Board Game News

Unlock! Game Adventures Brings You Games About Games

The Asmodee convergence point is upon us!French publisher Space Cowboys has announced a December 3, 2021 release date (in France) for Unlock! Game Adventures, its newest trilogy of escape...

Game Overview: Living Forest, or Three Paths to Arboreal Bliss

Living Forest, which French publisher Ludonaute debuted at SPIEL '21, is the first title from Danish designer Aske Christiansen.The heart of this 2-4 player game is similar to John D. Clair's...

Create a Small City, a Tiny Train Line, and an Eensy Empire with Nano9games

I'm a sucker for concept creations, especially art that results from self-imposed restrictions. Mark Dunn's novel Ella Minnow Pea is one such creation, with the story driven by the concept that...

Take Voyages While Playing Postmark Games at Home

In October 2021, I wrote about German publisher NSV's "NatureLine", a plastic-free line of games that uses recycled cardboard as a slipcase to keep everything held together during...

Splotter Spellen Rolls Out Horseless Carriage

Dutch publisher Splotter Spellen — that is, designers Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga — typically release a new game only every three years or so, and they've now planted a release date of...

The Rival Networks, or The Television Network Parody Duel

I’m a sucker for board games with unique themes. Considering that, and all of the laughs and smiles from humorous cards, Gil Hova’s 2016 television network game, The Networks, was a hit with...

Reboxing Furnace: Does It Make the Cut?

How it started...and how it's going:To learn how you can right-size your game boxes, check out this detailed breakdown of how I shrank Furnace to a more manageable size: And if you are not...

IELLO Severs Ties with IELLO USA

French publisher IELLO has announced a change in its distribution policies in North America, issuing the following press release on October 29, 2021:Quote:The company IELLO, distributor and...

Designer Diary: The Adventures of Robin Hood

In September 2020, when the last data had been sent to the publisher, I sat back and thought about the development of The Adventures of Robin Hood. Although only one name is printed on the game...

Garphill Games Heads to the South Tigris for Its Next Trilogy

In a 50-minute video presentation, designers Shem Phillips and Sam MacDonald have presented an overview of their next trilogy of games from Garphill Games, a trilogy that will start with the...

Game Overview: Anno 1800, or The Game Named After the Number of Decisions in It

The board game Anno 1800 from designer Martin Wallace and publisher KOSMOS debuted in Germany in October 2020, and following a year of turbulent manufacturing and shipping issues, copies are now...

Gen Con 2021 VI: Wyrd Miniatures, Arcane Wonders, Ares Games, and Thunderworks Games

Let's continue with my Gen Con 2021 wrap-up posts, which essentially have a bit of con material in the background to supplement game announcements and summaries.U.S. publisher Wyrd Miniatures is...

Gen Con 2021 V: Czech Games Edition, Capstone Games, and BoardGameTables.com

It might seem ridiculous to continue with reports from Gen Con 2021 since both Origins and SPIEL have taken place following my most recent such report on September 30, 2021, but I took copious...

Build Railways in Chicago, the Western U.S., India, and Japan in Time for the Olympics

• Union Station is an upcoming 2022 release from game designer/train game aficionado Travis D. Hill, and "punk rock" publisher New Mill Industries, who's all about embodying the DIY spirit of...

Three Titles on a New Playte: Dragon Stripes, Ada's Library, and Mino Dice

At SPIEL '21, Korean publisher OPEN'N PLAY announced that it had re-branded itself as Playte, and the company is running its first Kickstarter campaign through Nov. 12, 2021 to fuel awareness of...

Every Day Is Halloween at Trick or Treat Studios

Chris Zephro, president and co-founder of Trick or Treat Studios in Santa Cruz, California, has been a gamer for as long as he can remember. "I bought my first D&D box set in fourth grade," he...

Designer Diary: Interior Design for the Discerning Overlord, or Making Dungeon Decorators Shine

Introduction with designer Jeff LaFlamI never thought Minecraft was a game about decorating...but in some ways, and depending on the person, it is. That person is my son. He would spend hours and...

Game Overview: Art Robbery, or Good Players Borrow, Great Players Steal

I have written a lot about Reiner Knizia's games over the years, and today I'm covering yet another of his designs, one that is about as far from The Siege of Runedar — a co-operative,...

Create Patterns, Jump Exactly Two Tokens, and Flick a Foe to Their Doom

In December 2020, I wrote about five games from German publisher Clemens Gerhards, which tends to release perfect information, abstract strategy games created out of hardwood, and now it's time...

New Risk Awaits in 2022 Thanks to Shadow Forces from Hasbro

During Pulse Con 2021, U.S. publisher Hasbro has announced a successor title of sorts to 2011's Risk Legacy from Rob Daviau and Chris Dupuis, a game so influential that "legacy" has become a...

The Ice Cream of the Future Travels to 2022's Zoo King

Saratoga Toy & Game Co. is a U.S. publisher founded in 2020 that is running a Kickstarter project for its debut title — Zoo King from company owner Evan Johnson — through November 4,...

Zenobia Award Winners & SDHistCon & GMT Warehouse Weekend, Oh My!

• After its kickoff in November 2020, and a tremendous amount of work from designers/contestants, board members, and volunteers (mentors, judges, etc.), the Zenobia Award results are in. Three...

Double Up on Colt Express, Travel with Precognition, and Build 1001 Islands

At SPIEL '21, French publisher Ludonaute showed off a new expansion in the works for designer Christophe Raimbault's 2015 Spiel des Jahres-winning game Colt Express. Here's an overview of...

At SPIEL '21, IELLO Teases Get on Board, Distant Suns, Wagon Infernal, and King of...

At SPIEL '21, BGG product manager Beth Heile met with publishers to explore possible future GeekUp bit sets, pick up games for use in the library during BGG.CON, and...become W. Eric Martin.This...

Richard Garfield and Alea Offer Dungeons, Dice, & Danger

To follow up my coverage of The Hunger from designer Richard Garfield, let's take a sneak peek at something new coming from him on 2022, with the publisher being Ravensburger's alea brand — and...

Designer Preview: Res Arcana: Perlae Imperii

Perlae Imperii — Pearls of Power — is the second expansion to Res Arcana.Perlae Imperii adds 4 mages, 4 monuments, 4 Places of Power, 12 artifacts, a magic item, and 25 pearls, a new essence...

Game Overview: The Hunger, or Forever and Ever Lasts Only 15 Rounds

At first glance, Richard Garfield's The Hunger sounds like the second coming of Paul Dennen's 2016 game Clank!: Both are deck-building games in which you start in a shared location, then travel...

Smother Fire with Snow, Split Dice Across a Mirror, and Play Qwixx Longer

German publisher NSV debuted three titles at SPIEL '21, with one of those being Snowhere from frequent NSV collaborator Steffen Benndorf.As with NSV's The Mind, Snowhere seems like it will invite...

Repel the Voidborn and Restore Domineum in Voidfall

One publisher I was especially excited to meet with at Gen Con 2021 was Mindclash Games. For my taste, they tend to knock it out of the park when it comes to highly thematic, heavy board games....

Pics from the Press Room at SPIEL '21

The BoardGameGeek team isn't at SPIEL '21 as we bowed out of running a booth and broadcasting livestreams at external conventions early in 2021 when it was unclear what the world might be like by...