Tabletop Reviews

Tokaido Duo is a serene but surprisingly crunchy, two-player-only reimagining of the original Tokaido — offering a layered, asymmetric experience that captures the spirit of travel and reflection while introducing previously unexpected…

Middle Ages, designed by Marc André and published by Studio H, is a masterful blend of familiar mechanics and fresh presentation. Supplied to us by Hachette UK, Middle Ages is the clear spiritual successor to Majesty: For the Realm, but…

Leviathan Wilds is a game that doesn’t ask you to fight bosses. Instead, it asks you to climb, to heal and to cling on for dear life. It’s an inversion of the recently popular boss battle genre, and it’s all the more compelling for it.…

Oranges and Lemons is a game that invites players to walk through London’s past — and it’s brisk, bustling, and full of character. Designed by Richard Denning and published by Medusa Games, Oranges and Lemons is a medium-weight strategy…

Faraway's recent People from Below expansion adds a welcome layer of asymmetry and thematic depth. It introduces a new biome — the Underlands — along with a fresh set of region cards and denizens that interact with the core mechanics in…

Cyclades: Legendary Edition is more than just a reprint — it’s the near flawless remaster of an already exceptional design. Designed by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, this version consolidates the original Cyclades and the best of its…

Articulate is a classic for a reason, it very much takes the frenetic energy of parlour games and combines it with prompt cards and a ticking timer. Articulate for Kids takes on the incredibly daunting task of trying to adapt that format to…

Push your luck mechanics are some of the most pure form of gaming, and one of the few that can be distilled down to a single action: flipping a coin or rolling a dice. It's the latter in the case of 5 Up, an incredibly easy to learn game…

Defenders of the Wild, designed by Henry Audubon and T.L. Simons and published by Outlandish Games, is a cooperative, card-driven game that blends asymmetric player abilities with ecological resistance. Defenders of the Wild shows its…

Faraway, designed by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat and published by Catch Up Games, is a small-box tableau builder that punches well above its weight. Supplied to us by Hachette UK, Faraway is a small box game that offers a clever…

There and Back Again, designed by Reiner Knizia and published by Office Dog, is a charming and refreshingly straightforward roll-and-write adventure that invites players to journey through Middle-earth one quest at a time. With eight unique…

There’s a quiet confidence about Earthborne Rangers — an inherent sense that it has a lot to say, but it’s not shouting about it. Designed by Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro and both Adam and Brady Sadler, and…

The concept of Whirly Derby is pretty simple. You each have a set of marbles of a single colour, you select a number of marbles to enter into a race and put them into a provided cardboard cup, then roll them into the circular tray. The…

As much a satire about house prices, economic boom and bust and even the world's most famous capitalist board game, Magnate seeks to build up and then destroy all you know about city-building. Designed by James Naylor and published by…

Wyrmspan is the latest game in the ever expanding Wingspan flock. It challenges you to take on the role of a debuting dracologist seeking to entice dragons to take up residence in your freshly excavated cosy caves as you compete for the…

Trivia games come in all shapes and sizes these days. There's absolutely no denying that it's the easiest way to get into a living room board game collection, or under the tree at Christmas. Don't Fall For It combines trivia with a fun,…

Race to grow and harvest from your garden all while trying to outmanoeuvre other gardeners in Vicious Gardens. Vicious Gardens challenges players to quickly build sets of plants in order to fulfil orders, however the same plants that allow…

In Vantage you and your crew mates have crash landed on a strange and mysterious planet, each of you at different locations. You will need to work together, describing what you see so that others can offer expertise and advice as you…

There was a moment in Flashpoint: Legacy of Flame — I think around the third or fourth mission — when I realised that I wasn't playing a rehash of the original Flashpoint: Fire Rescue, but something more akin to the culmination of 15 years…

If you normally sit there, shouting answers at the TV during quiz shows or happen to be a master of memory, then Junior Tension, and its non-kids version Tension, is a great game for you and your younger children. Specifically aimed at 6+…