14 Games I'd be Interested in if I were Going to Gen Con

Each year, I become more and more jealous of those that are able to make it to GenCon and Essen.  The more I get into the hobby and the more games I play, the more interested I become in learning about the newest games coming out and the new innovations that are revealed at these conventions.  I eagerly watch social media, checking out posts on Twitter and Instagram of all the fun everyone else seems to be having while I'm stuck at work and playing old games at home.

But I can dream!  And if I were going to GenCon, these are 14 games that I would want to check out, in no particular order.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

1.  Fortune City, by Big Fun Games
   
     Fortune City is a small city building game that looks colorful and fun.  It's based off of an app game I've never heard of, but in the board game you build a city by purchasing tiles with different buildings on them to increase the value of your town.  It's a small game that's supposed to play in under an hour, which makes it perfect for a lunch time game.  Plus, it looks like it has a lot going on and a lot to think about, which I enjoy.  I'd love to try this one out at GenCon.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

2.  Home Alone Game, by Big G Creative

     When I was 8 years old I fell in love for the first time in my life.  The boy was Macaulay Culkin, and I couldn't get enough of Home Alone.  My brother and I memorized and acted out entire scenes from Home Alone 2 thanks to my obsession with Big Mac.  I'm over him now, but still can't get enough of Home Alone and love watching the movies every year around Christmas time.  So when I heard Big G Creative was making the Home Alone Game I was very excited.  I was more excited when I saw the artwork was reminiscent of ugly Christmas sweaters, and even more excited when I found out the game was a 1 vs All game of Keven vs The Wet Bandits!  It may turn out to be a dud, but if I was going to GenCon I'd definitely be checking out this game!

Image: https://www.deepwatergaming.com/blog/2018/4/2/welcome-to-our-newest-title

3.  Welcome To..., by Deep Water Games

     You've probably heard of this game by now, seeing as 2018 seems to be the year for roll and write games and Welcome To... seems to be everywhere.  I haven't played any, though, and while this one isn't strictly a roll and write since you flip cards over instead of rolling dice, it has me intrigued.  I love the player sheets where you fill in house numbers for your little neighborhood, and it seems to be a bit of a thinky game with enough decisions to hold my interest.  I'm not sure if I'd enjoy these kind of games, but this is the one I'd start with at Gen Con.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

4.  Newton, by CMON

     I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a huge nerd, and I love reading about the history of scientists.  So when I saw a game named after Issac Newton I was intrigued, and when I found out the game was about traveling around learning things to come up with new theories and work to get money to support yourself, I was hooked.   Though I know nothing else about this game, other than it looks like a table hog and you seem to have your own player board, this is something I'd stand in line for to get the chance to play!

Image: http://phalanxgames.co.uk/games/hannibal-amp-hamilcar_25.html

5.  Hannibal & Hamilcar, by Phalanx Games

     This is the 20th Anniversary Edition of a game called Hannibal Rome Vs Carthage, and I was strongly considering backing it on Kickstarter but never pulled the trigger.  It's a war game for 2 players that uses cards, which fascinates me.  I never backed the game because I'm not a huge fan of real history in the games I play, and I already have War of the Ring (2nd ed) which scratches that two-player war game itch.  I wasn't sure if this was something my husband and I would actually enjoy, and if I were going to GenCon I'd love to see how the card-driven play works and see if it's something we might like.

Image: https://www.starling.games/everdell/

6.  Everdell, by Starling Games

     Everdell was also on Kickstarter and to be honest I never considered backing.  It's super cutesy and has worker placement, both things I love, but the 3D tree seemed like a gimmick, and I figured I could probably get the game cheaper in retail.*  The truth is, I still don't know if I'd buy it even after playing, but something about the artwork and that 3D tree it is really draws me in.   I'd love the chance to check it out.

Image: https://www.starling.games/archmage/

7.  Archmage, by Starling Games

   Since I'd be there anyway, I'd hang out at Starling's booth to look at Archmage as well.  The artwork isn't as appealing to me as Everdell's, but I love the way the board made of hexes looks on the tableand the custom wooden pieces.  I'm also taken in by the combination of mechanisms - exploration and area control, resource gathering, crafting, and casting spells.  I don't usually like fantasy themes or spell casting, but something about this mix of mechanisms has me intrigued, and I'd love to try this for myself to see if it's as good as I think it might be.

Image: https://www.twincitygames.com/dino-dunk/

8.  Dino Dunk, by Twin City Games

     You might know by now that movies from my childhood shaped my life. I definitely have an obsession with Jurassic Park and all things dinosaurs, and while Dino Dunk's premise is silly (basketball playing dinosaurs with different powers), the game looks so colorful and flicking dinosaur discs in a dexterity game just seems fun.  I definitely don't need to own this game, but it's one I would love to have a go at.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

9.  History of the World, by ZMan Games

     History of the World isn't a new game by any means.  It came out in 1991, and in 2018 it's getting a new release from Zman games with beautiful artwork and a map that makes me drool.  But that's not why I'm interested in History of the World.  I'm interested because I love another game called Small World and read that it has a lot of similarities to History of the World.  I also have an interest in playing older games to see how the hobby has evolved and whether they hold up over time, and I'd love to head over to ZMan's booth and play this classic game.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

10.  Lowlands, by ZMan Games

     Staying at ZMan's booth, I'd then eagerly run over to check out Lowlands.  While I don't think it's specifically set in the Netherlands, I'm interested in it partly because it seems like it could be, and I like to collect games with references to my Dutch husband's home (mostly because I love the eye roll I get each time I show him a new one!).  In Lowlands you're a sheep farmer, but you also need to help build dikes to make sure your sheep don't drown or get washed away.   Fir some reason that makes me giggle.  I don't think the people I play games with would enjoy a long game of sheep farming and mental math, but I want to try it at least once for myself.

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

11.  Shadows: Amsterdam, by Libellud

     For the same reason as Lowlands, I want to see what Shadows: Amsterdam is all about.  A real time deduction game seems pretty cool, but having to work in teams gives me pause.  It's also for 2 - 8 players, and I wonder how well it would play with 2, the player count I play most.  It's cutesy, which draws me in, and my husband would love the hex board, but it's definitely a game I want to try before I buy and Gen Con would be a great place for that!

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

12.  Human Era, by Lay Waste Games

     I know nothing about this game other than it being sooooooooo beautifully pink with suuuuuuccchh ugly artwork.  Oh, and that it's touted as "a 4-10 player social deduction game where you and your crew are aboard the last time machine to save space and time from the chaos unleashed by the haphazard time traveling of humans. However, among your crew are machines and cyborgs disguised as humans with their own goals in mind." Ummm, yes please!  I'm not sure if I would have backed the kickstarter had I known about it, but I really want to see how this one plays.  And while I'm there, seeing as the publisher is the same as that of Dragoon (a game I see all over Instagram and really want to play based on the looks alone), I'd check that one out too.

Image: https://gamewright.com/product/forbidden-sky

13.  Forbidden Sky, by GameWright

I'm a huge fan of Pandemic, I've played a lot of games of Forbidden Island with my friend's kid, and I have Forbidden Desert in my collection as well.  So of course I'd like to see what's new with the next game in the Forbidden series: Forbidden Sky.  Though the theme doesn't really grab me, the game looks colorful and I love the mechanisms the designer comes up with.  If I had the chance I'd love to see what's new with Forbidden Sky, though I'm sure this game will enter my collection regardless!

Image: BoardGameGeek (click for link)

14.  Yellow & Yangtze, by Grail Games

     In 1997, Dr. Reiner Knizia introduced a game called Tigris & Eurphrates (T&E) to the world.  This game is still ranked in the top 100 on BoardGameGeek, and as I've already mentioned, I like playing older games.  Tigris & Euphrates remains on my shelf of shame (but hey, I got it for a great price second hand, so that makes it OK, right?) and now Grail Games is bringing us Yellow & Yangtze (Y&Y), touted as a "sister game" to T&E though it seems like it could as well be called T&E 2nd Edition.  Where T&E was set on the two major rivers of Mesopotamia, Yellow & Yangtze is set on two main rivers in China.  The mechanics are mostly the same, though Y&Y updates square tiles to hexes and introduces a few new elements.  I kind of want to get Y&Y simply because it's a reimplementation of a classic and to compare how they differ for myself, but trying it at Gen Con seems like a much better idea.


Whew, writing about all of these games makes me tired.  I can only imagine how tired I would be after travel, and having to weave my way through crowds of people to stand in line to get the opportunity to learn game after game several days in a row!  Maybe that doesn't sound so goid afterall.  Besides, I'm also not a fan of running around in a frenzy to get the chance to buy one of the games that's going to sell out in hours.  To be honest, other than Forbidden Sky, none of the games above are ones that I necessarily want to buy outright so I'll leave that craziness up to the rest of you.

If you're going to Gen Con, have fun!  Tag @womenlikeboardgames in one of your posts so I can live vicariously through you.  I want to see what you're up to and what games you're checking out while there!


*This attitude is not specific to Everdell.  You can usually get a retail edition of a kickstarter game at or below the pledge price if you're willing to wait and don't care about kickstarter exclusives.