Every year, Gen Con feels like stepping into a different universe: chaos, excitement, and thousands of gamers chasing after their next tabletop obsession. The 2025 edition was no exception. The convention floor hummed with reveals and long-awaited returns, but four games in particular managed to turn heads and spark conversations well beyond the demo tables: Camp Grizzly, ARCTICA, Duat, and Raas: A Dance of Love.
These titles show just how diverse board games have become, ranging from retro slasher drama to icy Euro-style strategy, from mythological journeys to avant-garde experiments that blur the line between game and performance.
Camp Grizzly – The Slasher Cult Classic Reawakens
Some games vanish, only to return with even more mystique. Camp Grizzly is one of them. Originally published back in 2014 in limited numbers, the semi-cooperative horror game built up a cult following among fans who loved its tongue-in-cheek nods to 80s slasher flicks.
The setup is pure VHS nostalgia: teenagers trapped at a summer camp, stalked by a killer in a bear mask. Survival depends on cooperation, frantic card play, and unpredictable horror-movie twists that can ruin even the best-laid plans.
Now, after years in limbo, Camp Grizzly is crawling back out of the shadows. A new edition is on the way, complete with revived artwork and upgraded components. On the floor at Gen Con, you could practically feel the buzz crossing generations—veterans eager to grab what they missed years ago and newcomers intrigued by its playful embrace of slasher cinema.
ARCTICA – Strategy Under Ice
If Camp Grizzly is all heart (and gore), ARCTICA is all sharp edges. This was one of the most talked-about original releases of Gen Con 2025, coming from Boardcubator—the minds behind Project L.
Set in a near-future world reshaped by climate change, ARCTICA dares players to survive and thrive in a frigid frontier where every resource matters. The mechanics lean hard into Eurogame design: resource optimization, engine building, and tense area control.
Its stark visuals and clean lines evoke the beauty—and emptiness—of the Arctic setting, perfectly matching the theme of survival in unforgiving landscapes. Strategists and Euro enthusiasts left the demo tables buzzing, many predicting this will become one of 2025’s must-have heavyweight titles.
Duat – A Descent Into Egyptian Myth
If ARCTICA is about efficiency, Duat is about atmosphere. Designed by François Bachelart, it stands firmly in the indie-art corner of the hobby and feels less like a competitive challenge and more like a mythological journey.
Drawing deeply from Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife, the game leads players through realms of the dead, facing trials and strange visions. Mechanically, it mixes abstract puzzle with story progression—but its true success lies in mood and ritual.
This isn’t about points or victory. It’s about immersing yourself in myth, alongside visually rich components that encourage play as a cultural experience. Duat belongs in the same breath as artistic titles like Inis, where theme and atmosphere reign supreme.
Raas: A Dance of Love – Where Games Meet Performance
Then there was Gen Con’s wild card. Raas: A Dance of Love was less of a board game and more of a creative statement. It tells a love story through movement and symbolism, blending cards and a playing surface with an element many gamers don’t expect: choreography.
Players interact not just with pieces, but with each other—moving, gesturing, and almost performing as if following a dance. Here, winning and losing aren’t the point; instead, it’s about creating an emotionally resonant experience.
Inevitably, Raas sparked hallway debates: was it performance art disguised as a game, or a game expressed as performance? Maybe both. And maybe that’s exactly what makes it unforgettable.
What Gen Con 2025 Tells Us
Walking away from Gen Con, one message was loud and clear: board games are no longer confined to dusty stereotypes. They can be campy horror films, strategic ecosystems, mythological dreamscapes, or collaborative art pieces.
In one weekend, we witnessed the full spectrum of play: the thrill of escape, the rigor of strategy, the pull of myth, and even the raw language of human connection.
Quick Guide for Curious Players
- Love Euro-style strategy? Go straight for ARCTICA.
- Want atmosphere and story? Camp Grizzly or Duat provide immersive worlds.
- Craving experimental art more than competition? Raas will challenge your definition of a board game.
So which path draws you in more—the masked killer, the icy frontier, the underworld journey, or the dance of love?