For a few buzzing days every summer, Indianapolis transforms into the heartbeat of the tabletop world. Gen Con is where game designers show off their boldest ideas, publishers unveil their biggest bets, and tens of thousands of players flock to discover their next obsession. It’s part trade show, part festival, part family reunion for anyone who lives and breathes board games.
This year’s event—Gen Con 2025—is no exception. The lineup is, as always, a mix of the familiar and the strange, from blockbuster reboots to indie oddities that make you wonder, how did someone even think of that? Out of the many reveals, four games have already caught the spotlight: G.I. Joe Heroscape, Chess Joker, Mystic Curling Club, and Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Here’s what we know so far, and why people are talking.
G.I. Joe Heroscape: When Nostalgia Goes to War
If you were into board games in the early 2000s, chances are you either played Heroscape or knew someone who wouldn’t stop talking about it. It’s the game with modular hex tiles, plastic terrain you could pile sky-high, and sprawling battles between knights, samurai, and aliens—or sometimes all of them at once.
Now Heroscape is back, but this time it’s marching side by side with the most recognizable action figures of the ‘80s: G.I. Joe.
Expect familiar faces—Snake Eyes squaring off against Cobra Commander—duking it out on customizable battlefields you build yourself. It’s designed to appeal to nostalgic veterans who built those plastic worlds as kids, and to a younger audience raised on G.I. Joe cartoons, comics, or simply the thrill of cinematic battles.
The big question? Whether the game can balance Heroscape’s strategic depth with the fast, punchy energy G.I. Joe fans crave.
Chess Joker: Throwing a Wild Card Into Tradition
Inventors have been tinkering with chess for centuries—changing boards, adding pieces, rewriting rules. But every so often an idea arrives that actually makes purists look twice. Enter Chess Joker.
The twist is simple but dramatic: a new piece, the Joker, adds unpredictable abilities that can flip a strategy upside down in a heartbeat. Suddenly, the world’s purest game of logic has an injection of bluffing and chaos.
For some, it’s a refreshing remix that adds fun unpredictability to a famously rigid classic. For hardcore chess players, though? This may feel like sacrilege. Either way, it’s bound to spark conversations, and maybe even carve out a space of its own beyond “just chess with a gimmick.”
Mystic Curling Club: Brooms, Stones, and Spells
Every Gen Con has at least one game that makes you tilt your head and go, wait, what? This year, that’s Mystic Curling Club.
Yes, curling. The icy Olympic sport where players slide heavy stones across a rink while teammates furiously sweep the ice. Only here it’s not just about angles and friction—it’s about magic. Players can unleash spells, meddle with the ice, and dive into a playful storyline of rival curling clubs battling for glory.
It’s tactical, but also lighthearted. A mix of sports simulation, fantasy chaos, and humor. Perfect for families, casual groups, or anyone who wants a sports-inspired game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And curling as a board game mechanic? That’s rare enough to stand out at a convention otherwise packed with dungeon crawls, dragons, and galactic starships.
Dungeon Crawler Carl: From Page to Table
Among indie projects, few announcements stirred as much curiosity as Dungeon Crawler Carl. Based on Matt Dinniman’s popular litRPG novels, it follows Carl and his cat, Donut, as they stumble through an intergalactic dungeon crawl that’s equal parts brutal, bizarre, and hilarious.
The tabletop version aims to capture that spirit in card-driven campaigns. Expect cruelly difficult challenges, absurd scenarios, and pitch-dark humor lifted straight from the books. Fans will finally get to play the world they’ve been reading, though the game’s success may hinge on how well it balances satire with actual fun at the table.
What These Games Say About Where We Are
Zooming out, this lineup paints a picture of where board gaming is right now:
- Nostalgia Still Rules: G.I. Joe Heroscape reminds us that familiar systems and big franchises remain a safe bet.
- Tradition with a Twist: Chess Joker shows the ongoing urge to remix the classics.
- Strange but Fun: Mystic Curling Club proves quirky ideas can create surprisingly accessible games.
- Books to Boards: Dungeon Crawler Carl reflects the growing crossover between literature and tabletop design.
Together, these four titles capture the variety of modern board gaming—a hobby rooted in its past but unafraid to experiment. At Gen Con 2025, comfort food nostalgia sits alongside magical curling stones and cats in space dungeons.
So, which one catches your eye? Are you ready to revisit a childhood battlefield with Heroscape, explore the unpredictability of Chess Joker, laugh your way through spell-swept curling matches, or dive headfirst into the bizarre fun of Dungeon Crawler Carl?
One thing’s certain: when the halls open and the tables fill, these are the games folks will still be talking about long after the convention lights dim.