SPACE HULK. Almost out of nowhere, Games Workshop decided to print up a small batch of its classic game pitting Space Marine Terminators against slavering hordes of Genestealers among the corridors of derelict spacecraft. It was a great game 20 years ago, and it remains a great game today that embodies a lot of what makes adventure gaming such an exciting and appealing hobby. But it was more than a simple reprint. The new edition includes all-new models- the best plastics I’ve ever seen- and a deluxe presentation that blows even the best Fantasy Flight Games product out of the water. It sold out quickly at $100 a pop, and I think the precedent is set not only for further GW reissues, but also for the level of quality that a $100 game should embody.

Wargame of the Year: FIELDS OF FIRE

Back at the beginning of the year when we all made resolutions (read: empty promises), one of mine was to do more wargaming in 2009. That didn’t pan out. Part of the reason is that I didn’t get nearly as many one-on-one opportunities for wargaming this year, but another was that there really weren’t many wargames released this year that I found all that interesting. The last several years saw wargames make a lot of innovative strides, but it seems that momentum might be slowing down as the genre absorbs not only its growth but also influences from the Eurogame and Ameritrash genres.

So it’s fitting that 2009’s Wargame of the Year go to a game that is a solitaire game that isn’t really like anything like a Eurogame, Ameritrash game, or most wargames for that matter. GMT’s FIELDS OF FIRE released at the very end of last year and was met with a lot of excitement among wargamers because it was something very, very unique. Although the game requires a lot of administration and attention to detail- so much so that it almost feels like work- the game does an extraordinary job of depicting squad-level combat, tactics, and most significantly communication. The game ships with scenarios for three theatres of war including action in the seldom-gamed Korean and Vietnam wars. FIELDS OF FIRE is a very original design that may not be for all tastes and might require more commitment than most gamers care to invest in a solitaire game, but the rewards are great.

Eurogame of the Year: TOBAGO

I generally like to write about games in full before they’re selected for any kind of Gameshark award, but I’m going to make a special dispensation for Bruce Allen’s TOBAGO, published by Rio Grande Games and Zoch. A couple of years ago I gave this prize to a great game called THEBES, about treasure hunting. Here in 2009, another treasure hunting game wins it with a very unique and very compelling deduction game concept that features fresh new mechanics and an ample amount of theme.

In TOBAGO, players play map cards indicating certain terrain-conditional locations where a treasure may be. The idea is that cards are played to narrow down, or deduce, the one hex where it could possibly be. Then, a player drives a little truck over and the treasure is split between all parties that played cards to find it. The game then becomes a push-your-luck sort of routine- do you pass up the four-point treasure in hopes that the six-point one you put in the stack comes up? Curses, resin Moai heads, and special actions add to a fun game that would be great for families and children as well as the core gamer.

TOBAGO is simple, mechanically interesting, and well produced- it embodies all of the best qualities of Eurogames while avoiding the abstraction, over-reliance on process, and restrictiveness that the worst games in the genre are plagued by. When the Spiel Des Jahres jury convenes in mid-2010, expect to see TOBAGO on the shortlist. I think it has a shot at winning it.