Gen Con 2016 Game Publisher Interviews

Earlier this week I shared an overview of my first Gen Con experience.

I had a great time being immersed in the spectacle of so much gaming goodness. But without a doubt, the best part for me was meeting with people I’ve only interacted with via email and online for so many years.

I was able to chat with many more publishers than I could do interviews with. But time just didn’t permit for everything I would’ve liked to have done.

Below are the 13 video interviews I was able to capture while at Gen Con 2016.

Note: With the immense crowds at Gen Con, there’s plenty of background noise during the interviews as well. But I’m sure you’ll still be able to understand everything they have to share.

If you’d like to jump to a video interview of one of these fabulous game publishers, simply click on their name in the list below.

• Arcane Wonders
• Bézier Games
• Blue Orange Games
• Calliope Games
• FoxMind
• iello
• Mayday Games
• North Star Games
• Red Raven
• Stonemaier Games
• Stronghold Games
• Thames & Kosmos
• USAopoly

Arcane Wonders

The Arcane Wonders booth wasn’t hard to miss because of the big purple couches for Speechless as well as the throne for Royals and Sheriff of Nottingham. I was able to make my way back by for a demo game of Royals later and really enjoyed it. Take a quick look at the 3 games Tony was anxious to share with everyone at Gen Con. (Update: See our full reviews of Speechless and Royals.)

Bézier Games

Bézier Games had a constant crowd at their booth with people playing an upcoming Essen release, Colony, as well as recently released America – a fun trivia game with a twist. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with Ted. I was able to play a full game of America and agree that it’s a great game for families. I definitely want to play it with my family and friends.

(Update: Now you can see our full review of America.)

Blue Orange Games

Another game publisher that was hard to miss was Blue Orange Games. With Brandan dressed up as Dr. Eureka, people just had to stop to see the game. Plus, the large version of Vikings on Board was a big attraction. We’ve reviewed a number of Blue Orange Games and love them all. So perfect for families.

(Update: You can now see our full review of Vikings on Board.)

Calliope Games

Calliope Games was also stationed in the Family Fun section along the base aisle. They were demoing games from their new Titan Series of games. Natasha gave me a run down of Running With The Bulls and look forward to playing a full game.

(Update: You can now see our full review of Running with the Bulls.)

FoxMind

FoxMind is a game publisher in Canada and it was great to meet with JC and hear about their latest games for families. We recently reviewed a game from FoxMind that Caleb would have rated a six if our ratings went that high. The game is called Six and is a good abstract game. Catch a glimpse of some of their latest games Get Rich Quick, Puppy Love, and Match Madness in this short video interview.

(Update: You can now see our full reviews of Get Rich Quick and Match Madness.)

iello

The big yellow tables and shirts and stack of King of Tokyo and King of New York made it easy to find iello’s booth. Of course, even if it were hard to find, I’d still track it down because we really enjoy iello games and I was really looking forward to finally meeting Keith. I was able to get in a demo of Oceanos after this interview as well and it’s definitely worth checking out further.

Mayday Games

Among this list, Mayday Games is the one game publisher that I see on a more regular basis because they’re always at SaltCon. I get to play games with Ryan at that annual event and it’s always a great time. Yet, I’ve never done an official interview… until now.

North Star Games

We’ve reviewed every North Star Games game because we enjoy them so much and they’re great for family play. Take a look at our reviews for Wits and Wagers Family and Say Anything Family to see for yourself.  And hearing Luke talk about Evolution: The Beginning and Happy Salmon, it looks like I’ve got a few more North Star Games to add to my wish list.

(Update: You can now see our full review of Happy Salmon.)

Red Raven

At SaltCon this year I was able to play Above and Below by Red Raven. It’s a fun board game with a choose-your-own-adventure element and the amazing artwork by the designer himself, Ryan Laukat. The upcoming game, Near and Far, looks just as promising.

Stonemaier Games

The first Stonemaier game we played last year was Between Two Cities and it quickly became a favorite. And in the weeks leading up to Gen Con we played Scythe and I was immediately hooked. So getting a chance to sit down and talk with Jamey for a while was very cool. The interview was quick, and the discussion afterward was great. Feel free to check out my review “17 Things I Love About Scythe“.

Stronghold Games

The first two games Stronghold Games published were Survive: Escape From Atlantis and Code 777. They were both remakes that Stronghold brought back to life soon after we started doing game reviews. Code 777 is still one of our favorite deduction games and we still love playing Survive as well. After playing a demo of Stronghold’s latest game, The Dragon and Flagon, it easily took the top spot of the game I enjoyed playing the most at Gen Con 2016.

Note: Stephen Buonocore also showed me their new game Terraforming Mars, but I blew the audio portion. So unfortunately I had to cut it from the interview video. Sorry.

Thames & Kosmos

We’ve reviewed a few Thames & Kosmos games this past year and have enjoyed each one. Dimension and Ubongo are particular hits with our family. And we’ve loved the progressive adventuring in the cooperative board game, Legends of Andor. Take a quick look at the Thames & Kosmos games Lili was telling the world about at Gen Con.

USAopoly

Another recent game release that we reviewed a few weeks ago was Star Trek Panic by USAopoly and Fireside Games. While USAopoly had a nice area for teaching Star Trek Panic at Gen Con, the big draw was the upcoming game, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle. It’s also one of the games I’m most looking forward to playing!

(Update: Now you can see our full review of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle.)

Gamewright

Oh, how I wish I had a video interview to share with you of my discussion with Gamewright. We are big Gamewright fans because they’re games are so perfect for families. We’ve loved every Gamewright game we’ve played and Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are two of our favorite games.

But unfortunately, it was the first interview I did at Gen Con and I didn’t have the microphone connected right. Nora and I talked about a number of great Gamewright games including the recently released Imagine and Sushi Go Party!

My Gen Con traveling buddy, Jeff, and I played a game of Sushi Go Party! later that night and had a fun time. Thought we’d like to do the “party” portion and play with more players next time.

Thank you to all the publishers that took some time to talk with me at Gen Con 2016! I look forward to the next time we meet again!