Top 10 Games at Gen Con 2016!

It’s only a week until the start of Gen Con, the biggest, most excitingest Board Games convention in the whole entire world of America! This is an amazing opportunity to see and buy the big new releases as well as demo exciting upcoming games. This is my list of the 10 games you absolutely need to play while at Gen Con this year, even if not all of them are yet available to buy.

Sadly, I live in the UK so I’m not going to be attending. If you also can’t make it to Gen Con, this is the list of games to look out for in the coming year! I know I will be!

So let’s start out with…

 

11 – The almost made it into the top 10 but not quite games

A few other cool games you should look out for if you have time:

Game of Thrones: Iron Throne – A cross between Game of Thrones and the legendary Cosmic Encounter. It sounds like an insane idea… and yet also, possibly, perfect? Very intriguing. At the FFG booth 809, 817, 1041, 1105, 1117

Ra – A new, pretty edition of the Reiner Knizia classic, to add to FFG’s (now Windrider Games) series of classic re-releases. Find it at booths 1619, 1629, 1719, 1819, 1829.

Council of Blackthorn – A very cool Kickstarter from earlier in the year of bluff, intrigue and not losing your head! Read more about it here, or check it out at Great Northern Games booth, 2738.

New Bedford – Another successful Kickstarter, exploring the growth of the titular city on the back of the morally dubious whaling industry. Find it at Greater Than Games’ booth, 2123.

 

Right! Let’s get on with the main event!

 

10 – Terraforming Mars

Terraforming MarsAn epic tale of the evolution of Mars into a verdant, habitable planet! Over many generations you’ll research projects and slowly transform the landscape, building up the supplies of oxygen, plant life and ocean until Mars is ready. The theme for this one is very cool, but fair warning, this is a pretty heavy euro (you didn’t think terraforming Mars would be easy did you?) so more suited to those who like their games with some heady depth.

Terraforming Mars will be available from the Stronghold Games booth, 2323.

 

9 – Crisis

CrisisCrisis is a unique twist on the worker placement games, in fact, on any Euro-style game really. The game is set in a dystopian nation that most certainly isn’t supposed to be Greece, in which an external economic union is setting punishing targets for its industries to achieve, that is, you. Each round players have a victory point target, and desperately trying to keep on top of that without crashing the economy is Crisis’ unique selling point. I’ve played this (you can read my first impressions here, and I’ve played a further game since) and it’s very cool! It’ll be available to demo at GenCon, as it’s on Kickstarter right now.

Crisis will be at the Ludicreations booth, 2533.

 

8 – Scythe

ScytheThe game that has been harvesting anticipation with the efficiency of one its giant steel clad mechs, Scythe needs almost no introduction… unless you’ve not heard of it! In which case it’s a clever melding of Euro-style resource generation and mechanics with an edge of story telling and touch of mechanised warfare. It features some of the most beautiful art of any game ever, and took Kickstarter by storm last year. I got to play a demo of this at the UKGE if you want to find out more, click here. If you missed out on the Kickstarter, this is your chance to pick up a copy!

Scythe will be on sale at the Cephalofair booth, 2963.

 

7 – Seafall

SeafallThe first of 3 big Legacy orientated games (the flood is coming…) Seafall comes direct from the format’s creator, Rob Daviau, in a game built especially for the system. What could truly capture the sense of wonder and discovery a Legacy game embodies better than sailing off into the uncharted seas to discover and conquer new lands in the age of sail? The designers have put together a comprehensive overview of the game in a series of posts on the Plaid Hat website you should definitely have a read of if you are in any way interested about the game.

Seafall will be available from the Plaid Hat booth, 1537.

 

6 – Chronicles 1: Origins

Chronicles OriginsPiping Seafall by a merest squeak is Chronicles: Origins, another Legacy game with the hand of Rob Daviau inside. Not his actual hand… anyway. This first game in the Chronicles series tells the story of your Stone Age tribe as they develop to full city states of the Bronze Age, warring with your opponents for the surrounding regions. This is not only a Legacy game, but employs what has been called the “Echo System”, carrying elements over into future games of the series so that the influence of your societies in this game will be felt in future games. It is such a bold and ambitious idea that it is something you should absolutely check out!

Chronicles 1: Origins will be available to demo in prototype form at the Artana booth, 1257.

 

5 – Adrenaline

AdrenalineAn all guns-blazing shoot-em-up, like a multiplayer FPS death match, using almost pure Euro game mechanics! I know, right? Crazy! But it really works nicely to make an intriguing (and explosive) game! You need to manage your ammunition, and players will score points according to the damage they do to other players, but the more damage you take, the stronger you get. Really intriguing, and is another one I’ve managed to try out and write about. Definitely check this one out.

Adrenaline can be demoed at Czech Games Edition, in room 121 (rather than in a booth).

 

4 – Colony

ColonyThe latest city building game from Ted Alspach, designer of the exceptional Suburbia and Castles of Mad King Ludwig, is Colony! It combines dice drafting mechanics with Dominion-esque levels of variable set up. Each die represents a resource that lets you build new stuff which will power up your ability to get more dice and, and… and…! Yeah, it’s really neat and still different from previous games. Check out my first impressions for more coherent thoughts.

Colony will be available to demo at Bezier Games’ booth, 2527.

 

3 – Captain Sonar

Captain SonarNot a cheapass version of Captain Scarlet, but a very cool team game (more of these, please, publishers!) putting you in charge of a submarine trying to hunt and destroy the other team’s submarine! The genius of this game lies in the roles, with one player being the captain giving orders to their team, the weapons expert ensuring the torpedos and mines are ready to fire, and most brilliantly the radio operator whose job is to listen to the other team to try and figure out where they are…

Captain Sonar is available from the Matagot booth, 1619, 1629, 1719, 1819 and 1829. Just a few places, you know.

 

2 – Cry Havoc

Cry HavocA new war/area control game with a really, really cool deterministic combat mechanic. A combat board determines the controller of the region, the number of troops captured, and the number of troops killed, all in separate sections that players commit troops to, the player with the largest number of troops winning that section, with defenders winning ties. The attacker must place first, followed by the defender, and then each side gets to play cards from their hand to mix stuff up. Definitely a clever system that demands you decide where your priorities lie with this battle. Add to that, asymmetric factions to play with and some gorgeous art, this is definitely one to check out!

Cry Havoc will be available from the Portal Games booth, 2566.

 

1 – Gloomhaven

GloomhavenTaking the classic fantasy dungeon crawl tropes and just about revolutionising every bit of them, Gloomhaven is a hugely exciting new release, and also our top Legacy game of the show! Featuring a huge heap of scenarios to play through, the results of which and the story decisions you make will permanently change the world you are playing through. Add to that a really cool and innovative card based combat mechanic that really makes you think about your allies, and character based personal objectives to push the story telling, this is one to check out!

Gloomhaven will be available to demo at the Cephalofair Games booth, 2963.

 

What games have caught your eye? Anything I’ve missed off this list? Let me know in the comments!

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