Excelsior, heroes, and welcome to a Meeple Mountain article for Marvel: Crisis Protocol! Today, we’re here to talk about the newest wave of releases for MCP, as your favorite evil robots join the battle. But that’s not all—we have not only fresh models to enjoy, but a whole new set of missions that aim to shake up the meta game! As we say goodbye to the previous 1.5 years of missions, these new ones promise to change the game entirely.
Quick refresher if you've never picked up MCP: this is a skirmish game where you build a squad of Marvel characters - usually four or five, pulled from a larger roster you build ahead of time—depending on how much "threat" (basically their power level and cost) you can afford, and throw them at each other across a comic-book cityscape. You win by controlling objectives called secures and extracts, not by wiping out your opponent, though plenty of games end with someone getting tabled anyway (losing every model on the table). Power is the currency that fuels your abilities, and you earn it mostly by dealing and taking damage, which is why a change to how power works can ripple through the entire game. Got it? Good, because that's exactly what just happened. And that ripple effect is exactly why this…
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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.
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.
Railroad Tiles, designed by Hjalmar Hach and Lorenzo Silva
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.
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.
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 parent company behind European tabletop retail major Wayland Games has expanded again with the acquisition of US-based miniatures storage manufacturer Battle Foam.
The company said Battle Foam would continue to operate under its existing brand, with founder Romeo Filip and the company’s core team remaining in place, while gaining access to Wyld Holdings’ logistics, distribution and operational infrastructure.
Battle Foam makes foam-based storage for miniatures wargaming, as well as deck boxes and foam storage solutions for items such as golf club heads, camera lenses and firearms.
The acquisition marks the latest step in Wyld Holdings’ strategy of building an integrated tabletop business spanning publishing, manufacturing, distribution and retail.
Its Battle Foam buyout comes six months after Wyld acquired Essen, Germany-based Kraken Wargames, which specialises in gaming mats and the Black Racks hobby organisation system.
Wyld Holdings CEO Richard Lawford said, “Our strategy at Wyld Holdings is not about absorbing brands and altering what makes them successful; it’s about empowering them to play at a larger scale.
“The team at Battle Foam has built a phenomenal product line and a highly dedicated community.
“By pairing their creative DNA with our operational strength and distribution muscle, we can accelerate their growth and introduce their products to a wider global audience.”
Battle Foam founder Romeo Filip added, “Joining the Wyld Holdings family represents a massive milestone for us. It allows the team to focus entirely on what they do best – creating exceptional products for our community while leveraging Wyld’s world-class retail and distribution channels to scale thoughtfully without losing our roots.
“I’m excited to seeing our excellent products reach even more customers.”
Tabletop gaming’s most eclectic prize, the Diana Jones Award, has unveiled the latest clutch of finalists for its annual celebration of excellence in the field of gaming.
Price Johnson, the new CEO of Gloomhaven publisher Cephalofair, is among the five finalists for this year’s award, as are miniatures game Trench Crusade and Minnesota-based game retailer Mischief Toy Store.
TTRPG designer and journalist Rob Wieland
They are joined by Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle’s board game Molly House, which explores the joy and fear experienced by gender-defying Londoners in 18th century society, and Rob Wieland, a much-loved TTRPG designer and journalist who died last October aged 47.
Price Johnson’s nomination comes less than two months after the long-time Cephalofair COO was promoted to CEO at the publisher – with Isaac Childres, the company founder and designer of its runaway successes Gloomhaven and Frosthaven, stepping back to focus exclusively on game design at the company.
Johnson has been a high-profile voice in campaigning against tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump over the last year, aiming to highlight the heavy financial burden it has placed on tabletop game publishers – many of which rely on Chinese manufacturing for their titles.
The Diana Jones nominations committee praised that work, saying Johnson’s appearance on multiple national news outlets, “consistently and clearly explained how the tariffs posed an existential danger to many companies in the adventure gaming industry”.
Mischief Toy Store in the Twin Cities was also selected for its involvement in a lawsuit against the US tariffs last year, as well as its work battling activity from anti-immigration ICE agents.
The committee said that hours after criticizing ICE in a TV interview the store was targeted with a surprise audit, but resisted turning over their employee records to DHS.
It added, “They have been printing ICE OUT posters to distribute as fast as they can and have organized a network of 3D printing hobbyists to distribute thousands of ICE whistles.
“Amid the chaos in Minnesota, they had to suspend online ordering, and their website directed folks to support local immigrant rights organizations instead. They work hard to make space at the gaming table for everyone.”
Trench Crusade, which focuses on an alternate 1914 in which humans have been battling the forces of hell for 800 years, was picked out by the committee as “a triumph of community and creativity”.
The Factory Fortress-published title was built around initial sketches and lore created by artist Mike Franchina, who later teamed up with sculptor James Sherriff and game designer Tuomas Pirinen to design the game.
Diana Jones’ nominations committee described Rob Wieland as “a relentless advocate and promoter for the entire tabletop gaming community for years”.
It said, “He served as a mentor to countless others, and he brought the industry to wider and greater awareness through his work with Forbes and other publications.
“In addition, he regularly hosted on-stage sessions of The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen at conventions to raise money for charity.”
The 2026 Diana Jones Award ceremony will be held in Indianapolis on July 29 at its annual gathering of tabletop games industry professionals, marking the unofficial kick-off of Gen Con.
The original Diana Jones Award trophy, which was lost in the post several years ago
The award aims to celebrates “everything that’s the best about gaming”, with previous winners across the award’s 26-year run having included Blood Rage designer Eric Lang, Nigerian games industry publisher and evangelist NIBCARD, and the entire ‘actual play’ movement of people livestreaming and podcasting roleplaying games.
Last year’s award resulted in a tie between Daybreak, the climate change-themed board game designed by Matt Leacock and Matteo Menapace, and Rose Estes, an early TSR employee who went on to write the Endless Quest series of choose-your-own-adventure game books.
The original Diana Jones award trophy was a clear lucite pyramid containing the burned remains of an Indiana Jones roleplaying game from the 1980s – one element of which spelled ‘Diana Jones’ after the preceding letters were burned away.
That trophy was lost in the post six years ago during the traditional handover from one winner to another, never to be recovered – but a replacement trophy has now been created by the organisation.
The Diana Jones Award also runs a separate emerging designer programme prize, which aims to help up-and-coming creators via a $6,500 prize package that includes an all-expenses trip to Gen Con.
The instinct to build massive edifices, monuments, and works of art is primal. For animals like the Bowerbird, their elaborate mating parlors are practical. For humans like Jason Blake, their mind-boggling creations eschew practicality for ambition. The most honest assessment I can give of Cysmic is that it’s a boldly crafted reliquary to youthful mirth…
Anmelden
