From The Best Four Days in Gaming, straight to you here at Gaming Library!

Hello Gaming Library Family!

Gen Con Indy 2023, the largest and most established tabletop gaming convention in North America, saw an impressive turnout of over 70,000 unique participants. Taking place from August 3 to 6 at the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium, the event marked a triumphant return for gamers post-pandemic, showcasing "The Best Four Days in Gaming." Fans were treated to a fantastic gaming experience, alongside news of a Welcome to Night Vale RPG releasing next year, news on Dungeons & Dragons, old favorites like Magic The Gathering, new releases like Disney Lorcana, and other features from your favorite board game publishers.

The scale of Gen Con is unmatched. The exhibition hall boasted more than 570 game publishers and vendors this year. Attendees were spoiled for choice with an array of over 20,000 ticketed activities spanning board games, card games, role playing games, comedy shows, live music performances, informative seminars, the traditional Costume Contest, Film Festival, and an assortment of other attractions from favored board game makers. Simultaneously, alongside the in-person convention, the Gen Con Online program hosted over 700 virtual games and events.

“Gen Con is the mecca of gaming; it’s where everyone spends the Best Four Days of just pure board games,” shares Gaming Library CEO Hans Kenner Fernandez. “It’s the one weekend out of the year where the gamers basically outnumber everyone else in the city, and definitely something not to be missed.”

We would’ve loved to go again, but we sadly couldn’t. *Cue tears* But we can give you updates on some of the features from Gen Con that you can actually look forward to seeing on Gaming Library’s shelves soon!

• Expeditions
• Expeditions is a competitive, card-driven, engine-building game of exploration. As a sequel to Scythe, It is designed to evoke similar feelings but with different mechanics: 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. Expeditions sends players on a new adventure into Siberia, to a massive meteorite crash site 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.

• Freelancers: A Crossroads Game
• "Freelancers: A Crossroads Game" invites you to an exhilarating adventure in a world where humans are long gone. Embrace a realm where you play as a freelancer tackling wild gigs amidst an even more chaotic gig economy. Traverse forgotten ruins, conquer wilderness challenges, and face funky creatures for epic loot. Unleash your character's charm, roll magic-infused dice, and dive into rollercoaster stories of monsters and mayhem – all condensed into one unforgettable night. No game master needed – a dynamic app handles storytelling with lively voices. With branching narratives, easy rules, and no prep needed, grab your crew, roll those dice, and experience the thrill where work and play collide in an explosive whirlwind of fun!

• Barcelona
• In Barcelona, players take on the role of builders in 19th-century Barcelona working on new expansions to the city. Your main goal is to construct buildings to accommodate the citizens who want to leave the old city, and also build streets, create tram lines, and build public services during that process. Over a variable number of rounds, players will be scored three times before moving on to the final scoring phase. Every round will have players taking a single turn consisting of two or more actions, a building phase, and then preparation for their next turn. Players may even decide to explore "Modernisme", a new architectural and arts style that has been gaining popularity among the rich. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

• 3 Ring Circus
• Step into the thrilling world of "3 Ring Circus," a captivating circus-themed board game set in the 19th century USA. Take on the role of a circus director and compete to build the most dazzling troupe of performers. As you journey through towns and cities, recruit artists, and stage breathtaking shows to catch the eye of the legendary P.T. Barnum. With strategic choices and a dash of luck, secure your circus's fame by earning the loudest cheers in regional scoring. Get ready for a game that delivers all the excitement and charm of the circus under one grand tent!

• Sea Salt & Paper
• Create an ocean of folded paper! In Sea Salt & Paper, players assemble their hand of cards, play their effects, and take initiative to stop the round. The goal for players is to manage their hand and collect sets of cards. On your turn you may either draw two cards from the deck, keep one and discard the other face up, or take the topmost card of one discard pile. You may then play matching pairs from your hand to take special effects like stealing a card from your opponent or taking another turn. Once a player reaches 7 points in their hand, they may announce either a Stop or a Last Chance. If they say Stop, all players score the points on their cards. If they say Last Chance, they're betting that after one last round they will have the most points. If their bet is won they get bonus points! The game is played in rounds until one player reaches the required number of points for victory. Will you dare to give your opponents one last turn to try to maximize your own points?