Board Game News

Gen Con 2022 Preview: Splendor Duel

As often happens at conventions, most of the games I played at Gen Con 2022 will be released in the near future, thereby giving me a chance to preview them ahead of time.The two games I enjoyed...

Candice's Gen Con 2022 Round-Up/Discoveries: Part 1

Gen Con 2022 was a blast! I wasn't super excited about anything in particular going in, but after four days of sensory overload walking around the main exhibit hall, checking out games, bumping...

My Gen Con 2022 Swag: Covid

I just flew back from Indianapolis, and boy, are my lungs tired.I jest. I had no obvious symptoms of illness throughout Gen Con 2022, and I still don't at this point. I did have a dry mouth at...

Designer Diary: Stranger Things: Attack of the Mind Flayer

The week starting July 31, 2022 marks the U.S. release of my Stranger Things: Attack of the Mind Flayer game at Walmart, with the first five hundred copies debuting at Gen Con 2022.I noticed that...

HeroScape Returns with Age of Annihilation, Imperium Approaches New Horizons, and Patrick Bateman Wants to See Your Cards

• Gen Con 2022 opens today, and I'll be posting pics from the show on BGG's Twitter account as time allows between meetings...But ahead of the show publishers teased a few upcoming titles, with...

Collect Chilies for Spicy Sauces, Escape Saboteurs in a Collapsed Mine, and Roll Dice to Grow Beans — Again

On August 1, 2022, German publisher AMIGO announced its upcoming games for the second half of the year, and in keeping with tradition for the past decade or so, its largest release is still...

At SPIEL '22, Join La Famiglia, Swindle Rich Londoners, and Establish Energy Networks in Europe

While a few German publishers will be present at Gen Con 2022 — which opens August 4, 2022 (BGG preview list) — most of them will debut their new titles at SPIEL '22 in October.• Feuerland...

Developer Diary: Ready Set Bet

When I sat down to write a developer diary about John D Clair's Ready Set Bet, I thought about all the different things I should include. I could easily talk about how it's the first game I...

Build Your Deck While Negotiating with Mercenaries, Performing Improv Comedy, Investing in Railroads, and Racing to Early Flight

Last week a friend of mine introduced me to Ausonia, a snappy deck-builder with an innovative resource system from designer Zoltán Simon and Lycan Studio. It reminded me of how much I love...

Gen Con 2022: What I've Played, What I'm Anticipating

At not quite the last moment, I surveyed BGG's Gen Con 2022 Preview — which currently stands at 555 listings — and figured out what I had already played and could preview, along with what I...

Create Horror Films in Nightmare Productions, and Prepare to Solve Cases in LA-1

• In October 2021, I profiled Trick or Treat Studios, and at the end of that post I teased that publisher's new edition of Reiner Knizia's classic auction game Traumfabrik.That new edition,...

Build in Copperdale, Wheat & Ale, and Sunshine City, Then Explore Aquamarine

Giant crowdfunding campaigns come around every Tuesday it seems. Oh, look, Return to Dark Tower is back for a second printing and the new Covenant expansion in one of the first campaigns on...

Prove Your Innocence, Save Lost Children, and Indulge on Dulce

Let's check out a few other newly announced games that have been added to BGG's Gen Con 2022 Preview, whether for purchase or for demo games.• Designer Marc Paquien and publisher Matagot worked...

Fight in the West in 3000 Scoundrels and Doomtown, Then Re-Explore 7th Sea

Thanks to a rush of publisher submissions over the past week, not to mention Asmodee passing along a list of more than fifty titles being sold and demoed by its studios and the companies it...

Broaden Historical Gaming with the Summit Award, Command a WWII Rifle Company, and Fight for Control in Germany

• The deeper I get into discovering the joys of learning and playing historical board games and wargames, the more eager I am to share my experiences in hopes that others can discover if they...

Game Overview: Cat in the Box, or Cards Come in Colors Everywhere

In 2020, designer Muneyuki Yokouchi self-published the trick-taking card game Cat in the Box through Ayatsurare Ningyoukan, with the game featuring two linked twists:• The game has four colored...

Face The Great Split on Caldera Park: Raise Robots or Race to the Raft

• In 2021, German publisher Deep Print Games released Savannah Park from designers Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, a game in which players take turns telling everyone which animal tile to...

Dogfight over England in Undaunted and in Space in Ascending Empires

• UK publisher Osprey Games and designers Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson are expanding their Undaunted game series to a new dimension — the third! — in Undaunted: Battle of Britain, a...

Matúš Kotry and CGE to Offer Deal with the Devil for SPIEL '22

Publisher Czech Games Edition has already announced a small (Galaxy Trucker: Keep on Trucking) and medium (Starship Captains) game for release in the latter half of 2022, and now it's unveiled a...

Space Beckons, Whether on Dune or in Your Living Room

• U.S. publisher Dire Wolf has announced a new expansion for Paul Dennen's Dune: Imperium for release in 2022.Here's a quick overview of what to expect in Dune: Imperium –...

Explore New Horizons for Spirit Island

U.S. publisher Greater Than Games has announced a spin-off title for R. Eric Reuss' well-loved Spirit Island, with Horizons of Spirit Island scheduled for release in October 2022.Horizons of...

Can You Take Control of Planet B in October 2022?

For the past couple of days, I've focused almost entirely on the Gen Con 2022 Preview and the SPIEL '22 Preview, catching up on my inbox, working on survey responses from publishers, and poking...

Designer Diary: Paint the Roses

I'm Ben Goldman, designer of Paint the Roses.I developed board games at North Star Games for six years, working on Climate, Most Wanted, and Oceans, but this was the first time I had nearly...

Game Overview: Sniper Elite, or The Art of Sneaking Past Your Friends

David Thompson and Roger Tankersley's Sniper Elite: The Board Game from Rebellion Unplugged is a new hidden movement game for 1-4 players based on Rebellion’s popular, stealth-shooter Sniper...

Game Overview: Kites, or Mind Your Lines

Kites from Kevin Hamano and Floodgate Games is a quick-playing co-operative game that cleverly represents a physical activity — flying kites — in an abstract way. Color-coded sand timers...

More Dune, Disney, and Doctor Who for Your Gaming Table

In today's market, every successful media franchise has a game or twelve. Here are a few recently announced titles that will hit the market in the next year or so:• Gale Force Nine started...

Cascadia Wins 2022 Spiel des Jahres; Living Forest Wins Kennerspiel

Cascadia from Randy Flynn and Flatout Games, with a German release from KOSMOS, has won the 2022 Spiel des Jahres, beating out Scout and Top Ten.Living Forest from Aske Christiansen and...

Designer Diary: Animals in Espionage

I have played a lot of Magic: the Gathering over the years, and one of my favorite cards is a card that creates a mini-game all in itself. It was one of the most skill intensive give-and-takes,...

Steamforged Games Acquires Euthia and Rivet Wars

In mid-June 2022, UK publisher Steamforged Games completed a crowdfunding project for RuneScape Kingdoms: Shadow of Elvarg with delivery scheduled for the end of 2023, but it's already adding two...

Protect Rome from Discordia, and Achieve Fame on Mount Olympus in AEOLOS

The SPIEL '22 Preview hasn't yet overtaken the Gen Con 2022 Preview in number of titles listed, but it's coming close. Here are a few listed titles that I haven't yet covered:• Discordia is a...