Today was a day of scouting what was going on the exhibition floor for GAMA Expo 2024. I saw less than half of what I wanted to, but it means that I will need to do some more tomorrow. The exhibition floor hours are 230-630 pm, and it is even bigger than last year. Check out the video and let me know what looks interesting.
You should also know that several of the games shown in the video are prototypes - including the counter display for the Pegasus Spiele games (those games are pretty cool and are one time mystery games which will take about 20-30 minutes and sell for $6).
The three games I came away most excited from the floor from today were:
Guderian Harvest from Academy Games -we were actually some of the first people outside the company to see the map and box. The game is going to be a war game that plays in about an hour and I loved the map. Some people may not like the hex style, but I really enjoyed it. The unit counters are also large and bright- this is the type of game that will be accessible to non-traditional war gamers and it made me really excited.
Academia A game from the Dietz Foundation about academic bloat. You can build your institution as you see fit...
Windmill Valley A gorgeous production follow up to 2023's Barcelona from Board and Dice by the same designer.
I also had a one on one meeting with Weird City Games and got to see samples of Canopy Evergreen.
Canopy Evergreen expands the world of Canopy but brings the game to the Pacific Northwest with all new artwork by Vincent Dutrait. The game is also a 4 player game where you build trees. You will be seeing new animals too.
They also showed me a prototype of their upcoming reboot/refresh of 2015's March of the Ants. It's a 4x style game with ants - and it looks really good. If you know me, you know 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) is something I enjoy.
It's not just the artwork that will be getting a refresh- cards, resources, and the connection to the Great Tunnel all got a redo. In other words, although the game will feel familiar to those who have played it before it is a true second edition.
Weird City also has a small party game with a big amount of fun called 3 of a Kind. Incredibly simple to learn, but we had a fun time getting to know one another and playing.
I also stopped by the Renegade Booth to check out the G.I. Joe Axis and Allies - Battle for the Arctic Circle.
I would have absolutely loved to play this as a kid. This has nostalgia factor 200% for me.
The Hero Scape set looked really nice too. It's going to have different levels of the game you can get into - I will probably get to run some events for this in late August of this year.
*This post is part of my continuing coverage of GAMA Expo 2024 were I am part of the Hosted Media program. The Game Manufacturer's Association promotes tabletop games of all types and brought media in, expenses paid, to cover the event as a service to industry members.