To be honest, it doesn’t seem like there’s much game left in either Lego line. However, since we’re already hooked, here’s what we discovered at Toy Fair…

Legends of Chima is getting a Transformers-like set called Bladvic’s Rumble Bear. The set, which ships in August at $40 retail, converts between a wheeled vehicle and a walking mech.

Also in August, Ninjago will take to the skies with Airjitzu Flyers. The basic $10 sets feature ripcord-powered helicopter like devices that allow Ninjago minifigs to fly (I mean in a controlled way, not like when you throw them at your brother). Six Airjitzu Flyer sets are planned, one each with Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, Morro, and Wrayth. One more flyer will be part of the Ronin R.E.X. flying gunship set (August, $50).

Two other Ninjago sets that caught my attention were the 658-piece Attack of the Moro Dragon (August, $70)—with its large dragon figure—and the 311-piece Condrai Copter Attack (March, $30)—in which Skylor will appear as the orange ninja.

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Playroom Entertainment continues to expand the Geek Out! trivia party game line in 2015 with Geek Out! Family and Geek Out! TableTop Limited Edition. The former will feature less geeky general knowledge questions and should be available in May for $20. The latter is scheduled to release on TableTop day in April, also at $20, and adds to the original new geeky cards developed by the producers of the video series. If you want my opinion, this is the one you should get. I’m told that one of its questions is:

Can you name two games that include purple pawns?

After a highly successful Kickstarter project, Playroom will also be releasing a special Unspeakable Words Deluxe version later this year (summer, $35), though it won’t have the purple Cthulhu pawns we love.

Two new games coming from Playroom are based—or at least themed—on internet culture. w00t (May, $12) is a card-passing game where the goal is to collect the letters W-0-0-T in one color. You Got Pwned! (May, $20) has players collecting sets of pawns, either from the center or by stealing them from each other.

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AEG has a lot to be excited for, both for current and future releases. There was even 3-4 thinks I can’t report on yet that have me super excited. One tidbit of info before I go into what I saw is that Love Letter is getting slightly rebranded. A slightly more modern logo will appear on future versions, and different licensed copies will have their own title with “A Love Letter Game” appearing below. With that out of the way, let’s get to the games!

Adventure Time Love Letter / Once You Go Blackmail, A Love Letter Game – $12 – Ages 10+

Two new licensed versions of Love Letter are arriving soon. One based on Adventure Time, and on on the show Archer. Each has their own unique quirks, and Archer’s Once You Go Blackmail will be the first title to have it’s own name along with the “A Love Letter Game” subtext. Also at the booth were the new Batman and Hobbit version of Love Letter, both of which are currently available.

Rumpelstiltskin

It’s hard to think about Rumpelstiltskin anymore without hearing the name said in Emilie de Ravin’s Aussie accent, but this title has no ties with any current popular TV show. Rumpelstiltskin is a game of guessing the name of which magical gnome/troll/thing your opponent has. Light, quick, and sure to be a lot of fun.

Pretty Pretty Smash Up Expansion – $25 – Ages 12+

Pretty Pretty adds Fairie, Kitty Cats, Mythic Horses, and Princesses to the wildly popular game. It will be available March 15th, and contains:

• 80 Minion & Action Cards
• 8 Base cards
• 4 Dividers
• 12-page Rulebook
• 1 VP/Power Token Sheet

Dark Seas – Ages 14+

Coming out in conjunction with International Tabletop Day on April 11th, Dark Seas is a game of pirates! A tile-based game, players build up their network of islands to pillage and plunder the most booty and increasing their reputation. Pirates wouldn’t be pirates, though, without the ability to wreak havoc upon others. Players will be able to hinder their opponents’ pirates in many different ways to keep them from gaining enough reputation to win the game. The pieces in this one are really nice looking, and from what I’ve seen it looks like it’ll be a blast to play.

Other Items

There were 3 amazing looking games that weren’t available for press release yet, but I can guarantee that at least 2 of them are going to be huge. Just hearing about how they’re going to work, and seeing some of the initial artwork blew me away. There’s also going to be a DC Comics version of Lost Legacy coming out, with different superheroes having their own decks that can be mixed and matched to play. Artwork wasn’t final on these, so I couldn’t snag any pics.

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The Konami booth at Toy Fair was a LARGE lineup of Yu-Gi-Oh releases releasing from the beginning of the year until June. I was able to get pics and info for most of the stuff, but there were a few items that hadn’t been finalized, so I could snap any pics. I’m also only going to cover releases that haven’t come out yet.

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Secret Forces – $3.99 per booster

There are 5 Cards per pack, 4 Super Rares and 1 Secret Rare. The set contains 60 cards, including 20 Secret Rares and 40 Super Rares. This set also includins the hard-to-find Preparation of Rites, which has been out of print for over 5 years. It JUST came out before Toy Fair.

Each box contains three booster packs of Secrets of Eternity, plus 1 of 14 Super Rare cards to power up a player’s Deck.

Players can build up their Deck with more cards for new tournament favorites like Burning Abyss, Shaddolls, and ‘tellarknights, or uncover the secrets of the pit to reveal the mighty Infernoids, a brand new Deck theme that carries out wicked effects to banish an opponent’s cards.

This Super Edition also gives Duelists another opportunity to grab a Super Rare card from Secrets of Eternity (released January 16), like Skilled Blue Magician and Thunderclap Skywolf, the Synchro Monster Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo, Trap Card Void Launch and Spell Card Good & Evil in the Burning Abyss. Available February 27th.

Yu-Gi-Oh: World Superstars

The set contains 52 cards, including 18 Prismatic Secret Rares and 34 Super Rares. This is the first time we’re seeing Prismatic Secret Rares in years. The coolest part of this set is that it contains cards that have never been released in the US, only in Japan and Korea. I didn’t get a solid price at the booth, but I’m seeing them pop up for preorder from $2.79 a pack to $3.99 a pack. Available April 17th.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Crossed Souls – $3.99 per booster

This set contains 100 cards including: 48 Common Cards, 20 Rare Cards, 14 Super Rare Cards, 10 Ultra Rare Cards, and 8 Secret Rare Cards. This set introduces Zefra monsters which can be drafted in 5 different deck types. Each Zefra monster is tied to a monster group from recent sets: Zefra/Shaddoll, Zefra/’tellarknight, Zefra/Yang Zing, Zefra/Nekroz, or Zefra/Ritual Beast. Available May 15th.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Arc-V Starter Deck – $9.99 per deck

Pictured above with just a placeholder card, the Arc-V Starter Deck will be a great way to introduce players to Yu-Gi-Oh. There will be a Light deck and a Dark deck, each containing 41 cards, a beginner’s guide, and a play mat. The best part? Both decks can be combined to make a single, powerful deck. Available May 29th.

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TDC is adding another Hollywood Game Night board game in the spring. Four Letter Words ($20) works just like on the TV show. Teams have to spell out the correct four-letter-word answers to a series of clues. Sounds simple enough, right? Four large letters making up the answer are even handed over to the team with each clue. But not so simple. The team is blindfolded.

Another game coming from TDC this spring is Guess-A-Sketch ($25). This one they described as “reverse Pictionary”—drawings are provided.

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This year Tiltfactor was showing off a new version of Awkward Moment, Awkward Moment at Work. Meant for a slightly older crown, this version is all about the workplace. It should be noted that while the game focuses on the workplace, there’s nothing particularly racy here. They state it’s a PG-13 game, so it’s more family friendly than other risque card games currently on the market.

While at their booth, I had a great chat with founder Mary Flanagan. She’s currently running a Kickstarter project for MONARCH, a game about building the most majestic court to be named heir to the throne. While not specifically a Tiltfactor release, I figured this would be the best place to talk about it! The art she showed me for the game so far was absolutely astounding, as seen to the right. Each piece was created on scratch board, scanned, and colored using Photoshop. Players in the game will have to manage both their cities and countryside to pull in resources, make sure their people are fed and happy, and fill your royal court with the most wondrous people and things in the land. There are even ways to disrupt the court of your siblings. Of course there are times when everyone must come together to make some sacrifice for the greater good of all.

I’ve actually got a prototype of this game sitting on my desk as we speak, and hope to get in some time with it soon. Keep an eye out for a Second Look sometime before the Kickstarter project has concluded.

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On display in New York, and at the same time making its way through distribution, was Flea Market ($21), the newest entry in Mayfair’s Fun Fair line. Flea Market is an auction game about buying low and selling high, but with a twist. Bids by individual players are, of a sort, fixed. That is, the players each roll two dice to determine both the priority of their bids and the prices they would have to pay—higher numbers go first but also have to pay more. As the item for sale in a round is selected randomly, the thing purchased by one player may end up resold to others (with the seller earning a bonus from the bank). The winner is the first player to turn a $24 stake in to $45.

Also on display by Mayfair were the rebranded Catan and a Catan Traveler Edition ($45, available in June).

UPDATE: As requested, here is a picture of the Catan cards:

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Always a favorite of mine, Peaceable Kingdom is well known for fantastic kids’ games with a cooperative element. Of course they carry other products such as stickers, temporary tattoos, and the amazingly cool Jean Tats, but we’re here to talk games. There’s 3 new games in the lineup this year and, as usual, they all look pretty cool.

Cauldron Quest – $19.99 – Ages 6+

I had to start off with Cauldron Quest because of it’s sheer cool-factor. A bit different, and more indepth, than Peaceable’s usual offerings, this one will offer a bit more to older players. The game has the players trying to get 3 ingredients into a potion to stop an evil wizard. Each pillar on the board has a hidden ingredient under it, so players must move the pillars towards the middle, figure out the hidden ingredients they hold, and get the 3 needed ones into the potion. The whole time the evil wizard is trying to stop you from doing so. If the wizard blocks all the path to the middle the players lose. Available now.

Dinosaur Escape – $17.99 – Ages 4+

A volcano is about to erupt! Get the dinosaurs to safety before it does to win the game. Players take turns moving the dinosaurs around the board looking for tiles that match the dinosaur being moved. If it’s found then that dinosaur can move to the safety of the island. Be careful, though. Roll a volcano and you have to place a piece of the 3D volcano puzzle in the middle of the board. It’s game over if the volcano is completed before all dinosaurs reach safety. The real fun here is the plastic dinosaurs and watching the volcano built up in the center of the board. Available in March.

This or That – $15.99 – Ages 10+

A new title in Peaceable Kingdom’s party line of games, This or That is a conversational game where players try to guess which of the 2 items on a disc the other player would choose. Each disc has 2 sides with choices on them. Do you like sneakers or sandals? Iced tea or lemonade? It’s portable, and easily played on trips or taken with you to parties. While the box says ages 10+, there’s nothing in here inappropriate for younger players. A certain reading level is required for the tokens, but that’s about it. Available in March.

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Of last year’s announced licenses, Gale Force Nine has just started shipping Homeland: The Game but has had to delay the Black Sails game to coincide with season three.

This year, the company announced licenses to produce Family Guy and WWE board games.

For Family Guy, Gale Force Nine plans a series of games, starting in the fall with Stewie’s Sexy Party. John Kovaleski, the company’s CEO, described it to me as a “Mad Libs-style scavenger hunt.” Players will be asked to find specific objects on cards featuring images from the television show. The loser of each round will be called “Meg”.

The WWE board game, Gale Force Nine hopes to release in time for Gen Con at a price similar to its other offerings (so around $50). Yes, it will include minis but don’t expect a map-based tactical combat game. Instead, it sounds like GF9 plans to emphasize the drama, meta-story, and antics typically involved in WWE wrestling events. The game will be team-vs-team. Each play will require the selection of a story card (for example, Royal Rumble or Cage Match) and the picking of coalitions. Individual WWE superstars will be represented by customized card decks and hits can be taken inside and outside of the ring.

Also of note regarding the WWE board game is Gale Force Nine’s plan for organized play, which the company says will be supported by the wrestling body and promoted to its existing fans.

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ION was tucked away in a corner of the upper floor of the convention center, far away from where most board/card games could be found. I only happened upon them while exploring, and almost missed them entirely. A small booth, they only had one game which was their namesake.

The ION Card Game – $12 – Ages 7+

Basically a deck of dominoes. Each player has a hand of seven cards their trying to get rid of by matching either set of pips on their cards to the current card on top of the pile on the table. If you don’t have a match then you’ve got to draw from the deck. Some cards have actions on them that force other players to draw cards, allow you to give players your cards, let you take another turn, etc..

I actually had a chance to play this game a new times with my kids today, and it’s a pretty good time! I was a bit skeptical at first, but the game plays very well. Nothing mind blowing, but some solid, quick fun. With the amount of cards in the deck, I figured this might go as long as some extremely tedious UNO games I’ve played in the past. The extra actions on the cards really help move the game along so that you don’t spent too much time going back and forth with the other players (up to 10!) Don’t let that 7+ age limit fool you, but 4-year-old was able to handle himself perfectly well with this one.

Since I’ve already played it, I think it’s OK to pull out the cat and call this a Second Look as well as a Toy Fair 2015 post.

A copy of ION was provided free for review by the publisher.

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