News Flash: Cubitos Announced, Ravensburger Kids Puzzle Design Contest

AEG Announces Cubitos
Cubitos is a new racing themed board game, set for a February release. "Each player has a runner on the racetrack and a support team, represented by all the dice you roll. Each turn you roll dice and use their results to move along the racetrack, buy new dice, and use abilities. But you must be careful not to push your luck rolling too much or you could bust!"
Source: https://www.alderac.com/cubitos/

Ravensburger Puzzle Design Contest
Ravensburger is running a contest for children eighteen years or younger. All profits from the resulting puzzle will be donated to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. The contest runs through the end of this month. "Ravensburger will select 10 winning images, which will then be published and marketed as the image of a special puzzle edition. The selection will be made at the sole discretion of Ravensburger. The puzzle image will be a collage of the winning images selected by Ravensburger."
https://www.ravensburger.us/start/puzzles-fund-the-cure-design-contest-terms-conditions/index.html

Castle TriCon On February 26
Castle TriCon is an online gaming convention that features games by HeidelBÄR Games, Czech Games Edition, and Horrible Guild. "Castle TriCon, as you might remember from the last September, is an online board gaming convention that will be happening in a unique virtual 3D world!"
Source: https://czechgames.com/en/home/news-21-01-19-castle-tricon-returns-on-february-26/

Next Renegade Con Announced
Renegade Game Studios has announced their next virtual Renegade Con, set to run February 12-14. "Renegade Con is coming back to give you a virtual break and showcase what’s new and exciting from  Renegade Game Studios. Join us Friday February 12th through Sunday February 14th for online demos, workshops, panels, and more."
Source: https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/news/2021/1/14/renegade-con-virtual-winter-edition-is-coming-february-12-14

IELLO 2021 Calendar
IELLO has a free 2021 calendar featuring their games. It is available on their website (you do have to pay shipping).
Source: https://iellousa.com/products/2021-calendar

Best New Board Game Apps of 2020
Ars Technica ranks their nine favorite new digital board game adaptations from the past year. "I’ve ranked my nine best new board game apps of 2020 based on app quality, play experience, and purchase price."
Source: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/12/best-new-board-game-apps-of-2020/

Playing Games on Zoom
Make Use Of has compiled an article with tips and suggestions for playing board games with friends and family over Zoom. "If physical distancing has brought an end to your tabletop gaming sessions, here's how to play board games using Zoom."
Source: https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-play-board-games-zoom/

Now or Never Announced
The sequel to Near and Far has been announced by Red Raven Games, set for release later this year. "Includes two modes of play: standard and story. When playing in story mode, you read from a storybook when you explore, making choices and learning more about the characters and the world. Each character has their own set of stories, unique to the locations they explore and diverse in plot, perspective, and motive, allowing you to choose what direction your own story will take."
Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/314745/now-or-never

Reviews
Quacks of Quedlinburg (Unboxed the Board Game Blog): “Every group I’ve pulled this one out with, be it in person or digitally has loved it. And I love it too. It’s bright, it’s colourful, it’s replayable with tons of variety in the base box and a relatively inexpensive expansion available that also increases the player count to 5.”
Source: https://www.unboxedtheboardgameblog.com/post/day-12-quacks-of-quedlinburg

Illumination (iSlaytheDragon): “It’s puzzly, interactive without being cruel, and offers some randomness in setup that keeps things interesting game to game. It offers several different ways to score points, but they all work together in such a way that you can’t really ignore any of them if you hope to succeed.”
Source: https://islaythedragon.com/game-reviews/review-illumination/

MicroMacro (Opinionated Gamers): “Some of the “detective” style games that include extensive reading are, well, not for me, as I don’t enjoy the language bit as much.  Here, the core idea of “whose crime is this crime?” is distilled down to its simplest form, and I love the more elegant take.”
Source: https://opinionatedgamers.com/2021/01/20/dale-yu-review-of-micromacro-crime-city/