Cool Mini Or Not, publishers of the hit tie-ins Bloodbone: The Board Game and Bloodborne: The Card Game, brought a lot of exciting news to GenCon 2019 with a series of announcements. One of only a few publishers to actually announce new content this year, CMON is set to be the stand out publishers at the annual convention.
CMON finances virtually all of their games through Kickstarter and has raised a total of $38,112,581 thus far. Bloodborne: The Board Game was one of their biggest success, raising over $4 million from 24k backers and met 2000% of their funding goals. This year, CMON is teasing a new tie-in game, as well as an original IP from one of their most talented creators, and an update to one of the company's most beloved and best selling titles.
Cyberpunk 2077: Afterlife Is All About Street Cred
First up is a board game tie-in to CD Projekt Red's upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. This will be the first collaboration between the studios, but they have promised there will be more to come. Whether than means a physical of Gwent or a Witcher board game is unknown, but both possibilities are certainly exciting.
Designed by CMON's Director of Game Design Eric M. Lang, (creator of Blood Rage and Duelyst) Afterlife is a game about managing income and building street cred in the rough and tumble Night City. Players will take on the role of a Fixer, equip them with gear, and send them out on missions across the various districts in the game. Cyberpunk 2077: Afterlife will be released in 2020, just in time for the April 16th release of Cyberpunk 2077. Unfortunately, don't expect any Netrunner-type card game in Cyberpunk as the studio has confirmed they are not making one that can be played in the game. Hopefully Afterlife is a fine substitute.
Ankh May Give You A God Complex
Also from Eric M. Lang, Ankh is a game for 2-5 players that lets each person play as a different god in ancient Egypt. Players will compete to become the most powerful god by summoning monsters, building caravans, and converting the most followers in order to win the Ankh: the symbol of life itself.
Ahkh's art and miniature design will be handled by Adrian Smith and Mike McVey, respectively, and represents the closing of a trilogy of strategy games that the three designers began with Blood Rage and Rising Sun. Ankh has no rng elements to speak of, players will need to rely solely on their wit in the battle to become the most powerful god.
Ankh is planning to launch a Kickstarter for the game before the end of the year, and it's sure to be a big success. Rising Sun, the team's previous game, raised $4.2 million from 30k backers on a goal of just $300,000 last year.
Zombicide 2nd Edition Is Refined And Beautifully Updated
One of the publishers biggest hits, Zombicide, is getting the update treatment this year. The new version of the game will include refined rules, but don't worry if you have a big Zombicide collection, updates will be available.
On top of that, all new components and miniatures will be included in the game, including 6 new child Survivor playable characters. The 2nd edition will be coming soon to Kickstarter, though CMON has yet to nail down precisely when it will be ready to show things off to fans.
Zombicide is a story-driven adventure game with 25 separate-but-interconnected scenarios that form a branching narrative. Players play as a group of survivors while the game mechanics dictate the behaviors of the zombies. Between the base game and it's three sequels, Prison Break, Rue Morgue, and Black Plague, the Zombicide franchise has raised over $9 million on Kickstarter.