Portal Games unfortunately only had one copy of their new printing of Age of Galaxy. It was on display and I was excited to hear about the new solo modes in the game. Neuroshima Hex: Battle is a new, faster version of the game and includes two new factions. Meanwhile, Flatout Games had a wealth of titles on display. Cascadia: Alpine Lakes is a sequel game that now includes stacking tiles. Cascadia Junior is simplified, of course, but is starting to win awards for its implementation. Point Galaxy is another in the “Point” line of games, where you can collect sets of planets (in order) to form solar systems. Knitting Circle is a sequel of sorts to Calico. Now players are drafting bits of yarn to knit things, but yarn tiles come in knit and pearl side and you’re not normally allowed to flip them. Propolis (eg. bee glue) is purportedly a bee game containing a little bit of everything (worker placement, majority, a little bit of engine building…) Finally, Whisperstone is an upcoming tabletop role-playing game that uses physical cutouts as an integral part of the game. Your character has literal slots to fill. You must literally fit your carried goods into your backpack rectangle, etc… The last mention today is Gamelyn Games. They’re now going to be under the Tabletop Tycoon banner. The most recent Tiny Epic title is Game of Thrones, an expected cutthroat exercise that has players drafting dice to determine their actions. Meanwhile, the Fire and Ice expansion turns the game into a cooperative one against the north. As a TE Dungeons fan, I’m looking forward to Tiny Epic Dungeons Adventures, which sounds like it will be linking several play sessions for a longer-form adventuring experience.

Portal Games

Age of Galaxy (2nd edition)

The big loser when it comes to shipping problems, the shipment of the new printing of Age of Galaxy was delayed repeatedly until it missed Gen Con entirely. There was a copy in the booth, though, so I dutifully took some photos.

The NorthStar Games booth was dominated by their new rework of Evolution, Nature. It’s a streamlined version of the original game that can be mixed and matched with (five so far) expansions to add in more complexity and/or chaos. The base game is available but a digital version of the game will have an earlier release of expansions. It’s hoped to provide additional data for checking the balance of some of the later expansions. The digital version gets the full treatment of multiplayer, campaign modes, achievements, and lots of fun facts and photos. The MOCO Games booth was showing off their Sabobatage card game of cutthroat drink-making along with their newer titles. Danger Hugs is a sort of reverse slapjack where the matching animal determines the correct response action. Finally, there is Starleap where players play cards from (nearly) identical hands to race their frogs through space to get home first, hopefully picking up some bugs along the way. Upgrades to your frog-ship and asymmetric powers also play a part.

NorthStar Games

Nature

After a long development, the successor to Evolution is finally here. Once again, players are trying to shepherd their own sets of species through their life cycle, trying to gain a food advantage at the local watering hole while avoiding those meddlesome predators.