Asmodee has announced the release of new dragon statue building game Ryu, as well as sharing release dates on four highly anticipated games: Crossing, 7 Wonders: Duel, T.I.M.E. Stories, and Martin Wallace’s Route 666.

Asmodee and Moonster Games Asia will release Ryu at Gen Con. In the story of the game, the ancient “dragon of legend,” Ryu, is about to awaken.  To please this dragon, the players must race to construct their own statue in his honor. 

To assemble their dragon statue, the players move among the nine islands of the game board, collecting remains from other dragons to use in constructing their statues.  The islands are represented in the game by tiles, which allows for a random game set up for increased variability of play.  The game uses a “draft” mechanic at its core, combined with exploration elements.

The game components, which include player screens, land tiles, and dragon tiles, are all exquisitely illustrated by Bertrand Benoit and Romain Gaschet.  The game is for 2 - 5 players, ages 13 and up, and plays in about 45 minutes.  MSRP is $49.99.

Crossing, from Cocktail Games and Moonster Games, is designed by Yoshiteru Shionhara. Players use bluffing and strategy to collect more precious stones than their opponents. The game is for 3-6 players, ages 8 and up. Release is planned for September.

Seven Wonders: Duel is a two-player variant of Antonie Bauza’s popular card drafting/set collection game.  Release is planned for October.
 

Also planned for October is Space Cowboys’ T.I.M.E. Stories, a cooperative time-travel “deck-sploration” game that has elements of roleplaying.  
 

Further down the line is the new Martin Wallace (Steam, Brass, A few Acres of Snow) zombie game, Route 666, which is planned for February 2016. More involved than the average zombie-killing survival game, players manage a team of five survivors, armed with food bags, weapons, bullets and corner cards.  The teams enter increasingly dangerous  areas, and must use resource and risk management to survive as they battle cannibals, minefields, and radioactive waste along with the undead.

Ryu continues Asmodee’s aggressive summer release schedule (see “‘Barony’ By Designer of ‘Splendor’”).