Thames and Kosmos hitting their stride with 10 new releases in 2017

A lot of new games are coming from Thames and Kosmos this year so lets run down the list, starting first with the undersea search game, Lagoonies.  In this game you are trying to find gloop spirits by diving into the water, but they change places as the octopus rotates so you have to pay attention.  The game comes with some nifty looking clear water pool type pieces and should only aid in the fun.  Look for this on store shelves in July. Next is Monster Trap, a Labyrinth like game where you are trying to push the monsters in the mansion into the trap before they can scare your grandma.  The game is for two to four players and each player will control a different kind of movement for the monsters, and whoever collects the most monsters in the trap will be the winner.  Look for this on store shelves in June. After that is Jungle Party, a memory type game where you are having to remember where certain animals are in order to advance.  The board has lanes you will push tiles of animals through that are partially covered and partially not, so as you push the animals through you have to remember where they are.  So those with a good memory should easily find their way to the goal and win!  Look for this game on store shelves in July. Harry the Hopper is a simple dexterity game where you are playing as grasshoppers trying to knock down blades of grass.  Play is simple in that you just take aim, and launch your grasshopper, trying to knock over as many blocks as possible.  The game ends when someone knocks down the king's red blade of grass, but you better have knocked over all your grass beforehand.  Look for this game in stores in June. Up next is Thames and Kosmos entry into the room escape genre with their EXIT series of games.  Each set will present you with a different scenario where you have to escape, like a lab or an abandoned cabin.  In May you will see the release of the first three in the series; The Secret Lab, The Pharaoh's Tomb, and The Abandoned Cabin.  Each set contains decks of cards and some other components you will need to escape each room.  Good luck. Next is a word guessing game like Taboo called Word Slam.  How this game differentiates itself is that instead of coming up with the descriptor words, you have to use the cards in the box to describe the word.  So you will have to get a bit creative with the word associations, but leave a trail of clues for the guessers to follow and they just might get there.  This game should be arriving in June of this year. Mag-O-Mag is a vertical magnetic game where you will have one player on one side watching the game pieces and giving instructions, with another player on the other side actually moving the piece.  You will have to communicate well in order to accomplish the objective which could be speed, accuracy, or being able to collect the most loot.  Look for this game on store shelves in August. Previously we talked about Pillars of the Earth finally being reprinted, and now we have a new game in the book series being made, A Column of Fire.  Not much is known about the game yet, but the setting seems to be for a political type game as you try to position yourself to be the most powerful.  More information should come out as we get closer to it's release in September. Next is Kerala, a colorful looking tile placement game where you are trying to collect all the colors, but also linking all the colors together.  In the game you will pull tiles from the bag and then draft them, adding them to your display adjacent to your elepheeples (elephant meeples).  Plan wisely and draft well and you will come out on top.  Look for this game in stores in July. And finally, the last game that was announced was Brutal Kingdom, a take that type card game where you are trying to be the one who survives to rule the country.  In the game the king, or queen, has just been killed and now the question of who will rule the country is being asked.  On each turn you will play a card and carry out the action, hopefully moving yourself one step closer to victory.  Whoever gains the most influence will be the new king or queen of the country.  Look for this game in stores in June.