Hoplomachus: Victorum

Chip Theory | 1 player | 90 minutes | Ages 14+

A lot of rightful buzz is surrounding Chip Theory's thematic Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era game – and having played a prototype of the game at Gen Con in 2023 and a pre-production copy in 2024, I can attest to its greatness. But it will cost gamers a pretty penny, when many may be tighter with their gaming budgets at the convention or more so if they are not attending.

Meanwhile, Hoplomachus: Victorum can be had for under $100, plays in half the time, and is a great entry-level game (without sacrificing fun, theme, or difficulty) for those curious about the quality and richness of Chip Theory battlers. The recently released Pandora's Ruin, for a mere $50 more, adds more arenas, scions, and other surprises to this ancient Roman thriller for those Gladiatorially minded among you.

Finspan

Stonemaier | 1-5 players | 45-60 minutes | Ages 10+

The revolution Elizabeth Hargrave began continues to expand with this year's latest entry into the loose -span universe. This time we visit marine life, delving into the depths of a body of water with fish eggs, roe, and card combos of fish that feel familiar to players of Wingspan and Wyrmspan, and yet once more, does something all its own. Vantage may be Stonemaier's hit at Gen Con, but if you attend, you may find yourself walking away with both.

Endeavor: Deep Sea

Burnt Island/Grand Gamers | 1-4 players | 60-120 minutes | Ages 10+

Speaking of a love of water, Endeavor: Deep Sea presents a different version – a love letter to Jacques Cousteau and Steve Zissou. You'll undertake research by exploring dive sites and publishing your findings, being careful to preserve the waters and wildlife.

If that's not enough to whet your excitement, Endeavor: Deep Sea just sailed away with the coveted 2025 Kennerspiel des Jahres, part of the Spiel des Jahres awards in Germany for best connoisseur game of the year.

25^th Century Games

Some publishers like to slowly build up anticipation going into Gen Con, just because they are bursting with anticipation. Enter 25^th Century, who have not-so-quietly released some greatness this summer ahead of a packed Gen Con. Big Sur is a wonderful card resource manager where your hand is spent as resources or used to build a connected road. The cards have mileage, which add up as points at the end and can have ongoing resources that help you along the way to build further road connections. Similarly, Wine Cellar is a clever auction-style game where one's hand of cards serves two purposes: they each have a value in the top left that helps bid on the number of wine bottles available in the middle of the table, used to fulfill the client list each player has. Once players pick these bottles based on the values, they will place their bottle in front of them either above or below any previously placed bottles. Placement matters, because wine bottles score points relative to their final placement in the column.

Coming Soon: Ra: Traders (Ra expansion), Sand Art, The Yellow House

KOSMOS

KOSMOS has had a steady stream of games since the middle of 2025 from popular series that have been delightful. The family-weight The Crew: Family Adventure is a great starting point for bringing kids into the world of trick-taking without making them feel stressed. You'll work together, same as the previous Crew series, to slowly overcome scaling tasks such as playing cards at specific intervals and avoiding others. Similarly, Exit: The Game – Adventures on Catan blends two beloved series quite well. Without spoiling the puzzles, it can be said that the Catan theming does shine through in both familiar and fun, new ways through the Exit puzzle system.

Coming Soon: Dice Words

CGR caught up with Tim Phillips, who was kind enough to give us the scoop on Dice Words…in his own words.

"Dice Words was an idea that came to mind, initially, about 8 years ago. Yes, there were other games where you could roll dice and make or find words. But, to my knowledge at the time, there were no games just like it. In Dice Words, players concurrently roll dice and try to come up with the best word. However, players have a constraint each round via 4 extra letter cubes in the middle called 'Ice Dice.' These dice multiply the score you get from your word initially. So, if you include zero of them, your score [is] multiplied by zero!"

When I asked what helps set Dice Words apart in the word game genre, Tim was effusive, "First and foremost, it's the Ice Dice. Players having to create words with specific letters in them is a nice twist. Second, is player concurrency — unlike some games, there are no inactive players. Finally, it is what I call 'Horizontal Expandability'. Does your group have 8 players? Get two copies of the game, and everyone can play together without increasing the duration of the game. Imagine a 100-player tournament that can be completed in less than an hour. Plus, there are some optional rules that can be invoked that allow younger players to play competitively with adults."

We'll have more with our interview with Tim in a separate article coming soon.

Avalon Hill

The Renaissance of Avalon Hill goes beyond nostalgia, though utilizing the past to help both the present and the future hasn't hurt its re-emergence as a force in the industry. Last year's Life in Reterra, designed by the renowned Eric Lang and Ken Gruhl, is a great post-apocalyptic neighborhood rebuilder with its first expansion, Moonrise, released earlier this year. Also this year, the publisher partnered with actor and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Joe Manganiello for Heroquest expansion, The Crypt of Perpetual Darkness.

Recently released is Cosmolancer, a reimplementation of the classic Reiner Knizia game Kingdoms. I highly recommend picking this up at Gen Con or at retail if you can't make the show.

Cosmolancer is about capturing the best photos in space of its majestic beauty, and maybe some interesting lifeforms along the way. But beware of hazards as well. Players will place tiles of sites, worth positive points, hazards worth negative points, and their cameras that have time modifiers. After the board is filled, rows and columns are tallied, and players will multiply totals using their camera multipliers. Meteor showers and black holes can also change scoring conditions across the game's three rounds.

Coming Soon: Sanibel

CGR reached out to Patrick O'Rourke, who helped oversee the relaunch of Avalon Hill and was part of their concerted effort to work with talented designers and passionate gamers on these recent initiatives: "Collaborating with designers like Eric Lang, Reiner Knizia, and Elizabeth Hargrave [designer of Sanibel] has been a highlight of my time with Avalon Hill. These are people whose games I've admired for years, and working with them now is both creatively energizing and personally meaningful. Our team brings a lot of heart and perspective to the table, and together we get to build something that reflects the best of everyone's ideas. It's a rare kind of partnership, and one we don't take for granted."

Lightning Train

Dire Wolf | 1-4 players | 60-120 minutes | Ages 13+

It is reductive to call this Ticket to Ride meets Quacks of Quedlinburg because there's a bit more to the route building and the bag building that is not about luck pushing. However, the luck of the draw will determine what you do and how you build your routes, construct your bag's contents, and chug toward victory.

Ace of Spades

Devir | 1-2 players | 40-45 minutes | Ages 14+

Gone is the initial Lemmy/Motorhead theming but remaining is the solitary poker mechanism where players will be doing battle by using poker hands to defeat enemies in hellish challenges.

12 Rivers

Good Games | 2-4 players | 45-75 minutes | Ages 10+

Players will inhabit the role of tribes creating camps at river bends to collect magical colored pearls to help villagers prosper. Or, in the case of gameplay, collecting colorful marbles to fulfill contracts by smartly placing wooden dams up or downstream at varying costs to ensure you collect what you need to prevail. A beautiful design with as much toy factor as abstract strategy, Good Games has flown under the radar for far too long, and 12 Rivers is poised to take them to the next level.

Zenith

PlayPunk | 2 or 4 players | 25-35 minutes | Ages 12+

I've been lucky enough to play Zenith a few times thanks to an early copy, and for fans of tug-of-war games with fun combos, engine mitigation, and game-swinging changes, it's a delight. This dual is about winning the five planets in the middle of the board by playing cards and using their effects. They also help you accumulate Zenium to gain the leader token for bonus powers, and Zenium can also be spent along with discarded cards from your hand to advance on science tracks to chain advantages to swing the game and alter a losing strategy into a winning one in the blink of an eye.

Zenith may appear to be heavy on the take-that element at first, but the swingy nature of the game is very fun. It's more about timing, building an engine, watching it collapse, and then seizing it back at the right time with careful play and timing. In a crowded market of two-player games, Zenith is one that stands tall.