News Flash: Two New Z-Man Games, Best Games of 2018

Noctiluca Announced by Z-Man Games
This new abstract game, for one to four players, is currently available for pre-order. "Players will take turns diving in to the water from the edges of the shore to collect the noctiluca dice from the board and keep them safely in jars until they can deliver them to healers. After two rounds, players will compare points from their successful deliveries and the player with the most points will win."
Source: https://www.zmangames.com/en/news/2019/1/4/announcing-noctiluca/

Z-Man Games Announces Party Bugs
Z-Man Games has announced a new, light card game that is currently available for pre-order. "Each player will have a set of thirteen cards filled with costumed bugs. These individual decks are shuffled and placed facedown in front of each player, then a hand of three is drawn. Over the course of thirteen rounds, players will try to push the biggest, most annoying bugs over to their neighbors while taking the less disruptive bugs for themselves to keep their party under control."
Source: https://www.zmangames.com/en/news/2018/12/28/hit-the-dance-floor/

10 Best Games of 2018
Deseret News has posted their favorite games of 2018. “Here are 10 games from 2018 that broke new ground, introduced new concepts or simply made delightful experiences among family and friends.”
Source: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900048823/10-great-board-games-from-2018.html

Interview with Kristin and Andrew Looney
Entertainment Vine has run an interview with Kristin and Andrew Looney, creators of Looney Labs. "Recently, the husband and wife duo discussed the history of their company, their games, and their hopes for the future."
Source: http://www.entertainmentvine.com/online/2018/11/looney-labs-interview-with-andy-and-kristin-looney/

One Week Left in ICECOOL Antarctica Challenge
Brain Games is running a contest (submissions closing January 15th) in which you can win a cruise to the Antarctic by submitting a video of you performing a trick shot with the penguins of ICECOOL. "The trip includes plane tickets to Argentina (including connecting flights) as this is where the cruise will depart from. Winner will also enjoy 9 nights of discovery and learning voyage through the “Classic Antarctic” route, taking on an adventure through Antarctica, where travelers will stay in a complete twin cabin on a new and advanced vessel, Hondius."
Source: https://www.icecoolantarctica.com/

Board Game Archaeology
Purple Pawn has posted an interesting piece about some recent archaeological gaming discoveries. "More than 60 Chess pieces carved from wood and bone during the 17th century have been found during excavations at Berezovo in northern Siberia."
Source: http://www.purplepawn.com/2019/01/gamer-archaeology-2/

Nintendo Switch: A Board Game Platform
IGN has published an article about the growing number of board games digital adaptations available on the Nintendo Switch. "'We see Nintendo Switch games as a great companion to the tabletop experience,' says Philippe Dao, CMO of Asmodee Digital. 'The Switch console has the ability to facilitate social interactions between players, which is the foundation of most board games. That, coupled with the Switch’s mobile capabilities, makes it the natural new home for a majority of our board games.'"
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/01/04/the-nintendo-switch-is-becoming-the-go-to-destination-for-tabletop-gamers

Reviews
Drop It (The Family Gamers): “Drop It keeps us coming back for more. It’s a new family favorite, and we can’t think of anything that could make it better.”
Source: http://www.thefamilygamers.com/drop-it-review/

Wingspan (BoardGameQuest): “A game that I didn’t expect to love as much as I did has become one of my most played games of 2018.”
Source: https://www.boardgamequest.com/wingspan-review/

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger (Co-op Board Games): “I like it and my group had fun reading through the story, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people looking to play a choose your own adventure game.”
Source: https://coopboardgames.com/cooperative-board-game-reviews/choose-your-own-adventure-house-of-danger-review