by W. Eric Martin

The North American branch of asmodee passed along a release calendar for February 2026, and I thought I’d highlight three items on that list:

▪️ In an industry populated by game publishers that shower the market with new releases, Sand Castle Games is doing something different. It debuted in 2019 with Tom Lehmann‘s Res Arcana, then released Eric B. Vogel‘s First Empires in 2022, and in February 2026 it will release its third title: Castle Nightingale from Bruno Cathala, Eliette Fraile, and Jérémy Fraile.

Here’s an overview of this asymmetric two-player game:

Castle Nightingale looms out of the night, both intimidating and full of promise. Three ninjas have slipped inside, searching for the fabled treasure hidden within…yet a vigilant samurai patrols the halls, watching and listening for intruders.

Two players face off in Castle Nightingale, with the ninja player trying to steal five relics before the samurai player can capture the three ninja thieves. The castle is comprised of an inaccessible garden surrounded by four double-sided floor boards, each showing two secret passage spaces and areas in five colors.

Each turn, the ninja and samurai each choose one of three action cards in hand, with the samurai also choosing a nightingale tile not used on the previous turn. The ninja player resolves their action, then moves across the floor, marking each space of their movement with a footstep token. If they step on a colored space matching the samurai’s hidden nightingale tile, the ninja stands revealed; otherwise, next turn the ninja can treat any of their footsteps as their starting space.

If the ninja picks up a vase, the samurai can still recover it on their turn by either closing the final secret passage or landing on the ninja’s space…as long as the ninja has been revealed that turn. While the ninja moves space to space, the samurai treats each colored area as a single space, allowing them to move quickly within the castle.

Each player has specialized one-shot equipment they can use at any time, starting with one item and gaining more as they play certain cards. Each player has ten cards that they’ll cycle through until either the samurai has captured all three ninja or the ninja have stolen five of the six relics hidden in the eight vases.

Castle Nightingale will debut at the 2026 FIJ game fair in Cannes, France, with a simultaneous release in North America on February 27.

▪️ On February 6, 2026, Corey Konieczka of Unexpected Games will release Cozy Stickerville upon the world, and you can probably get a feel for the game from its title. Should you need more to go upon, here’s an overview of this 1-6 player game:

And for even more, check out the designer diary from Konieczka that I have scheduled for publication on January 20, 2026.

▪️ Ghosts Galore is a v. non-Lookout-looking title from German publisher Lookout Games. This 2-5 player game from Michael Luu has you building ghost trains one track tile at a time because, well, let’s quote from the rulebook:

Think of the monsters, and give them something to occupy their time! Or perhaps you’re actually the monster, and Michael Luu is trying to give your existence meaning once again.

In any case, each player starts with a 3×3 grid showing different types of doors around its perimeter, along with one face-down tile. Each round, players take turns either flipping a new tile from the round’s stack and (optionally) claiming it, or claiming a tile that’s been revealed on a previous turn. Once each person has claimed a tile, you all place your tile on an empty space on your board, then start a new round.

After eight rounds, you place the tile you started with, then score points, with the nine monster types scoring in different ways. Ghosts, for example, are worth 3 points each unless you have at least three on the same track, in which case those score 6 points each. A satyr scores points equal to the number of different monsters on its track. A slime scores points equal to the number of curves on your tiles. Connect doors of the same type to score bonus points.

Ghosts Galore is due out in the U.S. on February 20, 2026.