I know that a number of people are going to be hesitant to go to GenCon this year. For me, just because of knowing the year would feel different, the change in time of GenCon and allergies which can make wearing a mask difficult depending on the allergen levels, I decided not to do GenCon. But I am going to do Pop-Up GenCon. And that might be something that is worth it for you.

What Is Pop-Up GenCon?

On the same weekend as GenCon, FLGS across the country are going to be doing Pop-Up GenCon. This is a kind of like a mini GenCon, but much more limited than that, obviously. There are going to be games to demo and probably some special events that the different stores might put on. But it’s mainly a chance for the board game companies to put out some games to a larger audience.

You can find more details about it over on the GenCon website.

What Games Will Be There?

As GenCon says, it is subject to change. And with shipping, I fully expect that some games might not make it in time. But other games, they might show up that companies haven’t talked about yet because they aren’t sure they’ll make it, but let’s take a look at what is announced.

Dungeon Party

This is a fun, light looking game that uses dexterity to go through a bunch of dungeons. I know I saw this game, by Forbidden Games, when it was on Kickstarter because it was something different. You are tossing or flicking coins onto coasters to fight monsters and have a good time. A game that is definitely built for the bar or a really casual game night of relaxing and drinking.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write

This is a roll and write style game, with a fun play of words on it. You are building out your own Dinosaur Island, kind of Jurassic Park style but with maybe fewer park goers getting eaten. This reminds me of the roll and write, Welcome to Dino World, but I think that this going to be a bit more complex as you build out your park. From Pandasaurus games and the roll and write version of their game Dinosaur Island.

Captured Moments

I won’t lie, I know nothing about this game. It’s based on Downton Abbey which is a show that I haven’t watched, nor one that really interests me. It seems like a set collection game, but honestly, like the show, not a game that interest me that much. It looks like a fairly simple game that would be a good gift for a fan of the show.

Taco Bell Party Pack Card Game

Why is this a thing, I don’t know. This is a game that has been out for a little bit, I think it was part of the Target July release, if I’m not mistaken. But it’s a game, like the Captured Moments game above that is for a big fan of Taco Bell. This isn’t a complex game, you play down cards to get fans of Taco Bell to your scoring pile and the person with the most points wins. That might be simplifying the game slightly, but it’s not one that interests me.

Gravwell 2nd Edition

This is a game that I do know something about, mainly because I have the first edition. This is a really fun game and pretty easy to play. You draft different elements to power up your ships engines as you try and escape a black hole and get back to your dimension. The trick is you don’t know how the elements will work. You play them out and they activate in alphabetical order for each player.

But some will pull you towards the nearest object, repulse you away, or draw other objects towards you. So there is some thought that goes into what you play. Q might push you away from the nearest object 10 spaces but it’s later in the alphabet so that might be towards the black hole. It’s a really fun game and once you get it down, it’s very easy to play.

Dungeon Decorators

From Slugfest Games which made Red Dragon Inn, this is going to be another lighter and sillier game. You are building out a dungeon with, as they say, some light euro mechanics to score points and have the best dungeon at the end of the game. It’s not really a theme that interests me, but Slugfest Games makes some really accessible games, so one that probably would work for a lot of people.

Godtear

This is going to be a skirmish game, one that I think was on Kickstarter. It looks like it’s minis heavy and while the minis seem pretty cool, I’m not sure this is the type of game for me. There are going to be two different factions, it looks like, at the Pop-Up GenCons, so that is cool. For me I look at this and go, do I need another game like that if I have Super Fantasy Brawl?

Disney Mickey and Friends Food Fight

I don’t have a Board Game Geek link for this one coming from The Op (Usaopoly). This, not shockingly, doesn’t seem like a theme for me, and I’m guessing is going to be a nice light kids game. The Op does a solid job on their games, so I don’t think it’ll be like a Hasbro kids game but should offer a little bit of game play to it.

Bayou Bash

This is described as a chaotic racing game. Which, I don’t mind a good racing game and racing games should have some chaos to them. I am also interested in this one because it does have some drafting. Drafting and the ability to pick some of what you want to do always interests me. It makes me feel like it’s less luck driven than something where you are just rolling dice. And it sounds like it’s less about winning but about how cool you can look in the race, which is an interesting concept.

What Am I Looking At?

Well, you can probably eliminate a few of them. I’m not interested in the Disney, Downton Abbey, or Taco Bell Games at all. Godtear, since it is a hex skirmish game is also not that high on my list. In fact, most of these are not that interesting to me, but I’m curious about Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write. It’s one that I considered backing on Kickstarter when it was there with Dinosaur World. I like a good roll and write game, and I think it’d be interesting to compared to Welcome to Dino World.

What games interest you? I hope that there’ll be more, and let me know about your Pop-Up GenCon experience or GenCon experience if you are going this year? I’ll be curious to hear about the events and if the Pop-Up ones are fun for people. Plus, I think since I am going to to the GameZenter, formerly Fantasy Flight Game Center, maybe we’ll see some Fantasy Flight Games there to demo.

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