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.Â
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In Open Season, you play as a monster — a little cruel, but wishing to do things right — 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.
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 1970’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?
So, what if I sat down at a game table with you, and asked you to play a game. Where we’ll place 35 tiles, one at a time, turning each one facedown after placement. And then at the end, we’ll have to cooperatively remember where each of those tiles were placed? You’d jump at the opportunity, right? Yeah, I’ll admit that I was skeptical at first – but after playing this game multiple times, I find that gets better and better with time.
The International Gamers Awards (IGA) have announced their nominated games for 2024. The IGA nominates games in three categories: Best Multiplayer Experience, Best Two-Player Experience, and Best Solo Experience. Here are the nominated games in each category, along with their designers and publishers:
Multiplayer
2-Player
Solo
In addition, the IGA recommends the following four games:
Among the designers, David Turczi did particularly well, with three separate listed games earning five nominations. Other designers with multiple listed games include Matt Leacock, Simone Luciani, Nigel Buckle, Trevor Benjamin, and David Thompson.
The nominated games and a good deal of other information can be found at the IGA website (International Gamers Awards). The winning games will be announced in early September.
