Board Game News

Rio Grande Games to Release New Version of Puerto Rico

In 2013, German publisher alea released a new version of Andreas Seyfarth's Puerto Rico. As I noted in a BGG News post at the time:Quote:This version of Puerto Rico, bearing the number 16 on its...

Game Overview: 10 Days in the USA, or Winding from Chicago to L.A.

Games come and games go — then sometimes games come again, often to be discovered by an audience that maybe heard about the design but never got the chance to play it.Along those lines, 10 Days...

2F-Spiele Fires on SPIEL '19, Supplying Power to the Middle East & New Landscapes for Fast Sloths

With the SPIEL '19 Preview now live on BGG, it's time to dig into more titles debuting at that show in Essen, Germany in late October, focusing this time on games from designer Friedemann Friese...

Game Preview: Queenz, or Beekeeping Up With the Joneses

The family game Queenz — full title Queenz: To bee or not to bee — from designers Bruno Cathala and Johannes Goupy feels like a masterclass in game design. Every element works perfectly in...

BGG's SPIEL '19 Preview Is Now Live!

Gen Con 2019 is over, so BGG's SPIEL '19 Preview is now live. I need to put away this laptop as my flight is leaving soon, so more updates later. Zoom!

BGG's Gen Con 2019 Hot Games Room — Here's What You'll Find

Gen Con 2019 is underway, and I have to run to appointments soon, but we've assembled a (partial) list of the games available for play in our Hot Games Room, so I wanted to share the list so that...

Game Preview: The Towers of Arkhanos, or Building Influence

My final game preview video for Gen Con 2019 highlights The Towers of Arkhanos from designers Daniel Alves and Eurico Cunha Neto, which was originally Kickstarted by Creative Games Studio, then...

Gen Con 2019: The Final Game Previews

Gen Con 2019 opens in two days, and despite my efforts to preview as many games as possible that will debut at that show or first be widely available there — kicking off with my overview of...

Designer Diary: Machi Koro Legacy

"What do you think about a Machi Koro legacy game?"The question came from Pandasaurus Games. It was a straightforward question and a variant of one I get from publishers from time to time. I had...

Game Preview: Hats, or Be Tops on the Rack to Win

For most conventions that I attend, I bring a game or two with me to play at the show, often a game that I've played and liked but haven't experienced enough to do a decent overview. Lost Cities:...

Game Preview: Tonari, or Fishing for Two

As I noted in a March 2019 post, Tonari — which debuts at Gen Con 2019 from IDW Games and which hits stores on August 14, 2019 — is an updated version of Alex Randolph's Veleno, a.k.a....

Game Preview: Point Salad, or Eat Your Greens...and Yellows and Reds

My previews of Gen Con 2019 releases continue with a quick take on Point Salad, a game from Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, and Shawn Stankewich that Alderac Entertainment Group will feature during...

From China to Hyborea to Duckburg Without Leaving Your Tabletop

• S7 Games, formerly known as Shinobi 7, has announced an adaptation of the 2005 SEGA card/arcade/board game Sangokushi Taisen, with this new design — War of Three Kingdoms: The Card Game —...

Game Preview: Letter Jam, or Clever Clues Make for Sweet Gameplay

The release of Vlaada Chvátil's Codenames in 2015 was a watershed moment for publisher Czech Games Edition. Yes, the company had released a few lighter games at that time (Sneaks & Snitches,...

Game Preview: Carnival of Monsters, or Richard Garfield Drafts Another Challenge for You

Covers old and newIn 2017, German publisher AMIGO attempted its first Kickstarter project for Richard Garfield's Carnival of Monsters, a drafting game in which 2-5 players attempt to build up...

Gen Con 2019 Demo Schedule; Final Additions to the Gen Con 2019 Preview; and A Look to SPIEL '19

A few updates on recent and upcoming events:• I've posted BoardGameGeek's Gen Con 2019 livestream broadcast schedule, which is fully booked at this point barring cancellations. As always, we...

Game Overview: NObjects, or Artists Without Drawers

German publisher Pegasus Spiele debuted Ludovic Gimet's drawing-based party game NObjects at Origins Game Fair UK Games Expo 2019, and this design presents a new take on the genre by having the...

Design Diary: Undaunted: Normandy, or A Euro Wargame for the War in Europe

Greetings all. At Gen Con 2019, Osprey Games will release Undaunted: Normandy. I thought it would be a good idea to post a design diary to show off some of the background info, design decisions,...

Game Preview: Horrified, or Mashing Monsters

In the past month I've posted video overviews of Jaws (link) and Villainous: Evil Comes Prepared (link), and now here's a third new game release based on a licensed IP from the designer/publisher...

Just One Wins the 2019 Spiel des Jahres; Wingspan Takes the Kennerspiel

The 2019 Spiel des Jahres nominations were announced on May 20, and after two months of guesses and second-guesses the German jury that oversees the prize has awarded the 2019 SdJ to Just One...

Designer Diary: Old West Empresario

Part 1. OriginEvery board game is a story, no matter how grand or small the game might be. Sometimes it's told through pages of text, sometimes through dazzling artwork, and sometimes through the...

Shortlist Announced for the 2019 Diana Jones Award

Gen Con 2019 opens in less than two weeks, and one of the last things that happens before that show opens is the crowning of the winner of the Diana Jones Award.This year marks the 19th...

Designer Diary: Mental Blocks, or Can't We All Just Get Along?

When I make games, I typically start from a feeling or big moment I want people to experience: What kind of emotional reactions do I want during play, and what do I want them to be thinking about...

Funko Games Debuts with Harry Potter, Batman, Morty, Blanche, and More in the Funkoverse Strategy Game

In February 2019, pop-culture giant Funko acquired Seattle-based game design studio Forrest-Pruzan Creative, which releases most of its designs these days under the pseudonym Prospero Hall. (You...

Game Preview: Villainous: Evil Comes Prepared, or Ravensburger Pulls the Lever

When Villainous — or to use its proper title Disney Villainous — debuted in the middle of 2018, people immediately asked, "Who else have you got?"In the game, you represent a villain from one...

Reiner Knizia's Quest for The Quest for El Dorado

On July 8, 2019, designer Reiner Knizia caused a stir in the game industry when he tweeted the following:THE QUEST FOR EL DORADO – I am proud to announce our upcoming international edition with...

Game Overview: Las Vegas Royale, or Upgrades on the Strip

Las Vegas Royale revamps 2012's Spiel des Jahres-nominated Las Vegas from Rüdiger Dorn by drawing in elements from the Las Vegas Boulevard expansion, but also by making small tweaks to the...

Designer Diary: Silver

While this is a designer diary, it's also in many ways a developer diary, as I tend to wear two hats these days. Despite having played what must be thousands of different board games over the...

Game Overview: Undo: Curse from the Past, or Rewrite History for a Future Perfect

Some people hate the one-and-done nature of escape room games and legacy designs, viewing them as wasteful, antithetical to what games are, or both. I can appreciate the first concern, although I...

Fight in Worlds Above in Yggdrasil Chronicles, Then Revisit Underwater Cities

• In 2018, French publisher Ludonaute released a final printing of Yggdrasil from designers Cédric Lefebvre and Fabrice Rabellino, noting at the time that a "revamped version of the design"...