This past Sunday marked the final day of Gen Con 2014, to
the sadness of some and the excitement of others. I’ve actually been watching the live feeds
from Board Game Geek during
the entire duration of the event to get an idea of what is going on. It has actually been quite interesting to see
the feeds and watch as people start to look more tired and haggard by the
fourth day of the gaming convention. I
know this post is a little later than I wanted but I am still obliged to finish
off my top ten list from Gen Con! What
follows will be numbers one through five of my list.
#5 - Shadows of Brimstone: City of Ancients/Shadows of
Brimstone: Swamps of Death (Flying Frog Productions)
I am slightly cheating with this choice by choosing two
games for one pick, but there is a legitimate reason! Both of the Shadow of Brimstone sets are
being released at the same time and they are both stand alone base sets that
need nothing else to play than what is in the box. I have seen some things from this game and I
love what I’ve seen so far. Shadows of
Brimstone is best explained as a dungeon delver that takes place in a wild west
theme.
What makes this wild west theme
so interesting is that there is a great evil rising from the depths of the coal
mines, an ancient evil and darkness that is threatening the entire area. Basically this is a spaghetti western with a
Cthulu overtone! How could I not be super-interested in this? I also love that
this dungeon run is a fully co-operative game because it really makes it
interesting for my wife as well. I have
been able to get her into gaming greatly due to the co-operative experience in
said games. This may not be a purchase
for a while due to the price tag and due to the need to build models, but it is
just a matter of time until Shadows of Brimstone finds its way onto my gaming
shelf!
#4 - Consequential (Asmadi Games)
This game is a tough one.
To be honest I don’t know a ton about Consequential but what I do know
highly intrigues me, enough to put it into my top five interests of the
convention. What I do know about this game
is that it is another fully co-operative game that tells a story over four
acts. Each of these acts is contained
within the box but they are packaged separately so that when they are opened
they contain new cards, new locations, and new mechanics. This game also takes the idea of preserving
your character throughout the different acts and leveling them as you go. I love this idea of persistence as it is becoming
a huge mechanism in board gaming right now.
Consequential also contains an app that helps to tell the story of the
game which I find very interesting.
While this is high on my interest list it won't be a must-buy until more
information is released about the game.
#3 - Argent: The Consortium (Level 99 Games)
Argent: The Consortium is a new game release by the
fantastic Level 99 Games and it has climbed its way all the way up to number
three on my list! This is a fantastic-looking game that takes place in Level 99’s World of the Indines. This is a persistent world that they have
used for many of their games including the well received BattleCon. This is a big difference from the majority of
the games put out by Level 99 in that this game heavily relies on
Euro-mechanics such as worker placement.
What makes this different than other worker placement games is that the
workers you place in different rooms each have a special ability. This gives worker placement a new and fresh
mechanism that creates a new way of thinking about your moves. Because of the interesting gameplay, the
beautiful artwork, and the persistent world of Indines, Argent: The Consortium
makes its way into the number three spot on my top ten list.
#2 - Lords of Xidit (Libellud/Asmodee)
Lords of Xidit is an interesting game that has been
re-themed and re-released by Libellud.
Formerly, it was a game called Himalaya by Regis Bonnessee and has now
been re-themed and put into the world of Xidit.
Xidit is a world that was first realized in one of my current favorite
games, Seasons. Seasons is also a game
by Regis Bonnessee so I suppose they thought it was be a good idea to re-theme
Lords of Xidit into the same world as Seasons.
I have to say, from some of the early pictures that I’ve seen of this
game I am blown away by the art just as I am by the art of Seasons. While Seasons is a card drafting and hand
management game, Lords of Xidit takes on programming and pick-up-and-deliver
mechanics. These are some mechanics that
I don’t really have on my gaming shelf and would love to have them in this
beautifully realized game!
#1 - Samurai Spirit (Funforge)
And my number one game interest of Gen Con 2014 is
Samurai Spirit by the great Antoine Bauza and released by Funforge. First of all, being released by Funforge, I
have no doubt that the components and art will be perfectly integrated into the
game. Second of all, it is designed by
one of my very favorite designers, Antoine Bauza. This game seems to be a return to some of his
older designs (i.e. Ghost Stories) and that is some of the best news I’ve
heard! Ghost Stories is a fantastic (and
sometimes super-mean) co-operative game where you take on a role of a Taoist
Monk trying to protect a town from an evil ghost dictator. Samurai Spirit puts you into the role of a
Samurai attempting to save a town from bandits.
I have seen some play from this game and it looks totally different from
Ghost Stories while keeping his fantastic game design and slightly cruel nature
of co-operative play. This game seems
mean and I love that! At the time of
writing this I actually have a copy coming to me before the release date of
October or November. A friend was at Gen
Con this year and was able to pick this game up for me as well as a promo card
for it! I am so excited about this game and will be sure
to do an unboxing when I receive it.
Thus ends my second half of my top ten interests of Gen
Con 2014. I hope you enjoyed these posts
and were possibly able to see some games that interest you. As always if you have any questions of
comments feel free to post then at the bottom and I will gladly answer
them. Until next time, game on!
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