Ares Games: GenCon 2023 preview

Ares Games will be at Gen Con 2023 (Booth #541, August 3-6, Indianapolis) and will be showcasing multiple new releases and upcoming games, previews, and events. Participants will have the opportunity to try and purchase the family and party game Ensemble, the economy game The Rich and The Good and the euro-themed game Cangaceiros, as well as the first copies of the upcoming game Against the Shadow, the solo and co-op expansion of War of the Ring: The Card Game, the RPG Fantasy World, as well as the Caquot M/Ae 800 Dragon observation balloons and the new Nieuport 16 packs WW1 Wings of Glory.

Game designer Ian Brody, author of Quartermaster General and War of the Ring – The Card Game, will be Ares Games’ special guest at the show. Ian will present the preview of Quartermaster General East Front, the first 2-player game featuring the popular Quartermaster General game system, and he will serve as a judge at the War of the Ring The Card Game – GenCon Grand Tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

Another future release, debuting at Gen Con, is the long-awaited third expansion for the War of the Rings board game, Kings of Middle-earth. It will focus on the role of the rulers of the Free Peoples and their weaknesses, expanding their role in the story with new characters and rules to bring Théoden, Denethor, Dáin, Brand and Thranduil to life.

At Ares Games HQ in the events area (inside the stadium), 38 events are planned, including “Gargantuan” versions of Quartermaster General WW2 Second Edition and Quartermaster General: 1914 – three times the size of the regular games. Other games in the program are Ensemble, The Rich and The Good, War of the Ring – The Card Game, Sword & Sorcery, Wings of Glory and Sails of Glory.

Play with Ares Games at GenCon – Booth #541. More information about the games can be found on the Ares Games website – www.aresgames.eu.

The rich and the good is a new edition of the cult classic Hab & Gut, designed by Carlo Rossi – the first in English. In The Rich and the Good, players trade commodities from around the world and have access to inside information to support their investments and manipulate the markets. The game uses an unusual shared card hand mechanic and an original winning condition – to get rich and be a benefactor at the same time.

What goes best with a Christmas tree – a crocodile, a little girl or the pyramids? ensemble is a visual, arts-based cooperative game that’s easy and fast to play for two to ten players. They are challenged to “think” in sync with each other and vote on the best match between the revealed cards without communication, proving that they are a tight-knit group, much like musicians in an orchestra.

Cangaceiros is a strategic competitive game set in late 19th and early 20th century Brazil. Feared throughout northeastern Brazil, the “Cangaceiros” were bandits who fought for honor and freedom and opposed the abuses of the landowners called Coronéis and the government. In the game, each player (2 to 5) plays a gang trying to survive in the hostile desert lands, hunted by the Volantes who have been trained by the state police to kill them. For each band, a chief can be selected from the 20 available chiefs, each with their own unique skills and traits.

Against the shadow is the first expansion of War of the Ring – The Card Game, a 2 to 4 player game inspired by Tolkien’s trilogy. Each player controls one or more factions in the War of the Ring, either on the side of the Free Peoples or the Shadow Armies, using a unique deck that reproduces the strengths and weaknesses of the specific factions they play with. Against the Shadow allows for solo and cooperative play for up to two players on the Free Peoples side, while shadow factions are automatically managed using special decks included with the expansion. The expansion is slated for release in September 2023, with a limited number of copies available for sale at Gen Con.

fantasy world is an exciting RPG full of narrative action, adventure and exploration in a fantastical world. Designed for three to five participants, it is an immersive experience that requires both strategy and imagination. Fantasy World is based on the popular Powered by the Apocalypse system and improves it with new rules and procedures: now everything is as clear, simple, unambiguous, accessible and practical as possible. Published by MS Edizioni and distributed by Ares Games, the game is scheduled for release in August 2023, weeks after the show.

WW1 Wings of Glory – Caquot M/Ae 800 Dragon, the most popular balloon of World War I, comes to the miniature air combat game Wings of Glory, allowing players to place the “Guardians of the Air” at the heart of a scenario. The observation balloons played a crucial role in the struggle for air and ground supremacy during World War I, as they could support troops, gather intelligence, and assist with artillery fire. The special packs contain them in two basic colors, sand and brown, with everything you need to play with them in many different situations and a sticker sheet for customization.

Along with the Drachens, new models of the Nieuport 16 will be launched in September 2023, great for playing with the balloons and including the planes of Jean Navarre, Squadrille Lafayette and Henri De Guibert.

Stay tuned to Gaming Trend for all the latest tabletop gaming news!

Ares Games is a board game publisher with offices in the USA and Italy, founded in 2011 with the aim of developing high-quality hobby products for an international audience. Ares Games is the publisher of the award-winning War of the Ring board game, the Wings of Glory series of aircraft combat games and miniatures, the award-winning ship-to-ship tactical miniatures game Sails of Glory, and the cooperative tactical dungeon crawler Sword and Sorcery. The catalog also includes family games and euro games. Ares Games is also the main distributor in the US and other non-European countries for games published by some of Europe’s top board game and role-playing game publishers. For more information, visit our website and social media – linktr.ee/aresgames.