Board Game News

Traverse Sumatra with Reiner Knizia as Your Guide

In May 2020, I posted an overview of Peer Sylvester's Polynesia, an October 2020 release from Spanish publisher Ludonova, and in August 2020, Sylvester posted a designer diary about the creation...

Designer Diary: Rossio, or How to Fill a Void

I've always wanted to create a board game about building Portuguese calçada. You see, it's a thing I've grown up with, all those nicely paved squares in Portugal with black-and-white patterns...

Avalon Hill Teases the Return of HeroQuest

At 12:00 EDT (UTC-4) on September 22, 2020, something will happen regarding HeroQuest courtesy of U.S. publisher Avalon Hill, which is a brand of Hasbro, which owns the Milton Bradley brand under...

Interview: Behrooz "Bez" Shahriari (Stuff by Bez) on Player Interaction and Where to Find Inspiration

[Editor's note: This interview was first published on Diagonal Move. All photos provided by Bez. —WEM]Today Bez Shahriari, designer of Yogi and founder of Stuff by Bez, joins Neil Bunker from...

Make Your Peepers Pop in MicroMacro: Crime City

German publisher Edition Spielwiese has an unusual offering coming out on October 12, 2020 — MicroMacro: Crime City from designer/artist Johannes Sich.At first glance, MicroMacro: Crime City...

Troyes & Rajas of the Ganges Join Team Roll-and-Write

Whether you're into it or not, the trendiness of roll-and-writes does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. To keep it fresh, some designers have been introducing clever themes to the...

Lead the Inca, Build a Capitalist Empire, and Try Not to Inflict Too Much Damage on Planet Earth

• German publisher Deep Print Games plans to debut in 2020 with two new designs: Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling's domino-based majorities game Renature, which I previewed in depth here,...

Roll Dice to Fight Monsters, Explore Dungeons, and Possibly Escape in Rush Out! and Dungeon Fighter

• Following the success of Magic Maze in 2017, Belgian publisher Sit Down! has had a particular fascination for real-time games, with Magic Maze: Hidden Roles and Magic Maze Kids appearing in...

Bring Glory to the Pharaoh in 2F-Spiele's Faiyum

German publisher 2F-Spiele has announced its SPIEL '20 release: Faiyum, this being an engine-building, deck-building game of sorts from Friedemann Friese for 1-5 players that plays in 110-140...

New Game Round-up: Serve Ramen, Cook on a Hibachi, and Fight to the End with Seiji Kanai

• U.S. publisher Japanime Games has announced a trio of titles that feature a Japanese designer, a Japanese meal, and a Japanese media franchise.The first game in this batch is The Last Brave,...

Pandasaurus Games Goes All In on Sauruses with Dinosaur World and Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'n Write

In August 2020, I wrote about the forthcoming Gods Love Dinosaurs from Pandasaurus Games — and GLD designer Kasper Lapp has a designer diary about the game that I'll publish in October 2020...

Interview: Brian Train on Asymmetric Wargames and DIY publishing

[Editor's note: This article is derived from an interview first published on Diagonal Move. Some of the games mentioned are self-published and available from the designer's website. —WEM]Brian...

Check Out the Games Being Released in September and October 2020

With the calendar rolling over to September 2020 and the expectation this month of (consults runes) lava faucets and chairs with teeth, I'd like to highlight something "game news" related that...

Further Develop Outer Space, Gather Light from a Dying Universe, Conquer Planets with Your Aliens, and Warp Back in Time

Last weekend I partially watched the movie Dune since I'm planning to play the board game for the first time soon, and I wanted to familiarize myself the story. I say "partially" watched because...

Bombyx Game Round-up: Dream Imaginarium Anew, Craft a Codex, and Assemble Traveling Companions to Glow

• A lot of game information passes through my hands, often for titles that I'll never think of again once I write or tweet about them, but sometimes I get to rediscover a forgotten game as when...

Mergers, Splits, and Distribution Deals: ÎLO307 and Luma Merge, Poketto Emerges from Five24 Labs, and Eric Catches Up on Old News

• Canadian game distributors ÎLO307 and Luma Games, both based in Montréal, Québec, are merging as of September 2, 2020, with the ÎLO307 name to be used across Canada and Luma's "Luma...

Crowdfunding Game Round-up: Set Up Base Camps, Give Away Sweets, and Don't Outshine Your Master

You know what I haven't done in, oh, at least a year? A round-up of games being crowdfunded. I stopped posting these regularly as the volume of games being released through "regular" channels has...

New Game Round-up: Build Pagodas, Collect Artifacts, and Pilot Mechs

• Publisher Cogito ergo Meeple, which debuted with the 2020 release of Philosophia: Dare to be Wise, has announced details of its second title, which is once again from designers and company...

Interview: Cameron Art on Real Time Word Games and Online Publishing

[Editor's note: This interview was first published on Diagonal Move. —WEM]This week Cameron Art, founder of The Board Game Bulletin and designer of Vowl, joins Neil Bunker from Diagonal Move to...

Designer Diary: White Eagle Defiant

Prior to the release of Brave Little Belgium by Hollandspiele, my co-designer, Dave Shaw, and I thought a lot about the sequel. Dave had several ideas, including the Romanian Campaign of 1916,...

Eric M. Lang Leaving CMON to Return to Freelance Game Design

In March 2017, publisher CMON Limited brought game designer Eric M. Lang on staff as Director of Game Design (BGG News post).As of September 1, 2020, Lang will leave that position to return to...

Upcoming Lucky Duck Games Releases: Investigate 15th Century Crimes, Build Renown, and Draft Your Way to a Better Empire

Gearing up for SPIEL.digital 2020, publisher Lucky Duck Games has new retail releases coming our way that it's either published on its own or licensed from other publishers to make the games...

Pace Your Civilization Building in Imperium from Buckle, Turczi and Osprey Games

UK publisher Osprey Games has announced a pair of card game releases for May 2021, these being Imperium: Legends and Imperium: Classics from the design team of Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi —...

Rambourg, Rivière, and Catch Up Games Challenge You to Master The LOOP

Pharaon from designers Henri Pym and Sylas and French publisher Catch Up Games was one of my highlights of 2019, and I'm surprised the game has yet to pick up a U.S. license, although I know...

Fort: Mastering the Art of Making Friends...or Stealing Them From Your Rivals

There's a new kid on the block at Leder Games, and that kid is Fort — a uniquely themed deck-building game for 2-4 players designed by Grant Rodiek and developed by Nick Brachmann that features...

Head Beyond the Sun with Dennis K. Chan and Rio Grande Games

U.S. publisher Rio Grande Games has a long history of publishing games based on classic science-fiction tropes, with its best-known titles being Tom Lehmann's Race for the Galaxy and spin-off...

Game Overview: Finished! Redux, or If at First You Don't Succeed, File, File Again

1. In mid-July 2020, I posted a full playthrough video of Friedemann Friese's Finished!, a solitaire game he published through his own 2F-Spiele in 2017, but I didn't write anything about the...

Designer Diary: Construction BOOM!, or Satirical Game Design

Diary by Stefano GualeniWe'll be honest with you: Living on a small Mediterranean island has remarkable advantages, such as a relaxed lifestyle, mild weather, and a sea that's always near. Malta...

From the Stars to the Table with Flash Gordon, Altered Carbon, and the Diving Universe

• At this point I'm not sure what can't be licensed for the creation of a board or card game. UK publisher Warcradle Studios, for example, has announced that it will release the two-player card...

Designer Diary: Polynesia, or The Peaceful Conquering of a Vast Ocean

It must have been in 2011 that two things happened at the same time: I read Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, and I came across the print-and-play game 'Ohana Proa, a route-building game in...