Fantasy

The Hobbit: There & Back Again is a competitive adventure game in which players draft dice to make pathways, collect resources, and perform actions that help them to reach their chapter goal.

In more detail, each of the players has their own adventure board book open to the same chapter of the game, and they play in turn order starting with the shortest player. That player rolls all of the dice, then selects one, then the next player selects one, and so on until all dice have been chosen, at which point the next player rolls all the dice once again.

With your chosen dice, you use a dry-erase pen to mark the current chapter of your book, drafting a path to evade trolls, battle goblins, solve riddles, and pen the best conclusion to each chapter. The game takes players through the eight most iconic challenges faced by Bilbo and the Dwarves in The Hobbit, such as overcoming trolls, goblins, wargs, and giant spiders; reclaiming the treasure of the dwarves; and defeating the dragon Smaug. In the end, you want to complete the most rewarding journey to The Lonely Mountain.

The Hobbit: There & Back Again includes a solo mode, as well as a way to increase the game's difficulty, whether for some players to balance different skills levels or for everyone to increase the challenge.

The Dwarven King has issued an order to the houses of each clan. It is imperative to reclaim Karrak-cüm-Kazar, the sacred mountain, ancestral home of the Dwarves since the first Age of the Beard. For too long it has been occupied by the poison of the dark lords, with their creatures defiling the halls that once housed the noblest of all Dwarves. The insult cannot last any longer. The Dwarves return to the mountain.

Covenant is played in turns over three ages. During their turn, players will assign the Dwarves of their clan to different tasks that will allow them to explore the ancient halls of the ancestors and drive out their enemies while rebuilding their ancestral home. Your dwarf tokens and tools will allow you to do all kinds of actions: dig into the mountain, defeat the enemies that live there, and build all kinds of buildings that will bring the legendary dwarf city back to life. At the end of the game, the clan that has accumulated the most glory will take the recognition of the monarch and the victory.

Propolis is a worker-placement, engine-building, area-control, and tableau-building game. Players take on the role of competing medieval bee colonies and take turns deploying worker bees to collect pollen, fortify their positions, and construct their hives to appease their queen and become the most glorious in the land!

As bees compete over the realm's floral landscapes, they will be collecting pollen to create the propolis they need to build their hives. Attaining dominance in different realms provides additional glory and building materials. As hives expand, new structures provide additional resources, new scoring opportunities, and the prerequisites to construct a glorious palace for the queen. The player who dominates the realm and builds the most prestigious home wins.

Jingle Bell Roll is a cozy, holiday dice game for 2-6 players, full of festive cheer, quick turns, gift-giving, and delightful combos!

Players take turns rolling 7 Christmas dice up to three times, setting aside symbols they want to keep. Dice show festive icons like Milk, Cookies, Stockings, Gifts, and Bells—each with unique scoring rules.

After rolling, players may play Gift Cards from their hand to boost their score or manipulate dice results. Players then choose when to stop rolling and score their dice, earning points and handing out Gift Cards for each Gift symbol they score. Rolling enough Bells lets players add Letters to Santa in your Mailbox, which gives bonuses like permanent dice faces to score every round. The game ends after 6 rounds, or immediately if a player rolls 7 Bells—whichever comes first! Choose from 10 unique characters from the world of Holiday Hills to help you score more points.

Inspired by classic arcade-fighting games, Tag Team is an auto battler combined with a deck-building game. Make your team of two fighters from the twelve available — each with their own techniques and special moves — and build an unbeatable synergy by combining their two unique decks!

In more detail, you start with a deck of only two cards, and the fight unfolds automatically: Flip your cards one at a time and apply their effects. At the end of each round, you get to turn up the heat on the opposing team by strategically adding new cards to program your deck — but without reordering the cards already present. Determine what makes your tag team tick, play devastating combos, and dominate your opponent by deftly blocking their attacks. Timing is everything if you want to emerge victorious and knock out your foe!

AWARDS -
2025 - Best of Gen Con 2025