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  Prepping Tabletop Playground, Remembering Burt Meyer, and Thinking about Cheating

  by W Eric Martin on December 18, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin ▪️ On December 16, 2025, publisher Dire Wolf announced that "a little while ago" it had acquired Tabletop Playground, a virtual tabletop platform developed by Plasticity Studios that's in early access on Steam. Steam notes that Tabletop Playground hasn't been updated for twenty months, but a Dec. 15 update from Plasticity Studios notes that "the lack of public activity doesn't mean that nothing has happened", pointing to a waiting list for a closed beta test, as well as what's changed or updated in this version of the platform. ▪️ Italian publisher Ares Games has imported titles from European publishers to the North American market for years, and in December 2025 it expanded distribution for Galakta Games, Tabula Games, Albi, Nuts! Publishing, and Don't Panic Games to Europe as well. From the Ares press release: Many new and classic games, including best-sellers like This War of Mine, Mysthea, Mini Rogue, Fighters of the Pacific, and Dirt & Dust are now available in Ares's Italian warehouse to supply European distributors and retailers. The same logistical hub also allows Ares to service the UK market. ▪️ In late November 2025, designer Burt Meyer and Blue Orange Games co-founder Julien Mayot both passed away. Meyer was involved in the creation of games and toys such as Mouse Trap, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, and Lite-Brite. Here's an excerpt from an obituary by The Associated Press: Meyer came up with a small backlit box and black paper sheets that allowed kids to create illuminated patterns. Lite-Brite was a hit, earning spots on Time Magazine's list of 100 greatest toys and in the Strong National Museum of Play's hall of fame. New versions are still being sold. Meyer had a similar role with a design team that reimagined a bulky boxing arcade game for home use. The original concept stalled in development after a featherweight boxer died from a brain injury, making any toy that invoked the tragedy unmarketable, company leaders thought. Meyer revisited the idea with a simple shift. "This is too good to pass up," he recalled saying in a 2010 interview. "Let's take it away from humanity, let's make it robots. And we won't have them fall over, we'll have something funny happen." The Toy Book published remembrances of Julien Mayot from others in the game and toy industries. ▪️ In the article "Flavors of Cheating" on his Substack, designer Geoff Engelstein discusses a study in which half of the participants who would not have won $5 for getting a result of "heads" in a coin flip lied and claimed they did get "heads". The cheating is expected, says Engelstein, but what's interesting is how they cheated: One group flipped the coin, and when it was tails told the researchers that it was heads. This is the most straightforward method of cheating. The second group never even flipped the coin. They just told the researchers that they flipped heads and got their $5. The third group kept flipping the coins until they got heads. Two, three, four, times – however long it took. Why would people cheat in these different ways? Engelstein speculates in his post. ▪️ FanRoll Dice is partnering with Virginia's Mini Museum — which is more of an online store with bits of old stuff for sale than an actual museum — on a crowdfunding campaign for its new "Roll for History" collection: The collection will launch with three distinct products, each representing a different era in human and natural history: ● Meteorite D20 — Features an authentic fragment from the Campo Del Dielo Meteorite, estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, which crashed into the earth back in 2500 BCE. ● Chainmail D20 — Perfect for any fantasy tabletop setting, this die contains pieces of chainmail from a hauberk that dates to the 15th century – the sunset of chainmail in Europe. ● Dinosaur Fossil Polyhedral Set — The crown jewel of the collection is a complete dice set featuring a unique dinosaur fossil inside each die. Mini Museum and FanRoll will be revealing additional fossils as the launch date draws closer. The first revealed is the Tyrannosaurus Rex D20, a tribute to the "King of the Dinosaurs".

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  Jens Merkl and Jean-Claude Pellin on Nine Tiles Extreme

  by OinkGamesInc on December 17, 2025

  by Oink Games Inc. Editor's note: Here's a history of Oink Games' mid-2023 release Nine Tiles Extreme, told in the form of a Q&A session. —WEM The Evolution of Nine Tiles Extreme Question: How does Nine Tiles Extreme fit into the Nine Tiles series? Jean-Claude Pellin: We always work on new game concepts with specific publishers in mind. Our design philosophy aligns with Oink Games perfectly. We love their approach: simple games with sleek designs and engaging interactions. For us, Nine Tiles has always been about minimalism and accessibility, and we wanted to keep that philosophy alive while introducing something fresh. Nine Tiles Extreme builds on the original Nine Tiles, but adds a new layer of challenge with shifting mechanisms. Q: What is the premise of the game? Pellin: Nine Tiles Extreme takes the core mechanisms of Nine Tiles — flipping and rearranging tiles to match a pattern — but adds a twist. This time, players must match either shape or color, but the requirement changes dynamically during the game, creating a new level of challenge. Concept and Development Q: How did Nine Tiles Extreme come to life? Pellin: We had always considered making a second game in the Nine Tiles series, but finding the right "twist" took time. Many ideas were too simple or lacked elegance. We wanted a game that was still minimalistic but provided a fresh challenge. The breakthrough came when we introduced the rotating task cards. Suddenly, the game transformed into something new and exciting while keeping its core identity. Q: What challenges did you face during development? Jens Merkl: The biggest challenge was balancing the tile designs. Each color needed a unique shape, and we had to ensure no two shapes of the same color existed. We also had to make sure that no task card perfectly matched any tile set. These design constraints were difficult to refine but crucial to making the game work. Innovations and Design Choices Q: How did the mechanisms evolve from the first prototype? Pellin: One of our early prototypes used dice to determine whether players matched shapes or colors each round. However, rolling dice added an unnecessary step and extra components that didn't fit in a small box. We eventually realized we could eliminate the dice entirely by using task card backs to indicate shape or color. This simplification made the game flow much better. Q: What's your favorite aspect of the final version? Merkl: The game is easy to learn but hard to master. That's exactly what we aimed for. If you've never played Nine Tiles before, you can jump right into Extreme — but if you're a Nine Tiles veteran, this game gives you a brand-new challenge. One of many licensed versions of Nine Tiles in Japan The Role of Oink Games Q: How did Oink Games shape the final version? Pellin: Oink Games has been fantastic to work with. They understand our vision and refine it, while keeping the essence of the game intact. They helped adjust the game's balance, redesigned the tiles, and ensured everything fit neatly in a small box. Their ability to blend aesthetic design with intuitive gameplay is unmatched. Q: The Nine Tiles series is very popular in Japan. How does that feel? Merkl: It's incredible. Every year, we see new players discovering and enjoying our games. Knowing that people continue to love and play Nine Tiles is rewarding. The game's simplicity contributes to its longevity, and we're thrilled it resonates with so many players. And another... Future of the Nine Tiles Series Q: Could there be another Nine Tiles game in the future? Pellin: The Nine Tiles series always challenges us to think in new ways. We love minimalistic designs and will definitely continue exploring new ideas in this space. Q: What message do you have for players? Merkl: Think fast, and play even faster! We hope Nine Tiles Extreme offers a fresh challenge for all players, from newcomers to Nine Tiles experts. And yet another...

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  Ask Ms. Meeple: How Do You Handle Unexpected Children?

  by jschlickbernd on December 17, 2025

  by Greyfax I'm back! At least for a couple more columns... Here's the latest question: An autonomous community space in my neighborhood has been hosting monthly game nights for a couple of years now. The inclusivity of the space is very important. It is relatively diverse — some people are into long heavy euros, and some have difficulty following certain party games — and those of us who attend regularly know who plays what sort of games, and we can invite people to different tables depending on what they will enjoy and be able to grasp. It has mostly been adults, with the median age in the late 20s/early 30s. One person started bringing his kids, 9 and 11. They are both bright kids and can play a number of the games, but as much as I like kids, it just wasn't fun playing with them. Their parents often went off to more complicated games and left some of us hosting their kids through mid-weight games. I don't particularly care to play with kids I don't know. Now a friend and I tend to avoid going to these events, and we heard that last month there were multiple kids mostly disrupting the games — playing, yes, but not following when it is their turn, wondering off to see what is going on at other tables in the middle of games, and some of them just randomly running around not playing anything. I once brought my teenager, and I made sure I was playing at the games where he was and that he was focused on playing...and when he no longer was, we left. I like this group and would like to go back, but I don't particularly want to play with other people's kids. I am not part of the organizing committee, and I recognize that inclusivity is very important for this place. Do I shrug it off and play somewhere else? Or do I try to make the change? What those parents have found is that folks will babysit their kids for free. Leaving your kids to play with others while playing what you really want to play is simply rude and I would not continue to play in that environment. Even if the parents ask for your approval, they put people at the table in an uncomfortable position of rejecting their kids in front of those kids. Thus, this is not a good practice. You could talk with the organizers about an age requirement, assuming community rules allow them to do that. If not, or they don't feel it's an issue, then you'll probably need to find another place to play. Folks with kids, how do you manage them within your boardgame hobby? Be sure to mention the child's age in your response. It's been a long time since I had this issue (my "kid" is 34 now), but if I recall correctly, when we brought him to a meetup, he played with us. Best, Ms. Meeple (Jennifer Schlickbernd)

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  Developer Diary: Kingdomino, and the Transition from Physical Play to Digital

  by MattMeeple on December 16, 2025

  by MattMeeple By Niek Corstjens, senior game designer at Meeple Corp, a video game studio that adapts board games for digital play Digital Always Starts with the Physical Pauline Detraz requires little to no introduction given her notable work on Kingdomino, Akropolis, ArcheOlogic, City Tour, and numerous other well-known board games in the industry. In 2025, Kingdomino underwent a graphic redesign, transitioning from Cyril Bouquet's 2D art style to Pauline Detraz's vibrant and contemporary 3D update. Here is how the design process went... Pauline's goal was clear: to respect the universe that Cyril had shaped over the years, while meeting a new editorial requirement, that being to open Kingdomino to a wider, more "mass market", let's say, more novice audience. Her first attempts naturally fell in line with the games she'd already illustrated, using a style close to concept art with digital illustrations of environments, just the way she likes them. But this style was too "gamer-y", appealing primarily to experienced players and lacking the lightness to appeal to a wider audience. The feedback from publisher Blue Orange Games pointed toward simplified, more colorful forms, inspired by the graphic world of mobile games. One of the main references mentioned was Clash Royale. Pauline had been curious about 3D rendering for a while, so she took the opportunity to improve her skills with Blender — a tool used in various fields, particularly motion design — and created 3D assets. Once the models were validated, she worked on the game's six biomes, developing building models and the environments they fit into. There was a lot of back-and-forth with the Blue Orange team, particularly regarding the colors of each biome so that they would be clearly distinguished from one another while ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience. Original concept designs by Pauline Détraz To pay homage to Cyril's original work, Pauline incorporated numerous small stories into the tiles to add a touch of poetry. She drew inspiration from childhood tales and European literature, perfect allusions to capture the gaze of a player deep in thought: "Hey, there's a dolphin in the sea over there..." In addition, she reworked the buildings so that they evolve based on the number of crowns on the tiles, similar to "Pokémon evolution". Transitions from original concepts with work on colors and readability Aside from the art style, we needed to examine the gameplay metrics, a foundation of the game we were trying to adapt from physical to digital. Diving Deep into the Kingdom Our journey began with a crucial mission: crack the code of what makes Kingdomino tick. What keeps players coming back for "just one more game"? Where does the experience stumble? What have devoted fans been championing — or critiquing — over the years? Most importantly, how can we take these insights and craft a digital version that makes both newcomers and seasoned players feel right at home? We immersed ourselves in every facet of the game, dissecting its mechanisms and the strategic depth beneath its approachable surface. This deep dive wasn't just about faithful recreation; it was about amplifying what makes Kingdomino special in the first place. The heart of Kingdomino lies in its beautifully balanced tile-laying system, which features simple rules that hide genuinely tough decisions. Our challenge? Translate that "easy to learn, challenging to master" magic into digital form. We envisioned controls that are intuitive enough for newcomers to feel confident within minutes, yet packed with enough strategic nuance to keep veterans engaged for the long haul. Bringing the Kingdom to Life With Kingdomino thoroughly deconstructed, it was time for the exciting part: building our first playable prototype. We started with the essentials, tiles and grids, focusing on what would feel natural and satisfying on a touchscreen. The answer? Drag-and-drop mechanisms that make placing tiles feel genuinely tactile and rewarding. From there, the kingdom began to take shape piece by piece. Placement restrictions? Check. Terrain types? Done. Basic scoring systems? In the bag. Before long, we had a fully functional solo experience, but let's be honest: Kingdomino without opponents is like a castle without a kingdom. It was time to bring in the competition! Going digital opened up new opportunities for the game. We could display the entire tile deck at a glance, giving players perfect information about which dominoes were still in play — something you'd have to track manually in the tabletop version. The deck view allows users to see what remains in the draw deck But we also faced a unique challenge: no more casual glances across the table to scope out your opponents' growing kingdoms. That sideways peek at your rival's strategy is crucial for advanced play, so we couldn't ignore it. Our solution? Dynamic minimaps in the player display, offering instant visual snapshots of everyone's kingdoms. Now, players can quickly assess the competition without losing strategic depth. From Brush to Pixel: Translating Pauline’s Art Now that we had a complete grasp on the game design, it was time to take a visual leap to ensure Pauline's artwork was fully realized in a 3D world. Fortunately, Pauline's vision for a mobile-inspired 3D aesthetic aligned seamlessly with our objectives for the digital adaptation. Our mission was to faithfully preserve the distinctive charm of Kingdomino's artwork. To achieve this, we collaborated directly with Pauline, who graciously provided the original 3D source files from her creative process, enabling us to bring Kingdomino to life in its digital form authentically. Our initial challenge was to extract the essential elements from Pauline's highly complex and detailed models, then optimize them to ensure smooth performance within the game environment without compromising visual quality. This proved to be an extensive process that required modifications to every asset, from the lake pontoons to the sheep in the fields. Adapting Pauline's 3D castle for mobile phones Once complete, we created a full digital representation of every domino, ensuring each tile accurately represented the original images. For some Meeple Corp flavor, we also introduced farmers, lumberjacks, wizards, and an assortment of animals, then sent them off to walk around the kingdom. The population grows as the player places more tiles, so the larger a kingdom gets, the more it comes to life. An overview of each tile in the project file We now had a working game, with finalized visual domino artwork to boot. The final major visual improvement to be made was the lighting! The dominoes were visually compelling in isolation, but required additional artistic context to be fully integrated into the floating Kingdomino world. We implemented a skybox and dynamic cloud systems to surround the kingdoms, which enhanced players' understanding of the floating landscape concept and established directional lighting to add depth and realism to each domino. Wheat fields now shimmer in the daylight, while forests cast atmospheric shadows across the terrain. Early prototype to final visual aesthetic To top it off, we even created a dusk mode for the game, which gave the whole scene a more orange hue for a bit of change in scenery. With additional refinement and visual enhancement, the game's aesthetics were finalized and ready for player experience. Alternative gameplay set with dusk lighting Enter the Dream Team We brought Blue Orange and Kingdomino designer Bruno Cathala deeper into the game at this stage because who better to guide a game's digital transformation than its creator? From the outset, we recognized that Bruno's involvement would be essential. This is his masterpiece, after all, and he understands every nuance, every strategic layer, every moment that makes players lean forward in their chairs. Throughout development, he provided us with invaluable feedback, focusing on making the core interactions satisfying, offering advice on AI difficulty and strategy, and providing valuable feedback on our early ideas for the progression system in "Lost Kingdom". Working alongside the game's architect wasn't just helpful; it transformed our vision. As development progressed, we faced some critical questions: What would keep players hitting "play again" long after the novelty wore off? How could we deliver genuine value to those players who'd already memorized every tile in the physical edition? The answer emerged in the form of "Lost Kingdom", our comprehensive progression system that's designed to give players that "just one more game" feeling. We wove quests from Kingdomino: Age of Giants into the base experience, giving players fresh content to unlock and new strategies to master. Pair that with a roster of challenging achievements, and suddenly, players had compelling reasons to return day after day, pushing their skills further with each session. But we weren't stopping there. Behind the scenes, we were simultaneously expanding our online matchmaking infrastructure, laying the groundwork for our next major leap forward. Bruno Cathala providing us with feedback at the 2025 Festival International des Jeux Taking it to the People: Public Playtests Then came the moment of truth, our first public community playtest! We assembled a diverse group of testers from die-hard Kingdomino veterans to digital board game enthusiasts discovering the kingdom for the first time and everyone in between. This mix proved invaluable, giving us feedback from every angle imaginable. The results were eye opening, with two pain points emerging as clear priorities: tile placement mechanisms and turn clarity. Players were getting tangled up in the drag-and-drop process, unsure exactly how and when to commit their tiles to the grid. Even more concerning, they were struggling to track themselves in the player display and often missed their moment to play. The solution? We introduced tap to place as an alternative control scheme and completely re-imagined the in-game UI from the ground up. However, our best innovation from this playtest stemmed from a relatively simple goal: to make tile placement feel seamless. We wanted that satisfying snap when a tile clicks into place, that responsive feel that you can get in digital games. Enter "predictive tile placement". As you drag a tile across your kingdom, the game tracks your finger position and identifies the nearest legal placement spot. Release your finger, and watch the magic happen: the tile flies to its destination, auto-rotates to the correct orientation, and locks into place. It transformed tile placement from a cautious, deliberate action into something fluid and instinctive. Meanwhile, we were architecting the game's progression economy by introducing shards, weaving in achievements, and populating the Lost Kingdom with enticing unlocks. Showcasing "Lost Kingdom", the new puzzle game mode Final Touches We then felt confident that we had captured the essence of Kingdomino, making it tactile and intuitive for a range of players. It was now a question of refining the game, adding sound effects, further fine-tuning it, and hunting down bugs. As we drew closer to the mobile launch in June 2025, we had content creators testing early access. We began tracking an in-depth list of community feedback, specifically noting which features were requested, how frequently they appeared, and the feasibility of addressing them. We used this list to guide the final stages of development and post-development, focusing our efforts on enhancing features that we knew the community wanted to see improved. The final gameplay... The Future of Kingdomino Digital Through the successful mobile launch, our efforts didn't slow; in fact, they increased, adding live events with community goals, then focusing on the transition from mobile to PC, which launched on November 20, 2025. It's been a fantastic journey so far, and we're proud of what we have created, which is all thanks to the hard work of our team, Blue Orange, Bruno Cathala, and the Kingdomino fans. We look forward to showing you what's in store for the future! If you have any questions about the process or would like more information about Kingdomino Digital Edition — which is now available on Steam (PC/Mac), Apple's App Store, and Google Play — feel free to leave them below.

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  Get a Job in Morty Sorty Magic Shop, and Welcome Inka and Markus Brand for an Encore...of Encore

  by W Eric Martin on December 15, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin Early 2026 releases from German publisher Schmidt Spiele have started appearing on retail sites, but the company hasn't posted its own info yet, so let's summarize the offerings for now while we wait for rulebooks, something Schmidt has been good about posting over the years These titles are all listed as March 2026 releases: ▪️ Inka and Markus Brand's Noch mal! celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026 — just like their EXIT game line — and to celebrate the Brands and Schmidt will release Noch X-mal!, a 1-6 player game with the same gameplay as the original release — using colored and numbered dice, cross out columns and colored areas on your personal player sheet — but adds new areas in which to score as well as "an innovative pass track". ▪️ After 2023's For One: Kniffel and 2024's Kniffel 7, Reiner Knizia has another dicey offering in this game line from Schmidt — Kniffel: Das Duell. In the game, players want to roll the familiar combinations with their five dice to claim areas, score points, and win this tiny tug-of-war game. ▪️ One Mind is a 2-8 player game from Sophia Wagner that may or may not be co-operative. Hard to tell from this description, but aspects of the gameplay are clear: What do you think of when you hear "party", "nougat", and "Paris"? Maybe food or dancing? Did anyone else have the same thought as you? Then you both score gemstones! With each round, your thoughts get closer and closer until, hopefully, you're all thinking the same thing! ▪️ Markus Slawitscheck's 2-4 player game Morty Sorty Magic Shop leans into the established look of The Quacks of Quedlinburg, with wizards handling anthropomorphic ginger in an overly familiar manner. However, in this game you're not a wizard (or quack) yourself, but are instead organizing goods in the shop for those customers. To do a good job, you need to arrange the best jars on the top shelf, then the next best jars, and so on, with the numbers on the jars always increasing from left to right. The game features "many different scoring options and shelf configurations" for variability and for retail workers past and present who love a good planogram. ▪️ In 2019, Schmidt Spiele released Ken Gruhl's Cahoots (review) as Tippi Toppi, and in 2026 it will release a follow-up design from Lars Ehresmann titled Tippi Toppi: Hoch hinaus! In Cahoots, you are collectively trying to satisfy all the goals in the game such as "all cards even" or "two adjacent pink piles" by taking turns playing numbered and colored cards onto four piles. Tippi Toppi: Hoch hinaus! works similarly, but now you and up to three other players will be trying to satisfy goals by placing numbered and colored domino-style tiles into a tiny play space that will force you to stack smartly. ▪️ Matsch Party by Martino Chiacchiera and Carlo Molinari is for 2-4 players aged 5 and up who like to get muddy while staying clean. By using cards, you move pigs around the farm to collect clumps of mud. The more mud you collect, the dirtier your pigs and the faster you fill your collection tiles. ▪️ Kullerwürfel is both the name of this Christoph Cantzler and Anja Wrede design and the main feature inside the box: a dice encased in a soft rubber ball. Rules for three games are included, with players aged 2 and up rolling the ball as they wish, turning an entire room into a gaming table of sorts.

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  Designer Diary: Asteria

  by AugustoRocha9 on December 14, 2025

  by Augusto Rocha Asteria is the result of my admiration for big games in small boxes, such as Innovation by Carl Chudyk and Homeworlds by John Cooper. The ability to make interesting decisions in an ever-expanding game of strategy using minimal components without sacrificing any of the fun or depth, while also delivering a game with great table presence, was the challenge I wanted to try. My name is Augusto Correia Rocha, and I am the designer of Asteria, a Brazilian game developed by Glyptodon Studio and published in Brazil by MeepleBR. Origins I started the project in 2017, making my own prototype to present to friends and local board game conventions, such as Board Games Londrina and Maringá Board Games. In 2020, I presented the game to Glyptodon Studio, and they loved the core game and mechanisms but said we needed to balance the cards and smooth some rough edges. They also became responsible for balancing and for developing the art with their team and partners. An early prototype of Asteria They hired Harpy Studio, which created all the beautiful images you see on the box cover and cards. What Is Asteria About? Asteria is a competitive "4X like" game for two players in which you eXplore new planets, eXpand using new technology, eXploit resources, and eXterminate your rival. We took a different approach in this game, using the 4X category itself as a unique element. Each of the 4Xs is used as one side of the same action card, and you can choose only one side to play! This defines the core of the game loop and is where the interesting choices happen. The Design Challenge With an already interesting mechanism in place, we eXpanded it even further by adding the ability to rotate cards already played, so no play is final, and adding another layer of depth without extra complexity. After many playtests, we identified a missing piece that would become the ideal cog in the machine. eXterminate was the only way to win the game; you needed to acquire three planets using force, and that was it. This worked, but it limited strategies tied to the other elements of the game. The answer, and what concluded the game, followed the starting principle of the game, utilizing all four Xs with equal weight by adding different goals to win the game, each focused primarily on one of the four elements presented to the players. A Tribute to Science Fiction Asteria is a classic sci-fi game that pays tribute to greats of the genre from tabletop (Twilight Imperium, Eclipse, Space Empires 4X) to video games (Stellaris, Endless Space, Star Wars: Rebellion). The theme pairs perfectly with the game's multi-option cards, and the art is designed to spark a story the player will carry forward. Your spaceship has just arrived on a new planet. What will you do? Trade to get resources? Or maybe research the local fauna? You could even launch a surprise attack on the other faction there... How a Game Unfolds During a session of Asteria, you will: • Get resources from cards on planets that you are already eXploiting. • Play new cards on open planets by paying the required resources and resolving their effects. Cards let you eXplore new planets, eXpand into technologies that last until the end of the game, and eXterminate your opponent's cards on the same planet. • Resolve any conflicts that started on the planets, and draw new cards for the next round. You win by scoring three points. You can score in four different ways, so try out different strategies and respond well to your opponent's plans to come out ahead. Diversão Offline 2024-2025 With the production completed, we decided to showcase the game at the biggest board game event in Brazil: Diversão Offline. In 2024, we put it on the table with several content creators who loved the experience. I felt that at that moment the game was fulfilling its purpose and would secure a spot on the shelves of players all around the world. The feedback was outstanding. At the 2025 edition of this event, we brought the approval copy — that is, practically the final version of the game — and those who were already familiar with it fell even more in love thanks to the finalized artwork and the real components they could see. All of this served as preparation for the launch that took place on October 1, 2025, and now it is a great joy to see Asteria on the shelves of major board game stores across Brazil — and soon around the world. That's Asteria. I hope you enjoy playing as much as I enjoyed developing it. It is truly a passion project, and it turned out just as I hoped, if not even better. If you would like to try the game, Asteria is in beta on Board Game Arena. Final version

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  Bomb Captain Flip, Shatter Leviathan Wilds, Proliferate Confluences, and Shimmer in Heat

  by W Eric Martin on December 13, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin I post expansion round-ups every so often, and these posts feel like expansions on what I normally do, that is, largely of interest only to those who have seen the original posts. I guess that's just the nature of things... ▪️ Days of Wonder has revealed the next expansion for Heat: Pedal to the Metal from Asger Aleksandrov Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen, with Heat: Flirrende Hitze ("Shimmering Heat") due out at the end of February 2026, with a debut at the FIJ game fair in Cannes, France. Here's the pitch for this release: Gravel crunches under your tires, and your race car spins out with an ominous lurch. You clutch. You shift. You accelerate. The engine roars, and your car recovers, now hugging the ideal line through the curve. The gravel is unforgiving, but so are you, so go full throttle until the tires smoke! Heat: Flirrende Hitze includes a double-sided game board with two new race tracks — South Africa with a gravel track, and Germany with a high-speed chicane — as well as new upgrades, sponsor, and event cards and an additional race car so that up to seven players can place Heat simultaneously. ▪️ In addition to releasing eight sets of 32mm miniatures for Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz in Q2 2026, Modiphius Entertainment is working with designers Calvin Wong Tze Loon 黃子倫 and Eric M. Lang on an expansion scheduled for release in early 2027. From the publisher: "[T]he expansion will introduce six new squadmates to the game. It will also allow for new ways to play, as well as new loyalty missions and new enemy groups." ▪️ In early 2026, WizKids will release Sidereal Confluence: Proliferation, an expansion by Jacob Davenport that adds 18 set-up cards, 42 new colony cards, and 38 bidding cards and to TauCeti Deichmann's Sidereal Confluence. Here's the publisher's pitch: "These advanced colonies increase in value as the game progresses, opening up new strategies for even the most experienced players, and new bidding mechanisms speed up the game while providing new avenues to negotiation." ▪️ PlayPunk will add ballast to its Spiel des Jahres-nominated Captain Flip from Paolo Mori and Remo Conzadori with the Isla Bomba expansion, which features four new adventure boards — four for each player, that is — and five new treasure maps. Each map seemingly provides a twist on the normal "Get 1 coin at the start of your turn" bonus, such as "Get 2 coins, but without being able to flip tiles" or "Take 1 coin from whoever has the most coins" or "Take 1 coin, but have this blow up if you take 5 total". Maybe you'd interpret them differently. If you're not familiar with Captain Flip, here's my 2023 overview. ▪️ Cryptozoic Entertainment has released DC Deck-Building Game: Peacemaker Pack, a small expansion for that large game line that consists of two hero cards (Peacemaker and Vigilante), nemesis versions of these characters, two starter cards for use with DC Deck-Building Game: Arkham Asylum, and rules. ▪️ Moon Crab Games launched in 2024 with Justin Kemppainen's giant-climbing game Leviathan Wilds, then followed it with the mid-2025 Deepvale expansion that brought new characters and leviathans to your table. In early 2026, Moon Crab Games will crowdfund Leviathan Wilds: Shattered Peak, which leaves behind the catacombs of Deepvale for adventures in thin air: Years ago, a massive explosion tore apart the towering mountain range in the Wilds. Now your motley brigade of climbers will ascend to these lofty heights to discover the cause. This expansion features eleven new leviathans, including winged serpents, raging storm clouds, and creatures that lurk within the very mountains themselves! A new, d8 crystal die teleports when struck, adding a new layer of challenge. Non-final cover Three new climbers join the ranks, including Recoil the sharpshooter and the thrill-seeking Dare, alongside three new classes, including the concoction-brewing Alchemist and the Geomancer, who manipulates crystals near and far.

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  Mastermind Marketing, Take Taken, and December Dejarik

  by W Eric Martin on December 12, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin ▪️ On Dec. 8, 2025, McSweeney's published Robert Rooney's story "The Mastermind Box Cover: What the Hell Were They Thinking?" An excerpt: MARTIN SMITH (Marketing Senior Vice President): Okay. Gary's got a new cover comp. Gary, walk us through your vision. GARY LARKIN (Design Lead): Right. Here it is. Black void. Two adults. No board. No pegs. PAM REYNOLDS (Product Development): Where are the children? LARKIN: Exactly. Also, who cares? ▪️ The Toy Foundation has announced its finalists for Game of the Year, and as usual they are all mass-market titles aimed at casual gamers. Cast your vote to help choose the People's Choice Award for this category (and others) in its Toy of the Year (TOTY) awards. ▪️ On Dec. 9, 2025, Leder Games announced that Take designer Ted Caya, who was a staff employee with the publisher, had decided to leave the company and take Take with him. Leder Games had started teasing this heist game in mid-2025, with more than 8,000 followers on the Kickstarter landing page that was scheduled to launch in early 2026, but has now been removed. ▪️ On Dec. 10, 2025, BoardGameWire's Mike Didymus-True summarized the dire history of Mythic Games, which raised more than US$12 million in six crowdfunding campaigns from 2020 to 2022, but has left many of those campaigns unfulfilled and now no longer exists as a company. An anonymous spokesperson for Mythic Games told BoardGameWire: For nearly two years, the board game industry has been facing a difficult economic climate. The stock sales we were relying on were not only far below expectations, but eventually became completely non-existent. At the same time, we were confronted with several unforeseen financial issues that severely impacted our cash flow: the increase in refund requests, including unexpected direct withdrawals initiated by Stripe, banks or PayPal (withdrawals that came in addition to the monthly refunds we were already issuing); and a VAT adjustment following a tax audit. The full story runs much longer... ▪️ For nearly forty years, U.S. publisher Looney Labs has been closing out each year by publishing "holiday gifts", sometimes as a downloadable game and sometimes as a physical product shipped to those who purchased games directly. Many of the games have been new designs that make use of the Looney Pyramids game system, and 2025 offers another such title: Looney Dejarik, this being Andy Looney's take on the holographic chess game that appeared in Star Wars for less than sixty seconds, yet became a thing just like everything else in Star Wars became a thing. ▪️ With the end of the year approaching, game buying guides have started to appear, with The Guardian's list being compiled by Senet co-founder Dan Jolin, Tim Clare, Alexandra Sonechkina, Dan Thurot, Matt Thrower, and Meeple Lady.

• 
  Designer Diary: Soothsayers

  by jgrisenthwaite on December 12, 2025

  by Jeff Grisenthwaite The Magnetism of Tarot I never truly believed. My logical brain never accepted that tarot cards could actually divine the future, but I was instantly captivated by the haunting illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith in the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck. I bought my first tarot deck in college and delivered tarot readings for friends for fun, prophesying about how they'll fare on their final exam in bio-chem or what might happen at the party that night. The Beginnings of Soothsayers Born out of this long-time fascination of mine, the original concept of Soothsayers was a simple one: an engine-building game built around the suits and major arcana of the tarot deck. Some of my initial ideas for the game worked surprisingly well in early playtests and stayed true throughout my many iterations: • Suit actions: Each of the four tarot suits represents a different type of action that has thematic cohesion. From the beginning, the Cups suit let you draft cards, and the Pentacles suit earned you money. • Leveling up: Players level up their actions by placing the next sequential card on top of a stack of cards. For example, you might upgrade your 2 of Wands by placing the 3 of Wands on top of it. • The Major Arcana: The major arcana (The Fool, Death, Justice, etc.) enable players to wield thematic abilities that are powerful enough to nearly be game-breaking. History of Tarot as Playing Cards My use of the tarot deck in a strategy game like Soothsayers turned out to be more true to tarot's origins than the fortune-telling aspects that we now associate with it. Tarot decks originated in 15th century Italy and were used in a variety of card games, mainly trick-takers, for three hundred years before having any association with divination or the occult. I did not learn these facts until I was well into designing Soothsayers, but I love the idea that my game is taking tarot back to its tabletop game roots. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants In terms of gameplay, I knew that I wanted to explore the design space defined by two of my game design heroes: Carl Chudyk (Glory to Rome, Innovation) and Tom Lehmann (Race for the Galaxy, Res Arcana). I set out the following design goals to put Soothsayers in a similar category as their games: • Multi-use cards as the central component • Impressive depth of strategy delivered in 30-60 minutes • High degree of player interaction with big, dramatic moments Playtesting & Iteration While the core of the game held true throughout my many iterations, a number of areas went through substantial evolution, including: • The specific powers of the 22 major arcana • The actions associated with the Swords and Wands suits • The victory condition Much of my playtesting was done with fellow game designers from the Break My Game and Protospiel Online communities. Playtesting with other game designers helps me to rapidly level up my games as a result of their ability to express their feedback candidly using precise language that draws upon their own design trials and tribulations. I find it useful to complement that by playtesting with groups of family and friends who are more accustomed to playing lighter games to ensure that my games are as easy-to-learn and intuitive as can be. A screenshot from the second playtest of Soothsayers; I built the digital prototype in Screentop.gg for online playtesting Finalist in Cardboard Edison I entered Soothsayers in Cardboard Edison's annual game design contest, and I was thrilled when the design made it into the finals, making it one of the top fifteen games out of over 250 submitted. This is the video that I submitted to the contest: Youtube Video Here are a few of the judges comments after playing my prototype: Suzanne Zinsli wrote:I loved everything about this game. The theme and mechanics are integrated beautifully. My favorite part was how well the tarot cards related to their powers. I found that to be so much fun and super engaging. Chris Zinsli wrote:There's lots to like here. The game moves along quickly and gives players plenty to think about. The leveling-up system is satisfying. The theming is engaging, and the Tarot powers are combo-tastic. Eric Alvarado wrote:The game's combination of engine-building mechanics with the follow mechanism works well. The tug-of-war between deciding on end-game scoring and in-game capability was well executed. The game's pacing was well-balanced, and it did not feel like it overstayed its welcome and I truly enjoyed playing it. In addition to that praise, the contest judges provided me with crucial feedback for improving the last mile of the game. There was still a fair amount of balancing work for me to do, but more importantly, I needed to improve the arc of the game and the endgame trigger. To that end, I converted Soothsayers from a point-salad game to a race to claim a set of Fate tokens. Throughout the game, players acquire and reclaim the Fate tokens from one another. The tension and danger ramp up dramatically as the game barrels toward an exciting conclusion. I knew I nailed what I was going for when one playtester described these new mechanisms as feeling like "a knife fight in a phone booth". Developing with Play to Z Once the game was ready, I reached out to Zev Shlasinger at Play to Z. It was a brand new company at the time, but I had previously pitched games to Zev during his time at WizKids, and I had a feeling that he'd really like Soothsayers. The only change to mechanisms that occurred during development was to add a second deck of major arcana, referred to as the Transcended Tarot, to increase replayability of the game. This second deck adds a whole set of wilder powers that players can either play standalone or mix-and-match with the original deck. We kept Pamela Colman Smith's striking illustrations at the center of the game, and Marco Primo created artwork to complement those. The box cover bringing together a group of the major arcana characters is particularly striking. Published versions of Soothsayers' cards My Hopes for Soothsayers My journey with Soothsayers began with a fascination for the iconic illustrations of the Rider-Waite tarot deck, and the design process allowed me to much more deeply explore that connection. I'm thrilled to have designed a game that not only honors the historical roots of tarot as playing cards but also delivers a rich, strategic experience within a concise 30-60 minute timeframe. My hope is that Soothsayers captivates players with the same sense of wonder and provides a satisfying emotional and strategic arc, leaving them eager to delve into its depths again and again. Thanks for reading! Jeff Grisenthwaite

• 
  Control The Great Sea, and Defend the Towers of Sifnos with Garphill Games

  by W Eric Martin on December 11, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin ▪️ New Zealand publisher Garphill Games has already crowdfunded one 2026 release — Secret Societies, a S J Macdonald design in which 2-5 players view for control of territories on Earth — but that's only the start of its 2026 plans. In March/April 2026, Garphill will crowdfund MacDonald and Zach Smith's The Great Sea, a game for 2-4 players that is part of the publisher's "Ancient Anthology" series. Here's an overview: From their homeland in the Levant to the distant shores of Carthage, the Phoenicians made a name for themselves as master traders, seafarers, and navigators. Their fierce bireme galleys dominated the Mediterranean, with a focus on protecting their vital trade networks. They developed a new script for writing and produced jewelry, pottery, intricate glassware, and highly valuable purple fabrics. As a city state leader of Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, or Arwad, you need to assemble your fleet and establish your influence across The Great Sea. The aim of The Great Sea is to be the first player to gain victory through conquest or commerce. Players must construct and mobilize their ships, fortify their trade routes, and research new technologies for land and sea. Key to their success will be controlling the various ancient temple sites across the map. The game ends immediately once a player's temple marker reaches the same space as either their combat or trade marker. The publisher notes that The Great Sea occupies a niche similar to Circadians: Chaos Order, a 2022 release from the same design team, but "it is a lot quicker and more accessible, with high levels of emergent asymmetry rather than asymmetric factions". Mock-up of the game components ▪️ The Great Sea will be crowdfunded with another new entry into Garphill's "Ancient Anthology" series: Towers of Sifnos from MacDonald and Shem Phillips. Here's an overview of this 1-4 player game: Following the aftermath of the Samian invasion, the Greek inhabitants of Sifnos sought to better defend their mineral rich land. Over the course of several centuries, they constructed a network of over seventy beacon towers scattered across the small island. This system would allow them to quickly communicate a variety of messages, and most importantly, warn of incoming sea invasions. Now's your chance to step into the role of an ancient Greek military commander! Prepare your people against raiding pirates by constructing towers, mustering soldiers, and investing into the future of Sifnos. Your goal in Towers of Sifnos is to have the most victory points (VP) at game's end. Points are primarily gained by increasing your influence and successfully defending the mining operations of the island's three predominant minerals: gold, silver, and lead. Players track their influence over these minerals on their player boards. Several invasions will occur over the course of the game, granting players the opportunity to prove their proficiency and might. After each invasion, the pirates will either grow in number or much needed allied reinforcements will arrive. The game ends immediately after three waves of reinforcements have arrived at the island. ▪️ Ahead of those two titles, Garphill will crowdfund Spirited, a MacDonald/Phillips/Smith design for 1-6 players that — graphically — doesn't look anything like a "normal" Garphill release: From the halls of history comes a familiar tale of brave warriors fighting to leave their mark. With allegiances on the line, will you rise as one worthy to be followed? Forge great armies in your camps, construct wonders, and keep a watchful eye on the road ahead. Will you reign as the most spirited champion of the ancient world? In Spirited, you want to have the most spirit after the final battle. Players gain spirit by marching with clans to forge allegiances, fighting in battles, and building wonders. The clan draw pile contains three "Passing of Time" cards that advance the game one step closer to the final battle when revealed... ▪️ A second Garphill title with animal protagonists coming in 2026 is Skute, which is also by MacDonald, Phillips, and Smith. This 2-6 player game takes 30-40 minutes to play: Below the surface of the North Sea dwell the cheekiest and most colourful of creatures...but don't let their charm deceive you. With fabled precision, these legendary seafolk strike with fin and fang, plundering the vessels above. As the winds howl and the waves crash, each season brings even greater challenges. For those who survive, what name will they speak, and of which ocean clans will they sing of for ages to come? Non-final cover A game of Skute lasts four rounds, referred to as "seasons", starting with Spring and ending in Winter. Each season, players start by bidding to gain various creatures to their hand and grotto. Next, they attempt to play out all cards from their hand before their opponents can in order to sink the best skute. After four seasons, whoever has the most valuable collection of sunken skutes wins. ▪️ Since the 2014 release of Shipwrights of the North Sea, Garphill Games has been partnering with Renegade Game Studios for distribution of its titles to the U.S. retail market, but as Garphill marketing manager Zach Smith explained in a recent press release, "since the tariff situation Renegade have had to pause printing out games. This has meant that the South Tigris expansions, Assyria, and our upcoming Secret Societies have not been printed for retail, and we don't know if they will be." Garphill is selling the South Tigris expansions through its website, with Smith noting that "a few hundred copies" are available in distribution centers in the U.S., Europe, China, Australia, and New Zealand. Starting in January 2026, Assyria: Second Edition will similarly be available via the publisher for those who didn't back the mid-2025 crowdfunding campaign, and Secret Societies will follow the same retail route. "All this to say that our games have become less widely available, so Kickstarter has once again become the most reliable way to ensure you can pick up a copy of our games", writes Smith. "For our upcoming games, we still don't know whether they will be coming to retail. Hopefully next year we will be able to have more information to give you."

• 
  Vietnam — The Next Great Board Game Market

  by WhoaWorthy on December 10, 2025

  by Michael Orion Written by [user=WhoaWorthy]Michael Orion[/user] | Edited by [user=Kendination]Ken Trần[/user] When I moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2023, I was immediately struck by the local game scene. This is a country of over 100 million people, a young, tech-savvy population that has already made Vietnam one of the largest markets in the world for mobile games, but its tabletop story was just getting started. It's an exciting, complex community to be a part of. I've since learned how other Asian markets like Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan grew from similar beginnings — with deep legacies but little analog gaming — into the robust tabletop hubs they are today. Vietnam is on that same path and more recently leaning into the integration of games and culture. We have a unique opportunity to help nurture this growth, to see games recognized as a powerful medium for storytelling, cultural preservation, and art. The Foundations: From Cờ Tướng to Catan To understand Vietnam's new hobby, you have to look at its old ones. For generations, "analog games" meant the clack of Cờ Tướng (Chinese Chess) pieces in a park, the quick snap of cards in a game of Tiến Lên (a popular climbing game) with friends, or the traditional gambling games played during the Tết holiday. The leap to modern hobby board games had to be built from the ground up. That work fell to a few pioneers in the early 2000s, one of whom I had the pleasure of speaking with at SPIEL Essen 25: Steve Lam. Steve was one of the earlier and more passionate advocates for bringing board games to Vietnam, helping to establish one of the first game clubs, Cashflow, in 2005. He followed that by opening the Rich House café, which ran from 2007-2011. His strategy was simple but effective: import the games and build a community around them. He organized events and tournaments for titles that are now global staples: UNO, Werewolf, CATAN, Ticket to Ride, and Power Grid. It worked. Fast forward to today, and those simple, social games are still the most recognized gateway games. UNO, Werewolf, and Exploding Kittens are the undisputed champions of the market here, an easy entry point for the new generation of gamers. The Current Scene: Cafés, Clones, and Culture Today's board game scene in Vietnam is a vibrant, chaotic, and rapidly evolving space defined by some key factors: The Indispensable Café Culture First, you cannot talk about gaming in Vietnam without talking about the cafés. In major cities, they are the lifeblood of the hobby. Places like Merry Meeple, Board Game Station, Arata, Era, & Sip-n-Play in Ho Chi Minh City or The Root & The Keep in Hanoi are not just places to grab a coffee; they are community libraries. Because many imported, "hobby-weight" foreign games are priced out of reach for the average young person, these cafés become the primary option to play them. They are where new games are discovered, where rules are taught, and where the next generation of gamers is being nurtured. The Price and Counterfeit Challenge This leads to the market's biggest challenge: price and proximity. Vietnam's closeness to China means the market is flooded with counterfeit products. As [user=PlayPlus]Đạt Lê[/user], founder of the publisher Playplus.vn, told me, this is a double-edged sword. While counterfeits hurt legitimate publishers, they also act as a "demo" for complex mechanisms, introducing players to games like Root, Here to Slay, or Secret Hitler that they would never have otherwise encountered. The Rise of the Local Publishers This complex environment has forged a new generation of passionate local publishers, each taking a different approach to building the market. Localization-First Publishers: There are two primary localizers here in Vietnam: One in Hanoi called Everjoy, which operates under the well-known Board Game VN brand. They are the official localizer for many international hits, including Exploding Kittens and Splendor. They also publish a catalog of locally designed games, often leveraging popular Vietnamese IPs like the "Lớp Học Mật Ngữ" comics or the "Thỏ Bảy Màu" cartoon rabbit. The second, based in HCMC, is PlayPlus.vn which has been localizing many lighter party style games such as Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and Coyote into Vietnam exclusive editions. Both are now expanding into making new designs in the near future. The Culture-First Champions: Other publishers are focused on bringing Vietnamese culture to the world. Ngũ Hành Games has pursued this "culture-first" strategy for years. Their game, Hội Phố, is a prime example — a strategic game about 17th-century merchants competing for contracts in the ancient port city of Hội An. Their efforts have paid off, with successes like Dream Diary and Hội Phố getting international distribution. The Creative Pivots: Then there are pioneers like Nguyên from Meeple In Saigon. After running a game shop for years, he's pivoted to designing bespoke games for brands — a new and growing trend. He has created games for a local toy company, one to market a movie launch, and another for a Vietnamese web browser. As he told me: At the moment, Vietnam's board game market is standing at a pivotal crossroads, as more Vietnamese game designers are choosing to create products that carry both their personal imprint and elements of Vietnamese culture... The market needs more locally made titles that can help establish Vietnam’s position internationally. High-end Game Producers:Beyond cafés and publishers, a smaller niche of Vietnamese creators treats board games as art. This luxury segment is led by Runam and Maztermind, whose designs merge craftsmanship, culture, and aesthetics. These brands reimagine classics like chess, dominoes, and poker with handcrafted wood, leather, and brass. Each piece feels like décor, bridging play and design while celebrating Vietnamese artistry. Together, they define Vietnam's "lifestyle gaming" movement in which board games symbolize taste and identity. Though niche, they help reframe games as cultural artifacts rather than simple pastimes. Wave of Vietnamese-Themed Crowdfunding That call for "locally made titles" has been answered. We're seeing an increase in the quality and ambition of games designed and produced entirely in Vietnam. These are deeply personal, culturally rich projects. Some have existed in the market for many years already and originated on a crowdfunding platform here called Comicola: ▪️ Thần Tích: A massively successful trading card game from KEIG Studio, this strategic dueling game has players take on the roles of gods and figures from Vietnamese mythology, like Sơn Tinh (the Mountain God) and Thủy Tinh (the Water God). Dozen War▪️ Dozen War: Another hit Comicola project, Dozen War (Thập Nhị Chiến) is a high-production, high-complexity tactical wargame. Created by Time Sun See Studio, it's a fantasy game of warring heroes that impressively blends the strategic movement of Chess, the cardplay of a TCG, and the hero-centric combat of a MOBA. ▪️ Thần Chủ: Another strategic card game, this one with a unique theme, brings "deified" Vietnamese historical figures into a fantasy setting. Players can build decks around heroes like the legendary general Trần Hưng Đạo, the strategist Lý Thường Kiệt, or the mythical founders of Vietnam: Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ. Crowdfunding continues to be a source for new games here outside of the traditional publisher model, and we're excited to see this platform evolve. However, behind the cafés and publishers lies something subtler: a quiet transformation in how Vietnamese people play and what they expect from games. The social roots of Vietnam's gaming habits run deep, shaped by family gatherings, friendly rivalry, and simple mechanisms. As new genres arrive and local creators experiment, those long-standing habits are beginning to shift, sometimes gradually, sometimes with resistance. This brings us to the cultural heartbeat of Vietnam's gaming story: how the country's play culture itself is evolving. The Slow Shifting Board Game Culture Vietnam's board game story isn't just about new publishers or cafés; it's also about a community negotiating what kind of play it wants to build. For decades, traditional games like Cờ Cá Ngựa (horse chess), Phỏm (Vietnamese rummy), and Cờ Tỷ Phú (Vietnamese Monopoly) defined the social texture of family gatherings. These games embodied a sense of connection: quick, familiar, and slightly competitive. When modern board games entered the scene, it was natural that players gravitated toward social deduction hits like Werewolf, BANG!, Coup, and Avalon. They echoed that same energy: fast talk, bluffing, laughter, and light-hearted rivalry. Nonetheless, that early enthusiasm also shaped a creative paradox. Many Vietnamese designers who are deeply inspired by these popular titles either ended up creating games that felt too similar or avoided the genre altogether. The major board game communities, particularly those anchored around design and publishing, often reject these derivative social games, arguing that the local industry can mature only by moving beyond them. Yet at the same time, when designers create original works with unfamiliar mechanisms or deeper strategy, the mainstream audience tends to hesitate. The result is an ongoing tension: the niche audience that craves innovation is too small to sustain a market, while the mass audience hasn't yet developed the appetite or the habit for experimentation. Vietnam's designers find themselves walking a creative tightrope, trying to bridge passion and practicality, familiarity and freshness. Still, within that struggle lies the story of a scene growing up. As players seek more meaningful forms of connection and creators push for cultural identity in design, Vietnam's board game culture is slowly, steadily maturing through one experiment at a time. The Future: Building a Bridge to the World This creative explosion is the future, but for years Vietnamese designers have faced a major hurdle: a lack of "bridges" to the global market. Accessing platforms like Kickstarter is notoriously difficult, often requiring an overseas partner. This is where the story takes an interesting turn. Designer Ionah Nguyen teaches her game Chuồn Chuồn at SPIEL Essen 25 The "Road to Essen" This year, the publisher Everjoy launched a massive national board game design contest called "Road to Essen". The goal was simple: find and inspire new Vietnamese-designed games, professionally develop them, and fund their debut at the SPIEL Essen 25 fair in Germany. The response was quite high, with 155 entries from all over the country. The judging panel even included international talent like Randy Flynn. The winner of the first-ever Road to Essen was designer Thinh LeHuu for his game July. July is a co-operative card game built around a fascinating theme: the Vietnamese "Hungry Ghost" festival in the seventh lunar month. Players take on the role of "gatekeepers" trying to guide stubborn, lost souls back to the underworld. Thinh, who had previously found success on Kickstarter with Mons and Mages, believes the game industry here is at a turning point. The "Road to Essen" was a good introduction to a larger global community in October 2025. It's the beginning of one "bridge" that Ionah Nguyen, CEO of Everjoy Global, said the community needed: "There's no shortage of creativity in Vietnam. What we lack are bridges." Another bridge was recently built with the success of a game that my own Rolling Wizards Studio collaborated on with Ngũ Hành Games called Onstage, which had its soft launch at SPIEL Essen 25 and is awaiting its global English launch with Arcane Wonders and The Dice Tower in early 2026. We are all thrilled to be part of this movement, exposing a global audience to a piece of Vietnamese culture. Designer and article author Michael Orion This is just the start. The quality of design, the ambition of the creators, and the passion of the community are all converging. The future of board games in Vietnam is bright, and the world will see in the coming years more of what it has to offer. Keep Up with the Scene If you want to follow the Vietnamese board game community, here are a few local content creators I recommend: ▪️ KBoardGame ▪️ BoardGameDay ▪️ Donut Dragons Boardgames ▪️ Mr. Ken Board Games Coming Soon Projects Here are a few newly announced titles for 2026 you can follow on BGG: ▪️ Stem & Branch ▪️ Phố Phở ▪️ Restoration ▪️ July ▪️ Chuồn Chuồn Full List of Game Cafes: Google Maps list Feel free to reach out to me, [user=WhoaWorthy]WhoaWorthy[/user], directly on BGG with any questions, or post in the comments so the community here can reply publicly.

• 
  Asmodee's January 2026 Releases: Dune: War for Arrakis – Desert War, Dixit: Kids, Borealis, and More

  by W Eric Martin on December 9, 2025

  by W. Eric Martin Asmodee USA has passed along its release scheduled for January 2026, and the titles are the usual mix of imports being distributed in the United States, new editions of older games, extensions of existing game lines, and the occasional new game. ▪️ Borealis: Arctic Expeditions from Dariusz Mindur and Lucky Duck Games debuted at SPIEL Essen 25, but will hit the U.S. market for the first time on 9 January 2026. This 2-4 player game falls into the solitaire-ish puzzle category. Players have a hand of cards, and on most turns they'll play an animal card into one of three columns on the board — but to play an animal card, you must have the appropriately colored scientists in that column, then move each of them in the direction (left or right) indicated on the card. If the vehicle on the card is on the next exploration space in that column, you move the flag down to that space, and the farther you drop the flag, the more points you'll score at game's end. If you move a scientist left off the left column (or right off the right), they land in a camp, and instead of playing a card on your turn, you can refresh your hand, then place all of these scientists in the same column, scoring 1 point per scientist. The game ends after someone places a seventh animal in a column, then you score for the animals in each column, and the animals you have of the same type, the more you score. Image: Ilya Ushakov ▪️ As for other games asmodee is importing and distributing in the U.S., the list includes: Due out 2 January • Oh My Socks!, by Antoine Bauza and Théo Rivière (Helvetiq) • Etherstone, by Virginio Gigli and Simone Luciani (ThunderGryph Games) • The first four titles in ThunderGryph's "Soda Pop" collection: Cat-a-comb, Light Seeker, Forgenesis, and Top Cap Due out 9 January • Apex Legends: The Board Game and the Board 1, Squad 1, and Solo and Co-op expansions, by Thanos Argyris and Michalis A. Nikolaou (Glass Cannon Unplugged) Due out 23 January • Map Masters, by Ian Sebastian Bach and Cédrick Caumont (Captain Games) • Daydream, by Anthony Perone and Benoit Turpin (Disto studio) • Elevenses, by David Harding (Grail Games) • Adamastor, by Orlando Sá (Ludonova) • Junk Art Revolution, by Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim (Ludonova) Due out 30 January • Otters, by Jon Biegalski, Mar Bogdanis, and Zofia Pilecka (Rebel Studio) ▪️ Asmodee still distributes titles for CMON, and that publisher has two titles due out in the U.S. on 23 January 2026: Dune: War for Arrakis – Desert War from Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello and Collect! from Jérémy Ducret and Johannes Goupy. ▪️ After a PAXU 2025 debut, Bryan Bornmueller's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game (Office Dog) hits retail outlets on 16 January 2026. ▪️ Dixit: Kids from Elodie Clément, Théo Rivière, Jean-Louis Roubira, and Libellud arrives that same day, with this being a co-operative version of the Dixit party game aimed at players aged 6 and up. ▪️ Unlock!: Short Adventures – The Ocean's Heart from Mathieu Casnin and Space Cowboys is also due out 16 January 2026. ▪️ As for expansions in Atomic Mass Games' catalog, Marvel: Crisis Protocol will see Blue Marvel & Spectrum on 9 January and both Inhumans Affiliation Pack and Xavier’s Students Affiliation Pack on 23 January. ▪️ Star Wars: Legion will have five expansions land on 16 January: • Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso & K-2SO • AAT Battle Tank • TX-130 Saber Tank • ARC Troopers Unit Expansion • 3D Objective Tokens