Gen Con 2026 must have been the convention of "alien on the loose" games, because I seemed to be playing them constantly. In fact, in one night we went from This Game Is Killer: Alien on Board to This Game Is Killer: Frozen Horror to Not Alone: Remastered Edition. While the latter is a slightly different flavor, the asymmetry of the Not Alone: Remastered Edition puts one player in the driver's seat of the alien threat while the others try to outlive, outlast, and outsmart them.

Not Alone: Remastered Edition: Hide and Seek

Having never played the original Not Alone, my thoughts are solely based on my experiences with this improved version. In Not Alone: Remastered Edition, the players have evacuated their ship, landing on a mysterious planet called Artemia where it quickly becomes apparent that they are…not alone. Insert DiCaprio meme here. They become the Hunted in a race for survival against one of the other players who assumes the role of the Creature, whose goal is to stymie their efforts.

[caption id="attachment_333875" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Hunted players receive a character card with a unique Skill[/caption]

The main tracker board is set up in the center of the playing area, with the Hunted's Rescue counter on one end and…

The post Not Alone: Remastered Edition Game Review appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Cooperative games where the players can't discuss strategy aren't anything new, but they only work if everyone figuratively signs the social contract to make it work. In Shape it, published by Randolph, players move cardboard shapes around the table in hopes of everybody seeing the same artistic vision. Without speaking about the look you're going for, this can be a Herculean feat. But does it shape up to be a game worth bringing to the table? Let's find out.

Shape It: Taking Shape

In Shape it, players move seven abstract shapes to communicate a concept listed on one of the Word cards laid out on the table. The trick is that all the words could be correct; it's a matter of unified consensus among the group. If everybody can collectively earn 5 cards for guessing the same Word card before flipping the third Life/Failure token, they win!

To set up the game, players arrange 7 shapes in a circle in the center of the playing area. Starting with the green deck, 5 Word cards are drawn and laid out to form the starting Word pool from which inspiration will be drawn.

Every round, players may move a single shape. Pieces can be placed on top of other pieces or rotated around, but pieces that are underneath other pieces are…

The post Shape It Game Review appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Once again Gen Con did not disappoint in 2026, and Meeple Mountain scoured the halls in full force with a whopping six members of our team swooping down on Indianapolis for the convention. As always, attendance hit all-new highs in terms of con-goers and vendors as gamers from all over the world joined the festivities. With several new additions including a D&D Tower, drone show, and the ever-present construction downtown as the convention center expands to accommodate, there was plenty to be excited about.

Here are our thoughts on Gen Con 2026!

Crawl Con in Full Effect

With the recent crowdfunding efforts by Renegade Games for their new Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG and Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable it was already preordained that Gen Con would be beset upon by the full force of DCC fandom. Couple that with the appointment of author Matt Dinniman and voice of the series Jeff Hayes as Media Guests of Honor to the convention, and you have all the necessary ingredients for a DCC takeover.

Sure enough, heart-patterned boxers and tortoiseshell Persian cats were all over the place, especially when the cosplayers put on their Saturday best for the annual contest. Saturday also happened to be the day when 2,000 crawlers—as members of the DCC fandom are called—assembled for a photo at Victory Field. I've…

The post Meeple Mountain Goes to Gen Con 2026 appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

As a longtime manager and commissioner of fantasy football leagues for American football, I approach the process of drafting and curating a team throughout the season much like a chef might approach a new recipe. From the jump, I feel like I know the flavors of each ingredient, but I never know exactly how it'll turn out until all the pieces are working together at the end. Sometimes it pans out and you have a delightful scone in your hands, and other times you're left with a gelatinous mess. I was curious to see if Huddle: The Fantasy Football Game could replicate that feeling of accomplishment.

Huddle: The Fantasy Football Game: Take a Chance on Me

Just like traditional fantasy football, Huddle includes a preseason draft, a season of head-to-head matchups, and then a championship game between the two best teams to determine the ultimate winner. Matchups are quick enough that the other Managers aren't left out if they aren't in the title game, otherwise they can play consolation games to determine places 3-6 for a full table.

During the Draft, Managers get 20 poker chips to bid on players in one-minute rounds. Players are represented through decks of cards, one each for Quarterback (QB), Wide Receiver (WR), Running Back (RB), Tight End (TE), Kicker (K), and Defense/Special Teams…

The post Huddle: The Fantasy Football Game Review appeared first on Meeple Mountain.