With Gen Con 2014 finally over, board gamers all around the world can look forward to plenty of new games just waiting to hit the shelves!
“Ooh, new games! How exciting! I haven’t been this excited since I tried electro-shock therapy for the voices in my head.”
Er… Yeah, that sounds quite stimulating.
But with the whole list of upcoming new titles, I decided to focus on the most anticipated and must-play games as highlighted from Gen Con 2014.
“Hah! It’s like looking into the future, yes?”
Not really. These were the games that had the Gen Con attendees buzzing with excitement. They had a first-hand chance to demo the games at the respe-
“BURN THE WITCH!”
Wait, what!? Calm your horses, will you?
As I was saying, these games were all available for demo play at the respective publisher’s booth and all the attendees who had a chance to try them out have been raving about them.
So let me present to you Fuzz’s Fantabulous Five Must-Play Board Games That Are Coming Soon!
“That doesn’t roll off the tongue very well.”
Shut your face, you.
[divider]Star Wars: Armada[/divider]
In the X-Wing Miniatures Game, we got to play as pilots. In Armada, we get to play as Admirals.
Lead the charge by taking command of your own capital ship and send out your battle squadrons. FFG have once again outdone themselves with gorgeous miniatures, and a brilliantly executed game that puts you in command of your own fleet.
Plan, strategize and execute your way to victory!
[divider]Star Wars: Imperial Assault[/divider]
One of the most talked about dungeon-crawling board games has been Descent (another game from FFG). Imperial Assault has been described by many as “Descent Meets Star Wars”.
But Imperial Assault isn’t just a simple rethemed dungeon crawler. With this beauty, you get 2 very different, and very exciting, game modes.
Choose to play the campaign setting and you get to take control of the Imperial forces, as you go up against up to 3 players who will play as a filthy rebel insurgent.
Or you could choose to play the skirmish mode and battle it out with your own army in a massive Empire vs Rebels battlefront.
The Force is strong with this one, indeed.
[divider]Shadowrun: Crossfire[/divider]
Based on the popular cyberpunk-meets-fantasy tabletop RPG, Crossfire brings the RPG setting into a massive playable cooperative card game.
Choose a role, grab your guns and work with your friends as you take on various missions to earn upgrades and street rep.
Can’t bring that gun-toting Orc spellcaster down while protecting your client? Then level up and pick the right perks for your character to become a suitable bad mamma-jamma.
Some people have expressed concerns about the upgrades being stickers that you paste onto your character sheets, limiting their re-playability factor. Fret not, the friendly community at BoardGameGeek have various solutions to work around that “sticky” problem.
Heh heh. See what I did there?
[divider]D&D Attack Wing[/divider]
Using the same formula as the X-Wing Minis and Star Trek Attack Wing (if it ain’t broke, why fix a good thing?), D&D Attack Wing lets players take on the role of an iconic dragon.
The starter set introduces 3 adult dragons with various abilities and differing playstyles: the red dragon, the copper dragon and the blue dragon. Once you’ve chosen your dragon, you need to pick your spells and get ready to burn all who stand against you.
Although the dragon models are still prototypes, they are absolutely gorgeous. There are already plans to introduce ground troops such as giants and spellcasters in future expansions.
They had me at “you get to play as a dragon”.
[divider]King Of New York[/divider]
King Of New York looks like a re-skinned King Of Tokyo. You choose a giant kaiju, roll your dice and beat your opponents down to be the last monster standing.
But King Of New York brings some new game mechanics to an already very fun game to pick up. Now, your kaiju can earn fame to become a celebrity! But you won’t be a superstar for long as you have to fight off your other rivals for a chance to shine in the spotlight. The city of New York is represented by a much larger game board with various districts that you can occupy in your pursuit of fame.
What?! That sounds silly, you might say.
Yes, it is. And that’s why this game is so much fun.
Oh, did I also mention you can destroy buildings? But watch out for the military as they try to take you down as you wreak havoc in the Big Apple.
Despite the extras, this game is still easy to learn, and you can play straight out of the box.
Forget Godzilla; get out there and show them who the real King Of New York is!
There you have it, dear readers! In no way is this list exhaustive; there are so many more upcoming releases in the coming months that have me all giddy with excitement.
“Are you giddy because of all the dark magics that you’re casting?”
I told you – I’m not a witch. And put that noose down! I can see you hiding it behind your back.
Which games are you most looking forward to playing, dear readers? Feel free to leave a comment below and until the next time, may all your dice rolls be awesome!