Essen 2013: My Wish List (Part Three)

This is the third part of my Essen wish list - which should be obvious from the title. If you'd like to read the first part of my list, it's right here... and the second part is right here.

I write this list knowing full well that I will not likely own many of these games... and that, in some cases, I won't ever get to play them. It's a WISH LIST, for crying out loud, not a shopping list. (The chances of me playing/owning any of these games is noticeably higher than me actually getting to Essen, so there's that.)

All of the information is pre-Essen and subject to change. The majority comes courtesy of BGG News and the ever-diligent W. Eric Martin.

Amerigo

• designer: Stefan Feld
• publisher: Queen Games
• players: 2-4
• length: 75 minutes

Stefan Feld & I have a checkered history - while I loved Rum & Pirates and enjoyed In the Year of the Dragon, I was left cold by gamer favorites Macao and The Castles of Burgundy. (And I just flat out avoided Bora Bora and Trajan.) So, I'm approaching Amerigo with caution - but also with hope, because it's an exploration game.

Artifact

• designer: Jeffrey Allers & Bernd Eisenstein
• publisher: White Goblin Games
• players: 3-5
• length: 60 minutes

The archaeology theme is cool - but after reading the rules, what I'm most interested in is how the double-layered take-in-workers/pay-out-workers system is going to mess with my head. At first look, this doesn't feel quite like anything else I've played before... and that's a good thing.

Canterbury

• designer: Andrew Parks
• publisher: Quixotic Games
• players: 2-4
• length: 90 minutes

City-building game with a new economic model (no resources to trade! common treasury! actually providing city services!) + Andrew Parks (whose Core Worlds I really, really like) + homage to the town that made Chaucer famous (I was an English major)?! I just wish I'd had the cash to Kickstarter this one.

The designer's diary on BGG is a very interesting read... and makes me even more excited about the game!

Field of Glory: The Card Game

• designer: Martin Wallace
• publisher: Treefrog Games
• players: 2
• length: 30 minutes

Martin Wallace takes on developing miniatures rules into a card game - this could either be really good or something I won't ever play again. But my eldest son & I love us some short combat games, so this is a definite wish list candidate.

Late last week there was some weirdness with the license... but it looks like the dust has settled and everything is good now (according to BGG).

Fresco Expansion Modules 8, 9 & 10

• designer: Wolfgang Panning, Marco Ruskowski, Marcel Süßelbeck
• publisher: Queen Games
• players: 2-4
• length: 90 minutes

Three more "spices" to liven up one of my favorite worker placement games. I have always thought that Fresco's expansion system - "add expansion modules to taste" - is a really great idea. (BTW, the rules in English have been posted on BGG.)

Rampage

• designer: Antoine Bauza & Ludovic Maublanc
• publisher: Repos
• players: 2-4
• length: 45 minutes

It's hard to call a game "fluffy" when it has this much stuff in it: scads of meeples/victims, roofs & floors, vehicles, giant monsters, superpowers, etc. (If you didn't know it, it's based on a very funny older arcade game called Rampage.)

I'm willing to be that this will be one of the "hits" of the Fair - based on my one delightful playing of the prototype earlier this year. It's on my Christmas list so my boys & I can rampage across the city together.

Rogue Agent

• designer: David Ausloos
• publisher: Stronghold Games
• players: 2-4
• length: 90 minutes

Cyber-punk is an easy genre to WANT to make a game about - but it's tough to make it work & feel like you're inhabiting the world of "Blade Runner" without creating a monster/epic day-eater game like Android. Here's hoping that Rogue Agent is able to do that - because the description has me on the edge of my seat!

Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends

• designer: Vlaada Chvátil
• publisher: Z-Man Games
• players: 2-4
• length: 20 minutes

Here's the deal: Vlaada has an amazing track record as a designer: Prophecy, Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization, Galaxy Trucker, Space Alert, 2009 Dungeon Lords, Dungeon Petz, Mage Knight Board Game, etc. So, I'd be an idiot not to hunt down his newest game.

And, yes, I'm aware that there are new ships coming to Essen 2013 for Galaxy Trucker (whoot!) and a new expansion coming for Dungeon Petz (which sadly I have not yet played).

Theseus: The Dark Orbit

• designer: Michael Oracz
• publisher: Portal
• players: 2-4
• length: 45 minutes

A multi-faction battle game on a space station - with opportunities to play in teams... and then there's some controlled deck-building pre-game to fine-tune your game plan. Sweet.