Playing Card Information
Designer Diary: Children of the Colossi
I wanted to take that idea and blow it up into something much bigger, something absolutely central to the game, so I built a system in which you have only one type of unit, but you use them for both taking actions and fighting on the map.The game has two worlds:• The Wasteland board, which represents the map where players fight for newborns and resources.• The Colossi city boards, where players take actions.Your units are the key resource for both. You constantly have to juggle: how many do you
Solo Gaming: My Personal Journey of the Past Six Years
In junior high & high school (1977-1982), I played a lot of wargames. At different points, I had a subscription to both The General (Avalon Hill’s magazine) and Strategy & Tactics (SPI’s magazine that included a wargame in each issue)…. and, for a … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/10/solo-gaming-my-personal-journey-of-the-past-six-years/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Prepare for Conflict in Brawlhalla, Fallout, and The Malice of Light
Here's an overview of the game:The Malice of Light Adventures is a co-operative roguelike boss-battler for 1-4 players that combines modular gameplay, quick character progression, and elegant combat in a fast-paced, replayable format inspired by the Sadlers' previous titles like Heroes of Terrinoth and Street Masters.Players will battle dangerous foes in iconic locations from the books while contending with escalating villain schemes across multiple acts, culminating in a dramatic boss encounter
Solo Gaming 2025: The End of the Year Edition
In the last year, I’ve played seventy-one (71!) different games solo… and this annual post is my attempt to share my impressions of those games and make some recommendations to my fellow solo gamers. I’ve been writing these solo gaming … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/09/solo-gaming-2025-the-end-of-the-year-edition/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Designer Diary: Bayou Boss, or Getting Swamped with Ideas
The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest trump, or if no trumps were played, the player who played the highest card in the suit led.When I was a kid, my family played one trick-taking game avidly, and that was Solo Whist, or "Solo" as we called it. In this four-player game, you evaluated your cards, then there was a single round of bidding during which you said how many tricks you thought you could win. The player who bid highest would win the bid, and all other players would
Collect Your Crew and Grab Your Gang for New Adventures in 2026
The only way to find out is by playing.Lava fits in there somewhere as well.The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth, which retails for US$15, will contain 25 stages in the player journey, and Thames & Kosmos estimates that the game will ship to buyers in mid-August 2026.▪️ The other Gen Con 2026 debut is related to a Q2 2026 release, with that being The Gang: More Players, which German publisher KOSMOS had already revealed in November 2025.This expansion to John Cooper and Kory Heath's co-ope
Dale Yu: Review of Epona
Epona Designer: Vladimir Suchy Publisher: Delicious Games Players: 1-6 Age: 10+ Time: 40-70 minutes Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Welcome to Epona, an immersive, tableau-building card game for 1-6 players in which you step into … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/08/dale-yu-review-of-epona/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Toss Clowns, Snag Cat Toys, Make Colorful Teddy Bears, and Forgo Thoughts and Prayers
Each goal can be used only once and "may have rules that change how the player must play that hand".▪️ Swiss publisher Helvetiq has a new trick-taking game of its own for February 2026: Cat Trick, a 3-5 player game from designer Nagian.Players represent kittens who are grabbing at toys through their card play. You can play any card to a trick, then whoever has played the highest trump card (or the highest card if no trumps are present) wins the trick. Five colors of cards can be collected, but i
Best New (to me!) Games of 2025
Look, I play a lot of games. In 2025, that included around 95 new games… well, new to me games. That’s lower than usual – it was approximately 160 in 2024, 145 in 2023, and 150 in 2022. I’m privileged … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/07/best-new-to-me-games-of-2025/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Fight Monsters in a Wild World, and Use Goldfish in a Quest for the Kraken
Each pirate has a unique ability that influences their playstyle and strategy, and the first player to fulfill their secret objective or to capture the legendary Kraken wins.The game features action cards, attribute cards, sabotage cards, and fish cards divided into different environments: lake, sea, river. Managing sabotage and maximizing bonus effects are key to success. Multiple tactics are viable: boosting your gear, slowing down your rivals, or outright stealing their resources.Monnier plan
Josiah’s Monthly Board Game Round-Up – December 2025
December 2025 Games I played for the first time this month, from worst to best, along with my ratings and comments. Ruins – 6/10 Ruins is a climbing and shedding game where the gimmick is that the cards will … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/06/josiahs-monthly-board-game-round-up-december-2025/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Designer Diary: Assyria: Second Edition, or Modernizing the Ancient
by Emanuele Ornella A Second BeginningAssyria's second edition began for me on October 18, 2023, with a simple Geekmail from Shem Phillips asking about my old game Assyria and mentioning that Garphill Games might be interested in bringing it back.Assyria first appeared in 2009 with Ystari Games, a French publisher then known for complex titles like Caylus, as well as their playful "ys/sy" naming pattern, which is how my original prototype, "Ziggurat", became Assyria — a change that ultimately fi
First Game of 2026
The Opinionated Gamers rang in the new year with — you guessed it — board games! The beginning of a new year is a great time to gather with friends and family to play new games. Today we’re here to … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/05/first-game-of-2026/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2026 (Part 1)
New-to-me games played recently include … 15 JOURS EN FRANCE (2025): Rank 21212, Rating 6.0 Your aim is to buy cards that give you the icons to satisfy objective cards (this many icons, most of this icon, 1 pt … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/05/alison-brennan-game-snapshots-2026-part-1/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Game Market 2025 Autumn: Report from Table Games in the World
I conduct a survey on this blog about newly released games after each Game Market, and I will announce the results in a later article to see which game received the highest ratings.Climbing/SheddingBest Family Forever from Today (from Mysboard Games) is a shedding game withoutnumbers. When three colors are played, the phase changes and the number of cards you need to play increases. Despite its appearance, it is quite a competitive game.13月32日 / The 32nd Day of the 13th Month (from 6jizoGames) i
Designer Diary: Xenology
I realized that I could combine the two, with each Elder becoming a specialist in a knowledge type, and with their bonuses moving on spaces along the corresponding track.Final Elder council chambersThe Mothership and the Core LoopThe heart of Xenology is a simple loop:propose research → travel to the planet → complete research → upload data → repeatAt first, it may seem that you can just follow this pattern and everything will run smoothly. However, you quickly realize that your alien meeples ar
67-year-old TN man playing cards jumps into canal to evade cops, drowns
CUDDALORE: Fire and rescue services personnel on Thursday recovered the body of an elderly man who jumped into a canal while ...
'We're all family down here': Old friends keep the decadeslong tradition of playing cards
Caniglia, at 94 years young, and Monastero, along with Pat Venditte, Steve Woodrich and Tony Distefano, keep the Italian ...
Dale Yu: Review of Up or Down? (2025)
Up or Down? Designer: Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling Publisher: Capstone Games Players: 2-6 Age: 8+ Time: 30 mins Played with review copy provided by publisher In Up or Down?, you build ascending and descending rows of cards, trying to … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2026/01/03/dale-yu-review-of-up-or-down-2025/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Command Railways in Bengal, Paddle to a Campsite, and Send Dwarfs Against a Dragon
Eric Martin ▪️ In March 2025, UK illustrator and author Owen Davey crowdfunded Fame & Fable, with copies currently anticipated to reach backers in Q2 2026 and presumably available elsewhere after that.The publisher's game overview is minimal:Fame & Fable is a fantasy-themed competitive board game for 1-4 players. Use your actions to buy ally and item cards from the market, and play these to defeat monsters, complete contracts, or disrupt other players. Gain fame through your exploits to move you