In any case, I can write about WizKids titles that will hit retail outlets at some point in the future:
• Atlantic Robot League is the first title from designer Camden Clutter, with this September 2022 release challenging 2-5 players to bet wisely on mech fights, while also giving them a chance to push the odds in their favor:
Occasionally your opponents will be helping a shared bet; occasionally they'll be knocking out mechs you need to survive. Since all bets are hidden, you won't know until the end and might even be able to bluff an opponent into accidentally doing exactly what you want.
Five mech teams face off, each with three robots, and in each of three rounds, you bet on which team will have the most surviving mechs, which will KO the most mechs, which team will be eliminated first, and which five robots will be standing at round's end. The fewer the players who bet correctly, the bigger the payout for those who do. After three rounds, whoever has bet best wins.
• In August 2022, WizKids plans to release Bargain Basement Bathysphere, which designer Scott Slomiany first released in 2018 in a print-and-play edition. Here's the pitch for the original release of this solitaire game:
Bargain Basement Bathysphere, designed for the 2018 solitaire print-and-play contest on BGG, is a campaign-styled roll-and-write game with legacy elements; the game becomes more complex as you work your way through the maps. It's designed to be a "no build" game (at least initially), so once you print out the pages you can immediately jump in and play — but try not to look ahead!
Yosemite is a fast-paced, competitive strategy game based on the landmarks of Yosemite National Park. In this game, you travel through the park, take pictures of the animals and the landmarks, and go camping and fishing.
Each turn, you move your photographer one or more spaces, according to the animal on your tile. These movements are all thematic to the specific animal, and dangerous animals can move your opponent as well. For example, the red fox's agility lets you move one, two, or three spaces, changing direction on the way, while the cougar moves in one direction right to the edge of the board, knocking your opponent if they're in the way. You also collect that animal tile after using its movement, which you can use for photo cards and bonuses.
You and your opponent must maneuver for the best positions and the best photos, trying to impress the judges and fighting over the best campsites and landmarks.
• Another October 2022 release is Shapers of Gaia from designers Ian Cooper and Jan M. Gonzalez, with this game being for 2-3 players. Here's the setting and brief bit of gameplay info:
Shapers of Gaia includes six Shapers, each different, and during the game you must use your unique abilities to come out on top as you compete with others for resources and prestige. Gain prestige by arranging animals according to their established behaviors, collecting DNA samples, and unlocking new Shaper abilities. Only the Shaper with the most prestige at game's end will be allowed to permanently join the caretaker as guardians of the rebirthed Gaia.