From Terra Mystica to Terra Nova, and From Splendor to Splendor Duel

• German publisher KOSMOS revealed an unexpected SPIEL '22 release on Instagram at the end of May 2022: Terra Nova, with this being a design from newcomer Andreas Faul based on the decade-old Terra Mystica from designers Jens Drögemüller and Helge Ostertag.

I contacted Frank Heeren from Terra Mystica publisher Feuerland Spiele about this title, and Heeren told me that Terra Nova was "developed by Feuerland with the consent by Helge and Jens". As for why the game is appearing from KOSMOS, Heeren says that Feuerland licensed the design to KOSMOS "because they think that this game fits perfectly in their brand and that the sales numbers will be much higher than under the Feuerland brand". That is undoubtedly true, while also raising awareness of Terra Mystica among those who might not already know about the game.

Here's an overview of this 2-4 player game, which Capstone Games has licensed and will release in English on October 26, 2022:

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Terra Nova is a simplified version of the strategy game Terra Mystica.

In the game, up to four players each control one of ten factions, each with different abilities. Compete against one another to explore new territories in peaceful competition, erect buildings, and achieve certain goals from round to round. Use your faction's special abilities in a clever way to control the largest territory at game's end and finish with the most points.

• Another game-shrinking of sorts is taking place with Splendor Duel, which publisher Space Cowboys expects to release in November 2022. This is a two-player-only version of Marc André's 2014 hit Splendor, with Bruno Cathala serving as co-designer.

Space Cowboys' François Doucet introduced the game during an Asmodee video presentation in late May 2022, and here's a translated summary:

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Splendor Duel retains some of the main gameplay mechanisms of the original design, while being a bit more complex, dynamic, interactive, rich, tense, and mean.

The game features a main board shared by both opponents, card powers, and three victory conditions.

Cathala previously co-designed 7 Wonders: Duel, which outranks the original 7 Wonders game here on BGG, so I'm curious to see what this transformed game is like.

• And speaking of transformations, the LinCon game convention took place in Linköping, Sweden on May 26-29, 2022, and during this show, players streamed a quick overview of the most recent prototype of Terraforming Mars: Dice Game, which should be released in 2022, according to designer Jacob Fryxelius: