Welcome to the End of July! As of this posting, we have a short 7 days to Gen Con 2023! This is the 56^th anniversary.

Our coverage of Gen Con is shaping up well. I have over 10 interviews scheduled with game companies, plus I plan to stop by many other booths and do interviews, so it’s going to be a busy time! As it always is 🙂

This year, we have no sponsor for Gen Con! So if you want to help, email me, and we will talk! 🙂

 

 

 

Here is my list of the top 6 games I’m looking forward to checking out at Gen Con 2023.

Note that some of these games will be released for sale, at Gen Con, but some will just be available to see/demo in the company’s booth.

 

Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall

Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall is a cooperative campaign game for 1-4 players that blends thrilling fantasy adventure with tactical, edge-of-your-seat combat. Play as one of six unique Seekers, sworn to protect the city of Din’Lux and help rebuild the world beyond. Armed with kinfire lanterns, you’ll brave the Starless Nights, battle the creatures that emerge, and guard each others’ backs against the malevolent forces trying to stop you.

Each quest has three phases: adventuring, battle, and exploration. In the adventuring phase, players make choices based on options presented on the quest cards and need to accomplish something (such as crossing a river or chasing down a suspect) by flipping the correct number and color of cards from their decks. In the battle phase, players work together to defeat enemies on a physical battle map. Turns are determined by drawing chits out of the destiny bag, with each enemy having numbered tokens that correspond with different attacks and actions. Players may play action cards on their own turns to do damage and can play boost cards on other players’ turns to do things like reduce damage, move players, or even return a drawn chit to the destiny bag for redraw. The game doesn’t end if an objective isn’t achieved or an enemy defeats the heroes, but it will affect later gameplay and choice options. Lastly, on certain quests players can return to the city in the exploration phase to speak to NPCs, purchase items, and level up their decks.

Woven throughout each of these phases are cards that require you to make a choice, such as resting before moving on or charging into battle, or whether or not to spare someone’s life. The characters in the game have their own set of morals and standards, and playing according to your character can earn you Kinfire tokens that help you level up. Ultimately though, the decisions you make are yours alone.

Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game

Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game lures you into the luxurious, yet dangerous interiors of the most famous train of the 1920s. The magnificent engine travels into the realm of the Dreamlands — with you on board! From hideous monsters crawling out of breaches to cultists hiding among the decadent passengers, everything is against you, not forgetting an eldritch, blood-thirsty vampire hunting down everything that moves…all against the clock. Can you beat them all as you investigate the dark secrets of the Orient Express?

In the game, you control a character who can develop new skills, gather items, talk to the passengers, discover clues and, ultimately, decide the fate of the train. Who knows, you may even learn a spell or two.

In short, Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game is a co-operative game in which you and other investigators have to survive on the doomed train. To win, you must discover and hunt out the cultists to stop them performing a hideous ritual, as well as ensuring that the train reaches its destination. With all manner of dangers facing you, the challenge is to survive, stop the horrors of the Dreamlands, and prevent calamity.

Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game brings the award-winning Call of Cthulhu horror and mystery TTRPG into the world of board gaming. Special rules, ongoing character development, and awesome play pieces all provide a challenging and exciting gaming experience. Your journey on the Orient Express will be something to remember!

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark (English edition)

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a new board game of atmospheric adventure set in the world of the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog franchise.

Powered by the latest evolution of the Escape the Dark system, The Last of Us: Escape the Dark offers solo and co-op multiplayer modes, allowing up to 5 players to experience this iconic setting in a brand-new way.

Playing as a group of survivors, you will weave your own unique story of survival and companionship as you explore an open-world map. Beginning your journey in a forsaken quarantine zone, your goal is to travel to the reputed safe haven of Jackson while keeping everyone in the group alive.

Carefully plot your route through the troubled landscape, resolving immersive Chapter Cards at each location to gain vital information, weapons, and equipment. Survival will depend on making difficult choices and tactical use of item cards and custom character dice to overcome a variety of threats including Hunters, FEDRA agents, and the dreaded Infected.

Endure and survive!

 

Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West

In Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West, players embark on twelve journeys across North America as 19th century pioneers. The campaign begins on the East Coast, with players working their way to the West from one adventure to the next, meeting challenges along the way. As in Ticket to Ride, completing your tickets will remain your primary goal, but you will need to develop other skills if you hope to overcome the unexpected events and your resourceful rivals. Game after game, route after route, you will continuously fill your vault with earnings. As the story progresses, you will open frontier boxes that unlock new rules, content, and many more surprises.

In the Legacy style, Legends of the West is a unique experience molded by player choices. Each player has their own role to play, allowing them to change the way the story unfolds around them. Combined with evolving mechanisms that change as the game progresses, players will have a new experience every time they gather around the board.

At the end of the twelve games in this legacy campaign, you will have transformed your game into a unique copy that you can continue playing for a lifetime.

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure to Mount Doom (English edition)

In The Lord of the Rings: Adventure to Mount Doom, players follow the story of Frodo’s perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. He is accompanied by his familiar fellowship, who are charged with protecting him from the dangers he will face along the way. The players control the fortunes of this company together by moving the individual figures across the game board on a journey through many well-known places from the beloved Lord of the Rings novels. It is important to beware of the Nazgul while at the same time making sure that Frodo does not lose his confidence and freeze in despair. When Frodo reaches Mount Doom, the players have all won together.

The movement of the characters is controlled by a special dice mechanism. Colored dice determine which figure can be moved. Your dice value determines the number of spaces a figure can travel. By choosing the dice before and after the roll, players are faced with decisions that are seemingly uncomplicated, but nevertheless significant for the outcome of the game. Black dice, which always must be rolled, trigger threats or cause encounters with enemies or friends. The encounter cards ensure the continuous, ever-growing threat to completing the quest.

As in most co-operative games, players must coordinate their moves and actions with each other to ensure the desired outcome.

 

Distilled (English edition)

Distilled is a highly thematic strategy card game about crafting spirits in a distillery, with resource management and push-your-luck elements. In the game, you have inherited a distillery and are hoping to someday achieve the title of master distiller through purchasing goods, building up your distillery, and creating the world’s most renowned spirits.

Use cards to purchase new ingredients and invest in upgrades to your distillery, all while eventually distilling the spirit and sending it to the warehouse. Once in the warehouse, age your spirit to enhance its flavor and bottle it to sell it for major profits!

Achieve the title of Master Distiller by having the most victory points at the end of the game. Points are obtained by distilling and selling spirits.