GAMA Trade Show 2013 Report 5
More gaming goodness below….
“Nowhere to Go” is a quick game with some strategy that is perfect for children, but playable by adults as well.
Two fedora wearing miniatures block paths using the gray marble-like tokens of each other until one has nowhere to move, thereby losing. I got in a complete game and it plays quick with a surprising amount of strategy.
Also from Educational Insights were “Puppets on a Stick.” I know they are not games, but I found them oddly disturbing. Cheap kid fun for $8.99
Another first-time attendee, Passport Game Studios came with “Tokaido” from Antoine Bauza (he designed “7 Wonders”).
Two to five players move their meeples between Kyoto and Tokyo. Along the way players stop at various locations, collecting sets of cards. The more of each type of card (eg small objects) the higher the score. If you run short of cash, drop by a farm to pick up cash. Players cannot move backwards on the board and cannot occupy the same space, creating some strategy in blocking access to stops on the road. I am a sucker for anything Japanese and the board and card design are excellent.
Leviathans the long-delayed but finally realized Steampunk airship game and all the current supplements is sold out, but a small reprint is now available. There may or may not be some available at Gen Con. There is also a discussion underway to redesign the packaging to make it more retailer shelf-friendly.
Shadowrun gets some new releases this year and it is the most ambitious schedule for a game property I have ever seen. Planned this year are:
Shadowrun: 5th Edition RPG (Spring 2013)
Shadowrun: RPG Introductory Box Set (Spring 2013)
Shadowrun: Crossfire a cooperative deck-building game (Spring 2013)
Shadowrun Novels (Fall 2013)
Shadowrun: Sprawl Gangers a two-player miniature skirmish game (Winter 2013)
Shadowrun: Hostile Takeover players run megacorps bent on controlling the megaplex in this board game (Spring 2014)
Shadowrun Returns: A stand-alone video game for PC/MAC/iOS/Android (Spring 2013)
Shadowrun Online: MMORPG (Winter 2013)
That, finally, is the end. Seriously, I have never seen a company go all in like this on a single property. Shadowrun players rejoice!
I interrogated Chris Pramas about the Dragon Age Set 3 Box and he said it is waiting on approval from Bioware. The release date is “soon.”
More tomorrow…
Trask, The Last Tyromancer
