Finalists for Hasbro's Next Great Game Contest are up on Indiegogo

Hasbro continues to search for new talent in the area of hobby games and so has selected five finalists for their latest Next Great Game contest.  There is no particular theme to this contest unlike some of the previous ones, and at least one of the games is something I think would appeal to a lot of board gamers.  The finalist are:

• Lair - this is a two player dungeon exploration game where you create the dungeon on a sheet first, then you will take turns exploring it, revealing things as you go until the hero perishes or finds all the loot
• Colossal Blob - this is a card game where you are trying to grow your blob to colossal size by playing out in order, 1-4 and then a colossal card on top.  While that sounds easy there are plenty of attack cards which will knock up back down so you have to grow back up again.
• The Plot Thickens - this is a story telling game where you are telling a story using cards that represent people, places, and things.  The more plot points you are able to fit into your story, the more likely you are to be able to tell the ending, while the player who got referenced to the most gets to name it.
• Plank and Rank - this is best described as a race game as you try to build your bridge across the river and then try to get your army across faster.  The number of army guys you get to move each turn is determined by a 10 sided die, with the option to move either a line of X guys one space, or one guy X spaces, where X is your die roll.
• On The Slopes - this is a game all about skiing and trying to visit all the lodges on the mountain.  On your turn you have three actions to use, going up a lift will take an action, visiting a lodge takes an action, but going down a slope takes a variable amount of actions.  This is because you can choose what difficulty of slope you take down, beginner slopes guarantee you make it but cost 2 actions.  Intermediate and advanced slopes take fewer actions but you have to roll a die, possibly giving you wipeout cards that have negative effects on them.

All the games are currently up on Indiegogo and if they get at least 100 backers then they will be considered for the final win on November 13th.  Personally I hope On The Slopes takes the win, but everyone has different tastes in games, and right now The Plot Thickens is doing the best.