With each new year, I look forward to announcements of more board games that should be on my shelf. Some of them are announced earlier, while many titles appear when publishing plans are announced at the beginning of the year. For the board game brothers, every information about upcoming news is worth its weight in gold, especially when the long-awaited game is finally published in Polish.
Dominant Species: Marine
Among the already announced titles, two of the Phalanx publishers decided to release in 2021, i.e. Dominant Species and Dominant Species: Marine . The action of the first of them takes place 90 thousand. BC at the time when the Ice Age is approaching. Players (2 to 6) play one of the available clusters – mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects or arachnids – and try their best to prepare for the inevitable glaciation. It is a tough and demanding game, but for many hardcore gamers who like to think over the table, it will be perfect.
The water version is designed for 2 to 4 players. This time the ice melts and forces the animals to find themselves in a huge ocean. You can choose from dinosaurs, fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. The mechanics of both games are similar, but there are also differences. The water version gives us the opportunity to choose special skills, while its older sister has traits assigned to certain groups of animals. The timing of the action is also different for games, so each title requires different planning. It’s hard to predict which version will win the hearts of more players, but one thing is for sure – you have to play both! – Katarzyna Satława
Dune: Empire
The year 2021 is just beginning and many premieres have not been announced yet. Of those we already know, the most interesting proposition in my opinion may be Dune: Imperium. The game has already had its English premiere, so we know a lot about it. I believe that this title is worth checking out for several reasons. Firstly, the author is Paul Dennen, whose Brzdzieki made a real sensation in Poland. Second, it’s a combination of my favorite mechanics – deckbuilding and worker placement. Thirdly, despite the fact that it is a euro, the Dune envelope gives the whole a bit of a climate, especially when the premiere of its adaptation is slowly approaching us. Fourth, the opinions about the game so far are overwhelmingly positive, which should minimize the risk of disappointment. And fifthly, the game, despite its rather simple design, is very nice in my opinion, and maybe even prettier with additional figures. I strongly encourage you to check this title – I am waiting impatiently! –Bartek Jaworski
X-Men: Mutant Rise
One of the most anticipated board games by me is X-Men: Mutant Rise , which is scheduled for release in the first half of 2021. Why this title? Mostly because I have been a fan of Marvel for years, especially of the X-Men team. I fell in love with Cyclops, Storm, Rogue or professor Xavier in the 90s, when you could watch an animated series with homo superior on TVin the lead role, and kiosks bought comics published by TM-Semic. Besides, Wolverine has become my favorite superhero, and he is also about to appear in the board game. Plus, I’ve always liked the co-op mode more than the negative interactions. It’s probably because I’ve been playing all kinds of RPGs for years, but where you work as a team, not against each other. The title itself also contains several scenarios and brings to mind role-playing games. Let’s add a beautiful edition with a lot of refined elements (at least this is what the announcement shows) and we will have the answer why this, and not another game, is in the first place for me at the moment among the anticipated. I just hope that I will not be disappointed with it, as I wish for myself and for you. – Piotr Markiewicz
Pandemic Legacy Season 0
The Legacy pandemic in season one tells the story of a world in which a mutant virus practically wipes out humanity. Season two takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, where we try to rebuild the old world. And what led to such dramatic events will tell us the latest part of the series – Pandemic Legacy Season 0.
The game takes place in the realities of the Cold War. Our heroes will travel the world to work out Soviet intelligence plans that have something to do with a new type of biological weapon. During the game, we will perform special missions escaping from enemy agents.
The mechanics of the game will be based on the systems known from previous installments of Pandemic, but the developers have made a lot of changes. For example, instead of finding cures for diseases, we create strike groups to help us deal with enemy spies.
The game is waiting for the Polish release (scheduled for the end of January), caused quite a stir abroad and was hailed by many players as the best part of the Pandemic Legacy trilogy. Soon we will find out how it will be with us. – Jarek Wójcicki
Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down
Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down is, above all, an amazing world. The original universe and unusual factions intrigued me and attracted me to this title. In this board game we will play a swarm of insects and intelligent wild boars, and even cybersamurai. All this in the fight for territories, but most importantly, not fate will play the first fiddle here, but our strategy. Victory will only depend on whether we manage to use the strengths of our faction. Let’s add a lot of replayability and a lot of extras, and even such nice diversions as a comic, which will introduce us to the Tsukuyumi universe . Undoubtedly, this is one of the most interesting games that will appear on our tables at the beginning of this year. – Hubert Heller