Gen Con Highlights

Man vs Meeple Dinner and Gaming

This one has a lot with it because it’s a channel I’ve followed for a while. Then I joined in with their discord. There I got to chat with them but also with the community. So when a community get together was put together, I wasn’t sure I’d go but I’m glad that we did. We had a nice dinner which really was a ton of fun chatting at the table.

Then, I could put this as a separate highlight, we went to the JW Marriot and played Ready, Set, Bet. I almost went and tried to find the game right away. But from AEG, this is a real time betting and party game. It is just a great time as one person (and this can rotate) is the caller of the race. Everyone else in real time is betting and having a great time trying to get their bets in. This game just has so much excitement to it and worked really well.

Walking The Hall With Tablenauts Crew

This was different but similar to MvM (Man Versus Meeple) where it is another channel I really enjoy. But instead of a meal, though they did do that, I was playing a game further down on the list, we just wandered the halls and played game. And one of those games is on the list as well. But it was just fun to have a group of three or four and just be able to sit down and demo as a group.

If there is one thing I missed about not having someone with me the whole time is that it was sometimes harder to demo. Two people you can do a demo of most things, but with one person you are often waiting for more people to show up. So we got in four games that day, but three of them were full plays and it was just fun to hang out, play games and chat.

Dice Tower Live “Top 5”

I really enjoy yet another board game YouTube Channel, The Dice Tower. I talk about them more often because they have a larger team. But at Cons they do live Top 5 lists. Generally for things that are a big sillier, or a bit more negative than their normal ones. I’m not sure why, but they go over the top for them.

This was Top 5 turn offs for games, and bad rule books was on the list, so I agree with that one. It was good for a lot of laughs and generally just nice to sit there and relax. It is in the middle of the day on Friday, but it was a chance to get off my feet from the dealer hall. Which was nice because after that I went and got a heavy game, purchases tomorrow, and well, I was tired after that.

Batman: Everybody Lies with Designer

So the last two are game plays. They are close to being my favorite games played, but they were just fun experiences that stood out. Firstly Batman: Everybody Lies with Ignacy. He went over the rules and we played the prologue scenario. It is a very easy prologue but had so much fun with it.

Plus, since the boxes were opened, we could buy the game cheaper, so we did. And we got Ignacy to sign he inside of the box which is cool. Right now I have it here ready to get played when I have a chance, which hopefully will be soon. It seems like it’ll be faster to play than some of the other Detective scenarios, at least from the core box.

Paint the Roses with Designer

And then Paint the Roses. This was part of the walking around with the Tablenauts crew. And we got to play this deduction game, interesting that both specific games are deduction, in it’s deluxe form. And taught by the designer of the game.

Paint the Roses is a game where you are trying to figure out the conditions and cards other people have for getting the roses painted. You place a tile and then guess every turn. If you guess a card correctly, you move ahead that many spots and the queen moves one. If you’re wrong, you stay still and she catches up to take off your heads. A ton of fun and super pretty.

Final Thouhts

I had an amazing Gen Con. The two things I’d maybe do or change up for next year. Firstly, it is more fun to have people to go around with. Like I said, sometimes maybe could have had a demo with two people, but I just got the rules explanation because I was just one person. Wandering with more people is more fun.

The other thing is that I’d probably schedule another earlier event. I can easily make it there by 8 AM or 9 AM, so maybe on Thursday, schedule something early. Or even a couple of times. Get in a specific game play if they have the earlier time. Thankfully CGE and some of the company specific rooms open earlier, but they are slammed before the dealer hall opens at 10 AM. So having a two hour event before wandering the dealer hall would be fun, and let me pick more specific things.

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Artisans of Splendent Vale

This is a game from Renegade games that is coming up on Kickstarter in September of 2021. This is a cooperative story driven game with a diverse cast of characters. There was a lot of attention placed on characters that you might not see in a normal fantasy setting.

The Designer, Nikki Valens, has worked on a lot of different games that I like. They have led the designs on Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition and Legacy of Dragonholt, both which are very good games. And this looks like they have taken some of both of those and created a cool and unique world. Not much on game play in the video, but one, because of Nikki Valens pedigree as a designer that I’ll checkout on Kickstarter.

Skybound Announcements

Tidal Blades 2

Tidal Blades 2 coming to Kickstarter this fall. It is going to be more of a dungeon crawl. It takes the characters from Tidal Blades and then now they are coming on a dungeon crawl adventure. It’s the same designers but not the dice building, dice progression system. More of a deck building style of game. Tidal Blades didn’t interest me too much, but a cooperative dungeon crawl set in that world, I’m very interested. The universe is really interesting for sure.

Kim-Joy’s Magic Bakery

And then a game Kim-Joy’s Magic Bakery. It’s an interesting thing because Kim-Joy is a baker who was on the Great British Bake-off. She definitely has a nerdy flare to herself and her life, so Skybound and James Hudson have met her and are working to create a game with her. It is a cooperative game, a bit of The Crew but also a bit of Kitchen Rush without a timer to rush you.

Boruto: Naruto The Next Generations The Board Game

So this is based off an anime, Boruto which is the sequel to Naruto from Blacklist games. Another cooperative game, and this one is a boss battling game. You get to play as characters who are senior ninjas and the junior ninjas so you can have a wide variety of combos to play with. And you are spending energy, shakra, and the cards you play give you as a group more shakra to spend to play more cards and stronger cards.

Unmatched Battle of Legends Vol 2

This is a continuation of what is showing up in Unmatched. This game has been put out by Restoration games. They are known for taking old games and modernizing them, and Unmatched has been massively successful for them. This is a tactical battling game where you are playing out cards to move, attack, and defend against another player. It’s a game that I haven’t played yet, and I think it looks solid, but I do want to try the game before I buy it. This includes Bloody Mary, The Monkey King, and more. Coming out later in 2021.

Flamecraft

Card Board Alchemy is announced a new game about dragons who are baking bread. This is a dragon placement game as they placing dragons around town. It’s small dragons who are making food, at the forge, or brewing potions, it could be a lot of different places. The artwork on this game is amazing. I feel like I know it from where, but I would need to look it up. This looks like a super cute game and it’s coming to Kickstarter in August, definitely looks like a cute game. I hope that it’s easy to play because that aesthetic is amazing.

Galaxy Trucker

This is getting a new version. They are putting out a free expansion, Rough Roads that was out before. But they are making it for the new version as well. They have been putting out small and free mini expansions that can be downloaded for a lot of their games throughout 2020 and 2021 to give more small content to their games. This seems like a nice refresh.

Portal Games Announcements

Million Dollar Script

This one is a party game from Portal games. I am not super interested in this one. While the theme is interesting, I just don’t know about making movies. You are trying to come up with scripts for movies, which I like, but I’m not sure how well it’ll work. I think that it could be funny sometimes, but it feels pretty standard. But you are creating the movie really well. I think that it looks like one which will be great sometimes and bad others, which is the type of party game I pass on.

Dune: House Secrets

This one I am super excited for. It is a Dune game that uses the Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. I love that system because it can offer so much. And it means that they can tell a really interesting story. Dune is an interesting theme for me, because I like the book pretty well. I think that the world of Dune is very fascinating. This is one that I’m pretty sure I’m going to pick up. I’m waiting for Portal Games to do their pre-order. I could order it from a store, but Portal tends to do pre-order bonuses. July 12th is when the pre-order opens up.

Queen’s Dilemma

Horrible Guild is announcing something super generic, but they are teasing the Queen’s Dilemma. They came out with The King’s Dilemma, a legacy game that I really need to play. It is a fascinating sounding game where you are making decisions trying to influence the king and it’s highly story driven. You play around the table discussing and making deals and trying to pitch things. This is one that I really need to play, like I said, so that when the Queen’s Dilemma comes out I’ll be able to play that one as well. It looks like they are building upon what they’ve already done. Also, I love Horrible Guild’s stuff that I’ve played thus far.

Paint the Roses

Another Wonderland based game. This is a theme that has been done a lot because, well, it’s free for public use. This is a cooperative game all about building the perfect garden from North Star Games. The art doesn’t look too bad. It sounds generic to me. But of course with the Queen of Hearts as your employer, she is going to be executing you. So she’s only handing out pieces of the puzzle to how to build the garden out.

So there is an element of cooperative deduction which is interesting. This seems like a try before you buy for me. You can’t discuss what your secret card is. But it is fun because you can discuss what you think other people’s whims, the secrets, are openly. And the whims might change throughout the game. The Queen of Hearts is very fickle.

Detective Rummy

This is a game from WizKids. It is a successor of sorts to Mystery Rummy. This is not a game that I know anything about. But it is a series of cases that you can play, so I am interested. I like games where you are trying to solve something. But the word rummy just throws me off as to what it is. I’ll need to look into Mystery Rummy to see how that plays and keep an eye out for more information on this one.

Machi Koro 2

I like Machi Koro pretty well. However, I got rid of my version of the game because I want to play the legacy version. It seems like a simple game that I and my wife could play as a legacy game for a little bit. Machi Koro 2 is interesting, however, I have Space Base, a game that uses similar mechanics that I need to play. This will likely be one that I want to try before I buy. Though, if you haven’t played Machi Koro, it is a great gateway and family game. This is coming out from Pandasaurus.

They are saying that this should be a bit more challenging for people who want to find a little bit more. The big change is that they have added in a wide variety of landmarks to build in the game. That means that you will have a different set than I will. I really like that because in Machi Koro you might be building too much that is just the same. The variety wasn’t there for me. This seems to be a simple change that just adds in more variety. And they will be in the market versus in front of a player.

Power Plants

This game comes from Kids Table Board Games (KTBG from here on out). I actually haven’t played anything before from KTBG but people tend to like their games a lot. And I am interested in their game Creature Comforts. This game isn’t about power plants producing electricity, but powerful plants. The style looks pretty nice and coming to Kickstarter this fall. Not much more about it in the video, just a visual tease.

Pegasus Spiele

Fire & Stone

This game is from the creator of Carcassonne, which is a great gateway style game. If you haven’t tried it, I definitely recommend it. This game has you trade resources and expanding across the globe. This doesn’t seem like my type of game completely, but I am interested because of the designer, Klaus-Jurgen Werde. I am thinking this will be a try before I buy.

Carnegie

They are bring this game to retail. It originally was on Kickstarter. Another Euro style game that isn’t high on my list of games to play. This one, though, being more available will make people who missed out on the Kickstarter happy. I’d play this one but I doubt it’d ever make it into my collection because it is a heavy weight Euro game.

Bonfire: Trees and Creatures

This is a modular expansion to Pegasus Spiele’s game Bonfire. In fact, there are three modules in there. Yet again another Euro game, this is one where if you already like the game, it’ll give you more to play with. Another that I’d play but it’s not up the alley for me as a gamer. It also lets you play a 5th player which is always a worry to me for a bigger Euro game because they can sometimes take way to long between turns depending on players.

Arcane Wonders

Onitama – Light and Shadow

This is an expansion for Onitama. It adds in a ninja. The ninja can move in secret which is a big change. I kind of still want to get Onitama as a simple abstract game, but I also know that I don’t play abstract games all that often. For fans of the game, though, this is going to be cool for you. The shadow play version has the ninja, and the light play version gives you an asymmetrical starting position.

Viral – The Hive

This is an expansion as well for Viral. Viral is a game where you play as disease that are going throughout the body. It basically adds in more viruses that you can play and viruses that are asymmetrical and can grow as you go. Viral is one that was interesting for me to play, but it kind of fell off my radar. I’m not sure that this pushes it back onto the map for me, but if you want a silly themed area control type of game, Viral might be a good one to checkout.

ALS: Critters at War

A new version of the game is coming out of Air Land and Sea. Not one that is on my radar. War themed games aren’t all that interesting and adding in critters isn’t all that interesting to me. The artwork does look nice, but a two player push and pull on three battlefronts could be fun, but isn’t really for me. Another one that I’d probably enjoy if I played it but won’t be one that I pick-up.

Picture Perfect

You are trying to set-up the perfect photograph. It’s an interesting sounding game about trying to set-up the perfect picture where each character has three things they desire to have in that perfect picture. You are trying to figure out the information but events keep happening that might give you more information or mean that you need to share some of the information that you’ve found. In the end you snap an actual picture with your cellphone. The concept is interesting but a try before you buy just from the sounds of it for me.

Mortum

This has a lot of things that I like. It is a cooperative storytelling and deduction game. All three of those things are really cool for me. It’s a grim setting in medieval Europe. The base game has 3 scenarios that all tie together. I probably will end up getting this one because, like I said, it has three things I really like. I hope that the game works well, and with a lot of Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game left to play from expansions, I might wait for reviews on this one.

Leylines

This one is further out from Arcane Wonders. The artwork looks quite cute on this game. It sounds like a resource gathering game and then getting victory points. In terms of the look, this seems way better than most euro style games, but for me it probably won’t be one that I pick-up.

Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix

Dune Imperium from Direwolf was one of a few worker placement and deck building games to come out last year. I have Lost Ruins of Arnak on my shelf waiting to be played, and I didn’t get Dune Imperium just because aesthetically this didn’t look as interesting. Now, they are both getting expansions. But I’m talking about Rise of Ix here. This one should be an easy buy for Dune Imperium fans as well as some just Dune fans who I know. While Portal is putting out the Dune game for me, this is one that I want to try and maybe own.

Wild Tiled West

Another game from Direwolf. This one is just a little sneak peek. We can safely say it’s an old west themed game, a tile laying game. And well, that the artwork is cute with it’s animals in hats. Beyond that not too much information on the game as this was just a little bit of a tease. This one is coming sometime in 2022.

What Am I Looking Forward To?

So what am I looking forward to most out of all of these? Dune: House Secrets has to be high on the list because it’s based off of a Top 10 game for me, or at least Top 20 game for me. Plus the Tidal Blades 2, the world is so cool in that game, and a dungeon crawl is more my speed. And then finally Queen’s Dilemma, yes, I do need to play King’s Dilemma first, but I love a good legacy game and I’ve heard nothing but great things about King’s Dilemma.

Which are you looking forward to most?

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The Games

You can find a more detailed description of all the games in yesterday’s Point of Order article.

Potion Explosion

Potion Explosion, and expansion, are a potion brewing game with some great toy factor to them. You pull out marbles which causes other marbles to drop and you’re strategizing to get matching marbles to hit because then you get to take those as well to brew your potions. May the best brewer of potions win.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg

More brewing of potions in The Quacks of Quedlinburg. This time you’re trying not to have your potion blow up in your face. Quacks is a bag building game where you push your luck over several rounds trying to draw out the most ingredients and get them into your potion without busting. Will you go for that one more ingredient to push you ahead?

Heroes of Land, Air, & Sea

This is a big 4X game (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) where you take the roles of different fantasy races vying to be the best heroes in land, air, and sea. Full of minis and epic adventure, this game will take a while, but the experience will be a memorable one.

The Beer

Last nights brew was King Sue by Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. out of Decorah, Iowa. This is a double IPA, and I’m hit or miss on a lot of double IPA’s. As I talk about in the video, it can end up being too sweet for me, but this one keeps a nice bitter punch to it, in the lines of a grapefruit flavor, which I really like.

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Potion Explosion and The Fifth Ingredient Expansion

Potion Explosion is a game that I have played before. And it is a game with some of the best toy factor out there. In Potion Explosion you take marbles out of a tray. Every turn you get to take one, if removing a marble causes two like colored marbles to hit, you get to take those, and if that causes two to hit, you take those. It’s kind of like a matching app game. You use the ingredients, the marbles, that you take to complete potions, because of science. These potions give you powers, so it might be to steal someone else’s stored ingredients, it might be to take a marble of your choice, or you can make all your stored ingredients into whatever ingredient you want for the turn, and there are more as well. That is a great part of the game and offers a lot of things to think about, and you are doing all of this the pursuit of points. But, what really sells this game is just the fun toy factor. Picking out marbles, them hitting together, picking those out, and it happens again, that is just so much fun to chain everything together.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg

This game is one of the hotter and bigger games in the past few years. I thought about getting it before now, but generally have passed because I wasn’t sure I wanted a push your luck game. Kind of like Potion Explosion, you are quack doctors creating your potions. You put as much as you can into your pot without the potion going poof. To do that, you draw tokens out of your bag, adding them to a track, trying, with the white colored ingredients to not cause everything to blow up. You can stop whenever you want, but the further you progress in your potion, the more points you will get. This game plays over several rounds, and you buy more ingredients for your bag to draw out and to hopefully get you to the point where you are scoring a lot of points. This one generally is just right on that edge of, I know I’d like it, but do I want it. I decided, to help get to my free game, that it was time to make the jump and pick up The Quacks of Quedlinburg.

Heroes of Land, Air, & Sea

Now we are to the free game. Heroes of Land, Air, & Sea. Another game that has been on that list of games I really want to get, but it’s expensive. It’s a $100 game, so why not pick it up for free. This is a fantasy 4X game. The biggest 4X game is probably Twilight Imperium by Fantasy Flight, but this one, in a fantasy setting, really just caught my eye. And I want to try a game where you are all against each other in an epic battle as you eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Plus the game comes with awesome minis, and will look great on the table. I won’t lie, I’m a bit intimidated by how big the game is, but I am very confident that I will love it. Just the amount of tactics that will go into this game and the different paths that can lead to victory, this game looks awesome. Granted, I won’t be able to play it for a bit, it’s a bit much to just play with my wife, but I can’t wait until I get it to the table.

Which of these games seems the most fun? Do you have any experience with them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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