As one of the largest hobby conventions in the United States, GenCon Indy is a great place to check out all manner of new games. Among those to be played at our booth, Battlestar Galactica, Kingsburg, Cosmic Encounter, and Talisman were crowd favorites. Over at the event hall, we saw over 100 people attend the UFS world event, where James Hata went on to be crowned King of the Ring for 2008. The board game hall was packed and a couple lucky individuals were able to play a game with a designer or two.

This year we wanted to take things up a notch. We are featuring 12 different events for you to get a chance to play with one of your favorite designers. Kevin Wilson, Corey Konieczka, John Goodenough, Rob Kouba, Dan Clark and even Eric Lang will be showing off their skills in the games with their names on the box. Don’t forget to check out the events for Middle-earth Quest and Chaos in the Old World. These events showed up later, as we had to wait until we announced their release, so there is still room.

Now we shine the lights on another hybrid, a furball, a bevy of scenarios, and a tournament for a new addition to the FFG family.

For those into the high-flying excitement of Wings of War, this year we have the game for you show off your skills. In this furball, 36 planes will be airborne, and it is every man for themselves! Featuring the intricately detailed miniatures, this event will put you in the cockpit for one of the largest aerial battles we’ve ever put together. Each player gets a plane and is launched into madness. Once a plane takes sufficient damage to go down, that player is out. Last man flying will be declared the winner!

If something historical is what you are after, get ready for one of the grittiest scenarios we’ve ever released. Tide of Iron meets Wings of War in our ultimate showdown of WWII! As the German and American forces race to take their objectives, they must watch out for the aerial machines of death raining ordinance down upon them. Strafing runs, bombing missions, and downed aircraft will provide an ever changing environment and give players the toughest table-top battle they have ever experienced! In addition to ground forces taking new objectives, each aerial force will be concerned with the destruction of enemy airstrips. These locations must be terminated with extreme prejudice, as each provides new planes for enemy squadrons to bring to bear.

Speaking of games set deep in the heart of warzones, Tannhäuser has nine new scenarios premiering at GenCon! Each scenario introduces some new mechanics and will force players to try new tactics. Forces have been selected and equipment has been doled out. For those fresh to the fight, six of the new scenarios feature only the base game, while there are a couple of scenarios including materials from Novgorod for the veterans. Keep you eyes peeled, as Wolf will be available for any and all to purchase. Show up early though, he is expected to disappear fast.

Lastly this week, we turn our attentions to the Hundred Years War. BattleLore joined the FFG stable at last year’s GenCon. With it came a whole host of expansions and a ton of material for our staff to go through and put the finishing touches on. As the expansions for this great game begin to make their way to store shelves, we wanted to see who the best players are. This year’s GenCon features a tournament for all BattleLore players. Every entrant must bring their own forces, and each scenario will feature the Mustering system found in Call to Arms. The tournament will be a proving ground, as there are only 3 rounds before we cut to Semis and then again to finals. For those fortunate enough to make the finals, there will be a winner declared, and then both 1st and 2nd place must prove that they know the game better than anyone. How will they do this you ask? They must take on BattleLore creator Richard Borg and FFG BattleLore designer Rob Kouba! This match will be truly epic, and will put our two finalists to the ultimate test of their BattleLore skills.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned, more events will be revealed!