The coronavirus menace has taken the world by surprise in an unprecedented way. We’re stuck home looking for things to do. Are you missing social contact already? Here’s a list of some of the hottest and most anticipated board games in 2020 that will reconnect you with friends and family in no time! The global COVID-19 crisis seems to get worse by the day. People everywhere are advised to #STAYHOME and avoid all social interactions, and all events - gaming or otherwise - are getting canceled left and right. Staying at home and playing games is what we gamers are trained to do, but some face-to-face interaction will be greatly appreciated after the who-knows-how-long quarantine.
That’s why we’ve prepared a handy list of cool-looking board games in different genres that you can check out and even preorder. That way you’ll have what to be excited about when the isolation is over. Let’s go!
Blood On The Clocktower
This creepy party game built a lot of hype with its successful Kickstarter campaign, collecting more than half a million USD in funding by more than 6,400 supporters.
It is a 5 to 20 player social deduction game about a demon terrorizing a quiet village. At day, players socialize and whisper in secret their suspicions. At night, one of these peaceful townsfolk is revealed to be a demon in disguise who takes the lives of the innocent.
All the bookkeeping is done by a Storyteller player who makes sure the game runs smoothly without a board or any components, really. Blood on the Clocktower also has a handy drop-in/drop-out mechanic allowing new players to join the fun even if they missed the beginning. Definitely a social game.
Gatefall
Gatefall looks rather interesting. It is a big-scale miniatures game in an unorthodox world where a gate opens between a high fantasy kingdom and a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Think of it as Lord of the Rings meets Mad Max.
In the default game mode, two players will take the two warbands and clash them into battle.
In the game’s other mode, 2 to 8 players will step in the shoes of just a single character and try to prevail in a Battle Royale fight to the end.
Honestly, what’s not to love in this concept?
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
Gloomgaven is the #1 game on BGG, the most prestigious list of board games, and for a good reason. The absolutely massive box is filled to the brim with tiles, monsters, heroes, maps and a big old book of adventures, structured very much like the campaign of a classic RPG.
This year, we’re offered a new entry to the series dubbed Jaws of the Lion. It comes with 4 new heroes, 16 monster types and 25 scenarios, presented as a lighter, more casual, standalone game, meant to introduce new people to the world’s most popular board game.
So, You've Been Eaten.
The list will be incomplete without a wild card, right? So, You've Been Eaten. That’s a complete sentence, a premise for a game and also the official title of this little product. What makes it different? This is probably the first-ever 0-2 player game. One player is a space miner deep in the belly of a cosmic beast, desperately trying to mine some resources and get out. The other plays the monster, trying to digest the little intruder. Two players can take on each other piloting the two roles, one player could play just the astronaut or the monster against the automated actions of the other, or… both can be automated and you can just witness the game they’re playing. That’s right, a zero-player spectator board game!
Pandemic Legacy Season 3
Come on, this is hardly a surprise. Not just because the theme is sadly in fashion, but just because of the sheer hype surrounding this release. Pandemic Legacy is widely regarded as the best Legacy-style game, and the best co-op title to boot.
The world is engulfed by a massive sickness. Hard to imagine, right? You are a team of scientists, researches and specialists whose job is to contain the outbreak until a cure is found. Band together, cure the diseases as a team and you win!
“Legacy” means that the game is meant to be played with the same group over many weeks in a continuous and branching story. The box is full of envelopes that you crack open and read their contents only when you’re instructed. This introduces new events and mechanics to the game, constantly keeping you on your toes.
The first two seasons of Pandemic Legacy were a massive success this is the long-awaited final entry to complete the trilogy. There hardly is a more anticipated game set to release this year.
