Cartographers Heroes Designer: John Brieger and Jordy Adan Publisher: Thunderworks Games Players: 1-100 Age: 10+ Time: 30-45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B07jaOVRP Played with review copy provided by publisher The expedition to the Western Lands is the kind … Continue reading →

Last day at Essen– today the halls were noticeably quieter even in the morning. I had a great day though! First up was a look at Ashes & Amber, a Kickstarter game published, designed and illustrated by David Falla de Acebo – … Continue reading →

Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2026 (Part 16)   New-to-me games played recently include … 216 (2026): Rank 25178, Rating 6.0 Roll three dice. If you can fulfil one of the 4 contracts in the open draft, score it. If … Continue reading →

…My first day without appointments, and a chance to play more games and wander round the smaller publishers too…here’s what I found. The day started off with a play of Cardia Tide and Storm, the new standalone expansion for Duel … Continue reading →

    Citadels Duel Designers: Guillaume Montiage and Manuel Rozoy Publisher: Asmodee / Zman Players: 2 Age: 10+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B0b6pIUw0 Played with review copy provided by publisher Welcome to Citadels Duel, a tense head-to-head contest … Continue reading →

Essen Friday was as busy as yesterday and by now I am used to once again the Essen shuffle through the aisles and the huge number of small steps taken – I think I walked 5 miles today! Anyway, not … Continue reading →

    Wild World Designers: Eilif Svensson, Åsmund Svensson, Viljar Opdal Svensson   Publisher: Chilifox Players: 1-4 Age: 14+ Time: 45-90 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Wild World is a dynamic 1–4 player strategy game that blends worker … Continue reading →

As always, it was great to be back in Essen, which is even bigger this year, occupying the entirety of Halls 1-8. Apparently sold out for the weekend despite the increased capacity, the crowds were certainly there and there was … Continue reading →

  OK, so much for trying to post every day – to be honest, there’s just not enough time in the day here! If you’ve never been, the show is simply a giant firehose of game information – everywhere you … Continue reading →

  Timespan Designers: Kenneth Minde, Kristian Amundsen Østby  Publisher: Alion Players: 1-5 Age: 12+ Time: 90 mins Played with review copy provided by publisher Timespan is a streamlined, friendly and highly varied civilization game from the designers of Automania and … Continue reading →

    Minikin City Designer: Simone Luciani, Matthieu Verdier Publisher: Cranio Creations / Capstone Games Players: 2-5 Age: 10+ Time: 30 minutes Preorder link: https://capstone-games.com/collections/all?sort_by=created-descending&filter.v.price.gte=0&filter.v.price.lte=1200.00&filter.v.price.gte=0&filter.v.price.lte=1200 Played with review copy provided by publisher Minikin City is a strategic game where every … Continue reading →

So officially, the Wednesday at Essen is the setup day. But it’s also really the first actual day for the press. One of the highlights of the show every year is the annual new games exhibition, and this year it … Continue reading →

    Ashes & Amber Designer: David Falla de Acebo  Publisher: David’s Games Players: 1-4 Age: 14+ Time: 40 min/player Played with review copy provided by publisher The inevitable will come. Cities will fall. Yet from their ashes, you may … Continue reading →

Well, I’ve had a few days to travel around Germany prior to SPIEL, and I’ve had a grand time seeing old castles, beautiful vistas, and yummy plates filled with meat and potatoes.  We have taken full advantage of the Deutschland … Continue reading →

    Dance of Ibexes Designer: Wolfgang Kramer Publisher: playte Players: 2-8 Age: 14+ Time: 45 minutes Preorder link: preorder.playte.com Played with review copy provided by publisher Dance of Ibexes, which was first released as Tanz der Hornochsen! (“Dance of … Continue reading →

    Upland & Prairie Designer: Peer Sylvester Publisher: Osprey Games Players: 2-4 Age: 14+ Time: 15-25 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Race to rewild the land in this quick and charming strategy game. Return species to … Continue reading →

    Bubble and Shadow Designer: Kai Zu Publisher: Broadway Toys LTD Players: 2-5 Age: 10+ Time: 30 mins Preorder link: https://forms.gle/RqukaTumiF9zULs1A Played with review copy provided by publisher Bubble and Shadow is a light strategy board game with a … Continue reading →

    Isle of Bears Designer: Daisy Yi-Ching Chen  Publisher: Heybye Gaming Players: 2 Age: 8+ Time: 15 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Isle of Bears is a two-player card-driven abstract strategy game set in the summer … Continue reading →

    Always a Bridesmaid Designer: Jimic Publisher: Kado Games Players: 2-5 Age: 10+ Time: 20 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Always a Bridesmaid is a simultaneous card game about trying to shine just enough — but … Continue reading →

    Syzygy Designer: Asuka, IKE Publisher: EmperorS4 Players: 3-6 Age: 6+ Time: 15 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher The solar system we live in exists thanks to a miraculous arrangement of planets. Even for a god, … Continue reading →