I've been experiencing a huge amount of FOMO with game conventions for the last couple of years. Again, this year, I won't be attending Gen Con in person, but I've decided to do my annual post about games I'm excited to see come out (and will have to wait until my FLGS gets in). There is one honorable mention at the end that I'm waiting for more information on. These are in no particular order.
1) Master Dater
Let's be honest, just about anything Cyanide and Happiness makes, my group eats up. The whole premise of making a messed up date to pander to the single dater's interests is right up our alleys and means a night of laughter and in-jokes for months to come.
2) Eternal Palace
Pledge to help the Emperor rebuild his Eternal Palace to gain his favor, but do it before your rivals do a better job. You need to complete tasks first or contribute more to the effort than your competitors to earn tokens. Recruit more workers to build things faster and paint a record of your achievements.
I'm a huge fan of games where you can have multiple ways to gain victory points and are pretty as heck.
3) Look at the Stars
And that's what this game is all about. You reveal a night card and draw constellations, shooting stars, and planets. Points are scored based on the different sizes of constellations you draw.
This one just looked interesting and different. I'm terrible at finding most of the constellations in the night sky, so I generally make my own up.
4) Night Parade
Clans of demi-gods have risen to battle for the hearts of the islands of Japan. It's your job to make sure your clan has the most shrines. Summon your yokai to make the most efficient night parade. Once you have enough on the island, the people with make a shrine to you and send your Meeples back to you. Once you have 5 shrines, everyone else gets one more turn.
I'm a sucker for interesting and different Meeples to start with and the hidden victory conditions also mean that the winner may not actually be the person with the most shrines.
5) My Shelfie
The premise is simple: you just brought home a new bookshelf and now need to decorate it. Personal and common goal cards help dictate the points you gain by placing tiles on your 3D shelf.
Let's be honest with this one, it was a pick even before I knew the shelves were 3D. I'm a sucker for book games or bookshelf games
6) Winter Queen
You're battling to become the Queen's advisor by using magical gems to make items to impress the Winter Queen. Place a new crystal on the board or use those already out there to score points based on your spellbook.
This game looks gorgeous and the crystals are 3D which always adds a level of immersion to the game.
7) Firefly: Misbehavin'
I try not to be a sucker for games themed on shows or movies I love, but sometimes it happens. Not only can you play as Mal, but you can also play Alliance and Badger. Build your deck to control your part of the 'Verse or you can play through episodes with different objectives.
8) Oak
You are the head of one of the four druid orders who bathe in the glory of the Arch-Oak. It is your job to establish your order as the best fit to learn all the secrets of the Arch-Oak. Gain friendships of otherworldly creatures and learn new spells, anything to prove you are worthy.
Did I mention I'm a sucker for pretty games and mythology? Because this one ticks off a lot of boxes for me.
9) Paint the Roses
You and your friends are the new gardeners for the Queen of Hearts and must cater to her whims. There's only one problem: her whims are always changing. You must work together or "Off with your head!" Each player is given a secret whim from the queen, but can't tell the other players what it is, they can only reveal clues as to what it is.
I love co-operative games. Especially when it's against the game itself and not another player.
10) Familiar Tales
Co-operative, deck-building, fantasy themed game. Need I say more? How about the fact that you play wizards' familiars entrusted on saving a princess? Every choice you make affects the child in your care, so take care that you don't put an evil queen on the throne!
Again, I love, love, love co-operative games. I also love the idea of your actions affect the outcome greater than did the child survive or not.
Honorable Mention: 7th Sea: City of Five Sails
I'll be the first to admit I was a huge 7th Sea geek when it first came out. Played the RPG, owned a lot of the cards for the CCG. Played the hell out of both.
But I'm hesitant to get super excited about this game just because I was such a fan of the original. I've watched part of the play through of the game mechanics and it feels like something just isn't there. I'm going to hold off judgement until I can see the game first hand and get to play it myself.
There it is, my list of games I'm excited to see come out or be demoed at Gen Con. If you're going to the convention and get a chance to buy or test these games, let me know if they meet expectations.
A huge shout out to Board Game Geek for putting together the annual list of games. They are also where I got the pictures for this article, with the exception of the Gen Con logo. That one was gotten from Gen Con's website.
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