Fight in the West in 3000 Scoundrels and Doomtown, Then Re-Explore 7th Sea

Thanks to a rush of publisher submissions over the past week, not to mention Asmodee passing along a list of more than fifty titles being sold and demoed by its studios and the companies it distributes, the Gen Con 2022 Preview has now topped five hundred listings.

Here are a sampling of titles you can demo at that show ahead of their release later in 2022:

• Designer Corey Konieczka's third release from his Unexpected Games studio will be 3000 Scoundrels, a 2-4 player game set in an alternate history of the U.S. Wild West that will debut in September 2022. Here's an overview:

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"The Traveler brought much change to our small frontier town in the last five years. He showed us marvels beyond imagination and taught us how to use his strange machines. Now that the Traveler has vanished, a storm is coming. Who will control the destiny of the American Frontier?"

In 3000 Scoundrels, players assume the roles of rival leaders attempting to steal precious technology left behind by the Traveler. By overlaying clear cards, you create unique scoundrels and use them to outsmart your foes. In short, hire scoundrels to build powerful combos, steal technology, and outsmart your foes.

Each turn, you play a poker card from your hand face down in front of your player board, then use all abilities matching your claimed number. You don't need to tell the truth when claiming a number, but if an opponent catches you bluffing, it will damage your reputation and decrease your odds of winning the game.

Each leader has a unique perspective and motivation in the conflict of Graystone Gulch. Are you driven by money, fame, or the deep-seated desire to improve the world? Advanced rules add unique strategies to each leader that reflect their unique strengths and cunning tricks.

• French publisher Bombyx will have its own stand at Gen Con for the first time, and while its titles Garden Nation and Nicodemus will be available from distributor Flat River Games, Bombyx plans to focus on demos of two SPIEL '22 releases: Sea Salt & Paper from Bruno Cathala and Théo Rivière, and Look at the Stars from Romain Caterdjian.

In the former game, you're collecting cards of different types, trying to combo these types to score points, and ending the round when you think you're on top. The latter game is a flip-and-write design in which players each start with a board of stars and will ideally draw constellations of varying sizes over the course of the game.

• Pine Box Entertainment is demoing new versions of two games previously published by Alderac Entertainment Group: Doomtown: Weird West Edition from Dave Williams and Mark Wootton, and 7th Sea: City of Five Sails.

The former title is integrable with 2014's poker-based Doomtown: Reloaded, which was derived from the Deadlands: Doomtown trading card game that debuted in 1998.

7th Sea: City of Five Sails has a similar origin, with the 7th Sea Collectible Card Game having also debuted in 1998. Here's an overview of the relaunched design:

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7th Sea: City of Five Sails is an expandable card game set in the swashbuckling world of the 7th Sea roleplaying game by John and Jennifer Wick. Players control one of five factions as they fight to influence, control, and explore the independent and unruly city of Five Sails. It is typically played with two players, but multiplayer variants will allow more players to get into the game.

During the game, each player represents a leader who, along with their allies, explore locations and fight both with swords and with wits for overall influence over the city. Along with each player’s individual deck, 7th Sea: City of Five Sails also includes an element of randomness in the form of a separate, shared deck that represents the city itself with unusual characters, items, and events that change the focus of the game. Combat is resolved in a unique “back and forth” style reminiscent of challenging swordplay.