We are back for part 2 of my Gen Con Preview for 2017! Enjoy!
The Ruhr: A Story of Coal Trade
Last year, one of my most anticipated games from Gen Con was Haspelknecht. The Ruhr is the second game in the coal trilogy from designer Thomas Spitzer. I was pretty lukewarm about Haspelknecht but loved the idea of mining coal and shipping it to fill demand. The Ruhr seems like a deeper and more strategic installment. The theme is okay but I like games with complicated logistics and strategy. Hopefully The Ruhr will deliver.
This game released in Japan a couple years ago. I think the theme and the artwork are unique and gorgeous. This game combines bidding with set collection, pushing players to make money trading tulip bulbs trying to make the most money before the market collapses. Not a game I would usually try, but one that is on my radar.
I have really enjoyed the escape room game genre, most recently playing Exit from Kosmos. Deckscape is another one of these style of games but heavily uses a deck of cards to run the system. I have heard mix reviews for this system, but I still want to try it out, along with the many others out there.
I know almost nothing about Barkers Row besides the unique theme: trying to get rubes to go on the most exciting rides at the carnival. I don’t think I would usually try out a game with this mix of mechanisms. But with a unique theme, I will always give a game a chance.
A new version from Capstone Games is being released this year. Don’t be fooled by the multicolored blocks that make up the game board. Players are racing to the highest peak by moving blocks tactically. A unique game with unique gameplay. I am looking forward to the fantastic Capstone Games production.
A new dexterity game about sports and flicking and animals! For the simplistic look and minimal components, I am actually excited about this game’s potential. Early impressions are positive and I could use a good dexterity game in my collection. I like the theme and the idea behind the game and can’t wait to try it out!
This is a new real time cooperative game where players must work together to get a group of adventurers out of a maze. There are two twists: First, players do not control a single adventurer, they control a movement direction and an action. Second, the players cannot talk to one another – they can only communicate using a single wooden pawn. It sounds frustrating in all the right ways!
Stronghold Games is reprinting a Friedemann Friese card game all about bidding and bluffing. Players only know pieces of information… but what is in the sack? It could be very helpful or a disaster to bid on. I am excited that Stronghold is taking their partnership with 2F further.
Did we need more Codenames? Probably not. However, I am not going to complain with these two new intellectual properties. I am not excited for a particular version of Codenames, but I am excited to mix in all these versions. I will be picking up at least one of these new Codenames.
I wanted to jump on the Kickstarter for the second edition but unfortunately I could not commit. This is a beautiful production from (surprisingly) Victory Point Games. Nero’s War is a solo game where the player controls Nero’s ship through a ton of challenges. Players must complete different missions in order to win the game and like most solo or cooperative games, this one is very hard.
The final trick taking game on my anticipated list has a generic theme but looks like unique gameplay. By playing cards and taking tricks your character will do damage or take damage within the tournament context. The last player standing is the winner! Now, I am not usually a fan of player elimination games, but for trick taking, I will make an exception.
This is a quick playing card game all about combos! Basically, each player is trying to maximize the card combos in their tableau before the game ends. Cards are worth certain amounts of points based on the other cards in your tableau. A super neat idea and it seems like a great small card game to have on hand. Could they have picked a more generic name though?
This abstract stacking game looks pretty sharp! From the start coloring to the shape of the pieces, I can’t help but be intrigued without knowing the slightest about the gameplay. From the fringes of the review media, I have heard good things with a few minor concerns. And I hear it has solo rules!
Thiis is the expansion to one of the most elegant card games: Mottainai. The base game already comes with tons of replayability and a very challenging mind puzzle. I wonder what the expansion will add… but if you know Caryl Chudyk games, probably a big twist in how we approach the game.
A roll and write game! Sunflower Valley has a cute theme and uses a shared pool of dice where players must choose different resources in order to draw the best mountain valley. I am always looking for more roll and write games and the player sheets for this one elevates it to my anticipation list.
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