There were plenty of tabletop games to be seen at Toy Fair 2020 in New York this week, many of which tie into some of our favorite themes, like Funko figures, classic comic book and movie characters, and board game/video game hybrids. Here are a handful of the best examples we saw at the show.
Godzilla: Tokyo Clash
Funko Games
I got a chance to see a prototype of this upcoming Funko Kaiju game behind closed doors at Toy Fair, and it was one of my favorite game designs at the show. Using a modular hex-tile board with 3D buildings, players compete as either Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah or monster B-lister Megalon to destroy Tokyo. The monster minis, at least in this prototype, were hefty and detailed, and will appeal to figure collectors. Expected in August for $40. Funko Games also has new games based on Back to the Future, the classic Pan Am airline brand, and new additions to the Funkoverse strategy game series, including Jurassic Park and Jaws.
Back to the Future: Dice Through Time
Ravensburger
Not to be confused with Funko’s upcoming Back to the Future game (which also looks very cool), this Ravensburger entry is more of a dice-chucking game with lots of time travel. Players touch on events from all three movies trying to reset the timeline after Biff causes more temporal damage than usual. Expected in June for $30.
Betrayal at Mystery Mansion
Sarah Tew/CNET
Betrayal at House on the Hill is one of the all-time great tabletop horror games, where players explore a spooky haunted mansion that’s built one map tile at a time. The latest re-imaging of that game is Betrayal at Mystery Mansion, which gives it a Scooby-Doo makeover, while also making it a bit more family friendly, both less scary and easier to play. Many of the missions are based on actual Scooby-Doo episodes, but sadly, no Harlem Globetrotters guest spots. Expected in May, for $35.
Return to Dark Tower
Sarah Tew/CNET
The original Dark Tower was a 1981 board game featuring an electronic tower that guided the D&D-style gameplay. It’s since become a cult classic, and vintage copies go for big bucks on eBay. A new, updated remake just raised more than $4 million on Kickstarter, and we got to see an early prototype unit on its way to Toy Fair. This is a complex strategy game, with a massive tower in the center, linked to the game’s app via Bluetooth. Don’t expect to see it in stores before 2021, but at least that will give you time to save up, as it will cost around $150.
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