GenCon 2011 Punch List
Well GenCon 2011 is over. We were not there but from all of the various coverage it looked like a good show and had record attendance. Below is a list of all the new goodies we are looking forward to based on the show announcements. Thanks to Russ at the D6 Generation podcast and the Beasts of War for their excellent show coverage.
- Gears of War: The Board Game — We have always been huge Space Hulk fans and the new GoW game looks similar. Initial demo game reports are good and the components are certainly top notch. The D6 Generation have a full review of the game in Episode 86.
- Dust Warfare — After watching AT-43 die we passed on Dust Tactics. But the game has been generally well received and the minis are well done. Dust Warfare is a full blown mini ruleset written by Andy Chambers. If nothing else it will be worth a look.
- Android books — We did not care for FFG’s Android board game but did like the universe it was set in. Now FFG is bringing out two novels, Free Fall and Golem, set in the world of Android.
- Star Trek: Fleet Captains — We almost forgot about this one. WizKids debuted a new board game of exploration and starship combat using unpainted plastic miniatures. We saw some shots of it at the show but never heard any reports on play. It looks interesting. Again, Russ from the D6G snagged a copy — And even painted some ships — and Episode 88 has a nice review of the game (forward to 2hr29min). The rules are available for download.
- Star Wars X-Wing —
FFG got a Star Wars license and will be doing a bunch of products with it. One of the first is X-Wing a tactical space combat game. Many are calling it Wings of War in space but it is really no more similar to it than any other air-to-air combat game. It comes with pre-painted plastic minis (surely with tons of expansions due along soon thereafter) and focuses on fighter-to-fighter combat in the Star Wars universe. Demo game reports were favorable overall and there is certainly more depth to the game not really explored yet by quick demos. But it is meant to be a simple, fast game not any sort of ‘simulation.’ It should be good for some quick fun. We just hope they produce the B-Wing fighter! - Star Wars: The Card Game — Well the world probably needs another Star Wars card game as much as a Wookie needs a razor but we’ll give it a spin.
- 15mm Terrain — Gale Force Nine announced a bunch of new 15mm terrain for Flames of War and the like. The new Desert Oasis is our favorite.
Oddly, even though Steve Jackson Games was at the show, we didn’t hear a peep about the new Ogre 6th edition. We hope this is not a bad sign. [Update: Steve posted an update on the Ogre site, “The status is: Still planned, still the super-fancy as per the prototypes you can see on that page. . . And definitely still not on track for 2011. I warned everyone in May that it might not happen in 2011, and now I can say it definitely won’t. I knew that at the end of June, before I took July off, and I should have shared.”]
[Updated: 10OCT11]
The View from the Turret 