Latest Board Game News & Stories
The latest news, reviews, guides and videos from BoardGameReport and trusted sources across the web. Updated every few hours — older stories stay in the archive.
Sitting Down With The Team Behind Scavengers (And Kavango!)
When Kavango first arrived on my table, it became one of those games that reminded me why I love this hobby. I described it at the time as “a glorious, interlinked, cascading, connected puzzle that will fill your hear…
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Scavengers Card Game Review
Scavengers WBG Score: 7.5/10 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Card games with interesting layers and scoring. Published by: Mazaza Games Designed by: Matt Brown, Zara Reid This is a free review copy of …
Read at What Board Game (opens in a new tab)Excursions Preview – Got space for a little one?
Within 90 minutes, you've had a really engaging, fast-paced, enjoyable game. It doesn't feel like you're making do. It's not like when you go, "Oh, we're six? Better dig out 7 Wonders again ". Excursions doesn't feel …
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Designer diary: NASCARD
by Guillem Coll Nascard aims to capture the excitement and feel of big racing games, but condenses that experience into a deck of just 110 cards. The challenge, however, was precisely that: how could we represent a ra…
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Excursions Board Game Preview
This is a preview copy sent to us for our early opinions. No money exchanged hands. Some art, rules or components will change in the final game. Find out more here. There is something immediately appealing about the i…
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Sky Bloom Preview
Merchants of Play is a board gaming platform where users can play official implementations of popular titles such as My Little Scythe, Trailblazers, and Moytura. The CEO, Mack Flavelle, has also used the platform to l…
Read at Board Game Quest (opens in a new tab)Pristine Neoprene – the pros and cons of neoprene (Topic Discussion)
A board game can feel very different depending on what surface it is played on. Cards slide differently across different surfaces, dice make different noises, and even picking up a small wooden token can become either…
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Jude Bellingham's Favourite Game?
Skyjo WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-8 You’ll like this if you like: Family friendly card games Published by: Magilano Designed by: Alexander Bernhardt . This is a free review copy kindly gifted by VR Distribution. See …
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Bingo Slam Party Game Review
Bingo Slam WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 2-6 You’ll like this if you like: Fast, frantic Bingo! Distributed by: VR Distribution This is a free review copy kindly gifted by VR Distribution. See our review policy here. Som…
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Feudal Levies, Citizen Militia, and Mercenaries in Action: The Combat Impact of Units in Foxes and Lions
This is the ninth of many articles to come on Foxes and Lions: Renaissance City-States in the Age of Machiavelli, now on P500. This game is in the same series as Here I Stand, Virgin Queen, and Tanto Monta. See Part 1…
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I love listening to publishers speak publicly, frankly, and openly about their business decisions. Two such publishers are Joe from Allplay and Nick from Bitewing, both of whom share their thoughts and often field que…
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Mind the Lines Review
My family consists of my wife, my 10-year-old daughter, my 16-year-old son, and my 19-year-old son—and my mother-in-law joins in when she’s around, too. Finding a game that everyone across those wide age gaps and vary…
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Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week – 10/5/26
Welcome to this week’s batch of crowdfunding campaigns. We have a variety of offerings here, so we hope you will find something that catches your eye. Also, if you want to chat with the BGQ team, join our Discord Serv…
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Case Pursuit Deduction Game Review
Case Pursuit WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 1plus You’ll like this if you like: Deduction and True Crime Published by: Case Pursuit Designed by: Case Pursuit This is a free print and play review copy. See our review polic…
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Please Pass the Combo
by Justin Bell “I mean…how are you DOING all of that???” The exasperated player to my right had finished their turn, and they were staring at my player board as I was finishing up a very long turn of my own. The game …
Read at BoardGameGeek (opens in a new tab)Gateway Games That Are Still Fun for Experienced Players
In today's video, Jamey and Erica discuss their favorite gateway games that are still fun for experienced gamers, including why they exceed in both categories. https://youtu.be/jaF03GuJofo
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Publisher Diary: Fadenfroh
by Julian Steindorfer Where and when does this story start? Let me try to untangle the thread and tell you how Fadenfroh * came to be. *(a German word creation merging the words “thread” (Faden) and “colorful” (farben…
Read at BoardGameGeek (opens in a new tab)Reforest (Saturday Review)
The mountain was bare in places, green in others, but it was slowly filling with life. Small plants pushed through the soil, adventurously spreading across the lower slopes before taller growth began reaching upwards.…
Read at Tabletop Games Blog (opens in a new tab)Why? Why? Why?
"Why?" is such a powerful question. So why only ask it once? https://stonemaiergames.com/why-why-why/
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Why? Why? Why?
Over the last 14 years at Stonemaier Games, many times we’ve asked ourselves why things are the way they are (both in the game industry and within our company). This led to us being one of the first publishers to offe…
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Top 10 Games I’m Excited for at Spiel Essen 2026
Here are the top ten games I would be excited to see at Essen Spiel 2026 if I was actually stomping the halls this year!
Read at Board Game Review UK (opens in a new tab)Braided Skies, Product Reveals, Smaller Red Rising, and More! (September 30 2026 Livecast)
Join Jamey and artist Andrew Bosley for Stonemaier Games news, questions, answers, and random discussion topics! https://youtube.com/live/alzcYkxy0JI
Read at Stonemaier Podcast (opens in a new tab)Reality Realisation – how board games represent reality (Topic Discussion)
Board games that represent real historical events face a problem that fiction can largely avoid. The designer can't start with a blank page. Players are going to expect that the game somehow mirrors what actually happ…
Read at Tabletop Games Blog (opens in a new tab)Snow Planner Review – Off-piste worker-placement fun
Snow Planner takes the concept of a dice-as-workers game, layers on a lovely theme, and delivers a really solid Japanese import special.
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Distilled: Cocktails Expansion Board Game Review
Distilled: Cocktails WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Viticulture, The Networks Published by: Paverson Games Designed by: Dave Beck, Richard Woods This is a free review copy. See our revi…
Read at What Board Game (opens in a new tab)Related coverage · 2 articles
Announcement Trailers: Our Current Method (2026)
Ranging from our Kickstarter trailer videos from 2012-2015 (featuring me and Alan talking directly to the camera) to polished, animated trailers with voiceovers from 2016-2024, we’ve tried a variety of approaches to t…
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Announcement Trailers: Our Current Method (2026)
Ranging from our Kickstarter trailer videos from 2012-2015 (featuring me and Alan talking directly to the camera) to polished, animated trailers with voiceovers from 2016-2024, we’ve tried a variety of approaches to t…
Read at Stonemaier Games (opens in a new tab)
Distilled: Africa & Middle East Expansion Board Game Review
Distilled: Africa & Middle East WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Viticulture, The Networks Published by: Paverson Games Designed by: Dave Beck This is a free review copy. See our review pol…
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ClueQuest Plan52, Spoiler Free Escape Room Review
We found ourselves in London once again so headed to ClueQuest to check out their Escape Room Plan52, read the review here!
Read at Board Game Review UK (opens in a new tab)Russian Railroads (Digital Eyes)
The rails started in Moscow, carrying workers and materials towards St Petersburg on one line and to Kiev on the other. A third railway was the most ambitious project, pushing across the vastness of Siberia, with its …
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Pirates of the High Teas
Collect delicious dishes and pair them with the perfect tea as you serve the captain of the ship in Pirates of the High Teas from Pink Hawk Games.
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Design Day 2026 Recap
This weekend, just a few days before yesterday’s Braided Skies reveal, Stonemaier Games hosted its 13th annual Design Day. On Sunday, the Design Day itself featured designers, playtesters, and gamers from St. Louis an…
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Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains initial strategy thoughts
My initial thoughts on Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains strategy based on the first 30 plays.
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Bigger Decisions, Longer Games, and a Reimagined Tet Offensive
Over the last few months I’ve been focused on refining the core gameplay experience for Iron Triangle, and I’m excited to share some major changes that have emerged from playtesting. The goal has been simple: create a…
Read at Inside GMT (opens in a new tab)Political Correction – why we forgive problematic games (Topic Discussion)
As we all know, there are a good number of board games that haven't aged well, if I may put it like that. In the past, games happily made colonialism their central setting and gameplay, gave women little or no place i…
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Meow Heist Review
Become pilfering cat burglars in Meow Heist, read the review of this card game from Nekuma Games here!
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Spending Big Bucks on Prelaunch Ads: Worth the Squeeze?
On Wednesday we will reveal our final new game for 2026, a big Euro game called Braided Skies. We’ll share information about the game with people who already follow Stonemaier Games, but that’s a fraction of the peopl…
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ARC: The Underworld P500 Spotlight: “They Rule the Deep. We Retake the Night.”
GMT Games invites you to witness the birth of a terrifying new conflict. In ARC: The Underworld, the Cold War isn’t between superpowers—it’s between species, fought block by block in the quiet heartland of the United …
Read at Inside GMT (opens in a new tab)Go Big (Saturday Review)
Three 7s have just landed on the table, worth a potential 21 points - if they survive, that is. Their owner already looks like the victory is in the bag. Yet, they're a bit too sure of themselves. Of course, somebody …
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It’s all about the Cards
Exploring the Card deck of Ancient Civilizations of East Asia Part VII: Negate Cards (Our version of “Get Out of Jail Free”) As with its predecessors (Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea GMT Games – Ancient Civiliz…
Read at Inside GMT (opens in a new tab)Marketable vs Aspirational Funding Goals
In regards to several recent crowdfunded games that either relaunched after an initial cancellation or are struggling to move far past their funding goal, I’ve heard some concerns about trust from potential backers. F…
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Latitude Preview
Have you ever wanted to be a map-maker? Wannabe cartographers should check out the preview of the board game Latitude here!
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Thunder Road: Ignition Review
Thunder Road: Ignition is a new edition of Thunder Road that comes in at a cheaper price point but still packs a big hit on the game table.
Read at One Board Family (opens in a new tab)Downtime Chat – allowing for social interaction in board games (Topic Discussion)
Waiting for your turn is very common in board games. One person has all the fun while everyone else just watches. Too much waiting is often described as a flaw in game design, particularly when players have nothing us…
Read at Tabletop Games Blog (opens in a new tab)Cosy Games Done Different – Your guide to cosy games with a difference
It's Autumn, or Fall for my transatlantic friends. Time to hunker down with warm, comfy things, and that includes games.
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How Do You Ask Rule Questions?
Over the weekend I was playing a game, Takenoko, which I hadn’t played in a while. I had a rule question about gardener and panda movement, and I did what I often do if I can’t find a question in the rulebook: I pulle…
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VNTYPL8S (Vanity Plates) Review
Can you guess the owner of the car based on their vanity plate? VNTYPL8S is a party word game from Clarence Simpson, published by 25th Century Games.
Read at One Board Family (opens in a new tab)Bus & Stop (Saturday Review)
The morning rush is already gathering. Passengers wait patiently at the stop, each with somewhere to be, while your little bus rolls into position. You have room for ten, perhaps eleven if you are feeling optimistic, …
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