Playroom Entertainment recently delivered the super-sized, all-inclusive Killer Bunnies Deluxe Edition. Next up for the company’s perennial best-selling line is Killer Bunnies: Heroes vs. Villains, a comic book superhero themed set. In comparison to previous Killer Bunnies games, the victory conditions for Heroes vs. Villains will be significantly less random. No more collecting carrots. The winner is the first player to collect four bunnies in the Bunny Circle and four cities in the City Circle.

But of course there will be more to Playroom in 2013 than just Killer Bunnies. Shipping in the second quarter will be two games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. And later in the year, we’ll see three games celebrating the 50th anniversary of Puff the Magic Dragon.

Previously published by Fantasy Flight Games, The Hobbit Board Game is a family adventure and activity board game. As players move around the board, they must answer riddles and recite poetry to collect jewels, which are needed to defeat the dragon.

A new Lord of the Rings Card Game requires players to assemble groups of characters (i.e., collect their cards) in order to attack enemies with matching colors. Victory points are earned for each bad guy defeated.

Puff the Magic Dragon Board Game is for ages 3+ and cooperative—everyone plays Jackie Paper. The players’ goal is to collect a set number of gifts and deliver them to Puff before he’s moved through the eight verses of his song. On their turns, players can move either forwards or backwards the number they’ve spun on the spinner.

The Puff the Magic Dragon Sing Along Memory Game and Puff the Magic Dragon Land of Honalee Card Game are both matching games. The first involves matching song lyrics in order. The second is a cooperative game with pictures.

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As usual, Fantasy Flight Games had some amazing looking games on display this year.

Relic: A Warhammer 40k game based off Talisman. Of course there’s some rules tweaks and additions that add their own flair to the game, and seem like it takes the Talisman idea to the next level. 2-4 players, ages 14+

GearWorld: Based off the classic game, Borderlands, GearWorld is an version of the game of negotiation, building, and conquest. In the game you’ll be gathering resources and taking over territories in order to gain the favor of the Sky People. Trade resources and negotiate alliances in this post-apocolyptic world. 2-4 players, ages 14+.

Android: Netrunner: Netrunner is back in boxed form, deviating from its roots as a CCG. The rules have also been updated and streamlined for a much more enjoyable experience. The core set comes with 252 cards, but expansions are already planned to add more variation to the game. 2 players, ages 13+

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A beautiful board, and overall package is what pulled me out the the isles of Toy Fair to Oofdah’s booth. Their game is called The Gate, a race to the center board game with a mix of fantasy and symbolism. Players move around the board strengthening their character and trying to earn a key to the next ring in. The game comes with basic rules, and an advanced set that adds in variable players powers and more in-depth rules.

I look forward to giving the game a shot soon, and talking to the designer a bit more in the future. Small world as it is, he’s from CT also.

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With beautiful posters for Timeline and Takenoko, how I could I just pass by Asmodee‘s booth? I couldn’t, and I was well rewarded with a slew of new games to check out, and even a chance to try my hand at Timeline.

River Dragons: A family game where players are trying to build bridges using planks of wood to cross a river. The trick is that you can’t touch other players’ bridges. Oh yeah, there’s also dragons to worry about. 2-6 players, ages 8+.

Cardline Animals: Try to place animals in the line by either weight, age span, or size in this variable logic and memory game. Place all your cards down first to win. Educational, and very simple to teach and play. The game has beautiful art, and comes in a pretty slick tin. 2-8 players, ages 7+.

Takenoko: Grow bamboo to care for the royal pandas. The game features a modular board, and some stunning artwork. Players compete to complete 7-9 objectives (depending on number of players), and then add their score up to determine the victor at the end. 2-4 players, ages 13+.

Timeline: This fun little card game comes in 4 different sets that can all be combined into one: Inventions, Historical Events, Discoveries, and Diversity. In the game you’re trying to place down your cards into the timeline in their correct locations. Place a card in a wrong spot and you’re forced to draw another. First player to be rid of their hand first wins. 2-8 players, ages 8+.

Kemet: Battle it out in Ancient Egypt! A territory control came in a mythological Ancient Egypt. Take control of gods and armies to take control of choice areas. This game just oozes theme, and is a wonderful overall package. 2-5 players, ages 13+.

Room 25: A sci-fi reality show where the players are trapped in a futuristic prison. The first person to find the exit, Room 25, wins the game. Along the way the rooms can shift, and various traps can be run into. Can be played solo, cooperatively, or competitively. 1-6 players, ages 8+.

P.I.: An interesting twist on investigation type games. Each player must solve a case that the person to their right is orchestrating. Set in the 50’s, the game has a very noir feel to it. Solve the cases before other detectives, and don’t be wrong in your deductions! 2-5 players, ages 13+.

Lady Alice: Another deduction game, but this one completely different. Players must determine the time, place, and the culprit of a kidnapping. The piece that makes this game interesting is that each player has evidence tokens to use. They can use these tokens during their investigation to earn extra points once the mystery has been solved. This means that the person who solves the mystery may lose out to the one who did all the leg work. 3-5 players, ages 8+.

Gentleman Thieves: The box is also the game board in this game about high profile burglary. Make deals and gain the most loot to be victorious. 2-5 players, ages 8+.

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We’ve all played Tic Tac Toe, but Tic Stac Toe takes the old classic to a brand new level. With a modular board for smaller or larger games, and the ability to stack X’s and O’s, this is not your father’s Tic Tac Toe.

What’s also great is that there’s a free version of the game available on iOS.

The game certainly looks interesting, and it’s MUCH harder to stalemate with all the line and blocking opportunities available.

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Mental Floss, the website for obscure knowledge (A.K.A., trivia), follows up on its earlier party game, Split Decision, with three more for 2013.

Each turn in Mixed Nuts, one player reads a statement from the game, choosing to incorporate either the true element or the false element (both are included on the card). The other players then vote individually on whether the statement was true or false by using “nut” tokens. How nuts are connected to the game concept, I have no idea.

In Words challenges two player-teams to name movies, places, TV shows, things, people, and music that incorporate a trigger word (see the picture of the box for a good example). The trigger word is determined with a spinner built in to the board. And the score is kept by placing chips on the board’s target-like track. That is, the second answer in a category is worth more than the first and the third is worth more than the second.

Ja Link is about identifying concepts that link two different items. It includes a board, on which are placed discs with pictures of the items, and a set of cards, from which each turn one player reads a category. The rest of the players are then supposed to grab adjacent cards connected by the category.

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Sure to excite middle-school girls, Top Trumps is planning a series of One Direction products, including a One Direction Top Trumps Collector’s Tin. Release of the tin is scheduled to coincide with One Direction’s upcoming Up All Night tour. And a message recorded by the band will play when the tin is opened.

In 2013, Top Trumps will also be producing the Moshi Monsters Top Trumps Turbo game. It’s a multi-player tournament set that replaces the spinner shown a couple of years ago with an electronic randomizer.

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After reviewing String Railway I was very interested to see what else Foxmind had to offer this year. From what I saw, I’m not disappointed!

Kulami: An abstract strategy game where you’re trying to capture tiles by having the most of your colored marble on them. Placement rules are simple. You can only place on the axis of the last placed ball, and you cannot place directly adjacent to the last placed ball. Very elegant and thought provoking. 2 players, ages 10+.

Six: The goal is to create one of the winning shapes with your color hexes. Once all your tiles have been played you can start to move them around to try and complete either a line, triangle, or hexagon. 2-4 players, ages 9+.

Democradiculous: A party game where names are written on a board, then questions are asked about who would be best in what situation. Players make their choices and points are scored when people choose the same answer. 2+ players, ages 10+.

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Remember Zombiepox? Tiltfactor, the publisher, has a new game out for 2013 called Awkward Moments. The game plays similar to Apples to Apples. Each player has a hand of Reactions to play against different events. Each player takes turns playing the Decider, who determines the best reaction to the current event. Of course the events and responses ranges from embarrassing to hilarious. The game is aimed at middle school kids. 3-8 players, ages 12+

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The people at Peaceable Kingdom know how to have a good idea, and it shows with their kids’ games. Their cooperative games are always bright, attractive, and good fun. I expected, and saw, no less from their Toy Fair booth this year.

Buzz!:  Collect all the nectar before the bear gets to the hive! Each player may only collect their color nectar, and there are multiple paths around the board. Help each other find the fastest route to the nectar to make sure the game doesn’t win. A roll and move game for 2-4 players, ages 5+.

Great Cheese Chase: Get to the attic and have a cheese party before the cat makes his way up there. All players have control over all the mice tokens and must roll and move the pieces up the board. Ladders let you climb faster when landed on, and catnip lets you stall the cat while you race the finish. 2-6 players, ages 5+.

Stack Up: A dexterity game for children where you’re stacking colored blocks. Spin the spinner and place the correct colored block on the stack. Little kids can use their hands while slightly older kids use the two sticks. Need an extra challenge? Use the softer ends of the sticks to try and stack the blocks. If a challenge is spun, draw a card for extra fun. Some cards have you hopping on one foot while trying to stack, or having you quack like a duck while stacking. Spin the monster and he moves closer to knocking down your tower! 2+ players, ages 5+.

What’s It?: Peaceable Kingdom tries something for an older crowd this year with What’s It?, a party game where each player needs to come up with 3 items based of a drawing and a use for it. Matches between players score points for the players. If no players have matches, the Doodler (the game) earns the points. Fill the point meter before the Doodler does to win. 2-6 players, ages 8+.

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