Innehållsförteckning för Issue 110 från Tabletop Gaming

“I’m glad to still be here,” says Sir Ian Livingstone with a laugh as we chat about the longevity of another British icon – as Games Workshop enters its 50th anniversary year. And as he thinks back to that first tiny store in Shepherd’s Bush, there’s one particular memory that stands out most vividly. “One of the most significant memories was living in a van with Steve Jackson for three months,” Sir Ian remembers. “We started the company with John Peake and Steve in our flat in Bolingbroke Road in Shepherd’s Bush. John didn’t opt to go on the journey with us to do roleplaying games. He left. We left his flat. We went to the United States, ordered a bunch of games, met Gary Gygax. We thought this is…

It’s sometimes easy to forget that Games Workshop – the metaphorical elephant in the miniatures and wargaming room – isn’t the only game in town. Mantic Games has racked up almost two decades of miniature and board gaming innovation and has recently released two huge evolutions of its gaming catalogue: tiny sci-fi mass battle game Epic Warpath; and the new edition of fantasy rank-and-flank game Kings of War. So how did the idea for Epic Warpath first come around? “When Ronnie [Renton], Mantic’s founder, first had the idea for Warpath back in 2015, he wanted to create something that was an occasion – a game where you could get all your mates together on a weekend, throw some tables together and just have at it,” explains Matt Gilbert, who worked…

The sky above Edinburgh is the colour of television tuned to a dead channel. To be fair, that’s quite common for October in Scotland. The opening line of Neuromancer by William Gibson rang in my head as I drove across the city heading to the beating heart of a game I used to spend way too much time thinking about: Netrunner. This year, the Netrunner World Championship arrived in Edinburgh for a three-day event, supported entirely by fans that love the game. Netrunner is a strange and compelling beast. One of the early collectible card games (CCGs), it was designed by Richard Garfield, the man who invented the genre with Magic: The Gathering. Netrunner chucked away that fantasy setting for the neon-soaked future of the cyberpunk genre. It also did…

Designer: Kasper Lapp Publisher: Final Score Games Ink is a messy medium, not to mention, a notoriously difficult one to master. Now, ‘messy’ isn’t an adjective I would associate with a tile-based game, in fact ‘orderly’ would be a more apt word. But this is the format Kasper Lapp, the game’s designer, has chosen to explore Ink’s theme. Specifically, this is a tile-laying game where players are creating paintings by connecting colours to form areas of specific sizes. Each tile is composed of two or three colours spread out across four squares. Some show circled numbers, denoting an Objective. Creating a contiguous area of that colour with the requisite number of squares allows players to place ink bottles on the Objective circles – as well as any other valid…

Designers: Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Shawn Stankewich Publisher: Flatout Games Sometimes, a simple play on words is all it takes to endear you to a game. In the case of Propolis, a worker placement and engine building game, where players oversee medieval bee colonies, a simple act of turning meeples into beeples perfectly sets the scene. It’s cute, catchy and leaves you wondering, “How has no one thought of this yet?” Taking a well-established concept and putting a gentle, fresh spin on it is what Propolis does a lot. Its theme, for example, has medieval tones that are somewhat overused in board games. But by adding the bee element, it fully embraces a calming pastel colour-scheme that is reinforced with illustrations of beehive-inspired architecture. When the card tableau is laid…

Designer: Dariusz Mindur Publisher: Lucky Duck Games I’m sure that, like me, when you think of an arctic expedition, an image immediately appears in your mind: yellow, baby blue and pink meeples; seals hugging, puffins swimming and polar bears grinning; oh, and some mid and end-game scoring conditions. No? Ah, OK. I guess you’re yet to play Borealis: Arctic Expeditions. The first thing you need to understand is that the beautiful artwork and soothing colours of Borealis are not to be trusted. It’s a similar story with the well-organised and simple rules, and the overall gentle production. Do not be fooled! Sure, you’re going to understand the rules within about five minutes and be ready to play. It’s only once you start to try and plan your next turn that…

Designer: Jon Moffat Publisher: Grail Games Theme is often a divisive topic in tabletop gaming. While some are only truly happy when playing a Star Wars game, others couldn’t give a monkey’s how pasted on the theme is. Then there are games such as Night Soil, which take divisiveness a step further by throwing in a comedic, slightly off-colour subject matter. It goes further still by introducing mechanisms that are also guaranteed to divide opinion. So, not much to discuss here then. Night Soil is a game about shovelling… let’s go with ‘poop’. Night soil companies were a real thing in the Tudor period, so there’s a level of historical accuracy here, while the art, mechanisms and flow (ahem) fit the theme well. However, the poop element is clearly played…

Designers: Shei S., Isra C. Publisher: Devir One of the major recent trends is the rise of duel titles. While it was previously the case that games were designed from the ground up to be two-player experiences, it’s refreshing to see classic titles given the same makeover. Not every duel game we’ve seen so far has been a knockout hit, but in the case of The White Castle Duel, there’s real potential. The original White Castle is a gem of a Eurogame, with strategic competency and great resource management mechanics. Can the Duel variation hold up by comparison? The White Castle Duel maintains some elements of the original, taking its influence from Japanese history and setting its story at Himeji Castle following the arrival of the Portuguese. Don’t worry, you…

Designer: Nikolaus Davidson Publisher: Riot Games There’s a risky kind of swagger when a video-game giant decides to cross the Rubicon into physical tabletop territory. Riot Games’ Riftbound, a trading card game built from the bones of League of Legends, lands squarely somewhere between fan service and genuinely clever design: ambitious, a little rough at the edges, but undeniably interesting. Riftbound launches with a 300-card first set, Origins, and a launch product range that includes 14-card booster packs, preconstructed champion decks, and the fairly lavish “Proving Grounds” box aimed at new players and the casual multiplayer. Having described all of the options, good luck finding most of them, as early prints sold out in many markets and second-hand prices are exactly as you might expect for such a hyped launch.…

Designers: Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, Brian Nef Publisher: Restoration Games Unmatched is now a very well-established game system, and despite the almost overwhelming variety this presents for players, it has nonetheless remained a largely accessible game. For me, at least, this is important, as recent (and upcoming) tabletop jaunts into the wonderful world of The Witcher have mostly been on the larger or weightier side. While there’s nothing wrong with that, adopting the Unmatched format has allowed the franchise to occupy a valuable middle ground – bridging the casual strategy of Gwent between the vastness of The Witcher: Old World. It’s perfect for fans unable to commit to a large campaign, yet eager to spend some time with Geralt and co. It’s also worth mentioning that, for fans…

THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN Designer: Reiner Knizia Publisher: Office Dog Artist: Lorenzo Colangeli This is a roll-and-write game created by probably the most prolific designer in gaming, set in Tolkien’s fantasy world, starring Hobbits (and all sorts of other creatures as you progress). It’s a lovely book of missions that starts simple and takes you through this epic journey, adding new things each time. The artwork is also great. There’s a touch of nostalgia to it, which makes it feel familiar right away. The dice rolling is fun and deciding how to use the dice to best achieve victory is excellent, as you’ve always got options and different ways to progress. It feels like a proper adventure book, as you open each page and the day’s mission is…

A brisk Welsh wind whipped around the rustic charm of the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells as I was welcomed out of the rain by our hosts for the weekend. Ben and Hannah, founders of the Silly Goose Board Game Club, usually run a diary of pop-up game nights across the Bristol area, but this was their first full weekend event, booking out rooms in a hotel for three days of games, food, spa and socialising with fellow tabletop enthusiasts. TICKET TO DRIVE I saw an advert for the event on social media and decided it might be worth the four-hour drive to check it out. I am so glad I did. We kicked off Friday evening with a welcome drink and icebreaker chat, getting to know the attendees who…

I’ve written in this magazine more than once about the absolute deluge of new trading card games (TCGs) to which we have been subjected. Or maybe subjected is the wrong word. There has never been a better time to be a TCG fan, and apparently there has never been a better time to launch a TCG! One Piece sailed into view in late 2022 and has become an absolute juggernaut. Getting precise sales data for the West is essentially impossible, but by every metric I can find it seems entrenched as the fourth biggest TCG behind the big three of Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, all of which have lifespans that can be measured in decades at this point. Star Wars Unlimited and Disney Lorcana have seen strong launches…

Social Deduction Definition: A type of game, or a mechanic in a game, where one or more players might have a different, secret mission. After watching The Celebrity Traitors, playing 33 games of Blood on the Clocktower, and too many games of Cheese Thief, I’ve come to a conclusion. Human beings can’t tell if other human beings are lying. Excluding the times when someone makes an obvious error in what they say, in my experience, we’re right about as often as a stopped clock. Ignoring the terrifying ramifications this has for real life, the upshot is that social deduction games are highly addictive as we try repeatedly to hone the skills of figuring things – and people – out. There are social deduction games, and then there are deduction games.…

In the early 2000s, a new force emerged in the tabletop roleplaying game scene: The Forge. A forum started by Ron Edwards, a game designer and RPG thinker, The Forge brought designers, critics and players together. They discussed, debated and analysed the RPGs of the past, the designs of new games and the possibilities of the future. Lots of games came out of The Forge but Apocalypse World is easily the most influential. Designed by Meguey and Vincent Baker, Apocalypse World rocked the hobby with its innovative approach to character creation, task resolution and GM and player responsibilities. Characters were defined by Playbooks. These trifold booklets gave you everything you needed to create your character, as well as all the abilities and moves exclusive to your class. Moves were the…

Designer: Yasuyuki Yamagishi Publisher: Fentasy Games Two-player-only games have made a real comeback, thanks to factors such as Covid forcing players into smaller groups. Of all the two-player games released at Essen Spiel 2025, Kikai: Bricolage Heads intrigued me the most for its unique theme and fantastic table presence. Thankfully, it delivered on the gameplay as well. It had a limited Japanese release in 2023, but has been updated and repackaged by Fentasy Games for worldwide release. While most Eurogames cater for two players, those designed specifically for two are a mixed bag. Many popular titles stem from successful games being given the ‘how much can we make from this franchise’ treatment. They tend to be small-box variants of the original, with a few tweaks to make them directly competitive…

Designer: Ondra Sekanina Publisher: Tlama Games The sheer weight of unoriginal themes for board games would suggest everything has been done to death already, but Shrinkopolis begs to differ. Someone at Tlama Games clearly remembered the classic family adventure movie Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (or perhaps Downsizing) and saw an idea for an original take on tile-laying. So how did it turn out? Shrinkopolis is a small-box, filler-length game in which each player builds their own miniaturised town with domino-shaped cards (rather than actual tiles). Each card has up to six connectors (two on each side and one on each end), one of which must connect with any one connector on an existing card in your town. Connectors can be blank, give victory points (VPs), or be one of…

Designers: Germán P. Millán, Enrique Fernández Peláez Publisher: Devir Those who are unfamiliar with Eurogames may first find themselves quite daunted by the sheer size of Covenant. It’s fair to say that there is a lot to get through in the setup alone. With hundreds of tokens, countless scenarios to account for and layers of mechanics to understand, it’s going to take some time to get a firm grasp of how to make the most of this game. All of that being said, Covenant is a fantastic starter title for those who want to try their hand at exactly this kind of deep Eurogame. Covenant might seem scary, but every inch of the game’s design is intuitive. The title holds your hand at all times, ensuring that information is accessible…

Designer: Reiner Knizia Publisher: Bitewing Games Released in parallel with Reiner Knizia’s Iliad, this abstract two-player design is the less subtle sibling. While Iliad is a wholly original design, Ichor is a reworking of the 2009 Battle for Olympus, which in turn riffed on the 1993 release Tiku. It’s a volatile game where one player takes command of a legion of monsters assaulting Mount Olympus, and the other wields the bastion of gods set to defend it. Ichor’s ruleset is quite simple. On your turn you activate one of your figures. In doing so, you move them in a straight line either horizontally or vertically along the square grid. You may move as far as you’d like, but you must stop when you run into another figure or the…

Designer: Pablo Clark Publisher: Eerie Idol Games Old King’s Crown tells the story of an ancient land where the King has gone missing, and pugnacious factions fight among themselves for the vacant throne. It’s a gorgeous, infuriating beast of a game, and quite unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. The first thing that hits you before anything else is the art – this game is a work of intricate beauty. Every card has unique illustrations from designer Pablo Clark, and evocative in-world flavour text. Even the rulebooks look fabulous, and the approach to information management makes understanding the mechanics far easier than it could otherwise be. For example; each round of the game breaks into a year with four seasons, and the board faultlessly flows through these stages in a way…

Designer: Jasper De Lange Publisher: Portal Games Bohemians paints a picture of Paris at the turn of the 20th century, where the art set is partying like it’s 1899. This is the city where sensitive types gather to stimulate their creative juices and – to coin a 21st century phrase – meet ‘their tribe.’ Does it also mean living in squalor and developing an opium addiction? Yes, it likely does. But these are merely temporary setbacks on the path to becoming a great artiste. Before all that, players take a board and assume the role of either a painter, poet, composer or sculptor. These roles work in tandem with a random day job; such as a busker or beggar. The board represents a character’s daily routine, and is divided up…

Designers: Alessio Cavatore, Matt Gilbert Publisher: Mantic Games Back in 1999, I owned a game called Epic 40,000. Filled with bazillions of incredible, tiny models, it sold me on the premise of truly vast battles on the tabletop without needing days to play – or a kingly income to buy it all. Over the next two decades, I’ve played a lot of miniature games, but I’ve never found one that truly fulfilled that “epic” promise… until now. Epic Warpath is a refresh of Mantic’s Warpath massed warfare game that’s both an intentional salute to the past and a determined streamlining of everything else out there. First things first; the models! These are lovely, easy to put together, clear to tell apart and come with excellent building guides. I love the…

THE LOCATION Ezelwood is a fantasy town, full of everything one might expect from a classic RPG backdrop. There’s an armoury, a tavern/inn and even a small academy for non-spell users to learn the art of magic. However, tourists only get to see a fraction of what Ezelwood has to offer. Since the town is often under siege, it has come up with a strategy to protect itself against those dangers. In Ezelwood, the citizens live in the light; but in the Undertown of Ezelone, they toil beneath the earth. Beneath Ezelwood lie sprawling streets and wooden structures, which have been standing for some time. A magical cavern, full of winding tunnels and hidden coves, was originally used as a means of escape from any attacks above ground. But the…

One of the standout games of 2025, if you’ve been to a convention or a cafe in the last 12 months, you’re likely to have seen some concerned looking players engrossed in Bomb Busters. It’s one of those rare things that is more than a game, it’s a full-on adventure. At its core, it’s about numbers – but don’t let that put you off! Players have stands, a bit like in Scrabble, but with wires. To defuse the bomb, you need to cut wires in pairs, but you can only see your own wires and the backs of other people’s. Given only one clue (unless a mistake is made) and using deduction, the team cuts wires two-by-two until only red wires remain. Missions get harder as the game goes on.…

The world of indie roleplaying games (RPGs) is ever expanding. When I first started this column, it looked forward to upcoming RPGs with an occasional reference to the past. As with all things, change is inevitable. The column became more themed, referencing games past, present and future. Now we come full circle, as this newly expanded column highlights exciting upcoming projects. These may be crowdfunding hits launching or ending after this column comes out, or simply games that caught my eye and will be available soon. A lot of the RPGs will come from small creators, who would hugely appreciate your support. Diverse voices make the hobby sing, and I’d like to hear that choir for as long as possible. BLIGHTFALL The world of RPG crowdfunding is full of collaborations…

New experiences. We’re always looking for them, whether that’s at the gaming table or out there in the wider world. And the one that stood out like a queen in a row of pawns in 2025 was Lucca Comics & Games. Beautiful Italian walled city as a con location? Check. As-yet-unreleased games to demo? Hello Riftbound – big check. Chats with bona fide legends of the gaming world? As you’ll see from the following pages, gigantic check. If you’re wondering whether we’re already planning a return for 2026, you only need to scroll through our diary and see October 28 to November 1 locked off. Hope to see you there.…

It’s been 18 months since asmodee announced its split from Embracer and became a separate entity, and it’s been over a year since Thomas Koegler became the CEO of asmodee. So what’s changed during that time, and what’s stayed the same? “What has not changed is our strategy,” says Koegler, wearing a cream asmodee hoodie with the company’s rainbow logo that we later Google to see if we can buy. We can’t. “We’ve been building that strategy for 10 years and we continue it for the foreseeable future. The one thing that changed is that when you’re part of a group, sometimes you benefit from it, sometimes you contribute a bit more. In the latter years, we did contribute a bit more at Embracer, because there were struggles on the…

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Miniature gaming tends to be a competitive market. After all, it’s dominated by one rather large, grim dark gorilla, which means that games have a tendency to come and go relatively quickly. For a miniatures game to stand out in the crowd and survive for any length of time, it has to have amazing miniatures, great gameplay, gorgeous artwork and a rich background. Almost sounds impossible, right? Well, one game that has definitely bucked that trend is Moonstone from Tom Greenway – aka Goblin King Games. In fact, 2026 will mark almost a decade since Tom first released Moonstone. In that time, it’s gone from strength to strength – ensuring that, arguably, it’s one of the most popular ‘indie’ miniatures games and has a dedicated fanbase around the globe. NO…

Designer: Emily Vincent Publisher: Flatout Games A follow-up to 2020s quilting and tile-laying game Calico, Knitting Circle offers the same cozy vibes and also challenges players in pattern-making, but this time with knitting. Felines are, of course, also present. In Knitting Circle, they help players by snatching yarn tiles with their grabby paws. A debut design from Emily Vincent, the game is an embodiment of sitting by the fire during a cold winter evening, knitting long johns with the cat curled up in your lap, purring. Even the slight competitive edge of the game – there are points to be scored after all! – feels more like comparing your finished scarves with a friend and admiring each other’s patterns. However, while the experience overall is very meditative, there is plenty…

Designer: Antoine Bauza Publisher: Stonemaier Games If you’ve never played Antoine Bauza’s Tokaido, lucky you. That’s like never having tried hot showers, or chocolate. You’re in for a treat. If you have played it, and you loved it, Tokaido: Crossroads & Matsuri bundles the game’s two expansions into a new edition from Stonemaier Games (Scythe, Wingspan). You’ll need the base game to play it, though. In Tokaido, you are travellers walking the Eastern Sea Road between Kyoto and Tokyo during the Edo period. Along the way, you rest at inns, buy souvenirs at villages, relax in hot springs, admire gorgeous panoramas, meet new people and eat delicious meals. You do this by collecting sets of cards, managing your limited funds and pacing your travel. It’s this final consideration that grants…

Designers: Designers Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc Publisher: Catch Up Games Everything about this game is magnificent. The boards and tiles are tinted with gold and the artwork is classy, colourful and bustling – just like New York in the 1920s. It’s a two-player tug-of-war extravaganza, in which you play as two socialites looking to attract attention from all the right people to climb the social ladders of the day. You’re looking to collect the tiles of various characters and will win if you collect five in different colours, three of the same, or – if neither of those things happen by the end of the game – if you have the most points. Gameplay occurs in three separate arenas: the cabaret, the finance centre and the racetrack. Each plays differently,…

Designers: Igor Knop, André Teruya Publisher: Grand Gamers Guild I have some properly ugly, badly produced games in my collection and have always prided myself on not caring about such trivial matters. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be won over by a cuteness overload, which is precisely what happened when I saw Kokeshi. Having first come across Kokeshi online at Board Game Arena, I was pleased to find the gameplay didn’t let the lovely Japanese-style cartoon art down. So much so that, after quite a few online plays, it became one of my must-have Essen purchases. Now, with several ‘real life’ plays under my belt to bolster the virtual, it has become a firm favourite. A kokeshi is a traditional handmade Japanese children’s doll, and in Kokeshi, each player…

Designer: Graham Rose Publisher: Osprey Games Having taken the figure of Robin Hood as its inspiration, you might expect The Hooded Man to deliver Errol Flynn levels of derringdo. However, writer Graham Rose also draws on real-life medieval rogues as a guide for what player characters get up to in this semi-realistic world. Sure, you may eventually become a legendary figure forced to hide their face, but the chances are you were pushed into the life of an outlaw. You are as likely to be a blacksmith, carpenter, potter, pilgrim or weaver as you are to be a more fantasy friendly cutpurse, escaper, fighter, guard, villein or warrior. That realism helps your players populate the game with interesting characters. Character creation is incredibly easy, yet the results still feel…