based game has made my list. I’m just as surprised as you are. There are two reasons that this one made my list. The first is that two mechanisms that are always going to grab my attention at a bare minimum are asymmetry and one versus many. This has both. Players will either take on the roles of the brave men on the Orca, while another takes on the teeth of Jaws itself. The other reason I’m watching this one is that literally everyone I’ve seen review this game has said how amazingly fun it is. When there’s that kind of consensus, seems worth my time.
Renegade Games:
Bargain Quest: I remember hearing about Bargain Quest last year via the fine folks at Shut Up & Sit Down. At the time the game was only available directly from the designer, but now this quirky game about running a shop in the middle of a fantasy town full of adventurers is seeing a wider distribution from the folks at Renegade. I trust that this game can only get better in their capable hands, and I know I want to see the humor and charm of this title in front of more people.
Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid: I had literally zero expectations for Power Rangers game. I brushed it aside with a pat on the head and pointed my attention at something that wasn’t so obviously trying to tug at my nostalgia. I enjoyed the show, sure, but not enough to get the game. Then I started hearing about the gameplay. Hearing about how amazing it feels to pull your Zord card and get ready to form the Megazord with your friends against the monster of the week. I saw the minis. I saw that each ranger hs their own deck of cards and their own abilities. Before you knew it – I was giving the whole thing another look.
Restoration Games:
Conspiracy: The Solomon Gambit: Games like Indulgence and Dinosaur Tea Party taught me that I don’t need to have ever heard of the game Restoration Games is bringing back to the market to enjoy what they’ve made. I’d have to plumb the depths of BGG to find out more about the game that would eventually become Conspiracy. And yet the idea of secreting bribes and clandestine payments to get spies to follow your orders, all the while curious as to whether or not your opponents have enticed them away with even bigger piles of cash seems to have a lot of possibilities for a fun experience.
Rock Manner Games:
Set a Watch: This was not the first game sold to me as “D&D in a box.” I don’t know if I’d say that for this one, but I can certainly say that it looks like a lot of fun. You have to manage your character’s skills and items to handle waves of monsters. But it’s as easy as doing battle until the sun comes up because characters need to actually sleep. If characters get exhausted, burning all their skills against the waves, the party will be overrun.
Sand Castle Games:
Res Arcana: I love deckbuilding, resource collection, and creating an engine that helps you do all of that better – leading to the win. Res Arcana provides all of them in spades. The artwork is gorgeous, the mechanisms look interesting and various, allowing multiple paths to victory. This looks like a solid entry into this genre, and everything I’ve heard from those who’ve already gotten this to the table seems to agree.
Stone Blade Entertainment:
Ringmaster: The last time a small box card game snuck up on me and impressed me like this, I had just played my first game of The Grizzled. Ringmaster might be the farthest thing from that game in tone, but they are both packing a lot of fun into a small box I hadn’t seen a lot of people talking about. This is the kind of pick up a card, play a card style games I like to keep in my bag all the time so it’s always there if I need it. Throw in the circus theme and I’m hooked.
Thunderworks Games:
Cartographers: I haven’t ever tried Roll Player, so the fact that this game is apparently built into that universe does little to get me look at it. What does get me is that players are building a map, roll and write style, but with cards instead of dice. What distinguishes this from other polyomino based roll and write games are things like the ambush cards, where your opponents get a chance to decide where monsters appear on the map. There are also multiple seasons the game plays across, scoring each time.
Lock-Up: Another game in the Roll Player universe? Seems like I should really try to play that game. However, this game uses worker placement mechanics to try and help your crew get out of prison. While some of your actions are seen, there are other done with your workers faced down so no one can see which of your team went in there. I like the idea of bluffing, challenging, and messing with the plans of others with this mechanic, and this game looks like it’s doing some fun things with the genre.
Weird Giraffe Games:
Fire in the Library: They had me at “trying to save books from a library on fire,” but that was just the beginning. There’s a lot of push your luck grabbing book cubes from the bag and hoping not to get set on fire. There’s variable turn order so players can choose to be daring and dangerous or safe and slow. Take too long and the fire spreads, making everything more dangerous right up until you realize everything is up in smoke.