Gen Con 2020: Hub Games with Rory O’Connor

August 1, 2020 Anitra Smith Interviews

We played a little bit of Prisma Arena, then sat down with Rory to talk about several of the new Hub games. What are they showing this year at Gen Con?

Prisma Arena

This arena fighting game is coming to retail in a few months.

Prisma Arena takes the arena fighting style of a game like HeroClix or other miniatures fighting games.

You are a hero fighting against despair with the power of hope (appropriate for our current times!), assisted by anthropomorphic emotions, or Mo’kons. Train with other heroes and level up.

Every turn, you’ll move, strike, or blast, using combo cards to increase your abilities. If your characters take too many hits, they are bounced out of the arena and may come in again the next turn (much like laser tag).

“Reminds me of the dungeon-crawl combat in a roleplaying game, but without that darker environment.”
Andrew

This game has been pared back to a minimum complexity to get started. You can layer in more as your characters level up. The simplicity of the ruleset quickly allows you to start thinking tactically on the board.

Two things that really informed the whole feel of the game was the idea to “drive back despair”, and that you’re fighting each other to make each other better. (Even if you lose a fight, you’ll still get training points and work towards leveling up.)

As you level up, you’ll choose new powers that you can use at different times; you’ll also be able to tune your character’s appearance and give them “uniforms” representing their level.

Adventure Mart

Where do the adventurers go to buy their equipment? Why, your friendly local A-Mart! Originally designed by DigiSprite, Rory spotted this at UK Games Expo. It’s a convenience store setting mixed with cute animal fantasy adventurers.

In the game you manage a store, competing against other stores run by your opponents. Each of you is trying to lure customers and raise money for your (very cute) draconic overlords.

Adventure Mart is a deck-builder with a few twists. Certain cards go immediately to your hand when acquired, while “fixtures” and “staff” become part of your face-up store to use at your discretion.

When a customer is revealed, it starts a bidding war, trying to sell the best items to that customer.

Adventure Mart is rated for ages 10+, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but it should be pretty accessible for first-time players.

Since the game isn’t about attacking, it doesn’t feel aggressive. You’re competing for customers, not tearing each other down (much).

Other New Games

Don’t forget about Megacity: Oceania and Flip Over Frog! They have one more game coming out next year, “the spiritual successor to Flip Over Frog, and it’s combo-tastic” according to Rory.