Category Archives: Board Games

Arcane Wonders teases its 2025 releases

Arcane Wonders

It’s a new year and we’re looking ahead at the amazing tabletop games we can expect in 2025. Arcane Wonders has pulled back the curtain showing off not just what’s coming out in January, but beyond as well!

Here is a list of what to expect from Arcane Wonders in 2025:

Coming in January:

  • ito – ito is a cooperative game where you and your friends will each get your own secret number you then have to try to put in order as a group based on the clues you give related to the chosen theme. ito became wildly popular in its native country of Japan and Arcane Wonders is bringing it to English-speaking audiences for the first time.
     
  • Mezen – Mezen is a puzzle tile-based game where players will compete to achieve a series of scoring goals by removing tiles from their 5×5 board, flipping them over, sliding the tiles above them down, then adding the newly flipped tiles from the top. The gorgeous Siberian art makes Mezen’s table presence absolutely stunning.

Coming Q3-4 2025:

  • Call of Duty: The Board Game – Call of Duty: The Board Game brings the Call of Duty experience to tabletops, immersing players in intense competitive combat. Play on authentic Call of Duty maps such as Shoot House or Standoff. Choose from operators like Ghost Riley or Captain Price. Select your favorite weapons and items. Build a custom combat deck with your signature tactics. Then, jump into the action.
     
  • Buffet Boss – In Buffet Boss, pick your food from the buffet and gain points by stacking food onto your plate. But beware – the food with the tastiest point values are also the hardest to stack! Players will also have Character cards that give them bonus points for stacking specific types of food. Buffet Boss also comes in many different modes to suit all diets – a solo/cooperative mode as well as a mode for kids aged five and up.
     
  • Aquatica: Duellum – New Aquatica is in a duel format: deeper, meaner, and more intense. Choose a Turtle King or a Squid Queen and improve your underwater realm by playing action cards and assembling locations on three-layered boards. After decades of turbulent times, it is time to unite the underwater world under the fin or tentacle of a single ruler!

     
  • Leylines – Leylines is a re-imagining/update of the classic game Auf Achse by Wolfgang Kramer set in a brand new world with new rules by Daryl Andrews, featuring beautiful acrylic standees and a circular board filled magical leylines and mystical markets! To win, players must collect resources in the forest and bring them back along the leylines to the markets to sell them. Be aware, though, that the magical merchants pay different amounts depending on what they are interested in!
     
  • Raas: A Dance of Love – Raas is a light-medium competitive strategy game for one to six players. The ‘board’ consists of a set of seven discs connected with an intricate gear mechanism. Each disc has six dice as ‘dancers’ specializing in different tempos and styles of this energetic Gujarati dance form. Players draft dancers from the central dance floor to train up their own personal dance troupe. Plan your moves to matchmake amongst the dancers to go up the love track and earn powerful bonuses.
     
  • If/Then – If/Then is a game of cooperative pattern solving. One player is the knower, who reads the hint and tells the other players whether their guesses are right or wrong. Everyone else is a guesser; they take turns choosing a card from a display and placing it in the line as a guess. The guessers win if they successfully guess the hint before running out of cards.
     
  • Freedom Five – Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game is a cooperative strategy game in which one to five heroes race to protect their home city and its inhabitants from an onslaught of villainy from Baron Blade and his criminal cohorts. Each player must master their character’s unique abilities to manage multiple crises throughout the city of Megalopolis. Assemble your friends to face standalone challenges, or mix it up and adventure through a series of campaign comics in which you will gain rewards ⁠— and new threats ⁠— each session.
     
  • Millimemory – In Millimemory, players try to remember the length of everyday household items. Each player has an unmarked ruler to estimate the length and begins the game at 100 points. Players lose one point for each millimeter they are off the correct length. Players are eliminated when they run out of points, and the last player in the game wins.

Head back to the 90s with Arcane Wonders’ Video Game Champion

Video Game Champion

Arcane Wonders has launched of the English version of Video Game Champion. The new tabletop title is part of Arcane Wonders’ Dice Tower Essentials line, featuring products hand-selected by renowned board game reviewer Tom Vasel.

In this family-friendly board game for 2-5 players, take a trip down memory lane to the ’90s, when no weekend was complete without a Friday night visit to Blockbuster or your favorite video game rental store. This game is fully localized by Arcane Wonders from the Brazilian Portuguese version known as “O Bom Do Videogame.”

Through savvy resource management, you’ll navigate earning an allowance, convincing your parents to buy you games, and doing chores to save up for renting the hottest 16-bit titles. Actions are taken via an Action Grid, where you can choose to study, read gaming magazines, or tackle household tasks—all to maximize your gaming time.

As you progress, raid the shelves for new game cards and build your collection with fictional classics like the kart racer “Neow Racing” and the fantasy epic “Dragon Scales.” While the games may be fictional, the detailed 16-bit-inspired box art captures the essence of the era, enhancing the nostalgic vibe.

Video Game Champion is available now in English via online and physical retail stores.

Purchase: Miniature Market – Game Nerdz

Protect the Gorgeous Ecosystem of Central Portugal in Floresta

Floresta

Arcane Wonders have announced the online and retail launch of Floresta. In this game, players will figuratively travel to the gorgeous lands of central Portugal, where they’ll plant trees, encourage tourism, care for the native forests, sustainably harvest wood, and restore the lynx to its natural habitat.

Explore the captivating realm of central Portugal in this competitive forest management game! Strategically plant and nurture trees, harvest wood, promote tourism, reintroduce lynx to the forest, and construct watchtowers to control fires. Planning is key, though: while constructing watchtowers to control fires, why not strategically plant trees nearby? 

With every decision shaping the fate of the forest, will you rise above the competition and emerge as the ultimate guardian of this precious ecosystem?

Part of Arcane Wonders’ Dice Tower Essentials line, Floresta is played on several game boards, each depicting mountains, forests, or paths through nature. Each turn, players choose a card from their hand and apply its effect by placing a tree on one of the boards. Players must strategically plant trees to create a sustainable ecosystem while also taking steps to prevent and fight forest fires, all while attempting to bring displaced lynx back to their natural habitat. 

Purchase: Miniature Market – Amazon

Maestro Media Unveils Hello Kitty: Day at the Park Board Game

Hello Kitty: Day at the Park

Maestro Media is teaming up with Sanrio and have announced Hello Kitty: Day at the Park. This new board game invites fans of all ages to experience the icon’s nostalgic charm by joining Hello Kitty and Friends on a heartwarming adventure filled with fun challenges and beautiful game design that is sure to spread smiles.

Developed with families and fans of Hello Kitty in mind, Hello Kitty: Day at the Park is an accessible strategy board game that promises a unique family-friendly game experience, seamlessly blending the playful spirit of Hello Kitty with engaging and strategic gameplay that everyone can enjoy together. Players can compete as Hello Kitty and other iconic Sanrio characters, including My Melody, Pompompurin, Keroppi, and more to complete thrilling adventures, earn rewards, and explore the charming park setting–all while collecting items and visiting attractions. The Deluxe Retail version of the game will also include a collectible, exclusive Hello Kitty Figurine, only available via purchase of the game.

Game Versions Include:

Designed for ages 8+, Hello Kitty: Day at the Park promises a unique family-friendly board game experience, seamlessly blending the playful spirit of Hello Kitty with engaging and strategic gameplay that everyone can enjoy together.

Paranoia – The Uncooperative Board Game Now Available for Pre-Order

Paranoia

SECURITY CLEARANCE: INFRARED – CLEARED FOR ALL CITIZENS

Attention Citizen: Welcome to Alpha Complex, the perfect (and in no way dystopian) city run by the benevolent and infallible Computer!

Paranoia – The Uncooperative Board Game is now available for pre-order for £40 / $50 from Modiphius Entertainment. A highly replayable game of sci-fi slapstick one-upmanship for 2-6 players, Paranoia: The Uncooperative Board Game will leave players in stitches – both figuratively and literally! The game will be released in early 2025.

Paranoia – The Uncooperative Board Game tasks players (The Computer’s most elite/expendable agents) with completing missions by sneaking, snitching, and scheming to earn the highest Clearance Level. Shoot trouble in the face and/or other life-critical body parts with an array of perfectly un/stable and not prone to exploding equipment. Players must complete tasks and step over the smoking boots of traitors/loved ones on their way to the top Clearance Level – Ultraviolet!

Paranoia: The Uncooperative Board Game includes:

  • 30 Alpha Complex Modular Map Tiles
  • 195 Cards
  • 93 Tokens
  • 6 Troubleshooter Standees
  • 1 Clearance Tracker
  • 1 Rulebook

The Computer is your friend! Trust the Computer!

Paranoia was originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, first published in 1984, is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game.

STAY ALERT! TRUST NO ONE! KEEP YOUR LASER HANDY!

Steamforged Games has announced Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon Coming to Retail

Steamforged Games will release a new retail edition of the acclaimed street fighting board game, Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon, to retail in February next year.

Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon is a solo and cooperative 1-4 player board game that combines the action of retro side-scrolling beat ‘em up video games with the strategic depth of tactical, card-driven combat. Players take control of unique miniature fighters to take down villainous organisations in thrilling scenarios and lightning-fast combat in either Arcade or Story Mode. 

Priced at $49.99 / £49.99, Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon includes:

  • 4 Fighter miniatures
  • 54 Standees representing enemies, terrain, and additional fighters
  • 560 Cards
  • 405 Tokens
  • 8 Dice
  • Rulebook
  • Double-sided map tile
  • 15 Dividers

For those who already own other Street Masters games, Tide of the Dragon also works as an expansion, introducing new fighters, enemies, stages, and terrain. 

Now available to pre-order, the retail edition of Street Masters: Tide of the Dragon will release in February 2025.

Fresh Challenges Await with the Akropolis: Athena Expansion

Akropolis Athena

Jules Messaud and the Gigamic team introduce Akropolis Athena —an expansion to award-winning Akropolis.

The game integrates the core rules of the Akropolis base game with the added challenge of completing Construction cards to earn a section of the Athena statue and a single city tile. Each architect can complete each Construction card only once and must manage their resources and placements carefully to maximize their points.

The game concludes when there is only one tile left in the Construction Site and all the stacks have been used. Points are counted as usual, but players who have completed the Statue of Athena will gain extra points for their Stones, adding a layer of strategic depth to the gameplay. The ultimate goal is to have the most prestigious city by the end of the game, as determined by the accumulated points.

Am elegant addition to the beloved base game, Akropolis Athena will bring you back to the Mediterranean with a new set of goals to work towards. The expansion plays well with  gamers already in love with the original game and those new to its simple but strategic play. 

Game info:

  • 1-4 players / 25 minutes / ages 8+
  • Mechanics: Tile placement, Layering, City Building
  • MSRP: $14.99
  • Release date: February 2025
  • Studio: Gigamic
Akropolis Athena

HABA Introduces Giant Rhino Hero XXL

HABA has released an XXL version of their bestselling classic Rhino Hero 3D card stacking game. Previously, this giant edition was only for sale in Japan. Now available in the US, only 1,000 units are available in this initial print run.

Rhino Hero XXL plays exactly like the original game, only bigger! The cards measure 10 inches and the wooden Rhino Hero figure measures 3 inches. Players take turns building a card tower while balancing the brave Rhino Hero on top, aiming to create the tallest, most stable structure possible in this fast-paced stacking game. The goal of the game is to play all your cards before the tower falls! 

Giant Rhino Hero XXL is available now at habausa.com for only $69.99.

Holiday Gift Guide: Creepshow: The Suspense Building Game brings Creepshow to the tabletop

Dive into the macabre with Creepshow, a wickedly fun card game where players create twisted tales of villainous characters meeting their doom!

Combine strategy and storytelling as you build suspenseful story chains, then wager on the outcome to score big – but beware of sabotage!

Perfect for fans of horror and suspense, Creepshow delivers 45-60 minutes of thrilling, tension-filled gameplay for 2-5 players.

Get a copy this holiday for that horror/Creepshow fan that loves tabletop games in your life!

Purchase
Amazon


Skybound provided Graphic Policy/Board Game Today with a copy for promotion/review
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Ares Games and DAM Things!’s Viking Route, a game with compass, magnets, and lots of action, is now live on Kickstarter

Viking Route

Viking Route, a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players with an ingenious compass-and-magnets movement mechanic, has launched on Kickstarter, with an initial funding goal of $15,000. In Viking Route, players will brave the wind and set sail on an incredible adventure aboard a magical Drakkar. Influenced by magical Ravens, sent by Odin to steer your course, and by the winds of Fate, they will face powerful and monstrous creatures out of the Norse Mythos, fulfill challenging quests, and prepare for the final battle to avert Ragnarök. The project will run on Kickstarter until December 20th.

Designed by Martino Chiacchiera, Luca Maragno, and Guido Albini, and developed by DAM Things!, Viking Route is  produced by Ares Games. In spite of its endearing art style, the game suitable for everyone – thanks to its strong aesthetics and fantastical setting, its strategic nature and adjustable difficulty levels, it will present even experienced players with a challenging gaming experience.

Viking Route is played on a beautiful three-dimensional Viking ship and a scenario board, where the Drakkar is represented by a compass. Multiple magnets (the Ravens and Wind) are manipulated by the players to steer the course of their ship. Players must also manage the resources of the Drakkar and their hand of cards to confront opponents and achieve the goals of their quests. The game can be be played either independently or as part of a continuous campaign, ending in an epic final confrontation to prevent Ragnarök.

Viking Route

The Viking Route project on Kickstarter offers two Pledge Levels: Viking, at $55, for a copy of the retail edition of Viking Route and a selection of stretch goals, and Jarl, at $65, for a copy of the Kickstarter edition of the game, including Viking miniatures and all unlocked stretch goals. The suggested retail price of the regular edition (not including the Kickstarter contents) will be $59 USD.

The contents of the standard version include the 3D Drakkar, 2 sails, a compass, 4 miniatures with magnet, 4 heroes and 8 enemies standees, Hero and Enemy sheets, 4 game boards, 43 cards (Fate, Enemy, World, Help of the Gods), Fate and Help of the Gods boars, and over 70 counters, markers and tokens. The Kickstarter Edition will feature miniatures for the heroes and several premium components to be unlocked during the campaign, to make the game even richer and more exciting. The project will present funding goals for the most important funding milestones, and a series of daily missions related to social goals.

Viking Route is expected to ship to backers in September 2025 from Ares Games’ main warehouse in the USA and from secondary warehouses in Australia, Canada, Italy, UK and China. No customs charges will apply to backers in Australia, Canada, EU, UK, China and other Asia-Pacific countries, or the US.

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