Pathfinder Adventure Card Game from Paizo Publishing --This is on top of a lot of people's list, and it is on top of mine. The nice thing is that its an adventure game for 1-4 players, the expansions come out bi-monthy, it plays like an rpg and I can play with friends, take my character, beef them up on my own, and come back to my friends and still play with them with my beefed up character, in a grand adventure. You are not as detached from your character as in other Deck building games. I like that. For me story and theme are very important, and this may be the one deck-building game that I will WANT to play ...even on my own. Here's the low-down from Paizo's site:
Enter a world of adventure with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players. Each player has a unique character composed of a deck of cards and a set of stats. Roleplayers will find the stats very familiar—characters have classes such as fighter, wizard, and rogue, as well as numbers that define strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc. You'll improve your character by acquiring new items, allies, spells, and weapons as you explore and overcome challenges; over time, you'll be able to customize your deck to better suit your own individual vision of your character.
Your adventure begins with a Base Set containing nearly 500 cards, including the first chapter of an Adventure Path that offers your characters interesting locations to explore, monsters to fight, and villains to hunt down, as well as piles of weapons, spells, armor, loot, and everything you need to build you own unique character deck.
Expand your party with the Expansion Deck, which offers additional character classes along with more equipment and other options for customizing your character, and lets you bring up to 6 players to the gaming table!
The adventure continues in bimonthly Adventure Decks containing 110 cards that extend the Adventure Path begun in the Base Set, adding new scenarios, monsters, villains, weapons, spells, allies, loot, and more!
Star Wars X-Wing expansion from Fantasy Flight Games
It's been awhile since I got into miniatures, but with X-wing .. Man this is such a great fun game. With this expansion, and the inclusion of the B-Wing and Tie-Bomber (Seismic Charges anyone?) I will probably need 2 of each, to make a really grand game, and perhaps one copy of the Also I am hoping to pick up the map pack for this game there (hopefully it will be available), and lots of the plastic bases. Also on deck is the HWK-290 expansion, and the Lambda class shuttle, which will help bring to life some really neat Scenario's. This expansion will be a big reason people will crowd the FF booth, and I will be one of them.
It's been awhile since I got into miniatures, but with X-wing .. Man this is such a great fun game. With this expansion, and the inclusion of the B-Wing and Tie-Bomber (Seismic Charges anyone?) I will probably need 2 of each, to make a really grand game, and perhaps one copy of the Also I am hoping to pick up the map pack for this game there (hopefully it will be available), and lots of the plastic bases. Also on deck is the HWK-290 expansion, and the Lambda class shuttle, which will help bring to life some really neat Scenario's. This expansion will be a big reason people will crowd the FF booth, and I will be one of them.
Freedom: The Underground Railroad - Now still on kickstarter, this one I am picking up at Gencon. It's made by the same people who did 1812 and more recently 1775: Rebellion. It is a cooperative game were you are setting the slaves free, by bringing them into Canada through the well... underground railroad. Here's a brief description from the website:
During the game, players need to work together in an effort to achieve two victory conditions. First, the players need to raise the strength of the Abolitionist movement through the acquisition of Support Tokens. Next, the players also need to help Slaves escape from the plantations in the south, moving them north to freedom in Canada while avoiding the Slave Catchers that are roaming the board. If the players are able to achieve both conditions before the end of the game, they win. Of course this is not going to be easy, but through careful planning and strategy, the group can recreate history, helping to bring down the institution of slavery.
As I've mentioned before, I'm big into theme and this is a very unique one. Academy Games seems to have a way to bring to life historical situations through a fun way. A must have in my collection.
Dungeons and Dragons: Scoundrels of Skullport expansion for Lords of Waterdeep Is a must buy for any LoW fan, of which I am and I know I'm not alone. LoW was a great hit for Wizards of the Coast this is not just one expansion, but two bringing new Lords, Intrigue's, Quests and buildings and opens the game to SIX players. As I tweeted yesterday, we played with 4 and it went at a good pace. Having 6 players? Awesome. Hopefully we can get some shots of this being played when we're at Gencon.
There are Many, Many more games that I would love to purchase, but for money, these are the ones I'm heading too. I think one of the things to remember whenever going to a con, especially this size: You are NOT getting a discount for the most part on any games, your game shop will probably be able to give you better deal, whenever the products go to wide distribution. For me, it's what my heart eagerly desires... and the rest, whatever money is left will go to stuff that I can't get back home, and what is going to be very unique to this Gencon experience. If your wishing you could be at Gencon too, well, stay tuned to this website as we hope to include some pictures and video's of our Gencon experience.
-Andrew
-Andrew