Any tabletop fanatic is going to be pretty familiar with popular board game publisher Asmodee Digital. They have produced digital versions of some of the most popular board games out there today. Ticket to Ride, PandemicMysterium, and Splendor are just a few of the high profile releases they have brought to Android, and it would appear that the ride isn't over yet. That's right, Asmodee Digital announced a slew of upcoming games at Gen Con that are either in development right now or are releasing sometime soon.

I would like to start with the four games that have a soft date set for their release. They are all either slated for a Q3 or Q4 release in 2017.

  • First up, and the only one with a Q3 release, is Ticket to Ride: First Journey. It's a title intended more for younger audiences, which should give parents an easy way to introduce their kids to the wonders of strategic train-based route planning.
  • Next up we have Carcassonne, which is scheduled for a Q4 release. Now I know what you are thinking, "Doesn't Carcassonne already have a game on Android?" Well, it actually does not. The older version you are thinking of has been pulled from the Play Store. Which leaves Asmodee Digital plenty of room to bring about a new release packed with plenty of new features, such as online multiplayer.
  • Smash Up is the next game lined up for a Q4 release. Apparently, it's a multiplayer shuffle-building card game that utilizes eight different factions, which should allow for dozens of different combinations in your strategy of attack.
  • And the last title with a soft date of release is Abalone, which should come to the Play Store sometime in Q4. It's a two-player marble-based strategy board game where players take turns pushing the marbles around the board, with the goal of pushing six of the opposing player's marbles off the board.

Sorry, no screens were provided for Abalone.

Next I would like to delve into the five games that are still under development and have yet to receive any type of release date.

  • To begin we have Zombicide, a cooperative board game in which you take the role of a survivor and use your skills to find weapons, shoot zombies, gain experience, and customize your heroes: the more zombies you kill, the more they come.
  • Unlike these other board games, I would say Bananagrams is more of a classic game, in the sense that it has roots as a Scrabble variant. Essentially you play this like a speed game of Scrabble, where it's your goal to arrange your tiles into a grid of connected words faster than your opponents.
  • So far Scythe only has Steam listed as a release platform, I would hope the iOS icon included with the press kit signifies a mobile release is planned. If you are unfamiliar with the title, this is an engine-building game set in an alternate history of the 1920s. Your job is to conquer new territory, enlist recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate large mechs.
  • Development for Terraforming Mars mustn't be that far along, as there are no platforms announced yet. This is a tough board game to describe. Some compare it to a combination of the games Terra Mystica and Race for the Galaxy. Another way to phrase it would be that this is a card tableau/engine building euro game.
  • And last we have Gloom. This is another title that still has no platforms announced for its release. It's a card game where you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family. Your goal is pretty simple, make sure that every character suffers the worst tragedies possible, all before you pass on through death's door.

Sorry no icon was provided for Gloom.

I have to admit, this is an impressive catalog that Asmodee Digital is building. Not only is it going to be nice to finally have a version of Carcassonne on Android that can be played online, but the upcoming releases for Bananagrams and Zombicide have me genuinely excited.

PRESS RELEASE