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Essen is just around the corner so what board games are whetting my appetite? Well quite a lot of them, so here's just five that I almost certainly want to pick up as soon as I can:
- Muse is a game I only recently discovered that seems to tread the line between Mysterium and Dixit. Using similar art work to both those titles but mixing in team and co-operative play, I'm interested to see how it plays out.
- Coaster Park combines a lot of things I love - dexterity, bidding and drafting. Players competing to build a roller coaster - that they then test with a marble! Points are scored for their successful parts of their coaster. I can't wait to show my son this one, although it does seem to have some proper game mechanics on top of the gimmick - that might just work!
- Nusfjord is the latest Uwe Rosenburg worker placement effort, following on from such heavyweights such as A Feast for Odin. Rather than vikings, caves or farms, this time you are an owner of a fishing company. Added to the worker placement mechanic is shares. You can gain shares in your own or other's companies and thus earn from their hard work. I haven't yet got round to getting one of Rosenburg's heavier games and Nusfjord might just be my first.
- The Masters' Trials is a game that takes the base mechanics from Dice City, a game which I enjoyed but wanted a different theme to. Step in The Masters' Trials, offering a co-op adventure as you and your friends combine and improve your powers to take on Magmaroth. I really want this to be good.
- Warpgate is probably my most anticipated title. Were I at Essen I would head to it's booth straight away. Wolff Designa impressed me with their first title Guards of Atlantis. A luck free MOBA stuffed with great ideas, a game I consider a real overlooked gem. Warpgate uses hand management to drive area control on a modular board. Normally this sentence would fill me with the same generic dread it's built upon, but I trust this developer. I have a feeling I'm going to be well repaid for that trust.
There you have it! My list. Disagree, agree, recognise my wisdom in the comments or on social media!
Nick can also be found at Board, Deck & Dice.
- Martyn's Essen board game picks!
- Rob's Essen board game picks!