Whether you’re walking the halls of the NEC or following along from your couch, the best part of UKGE is the stories these games tell once they hit your table. Tabletop gaming is at its best when it surprises you, so while you're hunting down the big names, keep an eye out for the small boxes and indie developers. They’re often where the real magic is hiding. Here’s the list of the games I’ve been playing and the ones I’m hunting for 🌲 Aspens If you’re a fan of Photosynthesi

When I first saw this, I read Road to Edinburgh. I was so excited. All I could think about was Makars, but nope. I read that wrong. The game art is super cute, and if you want to play something like Irish Gauge or Ticket to Ride without the time commitment, this is it! I’m a sucker for a game that distills a massive genre into a sleek experience, and this one manages to do it in about 30 minutes! Plus, my wife didn’t hate it, so I can play train games again 🚊 Mini Rails Road

We’ve all been there. You’re squinting at a gorgeous box cover or a high BGG rating, wondering if a game actually earns its spot on your shelf. At home, we are trying to abide by our budget but also be more strict on not collecting games that won’t play the table. Every new addition has to prove its worth. That is where Board Game Arena (BGA) has become my secret weapon for intentional curation 🌐 What is Board Game Arena? BGA as a virtual wonderland for board games. It is a

I have a type. While some people collect massive campaign games, I gravitate toward roll-and-writes. There is something about the tactile click of dice and the efficiency of a dry-erase marker that just speaks to my soul (and when they are not dry-erase ready, I laminate the games 😎). In my collection, I like a balance. Sometimes, I want a real brain-burner. The kind of cutthroat tension you find in the Clever series (looking at you, Ganz Schön Clever--someone please teach m

You know that feeling when looking at an old photo, and you don't recognize what's staring back at you? That's how I feel looking at our first shelfie. When my wife and I first moved in together, we put together a board game shelf that was less of a curated collection and more of a messy archaeological dig. It was packed with the classics that survived childhood moves. Games like Rummikub, Taboo, and Cranium. Out of all of them, Rummikub is the only one that has survived. It’

Besides your bank balance, what really influences your purchase decisions? Is it shelf space? Theme? FOMO? All of the above? For me, the itch starts right about now. Convention season is upon us. I am not a fan of massive crowds. The odds of seeing me physically wandering a convention hall are slim to none. But I follow the releases like a hawk. It all starts with UKGE buzz. There is something about that first wave of games hitting the wild like the UKGE Preview that gets

👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Roberta Taylor | 🎨 Artist: Shawna J.C. Tenney | 📦 Publisher: KTBG ⚙️ Worker Placement. Dice Placement. Resource Management ♟️ 1-5 players | ⏳ ~45-60 minutes The second I saw the cover art, I was sold. This was my first-ever Kickstarter pledge. I waited over a year to finally dive into Maple Valley and start prepping my burrow for winter. The game’s art looks like a warm hug. It is nice that it also has a clever puzzle of planning and probability hiding und

👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Mark Gerrits | 🎨 Artist: Nick Liefhebber | 📦 Publisher: CMYK ⚙️ Abstract strategy. Spatial reasoning. Quiet chaos ♟️ 2 players | ⏳ ~10-15 minutes My local store rotates their displayed games, and the second I saw the cloth mat and the colorful flower-like components, I was sold. I had no idea what this game was, but I just wanted it. Plus, it comes in a cylindrical box. Does the box feel bigger than it should be? YES, but it fits in a backpack, so why n

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game is a 1 to four player game that takes about 10 to 20 minutes per round. It is published by Office Dog and designed by Bryan Bornmueller. The beautiful art was made by Elaine Ryan and Samuel Shimota and if you told me that I’d be writing about a Lord of the Rings game, I would have laughed. I used to be the person who said "eh, hard no" to anything LotR. But after falling for Duel for Middle-earth (read that

I love board gaming. For me, it’s the ultimate way to disconnect from the world and plug into a great experience with friends. But let’s be real: nothing ruins that vibe faster than someone who treats the table like a waiting room. After thinking about what drives me bananas during game night , I wanted to put together a no-nonsense guide to being a respectful player. If you want to keep getting invited back, here’s the deal: 1. No Phubbing - if you're here, BE HERE! If your

Yesterday we tried something new. Two very different indie games. One table. Maximum chaos. I honestly thought it was going to flop; it did not 🥳 🎯 The Main Event: Space Gits What It Is Space Gits is a wild, almost RPG style war game where each player controls three minis. It feels part skirmish, part party game, part what just happened. It is miniature agnostic, so you bring your own everything. Minis. Dice. Tokens. Creativity. Vibes. It is also a beautiful book. The kind

I stopped counting after I killed my seventh succulent. My thumb isn't just "not green" it’s a danger to plant life. Then, I rediscovered LEGO. I’ve really been enjoying building these as an adult; it’s like 3D puzzling that results in a permanent piece of decor. I’m bringing those desert vibes to my desk with 482 pieces of pure serotonin. Best part? No watering required and the cactus will always bloom The Basics Set: 11509 LEGO Botanical Collection Name: Flowering Cactus Re

Introduction There hasn't been a game by Phil Walker-Harding I haven't liked (yet). I learned his name when we purchased Silver & Gold . The game is great and the markers are everything. When we learned that there was a sequel even though a standalone, we had to get it. Silver & Gold: Pyramids . It takes the core flip-and-write mechanics we loved from the original and moves the action from tropical islands to ancient tombs. It remains fast-paced and language-independent, but

I believe board games do not have to be new to be legendary. I feel sort of hypocritical saying this because I don’t thrift anything else in my life but when it comes to tabletop gaming? Buying second-hand is a definitive YES for me It’s no secret that Millennium Games is my favorite local spot. In fact, it’s rare that a week goes by where I’m not wandering the aisles. I love the new releases section in the middle of the store as much as the next gamer, but my absolute favori

From Carcassonne to Paris Three years ago, we were gifted two meeples that had finally had enough of the tabletop. Coincidentally, one was yellow and the other purple. They were leftovers from an incomplete Carcassonne game that was headed for the bin. We decided to give them a better ending, a reincarnation of sorts 🥰 Yellow is my go-to color in board gaming, and purple is my wife’s favorite. A match made in heaven. Since we take board games wherever we go anyway, we figure

When we think back on board games, people usually jump to the big names: Monopoly, Checkers, Chess. The classics with boxes and boards and pieces you can lose under the couch I’d beg to differ. I think the first board game most of us ever played didn’t even have a board. It was tic tac toe! It's a weird one. It’s considered a board game, but also not. It doesn’t have a board. Sometimes it’s a napkin. Sometimes it’s a chalkboard. Sometimes it’s lines scratched into sand or sno

If you’ve spent any time with The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine ( read my review ), you already know the magic of "silent" trick-taking. It’s that unique brand of cooperative tension where a single card played can feel like a triumph or a total catastrophe. It’s the same player cooperative experience (play it at 3+), but it swaps the vacuum of space for the crushing depths of the ocean. More importantly, it swaps a rigid mission structure for something much more clever The

🚀 The Crew: the Quest for Planet Nine 👩🏻‍🎨 Designer: Thomas Sing | 📦 Publisher: Kosmos ♟️ 3-5 players (the box says 2 players, but I’d skip it at that count) ⏳ ~15 minutes per round (with the tendency to hook you for hours) ⚙️ Cooperative trick taking. Zero table talk. Maximum feelings Another Game that Changed My Mind For the longest time, if you said, “trick taking”, I suddenly remembered I had somewhere else to be. I did not grow up on Spades, and the competitive, ma

Jump Drive is one of my favorite games. I play it as often as I can, I teach it to anyone that shows remote interest to board games beyond five-minute palette cleansers, and I gift it regularly. The rulebook is great if you're familiar with the hobby or Race for the Galaxy universe. For those that aren't, this is how I introduce this gem to my friends What is Jump Drive? 15 minute game that plays simultaneously. It takes about 7 turns, and it is a race to build the most power

I’m not really a space fan. I’ve enjoyed space themed games, but it’s never what I gravitate toward. Maybe it’s because I struggled learning the planets growing up. I gave Race for the Galaxy a shot but never really clicked with it. Then I tried Jump Drive, and everything changed. I AM HOOKED! It’s fast, fun, and surprisingly addictive. My wife was hesitant at first, but now she’s just as into it. It’s become our “We have 15 minutes, quick!” go-to game In fact, I could use so