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GenCon Preview – Top 10 Demos

Oh boy, GenCon is just around the corner. I have four days until I head out to Indianapolis for the first time. Well, I’ve driven through twice before, but first time at GenCon. So there’s a lot to see and do at GenCon. Board Game Geek has a list of games that are coming out (or showing up for sale at a con for the first time), at GenCon, that includes demos, so there are 611 (as of this morning), games for sale and demo as well as expansions for sale and demo, you can find the full list here.

So, I decided, what are the Top 10 Demos that I want to check out at GenCon? Keeping in mind that Fantasy Flight hasn’t announced anything yet, and I know there will be more added and surprises that are showing up there.

Image Source: Board Game Geek

Ten – Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl – A long title, but an interesting sounding game. You are going through and trying to collect secrets before you go into the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The first person to succeed wins the game, but it’s possible for time to run out and everyone to lose the game. It seems like an interesting race against the clock.

Nine – Calico – For something complete different, this game is about cats and making quilts. It’s going to be more of a puzzle game, but the artwork looks very cute and the game just have a very satisfying look and seems like it would be a relaxing game to play. I think with it’s theme, if it’s a good game, it would be a good entry level game.

Eight – Deranged – To start, the artwork on this game looks very cool. It’s creepy and monstrous, but not gross. Second, this game has people turning into monsters, having to hunt down and kill the other players characters to turn back into a human themselves. It seems interesting, a modular board and variable player powers make me want to check out this game. I also like the weird horror theme that it has going on.

Seven – Arkeis – Arkeis seems like it’s a super natural adventure game, but instead of it being Lovecraftian, we get ancient Egypt and exploring a tomb. It looks to use the box as a game board and I’m assuming different games can be played in different configurations. But any game that has that adventure and exploration feel, it seems like a lot of fun, and it seems to be driven by storytelling, which is great.

Six – Nemesis – This one is already out, but it’s just for demo at GenCon. From Awaken Realms, Nemesis is an Aliens game, just without the IP for Aliens. You’re trying to navigate a ship back to Earth (or some planet), but everyone has their own secret objective, and did I mention, there are aliens on the ship that are most definitely trying to kill you.

Five – IT: Evil Below – I don’t know much of anything about this game. And it’s a game built upon an IP (intellectual property), which can be hit or miss, but I’m a big fan of Stephen King and It, so I want to check the game out and see if it can take any of the creep factor from the book and add it into the game.

Four – Mystery House – What makes Mystery House so interesting is that it uses it’s box to create a game board where you can’t see everything in it. So you’re going around blind searching for things, and it seems like it’s going to build up a good amount of suspense. There’s also a companion app for it, which I find interesting. It seems like a game that is going to have some wow factor on the table.

Image Source: Red Raven Games

Three – Sleeping Gods – From Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games, this game is in the line of his storybook games like Near and Far, and Above and Below. His artwork, as always, is amazing, and the idea of sailing around and completing missions, it seems interesting. It’s also a campaign game as you go through and explore the world. Definitely one that I want to see on the table.

Image Source: Board Game Geek

Two – Iron Forest – This game is from the same company as Ice Cool and uses a lot of the same mechanisms as Ice Cool. But instead of a nice high school, it’s a board that goes up levels, with an elevator that you launch yourself from the first floor to the second floor and spots to drop back down. This game just seems like a lot of fun to see and demo.

Image Source: Board Game Geek

One – Floor Plan – This is a roll and write game, but it looks interesting. It’s a game where you are building your floor plan (hence the name) for a house. Adding in bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, etc, but you have to make sure you’re putting in doors, and other features to score you more points.

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