Hi everyone – As I usually like to do a week out from each Tokyo Game Market, I wanted to highlight some of the titles I’m looking forward to, the titles I’m really looking forward to, and the titles I want to be playing right now! But seriously, there are so many treasures. Some I have plans to buy and some I don’t, but there’s such a joy and energy to these designers and publishers, and I like to share that.

It seems as though the energy around the fair is a bit subdued, as the virus has participants cautious, and while it appears set to go on, some publishers are not participating, and others have not been able to have the play test sessions necessary to flesh out their next designs. (For me, other obligations have kept me from keeping up with the news on my Twitter feed and the Game Market website, so I may have missed some of the more niche releases.)

That said, I still have more than enough to look forward to! Let’s get started.

モアイロンリ – This is a new release from Ryohei Kurahashi, the designer of Yomen, Tagiron, and several other very creative deduction games (and one about an Escher-type infinite staircase that I’m dying to play.) The designer is one of my current crushes as I learn about their back catalog.

The new game appears to be reminiscent of Tagiron, but this time rather than numbers, the hidden objects have a facing: left or right. There are only about 30 copies, so if you’ll be there, might need to get to this one early. Outside of Yomen, their games seem especially difficult to find on the used market as well.

Bremen – One of the hottest themes in my Twitter feed (and in my game purchases) in 2020 are custom meeples from Uchibacoya, the publisher behind several new titles this year, such as this one, and components for others.

Bremen is a game previously known to me as “The Trite”, which is a rough translation of the original title, and is a play on the names of games like “The Mind” and “The Game”, but as “The Trick-Taker”, (a word that Google usually translates as “trite”). It’s a cooperative trick-taking game that dates back several years, and while the rules were web-published and it has never had a commercial version, it could be difficult to play because it uses what’s called “must follow practice cards”, a variation of a standard 52 card deck, where the suit is visible on the back of the cards.