There’s only 7 weeks to go until the start of Essen, so it’s time to start taking a look at all the new games that are coming! One of the interesting trends that I’ve noticed this year is that there were an increasing number of games that had their initial release here at GenCon, but will still be new to Europe come October.

.
We’ve already covered a number of these games in the past weeks, and this post serves as a pointer back to that previous coverage.  Not many words here because there are full reviews!  Click on the title of the game to link to the full review…

.

Atlantis Rising – Z-Man – A cooperative game where players try to save themselves from the rapidly sinking island that used to be their home.  Players take on different roles which give them special abilities that make each game a little different.  The game also gives you ways to change the level of difficulty which adds to replay value

.
Seasons – Asmodee – A challenging and complex card game that mixes some of the drafting feel of 7 Wonders with the interactive card play of Magic: the Gathering.  Oh yeah, and there’s lots of dice rolling fun too.  Thus far, this is my favorite game out of GenCon (though there are still about a dozen games yet to be played!)

.

Ragami – MESAgames – A family oriented game where you try to navigate a cityscape to allow your angel to resolve the most conflicts.

Town Center – Alban Viard – a non-AoS expansion from Alban – this is a super-mathy city building game where you try to place different types of buildings (cubes) in your city.  You need to maximize your shops in the early phase as these provide income, but by the end of the game, all the victory points come from the apartments – balancing the growth of both types is the key here.

Libertalia – Asmodee – A fun (and French) game about pirates chasing after booty.  Players use secret and simultaneous selection of crew member cards from identical decks to try to outwit the other pirates.  There is a lot of card interaction going on, but not so much that the game feels chaotic.  Good planning will definitely still reap rewards in this game.

Fremde Federn – 2F – A challenge that FF made to himself to construct a game using mechanics found in the top 10 list on BGG!  To also be released by RGG with a non-FF name of Copycat…

.

A few other games that have just been released but have not yet been reviewed here (but will be soon!)

1. City of Horror – REPOS
2. Dominion: Dark Ages – Rio Grande Games
3. Battle Beyond Space – Z-Man

Anyways, just a start to the preview – but I wanted to make sure that none of the games that had already been covered fell thru the cracks.

Soon to come:

• previews of soon-to-be-released games
• interviews with game designers
• my (rapidly updated) most anticipated list
• lots and lots of new games that catch my eye
• updated list of games that will miss Spiel 2012

Anything other suggestions?  With any luck, we’ll get 2-3 preview pieces per week on the blog!  If you want to make sure you’re up to date, please follow our blog!  If you do that, you’ll get an email notification of each new post made here – just look for the “Follow Blog via Email” link at the top of the sidebar on the right.