UnConventional “Preview”

It’s been a tradition of mine to highlight some of the games I felt deserved your attention from the Gen Con preview list curated by the folks at Board Game Geek each year leading up to the event. It’s my hope to provide a smaller, easier-to-consume list of especially interesting titles from the hundreds of new releases on the preview, while also giving folks who cannot attend the event a list of titles they may want to ask their friendly local game store about for release dates. With the overwhelming majority of gaming conventions either canceling or going strictly virtual, I thought there wouldn’t be a need for that sort of list. But then I saw that BGG had a list called Game Release Preview – June to August 2020. I asked the folks in our Facebook group – The Tavern – if there was still interest in a curated list if it was less a preview of titles from Gen Con as much as a list of games that are currently hitting shelves at local stores, and said they still wanted to see what games caught my eye. So here we are.

With a list around 250 titles to work with, let alone all the game announcements coming directly from publishers that weren’t added to the list, let’s break down the ground rules for what I considered when making the list.

• I’m mostly going directly from the preview list on BGG. I did consider some titles from other sources, but limited those options (see below)
• With a number of companies creating their own virtual experiences where game announcements were happening, I only considered it if there was a BGG listing I could reference.
• I don’t add expansions unless they are games in their own right that add to an existing title. If you care about the game it expands – you already know whether you want it or not.

And now — my list from the 2020 preview (listed alphabetically by publisher):

Betrayal at Mystery Mansion
by Avalon Hill Games

I love Betrayal at House on the Hill – but clunky mechanics, hit or miss writing from scenario to scenario, and the occasional awkwardness when the haunt comes up for a player who doesn’t know how to play the game and you have to attempt to walk them through the new gameplay while not knowing what their book told them made me slow to recommend it broadly. Based on what I’ve seen on BGG and reviews – this seems to make changes to address some of those concerns all wrapped up in a Scooby-Doo episode.

New York Zoo
by Capstone Games

I fell in love with gaming laying down polynomials onto cardboard, and this year has given me some new reasons to love it. New York Zoo has the fun of trying to layout structures in the confined space while adding special attractions, strategically planning where to put your animals, and then breeding them to increase your zoo’s population. Simple gameplay mechanisms with a brain taxing amount of strategy to maximize scoring chances elevate this for me.

The Librarians Adventure Card Game
by Everything Epic Games

There has been a steady trend of games based on intellectual property being fun and engaging lately, as opposed to the shameless cash-ins from the mass market game industry of my youth. My wife and I own every single episode of the Librarians tv show and most of the movies. It is a special show for us, and if this game can encapsulate even half of the glorious goofiness of it in this game, then call me Jenkins, because I’m moving into the library.

Godzilla: Tokyo Clash
by Funko Games

Every time I make these lists there’s at least one game that makes me want to just type “I don’t have to explain why this is awesome. You already know if you want this.” I give you this year’s entry. Kaiju battles with glorious Godzilla and friends miniatures on a modular board? YES!

Adventure Mart
by Hub Games

Whether it’s video or tabletop games, I’m a sucker for playing characters in spaces outside of the normal structures. That’s why I love the idea of playing the folks running the local item stores for adventurers makes me happy. Add the fact that it’s a deckbuilding game with an adorable art style and I’m in.

My City
by KOSMOS

The second game featuring polynomials on my list, My City intrigues me because it builds off of the “everyone has to add the same piece, but they’ll all do it differently” concept that keeps me going back to roll and write games. There is a sort of campaign that unveils new features in each subsequent play, so I can’t explain all of what I hope to see here, but I want to explore what it has in store.

Fort
by Leder Games

As mentioned before – I’m all in on deck building and a good theme. I love the idea of playing a game where you are just a little kid trying to coax other kids to come to your backyard by pizza, toys, and an epic tree fort. The kids on the cards are wonderful, the gameplay seems fun, and in a time of epic grade craziness – pretending to be kids playing in an epic tree fort is a wonderful distraction from it all.

Last Aurora
by Pendragon Game Studio

Last Aurora being on this list is the equivalent of wandering into a demo game in the dealer hall. I’d heard absolutely nothing about it until going through the BGG list. The part of this post-apocalyptic survival game that got me excited was the way you play cards to upgrade your vehicle by actually applying the cards you buy to your player board like a combination of Steampunk Rally and Arctic Scavengers.

Forgotten Waters
by Plaid Hat Games

It is well documented that I am a Plaid Hat Games fan boy and that Isaac Vega is one of my favorite, if not my favorite designer in the gaming world. So when Plaid Hat announced that they were going to be bringing back the Crossroads system, with an app driven story game about pirates, and that it was Isaac’s last game he designed while he was officially part of the company — there should be no doubt that this should be part of my list.

Deep Vents
by Red Raven Games

Thought it’s been a while since I’ve been able to dive into a Red Raven title – I’m fascinated by Deep Vents. Partly because it seems to incorporate a lot of elements that I really enjoy in games – tile drafting, engine – or in this case ecosystem – building, and great artwork just for starters. I’m also interested in this one because it seems different than the usual sort of story-driven, relaxed title that I’m used to from Red Raven. This game has the potential to have some teeth – and I like it.

Space Battle Lunchtime
by Renegade Games

Not only am I intrigued by a card game where you are gathering, selecting, and organizing dishes and flavors to be the most impressive chef at the competition. You make that competition dripping with science fiction wonderfulness and make it a galaxy-wide reality cooking show rather than say a local cooking competition. Everything I’ve seen and read about this not only makes me want to play the game. It makes me want to read the graphic novel that the game comes from.

Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
by Restoration Games

I fell in love with Unmatched almost instantly when I first cracked it open. This big box expansion made the cut past my “not going to list expansions” guideline because it is a complete package on its own, and it can be considered the proxy for literally anything that comes out for this system. All the releases currently on shelves or announced for this sound amazing.

Rosetta: The Lost Language
by Story Machine Games

I like games that involve language discovery. This one is particularly interesting to me because of the interplay between the players trying to determine the meaning of words and the “author” who is creating the language. It will be something to see how different authors go about the business of language creation.

Hues and Cues
by The Op

At one level I want to get my hands on this game because it seems like such an easily approachable game that can be played by anybody at any skill level. On the other hand – I’m incredibly curious about the wide range of answers that people will give to questions like “what is people will give to these open answer folks will be able to give to seemingly simple questions.