Paul Burdick: GAMA 2007 Report

A giant hawk circled above Bally’s in Las Vegas on the opening day of the 2007 GAMA trade show. Similarly, hundreds of eager retailers and industry types waited for the signal to enter the trade show floor to discover what new releases lay ahead for them to sell and play in the coming year.

Many board game publishers had a number of releases on display, but many of them also crossed over with Toy Fair and have been adequately covered previously. I have chosen to highlight one new board game release from each major publisher.

My first encounter after being given the signal to enter was with Mayfair Games’ Bob Carty, who displayed many exciting upcoming titles. I looked for one that was perhaps under-discussed previously. The standout for me graphically was Alchemist, in which you become an ancient alchemist, who—besides brewing potions to gain rewards—promotes to other players the use of the particular spell component which he or she secretly prizes most highly! There’s some manipulation and resource management, although an early lead will probably reap a game win. This game plays in 45 minutes and will retail for $39.95.

Chess variants give me the same generally negative reaction, but Michael Corinthios’ Minister’s Chess got a lot of endorsements from the retailers present. The King is doubly flanked by ministers (two queens), enlarging the battle field from 64 to 9x9=81 squares. The result is a more powerful, longer game, wherein each king is protected by a minister on each side instead of having the king’s bishop-side weakness of conventional chess. Available now, this game retails for $32.95. Discard everything you know about conventional openings.

Bent Castle Games, a new company, showed Numbers League, at 19.95 MSRP. Two to four players build superheroes of three parts, to match by calculation the numbers on villain cards. I could feel the firings in my hemispheres as I played it, but had a surprisingly good time doing it. Here’s a rare thing indeed: an obviously educational game that is really fun.

I played On the Underground under the mistaken impression that it was new for the GAMA Trade Show from Rio Grande Games. Nevertheless, it was a delight, somewhat reminiscent of TransAmerica, and takes only about an hour. Points are gained by creating the rail lines that THE passenger—the avatar of all passengers—will want to traverse and by connecting various points together. On the Underground is a fun family game for between two and five players.

Playroom Entertainment’s entry is Portobello Market, which won awards as East India Railway. Build your stalls in the most profitable spot, which must be next to the Bobby. Use finesse to make the Bobby move where you want. For MSRP 38.00, the production values were top-notch.

Colosseum is Days of Wonder’s offering. For $50 MSRP, Colosseum is a wonderful looking game. Each player is trying to put on spectacles in the Roman theater-in-the-round, invest in their shows and arenas, and build ever more ambitious events. Lure the Emperor and his nobles to your shows to be granted the title of Grand Impresario. We predict this will be a fine occasional play, but without the repeat play drive of DoW predecessors Shadows Over Camelot and the Ticket to Ride franchise.

Fantasy Flight Games’ squad-based WWII game Tide of Iron made a big splash. The game features over 200 detailed miniatures representing American and German troops and vehicles. The rules book is the biggest yet from FFG, well-indexed and written to provide the casual board gamer with entry to a WWII war game. The latest installment in FFG’s $80 MSRP big boxed games, Tide of Iron is more realistic, complicated, and thereby satisfying than Memoir ’44, but not as much of a commitment as Advanced Squad Leader.

Family games in general made a great showing at the GAMA Trade Show this year, and here is a fine entry from Blue Orange Games. Bendomino is the age-old domino matching game with a new twist: a directional aspect to the pattern of play. Each domino is bent through a 120 degree arc (1/3 of a circle) to create limits on the pattern of play since a domino segment cannot go back over a previously laid track. I am anticipating a diverting game of auction dominos (my favorite bidding variation) using these pieces. MSRP 15.95 makes it the least expensive of the items that I will definitely buy.

Asmodee was touting its Fire & Axe, which is Viking Fury with plastic pieces and minor changes. It looks very beautiful, with large linen-textured longboat tiles and nearly 100 plastic figures, and promises good backstabbing fun for 3 to 5 players. It reminded me a little of Serrenissima, but one’s focus and strategy must change quickly with the Runes and the other player’s actions. Also, it promises to play in 90 minutes. For its production values, this game is a bargain at MSRP 39.95.

A new indy publisher, Flying Frog Productions, was exhibiting its single product, Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game at 49.95 MSRP. As you guessed from the title, this is a head-to-head Zombie game of horror action for 2-6 players. It features photographic artwork on both game cards and the box and an original CD soundtrack to enhance the immersive experience. Retailers were affected positively at the show; collectors and horror aficionados will want a copy, but IMHO Mall of Horror is a similar, cheaper, and better game.

Seven Castles Productions showed Sevinpold, a game of castle exploration. Try to avoid releasing the evil dark warriors as you travel to each of seven castles, as they will work against you in your efforts to find the scepter and throne. High end production values were offered from this indy publisher. Simple, but surprisingly fun, it was a bargain at MSRP 29.95.

Dragon War is by indy publisher RAK Graphics. Presented as a re-release, Dragon War was off the market during a five-year period in which it was optioned by Hasbro. Too simple to appeal to German-style gamers, this is a dice and mice game with screw-your-neighbor and counter-action opportunities. Nonetheless, it was a rowdy break from heavier strategic board games and was nicely illustrated in a comic style for MSRP 20.00.

Steve Jackson himself gave me a sneak peek of Munchkin Quest. (He was apparently as impressed by my Press badge as I was by him.) Although I have friends that rave, I am not a fan of the Munchkin franchise; it is a one-joke stand-up routine that grew stale after the first playing. It will therefore be a guilty pleasure to play this board game again, for this reason: While the card game is a parody of Dungeons and Dragons, the board game is a quick and funny version of Talisman, Dungeon Quest and a few others that I enjoy, but rarely take the time to play. When I want that kind of game, I can reach for Munchkin Quest and have a bevy of pals that will want to play it as well.

That’s a wrap on what I played at the GAMA Trade show, except to briefly mention those silly games where your cards add up to 21, you throw the dice to make a point, or they spin the big wheel and throw the little marble. But I’m not elaborating. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…

(My thanks to Paul for providing a report from GTS, and my apologies for not running it last Friday. WEM)

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	Proof that Paul wasn’t lying about the giant hawk...
	Alchemist
	Alfonzo Smith shows off On the Underground and Ruse & Bruise for Rio Grande
	Portobello Market
	Colosseum covers a lot of turf
	Tide of Iron, on its way from China as of early May 2007
	Twisty, twisty—Bendomino
	Fire & Axe
	Sevinpold
	Dragon War
	Munchkin Quest, along with Head Munchkin Steve Jackson

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It’s not the giant hawk that my eye is drawn to, it’s the UFO above it :) Posted by John Mitchell on May 18, 2007 at 05:29 PM | #

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