Upcoming Releases – Update 5.22.17

By Brian / May 22, 2017

Coming soon to a mobile device near you!

This is the 2nd installment of our feature covering what games are currently in development and any details we know. Upcoming Releases are an inexact science as often publishers or developers don’t officially announce a game until shortly before its release. Sometimes when the news does get out earlier, the details are scarce, if not completely non-existent. The 1st installment of Upcoming Releases covered 7 Wonders, 1812: The Invasion of Canada, and Bottom of the 9th.  We will do our best to let you know what is coming and when below, games listed alphabetically.  Click on the images to purchase the board games. 

More...

Burgle Bros.

Platform

Android & iOS

Release Date

Unknown at this time

Developer

Fowers Games

Burgle Bros is the great cooperative game where players attempt to pull of an epic heist while avoiding high level security. The game is from Tim Fowers, the designer of Paperback, and has gained quite a following despite not being backed by a major publisher. Just to round out the homemade feel of this story, Fowers writes apps himself, he ported Paperback and it is expected that he will be doing the Burgle Bros port as well. I can’t think of a better situation than the game designer personally porting the game, you can be assured the port will be true to the source material. News is slim on the port, a screenshot port showed up on Twitter in April, and that’s all we have to go on. Given that Paperback made it’s way to both Android and iOS, we are assuming the same will be the case here. We are eagerly awaiting more information on this one, as it is one of our most anticipated Upcoming Releases.  

Codenames

Platform

Unknown at this time

Release Date

Unknown at this time

Developer

CGE Digital

That’s a lot of unknowns, but unlike others on this list, this game actually exists! See proof here: 

On the surface a social, group-based word game seems to make for a poor choice for an app port, but Codenames is a little different. The game is based around minimal communication, one word clues to be exact, so this could actually work in a great way. In the video linked above, the game designer Vlaada Chvátil mentioned the release would be soon. CGE Digital appears to have shifted focus to its Through The Ages app (see below), so it might be a little while before we get a Codenames app. However, they have done some initial closed testing so the game is somewhat far along in the development process.

Evolution

Platform

iPad & possibly others

Release Date

Unknown at this time

Developer

North Star Games Digital

This one is pretty exciting but also has a lot of unknowns. First, the exciting stuff. North Star Games only have one modern board game to their name: Evolution. North Star Games spun off its own digital branch specifically to create a digital version of their one board game. We saw a similar level of focus (although not quite as singular) with the Star Realms app which is one of our favorites to date. Evolution mixes different game mechanics and allows players a variety of avenues towards victory. Concentrate on carnivores to battle opponents? Concentrate on defense mechanisms to stick to yourself? Both viable strategies here. The variety has us excited about an app. Now, for the unknown. This game originally showed up last year on the iPad in demo form. At the time, the thought was that it would be an iPad port only. It’s tough to follow the trail of news from North Star Games, but as of March, the official word from North Star Game(check it out here) is that they will be entering alpha testing soon with a Kickstarter mid-2017. They also mention the game will be coming to “PC and mobile.” In our minds “mobile” implies general iOS support and also Android, not just iPad exclusive. We should know much more about this app when the Kickstarter launches over the next month or two, we’ll keep you posted.

Jaipur

Platform

Android & iOS

Release Date

Summer/Fall 2017 May 24, 2017

Developer

Asmodee Digital

Asmodee Digital teases this release in their March Newsletter.  They didn’t provide any additional details, but given their history, it is safe to assume this release will be for Android and iOS. Asmodee Digital has a great stable of high quality ports of big name games, it is exciting to see them getting a chance to do Jaipur. Jaipur is an excellent two-player set collection game. We pegged it as a game we’d like to see ported because it is just the kind of quick playing game that we love to see in app form. The way the turns play out, the direct player interaction is minimal so a great asynchronous experience should be expected. Asmodee hasn’t announced a release date, but we’d expect a Summer release, Fall at the latest.  

Update:  Jaipur was released on May 24!  

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

Platform

Android & iOS

Release Date

Unknown

Developer

CGE Digital

Taking a peek at the old BGG top overall games list...we got Twilight Struggle (#2) in app form a little while back, Terra Mystica (#4) was released earlier this year, the next four are all very new so we’re hoping for apps somewhere down the line. Sitting at #3 overall is Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization. It is a long and heavy game, even by the lofty standards of other top 10 games. So much so that it’s going to be very interesting to see how it is implemented. The game has been in development for a little while now, designer Vlaada Chvatil said about a year ago he expected a 2016 release, that obviously didn’t happen. The good news is that they started rolling out the beta testing program in mid-April. It shouldn’t be too much longer now, we’ll soon have another top 10 BGG game in app form.

You can find the board game versions on amazon!

Leave a comment: