The 23 most anticipated board games of Gen Con 2023

Gen Con is a premiere event for board game fanatics. Publishers launch their latest titles and fans get their first peek.

This article is broken down into two sections. First are 13 games the author is excited to check out. This is followed by the top 10 games via fan vote on BoardGameGeek.com. Which game piques your interest the most? Leave a comment or hit us up on Twitter @TheGamesLetter and let us know.

Disney Lorcana

One of the hardest tickets to get for Gen Con 2023 was for Lorcana, selling out almost instantly. From the publisher:

Disney Lorcana is a trading card game (TCG) that features Disney characters in both original and reimagined art styles that live in an all-new world with unique and magical gameplay.

The game is set in the rich and fantastical world of Lorcana, a combination of the words "lore" and "arcana". Players will take on the mantle of Illumineer, a powerful sorcerer, and band together Disney characters from Lorcana's "The Great Illuminary", a treasury of all Disney songs and stories ever made.

Find Disney Lorcana at booth 2001.

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

Tired of just having your favorite characters from the Red Dragon Inn series drink and have fun? Me either, but the latest offering from SlugFest Games takes the adventures out of the bar, and into the world. From the publisher:

An explosion in the basement of the Red Dragon Inn launches our heroes on the adventure of their lives! Evil schemes are in motion - can the adventurers thwart them before it’s too late?

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is a cooperative tactical combat game set in the well-loved fantasy world of adventurers and tavern brawls. The scenario driven campaign will pit players against unique challenges presented by each of the fully illustrated maps. Band together with your friends and with a bit of luck and careful maneuvering, you’ll complete your party’s objective…before your enemies achieve their own! Lay out your map and it’s on toward adventure! No dungeon master or assembly required!

Find Tales from the Red Dragon Inn at booth 2119, or on Amazon.

Penny Black

A beautiful looking game about stamp collecting might be the game I didn’t realize I needed before now. From the publisher:

Seek out prestigious stamps and compete to build the most lucrative collection in Penny Black. In each round, choose which three stamps to add to your collection, then strategically place them in your stamp album to score the most points based on your collection criteria. Each player's criteria varies, and there's no telling which stamps will be available next.

Keep an eye out for the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp that ushered in the art of stamp collecting – and that is a highly sought-after prize in this game since it can enhance the value of your album. The player with the most valuable collection after ten rounds wins!

Find Penny Black at booth 1907.

Expeditions

The popular board game Scythe gets a sequel called Expeditions. From the publisher:

The sequel to Scythe sends players on a new adventure into Siberia, where a massive meteorite crashed near the Tunguska River, awakening ancient corruption. An expedition led by Dr. Tarkovsky ventures into the taiga to learn about the meteorite and its impact on the land. Itching for adventure, heroes from the war privately fund their own expeditions to Siberia, hoping to find artifacts, overcome challenges, and ultimately achieve glory.

Expeditions is a competitive, card-driven, engine-building game of exploration. Play cards to gain power, guile, and unique worker abilities; move your mech to mysterious locations and gain cards found among the tiles; use workers, items, meteorites, and quests to enhance your mech; and use power and guile to vanquish corruption.

Find Expeditions at booth 2909 or on Amazon.

Chomp

Sheep herders, beware. It’s the age of dinosaur herding, and your flock might be lunch. From the publisher:

The era of the dinosaurs is here! Your goal in Chomp is to form herds of dinos and make sure they are all fed. Herbivores and carnivores both need food sources, but if the carnies are not properly fed, they don't mind chomping an herbie to fill their bellies!

You can find Chomp at booth 1641.

Ierusalem: Anno Domini

Can you gain enough influence to sit next to Jesus at The Last Supper? Fin out in Ierusalem: Anno Domini. From the publisher:

Jerusalem, spring 33 AD. A crowd gathers at the city gates to welcome Jesus of Nazareth as he prepares to celebrate Easter with his apostles and followers. With a revolutionary message, he has garnered supporters everywhere but also looks of suspicion among religious authorities. The Last Supper will soon be celebrated and the fate of one of the most influential characters in human history will be sealed.

In Ierusalem Anno Domini, each player represents one of the communities of followers of Jesus of Nazareth who, coming to Jerusalem from nearby towns and villages, want to approach the place of the Last Supper and position themselves as close as possible to the seats of Jesus and his apostles.

You can find Ierusalem Anno Domini at booth 2719 or on Amazon.