Before Gen Con - Top10's

This will be my first year attending Gen Con, "the best 4 days in gaming." The convention takes place this week, from August 14-17, in Indianapolis. Gen Con is the original, longest-running, best-attended, gaming convention in the world. Last year, the 46th event, the attendance record was set at 49,000. However, all indications point to this year breaking the attendance record again. 

I will be arriving in Indianapolis on Tuesday evening. I will do my best to take lots of pictures and share some tweets. You can follow me on twitter at: @darylmandrews

Meanwhile, I can't help but think ahead to all the amazing games I will get to see, demo, and maybe even purchase. Really I have been thinking about this for weeks. Reading reviews, watching videos, and chatting online with friends. After doing so much research, it just makes sense to share my TOP 10 list. I have decided to include two lists. The first list is my Top 10 games I am considering to purchase. The other Top 10 list will be games that are not for sale, but I want to see/demo.

TOP 10 Games (for sale) at GEN CON:

10) Diamonds (Love trick taking games - anything designed by Mike Fitgerald has my attention)

9)  Consequential (Sounds really innovative. I love the app integration and legacy mechanic)

8) Abyss (Love any game designed by Bruno. Plus the box cover is awesome!)

7) Lords of Xidit (Loved Himalaya. I enjoyed the play test when I saw it in April)

6) Imperial Settlers (Ignacy Trzewiczek is a brillant designer. Rules look solid)

5) Hyperborea (I wish I could afford this game. From the designer of Kingsburg. Looks great)

4) Five Tribes (Again, anything designed by Bruno I usually enjoy. Played in April and I loved it)

3) Sheriff of Nottingham (Been on the search for original Brazilian game, Robin Hood. Must have)

2) King of New York (I love the idea of smashing around a map of NYC. Cant miss with this)

1) Panamax (Not many great med-heavy euro games coming out. This looks like my kind of game)

Next10 Honorable mention:

City Hall (on the bubble)

Subdivision (on the bubble)

The Battle of Kemble's cascade (on the bubble)

Argent: The Consortium (on the bubble)

Chimera (came down to this or Diamonds)

Fief: France 1429 (Im not a war game guy)

Battle of the Five Armies (Im not a war guy)

Epic Resort (Love the art but need to try the game first)

Tortuga (already out)

Dead of Winter (already out. Kickstarters delivered)

TOP 10 Games (for demo only) at GEN CON:

10) Bomb Squad (Im interested in trying this game due to the timer aspect of the game)

9) Scoville (Im a sucker for all games featuring Josh Cappel's art)

8) Gold West (I don't know much about this game - but I am interested. 

7) Steam Works (Wow - I guess I love TMG. I will be in room #137 a lot at Gen Con)

6) Aqua Sphere (Im a sucker for Feld games. And yes the first 5 games on this list are TMG.)

5) Colt Express (You had me at 3D train)

4) X-Com (Designed by friend Eric Lang. Hopeful App integration game will be awesome!)

3) Pay Dirt (Designer of Alien Frontiers. Great designer + Great Art = I want)

2) Castles of Mad King Ludwig (Really fun game. I love the spatial building of the castles)

1) Kanban: Automotive Revolution (Next to Panamax, this is my most wanted game

Honorable mention:

The Walled City (Im bias. I like it. Im really excited for people to experience the game)

Wits & Wagers Party!

I am excited to review the new version of Wits & Wagers Party. As someone already a big fan of the original version of the game, Wits & Wagers, I was honoured that North Star Games was willing to send me a copy of the game before it is released this weekend at GenCon. I am said to miss out on GenCon in Indianapolis from August 16-19. One day I hope to attend. Meanwhile, let me preview the new version of Wits & Wagers Party for you all.

As the tagline says above, the game comes with some great question cards, better components, and simpler rules. As a fan of the game already, I must admit, I am very excited to get more question cards. I have played my copy enough that I am beginning to remember (at least ballpark close) the answers to some of the questions from my original copy. The new question cards are actually from the out-of-print Wits & Wagers Expansion pack #1. I was always sad to miss out on getting the expansion pack, so Im excited to finally get my hands on these question cards. The question cards included in this edition are lighter and more fun. This makes the game even easier to play with gamers or non-gamers. I will be sure to mix and match my question cards between the two versions I know own.

How Many Licks does it really take to get to the centre of a Tootsie Pop?

The components are better then my older version of Wits & Wagers. The poker chips are a better quality. I would have preferred clay poker chips to be included, but I understand the choice to keep the game affordable. Rumour has it that the game will be on the shelves in the near future at Wal-mart & Target. A huge accomplishment for one of the smaller publishers. Hopefully it will make it on the shelves in the Canadian Wal-mart stores & Canadian Target stores (opening soon). The markers have a nice eraser end attached to the lids. And I love the new answer boards with the fun art. Adds some nice flavour. My favourite is the Green (Hip Hop artist) seen below.

I must confess, I never really thought Wits & Wagers needed easier rules. However, Im starting to see why this was such a brilliant choice. Even though the game has won lots of awards, and my family already is a big fan. I could see the Wits & Wagers Party edition, being an easier game for non-gamers to purchase because of the simpler rules. Instead of calculating betting odds, the "banker" has an easy job of assigning points. Additionally, the game never seems to have a run-away leader, as the predecessor was guilty of on occasion. So even though I miss the green felt mat, I think there is room for both games in my collection. The original is more suitable for playing with gamers, or when I am hosting games nights. However, I am more prone to lend out my copy or purchase copies of Wits & Wagers Party for family and friends who have little to no experience with games.

All in all, I am excited to get more plays of my Wits & Wagers Party. If you are attending GenCon this weekend, or see a copy of this game on the shelf of your local Wal-Mart or Target, I highly recommend you pick it up. The game is affordable, easy to convince others to play, and tons of fun!

- Daryl Andrews

PS: Just noticed a great contest on BoardGameGeek you might want to check out for a chance to win $100 and a pre-release copy of the game. The deadline for submitting is August 14th.
CLICK: HERE