My Most Anticipated Games of 2012

What’s this you say, a look forward to the most anticipated games of 2012, when we’re already over half way through said year? Well yes, first of it’s a shameless rip off of Fire Broadside’s article (a blog you should pay a visit to if you’re remotely interested in board games or miniature games) and secondly because even though many of these game shave been out a few months I’ve not had any chance to play them. It’s also curious how many of these games are from Fantasy Flight Games.

Lords of Waterdeep - I’m still not sure where I stand on Euro games, or German style games if you prefer the term. My playing preference is definitely towards the Ameritrash / Fantasy Flight side of gaming and I often find games about farming or Greek civilisations a bit of boring cube shuffling. Which is what makes lords of Waterdeep all the more curious as it appears to take the best bits of worker placement and adds a Dungeons and Dragons skin to it all. So far the reviews of this game have been mostly positive and the word of mouth amongst my circle of gamers has been very encouraging.

Rex - I never played Dune; I’ve no idea what people are on about when they talk about this amazing game from many years ago. Well this old game was rebranded as Rex, a game in which players vie for control of a city in the Twilight Imperium universe.  I shall come clean and admit that the reason I want to play Rex is just because every piece of crafted bling cries out to the Ameritrash loving core of me. It’s got alliances, betrayals, orbital bombardments and cat people. It’s also reviewed very well.

Smash-Up - Have you ever asked yourself who would win in a fight between pirates and ninjas? What about dinosaurs versus wizards? What if the pirates and ninjas joined forces to defeat the dinosaur riding wizards? This is the essence of smash up; combine a pair of faction decks into a single deck to fight your opponent. The idea is so silly it’s also the crowning moment of awesome. Now this game isn’t out yet but my man on the inside of AEG has played it and reckons it’s as fun as it is mad.

Descent second Edition - Heroquest is the game that started me gaming. Since getting back into the hobby I’ve been looking into a new Dungeon Crawler to takes its hallowed place. For some time it looked like Descent was up to the job but the price, it’s massive box and some mixed reviews (from Frontline Gamer and Shut Up & Sit Down) put it into the ‘when I have enough spare cash’ list. Well a second edition has been released and by all accounts it’s cheaper, in a smaller box and plays a lot quicker and better. The game can be played as one of adventures or linked together into a big campaign where both heroes and the overlord gain experience and get more powerful as the campaign progresses. This is actually sitting on my shelf at the moment and I’m begging to get in there and start punching out all the obligatory counters and chits

Merchant of Venus - Another reprint game where I haven’t played the original, however this games is one of the most highly regarded board games around and its reprint has garnered a lot of buzz (not least because of some confusing rights issues). There’s a big trading / economic game sized hole in my game collection and the classic game of space trading looks like it will fill that gap quite nicely. Fantasy Flight and Stronghold Games are joining forces on this version so not only will you get the new version of the game with all the high quality bling you expect from Fantasy Flight, but you also get a complete copy of the original game in the box.

Relic  - I like Talisman (despite its flaws), I like the universe of Warhammer 40,000, but which is best? There’s only one way to find out, combine the two into a single game. I have big hopes for this game, Talisman; although great has some flaws that make a light game into a several hour slog. Hopefully making a brand new game based on the same system will allow Fantasy Flight to tweak the game to make it even better and any player where you can play as a the Imperium’s finest is always good.