Arjun Sukumaran By Express News Service BENGALURU: GenCon is easily the biggest board gaming convention in the USA, and is held every August. This year, like all years, saw a flurry of new releases and announcements as everybody fought for a share of the GenCon spotlight. Today, we’re taking a look at a few of the games that succeeded. Dune For years, Dune was a grail game — the original 1979 game, although considered to be a classic by many, had long since gone out of print and was extremely difficult to find at a non-extortionate price. Which is why Gale Force Nine blew everybody away when they announced that they weren’t just bringing Dune back, they were also giving it a new lick of paint by incorporating one of the most beloved fanmade redesigns out there. Arkham Horror: Final Hour The Lovecraftian mythos and Fantasy Flight Games have had some memorable team-ups over the years, most notably in the Arkham Horror series of games. FFG isn’t quite done with that particular inspiration yet, as Final Hour sees players once again assume the roles of investigators that must work together to prevent one of Lovecraft’s ancient evils from awakening. This promises to be a more streamlined experience than the board game, which ought to make it a nice entry point for gamers new to the franchise. Cyberpunk 2077 – Afterlife: The Card Game This isn’t even CMON’s first huge videogame-related announcement in recent times (God of War: The Card Game taking that honour), but it is definitely one that caused a splash. Cyberpunk 2077 is, of course, one of the most-awaited games of 2020 and this announcement sort of brings it back full circle to where it all began — the original Cyberpunk having been a pen-and-paper RPG. Parks Easily the loveliest game on this list, Parks is a thoroughly pleasant game about trekking through various US National Parks. Featuring artwork from the gorgeous Fifty-Nine Parks Series, Parks is stunning to look at and seems like a pretty fun time as well. Marvel Champions: The Card Game The Arkham Horror card game has been an unmitigated success for Fantasy Flight in recent years, so the announcement of a Marvel-themed game based on that solid foundation was expectedly met with delirious excitement. Marvel Champions looks extremely promising, and one of its most interesting features is that you won’t just be playing as your favourite Marvel superheroes — you’ll also have to play as their alter-egos and deal with the hazards of that life as well. Horrified Horrified is a wonderful-looking cooperative game that pits players against some of the most legendary monsters in history. Dracula, Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and their friends are all plaguing your town, and you need to drive these villains out and away for good. Villainous was a great take on Disney antagonists — can Horrified do the same for the creature feature? Unmatched: Battle of Legends Restoration Games’ big GenCon release was Unmatched: Battle of Legends, a 1v1 duel game that pits famous legendary characters against each other in a battle to the finish. If you’ve ever wondered how Alice (of Wonderland fame) would hold up against Sinbad in a fight, or if Robin Hood could keep Bigfoot at bay, this is the game for you. Arjun Sukumaran http://goo.gl/uNBWN3 (Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)

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