April 2026 Games I played for the first time this month, from worst to best, along with my ratings and comments. Barcelona – 7/10 Barcelona is the third Dani Garcia game I’ve played. My first was Arborea, which is well-loved … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/05/04/josiahs-monthly-board-game-round-up-april-2026/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Often, that meant Schmeven and I were explaining what actions were possible at each of the three locations available to Slim on that turn, which meant talking through the possible outcomes of SIX different actions.Every turn.When I do a full teach of any serious strategy game for new players—this exact scenario happened just two weeks ago, when I got to play Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders with a couple new players—I just turn my brain off completely when it comes to building my own in-g
<p>by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=19992" >Mantita Games</a></p> <div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/7442805"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/sfgo3BXIx9lE_OP1sOnzwA__small/img/R3D3u6uZQ2cUI8ehs3c-VxUzXy0=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic7442805.jpg" border=0></a></div><br/>We'd been kicking around the idea of a digital card game for a while, and when we landed on <b><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/383499/witchcraft" >Witchcraft!</a></i></b> it all clicked. It's a fantastic game, with a really powerful card mechanic, and on top of that it has the kind of complex, demanding strategy that hooks us. We love hard games — the ones that make you think — and <i>Witchcraft! </i>was a perfect fit.<br/><br/>So we got to work.<br/><br/>[heading]The challenge we thought would be the big one: the interface[/heading]<br/>The first thing that worried us was how to translate the reveal/hide card mechanic to a screen. It's the game's most distinctive feature, and on the table it's completely intuitive — the card is split in two and you can see both sides clearly. In digital… well, that was another story. How was the player going to keep track of which side they were playing? How would they choose?<br/><br/>Our first instinct was drag-and-drop. We went all in and built a system where, when you picked up a card, two distinct zones appeared and you dropped it into one or the other depending on the side you wanted to play. On paper it looked great. We tried it on mobile and it fell apart: clunky, unclear, artificial.<br/>Our second idea was to put two little buttons, one on each side of the card. Our designer really went for it here — he came up with some lovely buttons, full of personality — and with that solution we reached our first testing phase feeling pretty good.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9531720"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/ZYgqBv7ny3oI216i9E9Mkw__small/img/Sm9yKKZrYQPiyjTCiD7O6JWtxrU=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9531720.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/>And then the first two people who tried it told us the same thing, with almost the same look on their faces: <i>why can't I just tap the side of the card I want to play?</i> We looked at each other. We felt a bit silly. And right then it hit us — the solution had been right under our noses the whole time. No dragging, no buttons, no inventions. Just tap the card. Sometimes the road to the obvious is longer than it should be.<br/><br/>[heading]Meanwhile, on the visual side[/heading]<br/>While we were tangled up with the interaction question, there was another thing on our plate: how all this was going to look. And here we had a huge head start — <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameartist/34140/albert-monteys" >Albert Monteys's</a> illustrations. Honestly, just dropping them into the mobile layout already did half the work. I mean, wow. With illustrations at that level, the question wasn't whether they'd hold up — it was how we were going to make the design around them live up to them.<br/><br/>Luckily, the original game's graphic design was done by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameartist/119639/meeple-foundry" >Meeple Foundry</a>, so we weren't starting from scratch — not even close. Everything was very well prepared to edit and tweak, and there was a clear design language that helped us enormously in figuring out where to take things.<br/><br/>From there, we put together some pretty scrappy wireframes — really scrappy — and handed them to our designer, Lorenzo Berzosa, who helped us pull it all together in a consistent, coherent way. We knew what we wanted on each screen; he turned those sketches into something that actually holds up visually.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9531731"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/s6IfGwL3nb9f1xDq8hHdYQ__small/img/-ekBdBwN0_CDiqLVNZFI6Y0LXyc=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9531731.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/><center><i>Ugly wireframes</i></center><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9531732"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/Yf0Df9zBm5xhR1KjtdaTRg__small/img/Z8vrvGJ5S29U4L8rhnHqtylugE8=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9531732.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/><center><i>Actual designer work</i></center><br/>[heading]The challenge we didn't see coming: the tutorial[/heading]<br/>In our heads, teaching people to play <i>Witchcraft!</i> wasn't going to be complicated. The rulebook is short. The mechanic didn't seem convoluted to us. We had it figured out.<br/><br/><b>Our first tutorial was a disaster</b>. Most of our early testers got lost in the tutorial. Yes, lost. They understood the individual actions, but not how they connected to each other or why they mattered. That's when we remembered one of the harshest lessons in development: just because you understand something after months up to your neck in it doesn't mean it's easy to explain. If anything, it usually means the opposite.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9531740"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/79F8ZZeLcGjRLImcbMtl-A__small/img/NZL5Eu3iMjLLyHSRmO4a2PL5TtM=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9531740.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/>We went back at it. We rethought the pacing, changed the order of the concepts, cut things, swapped explanations for playable examples, cut again… and bit by bit the tutorial started to work. There was no single magic change — it was pure iteration: try it, see where people get lost, adjust, try again. Even now there's still room to grow, especially because the game has so many strategic layers and it's hard to cover all of that in five steps.<br/><br/>[heading]And then came the fun part: the campaign[/heading]<br/>I'll admit, the campaign was by far what I enjoyed programming the most. It was exciting and challenging in equal measure. On the architecture side, we were able to put together something pretty solid that let us configure each tale almost automatically, and from there it was test, test, and test.<br/><br/>I got pretty obsessed with the final tale. In fact, I started to believe it was impossible. I remember anxiously asking <b>Salt & Pepper</b>: <i>but has anyone actually beaten the game? Is it even possible?</i> Until one night, at three in the morning… I did it. The achievement system popped up right on cue telling me I'd completed the campaign, and I almost teared up. An epic moment I keep with a lot of fondness.<br/><br/>[heading]Magical challenge unlocked[/heading]<br/>It's been a long road. A lot of design revisions, a lot of hours in front of the code, and the involvement of a bunch of testers who got really invested and contributed ideas and suggestions that ended up shaping the game you can play today. This digital Witchcraft! is, in large part, theirs too.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9531734"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/f6ZZvk6T-ogQbhSy9K-diQ__small/img/YcZTpHgewRqPPOReYhPXwMsDBHI=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9531734.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>On April 15th, 2026 we went live in the <a href="https://mantita.games/witchcraft/" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">stores</a>.</b> And with the launch comes another pile of lessons learned… but that's for another day.<br/><br/>Thanks for reading.
Introduced in the Xeno Invasion expansion, the Xenos are a violent xenophobic alien race that cannot be negotiated with.Taking place after their invasion of galactic space, Xeno Counterstrike portrays the galactic empire's expansion through the frontier zone into Xeno space.Xeno Counterstrike features two play experiences: a frontier game, with powerful new worlds to explore and settle, and a bonus counterstrike game, which continues the invasion game from Xeno Invasion and takes the fight to th
<p>by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=10014" >Steph Hodge</a></p> <br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/7268927"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/vz_DTOzh6LL1InIq3653rg__small/img/Q1z8kA8BBno3u9_x-4SqtVWntKM=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic7268927.png" border=0></a></div>▪️ <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/16092/hachette-boardgames-usa" >Hachette Boardgames USA</a> has been on it with announcing new games! Today, I will highlight some of the smaller games coming out in the next several months. <br/><br/>[imageid=8969959 medium Rep]▪️ <b><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/404845/canal-houses" >Canal Houses</a></i></b> just released this April and should already be hitting the stores. From the <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/155/gigamic" >Gigamic</a> catalog, <i>Canal Houses</i> is a 20-minute game where you build up the beautiful streets of Amsterdam. The colorful houses and charming artwork are used for scoring at the end of the game. From the newsletter:<br/><br/><font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>Each round, players pick a card from their hand and build it simultaneously, then pass the remaining cards to the next player. Refresh your hand by drawing a new card type—base, floor, or roof, and keep crafting your architectural masterpiece.<br/> <br/>To complete a house, you’ll need to build from the ground up: start with a base, stack any number of floors, and top it off with a roof. Simple to learn and quick to play, <i>Canal Houses</i> is the perfect mix of strategy and charm.</i></div></div></font><br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9341318"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/0eV7TJ4KaCaKyIidKk9c4w__small/img/nWr-NiOmpYV1zzI24YuIQWH13aE=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9341318.jpg" border=0></a></div>▪️ Another new release from Gigamic is <i><b> <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/428776/pirate-king" >Pirate King!</a></b></i> this June! Pirate King is a push-your-luck card game for 2-5 players and will play in about 15 minutes. Pick your captain and build your deck, but don't be too greedy, or you just might bust out. <br/><br/><font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>Every round, players will reveal cards simultaneously, one by one, from their own deck. Revealed swords lets players gain creatures with special powers. Revealing gold allows players to draft treasures into their decks. Be careful though, reveal 3 skulls and you bust!<br/> <br/>With its wacky effects, unpredictable treasures, and monsters to battle, Pirate King offers a dynamic experience blending tactics, luck, and dirty tricks. Ideal for groups looking for a fast-paced, fun, and slightly chaotic game.</i></div></div></font><br/><br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9519854"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/utXqwT6Wkn-WM64X2ZOM1g__small/img/6d25t6KAPXQXh2LfSuRs4F8q9ME=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9519854.png" border=0></a></div>▪️ <b><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/468567/leaf-it" >Leaf It!</a></i></b> is a new dexterity game from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/33419/edition-spielwiese" >Edition Spielwiese</a> releasing this June. Leaf It plays 2-4 players and takes about 10-20 minutes. There is a mix of memory and dexterity as you have to assemble the canopy and then dismantle it, collecting the most valuable animals as you do. <br/><br/>From the newsletter:<br/><font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>Leaf It! requires a mix of steady hands, a good memory, and a little bit of luck. When it's your turn, you must place a card onto the growing canopy, making sure it doesn't collapse.<br/><br/>The Rule: You must always cover the animal on the previous card.<br/>The Strategy: Try to remember exactly where you (and your opponents) placed the cards with the most valuable animals!<br/> <br/>After all cards have been placed it's time to Dismantle the Tree!<br/> <br/>Players take turns carefully drawing cards back out of the treetop.<br/>Grab the cards you remember having the most points.<br/>Be careful: the canopy is highly unstable. If you cause it to collapse, you will be penalized!</i></div></div></font><br/><br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9553171"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/kC-dwLVBUN_bIUKNT9tojQ__small/img/DWx0S52MTxudEMGfXb3GFALN5mY=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9553171.png" border=0></a></div></center><br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/3646116"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/qhHd-RmJrun9TqHtqmQIlw__small/img/-p7ZBSugKK3afa7APXXHdky92Rk=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic3646116.jpg" border=0></a></div>▪️ <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/3490/huch" >HUCH!</a> is a new partner with Hachette, and they just announced 3 mini games releasing this May! All of the games support 2-5 players and can be played in about 15 minutes. <br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8644688"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/SYq7spKLxPWeN9_M5ljcXA__small/img/5VRDmklJzl40juDFvMAvDilT1os=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8644688.jpg" border=0></a></div> <font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>In <b><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/419328/blue-penguin" >Blue Penguin</a></i></b>, each player tries to attract the cutest penguins—the smaller they are, the cuter they are! The problem is that penguins always follow the bigger ones.<br/><br/>On their turn, each player places a “penguin” card and draws a new one. <br/>The player who plays the card with the highest number collects all the cards played that round and becomes the first player for the next turn. <br/><br/>The game ends once all cards have been played, and scores are calculated based on colors, not numbers.</i></div></div></font><br/><br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8644667"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/b2nauuu9tlGXXJAg205zfA__small/img/bR-0esf6LZuFmm6VRXjuxH14p2A=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8644667.jpg" border=0></a></div> <font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>In <i><b><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/419327/meteo" >Meteo</a></b></i>, players try to pick the best weather conditions for a last-minute vacation. At the start of the game, six visible “weather” cards are randomly paired with hidden “sky” cards of different colors, and each player gets to secretly look at one.<br/> <br/>The “sky” cards are revealed one by one. At any moment, a player can interrupt the process by saying “I’m going!” to stop the reveals and claim the cards they think will earn them the most points.</i></div></div></font><br/><br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8723428"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/bdjHt6J_VgtR-Ma9C15BXA__small/img/OlCyK58Fti45EBq-Czj4tkAfxlg=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8723428.jpg" border=0></a></div> <font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>In <i><b><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/437130/wool-street" >Wool Street,</a></b></i> players buy and sell cards representing woolen garments in six different types, hoping to collect those that score points while selling off those that bring penalties.<br/> <br/>On their turn, players draw a card and must place it on a pile of the same garment type (e.g., sweaters with sweaters). Then, they can choose to sell a garment card by placing it in the center of the table or buy one from the center. The first pile to reach 7 cards scores 2 points per card of that type for players who bought them; the second pile scores 1 point, but the fourth and fifth piles result in point losses!</i></div></div></font><br/><br/>If you are on the go or are looking for some quicker games for the collection, these seem like they would fit the bill. <br/><br/>
    DC Breakout Arkham Asylum Designers: Brian, Sydney and Geoff Engelstein Publisher: Wizkids Players: 2-6 Age: 8+ Time: 30-45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Make a mad dash out of Arkham Asylum – … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/29/dale-yu-review-of-dc-breakout-arkham-asylum/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
The issue was that every extra rule took energy away from the real experience: reading the table, making alliances, lying convincingly, spotting opportunities, and reacting quickly.That became my filter for every design decision: does this rule improve the social engine of the game, or does it merely make the system denser?If it only made the system denser, it had to go.Scaling to Ten PlayersFrom the beginning, I wanted a game that could work in big groups. Part of that came from watching large
  Gretchen’s Garden Designer: Jay Bendixen, Ryan Boucher Publisher: Lookout Games Players: 2-4 Age: 10+ Time: 45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher In Gretchen’s Garden, players compete in selecting the most precious succulents … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/28/dale-yu-review-of-gretchens-garden/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
In 20 Strong Tanglewoods, one takes on the role of their favorite fairytale protagonist in this solo dice-rolling game of adventure. Gamers looking for a card-based, solo, lightweight dungeon crawling experience should check it out. 20 Strong is a series … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/27/matt-carlson-review-of-20-strong-tanglewoods/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
These days, half the games I review have a dedicated solo mode that simulates a two-player game, or—in what is becoming my growing preference—automas, geared by difficulty level, that can be added to multiplayer games to simulate a higher player count.And many of the board games I want to play have a dedicated app or an implementation on Board Game Arena or Yucata, so if I really want to play, say, Race for the Galaxy by myself, I don’t have to two-hand it…I can just pull out my iPad and play ag
  Carcassone Big Box Designer: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede Publisher: Hans im Glueck, Z-Man Players: 2-6 Age: 10+ Time: 35 min + Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/41u2FXV Played with review copy provided by publisher THE ULTIMATE CARCASSONNE EXPERIENCE: The Carcassonne Big Box … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/27/dale-yu-review-of-carcassone-big-box-aka-carcassone-big-box-7-on-bgg/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
<p>by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=18982" >Jasper Beatrix</a></p> <div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8897534"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/lQKpaeFl3jgiFV3T-XEsiA__small/img/Jhffax6yS2-T9vy3US6J9Nb22wA=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8897534.png" border=0></a></div><br/>Game design is a journey, and one without a clear path, nor a clear end. Everything you imagine at the beginning is full of passion and hope, but so much in flux. What you will make is an unknown distance in time and space from where you are now: in theme, in mechanics, in style. We sometimes feel that we have changed as much as the game.<br/><br/><i><b><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/442307/inkwell" >Inkwell</a></b></i>, for example, goes back to a long car ride during the muted holiday season of 2020. <i>Who were you back then? Who were we? And what was this game?</i><br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516201"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/HlznjBxGKMRgz3uMjtZJ6w__small/img/qonk_3hPphXuN0l0mkHCiMmCIbo=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516201.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2020</b><br/><br/>Julia & I, having previously worked together on <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296892/sacred-rites" >Sacred Rites</a></i>, had a chat during my long ride up from NYC to Syracuse, New York, primarily because I am terrible at long solo drives. The topic was, primarily, a game that was about turning pages.<br/><br/>The brainstorm phase is like fishing about for infinite fish. Would it be a game with actual books? Folded boards? Large cards that flip off a deck? We discussed word puzzles, roll-and-writes, worker placement, <b>token placement</b>, dice management, hand management. But there was this focus on the verb of play that helped guide us: <b>Turning the page</b>. But that brought so many questions of its own. <b>Does the page turn permanently?</b> Can it turn back? Does a player know what is coming? Can they travel a book as they would a player board? Or is it a one-way trip? <b>Do they choose future pages?</b> Or choose to stick with what they have?<br/><br/>But in the end we called our shots; after three hours I had reached my destination, and in the end, the game was not built from a hundred ideas. It was built from a few, whichever ones we felt like pursuing, even if it led to disaster. It isn’t the right phase to be right; it was the opportunity to be wrong. We were stumbling in the dark, and as usual, enjoying it.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516208"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/gUn50mMiuTmEb83uE_Pm0A__small/img/3nG24dmWlxnPGC5vot7ouduyRWY=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516208.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2021</b><br/><br/>After the holidays I looked back at our notes and prepared a first shot at what we called ‘CODICES’, which was about old books and rolling dice, and we liked the clever feeling of sneaking the word ‘dice’ into the title.<br/><br/>The idea was straightforward, at least at the time: Two sets of dice would be rolled, with one representing the ink color, and the other a numerical value. Each player would be limited to playing their numerical value on a space of the chosen color or <b>filling pre-designated color spaces.</b> There were other mechanics around pleasing patrons with bonus scoring for certain numbers and <b>collecting gold leaf</b> to decorate the pages. And, at each player’s leisure, they could turn pages back and forth to score in different parts of their book.<br/><br/>This left us in that most cursed of playtesting situations, once we got others to play: The game was <i>interesting</i> but not <i>fun</i>. This is a drag, to acknowledge that it felt fresh, and unfortunately, not special. We had a string of such designs around this time, grasping at creativity in the wake of so much going on in the world around us.<br/><br/>We tried to iterate in large amounts in different directions. This meant trying a version where the board was only a grid and was filled in to build patterns from pattern cards, <b>as if to form illustrations</b>. We tried word puzzles and drawing games. We tried returning to numbers again and moving from collective dice use to dice gathering <b>done privately by turn</b>, with each player gathering dice and exchanging them <b>as if to gather their supplies</b>. We also messed with applying force on the players, either through the action of another player, or through <b>some sort of counter that players could affect</b>, like a <b>flexible game timer</b>.<br/><br/>What was disheartening about this, as it often is, is that each attempt felt, somehow, worse. The passion was replaced by a grind of ideas and attempts. Band-aids on band-aids. Its journey almost ended.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516249"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/W7sSdvxIhFMNfYnGZxkKQw__small/img/UMlFW-08_TCx4k3ZNekPXPQ2YIo=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516249.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2022</b><br/><br/>The game languished here, and that is important to acknowledge. We felt like we were done making games, and there was this process of ‘putting it all away’ that was quite sad. Turning the page, as it were. We recycled a lot of boxes, papers, bits. More than we probably should have. Of this project, all that was left, perhaps accidentally, was the bag of ink dice, and a single printed page. Fossilized, like many projects end up.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516242"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/XUFUFV7YpMAXYHS7TCP0SA__small/img/sgVFJJM_a2C4uS7w6FcjcQ_RSbI=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516242.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2023</b><br/><br/>The spark that helped us form DVC is for another time, but in that came two lovely things: Restrictions, and passion. We wanted to get back to making things. New designs abounded, but two old cartons of prototypes were dug up and rehomed. In all that was that little fossil, the dice and the page, and it was like a bolt of lightning. <i>Who was that? The person that made this?</i> And there was a surprise: Likely falling from another prototype, we also found a single <b>real metal cube</b>, a gold one, in the box with what was left of the game. <i>Huh.</i> It got repackaged and placed on a shelf.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516254"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/vnxdJHR2mo9gjwAi5P0WbA__small/img/km7C6jV5R6nB44WC1zNkiM-i5KQ=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516254.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2024</b><br/><br/>With a baby on the way, there was a sense of urgency for our little crew of friends and family. A whirlwind of work. Old designs found in that same process, repackaged the year before, were all the rage. <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/428284/here-lies" >Here Lies</a>. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/432520/karnak" >Karnak</a>. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/286770/rosetta-the-lost-language" >Rosetta</a>.</i> And a mess of others that have not surfaced quite yet. I began to make myself a little package of projects to work on later, as a promise. I dug up old files and put them in the cloud.<br/><br/>It was about this time we also got a chance to play a prototype by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/167724/lewis-graye" >Lewis Graye</a>, who has used <b>paint cubes</b> to represent the gathering and mixing of colors. There was even a touch of the colors 'matching’ the paintings they were paid for, and <b>the cubes were taken from available inkwells</b> to use.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516256"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/rl77w4dubWlz3Pi3erVNRA__small/img/MKRUfytYnjtIJydCkiglIoXMDro=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516256.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><b>2025</b><br/><br/>About two weeks after our little one was born, I was up all night keeping an eye on him and digging through those old files I had set aside, squinting at my phone. I hadn’t really designed anything in months, I was so nervous about being a parent. Game design felt so small, so <i>unimportant</i>.<br/><br/>But, in that chair, something clicked. Or really, everything clicked.<br/><br/><i>Lewis was onto something.</i><br/><br/><i>Inkwell</i> ultimately became a drafting game, but designing it was also a drafting game, as the process of making something is often a game itself.<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516259"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/pneQGBJtO41kdjh26jI__w__small/img/b0D41jZUzV449hNAXPEtyNUMhRk=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516259.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><br/>I got together with Lewis, as well as long-time collaborator <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/167723/joey-palluconi" >Joey Palluconi,</a> who had some thoughts about <b>asymmetrical inkwells</b> after discussing the old design. We began writing on cards, and quickly had arrays of cube spaces opposite <b>pages of abilities</b>. Then a central mat of abilities and cubes mixed together. Then a reset timer controlled by player choices. There was a debate of the abilities themselves, and the desire to let them <b>combine and build engines</b> pleased players more than punished. Joey, Lewis, and many of us had recently liked cozy games, ones that let us converse while we ‘did the fun thing’. That, maybe, was the drive in the end. Meditation, reward, beauty, straightforwardness. Younger me would have scoffed. But now, all of us in our struggles, me as a new parent? Inkwell playtests became a safe space of quiet, even as a designer. The three of us held clandestine little meetings at larger game nights, sheltering in the project as the world swirled around us.<br/><br/>You see, I am used to some common questions about game design. <i>Where do ideas come from? How long does it take? How do you know what works?</i><br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9516264"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/lS9ob94EP2pXeeMmUToy6g__small/img/nDeG7xVLSJBLvcL5z9_596sAMWc=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9516264.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/><br/><i>Inkwell</i> was built on work by quite a few people, but more specifically, it drafted many of its ideas from itself over the course of years. The segments of this diary in <b>bold</b> show where parts of the final design first surfaced, even if ignored. It took time to realize which fit where, what matched, what did well. Each iteration was like a turn of the page, where we would get a score and try again.<br/><br/>This game, as a design, was a comfort to us after a long journey. We hope you can make some tea, play some lo-fi music, place cubes, and hopefully breathe with us and think of how incredible it is for anything to get to its destination: here and now.<br/><br/>With love,<br/><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/120100/jono-naito" >Jono Naito-Tetro</a><br/>DVC co-founder
If I could make a trivia party game that BOTH of us loved, I knew it could be a hit.Hold Your HorsesMy first prototype was horse-racing themed and featured top 10 lists, such as:• Countries with the largest populations• Movies with the highest ratings on IMDb• The most popular sports in the worldThe game provided three of the ten answers in random order and asked each player to come up with an answer and write it on a mini-whiteboard. Then players could place horse-racing style bets for which of
  Well, in recent years, the genre of the Tableau Builder has been one of more popular ones. Two big hits of the past few years Faraway (2023) and Castle Combo (2024) have each recently had an expansion. Each … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/24/dale-yu-review-of-expansions-faraway-under-starry-skies-and-castle-combo-out-of-the-oubliette/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
So, each year (well, nearly each year) since 2000, I have been able to attend the Gathering of Friends – an invitational event which is unlike any other that I go to. The Friends all meet at a hotel, and … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/23/gathering-of-friends-2026-report-what-i-played/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
This sequel builds on that foundation with: ▪️ a deeper ideology system, with opposing principles that constantly pull the kingdom in different directions ▪️ memorable council members with their own backgrounds, public alignments, and secret agendas that shape debates and long-term goals ▪️ an expanded economy and territory management system, where regions can rise in influence or fall into unrest, directly impacting negotiations and map development ▪️ a refined Dilemma Card System that unlocks
The tapestry cards and commission cards themselves haven't changed since the first prototype. Tapestry and commission cards, in prototype and final form.Shops and DestinationsThe ordering of the shops (destinations for workers) shifted several times during development.In earlier versions, the Bargain Box appeared before the Thread Shop. The logic was transparent: everything left in the thread shop at the end of a round would be added to the cube tower, so players knew exactly what they'd be comp
  Flip 7 with a Vengeance Designers: Eric Olsen and Alyssa Swatek Publisher: The Op Players: 3+ Age: 8+ Time: 20 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4vaZLFd Played with review copy provided by publisher Flip 7 is back – With … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/21/dale-yu-review-of-flip-7-with-a-vengeance/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
  Cucumber Catastrophe Designer: Michael Feldkoetter Publisher: dv Games Players: 3-6 Age: 8+ Time: 20 mins Played with review copy provided by publisher Players compete over four hands of ten rounds each. A round is a trick where all … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/04/20/dale-yu-review-of-cucumber-catastrophe/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
He was interested for two main reasons: first, he wanted to play the base game with the Carnival of Chaos expansion, because he loves the arena-style nature of that expansion map.The second reason is why he really wanted to play: my boy was hoping to have another chance to beat down his dad.In our first play of Carnival of Chaos, he acquired a “Super-Weapon” called Li’l Sammy, then used said Super-Weapon to shoot down my chopper—normally, choppers are invulnerable—on his way to a dominant victor