Tokyo Game Market Fall, 2018

Game Market – Fall 2018

Tokyo Game Market ticket and map in handI finally made it back to the Tokyo Game Market on November 25th. I had fun last time I went, and this time was no different. Taking place over the course of two days, Tokyo Game Market is dedicated to all types of analog games. I had previously heard that the second day tends to have more TRPG booths, so I only attended the second day.

Taking place in the West Halls 3 & 4 at Tokyo Big Sight, it felt like there were more vendors than last time. Surrounding the entrance were the larger booths, such as Domina Games, Magic: The Gathering, Arclight, and Delight Works.

Domina Games has been consistently popular, with very beautiful games.
Domina Games has been consistently popular, with very beautiful games.

Magic: The Gathering had a large play space
Magic: The Gathering had a large play space
Delight Works had a large presence with cute cutouts for taking photos.
Delight Works had a large presence with cute cutouts for taking photos.
The publisher of Sakura Arms and Rooper also had a pretty massive setup.
The publisher of Sakura Arms and Rooper also had a pretty massive setup.

Event hall map
Event hall map

In addition to a play area and shop, Arc Light had a show case of current and upcoming games. I was especially intrigued by the NoviNovi Steampunk that is coming out in December. Gundam: The Game and the Japanese version of Starship Samurai also looked like they could be interesting.

NoviNovi TRPG: Steam Punk
NoviNovi TRPG: Steam Punk

Gundam: The Game
Gundam: The Game

TRPGs

In the TRPG area, there were 30 and 60 minute TRPG beginner games that looked interesting. I’ll probably try to shop up earlier next time to try a few out.

 

The listed games are:

  • Call of Cthulhu
  • Utakaze
  • Tunnels and Trolls
  • Kurayamakurain
  • Guardian Order
  • Utagaze Meruhein
  • Kamigakari
  • Sword World 2.5
  • Tokyo Nightmare
  • Golden Sky Stories
  • The Fifteen

Game Market CrowdNext to the TRPG event area was a booth selling TRPGs at a discount. I bought  NoviNovi TRPG: The Horror. It’s a beginner-friendly roleplaying game that I’ve had my eye on for a while, and the Steampunk version is coming out this month.

NoviNovi TRPG: The Horror
NoviNovi TRPG: The Horror

Tucked away by the indie booths was a collection of sample games that you could inspect. Each was labeled with the booth number in case you wanted to learn more.

The indie TRPG booths were primarily Call of Cthulhu scenarios and replays, but I did spot Golden Sky Stories and Shinobigami scenarios. Given the often limited print runs, a number of indie booths were sold out. One booth I stopped by had sold out of his book with two WWII scenarios for CoC.

WW2 Call of Cthulhu Scenario book with two scenarios. Fight to Survive!
WW2 Call of Cthulhu Scenario book with two scenarios. Fight to Survive!

While I don’t own a copy of the TRPG Insane, I was intrigued by a scenario supplement for it and picked it up for 800 yen. The maker’s site contains some more details and a sample PDF.

Collection of three scenarios for Insane
Collection of three scenarios for Insane

Along with that was another indie TRPG Kurikara that labeled itself as “Asian Steampunk”. One of its highlights is when characters are wounded they can be augmented into cyborgs. Sticking with the Asian theme, it also includes a “lucky number” system that adds benefits when a character rolls their lucky number.

Kurikara
Kurikara

Speaking of steampunk, I finally picked up the game Gear Castle Skynauts that I’ve had my eye on for quite a while. Players characters pilot steampunk airships and journey through the world. I really like the art and the mechanics look interesting.

Gear Castle Skynauts
Gear Castle Skynauts

Playing with Words

Rigore had a booth selling their game Word Sniper. I picked up a copy of it and hope to play a few games with my wife. It’s a word play game where you collect points by naming a type of object beginning with the letter shown on your card.

Word Sniper
Word Sniper

As always, there was a shipping corner where you could ship your purchases directly from the exhibit hall. This time, there was also a friendly mascot:

Afterwards

All-in-all, I had fun and it was great to see such a vibrant community. I’m looking forward to going again and plan to make some time to sample more games. I’ll take a look at some of the games I picked up in more detail in the near future.

Medium-sized booths

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