Gen Con 2024 – The OP: Gnomes and Avatars, Stalking and Flipping

A friendly mob stretched all the way around The OP booth, waiting for a chance to buy Gnome Hollow.

Just like last year, my first meeting in the Exhibit hall was with The OP. This year, up in the top of their cool 2-story booth. Their surprise big hit of the con was Gnome Hollow and Iโ€™m looking forward to putting it through its paces.


Gnome Hollow

Gnome Hollow is a 2-4 player game that vaguely reminds me of Carcassonne, if the meeples were also workers and it had an upgradeable tech tree. Players draft 2 tiles to place into a center area. The tiles show various symbols and a fairy path of mushrooms. Players try to place tiles to complete a ring. The size of the ring will grant rewards – with some rewards becoming worker placement locations. A playerโ€™s personal board has two tracks – the upper one tracking victory point scoring and the lower area is the โ€œtech tree.โ€ When completing a ring of the correct size (or greater) a player can move their marker down one of the tech tree locations, gaining the benefits located there. (Fun fact – the pieces and player board are magnetic so when placed they donโ€™t slide around!) For a slightly more advanced game, the player board can be flipped over and now the tile-laying goal will include creating rings of specific shapes rather than simply a specific size/length. The game was released at Gen Con and should be available in stores.

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Dale Yu: Review of A Nice Cuppa

A Nice Cuppa

  • Designer: Scott Almes
  • Publisher: Button Shy
  • Players: 1
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 20 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Demanding jobs, unpaid bills, health concerns: modern life is filled with constant worry. Let your burdens drift away, if only for a moment, in the rich aromatic steam of your favorite tea.

A Nice Cuppa is the seventh game in Button Shyโ€™s Simply Solo series. Designed by Scott Almes, the game tasks the player with managing Worries through careful card management across 8 turns. As Worries are revealed, they complicate your life and force you to become distracted. Focus on your tea to eliminate those pesky problems and soothe your shattered nerves. Once your tea is ready, evaluate how you did.

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Gen Con 2024 – Asmodee: LEGO Monkeys, Mandalorians, LotR duel, and more

Wednesday evening, I made my way past an indoor train on my way to where the Asmodee press event was not. After gawking at the option to stay in an actual train (they made the cars into hotel rooms) I was carefully directed to where I was supposed to go. I was glad I came as I got a chance to look at several brands in the Asmodee stable all at once.ย 

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Dale Yu: Review of Open Season

Open Season

  • Designers: Amรฉlie Assiรฉ and Romain Lisciandro
  • Publisher: Sit Down!
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 15 min/player
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher (via Flat River Games)

In Open Season, you play as a monster โ€” a little cruel, but wishing to do things right โ€” who has decided to take revenge on the groups of adventurers who come to disturb their peace. After getting rid of them, you still have to decorate your living room properly, so you try to assemble a nice collection of heads on the wall.

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Gen Con 2024 – Heroscape, Axis & Allies, Risk, and Avalon Hill

For the past few years, Renegade Games has leaned heavily into their connections to G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony. Theyโ€™ve created RPGs and deck builders for each. However, after gaining control of the Avalon Hill (and Wizards of the Coast) backlog of boardgames, they have proceeded to re-release many classics – particularly the Risk and Axis & Allies lines of lightweight wargames. Recently, Renegade has started to mix and match their IPs to create an entirely new hybrid product. 2025 sees a G.I. Joe version of Axis & Allies and a Transformers version of RoboRally. Thereโ€™s a new Axis & Allies set in North Africa and reprints of Nexus Ops, Risk 2210 and Risk Godstorm. Of course, all of the above is a moot point for many, as the one and only thing of importance in the Renegade booth was the display (and even games on offer) of the resurrected Heroscape line.

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Dale Yu: Review of Rock Hard 1977

Rock Hard 1977

  • Designer: Jackie Fox
  • Publisher: Devir
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age: 16+
  • Time: 90 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

It’s 1977. You’re an up-and-coming musician, dreaming of making it big with your band. Over the next few months you’ll rehearse, play gigs, write songs, and promote your band. With careful planning and a little luck, you’ll earn the most fame and become the best new artist of the year.

Designed by Jackie Fox (member of the 1970โ€™s rock band “The Runaways”, four-time Jeopardy! champion, and designer of the narrative adventure trilogy The Adventures of the Chubby Slugz) and illustrated by Jennifer Giner, Rock Hard: 1977 allows games for groups of between 2 and 5 players, from 14 years old, in games lasting about 45-90 minutes.

Rock Hard: 1977 is played over a maximum of nine rounds, each representing a typical day of one month in 1977, from April to December. You win the game by accruing the most fame. How? Increasing reputation, chops and songs; achieving production, performance, and publicity bonuses; getting record deals and earning royalties; playing concerts; and hanging out at the hottest after-hours spot. Ready to live like a rock star?

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