WonderCon 2024: New or Noteworthy Tabletop Games
Did you know you can attend WonderCon (Anaheim, CA) and play tabletop games all day? It’s a gamers dream! The games area of WonderCon consists of several tables, people casually playing card and board games, and creators showing off their creations. Here are a few, old and new, that stood out.
Dungeons and Dragons
One of the most popular games was a tabletop role-playing game, or TTRPG for short, called Dungeons and Dragons; which, according to Wikipedia, had 12-15 million people playing the game in North America alone in 2017. Since then, it has only gotten more popular over the years with new expansions and inspired video games such as the critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios.
While you could sign up to play a longer 2-hour D&D session, they also had people there dedicated to teaching newbies who wanted to learn. I was able to play their tutorial with an experienced player guiding me as the dungeon master, who told the story and mediated conversations I had with other characters in the story. Although I already have some knowledge of D&D, the scenario and prebuilt characters made it easy to grasp the situation and get to the action. In all it was quite literally a blast, as I was able to fire a flaming arrow at an oil flask I convinced a monster to hold in my game. You can find out more about D&D at dndbeyond.com.
Eternal Kings
Another game I got to play was Eternal Kings by Rolando Issa. This is an indie game that is more than 7 years in the making. It’s about two armies fighting in a battle that will determine the fate of their kingdoms, wait… that’s chess! However, this isn’t your normal game of kings and queens.
Each piece has unique names, stats, and abilities. Some allow you to take less damage, move another piece, and draw cards. Then when you move one of your pieces, you can play cards from your hand. This makes the game much more complicated than regular chess but not in a bad way. My gaming partner said, “I like the unique board states this allows the game to have.”
While I was playing, I had to think outside the box with the abilities of my pieces to win. Which admittedly, I wasn’t able to achieve due to my comedic lack of foresight. I had a fun time playing the game and would recommend it to anyone who wished chess was more interesting. You can find them on their website eternalkings.com.
Beast Builders
The final game I got to play was called Beast Builders by Matt Yetter. This game is about aliens who use genetically modified animals to fight for lithium salts and 2 to 6 players can play. At the start of the game, players choose an alien with different stats and then draw cards that show real animals.
Every turn, all players choose a card from their hand, and resolve it in order of who has the most speed. Then when a player resolves a card they can choose to genetically splice it to give their alien more stats, attack another player, or use the card’s special ability. The last person standing gets a lithium salt and the next round starts. The person with the most lithium salts after some rounds wins the game.
Matt, the game’s creator, likes that the game is simple and still has interesting systems, giving fun gameplay. I had fun playing the game and could even see my parents possibly learning this game. In the game I played with Matt, I tried to get the highest damage and almost won. There was this mechanic where if you would reach zero life, you could use a skill from one of the animals you spliced. So he used a skill that allowed him to attack and the game ended in a draw. I think it’s cool to be able to do something on death’s door, however, I feel like this would cause a lot of draws like this which is not super fun. I also noticed that there are quite a few rounds in a regular game and you could only have three animals spliced at a time. I suggested having creature fusion cards you can play using animals you have spliced. I feel like this will add a late game that makes multiple rounds more interesting. Beast Builders has a lot of potential and I can’t wait to see where it goes. You can view the game at beastbuildersgame.com.
What do you think of these games? Let us know @skywalkingpod, or if you have any other questions message me @Theodore Toft-Turrell. Thanks for reading about my experience at Wonder-Con and have a great day!
Be sure to check out our WonderCon 2024 Cosplay Roundup, thanks to the hosts of Collect-Opolis.
About WonderCon
Anaheim, CA – WonderCon is three days (March 29-31, 2024) of popular arts and culture, including comics, anime, gaming, the WonderCon Masquerade, and a great Exhibit Hall. WonderCon also has an impressive list of special guests, including the voice of Ahsoka Tano, Ashley Eckstein! Visit the WonderCon website or download the App for more info.
About the Author
Teddy Toft
I love it all, from sci-fi action like Star Wars to fantasy drama like Lord of the Rings! Currently, I’m a student artist that can’t stop playing video games and drawing anime. But I also love talking about any media I consume.
