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Gen Con 2019: See the mass of board games on display

From Dune to Cyperpunk to the new version of Pathfinder, check out the games that caught our eye at the massive board game conference.

Andrew Gebhart
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Diving into board games

Gen Con is a huge annual board game conference in Indianapolis. This year's show ran from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4. Board games of all types were on display -- new and old, simple and complex, high tech and low tech. Demo spaces stretched across numerous halls in multiple buildings, with games as far as the eye could see. Here are some highlights from the show.

First up, the Dune board game. 

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Dune

Control one of six factions and fight for resources in this new adaptation of a board game classic. 

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Wakanda Forever

Want to be the Black Panther?  Keep villains at bay and challenge for your right to lead Wakanda in this Marvel board game. 

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Sinister Six

Be the bad guy.

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Don't get captured by Spidey

Pull off heists while staying away from the Marvel superhero. 

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5-Minute Marvel

Defeat villains in a fast-paced, coop card game. This is the Marvel version of 5-Minute Dungeon. 

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Hail Hydra

Save the city as Shield agents, but keep an eye on your friends. You never know who might be working for Hydra. 

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Die Hard

Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs. 

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Yippee ki yay

The Nakatomi Heist Board Game casts one player as John McClane trying to stop the rest from their evil plans. 

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Blockbuster

Yep, that's a Blockbuster board game, complete with a box like a VHS case from the classic rental chain. In the game, you'll test your movie trivia knowledge against your friends. 

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A bit of nostalgia

The Blockbuster booth at Gen Con was set up like the store. 

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Borderlands board game

Tiny Tina's Robot Tea Party is a card game based on the popular Borderlands video game franchise. 

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Magnastorm

A whole new world...

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Explore a new world

Magnastorm tasks you with exploring a long-lost civilization. 

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Fuji

The volcano awaits. 

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Run from the lava

Work together to escape Mount Fuji before the lava catches you. 

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Harry Potter

A little magic in a box. 

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Miniature Magic

This Harry Potter game puts you in charge of a group of finely crafted miniature wizards. 

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Klask

Basically a Swedish version of air hockey, Klask is simple fun. 

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Rail Pass

All aboard. 

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Deliver the goods

In Rail Pass, you act alongside other players to deliver as many goods as possible in ten minutes. 

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Sing for your Supper

Make food and music. 

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Warm up your pipes

Sing for your Supper acts you to assemble cards by singing popular tunes. 

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My Little Scythe

Dystopian society for kids!

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It's Scythe for kids

My Little Scythe is a simpler and more family friendly version of the popular Scythe board game. 

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Zombie Bus

Don't let the zombies on the bus!

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Keep the zombies off the bus

Defend the bus against zombies with dice rolls. 

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The Walking Dead game

A game based on the hugely popular TV show and comic series. 

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Fallout: Wasteland Warfare

A new game based on the popular video game series. 

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Secret Hitler

A hidden identity party game. 

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Can't Catch Harry

Collect combinations of cards in this fast paced game. 

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We're Doomed!

Oh no!

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Or are we?

Can you prevent the end of the world in "We're Doomed!"?

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Dawn of Madness

Fight the fear. 

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Fight the horror

Dawn of Madness is a miniature game with a lot of inspiration from Lovecraft. 

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Funkoverse

Strategy with a little extra Pop!

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Combine your favorite characters

Battle with your Funko characters in this board game. 

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Choose your own adventure

Choices and consequences. 

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Make your choice

A board game with lots of risky decisions. 

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Pandemic: Rapid Response

Pandemic: Rapid Response is the newest iteration of the classic board game pitting you and your team against a rapidly spreading disease. 

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Noctiluca

A board game with deep sea diving. 

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Dive in

Grab as many translucent dice as you can. 

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Hadara

Cultural shifts in a board game. 

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A whole new world

Experience the different cultures over generations while trying to bring prosperity to your people. 

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Wingspan

Bird watching the board game. 

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Take flight

Watch birds to win. 

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God of War

Be the dad you want to see in Norse mythology. 

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To Ragnarok or not to Ragnarok

God of War is a board game adaptation of the popular video game franchise. 

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Kingdomino Duel

A two-player version of the popular Kingdomino.

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Pappy Winchester

Grab your share of Pappy's money. 

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Detective Club

Which of your friends in the Conspirator? 

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The Reckoners

Fight back against the evil Epics. 

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Save the world

In the Reckoners, you play as the heroes from the Brandon Sanderson novels. 

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Mechanica

The robot vacuums are taking over the world and you're here to help. 

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Obscurio

The dangers of magic. 

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Beware the illusions

Find the exit as quickly as possible in Obscurio, but watch out for the sorcerer. 

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Catan Starfarers

Take settling into the sky. 

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Catan in space

The new version of Settlers of Catan was on display at Gen Con. 

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Acquisitions Incorporated

Wizards of the Coast teamed with Penny Arcade for this Dungeons and Dragons book. 

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Eschaton

Armageddon and Lovecraft. 

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Batman Ninja

Like Magic the Gathering, but Batman!

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Build your deck

Batman Ninja is a deck building game with Batman characters. 

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Silver

The werewolves are coming!

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Fight off werewolves with silver

Can you save your village first? 

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Pictionary Air

Pictionary plus AR drawing. Pictionary Air proved I wasn't great at drawing without a canvas. 

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Grind House

A narrative horror game. 

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Bloodborne

Join the hunt. 

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Can you save Yharnam?

This coop board game is based on the popular Bloodborne video game.

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Cyberpunk, the game

Cyberpunk 2077 will be a board game, in addition to a video game. Unfortunately, we couldn't see more than the box art at Gen Con. 

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Pathfinder 2

Forge a new path. 

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Ready to adventure

The new edition of Pathfinder -- the popular alternative to Dungeons and Dragons -- launched at Gen Con. 

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The Bestiary

The player guide, Bestiary and published adventures were all ready to go. 

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Chapter one

This book is just the first chapter in an ongoing Pathfinder adventure series. 

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Guide your game

Here's the game master screen for Pathfinder. 

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Ishtar

Ishtar tasks you with rejuvenating the desert into the Lost Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 

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Decrypto

Crack the code. 

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Shovel Knight

The Shovel Knight game is based on the popular Indie video game. 

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