Gen Con 2024: Must-See New Games and Expansions We've Played

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With the biggest board gaming convention in North America on the horizon, the compounded hype of the event takes over the entirety of the hobby. Even for those who can’t or choose not to attend, you can still live vicariously through the news and games that come out of the event.

In the meantime, we here at Casual Game Revolution have played some of the games that are new or have expansions coming out and want to help you make wise budgetary decisions (even if we also want to get you excited too) with what may tickle your fancy.

New-ish and Upcoming Titles

Cascadero (Bitewing Games)
2-4 players | 45-60 minutes

As with any game from Reiner Knizia, what makes Cascadero so appealing is how easy it is to set up and play. A rules-light game of connecting cities and racing up tracks, it’s as simple as placing your envoys across the map to reunite the cities of the kingdom. However, to trigger scoring envoys must congregate in groups. Meanwhile, to gain further influence, players will be climbing tracks matching the multiple colors of cities of the kingdom, also being mindful they must reach the top of the track that matches their color of envoys.

Cities (Devir)
2-4 players | 30-40 minutes

Devir always has its share of interesting titles at Gen Con, and Cities is no different. A collaboration between Phil Walker-Harding and Steve Finn (already drawing eyes with that combo), this game is a great puzzle where players will use workers to gather city tiles, buildings, landmarks, and goals to create a city with the parameters outlined by one of the 8-10 included world cities in the game, each with new challenges and goals. Stack buildings high, put parks and water features together or apart, or go for urban sprawl – it changes with each passing game without taxing the brain, yet still having a fun family challenge level.

Mythwind (Open Owl Studios)
1-4 players | 30-60 minutes

It’s likely someone in your immediate circle of friends and family has been enraptured by the modern worlds of Hyrule via Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The ability to explore, craft, and just chill in an expansive, open world has long been hard to capture in an equally immersive but rules-light board game. However, designers Nathan Lige and Brendan McCaskell have found much of that essence in the big box of Mythwind. Though the price tag and initial teach of this solo and cooperative game may overwhelm, it’s an accessible and highly replayable game largely due to the leisure in which you and your companions can explore and interact with an expansive world full of imagination without too many, but just enough, bells and whistles.

Mutton Bustin (25^th Century Games)
2-4 players | 15-25 Minutes

Ever wanted a game that mimics the physical and verbal chaos of Happy Salmon with a boom-or-bust push-your-luck mechanic from games such as Sushi Dice? You probably hadn’t thought that far, but designer Matt Wolfe has. Mutton Bustin got a sneak peek, ultra-limited release last year at Gen Con but returns for a full flex this year. One player will roll a single die to move around a square corral, while the other players roll dice to get sheep to knock off the rider. However, once a sheep is rolled, players must carry out the actions on their individual as well as shared cards before they can lock them in. A great game in the line of last year’s Chicken with a bit more ridiculousness.

Nocturne (Flatout Games)
1-4 players | 30-45 minutes

Flatout continues to be one of the best publishers of cozy, yet thinky puzzle games. Nocturne is no different, with designer David Iezzi (who has worked with design groups at Funko and as part of Prospero Hall) tapping into Uwe and Reiner elements with this set collection and bidding game. Players will use spell tokens to increasingly blaze a path across their board, hoping to collect tiles to gain points, goals, and runes. Like any good strategy puzzle, being mindful of the increasing bids on spell tokens, where the action is going on the grid, and how to best maximize turns to get the desired tiles and goals is imperative. Nocturne may be the most cutthroat Flatout Games has gotten, but it’s still not a vicious affair – though it’s likely some players will find themselves muttering to others under their breath after a closely contested game or two.

Tangram City (Capstone Games)
1-5 players | 10-40 minutes

Speaking of Uwe Rosenberg, the famed designer returns with a family weight puzzler where players will be placing tangrams across a board to try and create the biggest acreage of squares with each proceeding round. Each round, players will see a start and end card at the same time; however, they will also receive cards that give them private intel for a fleeting moment of what will come next. Players will always play the same tangram, but the allure of having a bit of insider knowledge to the specific tangram on your card as the round progresses, until it is revealed to the rest of the group on your turn, is a clever but simple twist. The ultimate goal is to fill up the board perfectly using the tiles at your disposal, maximizing the fountain tiles at the end of each round to fill in any lingering spaces. Tangram City is one of those games where just focusing on one aspect will leave you lagging for the others, so it’s imperative to be strategic of both your own board but also gleaning information from players who have yet to reveal their tangram cards.

Games with Impending Expansions & Additions

Ancient Knowledge (IELLO)
2-4 players | 75 minutes

Ancient Knowledge is a great tableau engine builder where players are building a civilization via monuments and artifacts, racing against time as they slowly move into ancient history. The goal is to pass down the knowledge of these great creations, while also utilizing the passage of time (cards are played according to a specific time/era and slowly fade away into discarding). Ancient Knowledge: Heritage adds more cards to the decks, making the game bigger. It also now allows players to engage in a hearty solo mode.

Bonsai (dV Games)
1-4 players | 40 minutes

Read the review for Bonsai.

A solid puzzler that is both blissfully Zen as it is painstakingly imperfect because nothing in nature is perfect, Wabi Sabi celebrates such imperfections both in name and play. Adding new modular challenges that can be mixed and matched with the base game, as well as challenges for solo players, Wabi Sabi promises to cultivate even more strategy from an already mindful experience.

Kinfire Delve: Scorn’s Stockade (Incredible Dream Studios)
1-2 players | 45-60 minutes

Read the review for Kinfire Delve: Vainglory’s Grotto. 

Return to the Kinfire Delve series with Scorn’s Stockade. With two new seekers, Scorn’s Stockade offers similar gameplay to Vainglory’s Grotto, but also allows players to use the available seekers across both games or combine both for a 4-player cooperative experience.

What’s great about the world of Kinfire that Incredible Dream has created is how expansive it is, allowing players different experiences, mechanics, and levels of difficulty across the games. Scorn’s Stockade continues designer (and Incredible Dream’s Game Design Director) Kevin Wilson’s vision of an expansive world full of stories accessible across a plethora of game types.

World Wonders (Arcane Wonders)
1-5 players | 50-70 minutes

This tile placement game was a quick sell-out (in limited quantities) at Gen Con last year, with the hype expanding well past Spiel 2023 and into the new year. Players race to acquire and place tiles in their ancient city, trying to reach the maximum population first. But the five categories of tiles add twists and turns along the way, especially as players compete on the open market for what’s available each round. And let’s not forget about the titular buildings, both cool to look at and with their own set of changes that make them enticing for any developer.

Mundo adds more wonders as well as a new mode, which only ratchets up the challenge and replayability of a game that is already exciting enough to get back to the table because everyone wants wonders and tiles, they didn’t get the last time.