![Gen Con 2015 VII: New York 1901, Letter Tycoon, Boomtown Bandits, Maze Racers, Catacombs, Stockpile & Tesla vs Edison](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/HTdnmBGtjaS2hgn9IEta9g__thumb/img/wSOIMKcHyhSA7sU4p9xY2xyj7kA=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic2515532.jpg)
• The graphic design on Brad Brooks' Letter Tycoon from Squirmy Beast is an eye-catcher, and even if you normally shun word games, this design might catch your eye anyway. Good design does that, and I heartily approve the design as a great way to step outside the normal look of games and attract new players.
• Boomtown Bandits from Isaac Epp and Squirmy Beast was one of two Western-themed titles at the Breaking Games booth at Gen Con 2015 — Slap .45 being the other — and Breaking Games' Shari Spiro said that thematic hook gave them the idea of transforming their booth into a mini-saloon (although they could not serve drinks, of course, due to the nature of Gen Con's regulations).
Talking about how Breaking Games works, Spiro explained that she's a rock-and-roll fan from way back, and she wanted to create the spirit of a music jamboree with their presentations at conventions. Thus, she publishes and co-publishes many designs from small publishers and independent designers, and these people then present their works to potential buyers at small tables during shows like Gen Con and NY Toy Fair. They have each other's backs, she says. I learn your game, you learn mine. I'll teach while you're having lunch; you'll teach mine while I'm walking the hall for a break. Then let's get together and jam!
• Andy Geremia showed up at Gen Con 2015 with a handful of copies of Maze Racers from FoxMind, running a few events to show off the game (and missing one of them, ahem). The concept of competitive maze-building is a great one, and I'm curious to see whether anything else will be done with this idea in the years ahead, although if you're not able to actually pick up the maze and interact with it, you might find it lacking.
• Speaking of great graphic design, I know that many people are not fans of Kwanchai Moriya's new look for Catacombs from Amos, Kelsey, West and Elzra Games, but I find it incredibly appealing, especially when set against the wall of generic fantasy artwork borne by many games on the market. Whereas the first edition aimed for moody and serious, this version seems like a better match for the nature of gameplay and thus more harmonious overall.
• Brett Sobol and Seth Van Orden's Stockpile from Nauvoo Games has picked up a fair amount of praise for what initially sounds like a familiar game: Work the stock market to make as much money as possible. Sobol dropped by the BGG booth to tell us more about the game.
• Dirk Knemeyer from Artana Games was the first guest in the BGG booth at Gen Con 2015, and we'll close out this round-up with his overview of Tesla vs Edison: War of Currents, a title that I misspell every time that I type it because I'm so used to typing "edition" from all the game listings that I create in the BGG database. The strange tics that one picks up from their jobs...