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  Designer Diary: Skybridge

  by FatFrancis on February 3, 2026

  by Fat Francis AUTHORS AND DESIGNERS: Michael Rieneck Franz Vohwinkel Franz: “Three Illustrations with fantasy motifs for a new series of 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles.” That was the assignment that led to the creation of the Skybridge in autumn 2010. Beyond this, there were no instructions from the publisher, so I had to come up with something. Dragons! Fantasy - there must be dragons. But what else? I wanted it to be something else than the usual fantasy cliché with sword-swinging heroes and princesses to be saved in front of a Neuschwanstein-castle backdrop. Also, instead of developing three unrelated motifs, I wanted to come up with a small, short story to connect the three puzzles. So, what’s cool? A hollow world. Ever since Journey to the Center of the Earth, I always found hollow worlds fascinating. What else? A huge tower, like the tower of Babel. Together with dragons, this could be exciting. Why is the tower being built? Well, as always with large monumental buildings, it is built to get closer to God. Somehow this doesn’t really work for a hollow world, because there’s just the other side of the world to be seen in the sky. The sky over Thraen is finite, not infinite like ours. There was something missing to make it worthwhile for such a tower to be built. Then I had an idea: In the middle of the hollow world floats a small planet, a moon! And what if the roles were reversed? If not the moon was an unlivable, dry world but the hollow world that surrounds it? People must constantly fight for their survival on the outside, while they have to watch a lush, green and fertile world above their heads? A visible, real paradise, right in front of the eyes of all humanity? Wouldn’t that be enough motivation to build a huge tower into the sky that forms a bridge between the worlds? A world-bridge? A Skybridge? Suddenly I had found my little story for the puzzles: Part 1 - The construction of the bridge begins; Part 2 - The bridge is half built, gravity flips to the other side; Part 3 - The bridge is finished, people of both worlds meet. The completed illustrations for the three jigsaw puzzles The puzzles were produced and published, but were, as far as I know, not a great success: The puzzle series was not continued anyway. Normally, this would have been the end of the Skybridge and its worlds - if it hadn’t been for those prints. The publisher gave me prints of the puzzles from the manufacturer. Full-sized, stable prints on really thick cardboard, not yet cut into individual puzzle pieces. I displayed and sold them in the following time at conventions, tournaments and game events. My little story about the Skybridge made visitors curious. “Where can I read something about it?” was a question I was often asked. I always answered with “Sorry, I’m an artist, man. I can’t write.” LEFT: Prints for sale at Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, 2014 / RIGHT: Gen Con, Indianapolis, 2015 But over time, it started to bother me. Was it true that I couldn’t write? After all, I hadn’t tried it since my school days. So at some point, I decided to give it a shot sometime in 2011. I couldn’t say afterwards whether the result was good or bad, but one thing became clear to me: I really enjoy writing. In the following years, the history and worlds of Skybridge grew dramatically. It became obvious that a short story wouldn’t do the emerging, complex relationships justice. The more I explored Thraen, Beeledhans Eye and the Skybridge, the more questions had to be answered. A three-part structure again offered itself. Part I: How did the bridge come to be built after no one had dared to do it for thousands and thousands of days? Part II: What happens when such a bridge is built under conditions of constantly decreasing gravity that finally flips to the other side? And, last but not least, Part III: What happens when the Skybridge is completed and paradise suddenly becomes accessible to all of humanity? I would be a strange game illustrator if I hadn’t asked myself whether there isn’t a game somewhere in this story. Unfortunately, there is a good reason why I became an illustrator: math and I have always been at war with each other. But game design needs mathematics for their mechanics like players need the rules to play a game. It was clear to me that I was completely unsuited to developing a game on my own. Then at a party during SPIEL in Essen - it must have been 2013 - I met someone who knows how to make games based on given stories: Michael Rieneck. I had already illustrated games he designed, but didn’t know him well. When we started talking, I gathered all my courage and finally told him about the Skybridge. Then I asked him if he could imagine designing a game for an unreleased book... Michael: ... These are days still remembered many years later. And by that I don’t mean anything specific, like the weather or the corresponding date. I mean the feeling that this day triggered in you. Some kind of feeling that this day would change something. And that those experiences will have an effect for a long time. How long, I couldn’t guess, then back in the fall of 2013 ... Franz Vohwinkel just asked me if I could imagine developing a game based on a story that has been on his mind for a long time and that he intends to write a book about it. I had to sort that out for a moment and let it sink in. I have worked with book templates before and appreciate doing it very much. On one hand, books usually provide great stories and ensure that you don’t have to look for a - usually superimposed - theme for the game anymore. In addition, books offer a common thread for the development of a game right from the start. But a book that doesn’t even exist yet? That seemed quite bizarre. But there were no doubts. When an experienced game illustrator like Franz Vohwinkel comes up with a story, then it must be something very imaginative that should give enough starting points for a game idea. I didn’t know what the book is about, but I already knew my answer: “Sure, I can imagine that.” And so begins a long journey into a strange and epic world that has been taking an increasingly concrete form in my mind’s eye ever since that day, drawing me further and further into its spell. I can’t remember exactly when over the years Franz told me various details of the story. But because I couldn’t read anything about it, I asked him countless questions about it while we were working together, and he patiently gave me just as many answers - a process that continues to this day. In fact, there is still a lot for me to discover in Thraen. In the beginning, it was the big topics that we discussed and that were supposed to play a role in the game. The hollow world of Thraen, Beeledhans Eye, the peoples of Thraen, the cruel queen, the Drakhes and all the Gods. And most importantly, the desire to build a Skybridge. “Great,” I thought, I had already found the game goal. I immediately felt reminded of the building of the cathedral in The Pillars of the Earth. With this, the thematic framework established quite quickly. Another one thing was clear to me from the beginning. Franz certainly would want to illustrate his story with opulent pictures. Hence, large playing cards are undoubtedly the best medium to let off steam artistically. Also, we’d need a big game board, of course. When you accept such a big assignment, you quickly want certainty. Can I even come up with something suitable? Am I really capable of developing a good game for Skybridge that can convince the players and especially Franz? The project has taken over my mind and it keeps occupying it until I have success or I failed. After our first conversation that night, I got to work very soon and created a card-based board game in which the Skybridge is built. At that time, I knew only a few main characters from the story. Franz had already told me about some of the cities and landscapes of Thraen. I still remember vividly how strange many names seemed to me back then. Today they are familiar and it feels like I have known them forever. But I wanted to ignore all this at first and develop a good game mechanic that fits the topic and can be filled with life later. The first prototype was actually ready before Christmas. It crashed with a loud bang, not just for my test players but also for myself. The decisions were bland and the atmosphere of an epic story did not even begin to come up at the game table. Franz didn’t see this prototype or the second one, which also was a disaster. So the start was already an utter failure. In addition, I had gained a realization during those first two attempts that initially frustrated me, but turned out to be a stroke of luck later on. Initially the players were supposed to form their own extensive card displays, which they laid out successively on each side of the game board. The space required for this reached far beyond the normal dimensions of a conventional play table. It quickly became obvious: A maximum of one row of cards could be placed on each side of the game board, nothing more, unless we use very small cards. Example of cards displays on all sides of the game board This didn’t seem to be a real option for this project, which was supposed to come to life through its impressive illustrations. Then I got the idea to limit the card display to a row of six cards, to make them fit comfortably to the side of a large game board. Whoever wants to play a seventh card needs to cover up one that’s already lying out. The covered card would then no longer be usable for the player. For the available space, this worked wonderfully. From this moment on, each player had six card slots available on his side, which had to be tactically used in a smart way. We already assigned a color to the cards of each ethnic group. Each group consisted of eighteen cards, which were available in separate piles on the game board. At the beginning of a turn, one player could draw an open card from one of the piles and receive a bonus from the respective people. This mechanism hasn't changed to this day. Even back then, the top cards of the piles were only refreshed at the beginning of the new round. So the starting player always had the largest selection of cards to draw from in the current round. With the help of the cards, the actions required for the game were controlled: procurement of technical knowledge and raw materials for the construction of the Skybridge, supply of food for the population, the expansion of military power, intrigues, oracles, praying for favors from gods, usage of Drakhes and more. There were quite a few different actions on the cards. Many were tried, many more were changed or abandoned. The space problem was solved, but the game still didn’t work. The decisions were still trivial unfortunately. It was far too easy to construct a well-functioning display. So I wanted to limit the freedom of the construction of the card display. This was when the runes were born. With their help I wanted to tie the individual cards to certain card slots. If a player wanted to play a certain card, it had to be placed on a specific card slot and cover the card that might already be there. This quickly turned out to be a step in the right direction and I asked Franz to design six runes for me that could be depicted on the cards and slots. At first there was a total of six runes, but as it turned out, the freedoms were still too great. The original six runes Only after we limited the slots to five - and thus also the runes - was the slot management (as I called it) challenging enough as an essential game mechanic. (By the way, the sixth rune from that time still exists - you can see it on a belt of the rebel leader Raphis and as a tattoo on the neck of Hamises). Franz: In the meantime, Michael and I had started working on a serious prototype for the game. The first elements we needed were, of course, icons for the actions, layouts for the playing cards, and the game board. Michael needed more and more background information about Thraen for his work on the game. My focus during this time was therefore mainly world building. Although much of it already existed in writing, the geography of Thraen needed to be visualized. I had to create maps to fully understand the connections between the regions and their peoples. From these maps, prototype graphics of the game board and the playing cards were then developed. Maps of Thraen The first playable board Prototypes for SPIEL in 2018[ Michael: In the meantime, I was sure I had found the core mechanism of the game. Now I got down to work on the distribution of the cards and their functions over the five runes. For this I was in a lively back and forth with Franz about what could be included in each stack of faction cards. “Metal and Drakhes are only available for the Utreng, salt comes only from the cities of Shenna” is an example of the kind of information that I received from him. One can easily imagine that thematic correctness and game developing necessity did not always go hand in hand. We had to make compromises, but by that time I had long fallen to my own “Skybridge fever” and I no longer wanted things in the game to be completely different from the written story. It was a challenging puzzle that we had to solve together, but we managed to distribute the actions coherently and meaningfully among the now 100+ cards. Meanwhile, Franz had made a breathtaking three-dimensional skybridge that was enthroned in the center of our game board. It looked absolutely gorgeous and I still have the picture of it close to my heart. Cardboard prototype version of a 3D Skybridge By that time, I had no more doubts that we’d find a publisher for Skybridge. What a painful misconception! Many days, weeks, months and even years of work were already spent on the project. Not only in terms of the development of the game design itself, but also in terms of the design of the prototypes, which, thanks to Franz, presented themselves differently than those I usually create. Should all of it have been in vain? For a brief period of time, we even played around with the idea of running a Kickstarter campaign. But in the end, the project seemed too big for us—we had no experience in this area. As difficult as this was for us, we had to admit that we would probably not be able to capture the history of the Skybridge in a board game and convince other decision-makers. At this point, the chapter “Skybridge board game” looked like it had finally reached its end. Then the Vohwinkels decided to move from Seattle to Eckernförde at the beginning of 2020 - which happens to be about a 15 minute car drive from my home. Franz: After presenting the first prototypes to various publishers, it became clear to us that we still had a long way to go with the second prototype: Most important steps were moving the card slots from the game board to individual player boards and to disconnect the skybridge and the group of central draw piles into two separate game boards. With this new flexible version, Skybridge was now adaptable to a wider range of table sizes. We also streamlined the gameplay and its essential mechanisms to make Skybridge less complex and more accessible. Streamlined prototype versions of the game board, player board, and Skybridge Michael: Instead of communicating across the Atlantic, we were suddenly able to work collaboratively at the same table and try out new ideas together in smaller steps. But what was left of our game, after all? Our “old” Skybridge was too bulky and overloaded, too confusing and long-winded for most publishers. There was so much criticism, I hardly remember it all. Still, we wanted to use the luxury of simply being able to meet every week in person to make one last attempt. For a start, we subjected our prototypes to a radical cure. Game board reimagined, event cards forgone, 3D bridge removed, development tracks eliminated. All that and much more. We streamlined the game significantly. As it turned out, we were really lucky. Maybe it was the luck of the skilled, but still, I consider us lucky: The new, stripped down game still worked. In fact, we instantly liked the new version much better than the previous version. It is actually rather rare that such drastic changes immediately work well. But, surprisingly, so it happened. The flow of the game was better, the playing time was significantly reduced, somehow everything seemed to be more precise, more to the point. Suddenly we were hopeful again and we got to work - now in Eckernförde - with renewed verve. We had the new player boards and smaller, more functional game boards. This made the handling of the components much more pleasant and feel less rigid. We played countless times to further balance the game and test the new individual abilities for the players. Expanding these asymmetric player skills was an important step for us, to give the game the greatest possible variance. Franz: The large card size had been planned from the beginning, but until this point we used the regular trading card size, because it was more convenient for the creation of the prototypes. Now the time had come to convert all the cards to the large format. At the same time, the old placeholder-graphics on the cards - which showed just early sketches for the maps of Thraen - were abandoned in favor of mock-up sketches that showed people, landscapes and cities. Example of original prototype cards next to expanded illustrations Michael: When we presented the new version, it seemed like we were actually on the right track. But despite intensive work on the game, this version also turned out to be a fallacy in the end. And so, at the end of 2022, we again reached the point to put Skybridge with a heavy heart into the drawer of failed projects. By now, we were mentally too deeply involved in our game for another complete restart - we were still convinced that our game was the best it could ever be. Franz: The second version of Skybridge also did not find approval from the editors. Our Skybridge board game project was thus over for the time being. Looking back, I can’t say whether I felt more disappointment about our failure or relief that the ordeal was finally over. In my free time, I concentrated all my energy on the novel, which had grown to a considerable size in the meantime. Michael: And then luck struck again. This time it did not come from ourselves, but it came to us from the outside. I can’t remember the context and on which occasion it happened, but Peter Eggert asked me about our game -it was the beginning of 2023. He wanted to know what actually became of the game I and Franz had been working on. I always had the different versions with me for testing at a game event of Inka and Markus Brand in Lieberhausen. That’s where Peter had seen the various prototypes in the years before. “Unfortunately nothing,” I had to tell him. “Then bring it to Lieberhausen again,” he suggested. I brought it along in consultation with Franz and I played the game several times with Peter and his team. It actually went well. Or, as Peter usually phrases it: “That’s pretty good, but it can be even better.” He could actually imagine publishing the game after editorial processing at Deep Print Games. And just like that, hope and enthusiasm for the project were back again and we got to work with Deep Prints editor Moritz Bornkast. One thing was particularly important to Peter: He thought the game needed a little more complexity. He envisioned a third strategic level in addition to building the bridge and worship the gods. The resistance against the rebels and the simultaneous expansion of one’s own military power should become significantly more important to achieve this. The implementation of this third branch of strategy was once again a lengthy process. Not least because it made profound changes in the cards necessary. The new rebel game plan was created, which led to new garrisons and a new function on the cards. Other elements had to give way. Once again, thematic and mechanical adjustments to the many cards were necessary. In the end, it was worth it. Franz: When Peter Eggert from Deep Print Games appeared out of nowhere and expressed interest in Skybridge to Michael, I was extremely skeptical at first. I just couldn’t imagine that a solution could be coming to us and our game so easily and unexpected. At the moment of signing the contract, the hobby of “Skybridge” instantly became a huge pile of work. It had suddenly become clear to me, that my imagined worlds would indeed be published after such a long time. I immediately started to feverishly turn the images in my head into pictures for the game. In order to be able to really dive deep into the project, I stopped accepting any commissioned work since then and I solely focused on Skybridge. Michael: While Franz devoted himself to his artistic work around the clock, for me the most wonderful time began. I worked with Moritz fine-tuning the content for the last time. A few details here and there – there wasn’t much more to do for me. I don’t know how other authors feel, but for me, these are the best moments in a project. The moments when you see your game idea take shape with your own eyes for the first time and its full creative power unfold. I got to see new images from Franz every week, one more beautiful than the other. Places and people, all of which had existed only in my imagination, suddenly became visible, as if a thick veil of fog had been lifted step by step. It felt a bit like I was meeting old friends again after a long time and I was traveling to forgotten places of longing with them ... Whatever happens, however the game continues its journey, it has a special place in my heart and I’m utterly happy and grateful that I don’t have to get it out of my drawer when I want to play it.

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  Fifteen Years, Six Thousand Posts, and One Goodbye

  by W Eric Martin on January 27, 2026

  by W. Eric Martin On January 27, 2011, I published my first posts on BGG News, including a welcome message that laid out what I intended to publish in this space: "game announcements, industry news, previews of upcoming games, game design diaries from the designers themselves, and interviews with folks from around the game world". Other than the last category, which has been minimal, I feel I've done a decent job of publishing all of this material over the past fifteen years, not to mention all of the convention previews, which have blown up from a few hundred listings in 2011 to more than 1,300 for the SPIEL Essen 25 Preview. Craziness. I'm assessing past promises because this will be my final post on BGG News, fifteen years to the day from that debut. I greatly appreciate BGG's Scott Alden and Derk Solko giving me a space here after the site I had been running, BoardgameNews.com, imploded due to runaway server needs that threatened to consume every bank account it touched. I reached out to Scott and Derk for advice as I had met them at conventions in the late 2000s and they were running a much larger website far more sophisticated than BGN, and they asked whether I wanted to start posting news on BGG instead. I wouldn't have to sell ads and figure out how to write my own HTML code and could instead focus on nothing but writing? Gee whiz, sign me up! One last time...Over the years, BGG News has evolved somewhat, and I've had the good fortune to attend conventions in Germany, France, Japan, and the U.S. in a continuing effort to cover the (increasingly large) world of games. Thanks to conversations with folks in various aspects of the game industry, I've tried to present an overview of how the industry functions, while also talking about games on the individual level, often just in passing but sometimes doing them justice in deep dives that surprise me when I look back at them. That's one of the magic elements of games, right? The ability to discover new aspects in them when you revisit them year after year. In any case, over the past 6-12 months, I've been feeling what I guess is a mid-life crisis, feeling like I need to do something else. By chance, I've found myself talking to other men in their mid-50s, men who retired from one career and started another, men who upset their stable life to discover the joy of creating another one — and I've decided to do the same thing. As of today, I'm launching Board Game Beat, an independent game news site where I will post, yes, game announcements, industry news, and previews of upcoming games, but I also plan to run deep-dive articles on various game-related topics, explore aspects of the board game world I've yet to cover, and create videos that do more than review a single game...although I'll surely do that as well. Many thanks to Scott and my BGG colleagues — folks I interact with mostly online and see only a couple of times a year at conventions — for keeping me company all these years, and many thanks to you, dear reader, for your comments, your suggestions, and your time. I look forward to continuing to explore this fascinating artform and sharing what I learn with others because I want to help you and everyone else find games that they'll love. (P.S. I might not respond to comments quickly as I'm heading to Germany the week of Jan. 26, 2026 to cover the Spielwarenmesse toy and game fair for Board Game Beat.)

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  Designer Diary: Behind the Trees of Wispwood

  by era13 on January 26, 2026

  by Reed Ambrose Wispwood is a magical forest filled with lights luring the most curious of cats. With each light—wisps from the old tales — and tree tiles, you grow your forest, placing individual tiles together as "tetris" shapes. Your forest is alive, like a slow breath inhaling and expanding until the round is over. Between rounds, your forest breathes out, removing the tree tiles but keeping the wisp tiles in place, revealing a unique spatial puzzle in your forest to solve the next round with a bigger grid size. Explore the whimsical woods and fulfill the wishes of the wisps to create the brightest forest! For nearly nine months, my morning routine in Texas consisted of checking messages from Czechia. If you'd like to know how I got there, you can learn more in detail on how the game Wispwood, came to be in this designer diary. What awaited me each morning were messages from CGE, i.e. Cat Game Experts (or Czech Games Edition) with their creativity, critiques, and more on the development of Wispwood. It's been a fun and challenging ride, strapped into the roller coaster with them. I am thankful for how they develop games, involving me from the start and throughout the entire process. Their pawprints are all over the game, and not only is the game better for it, but so am I. Here's a broader look behind the trees at some of the game's development. Theme and Title Themes and titles are often changed by publishers, but CGE kept my quirky theme of cats chasing fantasy lights in the forest. I added cats to my prototype because of their desire to chase laser lights. I was humored by the thought that they would love chasing other magical lights like wisps, too. To my surprise and joy, the theme was kept! I was thrilled about keeping the theme because it is a favorite literary element of mine, and I have long loved the idea of ignis fatuus. The Latin phrase can be translated to "foolish fire", an umbrella term for all lights leading followers true or astray in a marsh or forest, e.g. will-of-the-wisp. "Foolish Fire" was the name of my original prototype. Admittedly, I loved that title and probably a bit too much, but after some brainstorming, the current title was suggested. Let me clarify what I mean by "some brainstorming". I mean CGE is very unique in how they operate, allowing anyone in the company, regardless of their role, to weigh in at times on certain creative decisions with their games, and the title was one of those. I've never brainstormed on any idea with so many invested and creative people, much less one of my own ideas. The names and banter were plentiful, and it took a bit to agree on one, but I am thankful for the one we landed on. Wispwood is a perfect name for a forest where wisps playfully lure cats. The Wisps The game has four types of wisps: Jacks, Witches, Hearts, and Orbs. I wanted each type of wisp to feel unique and magical. I've written a little bit of lore about them here in another design diary. Nearly a decade ago, I created a world of different light sources, naming each light source type, and I'm thankful I was able to maintain some of that during this process. Even though most of the lore's depth isn’t in the game, I hope you feel a deeper sense of Wispwood's theme and setting because of it. As the art progressed, the wisps continued to embrace their identities, and I enjoyed watching the progression by the artist, Štěpán. You can read more about his process and thoughts here. I know Štěpán and many others had ideas for the direction of the art, and it wasn't easy managing expectations, but his art evokes the wonder I had imagined. At first, I thought I wanted all of the wisps to have faces and expressions, but I've come to realize that it didn't fit the tone of this game as much. In the end, the wisps strike a nice balance between a playful, magical side and a serious side. The idea being to not mislead someone to think the game is only for children. However, no promises if the wisps mislead you in the forest. That's on you. The Goal Cards While the core of the game didn't change much in development (i.e creating polyomino shapes out of individual tiles and keeping only the wisp tiles in your grid between rounds), the most intense development and playtesting happened with the goal cards. These cards are how you score the different wisp types as well as the trees in your grid. You have five cards to choose from for each type of wisp and tree, using only one per type each game. Based on these cards, you earn points for how you spatially place wisp and tree tiles in your forest grid. Each wisp is known for working a certain way, and for the most part that still holds true to how I originally designed each type to score, but the details changed and improved a lot along the way with the expertise of the development team and the feedback from playtesters. For months, we tested a ton of iterations for each type, considering how to improve their conditions and even trying some wilder ideas. There were a lot of passing cards and ideas back and forth on programs like Slack and Miro. We started with four cards of each type, but our task was to create five per type. We created much more than that for each, but eventually landed on the five best for each. Along the way, Min and Elwen of Lost Ruins of Arnak joined the development team and further pushed the game forward, especially regarding ideas and details for the cards. I'm thankful they did! I'm pleased with how different each card feels, especially within its own type. For example, all Jack cards feel the same in that they are trying to avoid other Jacks, but each Jack card feels different when playing and yet remains true to the flavor of Jacks. I can say the same for each type of wisp and how they are intended to be played. Your forest grows differently each game, not only because of the variety of scoring cards, but also because of where you place shapes and wisps and how those wisps remain as obstacles in future rounds. The Pond In the middle of the playing area is the central board where you draft your wisp tiles and choose your shapes to add into your forest. Before CGE, I had the board representing part of the forest, but early in development they made it circular and divided into different sections, allowing players to piece it together, making the game more variable. Eventually, the circular nature transformed into a mysterious pond where the wisps gather in the forest. The pond gave the setting more character, and the game a more pleasing aesthetic overall. Lastly, the pond center was added with the reflection of the moon to further complement the nighttime atmosphere. The Cats What I added to be silly became a focal point more than I ever knew. I know people love their cats, but I did not add cats for that reason, per my reasoning above with their instinct to chase lights. The cats and their art were more intensely debated among the CGE team than just about anything else in the game. My guess is that the cat art had the most iterations because of how much people love them and have an opinion on them. You can choose from six cats in the base game, with another six promo cats available. The types of cats range wildly for a lot of variety. And like the wisps, they too strike a good balance to fit the tone of the game. Pick your favorite one to play with! But the cats aren't there just for show; they have abilities tied to their tile. When I first made the prototype, the cat tile was single-sided and not used for much outside of being a reference point for Witch scoring cards. A big light bulb moment came when the team decided to use the back side of the cat tile. This one change allowed us to make the cat more useful and possess abilities because the cat tile had two states now. We condensed some 16 cubes and 16 tiles that did not match the other tiles in the game into a single tile: the cat tile. What unlocked this potential was allowing the cat tile to flip and have two different states. The back side of the cat tile shows the cat hiding in a tree stump to show you have used an ability. Not only did the cat play a bigger role in the game now, but seeing your cat hide in a tree stump quickly became a favorite part of the game for players. It was a great example of doing more with less. For those interested, Wispwood will be available in the U.S. in Q1 2026 in retail and on CGE's online store. I am honored and humbled for having other humans, especially the ones at CGE, apply their talents to this game. Thanks for following along! I hope you follow a wisp in the forest soon! Reed Ambrose

• 
  Designer Diary: Village Pillage

  by PeterCHayward on January 25, 2026

  by Peter Hayward I had a dream. In 2015, I had a dream. Actually, I probably had a dream every night, but this one was significant: I dreamt the mechanisms for a card game: Each person has a hand full of cards. Everyone around their table puts their action down at once, and you go around revealing one by one: farm gets you a coin, defend gets you a coin from anyone who decides to betray you, betray gets you X coins from the person it's pointing to (unless they defend), etc. That's a quote from a board game chat I was in at the time. I shared the mechanisms from my dream, in case anyone knew whether I was subconsciously borrowing from another game or not. One of those friends, Tom Lang, thought about the game and came back a few hours later with a more developed pitch: Each turn you play a card at the people next to you, which work in a certain paper-scissors-rock style. BUT you can buy cooler actions from the middle! Big attacks! Block/farm! Reflection! If you've played Village Pillage, you'll recognize the above as about 90% of the final game. I was excited: The working title was "Backstabbards", and we spent the night making cards and putting rules together. Here are the starting cards we had for that first draft: And here's what the starting cards ended up looking like in the final game: I'm at around two dozen published games at this point, and I've never had another game stay so similar from first idea to final product. Here's what we had at that early stage: Each turn, you play a card on either side of you, one against each neighbor. What those cards do is based on what your opponent plays: If you attack a farm, they gain resources and you steal it. If you don't want to be attacked, play a wall. If your opponent is playing a wall...well, that's the perfect time to play a farm! As Tom said, it's a simple game of rock-paper-scissors. (Fun fact: Different countries order the elements of that game in a different order. In Australia, it's scissors-paper-rock.) We discussed the game for a few hours, realizing that the system didn't incorporate any way to win or gain new cards, so the Merchant was born: Play the Merchant to buy a relic, and if you can't afford to, buy a card. I prepped a prototype and ran it the next day at a playtesting event: The game has only two other mechanisms, each added to fill out the design a little. Instead of just defending, walls got a bank mechanism, putting a turnip (up to a maximum of 5) where it couldn't be stolen by attack cards. And a final keyword was added: exhaust. An exhausted card sits out for a round – some cards exhaust themselves, some cards exhaust others. From that small list of keywords, we put together a market deck — the "cooler actions from the middle" — of interesting, thematic cards. My co-designer Tom has some words to say about this process: While designing Village Pillage, a lot of the moments when the game started to appreciably improve occurred when we took a risk with balance and made changes that worried us. The game self-balances to a degree, which has the drawback of making it hard to see where things can be improved, so it was by making cards that sometimes seemed scarily powerful or strange — like the Burglar, who steals banked turnips, or the Smuggler, who makes relics cheaper — we found the interesting decisions, and the moments of drama. If you've played Village Pillage, you've probably chuckled with glee when a double-Farmer gained you a huge pile of turnips, or groaned with anguish when those turnips all got stolen the very next turn. It's a swingy, silly game in which fortunes come and go in a single turn — but the important thing is that it's always because of the decisions you made. You could have played it safe...but you got greedy. The design space of "does a different thing depending on who it's against" + the keywords gain, steal, bank, buy a card, and exhaust allowed for about two dozen thematic cards, like the Toll Bridge, a wall who charges Raiders and Merchants, or the Treasury, who banks more turnips than any other card. Even just a card that does something unusual for its "suit" is interesting: The Pickler is a Farmer who gains four turnips, then immediately banks two of them. Cathedral is a Wall that buys new cards. Through trial and error, we came up with some "rules" for ourselves: Starting Farmers gain 3 turnips, so market Farmers needed to gain a baseline of 4 + an ability. Some Farmers gain 5, but with a weakness. Similarly, starting Raiders steal 4, market Raiders steal 5 + an ability, and some Raiders steal a whopping 6, but with a weakness, such as the Cutpurse who steals 6...but is stolen from when she goes up against an enemy Raider. The Berserker steals 6, but is stolen from when she goes up against a Wall. The Outlaw steals 5 and gets a free card if it faces a Merchant. Walls were a little harder to differentiate, but we came up with some fun stuff. My favorite is the Moat, which absolutely kicks a Raider's butt...but waters enemy Farmers, letting them gain +1 turnip. We quickly found more rules that would break the game if broken: Raiders must be great against Farmers, and Walls must be great against Raiders. Playing a Farmer against a Wall is inherently good (because of the opportunity cost), but if they had a specific interaction, it needed to always benefit the Farmer. We never wanted to "punish" someone for playing a Farmer against a Wall. Merchants were the hardest to expand out. We ended up with only two: the Bard, who gains you a card from the top of the deck so that no one knows what you have, and the Doctor, who exhausts whichever card is played against him. For many years, Village Pillage was my best-selling and best-known game. There's something incredibly clean about it: You play a card to the left and to the right, you resolve them, repeat until someone wins. (Tom Lang deserves the credit for that; I spent many years filling my games with so much unnecessary cruft.) So how the heck do you expand a game like that? Our first attempt was to add a second currency: pumpkins. The first expansion for Village Pillage was going to be called Dark Arts & Crafts, which added magic into the fantasy setting. We tried a few different versions, but we couldn't get it working. The issues were: 1. How do you acquire pumpkins, and 2. What do you do with them when you get them For an expansion entirely based around pumpkins, you can see why that posed a problem. Instead, we decided to go simpler. We'd maxed out the design space with our original twenty market cards, so to justify an expansion, we'd need new mechanisms. In the original Village Pillage, we'd strictly kept all interaction to neighbors. You play against your neighbors, and you resolve against your neighbors. After the game came out, we had a lot of commenters wishing they could interact across the table – when playing with five people, they wanted it to be more than a three-player game — so we added some cards that cared about the total number of cards in play of a particular type: In addition to that, we came up with provoke – the opposite of exhaust. A provoked card must be played next turn, though you still get to choose which side to play it on: Those two small mechanisms were enough for about a dozen new cards, like the Beekeeper, who gains 5 while each other Farmer in play also gains 1, or the Matador, who provokes any enemy Raider it's played against. Twelve new cards wasn't really enough to justify a full expansion, so we put our heads together and realized the root of the problem: To keep the base game simple, we hadn't individually "costed" the cards. If you played a Merchant and couldn't afford a relic (the victory condition of the game), you instead paid a turnip and gained a new, more powerful card. No matter which card, you always paid one turnip. This mean that all the cards had to be (approximately) balanced to each other. If one was significantly worse, it wouldn't be bought and would just clog up the market — and we deliberately avoided any kind of "clear the market" mechanism because if people consistently didn't want to buy a card, we cut it from the game. Like I said, each upgraded card was basically one turnip stronger than a starting card + an ability (or two turnips stronger + a weakness), but if we added a "cheaper" card type into the game, something between the strength of a starter card and an upgraded card...well, suddenly we had a lot more design space: What's more, cards had always been permanent additions to your village, but since these cards were acquired easily, it made sense for them to leave easily as well. Lo, a new keyword was born: sacrifice. Sacrificed cards are returned to the bottom of the deck. And once cards were no longer permanent, this opened the door to stealing them from other players. These new mechanisms allowed enough design space for another dozen cards, so we had two smaller expansions, and a friend of ours, Lauren O'Connor, came up with the names Surf and Turf. The nautically themed Surf added freebooters, the easily-bought cards, while Turf was dedicated to four-legged friends, from dogs to frogs to camels to ravens – the cards that provoked cards and cared about other cards in play. A few years later, when people were clamoring for more Village Pillage, I was worried we'd explored all the available design space. I figured that instead we'd just give them the big box that everyone had been asking for, along with a handful of promo cards. Tom was too busy and gave me his blessing to make the promo cards without him. I walked to a café, pulled out my iPad, and started brainstorming. When I'm first starting a game, it always grows from a central mechanical idea, and I have to scramble to find a theme for it. But once I have a theme that I like, I can ask, "Okay, what would fit in this world?" So many Village Pillage cards started from theme, got cool mechanisms...then Tom Lang came in and worked out a more fitting theme for them. For this set of promo cards, what made sense in the world of Village Pillage? It didn't take long for me to think of Robin Hood as a direction, and that immediately led me to a richer/poorer mechanism. Anyone with more turnips than you is richer, while anyone with fewer turnips is poorer. It turned out this was a particularly fertile design space, and a few hours later, I had dozens of cards: Robin Hood, who steals more when against a rich opponent; Prince John, a Merchant who pays less for relics based on how many of his neighbors are poor; Little John, a Wall who steals 5 (the most a Wall has ever stolen!) if the opponent is rich. If you're rich, don't go picking on your poor neighbors, or you might encounter Little John. ("But don't let my name fool you. In real life, I'm very big!") While designing, I found another unexplored pocket of design space: cards that react differently when they're against a starting card: The Sheriff of Nottingham steals +2 turnips against starting cards, which is a nice way to reflect the bullying nature of the character. The Robin Hood mythos had so many characters that we ended up with thirty new market cards. Then — finally! — we got pumpkins working, with special thanks to Sara Perry, who brought us a long way towards cracking it. Dark Arts and Crafts will be the final Village Pillage expansion, and it's now part of the Village Pillage: Big Box that Robbin' Hood was meant to be. We could probably rummage through drawers and find another mechanism or two — in fact, the Big Box is coming with three mini-expansions — but we're happy with everything we've added to the game. Dark Arts and Craft will be the last expansion for Village Pillage. We've expanded it to a ridiculous degree and want to go out on a high – and wearing a Very Big Hat. And it all started with a dream... Peter C. Hayward

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  The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame 2026 - Day 5 Inductee

  by Aldie on January 23, 2026

  by Scott Alden The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve. The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby. The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards. Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming. This concludes the list of the 5 inductees to the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame for 2026. Thank you to all of the jury and all of the contributors who have helped to form this award. This is an annual award, so we'll see you next year! ••• Terraforming Mars - 2016 Set in a near-future vision of the corporate colonization of space, Terraforming Mars has proved to be imminently (im-,a-met-ly) replayable. By combining familiar game elements like card drafting, asymmetric player powers, a half-dozen resources, and bonuses claimed by whoever reaches a milestone first, designer Jacob Fryxelius (Frix-el-e-us) has created an involved game that challenges players to raise the red planet's temperature, adjust its oxygen level, and create arable land — but while players terraform Mars collectively, they all have individual goals driven by more than two hundred unique project cards that they will purchase and play. Whether you want to plant forests, build cities, or establish an ocean, you can work towards those goals, yet you need to keep an eye on everyone else because once Mars reaches critical terraforming thresholds for life in the form of oxygen, temperature, and fresh water, only one corporation will end up on top. Youtube Video

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  Designer Diary: Luthier, or The Art of the Instrument

  by paverson on January 23, 2026

  by Dave Beck Luthier was released in the second half of 2025, but has quite a storied history! Much like an heirloom violin that is passed from generation to generation, this game has been touched by multiple creative minds, and this diary aims to provide a small glimpse into that story. This will be told in parts from the perspective of the two designers, Abe Burson and Dave Beck, both of whom actually worked on it somewhat separately. Perhaps not that different from instrument makers roughing and finishing out an instrument in a workshop? Part 1 will be told by Abe Burson, who originally came up with the idea for Luthier. Part 2 will be told by Dave Beck, who signed and published it with Paverson Games. Part 1: Designer Diary By Abe Burson 2008-2016 — Blueprints and Roughing In The concept for Luthier came to me around 2008 after co-designing my first game, Master of the Elements, with Blaine Haagenson. Luthier's design idea was just the right fit for me as my dad has his Masters in Piano Pedagogy and I have a Bachelor's Degree in Music. Though I never built any instruments, in 2007 I did build high-end stereo speakers alongside my friend Matt (who designed them). Simultaneously, I was getting into the popular Euro-style games of the time: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Modern Art, Agricola, and especially Caylus. Though I don't remember the specific "a-ha" moment for the idea of creating a game about crafting musical instruments, the synergizing of all of these interests resulted in me starting on the long — albeit extremely intermittent — journey designing Luthier. My vision for the game was guided by these preferences: • Euro-style: constructive, competitive, not just multi-player solitaire • Medium to medium/heavy "gamer's game" • 2-5 players, 90-120 minutes • Focus on theme of crafting/repairing stringed instruments leading the design/mechanisms wherever possible • Resource management, worker placement, bidding • Create a feeling of progress/development/achieving goals and awards during gameplay and at the end • Something that would sit on the same shelf as Caylus, Agricola, Puerto Rico, and Fresco (and later Viticulture) 2009 violin card for Luthier (design mock-up by Matt Knipschield) In 2015, the design had several static phases each round, as shown in this rulebook excerpt: The game did not have "patrons" at the time, but it did have "clients", which were a largely undeveloped portion of the design. Luthier started out as a more literal interpretation of the word (which is the name of the profession for someone who makes and repairs stringed instruments) and was generally in a more modern setting. The instruments were all stringed instruments: violin, viola, cello, bass viol, acoustic guitar, and mandolin, along with some fun ones like sitar, koto, and viola da gamba (a Baroque instrument). The three materials in the game were all different types of wood: maple, mahogany, and ebony. A player's workbench game board from a 2016 prototype In the image above, note the three benches in assembly-line style, with the worker placement and bidding being separate. Also note that the instrument and repair commissions were for specific clients. 2017-2021 — Chiseling and Assembly Though Luthier was playtested a few times from 2013-2016, these tests were few and far between, and most progress came in the form of me fiddling around with prototype components on my own and updating a rule sheet in Google Docs. After playing Forbidden Stars in late 2017, I had the inspiration that cemented the foundational mechanism of the game, fusing the (at the time) separate mechanisms of worker placement and bidding. From here on, a round would essentially be two phases: 1. Prioritizing (planning), and 2. Resolution This also marks the point when variable phase order during the Resolution phase and the variable market cost for the three materials were introduced. You can read more about how Forbidden Stars and several other games influenced the design in My Top 5 Games That Influenced the Design of Luthier GeekList. After proper batches of playtesting, early 2019 was when the game started feeling like it was a) playing (generally) smoothly and b) had its own "personality". I prepped a prototype with placeholder artwork for Stonemaier Games' Design Day 2019. I received valuable feedback, both complimentary and constructive, from other designers. It was well received as a prototype, but a little "harsh" and still not yet refined. For example, during the Resolution phase, only the top two bidders got something; there was no alternate choice. Also, the assembly line style of three benches, coupled with the fact that workers assigned to those instruments stayed with those instruments through their completion, bogged things down. Playtesting and being flexible about feedback is the only way for a game to get better and live up to its full potential. 2019 Luthier prototype I made a few minor tweaks and took it to Protospiel MN in January 2020. I felt the design had some momentum behind it and was excited to continue making tweaks to the core design. Little did I know at the time that Dave Beck would play Luthier and eventually become the co-designer and publisher! January 2020 Protospiel MN, with Dave Beck (left) playing for the first time Protospiel MN was right before the pandemic hit the U.S. After that, Dave and I went our separate ways and put our respective games (Distilled and Luthier) on online platforms. Tabletopia Prototype — June 2020 During the 2020 lockdown and into 2021, Dave and I connected a couple times to playtest each other's games online. In late 2021, Dave reached out to me about potentially publishing and co-designing the game. I had a lot to think about: Does Luthier get refined more or less as it is and I personally put it up on the self-publishing site The Game Crafter? Or does it begin a new chapter in its design journey and have a shot at being on the shelf with Caylus and Agricola?! How did I arrive at my decision to move forward with not only a publishing agreement with Paverson Games, but a co-design as well? I weighed several factors: • Preservation of the integrity of the design/creative control going forward: My design journey had taken it through several different iterations of the game. Still, I knew it needed a fresh look and help polishing out the rough edges. When Dave and I talked through what would for sure stay in the published version of the game, we agreed on two non-negotiable facets: the instrument-making theme and the core bidding-placement mechanism. With Dave in the role of both publisher and co-designer, plus with developer Richard Woods on board, I knew I would have less than 50% stake in any future changes to the game. I was okay with that. After seeing how much care Dave put into the design and production of Distilled, I had faith that he would not just preserve the essence of Luthier, but make it better. • Time: Dave and I both have busy schedules. Mine doesn't allow much time for game design. Dave is not only a gamer and a designer; he is also a game design professor! He was really excited about the prospect of Luthier becoming Paverson's second release. I knew that this was the opportunity that Luthier needed to give it the time and attention it deserved to reach its full potential. • Budget/Publishing: I had no budget for publishing games and had no interest in crowdfunding. Paverson, though just getting off the ground, had had a successful Distilled campaign and had the capacity to raise a good amount of money for Luthier. • Likelihood of success within the hobby: Obviously an officially published game would have a better chance at people hearing about it and buying it. Plus Dave did an amazing job with both the design and publishing aspects of Distilled. In a nutshell, I knew Luthier was now in the capable hands of a pro team with Dave at the helm. 2022-2025 — Reworking and Finishing Once it was official, Dave and his team hit the ground running on more playtesting and design tweaks. We initially had scheduled meetings every week or two to talk through ideas, questions, etc., but from here on I transitioned from the creator/designer role to a co-designer/consultant role. I'm sure Dave will have a lot to cover from here, but I would like to say that the published version of the game, though a little more epic and complex than I initially envisioned, meets and exceeds my expectations from both a design and production standpoint. Everyone involved in making Luthier what it is today should be proud. It is surreal to not only see it alive in the world, but also receiving so many positive reviews from people who have played it! Part 2: Designer Diary By Dave Beck Thanks, Abe — wow, what a journey this has been! As Abe mentioned, we first met at the first Protospiel that I took Distilled to in January 2020. By the way, in case you hadn't clicked the hyperlink and wondered what that odd-sounding name is, Protospiel is hands down my favorite event of the year. It's where a bunch of people get together — in person or online — and simply playtest each others' games. You don't have to be a designer to attend these either, so if you are someone who'd like to provide feedback on the development of a game's design — often in its early stages — consider attending one! If you've had an idea for a design of your own bouncing around in your head or on your kitchen table for the last few months (or years!), consider bringing it to a Protospiel. They're some of the most welcoming and positive environments one could ask for, and I think we could all use more of that these days. Just search for a Protospiel in your city, and I wouldn't be surprised if you'll find one happening at some point this year (or something similar)! Abe, returning the favor to me and playing Distilled at Protospiel MN 2020 Anyway, this Protospiel in Minnesota was the first time I had brought Distilled into the public sphere for testing, so I had no idea what its future held, nor even the concept that Paverson Games would even exist! I had a chance to play Abe's game and immediately was intrigued by three things that stuck with me long after that snowy January weekend: • His focus on the theme was extremely strong. I could tell that he knew about instruments and luthiery, and he cared about detail around music and musical instruments based on his experience as a musician himself. • His game and mine were quite similar: play as a craftsperson, get resources, craft that thing, and get points and money. Where mine was a deckbuilder (yes, Distilled began as a deckbuilder!), his wasn't. His was something entirely different, which was the most important thing that stuck out... • Luthier's key mechanism combined worker placement with hidden bidding, and it immediately intrigued me as something I'd never seen before in a game. After we played both of our games, we decided to keep in touch. The world shut down shortly after that, and we all were forced to take our designs online for testing. I discovered Tabletop Simulator for Distilled, while Abe brought Luthier to Tabletopia. We got a chance to continue to test each other's games — as peer designers — over the next year. It was during this time I learned that Abe had actually been working on Luthier for over ten years, with heavy revisions and implementation ramping up in 2018. Abe even took it to Stonemaier Design Day in 2019 (a cool event that Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games hosts in St. Louis for prototypes and unpublished games), where it was one point shy of making the coveted "top ten" most popular games list at the event. Fast-forward to late 2021, and I knew it was time to start thinking about Paverson Games' next title. Distilled's Kickstarter campaign was finished, and we were starting the year-long road toward finalizing localization and manufacturing (while I continued to work full time at the university), and I was itching to get designing again. While I had ideas for Distilled expansions (and an entirely different new game!), I also couldn't stop thinking about Luthier. Knowing that this idea of publishing games was something I wanted to continue to do — and many people were asking me at conventions, "So, Dave, what's next for Paverson Games?" — I asked Abe to send me a pitch document and access to his digital prototype. Now, as a publisher, you don't decide to take on a new game on a whim. Someone has spent a great deal of time and effort toward creating something special, something that they care a great deal about. Additionally, you are committing to something that will occupy the next 2-3 years of your life, as well as tens of thousands of hours (and dollars!) of your own. This is a BIG commitment for two people: you as the publisher, and the designer of the game — and that's just for starters! I played the game, talked for a great amount of time with my developer about it, and went through scenarios in my mind. During this time period it became clear that it would be best to have this be a co-design. This would allow me to have the excitement and investment in the game I wanted and bring it to the level that I knew it deserved after Abe had worked on it for so long, so we signed the contract in the spring of 2022, and the rest is history! As Abe mentioned before, there were certain things that would not change: that killer hidden-bidding mechanism, and that theme of crafting musical instruments. After signing the contract, I found myself teaching in Scotland during the month of July as I had done for my university in years past. (Fun fact: That's actually where I first came up with the idea for Distilled in 2019!) During this visit, my wife Emily discovered the St. Cecilia's Hall & Music Museum in Edinburgh. She insisted that I pay a visit there, knowing that I had just signed Luthier to co-design with Abe. Now, you need to remember that at this point, I was entirely focused on getting Distilled to print (which would be released the next year) and had not started thinking much about Luthier; at this point, Luthier was still nearly the same as when I had played it in January 2020. The Gallery of Harpsichords at St. Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland Just as I acknowledge my time touring scotch whisky distilleries in 2019 as the inspiration for Distilled, I owe much of where Luthier has landed to my experience in St. Cecilia's in July 2022. Walking through those galleries of harpsichords crafted for royalty, inspecting violins made by master luthiers, and seeing a serpent in person for the first time opened my eyes to what Luthier could be — not just a game about making and repairing stringed instruments, but a game about creating an entire orchestra, spanning hundreds of years of music history. That was my first realization for Luthier, which allowed for the establishment of the theme to drive new mechanical ideas in the game, paving the way for another epiphany I had while reading the placards in the museum that day. The Collection of Wind Instruments (including Serpents!) at St. Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland Over and over again, the informational placards for each harpsichord, pianoforte, violin, cello, and more would talk not just of the instrument maker themselves (often including stories of their family workshop and history), but of the patronage involved with the instrument. A harpsichord might have been commissioned by a specific individual of the upper class, or a violin may have been created for a virtuoso to use in a concert performance in the royal court. This caused me to begin to think less about these deals as a simple transaction (like selling a whisky or gin for money!) and instead as a patronage, where you can continue to benefit from the gifts of this individual if you deliver what is expected of you. It was right there on the floor of St. Cecilia's that I came up with the idea of the patrons for whom you have "orders" to fulfill, with compensation coming from staying in their good graces (keeping them happy) and being tracked by a cube that serves as both a marker for their patience over time and also gifts that they give you. Furthermore, if you can make them happy enough by giving them everything they need, you'll turn them into a patron for life, permanently contributing toward your own workshop's engine by flipping them over and tucking them under your board to reflect this newfound power. This idea blended elements of the distillery upgrades from Distilled with the spirit labels and bonus spaces in a new way that got me extremely excited about moving forward with the game. Original prototype for the patron card (left) and final version [right) During my time in Scotland, my game developer and good friend Richard Woods (who lives in England) came up to visit me, and we started to brainstorm ideas over drinks at a pub in Dalkeith, Scotland. He helped me better refine the patron idea from above (like he always does with my hair-brained ideas!), and over the next year of development would go on to bring even more concepts to the table that are used in the game today. Richard is to thank for the great idea of adding dice to the performance element in the game, as well as variable options for players at locations to choose from when resolving actions and some of those awesome tracks you can climb to build your skills in different disciplines. The game was really starting to come together as we invited more people into the workshop to lay hands on Abe's original creation! Player board prototype from 2022, with patron spots, one of the tracks (that was eventually moved to the main board), as well as a curious grid at the bottom that is no longer there... In the fall of 2022 and into the early months of 2023, I took the design to Madison Protospiel and Minneapolis Protospiel with many of these new ideas in place, as well as a few others that didn't end up making the lacquer room floor. One of those was the concept of each instrument being represented by a tile of different shape and size. As players crafted instruments, they'd grab the associated polyomino tile and place it in a personal "crate" on their board meant to represent the collection of instruments they were creating. (That's the grid you see on the above player board!) While short lived, it helped to foster a discussion amongst playtesters around the idea of that "final game state" that I strive to create in Paverson Games experiences, that "photo-worthy moment" that you'll want to remember, regardless of whether you were victorious. Someone suggesting moving this polyomino puzzle to the central board to form a group location, which is how the central orchestra and first chairs were born! I find playtesting — and especially the engagement of folks at dedicated events like Protospiels — to be some of the most enriching and memorable experiences of my time as a designer. First central orchestra prototype from Protospiel MN 2023, in which we used hex tiles to represent crafted instruments Building off of Abe's great foundational mechanisms and theme, and bringing in this new sense of history and the entire symphony of instruments was what we needed to start the next stage of playtests with our Discord community. This also extended to conventions, where we have made a point of always having our "work in progress" games there for visitors to play. At the 2023 UK Games Expo, many attendees had a chance to play what they fondly still refer to as the "spreadsheet version" of the game. Despite having no art at that stage, it was wonderful to see how many people were excited to invest their time at a busy convention to sit down and discover what was coming next from Paverson. We believe strongly in showing our community what we are working on — warts and all — when most other publishers shy from this approach. Looking to our amazing community of players (i.e., you!) to help us develop and refine our games to be the best they can be has made us who we are today, and we continue to uphold that practice today. If you're attending one of the conventions we'll be at in 2026 or beyond, I hope you'll stop by to see what we're working on so that you, too, can contribute to the future of Paverson Games! Prototype of Luthier from late 2022 The Art of the Instrument Of course, if a game is about the art of the instrument and focuses on the beauty of the craft itself, we needed to get the very best to represent that vision visually. Vincent Dutrait has been my #1 favorite artist in the board game world for some time now, largely due to the hand-drawn, "analog" approach he takes to creating his work. While most artists these days work mainly with digital tools — which is completely fine — Vincent is still sketching, drawing, and painting with pencils, markers, and paintbrushes before he takes the work into the digital realm for final compilation. The authentic, thoughtful, and natural look of his work is exactly what I was looking for in Luthier. I was absolutely thrilled (and a little surprised, I must admit!) that he accepted the invitation to work on the project! You might recognize Vincent's work from such titles as Heat: Pedal to the Medal, The Quest for El Dorado, Robinson Crusoe, and many other titles. Having an award-winning, highly talented artist and illustrator on board was a huge asset, and a dream come true for me. Vincent Dutrait As a studio art major in undergraduate university, I have a background in art and design, so I enjoy the aesthetic aspect of the tabletop design and development process. Working with the artist and graphic designer is very fulfilling for me as the publisher, and I'm probably a bit more "hands on" than most — which they probably don't always appreciate due to me asking so many questions! While I'd normally be meeting with Vincent about the project over video chat, he is not only French (so English isn't his first language, just as French isn't mine!), but he lives in South Korea with his family, so the chance of video calls was almost impossible. Even so, the communication cycle that Vincent and I developed was great. I would provide information via an email in the evening before going to bed in the USA, then wake up to find images he had created overnight in South Korea that I could then react to in the morning. It was a wonderful pattern that felt like we were board game art pen pals of sorts, writing back and forth about Luthier! Vincent's illustrations and eye for authenticity and details were phenomenal, and his idea to bring in the map and environment artist Guillaume Tavernier to help create the main building was a great addition as well. Sketch of a patron card by Vincent (left), and the full painting of the famed Madame de Pompadour Many don't realize it, but a board game often will have TWO different creative contributors to a project: an artist and a graphic designer, although sometimes that is the same person, as with Erik Evensen on Distilled. For Luthier, we worked with Matt Paquette & Co, a studio of designers who help to bring a number of different talented people together to contribute to a project. Matt and his team were integral to bringing Luthier to life, developing the iconography, typeface, card design, and rulebook layouts, among other things. As you can see, while this might be called a "designer diary", making a game as big as Luthier involves much more than just the designers to make it successful. One could say a full orchestra was needed to pull off a performance of this magnitude! It Takes a Stack of Worker Chips! If you've played Luthier, you know that over the course of the game, your available workers increase from three chips to five. I like to refer to this as "your family" growing in number over the course of the game. Well, just as I described the above folks contributing to the project, I have had others join Luthier that I don't just consider "one and done" apprentice chips that return to the market after they're finished with a task, people like Richard Woods, the developer for Luthier, who I mentioned earlier. He is hands down the #5 worker chip of the bunch as the game wouldn't be what it is today without Richard's keen eye for design and development, knowing exactly what screw to turn and lever to pull to make that engine hum. When I see an idea with patrons, patience, gifts, and cubes moving along a track, Richard helps to balance it so that it doesn't become too powerful, broken, or weak. He's able to test much of this through the dozens of playtests we conduct, both in-person and online, with many of those tests being co-ordinated by our playtesting lead, Neo Teng Whay, who helps to teach the games, observe them, and gather feedback and data for us to crunch and react to throughout the game's development. Once the game felt it was at a state that it wasn't changing anymore, it was time to begin the solo design. We take solo design seriously at Paverson Games, always making sure that it has a dedicated ruleset and components, usually with a separate designer focusing on this experience for the game itself. As with Distilled, we turned to David Digby for Luthier's solo design, and due to Richard having lived and breathed the game for so long already, it became natural for the two of them to co-design the solo mode of Luthier, resulting in an automa that appears to learn and evolve over time with an organic deck of cards that reacts to the player and game. Prototype of the solo cards and board for Luthier in Tabletop Simulator, 2024 Now, to bring all of this home and to make sure that these mechanisms that stretch across both multiplayer and solo game experiences are consistently presented to the player, I work with Cody Reimer, who holds a PhD in technical writing and games, and who co-teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Stout with me. Cody helps to edit the rules for all of Paverson Games' titles and also works with Richard and me to create the "beginner guides" that Paverson Games has become known for in our titles. In the case of Luthier, this took the form of The Rehearsal, which is a guided first round of the game, teaching players nearly all the rules while they play through the first round (after which they can continue on their own, of course). That round — aptly called The Rehearsal — is meant to be led by one person referred to as the conductor, who is instructed to take hold of the included cardboard baton as well. The rehearsal beginner guide in Luthier, with included baton (and fancy baton!) While Cody helps to refine the rulesets, I hired musicologist Kevin Ngo, who holds a PhD in music, to help consult on the dozens of individuals and instruments in the game, as well as write the mini-bios for all of them in the rulebook. Kevin also helped me to identify the tracks I commissioned for Luthier's official soundtrack (also linked via QR code in the rulebook), which was recorded by a quartet in British Columbia. I feel that this extra layer of theme and authenticity is important in games as it demonstrates to the players the gravity of the experience they are having. It is rare to gather around a table with friends and family these days, and it should be an important occasion when one does so. The official soundtrack for Luthier It's amazing, really. What started as an idea by one person almost twenty years ago in Rochester, Minnesota has now resulted in something that took a whole group of people to finish! Best of all, it is now being enjoyed by thousands of people around the world, including (perhaps) you. This hopefully demonstrates to you that no idea should be ignored or considered as having a "shelf life". It just takes the right combination of people to have the vision to believe in its success, and it too could someday become a reality.

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  The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame 2026 - Day 4 Inductee

  by Aldie on January 22, 2026

  by Scott Alden The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve. The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby. The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards. Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming. We are pleased to announce the next inductee into the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame for 2026. The final inductee will be revealed tomorrow. Stay tuned! ••• Love Letter - 2012 With over twelve reimplementations, Love Letter (2012) proves that a small game can pack a punch. The 16-card game by Seiji Kanai offers players risk, deduction, and a little luck as they attempt to deliver their love letter to the princess. Players must make a decision upon drawing a card on their turn: play the new card or play the previously held card. While simple, this decision might provide a player with protection, an opportunity to eliminate a player, or the right amount of confusion for everyone else at the table to not know what remaining card you have in your hand or how powerful it might be. And with one card removed each round, it’s impossible to know exactly what other players know. It’s an endlessly replayable light card game that certainly began the 16-card craze that is in full effect nearly 15 years later. Youtube Video

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  Confront Sieges and Despair in Middle-earth, and Head West in Quartermaster General

  by W Eric Martin on January 22, 2026

  by W. Eric Martin Less than a week prior to the opening of the Spielwarenmesse toy and game fair in Nürnberg, Germany, Italian publisher Ares Games has announced upcoming titles for 2026, with these items to shown during this event. ▪️ War of the Ring: Sieges of Middle-earth is a new expansion for Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi, and Francesco Nepitello's War of the Ring: Second Edition. Here's how the publisher describes this Q4 2026 release: During the War of the Ring, the strongholds of the Free Peoples faced their darkest hour, under assault by the relentless armies of the Shadow. Siege towers advanced against mighty walls; catapults battered the defenders day after day. Yet these assaults – those that took place, and those that might have – were decided not only by swords and engines of war, but by the endurance and courage of the brave souls standing against overwhelming odds. Sieges of Middle-Earth focuses on the siege battles against the main strongholds of the Free Peoples. New game mechanisms bring those desperate battles to the forefront of the conflict: the Shadow player can field powerful siege engines to smash fortifications and spread despair among the defenders, while the Free Peoples player may attempt heroic feats, lead bold sorties, and inspire last stands that can turn the tide of battle. New components include plastic figures, special dice, tokens, and cards to add to the core game, expanding the strategic options of both players and enhancing storytelling possibilities. ▪️ Another The Lord of the Rings-based expansion due out in Q4 2026 is War of the Ring: The Card Game – Hope and Despair, which designer Ian Brody had teased on BGG in early January 2026. Here's the publisher's pitch: The heart of Middle-earth beats within its lore, its moods, its ethos. Tolkien's words immerse the readers into his wondrous creation, weaving beautiful and powerful stories. Hope and Despair adds a new type of card to War of the Ring: The Card Game: the story card. Inspired by key events and turning points of The Lord of the Rings, story cards represent natural and supernatural influences on the events of Middle-earth, providing a powerful way to modify your playing decks. This expansion includes 54 story cards, 40 story tokens, and rules for adding story cards to your game, both in multi-player and solo scenarios. Hope and Despair can be used in conjunction with Fire and Swords, or just with the base game alone. A set of Shadow "bot" cards are provided for use with Against the Shadow to play solo or co-operatively. ▪️ Another Ian Brody title due out from Ares Games in Q4 2026 is Quartermaster General: West Front, the third title in Ares' two-player Quartermaster General game line. Here's the short pitch: Quartermaster General: West Front is played over 23 seasonal game rounds, from Fall 1939 through Spring 1945, with one player controlling the Allies' forces — United Kingdom, United States, and France — and the other playing the Axis: Germany, Italy, and other associated countries (the "Pact", so called after the Tripartite Pact). West Front also includes components and rules to create massive, combined games with Quartermaster General: East Front and South Front. Note that the Quartermaster General: West Front cover shown at right is not final. ▪️ Looking even farther out, Ares Games will run a crowdfunding campaign in Q1 2026 for Mega Empires: The Far East – North and Mega Empires: The Far East – South, which it describes as two standalone games that expand the Mega Empires series. From the publisher: These games will explore peoples, dynasties, and historic developments from the easternmost regions of Asia, from Japan to Indonesia. Both games are designed for 3 to 5 players, and they can also be combined together or with previous Mega Empires games (Mega Empires: The West and Mega Empires: The East). Ares expects that the two Mega Empires: The Far East titles will be released in Q2 2027. ▪️ Q1 2026 will also see the release of Altay: Seafarers from Roberto Di Meglio and Fabio Maiorana, which adds three elements to 2024's Altay: Dawn of Civilization: — A new game board featuring the Forgotten Sea where players can establish harbors and expand their civilizations through maritime routes. — New rules for shipbuilding, sailing, and naval combat, which will be accompanied by new action cards and technologies such as shipwrights, explorers, and astronomy. — A new playable faction, the Waterfolk: "Through the magic of their wise ones, tied to wavebending and song, they can travel the seas without ships. With their cards, they offer an entirely different playstyle, combining flexibility, resource control, and manipulation of discarded actions." ▪️ Finally, Guido Albini, Martino Chiacchiera, and Luca Maragno's Viking Route, which was crowdfunded in late 2024, is scheduled for release in Q2 2026.

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  The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame 2026 - Day 3 Inductee

  by Aldie on January 21, 2026

  by Scott Alden The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve. The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby. The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards. Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming. We are pleased to announce the next inductee into the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame Class for 2026. The rest of the inductees will be revealed throughout the week. Stay tuned! ••• Memoir '44 - 2004 At its core, Memoir ’44 (2004) distills the chaos and urgency of WWII battlefield command into fast, intuitive play. Richard Borg designed the entire Command & Colors system to give players meaningful decisions every turn, while the modular mapboards, dozens of official scenarios, and many expansions provide near-endless replayability. Its rules are simple enough for newcomers, yet the gameplay rewards seasoned strategists who understand timing, positioning, and the delicate rhythm of push and counter-push. For those that just want to play a fun battle game with dice, it delivers. For others who see its real treatment of history, together with simple modeling of command-control, morale and casualty effects, geographic conditions, and training, Memoir ‘44 shows how historical wargaming enhances our understanding of world events. Youtube Video

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  The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame 2026 - Day 2 Inductee

  by Aldie on January 20, 2026

  by Scott Alden The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve. The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby. The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards. Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming. We are pleased to announce the next inductee into the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame for 2026. The rest of the inductees will be revealed throughout the week. Stay tuned! ••• Puerto Rico - 2002 In Puerto Rico, players assume the role of colonial governors on that Caribbean island who will oversee the shipping of goods to Europe, the acquisition of valuable commodities from plantations, and the establishment of buildings, each with their own special power or bonus. To do this, each turn the active player chooses one of the available roles, then each player (if able) carries out the action allowed by this role, with the role's chooser receiving a small bonus: an extra doubloon when trading, a discount when building, or an extra good when producing commodities. This dynamic drives the action in the game, with everyone trying to time their actions to maximum effect as they score points from shipping goods, acquiring buildings, and occupying certain large buildings. While the gameplay of this Andreas Seyfarth (say-fourth) design is rich and challenging, the setting is unpleasant, with players drafting enslaved laborers from a constant flow of arriving ships to occupy plantations and buildings. As a result, two decades after Puerto Rico was released, the publisher released Puerto Rico 1897, which is set in the year the island achieved political autonomy from the colonial Spanish government. Youtube Video

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  Designer Diary: The Origin of Cozy Stickerville

  by UnexpectedGames on January 20, 2026

  by UnexpectedGames It was December 2023. Two months earlier, I had wrapped up work on my latest game, The Mandalorian: Adventures, and I was trying hard to answer a big question: "What game is next for Unexpected Games?" Creating new games has been my passion since I was a kid, but I was drawing a blank slate. I'd designed over twenty games in the last eighteen years — so many different games in so many genres. I was having trouble coming up with something that wasn't just retreading old ideas. I'd spent the last two months tinkering with a few prototypes, while also laying the groundwork for an expansion to The Mandalorian: Adventures. I had some cool game ideas, but every prototype I made fizzled out or felt like a game that already existed. I was frustrated, disappointed, and lost. Over holiday break, I finally found my inspiration in Dorfromantik: The Board Game. I was watching game reviews and learned something that melted my mind: it was impossible to lose a game of Dorfromantik. WHAT? How does a board game even function if there is no way to lose? The last time I had experienced a brain-breaking moment like this was when I was introduced to The Mind. On paper The Mind didn't even sound like a game, but when I played it, I was completely blown away. The game was revolutionary and made me think about games in an entirely new light. So thinking about Dorfromantik, I gave myself a challenge: How would I design a game if the central premise was that you cannot lose? The first thing I thought of was how this is a common theme in video games. Some of my favorites included Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and even The Sims. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had never played a board game that captured the same "cozy" vibe found in these video games. Most board games that claim to be cozy have tense competition, crunchy rules, or punishing mechanisms. Yes, they look cozy, but they didn't have the relaxed energy and open-ended freedom found in cozy video games. So how could I do accomplish this? My main design challenge was to answer this question: "If you cannot lose, why are you even playing?" Thinking back to how Animal Crossing handles this, the answer was to give you goals and to make the gameplay rewarding. The second answer was to make player choice matter. Decisions should have repercussions, and each group's village should reflect their personality. In addition to choice, it should also let you express your creativity in ways you don't often see in board games. My third answer to this question was to make the gameplay story-centric. I love games like Tales of Arabian Nights, and by injecting similar story into my game, I could make the world feel alive. Residents in your town could have their own goals and ambitions, and the land itself could be full of places to explore and secrets to uncover. Unlike Animal Crossing, I wanted a game that didn't go on forever. Instead, I wanted different endings based on the choices you'd made throughout the game. (We ended up with five endings, each with their own requirements.) This thought experiment gave me moment-to-moment incentives, rewards, and a grand overarching purpose. When I returned to the office in January 2024, I had an entire game sitting in my head, and I was ready to start making a prototype. Within a week, I had my first playable version. I played it with Josh Beppler, and unlike my other recent prototypes, it was full of magic. Sure, the prototype was ugly and full of holes, but the experience was unique, fun, and full of possibilities. For the first time in many months, I was excited and inspired. There was work to do, but I could already envision what the final game would look like. Why, What, and How The mechanisms of a game are not the game itself; they are merely tools used to express the game. This idea is sacred to me. In fact, when someone describes a game to me by first explaining the mechanisms, I often sigh and lose focus. Instead, I want to hear the STORY first (why), then our GOAL (what), then finally HOW YOU PLAY. The story of Cozy Stickerville begins with a letter from your father. To summarize, he thinks you're lazy, but he's giving you this plot of undeveloped land as one last chance to prove yourself. Over the course of ten years (individual games), your goal is to develop this land into the village of your dreams. Do you want a quaint village full of happy residents? Or perhaps you love nature and desire a community that can co-exist with wildlife while preserving the ecosystem? Or maybe you care about progress and industry? You want a busy city and all the money that comes with it. Or maybe you dream of a farming town... There are countless options, and each decision leaves your fingerprints on your village. Regardless of your dreams, you must build, advance, and explore. So how do you do this? Each year starts with an introduction that provides story, starting resources, and surprises, then players take turns around the table making decisions and adding to their village as they see fit. There are two steps of your turn, and they are deceptively simple: 1) draw an event card, then 2) resolve an action. Step 1 – Morning Your day starts by drawing the top card of the event deck and resolving it. The game is played over ten years, and each year has its own event deck full of surprises. There are three main types of event cards: • New Action: These cards stick around and provide new options. These often provide new buildings you can construct or objectives to work towards. • Choice: These cards ask you to make a choice. After deciding, you find out the consequences, which can be immediate or long lasting. • Consequence: These cards have two different effects, one of which will happen based on the state of your village and the choices you've made. Step 2 – Afternoon During the afternoon, you perform one action. You can choose from anything marked with an hourglass icon on the map or on cards in play. For example, you could explore a location on the map or construct a building on the card you drew during step 1. Actions have the following effects: • Gaining a Card: Some actions give you a specific card from the card catalog. For example: "Gain card 3" means that you thumb through the card catalog and find the card with the big old #3 on the back. This card could have immediate effects or new actions for you to resolve in the future. • Reading a Story: Many actions tell you to read a specific entry from the storybook. For example: "Read story 7.2" means flip to page 7 of the storybook and read entry number 2. This is how you explore locations, help residents' personal stories, and uncover mysteries. • Special Card Actions: Some cards have unique actions printed on them. For example, a card might let you spend three wood to build a house (that is, place a specific sticker on the map). We'll talk more about stickers in the next section. After performing your action, the next player begins their turn. Play proceeds round and round until no cards are left in the event deck. End of the Year When the event deck runs out, the year ends. You resolve any "end of year" effects on cards in play, then decide whether you want to start the next year or save your game. Saving the game is ridiculously easy. You simply throw all your resource tokens and cards into the save-game box, then mark your current year. Accessible but Deep Now you know the basics of playing the game. Sounds easy, right? Draw an event card, then perform an action. It is simple enough to teach anyone: gamers, kids, grandparents, even that weirdo who lives in your shed. We don't discriminate. Remember, though, that a game is far more than its mechanisms. The real magic comes from all of the choices, interactions, and stories you'll discover. As you play, you'll find countless activities including fishing, exploring the mine, solving puzzles, and so much more. So Many Stickers If you've been following along, you might have noticed that I've yet to talk about stickers. Let's remedy that... The name of the game is Cozy Stickerville, so you really couldn't have this game without stickers. In fact, the game contains more than eight hundred stickers! "Wait, wait, wait," you say as you barge into my office. "If the game uses stickers, can you play it only once? Seems like a waste." You startled me, but I quickly recover. I consider asking, "How did you get in here?" but instead answer your question: "Well, first off, the game is played over ten individual years. That's ten games!" "So after ten plays I throw it away?" you ask. "No, not at all. At the end of year ten, you get a resolution to your story, then you can flip over the game board and play ten more times." "So twenty games", you say, tapping your chin. "That's pretty good. How much does it cost, 60 bucks?" "Nay. Tis merely $39.99." You smile and nod, ignoring the fact that I have begun talking like Shakespeare. You then visit our website and place your pre-order. Okay, Stickertime Let's talk about the types of stickers you'll find and how they're used to spark your imagination and tell stories. Many effects in the game will tell you to place a specific sticker on the map. For example: Place sticker 3c means that you would flip to page 3 of the sticker book, then place sticker c on the map. In general, you can place stickers wherever you want. We encourage creativity and want your village to capture your unique personality. There are some simple restrictions such as not placing on the fold and not covering other stickers, but these are all intuitive. Buildings Perhaps the most obvious stickers in the game are the various buildings you'll construct: houses, shops, farms, utilities, entertainment, and so much more. Constructing buildings often requires resources, which are shared amongst all players. Some buildings (such as farms) provide resources at the start of each year, and you'll find other ways to gain resources throughout the game. Most buildings have a purpose, either through a card that provides a new action or a story for you to encounter there. Decorations Some stickers are decorations, such as flowers, animals, roads and more. Many of these are on clear stickers so that you can overlay them on buildings. Although I'm calling them decorations, these stickers do serve a purpose. Placing these often generates money for you. Other decorations may be needed for goals during the game, for example, you may need a certain number of flowers or roads to accomplish certain ambitions. Milestones These stickers record important accomplishments and hardships. You often get these from pivotal events or after accomplishing a goal. For example, selling pets might give you the pet lover milestone. When you gain a milestone, the sticker is placed on the right side of the game board. This serves two purposes: 1) it records and reminds you of important moments, and 2) it serves as the game's memory. For example, some events ask whether you have a specific milestone and will give you different effects based on this. Milestones allow the game to react to the decisions you made, both good and bad. Some milestones also have icons on them, such as the crown, star, or minus icon. These have no inherent effect, but as you play the game certain effects can reference these. Hearts, Progress, and Upset The first page of the stickerbook has many common stickers you'll use to track various activities in the game. For example, heart stickers can be placed on the happiness track when you accomplish goals. Heart and progress can also be placed on cards and the storybook entries to track your progress on specific stories. For example, visiting a resident will often give you a short story and a choice. Depending upon what happens, the next time you visit this resident they will give you a different story. Upset stickers are mainly placed near residents on the map to mark when they are unhappy. This can happen if you treat them poorly or if you don't fulfill their needs. The consequences of being upset can vary greatly, but let's just say that if you really like a resident in your town, you should try to find ways of making them happy. Everything Else Beyond the basic sticker types are many unique stickers, each with their own uses: catastrophes that can show up on your map, stickers used to solve mysterious puzzles, stickers that upgrade cards, and overlays that change stickers already on the map. These tend to dive into spoiler territory, so I'm going to avoid showing any of them. All I'll say is that the longer you play, the more unexpected twists you'll encounter. Exploration and Mystery When you heard the title Cozy Stickerville, the picture in your head was probably something akin to Animal Crossing: building a town, fishing, doing chores, lazing around. While this picture isn't far off, it contains only a fraction of what you'll find in the game. For the purposes of this designer diary, I'll spoil cards and puzzles only from the Cozy Stickerville prologue, a special demo that I made for the game so that we can show the game at conventions and online on Board Game Arena. Exploration Right from the start, there are locations to explore and surprises to find hidden throughout the world. Let's say that you've built a tent on a previous turn and now wish to explore it for your action. The icon on the map tells you to read story 1.3, so you read that entry in the storybook. As you can see, you can choose from two options. You cannot read ahead and will learn the outcome only after making your choice. (When playing with a large group, we recommend that another player reads the story aloud to you and presents your options.) Depending upon how you respond, you'll get different information. Now, since this is a prologue, it only hints at some of the story yet to come. Surprises can come from other places as well. Since each year has its own unique event deck, you're often faced with unexpected decisions at the start of your turn. The world will change and evolve, regardless of how you play. Mystery Some of the things you'll discover in the game require puzzle solving. These parts of the game are optional, but they've been popular with our playtesters. Let's say that instead of exploring the tent, you decided to explore the gravesite. When you explore this site, the icon tells you to gain catalog card number 2. You draw that card and find a weird message written on the grave. Can you figure out what this means? This demo puzzle is intentionally on the easy side, but it gives you an idea of the sorts of things you might encounter. Activities for Everyone Reading about these puzzles may lead you to believe that this is an escape room-style game in the vein of Unlock! No! Puzzles are simply one of the many activities you can partake in the game. Some people will love the puzzles and spend their time and energy focusing on this part of the game. Other players may enjoy fishing, or building, or romance, or... Well, I don't want to give it all away. Since the game has so much to offer, it is fun seeing which parts different groups latch onto. The more you pursue a certain path, the more often you'll see those types of elements show up in your game. For example, if you're REALLY into farming, you'll see lots of farming options. If you ignore this storyline, you'll see other opportunities present themselves. One of my core philosophies of this game is personalizing, and this mechanism helps ensure that your village will be unique to your group. Speaking of gaming groups, the game supports 1-6 players, and it's been fun watching the different group dynamics emerge during playtesting. Some groups focus on the co-operative aspect of the game, consulting with each other before making choices so that they can work together toward common goals. Other groups are more chaotic and will sometimes choose actions to spite other players. There's no wrong way to play! You have control of your actions during your turn, so you can engage with the game (and your friends) however you'd like. Everyone is welcome, even hellraisers. (Well, unless the group bans you from playing with them, but that's kind of on you, isn't it?) What type of village will you create? If you'll be in Charlotte, North Carolina, you can try the demo with us at TantrumCon, which runs Feb. 5-8, to get a spoiler-free taste of the game, which will be released worldwide in February 2026. Corey Konieczka

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  The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame 2026 - Day 1 Inductee

  by Aldie on January 19, 2026

  by Scott Alden The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame honors games that have made meaningful contributions to the board game hobby in the areas of innovation, artistry, and impact. By curating this distinguished list, BoardGameGeek seeks to preserve the history and evolution of board gaming, while inspiring and informing a global community of players who have a passion for games. Additional games will be inducted annually as the world of board games continues to evolve. The selection process was guided by a jury composed of dedicated and experienced players who have been deeply involved in the board game community for years and who have brought their knowledge and expertise to the discussions. The process began by evaluating games that were at least ten years old in order to ensure widespread engagement and recognition. Additionally, the jury identified and included games that, while perhaps less widely played, have had a profound and lasting impact on the hobby. The BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame focuses on modern board games that have directly shaped the contemporary hobby and community. Games such as Chess, Backgammon, Go, and traditional 52-card games, while timeless classics and undoubtedly influential, fall outside the scope of these awards. Through this initiative, BoardGameGeek aims to celebrate the legacy of these exceptional games and their creators, while fostering a deeper appreciation for artistry and innovation within the world of board gaming. We are pleased to announce the first inductee into the BoardGameGeek Hall of Fame for 2026. The rest of the inductees will be revealed throughout the week. Stay tuned! ••• For Sale — 1997 Stefan Dorra’s For Sale (1997) has endured as a perfect small game to open or close a game night, or provide a great break between larger ones. This compact auction-and-bidding gem distills economic play about real estate investment (flipping) into two brisk, tension-filled phases—one where players vie for properties with clever, often psychological bidding, and another where they turn those purchases into profit with perfectly timed sales. For Sale remains a go-to choice for introducing new players to auctions, yet it continues to delight experienced gamers with its clean mechanics, sharp decisions, and laugh-out-loud table moments. Youtube Video