The Friday Fright   Designer: Jonathan Chaffer Publisher: Grand Gamers Guild Players: 1+ Age: 13+ Difficulty Rating: 3/3 Time: 60 minutes on the box; 46 min in reality Played with review copy provided by publisher Weblink – https://grandgamersguild.com/Games/collections/18escape     … Continue reading →

    Moustache Designers: Alexandre Aguilar and Jules Messaud  Publisher: Pandasaurus Players: 3-6 Age: 10+ Time: 20 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B02bHl4le Played with review copy provided by publisher A trick-taking game where teams change every round and new rules … Continue reading →

    Risky Mixes Designer: Jose Manuel Fernandez Publisher: Devir Players: 4-10 Age: 8+ Time: 15-20 minutes Amazon affiliate link:  Played with review copy provided by publisher “The witch needs “guinea pigs” to try her new potions, and you, her … Continue reading →

  Accuse! Designer: Rikki Tahta Publisher: Indie Boards & Cards Players: 2-4 Age: 14+ Time: 20 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Accuse! is a card game in the tradition of classic murder deductions but shorter and more … Continue reading →

    Boop Shuffle Designer: Scott Brady Publisher: Smirk & Dagger Players: 2 Age: 8+ Time: 20 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B06YRS28W Played with review copy provided by publisher A crazy, cute & surprisingly challenging strategy card game for two, … Continue reading →

The Krampus Caper   Designer: Jonathan Chaffer Publisher: Grand Gamers Guild Players: 1+ Age: 13+ Difficulty Rating: 2/3 Time: 60 minutes on the box; 31 min in reality Played with review copy provided by publisher Weblink – https://grandgamersguild.com/Games/collections/18escape     … Continue reading →

The Dreidel Dilemma   Designers: Jasmine Hweh and Kirsten Lunde Publisher: Grand Gamers Guild Players: 1+ Age: 13+ Difficulty Rating: 2/3 Time: 60 minutes on the box; 27 min in reality Played with review copy provided by publisher Weblink – … Continue reading →

    Popcorn Designer: Victor Saumont Publisher: iello Players: 2-4 Age: 10+ Time: 60 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B0bIHul4z Played with review copy provided by publisher In Popcorn, each player manages their own movie theater and tries to show the … Continue reading →

    Container Designers: Kevin Nesbitt, Franz-Benno Belonge, Thomas Ewert  Publisher: Allplay  Players: 3-5 Age: 14+ Time: 45-90 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4gaQQNd Played with review copy provided by publisher Every decision you make in Container shapes the market. During … Continue reading →

    Temple Twist Designer: Bernhard Weber Publisher: Kosmos Players: 1-4 Age: 8+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4ynidfk Played with review copy provided by publisher A cryptic notebook leads your archaeological expedition deep in the jungle to an … Continue reading →

    Chang’an Designers: Nestore Mangone, Carlo Camarotto Publisher: Arcane Wonders Players: 1-4 Age: 14+ Time: 45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4voZVs7 Played with review copy provided by publisher During the Tang dynasty, Chang’an was one of the largest cities … Continue reading →

    Pocket Golf Designer: Tom Brinton Publisher: Goliath  Players: 1 Age: 8+ Time: 2 min per hole Played with review copy provided by publisher Paper Apps GOLF is a pocket-sized golf game. Each notebook is randomly generated and completely … Continue reading →

    Cartographers Heroes Designer: John Brieger and Jordy Adan Publisher: Thunderworks Games Players: 1-100 Age: 10+ Time: 30-45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B07jaOVRP Played with review copy provided by publisher The expedition to the Western Lands is the kind … Continue reading →

Last day at Essen– today the halls were noticeably quieter even in the morning. I had a great day though! First up was a look at Ashes & Amber, a Kickstarter game published, designed and illustrated by David Falla de Acebo – … Continue reading →

Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2026 (Part 16)   New-to-me games played recently include … 216 (2026): Rank 25178, Rating 6.0 Roll three dice. If you can fulfil one of the 4 contracts in the open draft, score it. If … Continue reading →

…My first day without appointments, and a chance to play more games and wander round the smaller publishers too…here’s what I found. The day started off with a play of Cardia Tide and Storm, the new standalone expansion for Duel … Continue reading →

    Citadels Duel Designers: Guillaume Montiage and Manuel Rozoy Publisher: Asmodee / Zman Players: 2 Age: 10+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://link.amazon/B0b6pIUw0 Played with review copy provided by publisher Welcome to Citadels Duel, a tense head-to-head contest … Continue reading →

Essen Friday was as busy as yesterday and by now I am used to once again the Essen shuffle through the aisles and the huge number of small steps taken – I think I walked 5 miles today! Anyway, not … Continue reading →

    Wild World Designers: Eilif Svensson, Åsmund Svensson, Viljar Opdal Svensson   Publisher: Chilifox Players: 1-4 Age: 14+ Time: 45-90 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Wild World is a dynamic 1–4 player strategy game that blends worker … Continue reading →

As always, it was great to be back in Essen, which is even bigger this year, occupying the entirety of Halls 1-8. Apparently sold out for the weekend despite the increased capacity, the crowds were certainly there and there was … Continue reading →