Unstable Unicorns publisher Unstable Games has launched a new studio led by rising tabletop designer Marceline Leiman, who will shape its creative direction and design every game it releases for at least the next few years.

Ordinary Magic plans to publish light strategy board and card games set within a single expanding world, with Leiman telling BoardGameWire the studio is looking to put out designs “offering whimsical, magical moments of the everyday” alongside high interaction.

The move comes nine years after Unstable Games owner TeeTurtle’s hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for light card game Unstable Unicorns, which raised more than $1.8m from over 33,000 backers – and went on to sell more than a million copies worldwide by 2023.

The success of that release led to t-shirt maker TeeTurtle creating its dedicated tabletop studio Unstable Games, which has sold millions across its debut title and follow-up releases such as Here to Slay, Happy Little Dinosaurs, Casting Shadows and Twisted Cryptids.

Ordinary Magic’s arrival comes hot on the heels of Unstable Games completing by far its biggest crowdfunding campaign yet, with Here to Slay Dungeons raising more than $6.6m on Gamefound in April.

Leading the new studio continues a rapid rise for Leiman, a 2025 Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program winner whose published designs include High Tide, Wildberries and Dino Racer – the latter of which picked up significant buzz at Gen Con this year, and is currently ranked at number two in the BoardGameGeek Hotness.

Her route into professional board game design began with the 2023 release of her solo mode for North Star Games titles Oceans, which led to a part-time developer position at Underdog Games, as well as client work for Office Dog, WizKids, Allplay, Button Shy Games and Maestro Media, according to her website.

But Ordinary Magic represents her first full-time job in the industry, with Leiman saying the roots of the venture going back to the period immediately following the downsizing of Underdog in April 2025, when the publisher laid off almost its entire staff as it attempted to weather the impact of US tariffs.

She told BoardGameWire that Underdog president Nick Bentley, who was also let go by the company at that time, quickly introduced her to Unstable Games, with the pair initially planning to build the new operation together.

Bentley ultimately went in another direction before that arrangement was finalised and is now director of game design at Taco Cat Games, which rebranded from Dolphin Hat Games in May to reflect the huge success of its standout title.

Leiman said, “We both were fully intending to start up a new studio within Unstable Games. The proposition was always that they were going to do sort of an incubator program, is the way that they proposed it to us.”

She added, “My role within the studio was always going to be the capacity of being a game designer. Only now with Nick no longer part of the project, it has allowed me to take more of a formal leadership role.”

Leading the line

The resulting structure puts Leiman’s work at the centre of the studio, rather than positioning Ordinary Magic as a conventional publisher or imprint sourcing games from a roster of designers.

She told BoardGameWire, “Every single game that comes out of Ordinary Magic is a design of mine. I am the designer of each of the games coming from the studio, and you should expect that at least for the next several years.

“That does not mean that you won’t ever see a game from anyone else besides me from Ordinary Magic. But think of me as the shepherd of the studio.

“I am leading the direction of the design behind Ordinary Magic and the types of games you should expect, and the feelings from the games that you should expect. But I am absolutely open to that changing; it’s not a hard rule.”

Leiman added that although she is not currently accepting game pitches, she is “always interested in learning what designers are working on, both those I am familiar with and unfamiliar with”.

She told BoardGameWire, “I love sharing ideas, and I think the spirit of design is still very much open in terms of the way I like to talk with other designers. I always want to consider whether or not in the future, an opportunity is available between Ordinary Magic and a designer looking to pitch their games.

“However, I cannot promise at this time that we are accepting any pitches that we might receive. If I were to look at any pitches, what I’ve described in the past is that Ordinary Magic is looking for games that are offering whimsical, magical moments of the everyday. Not high magic, not combative, though highly interactive.

“I think if someone wanted to pitch to me a game with a theme that was more focused on a curious bit of a real-life moment that inspired them, that would interest me more than somebody who’s coming to me with a pitch purely with a magical concept. I am much more interested in the grounded reality of this world rather than the high fantasy.”

Finding direction

Leiman said the studio’s creative direction would be to create interactive games which give “meaningful reason for other players to be at the table with you”, but added that would likely not extend to full “take-that”-style designs.

She said, “What you should expect from us is strategy-light strategy style games, sometimes card games, sometimes board games. I am also very interested in exploring the realms of cooperation as well as indirect player interaction, or both direct and indirect forms of player interaction.

“Something that you’ll find from me is that I am very interested in sort of passive aggression in games, where the decisions I am making might be to block you or to prevent you from getting something before me. A very old-school style of interaction, German old-school I think some people would think about.”

Ordinary Magic’s first three titles are set to launch together on Gamefound this autumn, taking players to a bookshop, hotel and corner café through The Curious Little Bookshop and two as-yet-unrevealed titles.

Leiman said the original plan had been to launch the games individually, but that Unstable ultimately proposed putting all three into the same campaign after their development schedules aligned – a situation which partly arose due to Leiman’s rapid work rate.

She told BoardGameWire, “The method that I was taught game design was very much under the tutelage of my professors at NYU Game Center, and there we worked very much within a fast-paced work environment.

“Joining this studio very much is like returning back to that environment, which I am very comfortable being in. The way that I’ve worked within the studio is quite fast, is quite rapid, I guess, in relation to other people’s speeds.

“But for me, within a short amount of time, what I am looking to do is try out many ideas and fail with many ideas as quickly as possible, so I could find the core of what is fun, what is interesting, what is memorable about a game.

“It just so happened to align with our release schedule that I would have these three games. Our original plan was to release them one by one, but just with the way that scheduling worked out, we decided that it would be best to put our best foot forward with this new studio by showing the strength of our design, with the strength of our art, and production capabilities.”

Operationally, however, Ordinary Magic is currently far less separate from its parent studio than its distinct branding might suggest.

“The only difference between Ordinary Magic and Unstable Games in terms of operation is me,” Leiman told BoardGameWire.

She added, “Everything that you’ve come to expect from me – my work ethic, my taste, my voice – you should expect to be part of these games.

“Not to say that I don’t work with the Unstable Games team as well. We actually do cross-pollinate a lot in terms of our playtesting, in terms of our conversations, in terms of problem-solving.

“So it’s not like I’m totally in a silo or and neither are they from me. There’s definitely a lot of creative support going back and forth between the two studios. And as the studio continues to develop and grow in size, naturally Ordinary Magic will change with it.”

Speaking about the shared world envisaged by Ordinary Magic for all of its releases, Leiman told BoardGameWire, “You should not expect to see any games released from Ordinary Magic that are not part of this world.

“We’ve talked a lot about what that means in terms of building the IP, sort of what direction could it go in the future? Does it open us to different forms of media, different forms of games, or are they all going to be board games and card games?

“We’re leaving that station open right now. But we’re definitely open to exploring what it means to have this IP as we look forward to the future.

“As for recurring characters and locations, I would say keep your eyes open for the GameFound campaign, and I think you’ll be very excited to see some crossover moments between them.”

Ordinary Magic’s debut Gamefound campaign is currently scheduled to launch in the autumn.

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Crowdfunded eurogames from smaller board game publishers had a banner year at the latest Dice Tower Awards, accounting for half of the wins at the high-profile prize ceremony.

The biggest success of the night was Kinson Key Games’ Galactic Cruise, which was crowned game of the year in addition to picking up gongs for best strategy game and best game from a new designer.

That triple win caps a two-year success story for Kinson Key’s first major release, which began with the title raising over $800,000 from more than 8,000 backers via its Kickstarter campaign.

Its Dice Tower Awards victories come three months after Galactic Cruise was named Heavy Game of the Year in BoardGameGeek’s similarly high-profile Golden Geek Awards, in addition to being named a runner-up in the artwork and presentation and thematic game categories.

Fellow indie publisher Paverson Games was also a standout winner in this year’s Dice Tower Awards, with its classical music-inspired title Luthier picking up awards for best theme, best production and best game from a small publisher.

Other crowdfunded titles honoured by the awards were mid-weight euro Critter Kitchen for best artwork thanks to the work of Sandara Tang, and 20 Strong: Tanglewoods Red for best solo game – the latter the only one which raised money through Gamefound rather than Kickstarter.

The string of crowdfunded successes is significant given the notable shifts which have taken place on Kickstarter and Gamefound in recent years, with a rise in larger publishers using the sites, and more campaigns focused around big-budget releases, miniatures heavy projects, deluxified components and major licensed IP.

Winners which did not originate through a crowdfunding campaign were The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game, which won best co-op game, FlipToons, which won best welcoming game, and CMYK’s reprint of Magical Athlete, which took best reprint.

CMYK scored a second success in this year’s awards with Hot Streak, which won best party game, while Stonemaier Games took the most innovative game prize with Vantage and Tag Team won best 2-player game.

Presented annually during Gen Con, the Dice Tower Awards are among the board game hobby’s highest-profile jury-voted honours, given the winning titles gain exposure with the veteran reviews giant’s more than 360,000 YouTube subscribers.

Winners are selected from the previous year’s games by a panel of more than 60 Dice Tower contributors, reviewers and content creators. The awards celebrates its 20th anniversary next year.

The Dice Tower also inducted 7 Wonders Duel, Codenames and Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 into its Hall of Fame this year.

Dice Tower Awards 2025 winners

Game of the Year
Galactic Cruise – designed by TK King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson (Published by Kinson Key Games)

Best Welcoming Game
FlipToons – Jordy Adan and Renato Simões – (Thunderworks Games)

Best Artwork
Critter Kitchen – Alex Cutler, Peter C Hayard (Cardboard Alchemy)

Most Innovative Game
Vantage – Jamey Stegmaier (Stonemaier Games)

Best Cooperative Game
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game – Bryan Bornmueller (Office Dog / Asmodee)

Best Reprint
Magical Athlete – Richard Garfield and Takashi Ishida (CMYK)

Best Strategy Game
Galactic Cruise – TK King, Dennis Northcott, Koltin Thompson (Kinson Key Games)

Best Board Game Production
Luthier – Dave Beck and Abe Burson (Paverson Games)

Best Game from a Small Publisher
Luthier – Dave Beck and Abe Burson (Paverson Games)

Best 2-Player Game
Tag Team – Gricha German and Corentin Lebrat (Scorpion Masque)

Best Game from a New Designer
Galactic Cruise – TK King, Dennis Northcott, Koltin Thompson (Kinson Key Games)

Best Party Game
Hot Streak – Jon Perry (CMYK)

Best Theme in a Game
Luthier – Dave Beck and Abe Burson (Paverson Games)

Best Solo Game
20 Strong: Tanglewoods Red – Josh J Carlson (Chip Theory Games)

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Word association party game JinxO has been crowned the winner of this year’s hugely influential Spiel des Jahres award, on a night which also saw legendary game designer Reiner Knizia make history with his Kennerspiel award win.

Martin Ang’s design won over the judges ahead of Corey Konieczka’s Cozy Stickerville and Markus Slawitscheck’s Morty Sorty Magic Shop, becoming only the fourth word-focused game to win the 47-year-old prize after Barbarossa, Codenames and Just One.

JinxO’s win brings an end to a three-year run of cooperative games taking home the Spiel des Jahres prize, in the shape of Dorfromantik: The Board Game, Sky Team and Bomb Busters.

Indonesia-based Ang’s victory underscored the growing internationality of the venerable German award, which until last year’s triumph by Hisashi Hayashi’s Bomb Busters had never been won by an Asian designer.

The 2026 ceremony also delivered a historic first for veteran designer Reiner Knizia, whose tile-laying title Rebirth claimed the higher complexity Kennerspiel des Jahres prize.

That win made Knizia the first designer in history to complete the full set of Spiel des Jahres, Kinderspiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres wins, having previously picked up awards for Keltis and the children-focused Whoowasit? in 2008.

Morty Sorty Magic Shop designer Markus Slawitscheck narrowly missed matching that feat this year after finishing runner up to JinxO, following his 2023 Kennerspiel victory with Challengers! and 2024 Kinderspiel win for Magic Keys.

Rebirth contended with Michael Palm and Lukas Zach design Boss Fighters QR and Donald X Vaccarino’s Moon Colony Bloodbath in the final for this year’s Kennerspiel.

The children-focused Kinderspiel award this year was won by Florian Sirieix’s Mooki Island, ahead of his co-design with Benoit Turpin, Boo Party, and Verflixt Verzaubert, a localisation of Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance’s Mimose & Sam et le Voleur de Fruits.

Winning the Spiel des Jahres can transform the fortunes of games, designers and publishers alike, with Pegasus Spiele co-founder Karsten Esser previously telling BoardGameWire the award can increase sales by 10 to 20 times in the months following the ceremony, thanks to huge exposure in Germany’s mainstream retail market ahead of Christmas.

Receiving his trophy at the ceremony in Berlin, Ang thanked Swiss publisher Game Factory “for really believing in Dito! [the German-language localisation of JinxO] and in us”.

He dedicated the victory to supporters across Asia, adding: “Thank you also to all the friends and publishers from Asia, especially from southeast Asia… finally we made it, and this is all for you also.”

Speaking separately during the ceremony, Ang said the game’s origins lay in Indonesia’s enthusiasm for social games.

“We made a party game because in Indonesia people really love to play party games,” he said. “It’s really famous in Indonesia right now and a lot of people like it, even the gamers also like it.”

Spiel des Jahres Association chairman Harald Schrapers said Ang’s success reflected the awards’ increasingly international reach.

He said, “We have had nominees from Japan and New Zealand in past years, but we always had a blind spot on the world map. We have never had a nominated author from the global south here on stage, and we are very proud of our Indonesian game author.

“Maybe there will also be a game from Africa or South America in the future. That is the great thing about playing – we play the same games here in Germany as they play in Indonesia.”

That geographic expansion has not been similarly reflected in the gender of nominated designers, however, with non-male designers once again heavily underrepresented.

The Spiel des Jahres jury looked at a record 571 games for this year’s awards – but just 2.3% of those games were from women designers, with male creators making up 94% of the cohort, and the rest being designed by mixed teams.

That figure has barely moved in recent years, having stood at 2% in 2025 and 2.6% in 2024 – an ongoing lack of diversity highlighted in great detail in this excellent feature by Wargamer’s Mollie Russell earlier this year.

The 440 titles reviewed across the Spiel and Kennerspiel categories was up 14% on last year, while the 92 games considered for the Kinderspiel marked a roughly 50% rise compared to the 61 from 2025. Another 39 titles were considered by judges across both the Spiel and Kinderspiel awards.

JinxO’s victory marked a milestone for Zurich-based publisher Game Factory, which claimed its first Spiel des Jahres 18 years after being founded.

Game Factory previously won the Kinderspiel category with Magic Keys in 2024, and was also shortlisted for this year’s Kinderspiel through Verflixt Verzaubert.

The publisher had picked up a nominated for the Kennerspiel last year with viking-themed resource gathering game Looot.

Reiner Knizia’s win with Rebirth provided Germany publisher Frosted Games back-to-back Kennerspiel victories, having triumphed last year with its localisation of Endeavor: Deep Sea.

Accepting the award, Knizia – dressed in a kilt and tartans to reflect the Scottish map in Rebirth – paid tribute to his wife Margaret, whom he described as “the love of my life” and thanked for “giving me the space to fill my life with games”, before highlighting the importance of playtesters in modern game development.

“Developing games, you cannot do alone,” he said. “You can’t develop games without playing them. No matter how much experience you have, you have to play, play, play.”

He added that his Munich testing group had made “a very significant contribution” to the game, saying playtesters should not be underestimated because “without them nothing is possible”.

Knizia also praised Rebirth’s graphic designers, who he said made a major contribution to designing the game – “it is about haptics, it is about the visuals” – and the game’s original, Malta-based publisher Mighty Boards.

He said, “We are not publishers, we create one handmade prototype, and then we need somebody who puts this into practice very professionally and who makes the game even better.

“And now you will ask me, ‘why do you then pick a publisher on Malta? What can they sell on Malta?’ Well, today things are different, today we have many localisation partners across the world – that said, it doesn’t really matter where the original publishing house is located.”

Knizia closed his long speech by urging players not to overlook the other nominees.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter who wins, because we carry the message about good games out to the people,” he said.

“There has to be one on top, but the top is amongst equals… Buy the other games, play them and honour the authors and all the contributors as much as the winners.”

The 2025 Spiel des Jahres Awards longlists:

Spiel des Jahres

WINNER: JinxO – designed by Martin Ang (Published by Game Factory / Tabletoys Games)

Nominated: Cozy Stickerville – Corey Konieczka (Unexpected Games)
Nominated: Morty Sorty Magic Shop – Markus Slawitscheck (Schmidt Spiele)

Recommended
Hot Streak by Jon Perry (Strohmann Games / CMYK)
Meister Makatsu by Reiner Knizia (Amigo)
Take Time by Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière (Libellud)
Toriki by Wojciech Grajkowski (Mirakulus / Lucky Duck Games)
Toy Battle by Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini (Repos Production)
Wilmot’s Warehouse by David King, Ricky Haggett and Richard Hogg (CMYK)

Kennerspiel des Jahres

WINNER: Rebirth – Reiner Knizia (Frosted Games / Mighty Boards)

Nominated: Boss Fighters QR – Michael Palm and Lukas Zach (Pegasus Spiele)
Nominated: Moon Colony Bloodbath – Donald X Vaccarino (Alea / Rio Grande Games)

Recommended
Artengarten (Sanctuary) by Mathias Wigge (Feuerland / Capstone Games)
Frosted Blooms by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc (Elznir Games / Synapses Games)
Grundstein von Metropolis (Foundations of Metropolis) by Emerson Matsuuchi (Kobold Spieleverlag / Arcane Wonders)
Tag Team by Gricha German and Corentin Lebrat (Kosmos / Scorpion Masqué)

Kinderspiel des Jahres

WINNER: Mooki Island – Florian Sirieix (Kosmos / Scorpion Masqué)

Nominated: BOO PARTY -Florian Sirieix and Benoit Turpin (Loki)
Nominated: Verflixt verzaubert – Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance (Game Factory / Locomuse)

Recommended
Kleiner Stinker (Little Stinker) by Elan Lee, Ken Gruhl and Quentin Weir (Kitten Games)
Magische Spiegel (Half-and-Seek) by Kseniya Kuznetsova (Ravensburger / Red Cat Games)
Paleolino by Marco Teubner and Peter Rustemeyer (Hans im Glück)

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Berlin / Bayreuth, 12. Juli 2026 – Die Würfel sind gefallen: Das strategische Legespiel Rebirth von Star-Autor Dr. Reiner Knizia wurde von der Jury „Spiel des Jahres“ mit dem begehrten Titel Kennerspiel des Jahres 2026 ausgezeichnet. Bei der feierlichen Verleihung im Berliner nhow-Hotel setzte sich das Brettspiel des Bayreuther Verlags am Abend gegen starke Konkurrenz durch. Für die Verlage Frosted Games und dem maltesischen Orginalverlag Mighty Boards markiert dieser Gewinn einen historischen Meilenstein ihrer Zusammenarbeit. Frosted Games schafft als erster Spieleverlag den Gewinn in zwei aufeinander folgenden Jahren! Autor Dr. Reiner Knizia hat damit zudem als erster Autor überhaupt die Auszeichnung in allen drei Kategorien Kennerspiel, Kinderspiel und Spiel des Jahres gewonnen. 

Ein Meilenstein für das moderne Brettspiel

Im eleganten Legespiel Rebirth von Dr. Reiner Knizia bauen die Spielenden in einem fiktiven Schottland der Zukunft nachhaltige und zukunftssichere Technologien der Energie- und Nahrungsgewinnung auf geschichtsträchtigen Ruinen. Die Illustrationen von Anna Przybylska und Vesna Redesiuk zeichnen dabei ein farbenfrohes Bild des fiktiven Nordens Großbritanniens und Irlands im Wiederaufbau und das in moderner Solarpunk Optik. Das Spiel für 2-4 Spieler:innen hat eine Spielzeit von 30-60 Minuten und besticht durch Zugänglichkeit, schnelle Spielzüge und hohe Interaktion, ohne dass dabei strategisches Planen oder die Spieltiefe auf der Strecke bleibt.

Stimmen zur Auszeichnung

Geschäftsführer Benjamin Schönheiter zum Back-to-back-Sieg:

„Mir fehlen die Worte, dass wir tatsächlich zweimal nacheinander ausgezeichnet wurden, etwas das seit 30 Jahren niemandem und beim Kennerspiel des Jahres noch nie einem Verlag gelungen ist! Ich fühle mich absolut sprachlos, dass uns diese Ehre zuteil wird, und was das für das ganze Team bedeutet, so ausgezeichnet worden zu sein. Es ist vor allem die beste Motivation für die Zukunft und ein riesiger Ansporn, unseren Weg, mit Herzblut, Liebe und absoluter Hingabe Spiele umzusetzen, konsequent weiterzugehen.“ sagt Benjamin Schönheiter, Verlagsleiter von Frosted Games

Auch Spieleautor Dr. Reiner Knizia als frisch gebackener Triple Gewinner der Jury Spiel-des-Jahres ist überglücklich:

„Das ist so ein wunderbarer Erfolg und das mit ganz wunderbaren Verlagen, Frosted Games und Mighty Boards, als ausgezeichnete Partner. Das es nun das Triple geworden ist, freut mich persönlich natürlich sehr und bedeutet mir auch tatsächlich viel.“ so Dr. Reiner Knizia auf der Preisverleihung, bei der zudem den Wert des Brettspielens und aller Spiele und ihrer Autoren hervorhob.

Die abermalige Nominierung und Auszeichnung als Gewinner beim Kennerspiel des Jahres unterstreicht die Bedeutung der redaktionellen Arbeit von Frosted Games und die von Rebirth als das herausragende Spiel des Kennerspiel-Jahrgangs 2025/2026. Im Vorjahr hatte Frosted Games bereits mit dem Titel Endeavor: Die Tiefsee den Preis für das Kennerspiel des Jahres 2025 damals noch gemeinschaftlich mit Partner Boardgamecircus erringen können.

Durch die Erfahrung aus dem Vorjahr ist man bei Frosted Games zudem bestens auf die Zusammenarbeit mit dem nun zusätzlich einsetzenden Handelsgeschäft vorbereitet. Neben den zuletzt intern ausgebauten Ressourcen wie der Einstellung des neuen Verkaufsleiters Dennis Oettershagen zeigt man sich in Bayreuth gerüstet. Und durch die enge Vertriebspartnerschaft mit asmodee Deutschland wird zudem eine sehr gute Verfügbarkeit für alle Handelspartner gesichert sein.

Der Beitrag „Rebirth“ zum Kennerspiel des Jahres 2026 ausgezeichnet! erschien zuerst auf Frosted Games.

Editor’s note: GAMA is one of the sponsors of the BoardGameWire newsletter

The Origins Awards, one of tabletop gaming’s longest-running prizes voted on by industry professionals, has crowned its latest group of winners after whittling them down from 120 nominees.

Jon Perry’s Hot Streak continues to live up to its name as far as award wins go, adding party game of the year to a pair of Golden Geek Award wins, casual game of the year in the American Tabletop Awards, and a ‘recommended’ accolade in the Spiel des Jahres.

Matt Leacock’s The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship, built on the DNA of his global hit Pandemic, doubled down on its own Golden Geek Award wins by being named cooperative/solo Game of the Year, while Vital Lacerda’s design Speakeasy took the Heavy Strategy Game of the Year award.

Railroad Tiles, designed by Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva, took Gateway Game of the Year, while Will Thompson’s Winter Rabbit was named Light Strategy Game of the Year at the award ceremony, which took place at Origins Game Fair last month.

The awards also recognised Matt Brown and Zara Reid’s conservation-themed board game Kavango with a Sustainability Award, which aim to celebrate games with thoughtful production and publishers which “have taken strides towards sustainable manufacturing to reduce the impact on the natural environment”.

Outside the board game categories, James Parks and Ben Costa’s Land of Eem won Roleplaying Game of the Year, while in the trading card and collectible game categories Riftbound: Proving Grounds won Fixed Constructible Game of the Year, while the Gudnak: Expansion Bundle took the Randomized Constructible Game award.

Games Workshop dominated the miniatures awards, winning both Miniatures Game of the Year with Blood Bowl: Third Season Edition and Miniature of the Year with Warhammer: Age of Sigmar model Festus The Leech Lord.

Goblin Hobbies’ Stampin’ Plates claimed the Paint/Hobby Accessory award, while Luis Silva’s TCG design Shard Bugs claimed Fan Favorite Game of the Year, voted on by Origins attendees.

The awards, which are organised by non-profit trade organisation GAMA, came under fire earlier this year for failing to mention any of the games’ designers for the third year in a row.

GAMA made an effort to rectify that error with its announcement of the award winners, including not only the names of the designers but also the artists who worked on each title.

The Origins awards, which were first presented in 1975, have been in heavy flux over the past few years, going from 10 categories in 2019 to 24 in 2024 – with the make-up of those categories significantly shaken up from year to year.

GAMA briefly introduced categories in 2024 which represented its membership having expanded beyond just retailers, publishers and wholesalers – including recognition for artists, writers and media.

But those segments were quickly dropped again in 2025, with categories cut including Best Media Production, Best Game Related Writing and Best 2D Artwork – although the miniatures segment was expanded from two categories to three, covering games, the miniatures themselves, and paint and accessories.

Separate from the main slate of awards, the trade organisation also revealed its hall of fame entrants this year, awarded – like the Origins Awards – by its division the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design.

AAGAD describes itself as “a peer based network of gaming industry professionals whose mission is to promote innovation and excellence in design and production of games and game related materials”.

Individuals inducted into the hall of fame this year include Richard Borg, famous for his design of the Command and Colors system used by games including Memoir ’44, and Antoine Bauza, the creator of designs including 7 Wonders, Hanabi and Tokaido.

Magic: The Gathering, Pathfinder RPG and Dungeons & Dragons artist Wayne Reynolds was also inducted into the hall of fame.

Origins Awards 2026 – Full Results

Gateway Game of the Year
Railroad Tiles
Publisher: Horrible Guild
Designers: Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva
Artists: Francesco De Benedittis and Barla Tranquilli

Party Game of the Year
Hot Streak
Publisher: CMYK
Designer: Jon Perry
Artist: Cécile Gariépy

Light Strategy Game of the Year
Winter Rabbit
Publisher: Absurdist Productions
Designer: Will Thompson
Artists: Kindra Swafford and Jonni Ketcher

Heavy Strategy Game of the Year
Speakeasy
Publisher: Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designer: Vital Lacerda
Artist: Ian O’Toole

Cooperative/Solo Game of the Year
The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Publisher: Z-Man Games
Designer: Matt Leacock
Artists: Jared Blando and Cory Godbey

Roleplaying Game of the Year
Land of Eem
Publisher: Exalted Funeral
Designed & Written by: James Parks and Ben Costa
Artists: Justin Gerard, Sean Kiernan, Anneliese Mak, Sam Mamei, Rosario Mendez and Rob Gatto

Roleplaying Game Supplement of the Year
Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of Pale Leaves – Twin Suns Rising
Publisher: Chaosium
Designers/Authors: Yukihiro Terada, Jason Sheets, Damon Lang, and Andrew Logan Montgomery

Miniatures Game of the Year
Blood Bowl Third Season Edition
Publisher: Games Workshop

Miniature of the Year
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar – Festus, The Leech Lord
Publisher: Games Workshop

Paint/Hobby Accessory of the Year
Goblin Hobbies Stampin’ Plates
Producer: Goblin Hobbies
Designed by: Brent Amberger and Casey Alden

Fixed Constructible Game of the Year
Riftbound: Proving Grounds
Publisher: UVS Games & Riot Games
Designers: David Smith and Jon Moormann

Randomized Constructible Game of the Year
Gudnak: Expansion Bundle
Publisher: Chaotic Great Games
Designer: Tim O’Brien and Ian Oliver
Artist: Vittoria Pompolani

Fan Favorite Game of the Year
Shard Bugs
Publisher: Shard Bugs LLC
Designer: Luis Silva
Artists: Ray of Sand, Nelygibi, Julio E. Jácome Paz, María Ayuso, Alma Faustica, Pietro Desirò, Ninamarie, Steve Ozminkowski, Erick Mezart

The post Hot Streak, Speakeasy, Fate of the Fellowship among this year’s Origins Awards winners first appeared on .

Another year has passed, and it's once more time to announce the winner of Tabletop Games Blog's highly sought-after and extremely prestigious Top Table Award of 2025. The top slot for this year will join the hall of fame alongside previous years' board games that made it to the number 1 spot on the podium. The winner of the 2025 award will be in the company of Charms, Enemy Anemone, Pax Pamir: Second Edition and others.

The post Top Table Award 2025 (Saturday Review) appeared first on Tabletop Games Blog.

This feels strange. I’m usually late with my yearly list, taking my sweet time until January or February to catch up on all of the noteworthy releases. This was a quieter year. Some would say weaker than most. There are still several standout titles, and it did prove a bit of a struggle to narrow…

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