by W. Eric Martin

Asmodee USA has passed along its release scheduled for January 2026, and the titles are the usual mix of imports being distributed in the United States, new editions of older games, extensions of existing game lines, and the occasional new game.

▪️ Borealis: Arctic Expeditions from Dariusz Mindur and Lucky Duck Games debuted at SPIEL Essen 25, but will hit the U.S. market for the first time on 9 January 2026.

This 2-4 player game falls into the solitaire-ish puzzle category. Players have a hand of cards, and on most turns they’ll play an animal card into one of three columns on the board — but to play an animal card, you must have the appropriately colored scientists in that column, then move each of them in the direction (left or right) indicated on the card.

If the vehicle on the card is on the next exploration space in that column, you move the flag down to that space, and the farther you drop the flag, the more points you’ll score at game’s end.

If you move a scientist left off the left column (or right off the right), they land in a camp, and instead of playing a card on your turn, you can refresh your hand, then place all of these scientists in the same column, scoring 1 point per scientist.

The game ends after someone places a seventh animal in a column, then you score for the animals in each column, and the animals you have of the same type, the more you score.

Image: Ilya Ushakov

▪️ As for other games asmodee is importing and distributing in the U.S., the list includes:

Due out 2 January

• Oh My Socks!, by Antoine Bauza and Théo Rivière (Helvetiq)

• Etherstone, by Virginio Gigli and Simone Luciani (ThunderGryph Games)

• The first four titles in ThunderGryph’s “Soda Pop” collection: Cat-a-comb, Light Seeker, Forgenesis, and Top Cap

Due out 9 January

• Apex Legends: The Board Game and the Board 1, Squad 1, and Solo and Co-op expansions, by Thanos Argyris and Michalis A. Nikolaou (Glass Cannon Unplugged)

Due out 23 January

• Map Masters, by Ian Sebastian Bach and Cédrick Caumont (Captain Games)

• Daydream, by Anthony Perone and Benoit Turpin (Disto studio)

• Elevenses, by David Harding (Grail Games)

• Adamastor, by Orlando Sá (Ludonova)

• Junk Art Revolution, by Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim (Ludonova)

Due out 30 January

• Otters, by Jon Biegalski, Mar Bogdanis, and Zofia Pilecka (Rebel Studio)

▪️ Asmodee still distributes titles for CMON, and that publisher has two titles due out in the U.S. on 23 January 2026: Dune: War for Arrakis – Desert War from Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello and Collect! from Jérémy Ducret and Johannes Goupy.

▪️ After a PAXU 2025 debut, Bryan Bornmueller’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game (Office Dog) hits retail outlets on 16 January 2026.

▪️ Dixit: Kids from Elodie Clément, Théo Rivière, Jean-Louis Roubira, and Libellud arrives that same day, with this being a co-operative version of the Dixit party game aimed at players aged 6 and up.

▪️ Unlock!: Short Adventures – The Ocean’s Heart from Mathieu Casnin and Space Cowboys is also due out 16 January 2026.

▪️ As for expansions in Atomic Mass Games‘ catalog, Marvel: Crisis Protocol will see Blue Marvel & Spectrum on 9 January and both Inhumans Affiliation Pack and Xavier’s Students Affiliation Pack on 23 January.

▪️ Star Wars: Legion will have five expansions land on 16 January:

• Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso & K-2SO

• AAT Battle Tank

• TX-130 Saber Tank

• ARC Troopers Unit Expansion

• 3D Objective Tokens