NYTF 2015

I got a chance to see some great board games at New York Toy Fair this year. The usual big ticket publishers were there like Mayfair, iello, and Asmodee. But, some of the hidden gems were at a booth that house smaller game designers who all had their games published by a company called AdMagic.

AdMagic is a publisher that allows people to get their games made without signing onto a bigger publisher. This gives them an independent feel that immediately grabbed our attention! (We love our indie games here at Engaged Family Gaming!)

The Game of 49 is unique, but will feel familiar.

I saw The Game of 49 while I was walking down a row of small tables at New York Toy Fair. I have to admit that it did not look very interesting to me at first. But, the designer was able to help me understand the magic.

A lot of boards games recently have focused on delivering something new and unfamiliar. We see fantastic mini-figurines. We see bizarre shaped meeples. We see unique cards all the time. The Game of 49 focuses on delivering interesting game play using components that we have all used for most of our lives.

The game play is built around auctioning off squares on a bingo board using fake paper money. The goal is to try and purchase four squares in a row. It sounds simple, but the auction mechanic makes the territory control more difficult than it sounds.

If this sounds like it is up your alley make sure to head over to the BreakingGames.com website to order it!

I got a chance to see some great board games at New York Toy Fair this year. The usual big ticket publishers were there like Mayfair, iello, and Asmodee. But, some of the hidden gems were at a booth that house smaller game designers who all had their games published by a company called AdMagic.

AdMagic is a publisher that allows people to get their games made without signing onto a bigger publisher. This gives them an independant feel that immediately grabbed our attention! (We love our indie games here at Engaged Family Gaming!)

Learning about the outdoors is going to be very cool!

The Appalachian Trail Game came about as a bit of “Trail Magic.” One of the game designers was hiking the Appalachian Trail and opened his map. He then thought to himself, “Wouldn’t this be an interesting game board?” He then set about using his time hiking to develop a game that featured the wonder of the trail and could be used to teach newcomers the basics!

Players are dealt a series of gear cards that represent actual equipment that they would need to go on the famous cross-country hike. You then progress along the trail and are presented with challenges like trivia questions or natural hazards that you need to “gear up for.”  The Appalachian Trail Game is well suited for scouts, outdoorsmen (and outdoorswomen!), and anyone who is interested in the Appalachian Trail.

It was originally funded through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign (it funded in less than 48 hours!) It is currently available for purchase directly from their site or through BreakingGames.com. We’ll be following up with a formal review later this year! Keep your eyes on Engaged Family Gaming for more great games!