Top 10 Games to Demo at Gen Con

10. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

I love the Middle Earth setting, but this is the only Middle Earth set game that is making my Gen Con to demo list. There is also The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship. A “pandemic” style game in some ways. But I know more about that one. The Hobbit: There and Back Again, I don’t know much about it. I hope that it’s a fun and interesting game themed around The Hobbit. As board gamers, I think we have a lot of Lord of the Rings themed games that are good, but The Hobbit, not so much.

9. Crits & Tricks

Crits & Tricks is a fantasy themed trick taking game. I like trick taking so that is what drew me to this one right away. It sounds like each trick is a quest that you play out and that you win loot at the end of it. The theme founds fun and interesting. Or maybe each hand is a quest, so that is interesting and maybe as you progress through the quest, different hands, that is where the suit can change. Either way, I really like the sound of this trick taking game.

8. The Battle of the Divas

The Battle of the Divas is a game that jumped out at me because it is such a different theme for a game. I believe there is another game in this series from Salt & Pepper Games. But the idea is that it’s a two player back and forth game where you want to be the best opera diva. And it is based around actual historical opera singers, Callas and Tebaldi and their clash to be the best. So it is just exciting sounding as a very different game.

7. BattleForge: Berserker

Creative Games Studio LLC is the game company behind BattleForge. And I like the one game of theirs I’ve played. Though I need to play it more. And I am excitedly waiting for their next one Dante: Inferno to come. I think it might be shipping soon-ish. But BattleForge is a cooperative game again, which I love that they make cooperative games. But this one I don’t if it supposed to be a campaign. Either way, I want to know more about it as it comes out and Gen Con is going to be a great spot to demo it.

6. River Market

River Market seems kind of to be a third in the line of Creature Comforts and Maple Valley. Now, each of the games is different from KTBG, but there is a similar aesthetic. And the designer of River Market is Roberta Taylor who is the designer of Cafe Baras, a cafe capybara game. I think that game is light and fun, so I am excited to see what this game can be.

5. Tea Witches

Manny Vega and Sandara Tang are two people working on Tea Witches. If that seems familiar they also did the design and artwork, respectively, for Flamecraft. That’s the game about little dragons who help around town. So a new game with Sandara Tang’s artwork is always going to interest me. I don’t know much about the game play, but it’s tea, it’s witches, and the artwork gives me a vibe of Little Witch Academia, so I’m all in for it.

4. Camp Grizzly

Camp Grizzly is a game that is already out. And if you want to buy it now, it is going to cost you around $600 on ebay. What is this game? It’s a horror movie themed game, or horror themed game in the theme of classic horror movies set at camps. The artwork on it looks great, and I love horror films. So the idea of this theme is really interesting and exciting to me. And it is one that I did look, a year or ago or so, on ebay to see about getting it. But it is crazy expensive. So I think it is coming back to crowdfunding and when it does, I’m very interested.

3. Class of ’89

Paverson games is making a name for themselves. I have the game Luthier which is coming and that looks amazing. But their first game, Distilled, is really popular and is on my shelf to get played. Class of ’89, though, does seem like a little different game. This is a game about making a year book. And that itself sounds lighter as a theme. But it is also a theme that sounds like a ton of fun. So I want to know more about their next project. And I really hope that I like it because I really love the theme.

2. Viking Route

Viking Route I think was on my most anticipated games coming to crowdfunding or maybe coming this year. But now at Gen Con is the time to demo it. This is a ship sailing game but it uses a mechanism for navigating your ship that I think sounds great. What is that mechanism? Magnets. You play magnets around the board to move the ship and affect the way the compass is pointing. That mechanism is in another game that I own and I need to get played.

1. Mystic Curling Club

So after so many amazing sounding games, how is it that Mystic Curling Club is the top of the list? One word, curling. I love watching curling as a sport. And I want at some point in time in my life to do some casual curling. And yes, where I live doing some casual curling is a possibility because the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro has multiple locations with curling. But this is going to be a dice flicking game witch magical powers in it as well. This sounds silly and fun and I love the theme so it is easily my #1 game to demo at Gen Con.

Final Thoughts

As always, I wish I was going to Gen Con. I think that all of these games sound wonderful to play. And there are a ton of different and unique things among them. So someone want to check them out for me and let me know their thoughts?

But out of all of these, the one that I want to try the most is Mystic Curling Club. But as I say that, I think I am apt to just buy that one for the theme no matter what. So I think that The Battle of the Divas is the one that I want to see and try the most because I am less likely just to buy that one sight unseen. Even then, if I can find it or it’s predecessor cheap, I think I may pick it up. I play games at two players fairly often, so a two player only game is pretty easy to get to the table.

What is your most anticipated game to demo at Gen Con?

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How To Play Flip 7

Flip 7 is a push your luck race to 200 points. On your turn, you decide to either push your luck and flip a card, or stay and bank you points. If you stay, you are done for that round, but you total up your points and that gets added to your total.

If you do decide to flip, you flip a new card. But if the number on the card matches a number that you already have, you bust and you are out for that round. The cards are numbered 0 through 12 and the higher numbers are more common, so if you have high cards to closer you are to busting. That means no points banked to add to your total. There are also special cards you can flip. There are three power cards and a few modifier cards.

Power Cards

The power cards give you powers to use on yourself or on other players. The first is the second chance card. This card lets you bust once in a round. If you bust, you discard the second chance and the card you busted on and keep going. The next is the freeze ability. That locks a player out from continuing the round. They bank their points, but they can’t draw more. Finally there is the flip 3. That you can keep or give to a player to flip three cards, if they bust on that they bust.

Modifier Cards

The modifier cards are a bit different from the power cards, but they aren’t number cards. A lot of them just add to your score, though. Most of the modifier cards add in a number of points, so it might be something like plus 8 points. But it’s not an 8 card, so if you draw and eight you won’t bust. There is also a times two, that one is going to double your score for the round.

So when someone hits 200 they can stop and bank it. But it’s a push your luck game. That means that everyone else can continue. And as long as you are close, you have a shot to catch-up with a great push. One last thing worth noting is that you go through the deck fully before you shuffle again. So it is possible to count cards, though, there are a good number of cards.

What Doesn’t Work

Firstly, my what doesn’t work is really about BGA for this game. This game can work on BGA, but not asynchronously. It is a game where you will want to egg people on to get them to draw more. So when you aren’t chatting away and playing it lightly, it’s not as good. But I 100% see where it’s going to be great for a lot of groups in person and it’ll work for my group in person as well.

But that said, I do think it’ll be somewhat group dependent. How risk adverse is your group? Do you like to give each other grief as you play? Flip 7 is a game made for trash talking and teasing. If you know your group can’t handle that or doesn’t do that, Flip 7 won’t work for you.

What Works

Firstly, the game is simple, and that’s key for a game like Flip 7. I want to be able to teach it in a couple of minute and get playing it. And Flip 7 is even easier to teach as a push your luck game than something like Push which is still also easy to teach. Even the power cards are very easy to teach and pretty much make sense without explanation.

The game is also fast to play. I think that goes without saying for a simple push your luck game like this. But it’s important that it can be a filler type of game. It is on the complexity level of the classic games you maybe grew up playing. This is not more than Uno, but it needs to play much faster than Uno and it needs to be more fun. And it is going to hit both of those things.

I like the powers in the game. Now, I think for some people I could see an issue of the take that element of the game. But even for one of them it’s a risk. The freeze obviously locks someone out for a round. But it’s a good way to help control a runaway leader. And with the speed of the game, it’s not for long. And the Flip 3 is a great card because there is risk. You might want it for yourself. But there’s a chance you bust. But if you give it to someone else, they might get x2 or second chance. Now you hurt your cause.

Who Is Flip 7 For?

Flip 7 is a great filler game. And a great holiday game. By that I mean it’s an easy one to play with a bigger group and with non-gamers and to chat through. But for a game group, it’s a nice filler. The game is fast enough. And if you don’t want to play to 200, play to 150. And it’s a good one for that start of the night as it’s not too long, you play a game and then you play another as people finish arriving.

Final Thoughts and Grade on Flip 7

Flip 7 is a lot of fun as a game in person. I gave my reasons why I don’t think it works on BGA. But that is really if you are playing asynchronously. Even real time, though, I want to play it well chatting with people via Zoom, Discord, or something like that. Because this game is best when you talk a little bit of trash and when you tease someone for not pushing their luck.

I will say, though, that is going to be a pretty group dependent game. From reading the how to play section or just reading that it is push your luck, you’ll know if it works. And for me, I think it is going to work well for my group because of the simplicity of it. I know that not always does push your luck work for my group. Incan Gold, not a hit. But the simple push your luck games like Zombie Dice and Push, they work. And Flip 7 is a whole lot more in that vein than in the vein of Incan Gold.

My Grade: B
Gamer Grade: C-
Casual Grade: A
Strategy: 1
Luck: 9

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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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This game is going to be another or a new version of Battlestar Galactica. Now, I am curious to see how well the theme works in this game. I will likely get Unfathomable because it’s about 50% of the price of a used copy of Battlestar Galactica. However, Fantasy Flight doesn’t have access to the IP anymore, so they are going the Arkham route with it. I think that that the theme will work well enough, but it might not be as immersive.

Personally, I think this game could have worked well with a Marvel IP on it. The Secret Invasion storyline, in the comics and coming to Disney+ as a show as well, has you wondering who is a Skrull. In fact there are characters who are Skrulls who might not remember they are actually Skrull the whole time. Obviously I’m partial to the Marvel IP, but that was always my thought.

The OP Brings Onward To The Table

Disney/Pixar’s Onward is one of their movies that might get less love than some, but one that I really like. It hits on that nerdy adventure stuff that I dig as a role playing fan, in particular, Dungeons and Dragons. The OP is taking that IP to the tabletop with Quests of Yore: Barley’s Edition.

This is going to be purely a role playing game versus more of a board game. What I like about this is that it has a theme that is nerdy but less nerdy. Pixar has such a name for itself that people will be interested just based off of that. Dungeons and Dragons has already bridged the masses some with things like Critical Role and then Stranger Things. This is another thing that can go onto the shelves at Target and get people to buy it.

Portal Games Puts out Information On Dune: House of Secrets

Announced at the digital PortalCon this spring, Dune: House of Cards now has a pre-order and release date. July 12th for pre-orders and October 15th for a release date. This game, from the sounds of it, leverages some of what they have already done with Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. In at least that it is going to be a story and different chapters that you play through.

I could do a “Let There Be Hype” on this one. I am really excited for it. It seems to be based off of Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game system, which I love, and I am interested in the Dune games. The original Dune is a massive all day event. And the Dune Imperium looks interesting but also looks dull aesthetically. So I want to try it but not so sure about owning it. Dune: House of Secrets, I am very interested in playing it and owning it. This seems like a game that will immerse me in the world of Dune and that just is cool.

Three big pieces of news and all that I’m pretty interested in. I will likely be picking up two of them, Dune: House of Secrets and Unfathomable. Which of these looks the most interesting to you?

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