The dealer hall for Gen Con 2013 will be opening in a little less than 48 hours, so it's time to put up our list of things that you are going to want to try to get your hands on as soon as possible before they all end up selling out. These are the Gen Con 2013 Ones to Watch.
Trains - AEG
Trains is a deck building game that incorporates building a railway on a board. You can take different strategies with focusing on improving your deck, or focus on building the railway or split your energy and use the resources from your deck to make your board play more efficient. This one was originally an independent Japanese title that AEG picked up, cleaned up, and is releasing in the US. People attending the AEG Board Game Night may want to hold off on this until Saturday, but by them it could be sold out. This one will likely go fast.
Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak - Fantasy Flight Games
We're not positive that this will be at Gen Con, but we're pretty sure. Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak finishes up the series for players, allowing them to live out the final season of the program, and if the previous games are any indication at all, this is going to be another smash hit. All that matters to us is that we can finally play as Romo Lampkin, the best character on the show.
Eldritch Horror - Fantasy Flight Games
Another game that we're not positive will be there for sale, but we're pretty sure, is the Eldritch Horror game. Fantasy Flight has gone through great lengths to try and assure players that this is not a reskinned or replacement to their Arkham Horror series, but looking over the board and components really makes us wonder if that's really true or not. There's some opinion that they took the Arkham Horror game to the limits they thought they could and needed a new outlet to integrate ideas that they've had and been unable to insert them into the old series. We'll get our first taste of it at Gen Con.
Firefly - Gale Force 9
Lots of speculation has been made on this game on whether or not it'll be at Gen Con for sale, and based off a post of gf9.com yesterday releasing the rules and stating that anybody who bought the game at the convention would receive a limited edition resin miniature, it leads us to believe that it'll be there. GF9 made a great name for themselves last year with their surprise release of Spartacus, will they be able to do it again? Play as a firefly captain, hire a crew, do jobs, get paid. Aim to misbehave, and watch out for reavers. The material is all here, but we'll know soon if it all comes together to make gold.
Dungeon Twister: The Card Game - Asmodee
Dungeon Twister: The Card Game takes the traditional Dungeon Twister format and converts it into a two player game that's a lot easier to take with you. Apparently, the entire game has been converted to card form, and the designers feel that it is exactly as if you're playing the board game. Looking forward to giving this one a try.
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game - Paizo
Our #1 Pick for Gen Con is the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Paizo is known for quality products, and this looks to be no exception. Players take on the role of a character in the Pathfinder universe, and build a basic deck to go with them. As they adventure, they'll find new cards to add to their decks, and cull the ones that don't do them as well. This is taking deck building games to a whole new level that I'm excited to try out. Paizo seems to feel that they're going to have plenty of product, but I believe they're underestimating the demand. Pick this one up early.
Warmachine: High Command (Hordes: High Command) - Privateer Press
Privateer Press tries its hand at deck building games with their High Command series, featuring both Warmachine and Hordes. Players choose a faction, their warcasters, and a deck associated with the caster's abilities, and build their basic deck into more fearsome opposition by recruiting troops and jacks to go head to head with their opponents to try to control areas and score points. It looks pretty well done, and feels like a personal game of Ascension that then goes and plays a game of war with the enemy. This one will likely sell out early.
Space Cadets: Dice Duel - Stronghold Games
Space Cadets was a bit of a surprise hit from last year, and they look to build on that with Space Cadets: Dice Duel. This stand alone game pits two teams of players against each other in a chaos of trying to control their own ships with real time dice rolling, and managing that into making successful attacks on their opponent's ship. It looks hectic as anything, but large groups looking for ways to keep everybody engaged at once will likely be very interested in checking this one out.
Star Trek Attack Wing - Wizkids
Last year I took a look at Fantasy Flight's X Wing game, and completely dismissed it as I didn't believe that anybody would be interested in paying $40 for what they were offering out of the box, and then another $10 - $15 per ship. I was completely wrong, and the game took off to much success. This year, Wizkids is getting in on the action with their own Star Trek Attack Wing, another similar game to the dogfighting games, but with a new license. Product is expected to be limited, and if you prefer Trek over Wars, you should get yourself over to the Wizkids booth pronto.
Pandemic: In the Lab - Zman Games
There's a lot of people excited about the second expansion to Pandemic. In this one, you must take different steps to cure diseases, by collecting samples, testing them, and creating cures for them in a lab environment. This goes beyond just turning in cards to find a cure, and it allows Pandemic to go to six players. Many online reviewers are predicting a day one sell out, so if you want your copy, make sure to get it on Thursday morning.
Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport
We're not sure where this will be found in the convention, but we're confident that it will be there. In this very anticipated expansion to last year's Lords of Waterdeep, players can explore two new areas, play as new lords, go on new quests, and add a sixth player. There's no reason to think this will be especially limited, but it will be in demand at the con. With no Wizards booth in the hall, it may take some searching to get, too, so be ready for a hunt.
