Tabletop Reviews

Chivalry is Dead: Race for the Crown is a fantasy-themed chariot racing game from Naughty Jester Games that blends high-speed competition with chaotic combat, delivering a racing experience that is as much about survival and sabotage as it…

Tokyo Highway: Rainbow City, designed by Naotaka Shimamoto and Yoshiaki Tomioka and published by Itten, is a dexterity game that builds on the minimalist charm of the original Tokyo Highway while adding a splash of colour, a bit more…

Quoridor Pac-Man is a curious hybrid that manifests as part abstract strategy, part arcade homage and if you were just in the market for Quoridor alone, it might be all the more interesting for it.  Published by Gigamic, this edition of the…

Cascadero is a clever, spatially-driven tile placement game from Reiner Knizia and Bitewing Games — blending route-building, area control, and cascading bonuses into a tight, interactive puzzle that rewards timing, positioning, and…

Hispania, from Draco Ideas, is a focused and abstract historical strategy game that casts players as Roman praetors (and maybe a consul) tasked with subduing the Iberian Peninsula over the course of two centuries. Hispania is a primarily…

FlickFleet, designed by Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox and published by Eurydice Games, is a dexterity-driven space skirmish game that swaps dice and cards for finger flicks and acrylic templates. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too…

In Pax Illuminaten you are an Areopagus of the Illuminati, seeking to grow the order and undermine the authority of the church. Spread your clandestine influence across Bavaria as you recruit the great thinkers and artists of the…

Nature is a modular, ecosystem-building strategy game from North Star Games and Dominic Crapuchettes that follows on from the popular Evolution and Oceans games which use remarkably similar mechanics. This latest effort offers the most…

Tokaido Duo is a serene but surprisingly crunchy, two-player-only reimagining of the original Tokaido — offering a layered, asymmetric experience that captures the spirit of travel and reflection while introducing previously unexpected…

Middle Ages, designed by Marc André and published by Studio H, is a masterful blend of familiar mechanics and fresh presentation. Supplied to us by Hachette UK, Middle Ages is the clear spiritual successor to Majesty: For the Realm, but…

Leviathan Wilds is a game that doesn’t ask you to fight bosses. Instead, it asks you to climb, to heal and to cling on for dear life. It’s an inversion of the recently popular boss battle genre, and it’s all the more compelling for it.…

Oranges and Lemons is a game that invites players to walk through London’s past — and it’s brisk, bustling, and full of character. Designed by Richard Denning and published by Medusa Games, Oranges and Lemons is a medium-weight strategy…

Faraway's recent People from Below expansion adds a welcome layer of asymmetry and thematic depth. It introduces a new biome — the Underlands — along with a fresh set of region cards and denizens that interact with the core mechanics in…

Cyclades: Legendary Edition is more than just a reprint — it’s the near flawless remaster of an already exceptional design. Designed by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, this version consolidates the original Cyclades and the best of its…

Articulate is a classic for a reason, it very much takes the frenetic energy of parlour games and combines it with prompt cards and a ticking timer. Articulate for Kids takes on the incredibly daunting task of trying to adapt that format to…

Push your luck mechanics are some of the most pure form of gaming, and one of the few that can be distilled down to a single action: flipping a coin or rolling a dice. It's the latter in the case of 5 Up, an incredibly easy to learn game…

Defenders of the Wild, designed by Henry Audubon and T.L. Simons and published by Outlandish Games, is a cooperative, card-driven game that blends asymmetric player abilities with ecological resistance. Defenders of the Wild shows its…

Faraway, designed by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat and published by Catch Up Games, is a small-box tableau builder that punches well above its weight. Supplied to us by Hachette UK, Faraway is a small box game that offers a clever…

There and Back Again, designed by Reiner Knizia and published by Office Dog, is a charming and refreshingly straightforward roll-and-write adventure that invites players to journey through Middle-earth one quest at a time. With eight unique…

There’s a quiet confidence about Earthborne Rangers — an inherent sense that it has a lot to say, but it’s not shouting about it. Designed by Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro and both Adam and Brady Sadler, and…