Here is the board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending January 28, 2022.
Gaming News
- Exploding Kittens has released a new two-player version of its eponymous card game. The game seems to function in much the same way as the original, with a few slight modifications to make it work head-to-head. And, TIL the original Exploding Kittens wasn’t already a two-player game.
- The As D’Or awards—the French Game of the Year—have announced their nominations, which include a new category this year. The main award, which is essentially for games for everyone, has 7 Wonders: Architects by Antoine Bauza and Repos Production, Cartaventura: Lhasa by Thomas Dupont, Arnaud Ladagnous, and BLAM, and Happy City by Airu and Toshiki Sato and Cocktail Games as its nominees. Bubble Stories by Matthew Dunstan and Blue Orange Games, My First Castle Panic by Justin DeWitt and Fireside Games, and Pin Pon! by Julie Bregeot and Djeco are the nominees in the children’s game category. GeekDad Game of the Year Dune: Imperium, by Paul Dennen and Dire Wolf, along with IKI by Koota Yamada and Sorry We Are French and Lost Ruins of Arnak by Elwen, Mín, and Czech Games Edition are the nominees in the expert category. The new category, initié, for games in between the “for everyone” and the “expert” categories, has Living Forest by Aske Christiansen and Ludonaute, Nouvelles ContRées by Germain Winzenschtark and Olibrius Editions, and Oltréé by Antoine Bauza, John Grümph, and Studio H as its first set of nominees. The awards will be announced on February 24, just before the start of the Festival International des Jeux in Cannes.
- Camel Up studio Pretzel Games has announced its next title: Yak, a game that will have players using the titular large mammals to build a tower in the Himalayas. The game is due out sometime this year, but no exact release date or price has been announced. There is, however, a YouTube trailer.
- Unless you’re living completely off the grid, you’ve likely at least heard of—if not played— the viral game Wordle. The game has of course inspired many spin-offs, but one that might be of particular interest to our readers is Moxie, which uses as its word list card names and other terms. The game is playable for free on the Moxfield site, but that does require an account.
- Hasbro has released Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout Monopoly, based on the video game of the same name (and not, unfortunately, the awesome ’80s TV show about stuntmen). But unlike the many many other Monopolies out there, this one does add a unique twist, as it comes “with real obstacles that you can literally use” so “you can actually yeet other players.” The game is out now.
- The continuing supply chain problems have forced Wizards on the Coast to push back the release date of Unfinity for Magic: the Gathering from April to “the second half” of this year.
GeekDad & GeekMom Reviews
Here’s what we reviewed this week:
- Paul Benson reviewed The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future. The game is our featured image this week.
What We’re Playing
Finally, here’s what the GeekDads and GeekMoms played this week:
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Robin Brooks played Kingdomino: Origins, 7 Wonders Architects, and Deadzone.
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Jonathan Liu played Puzzle Strike 2, Fossilis, and Motor City.
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Michael Pistiolas played Azul and Marvel Champions.