Great Expectations: Summer 2023 - Games Edition

I'm on vacation (in my own house), and starting to relax. Everything is sunny and fine. 🌞 So what better time than now to look ahead. My first "expectations" post will be about games, the second one about Solitaire Times itself.

What I want, what I really really want

It will be my birthday at the end of this vacation. I already know I will get Great Western Trail: New Zealand as a present. 🐑 It will mainly get to the table as a family game, but I will absolutely try playing it solo against the bot to write a post about. It will be my first modern edition of GWT. I've got the first edition (that didn't have an official solo), skipped the second edition because why have two, didn't like Argentina that much (I couldn't make out the colours of some icons and got frustrated, also it needs a lot of planning) so I skipped that one as well, but New Zealand looks cool. Especially the new card play and the sheep shearing.

Later this year I'll definitely want to buy Legendary Encounters: The Matrix. 😎 I've played all other editions of Legendary Encounters and love these thematic deck-building games. Perhaps I'll do an overview post about them - on the other hand I have no idea if the older games are still available to buy.

I'm waiting for the Dutch edition of Lost Ruins of Arnak: The Missing Expedition. This is a weird game in my collection, as I never feel like playing it, but when I do I enjoy it a lot. The expansion contains the solo campaign that I still haven't played and also add new leaders and temple tracks, so all in all it looks like a great package.

There are two games by Hermann Luttmann on my list: Miracle at Dunkerque (that I mainly want to play because of the novel Blackout/All Clear that I loved) and The Plum Island Horror (where I am hoping that playing the game will "write me a novel" every time). Another game that may be releaed this year is Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, which could be a good first step for me towards playing COIN games (I've got two of these, unplayed, hidden away behind other games in the attic).

I've stopped buying content voor Marvel Champions, as I have got enough to keep me entertained forever. I may even try to get rid of some stuff. But before I do, I am tempted to buy the Deadpool Hero Pack and do a Deadpool vs Deadpool (Champions/Legendary) post here on the blog. Which version just pulverizes the fourth wall to put the biggest grin on my face?

Several euro games and expansions that look interesting to me will be released at Essen, but I'll save them for Athena and my Essen preview post. Also near the end of the year we'll have Dune Imperium: Uprising, which has me scratching my head. On the one hand I am glad they won't put out yet another expansion to my beloved Dune: Imperium, on the other hand I don't really feel like buying another base game with a mix of similar and different content.

Watch my back

Because of the increased shipping and VAT costs in most campaigns, I have not backed much this year. I joined a group pledge for Roll for Great Old Ones, as I keep trying to find a roll and write game that is fun to play. Two expansions (D-Day Dice: Reinforcements and SSO: Classis Cetera) and two decks of cards for my collection (Wheel of the Year series: Yule and Ostara), and that was it. Then of course Midhalla suprised me this month.

Later this year we'll have Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns, which better be good as I really need Mass Effect: The Board Game. And I'll have a look at Dragonbond Quest, hoping that this third iteration of a fun Sadlers' game will have some viability. Something that will be hard to judge from a crowdfunding campaign of course.

In the meantime some games that I backed earlier will arrive. Starting with Halls of Hegra. I enjoyed Donning the Purple by the same designer and am looking forward to this mix of worker placement and States of Siege solitaire game. Also this month: Voidfall. A game that I probably will regret backing as I don't have anyone to play it with and solo it may be too heavy for me. But, who knows.

Then I guess stealth game SAS - Rogue Regiment will arrive this year? It's at the printers now. I may also receive TradeWorlds: Exterra Edition after a wait of five years (as the campaign creator died, I am not going to complain about this - I just hope my gaming preferences haven't changed too much). All bets are off for Onimaru, where the wait is four years now (and no excuses here). I'm also not counting on Deep Space D-6: The Long Way Home RPG Gamebook this year, but I really shouldn't have backed it - I was basically sending the designer some money, could have done that through PayPal. Now I've got an open crowdfunding campaign nagging me. I probably won't ever even play it.

😵 Two games that may or may not ever arrive here are the pre-orders for Contra and Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon by the infamous Blacklist Games/Alex Lim. Pity. Last of the postponed games is Freedom Five - but here the communication is fine and I don't mind the wait that much.

So that's it for me. What are you looking forward to in 2023?

All box cover images from BGG