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Great Expectations: Summer 2023 - Games Edition

I'm on vacation (in my own house), and starting to relax. Everything is sunny and fine. 🌞 So what better time than now to look ahead. My first "expectations" post will be about games, the second one about Solitaire Times itself.



What I want, what I really really want

It will be my birthday at the end of this vacation. I already know I will get Great Western Trail: New Zealand as a present. 🐑 It will mainly get to the table as a family game, but I will absolutely try playing it solo against the bot to write a post about. It will be my first modern edition of GWT. I've got the first edition (that didn't have an official solo), skipped the second edition because why have two, didn't like Argentina that much (I couldn't make out the colours of some icons and got frustrated, also it needs a lot of planning) so I skipped that one as well, but New Zealand looks cool. Especially the new card play and the sheep shearing.


Later this year I'll definitely want to buy Legendary Encounters: The Matrix. 😎 I've played all other editions of Legendary Encounters and love these thematic deck-building games. Perhaps I'll do an overview post about them - on the other hand I have no idea if the older games are still available to buy.


I'm waiting for the Dutch edition of Lost Ruins of Arnak: The Missing Expedition. This is a weird game in my collection, as I never feel like playing it, but when I do I enjoy it a lot. The expansion contains the solo campaign that I still haven't played and also add new leaders and temple tracks, so all in all it looks like a great package.


There are two games by Hermann Luttmann on my list: Miracle at Dunkerque (that I mainly want to play because of the novel Blackout/All Clear that I loved) and The Plum Island Horror (where I am hoping that playing the game will "write me a novel" every time). Another game that may be releaed this year is Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, which could be a good first step for me towards playing COIN games (I've got two of these, unplayed, hidden away behind other games in the attic).


I've stopped buying content voor Marvel Champions, as I have got enough to keep me entertained forever. I may even try to get rid of some stuff. But before I do, I am tempted to buy the Deadpool Hero Pack and do a Deadpool vs Deadpool (Champions/Legendary) post here on the blog. Which version just pulverizes the fourth wall to put the biggest grin on my face?


Several euro games and expansions that look interesting to me will be released at Essen, but I'll save them for Athena and my Essen preview post. Also near the end of the year we'll have Dune Imperium: Uprising, which has me scratching my head. On the one hand I am glad they won't put out yet another expansion to my beloved Dune: Imperium, on the other hand I don't really feel like buying another base game with a mix of similar and different content.


Watch my back

Because of the increased shipping and VAT costs in most campaigns, I have not backed much this year. I joined a group pledge for Roll for Great Old Ones, as I keep trying to find a roll and write game that is fun to play. Two expansions (D-Day Dice: Reinforcements and SSO: Classis Cetera) and two decks of cards for my collection (Wheel of the Year series: Yule and Ostara), and that was it. Then of course Midhalla suprised me this month.


Later this year we'll have Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns, which better be good as I really need Mass Effect: The Board Game. And I'll have a look at Dragonbond Quest, hoping that this third iteration of a fun Sadlers' game will have some viability. Something that will be hard to judge from a crowdfunding campaign of course.


In the meantime some games that I backed earlier will arrive. Starting with Halls of Hegra. I enjoyed Donning the Purple by the same designer and am looking forward to this mix of worker placement and States of Siege solitaire game. Also this month: Voidfall. A game that I probably will regret backing as I don't have anyone to play it with and solo it may be too heavy for me. But, who knows.


Then I guess stealth game SAS - Rogue Regiment will arrive this year? It's at the printers now. I may also receive TradeWorlds: Exterra Edition after a wait of five years (as the campaign creator died, I am not going to complain about this - I just hope my gaming preferences haven't changed too much). All bets are off for Onimaru, where the wait is four years now (and no excuses here). I'm also not counting on Deep Space D-6: The Long Way Home RPG Gamebook this year, but I really shouldn't have backed it - I was basically sending the designer some money, could have done that through PayPal. Now I've got an open crowdfunding campaign nagging me. I probably won't ever even play it.


😵 Two games that may or may not ever arrive here are the pre-orders for Contra and Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon by the infamous Blacklist Games/Alex Lim. Pity. Last of the postponed games is Freedom Five - but here the communication is fine and I don't mind the wait that much.


So that's it for me. What are you looking forward to in 2023?



All box cover images from BGG






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Zerbique
Zerbique
Aug 25, 2023

Another game that I have been expecting for months (I didn't back it and was waiting for a "retailer resell" but it didn't happen yet) is ThreeTale. I am very much drawn to it.


By the way, Hana, did you receive Forest of Radgost (another slavic mythology inspired adventure game)? It was on sale last July on Philibert but I skipped it.

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SnowDragonka
SnowDragonka
Aug 25, 2023
Replying to

Oh yes, I do have Forest of Radgost. As advertised during the KS campaign, it's more a story telling game (not pre-written story, more akin to... Rory's Story Cubes? for lack of better comparison) than a boardgame, even though it plays like a boardgame. It's like enhanced Karak or the other game I played with my nephew that I forgot (Drago-Tuku, found it!). Very kid friendly (although the theme might be harsh for kids, depends on what your kids are like). I hope to introduce it to my nephew one day. More I think about it it's like a "guided rpg" sorta kinda. It's quite fun, quite random, but so rich. Might be a bit disappointing for adults if you're…

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SnowDragonka
SnowDragonka
Aug 24, 2023

Looking forward in 2023... From games that should deliver this year it's Honey Buzz (hopefully that will happen, my type of euro), Hissy Fit (cat card game, but I'm weirdly excited for it) and Loam (I know I previously only pulled up the art, which is nice, but the gameplay and the scenarios make me really curious).


As far as upcoming crowdfunding goes, that's way more vague. I know Floriferous pocket should get KS hopefully this year? I also noticed the newly announced one Snowfall over Mountains has the same box size as pocket editions, so I'm probably getting that one too. Not sure if they'll crowdfund together though.


The expansion for Keep the Heroes Out is a sure back,…


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SnowDragonka
SnowDragonka
Aug 24, 2023
Replying to

Orange Nebula seems to fit very well my style of gaming, I really love Unsettled. But it's a really sprawling game, so not much oportunity to play. If Spirit Fire ends up being significantly smaller, I might fill with it my fix of euroey adventure.


Flame & Fang on the other hand I'm following, but I pretty much doubt it would be a "me" game and I'm most likely to skip it. But I'm familiar with the designers, so I'm giving it a look anyway.


With the VAT and shipping, I know it's a pain. The reason why I go for these games is that I end up playing them quite a bit (heck I played a lot more Weavlings…

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Zerbique
Zerbique
Aug 24, 2023

I have officially described Dragonbond Quest as my "most expected KS of the year", so let's stick to it.


Other than that I will back Unreliable Wizard, and Lands of the Mesozoic, provided it's not completely out of proportion (so far, the 40$ shipping fee certainly is a deterrent, we'll see if this includes VAT or not). Launching next week alongside Lands of the Mesozoic, I'll have a look at Four Horsemen as well.


I heard Knizia will release a line of solo games (called "For One"), and this is something I am interested in for sure. Cheap, mass-marketed, ugly, and well-designed good old German games.


On the KS side, I am eagerly waiting for Explorers of the Woodlands. It…


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SnowDragonka
SnowDragonka
Aug 25, 2023
Replying to

It's not a dealbreaker to me, there is a badger shape and they're quite chunky... so I'll see what the final look is, but I like what I see so far.

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