Viking Route: first copies for sale at Gen Con.

Ares Games will be at Gen Con 2026 (Booth #331, July 31-August 2, Indianapolis) with new releases, previews of upcoming games, and 75 events. Viking Route will pre-release at the show, with the first copies for sale and a special Launch Party event on Friday evening. New games distributed by Ares will be available at the booth: Mini Rogue: The Council, Urban Ops, Guerre Éclair, and SPELL, published by Nuts! Publishing, Crash Derby, by ALBI Games, and The Hunt, by Don’t Panic Games.

Ares will also present previews of three titles coming later this year: Quartermaster General: West Front, the third entry in Quartermaster General’s two-player line, and two expansions in the War of the Ring game line - Sieges of Middle-earth, the 4th expansion of the War of the Ring board game, and Hope and Despair, the 3rd expansion of War of the Ring: The Card Game.

At the Ares Games booth, gamers will find unique deals and promos for games released earlier this year, as Altay – Seafarers, first expansion for Altay – Dawn of Civilization, the roll-and-write game TEDOKU, WunderWaffen, the strategy game portraying the last months of World War 2, and other recent games by Ares. The cooperative sci-fi dungeon crawler Earth Under Siege: Flashpoint, by the new distribution partner Dark Horizon Games, will be presented at the booth with game designer Steve Kozlowski in attendance.

In addition to the demos at Ares’ booth, 75 events will be run at Gen Con by Double Exposure, spanning from the new and upcoming games by Ares and partners to evergreen games like Wings of Glory and Sails of Glory. The program includes 10 events with oversized versions of the Quartermaster General games.

New Game

Viking Route is a cooperative game with an ingenious compass-and-magnets movement mechanic. Players sail a magical Drakkar to the World’s Edge, guided by Odin’s ravens and the winds of Fate, facing powerful Norse creatures, fulfilling challenging quests, and preparing for the decisive battle to avert Ragnarök. The game is played on a beautiful 3D Viking ship and a scenario board, where the Drakkar is represented by a compass. Multiple magnets (the Ravens and Wind) are manipulated by the players to steer the course of their ship. The game was successfully funded on Kickstarter and is due to be released to retail in August, after the KS fulfillment will be completed. The first copies in US will be available at Gen Con.

West Front, the third game in Quartermaster General Front’s series.

Previews

Quartermaster General: West Front is the third entry in Quartermaster General’s two-player line. It is played over 23 seasonal game rounds, from Fall 1939 through Spring 1945, with one player controlling the Allies’ forces - United Kingdom, United States, and France – and the other playing the Axis - Germany, Italy, and other associated countries (the “Pact,” so called after the Tripartite Pact). West Front also includes components and rules to create massive, combined games with Quartermaster General: East Front and South Front.

War of the Ring - The Card Game: preview of Hope and Despair expansion at Ares' booth.

Hope and Despair is an expansion for War of the Ring - The Card Game that adds a new type of card, the Story card. Inspired by key events and turning points of The Lord of the Rings, Story cards represent natural and supernatural influences on the events of Middle-earth and provide a powerful way to modify your playing decks.

Sieges of Middle-Earth™ is a new expansion for the War of the Ring™ Second Edition boardgame, focusing on the siege battles against the main strongholds of the Free Peoples. New game mechanics bring those desperate battles to the forefront of the conflict: the Shadow player can field powerful Siege Engines to smash fortifications and spread despair among the defenders, while the Free Peoples player may attempt heroic feats, lead bold sorties, and inspire last stands that can turn the tide of battle. The Sieges of Middle-Earth™ expansion will be showcased at Gen Con.

Visit the Ares Games’ booth at Gen Con - #331.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,