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Both Potion Explosion and Camel Up are transforming into second editions with new plastics, while Pandemic meets Germans and kids favourite’s WWE and Fortnite come to the table.
Potion Explosion has a Plastic Second Edition
Big Potion Explosion news this week… although I don’t mean big, I mean plastic. The hit game of mixing marbles to create magical concoctions is built around a large cardboard dispenser, but the brand new second edition of the game is going to turn that into a plastic one. There are other tweaks to the presentation, but if you’re thinking ‘I have the game already, but I’d like the longer lasting kit’ they’ve thought of that.
Potion Explosion is getting a new expansion too, called the 6th Student. Not only does this expand the gameplay to include six people and two dispensers, it actually comes with its own plastic upgrade, so you could just buy this if you own the base. You’ll also be getting new potions and the chance to use the wild card Mandragora leaves. Release is Essen.
Pandemic: Rome and Meeples
It’s time for a new edition of Pandemic, and this time we’re going back to visit the Romans. And the Germans. Yes, Pandemic: Fall of Rome tasks the players as Roman commanders trying to simultaneously repel and ally with German tribes who want to enter the empire (and live off it).
There’s a new map, and you’ll actually be using new meeples too. Your $50 is also getting you a dedicated solo mode built into the game, and it’ll be out before the end of the year.
It’s Officially Camel Up
I don’t know if you’ve watched much horse racing, but we’ve never seen anyone watch a horse unseat its rider, keep running and cause chaos and then say ‘oh that was a good element’, but hey, we’re not the designers of Camel Up. What are we on about? Camel Up is getting a second edition, and the tweaked rules include a game mode with rogue camels coming at you. Marvelous.
What's great is the upgrade gives you all new components including a large 3D pyramid dice dispenser which includes buttons to press, and yes we are six-year-olds in a science museum. Also, the long debate over whether it was meant to be called Camel Up or Camel Cup is solved by new cover art which is definitely, definitively, Camel Up. It’ll be out after Essen.
Wizkids ink deal with WWE
Wizkids have signed a deal with wrestling IP ‘WWE’, and their wrestlers are coming to games old and new. You’ll get Heroclixs of the characters, from the Undertaker to Roman Reigns (you can feed that one to the cat), Dice Master adaptions, and even brand new games… although details on those are scarce. One thing is for sure: there’s going to be plenty of gaming opportunities coming with the wrestlers.
Fortnite Monopoly
Fortnite is very popular so a Monopoly version was inevitable, but there’s some surprises. Firstly, Hasbro have resisted the temptation to fill it with miniatures and charge accordingly, so you’ll get standees and that’s okay with us.
There’s going to be a basic ‘encounter resolution’ system, but we’ll call it combat, and you’ll be able to pick up Fortnite crates of weapons and equipment. Then there’s the presence of storm cards… In short, the Monopoly format has been tweaked to include the Fortnite flavour. You’ll be able to buy it for Christmas.
Speaking of Video Games: Horizon Zero Dawn is Live
Horizon Zero Dawn has been a hit on the Playstation, and Steamforged are bringing it to the tabletop… well, they are now the Kickstarter has wildly exceeded the funding goal. It’ll be called Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game and we assume all the creativity was sunk into gameplay instead of that title.
It’s semi co-op, aka the co-op where you can screw over your mates, and you’ve got about two weeks to decide to back… by which time they’ll probably be triple the number of stretch goals. Estimated delivery date is March 2020. That’s not a typo.
Shinobi 7 Ink Conan
Fans of barbarians rejoice: the daddy is coming back to the table. Shinobi 7 have the rights to Conan, and are releasing a miniatures game (via Kickstarter natch), as well as a card game that’ll go right into shops. We assume the former will have all the figures, but we don’t have any other details right now. These won’t be coming soon.
Slap It!
Renegade have a family/party game coming out which invites you to hit some monsters. But in a cute way. The rules might always be changing due to dice, but the core gameplay of cards coming out onto the table and the players trying to be the first to slap the correct monster. Play time is a kiddy friendly five minutes, or until your hands get sore. Perhaps oddly, it’ll be out after Christmas.
40K Rogue Trader but not that Rogue Trader
Rogue Trader is coming back to 40k! Okay that’s basically a lie, but the new 40k Kill Team expansion is subtitled Rogue Trader so forgive us our excitement. This introduces two new, dense battlefields, as well as two new factions: an actual Rogue Trader, and what looks very much like Nurgle. You will need the base game to play.
Football Highlights of 2052
Given the arguments over concussions, American Football will have a new format by 2052 which is the year Mike Fitzgerald has set his follow up to the robot using Baseball Highlights 2045. You’ll be using cards to play a game of US style football, making the tactical decisions and leading the crushing impacts.
Although the game is one versus one, there’s enough in the box for two games to be played at once. At time of writing nearly a thousand backers have succeeded in the Kickstarter goal, and you’ve got time to bid still.