Tag Archives: kosmos

Gen Con 2025: Kosmos Brings the Heat with Dice Words, EXIT: Catan, and More

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Dice Words

Kosmos returns to Gen Con with an exciting lineup of premieres and highly anticipated releases. The company is pulling out all the stops for the global debut of Dice Words, a fast-paced, dice-rolling word game, with an after-hours launch party on Friday night. Attendees can also snag an all-new, con-exclusive mini expansion for The Gang, as well as the latest EXIT title, Adventures on Catan. These games and more will be available at the Kosmos booth, #259, from July 31 to August 3.

The year’s Gen Con release, Dice Words, marks a milestone as the first tabletop game fully developed by the company’s U.S.-based team. 

To celebrate its world premiere at Gen Con, Kosmos will host a launch party for Dice Words where people can learn and play the game, meet the designer, and win all sorts of cool prizes. For details and to sign up for the party, attendees are encouraged to visit the event’s page on Gen Con’s website, www.gencon.com/events.  

Additionally, gamers who were blown away by last year’s cooperative poker hit, The Gang, can look forward to a brand-new mini expansion, made especially for Gen Con. Attendees will receive The Gang: Mini Expansion 2 – Tools of the Trade free with any purchase at the Kosmos booth (while supplies last).

More highlights include:

  • Masters of Crime: Mosquito: The newest addition to this crime-solving (and crime-committing) storytelling series makes its North American debut at Gen Con. 
  • Australis: Winner of two 2025 UK Games Expo Awards: People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice (Best Dice Game). Navigate the East Australian Current in this vibrant dice-drafting strategy game where players feed fish, grow coral, and guide sea turtles through a rich underwater ecosystem. Smart decisions and tactical risk-taking will determine who thrives in the shifting currents.
  • The Crew: Family Adventure – Marooned in Paradise: From the creators of the award-winning The Crew series comes a cooperative, story-driven adventure perfect for families. Stranded on a desert island, players work together – without speaking – to complete 35 linked missions using simple trick-taking mechanics, a game board, tokens, and evolving objectives that make every round count.

Of course, the Kosmos booth would not be complete without the latest in its award-winning EXIT: The Game series of at-home escape room games. All five 2025 additions – including EXIT: Adventures on Catan, in which the worlds of EXIT and Klaus Teuber’s wildly popular board game CATAN collide in a captivating escape room adventure – will be for sale in the booth, along with over 30 previous EXIT releases and EXIT Advent calendars.

All games in the Kosmos booth, #259, are 10% off at the show, while supplies last. Fans can also take advantage of this discount all weekend long on the Thames & Kosmos website using promo code GENCON2025 at checkout.

Gen Con 2024: Kosmos launches The Gang and more tabletop games!

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Kosmos is heading to Gen Con 2024. Attendees will be the first in the world to get their hands on the innovative cooperative poker game, The Gang, and the first in North America to purchase several other highly sought-after games, including the first two releases in a new crime-solving (and crime-committing) storytelling series, “Masters of Crime;” the 3D strategy game Nunatak; the cooperative party game Belratti; and the highly acclaimed children’s memory and dexterity game, Dodo. These games and many others from Kosmos’ prestigious line will be available at the Kosmos booth, #2619, from August 1-4.

High on many “most anticipated games at Gen Con” lists, The Gang puts a cooperative spin on the classic poker variant, Texas Hold’em. Despite limited communication, players must work together to rank their hands from weakest to strongest to open a bank vault. If unsuccessful, you trigger an alarm. To win, your “gang” of players must crack three vaults without tripping the alarm three times. Kosmos will also have a mini-expansion, which includes Joker cards and additional variants, free with purchase of the game.

The Gang

For fans of story-based mystery games that put players in the driver’s seat to determine the outcome, the “Masters of Crime” series is a must-have. Four unique titles will be released this year and the first two, Vendetta and Shadows, will be on sale at the show. In this series, players act as the anti-hero, stepping into the shoes of criminal masterminds as they sift through evidence, unearth clues, and solve puzzles to get to the bottom of shady activities to stay on top in a world of corruption. Interactive gameplay integrates real-world resources like Google Maps, phone numbers, websites, and more for a truly immersive mystery-gaming experience.

Additional North American debuts include:

  • Nunatak: Compete to become the supreme ice builder in this strategic game where players gather resources and place ice blocks to build an ice temple for the gods.
Nunatak
  • Belratti: A cooperative art-themed party game where players work together to prevent the infamous art forger Belratti from sneaking fake paintings into their gallery.
Belratti
  • Dodo: A fun and engaging memory and dexterity game for kids, players work together to help a wobbly egg navigate its way down a mountain by building bridges.
Dodo

Of course, the Kosmos booth would not be complete without the latest in its award-winning EXIT: The Game series of at-home escape room games. All four 2024 additions (The Magical Academy, The Hunt Through Amsterdam, Prison Break, and an EXIT Kids title, Riddles in Monsterville) will be for sale in the booth, along with over 30 previous EXIT releases and EXIT Advent calendars. Attendees can prepare for their Gen Con EXIT purchases with the EXIT checklist: make a note of which games you’ve played ahead of time to know what to buy at the show!

All games in the Kosmos booth, #2619, are 10% off at the show, while supplies last. Fans can also take advantage of this discount all weekend long on the Thames & Kosmos website, www.thamesandkosmos.com, using promo code GENCON2024 at checkout.

Gameplay: Legends of Andor

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We crack open and show off the board game Legends of Andor with some game play!

By Kosmos, Legends of Andor is a cooperative adventure board game for two to four players in which a band of heroes must work together to defend a fantasy realm from invading hordes. To secure Andor’s borders, the heroes will embark on dangerous quests over the course of five unique scenarios (as well as a final scenario created by the players themselves). But as the clever game system keeps creatures on the march toward the castle, the players must balance their priorities carefully.

At the heart of Legends of Andor is its unique narrative, the linked scenarios of which tell an overarching story as the players successfully complete objectives. For each scenario, or “Legend”, a legend deck conveys the plot of an ever-unfolding tale…one in which the players are the protagonists. A wooden marker moves along the board’s legend track at key points during each scenario, triggering the draw of a new legend card, the introduction of new game-altering effects, and the advancement of the story’s plot. In the end, the players must endeavor to guide the fate of Andor through their heroic actions, bringing a happy ending to their epic fantasy tale.

Will their heroes roam the land completing quests in the name of glory, or devote themselves to the defense of the realm? Uncover epic tales of glory as you live the Legends of Andor!

You can purchase your own copy.

Kosmos provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Unboxing: Tumult Royale

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We open up and show off the contents of Tumult Royale by Kosmos.

Tensions are high all across the lands. The royals erect statue after statue while their loyal subjects starve. But this time, the peasants have had enough. There are whispers of a revolution. Calls for an uprising ring out and the kingdom is thrown into a tumult. Down with the king! Take that, you greedy blue bloods!

In Tumult Royale, you play the royals. Round after round, you collect taxes from your subjects in order to build statues of yourself across the country, thereby securing your rank. If you leave enough commodities for the people after taxation, all is well and you can continue to build monuments to your own vanity. But if you take too much, the greediest of you will be punished. Who will build the most statues and win the game? Remember: the greedy shall rule, but the greediest is a fool!

You can get your copy now.

Kosmos provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Unboxing: Legends of Andor

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pic2606106I open up and show off the contents of Legends of Andor.

By Kosmos, Legends of Andor is a cooperative adventure board game for two to four players in which a band of heroes must work together to defend a fantasy realm from invading hordes. To secure Andor’s borders, the heroes will embark on dangerous quests over the course of five unique scenarios (as well as a final scenario created by the players themselves). But as the clever game system keeps creatures on the march toward the castle, the players must balance their priorities carefully.

At the heart of Legends of Andor is its unique narrative, the linked scenarios of which tell an overarching story as the players successfully complete objectives. For each scenario, or “Legend”, a legend deck conveys the plot of an ever-unfolding tale…one in which the players are the protagonists. A wooden marker moves along the board’s legend track at key points during each scenario, triggering the draw of a new legend card, the introduction of new game-altering effects, and the advancement of the story’s plot. In the end, the players must endeavor to guide the fate of Andor through their heroic actions, bringing a happy ending to their epic fantasy tale.

Will their heroes roam the land completing quests in the name of glory, or devote themselves to the defense of the realm? Uncover epic tales of glory as you live the Legends of Andor!

You can get your own copy now.

Kosmos provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

Gen Con 2015: Thames & Kosmos’ Dimension

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There’s one game that’s sticking with me after Gen Con 2015, and that’s Thames & Kosmos‘ Dimension. The ball puzzle game has you racing against a clock to build a pyramid of balls based on the rules dictated by the cards drawn. Afterwords, you add up the points you gained and loss.

Check out the video I shot of how you play it. A very fun game that can be played by 1-4 players, and I highly recommend it.

Gen Con 2015: Thames & Kosmos to Release Six Board Games

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Thames & KosmosThames & Kosmos is set to release its world renowned award winning board games category starting with a carefully curated series of six, high-quality, German-style board games from the internationally well-known publishing powerhouse, Kosmos. Thames & Kosmos will, for the first time, carry Kosmos Games, a collection of high-quality board games from the internationally esteemed authors and designers such as Klaus Teuber, Reiner Knizia, Grzegorz Rejchtman, and Gunter Cornett. German engineered and beautifully made, these games become enduring family favorites and game night classics. For all these reasons, Kosmos games have earned worldwide acclaim. The complete line of Kosmos games will be on display at Gen Con in Indianapolis July 30th at Booth #3039.

At the show:

  • Dohdles! are riddles made of dough! Exercise your imagination in this artistic and hilarious sculpting and guessing game for families and parties of three to six players. Ages: 8+ | MSRP: $39.95
  • Ubongo is a fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game. Players race against the timer and against each other to solve a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The faster you solve the puzzle, the more gems you get. Ages: 8+ | MSRP: $39.95
  • Dimension is a fast-paced, innovative puzzle game that takes place in three dimensions with 60 colorful spheres. Ages: 8+ | MSRP: $49.95
  • Lost Cities: The Board Game: The research teams are outfitted and ready to embark on their adventures to find five forgotten cities. Who will lead the way to fantastic discoveries? Each player guides a team of explorers on up to five expeditions. To advance along an expedition path, a card in the path’s color must be played for each step forward. For two to four players. Ages: 10+ | MSRP: $39.95
  • Kahuna: Who will rule the South Seas? Two Kahuna — ancient sorcerers of the Pacific —compete for dominance on an archipelago consisting of twelve small islands. Like the best two-player games, this classic card-based board game is deceptively simple and highly strategic.Ages: 10+ | MSRP: $24.05
  • Lost Cities: The Original Card Game: Who will discover the ancient civilizations? Two explorers embark on research journeys to remote corners of the world: the Himalayan Mountains, the Central American rainforest, the Egyptian desert, a mysterious volcano, and the bottom of the sea. As the cards are played, the expedition routes take shape and the explorers earn points. For two players. Ages: 10+ | MSRP: $19.95

The complete line of Kosmos Board Games will be on display at Gen Con.