To start with, we'll cover Marc André's Barony from Matagot, which has a setting nothing like André's Splendor, but which shares the same quick style of gameplay, with players taking tiny actions each turn that pile up into something that feels like more than you'd initially expect.
• I first ran across Ystari Games' Starfighter from designer Stéphane Boudin at the start of 2015 when I saw the fabulous cover art shared on artist Arnaud Demaegd's blog. So nice! Then I saw almost nothing else about the game until suddenly it was available for sale at Gen Con 2015. Eric Franklin was super enthusiastic in his presentation of the game, and it sounds like something up my alley.
• Oleksandr Nevskiy and Oleg Sidorenko's Mysterium made an appearance at Gen Con 2015 in its new Libellud form, and with production delays limiting Asmodee to having only three hundred copies on hand, many people went home disappointed each day. If only a ghost had delivered a prophetic vision to them that they were person #105 in line and they should not expect to snag a copy at this time...
• Kim Satô's RYŪ has been in the works from Moonster Games for years, with this design being a real step up in complexity compared to the publisher's earlier releases, including Satô's own GOSU and Gosu: Kamakor.
• Volker Schächtele's Queen's Architect is an involved worker-placement design from Queen Games, with players needing to build up their prestige step by step in order to impress the queen.
• Designer Cédrick Chaboussit was on hand at Gen Con 2015 to see his game Discoveries from Ludonaute be introduced to hundreds of interested players, and he also came by the BGG booth to describe the game to those at home.
• Bruno Cathala's Five Tribes debuted from Days of Wonder at Gen Con 2014, and one year later Five Tribes: The Artisans of Naqala was presented to the crowd in Indianapolis. Here's an overview of what's new in the box and how it will change Five Tribes, starting with the addition of a sixth tribe.
• To round out the octet of titles that Asmodee debuted at Gen Con 2015, we turn to the pandas of Takenoko: Chibis from Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Bombyx and Matagot — more specifically, panda babies! No panda cams are included, alas.