WELCOME

So, we’re here: the 11th year of UK Games Expo, which

LOOKING RAD

While video games arriving on the tabletop is about

CHAOS IN KENT

One of the UK’s biggest and best online games retailers

CUT THE AIR WITH A SCYTHE

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that Scythe

SEEING RED

Cold War paranoia has never looked as geek chic as

FOURTY THOUSAND (AND THIRTY)

If you’re of a certain age – particularly an age where

SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM CATCHES MERRY MEN

Sheriff of Nottingham is a brilliant play on the legend

BRAIN GAMES

It’s a well-known side effect of games that, as well

THIS PARTY IS UNDEAD

Dead of Winter is returning with a brand new expansion

FIGHTING BACK

Seminal choose-your-own-adventure book series Fighting

PAPERBACK GOES HARDBACK

We love, love, love Tim Fowers’ deckbuilding take on

CRACKING NEWS, GROMIT

There are few British on-screen creations as widely

FIRST TURN PHILIPPE KEYAERTS

The Belgian empire-builder (and destroyer) on his debut title Vinci: the game that would later evolve into the planet-conquering Small World

MY FAVOURITE GAME GRANT RODIEK

The Hyperbole Games founder and designer of Cry Havoc, Hocus and Farmageddon reveals why buccaneering title Libertalia is the pi-right pick for him

KICKSTARTING FROM SCRATCH

Holly Gramazio begins our new column following Art Deck from concept to Kickstarter – and beyond – by introducing her team’s unique drawing game

BUDGET GAMES

Tabletop gaming can be an expensive hobby, there’s

1 RED7

Taking the changing rules concept of something like

2 STAR REALMS

Proof that cheap doesn’t mean shallow, Star Realms

3 A GAME OF THRONES: HAND OF THE KING

A well-known licence can push up the price of otherwise

4 RHINO HERO

There’s little more satisfying than building a towering

5 HANABI

A Tabletop Gaming team favourite, this Spiel des Jahres

6 DOBBLE

The perfect title to play with kids (who will probably

7 TICHU

A more traditional alternative, Tichu is essentially

8 NO THANKS

Another winning combo of bright colours, numbers and

9 3 WISHES

The most wallet- and purse-friendly game on this list

10 LOVE LETTER

A common sight in our ‘10 of the Best’ lists, Love

ROLE CALL

As summer arrives, we look ahead to some of the roleplaying releases on their way – as well as recent crowd funding success stories

JAMES WALLIS REPLAYS THE WINNERS OF THE SPIEL DES JAHRES IN ORDER

JAMES WALLIS REPLAYS THE WINNERS OF THE SPIEL DES JAHRES

PARTY ANIMALS

Two years after Exploding Kittens blew up Kickstarter, designer Elan Lee and artist Matthew Inman are back with Bears vs Babies. We caught up with Lee to see how their small game of comedy cats turned into all out teddy-tot war

HITTING THE SPOT

Cinematic effects studio Weta has been responsible for the visual punch of blockbusters from Lord of the Rings to Avatar and Mad Max. Now, it’s bringing its design expertise to the tabletop realm with GKR: Heavy Hitters. Senior concept designer Paul Tobin unleashes the Giant Killer Robots

PATHFINDER

Created as an offshoot of Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder has since grown into its own roleplaying giant. As the RPG’s sci-fi sequel Starfinder prepares to blast off this summer, we discover why it’s still worth visiting the fantasy world of Golarion

X-WING

Five years on, the Star Wars dogfighting hit continues to be one of – if not the – most popular games to emerge from the galaxy far, far away. Producer Steven Kimball looks back on the birth of a modern miniatures classic

“EVERYBODY STARTS OUT FRIENDS, EVERYBODY’S FINE. ABOUT MID-WAY THROUGH, THAT ALL GOES TO HELL.”

Pop culture art studio Mondo has put the tabletop in its sights with the first official board game based on John Carpenter’s legendary horror flick The Thing. We tie brand director Jay Shaw to a sofa and ask him about teaming up with publisher Project Raygun on Infection at Outpost 31

ON TABLE TOP OF THE WORLD

We speak with international champions in everything

SPREADING HIS WINGS

Barely more than a year after he first encountered the game, Nand Torfs was crowned X-Wing world champion. The Belgian pro looks back on his journey and explains why he wants money and competitive gaming to stay separate

KING OF THE WORD

Scrabble number one Brett Smitheram explains how parasitic wasps and cannibals led him to glory

SETTLE FOR MORE

William Cavaretta went from unwrapping Catan for Christmas to being crowned world champion. The master Settler considers how victory can land on the lucky roll of a die

MASTER OF ALL

With over 80 Mind Sports Olympiad medals to his name, Studiogiochi founder Dario de Toffoli is one of the world’s best multi-game competitors. He reveals his secret to excelling across the entire tabletop

THE ART OF WAR

Chris Brand, holder of the North American and world champion titles for strategy epic Diplomacy, talks about mastering the discussion-driven game

THE MAGIC TOUCH

After leading the Greek side to victory at 2016’s Magic: The Gathering world cup, captain and national champion Bill Chronopoulos recounts the team’s rise to the top

PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD

Jennifer Howlett is combining the culinary with the fantasy in a new RPG where you cook in real life to complete quests. We asked the author why she decided to swap dice for dicing

FROM A CURSED ISLAND TO THE RED PLANET

Robinson Crusoe designer Ignacy Trzewiczek is taking his beloved tale of exploration and endurance out of this world and onto a new one with First Martians. He explains why the game’s companion app is crucial to its experience and considers why Mars is all the rage

THROWN FOR A LOOP

Tales from the Loop mixes nostalgia for ‘80s adventure films with sci-fi mysteries to create a truly unique RPG setting. Project manager Tomas Härenstam discusses how players can combine heroism with homework

NOT JUST A GAME

Impact Unified is harnessing the tabletop’s power to bring people together and raise awareness of the real-life struggles of migrants. Neil Bell takes us on The Journey

CRAFTING A TABLETOP PARADISE

What would be the top table for tabletop gamers, we

THE BEZ OF TIMES

Behrooz ‘Bez’ Shahriari is responsible for some of the most unique and out-and-out entertaining party games you’ve probably never heard of – but that you definitely shouldn’t miss. The Glaswegian designer tells us about In a Bind, Wibbell and Blether

THAT’S THE SPIRIT: THE OCCULT ON THE TABLETOP

Romanticised as a way of speaking with the dead or predicting the future, Ouija boards and tarot cards share many of the traits of their gaming counterparts, offering the chance to explore unknown worlds and construct a story from little more than wood and cardboard

RETURN TO ATLANTIS

35 years after its creation, designer Julian-Courtland Smith looks back on the phenomenal Survive: Escape from Atlantis!

GAMING ENIGMAS

In may ways, every great board game is a puzzle waiting

GLOOMHAVEN

Prepare for this fantasy epic to take your hours and your heart

MASTER OF GLOOM

Isaac Childres’ Gloomhaven is one of the most striking board games to hit the tabletop in years, offering a sprawling adventure with highly ambitious legacy elements. More astonishingly, it’s only the designer’s second title. We take a tour around the fantasy world with the fast-rising star

DARK SOULS: THE BOARD GAME

Prepare to dice with death in this gruelling adaptation of the video game

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL

We set out on the dusty trail with this cow-herding masterpiece

HIT THE TRAIL

Alexander Pfister is no stranger to success, having won the Kennerspiel des Jahres consecutively in 2015 and 2016. His latest game, Great Western Trail, looks certain to continue the desi gner’s critical acclaim. He reflects on an extraordinary couple of years

RUNEWARS MINIATURES GAME

Can this fantasy wargaming newcomer take over the Warhammer crown?

WAR AND PIECES

Fantasy Flight is breaking into the world of miniature wargaming with Runewars. Alex Watkins, organised play manager for Europe at Asmodee, weighs in on the game’s X-Wing heritage, need for paints and glue, and future on the world stage

WATSON & HOLMES

It’s a race of reasoning in this elementary spin on Consulting Detective

YAMATAI

Let this mesmerising Euro set in ancient Japan work its magic on you

‘I’M CREATING GAMES FOR MYSELF. THEN I CONVINCE PEOPLE TO FOLLOW MY TASTES’

7 Wonders Duel, Five Tribes and Yamatai creator Bruno Cathala looks back over nearly 15 years of game design and reveals why he wants to be a trendsetter

UNLOCK!

We trap ourselves in for an hour (or three) with this app-powered take on the escape-the-room genre

EXIT: THE GAME

Is this trilogy worth getting stuck with or will you be climbing the walls?

SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE: JACK THE RIPPER & WEST END ADVENTURES

Deerstalkers and pipes at the ready as we prepare to once again lock wits with the world’s most famous sleuth

TAK: A BEAUTIFUL GAME

This fictional creation-turned-reality is an abstract title for the ages

CHANGING YOUR TAK

Cheapass Games owner and Tak codesigner James Ernest reflects on collaborating with fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss, the relationship between books and board games, and why Quidditch earns his ire

CAPITAL

This rewarding historical tile-layer is a hidden gem worth uncovering

MAGIC MAZE

This chaotic real-time dash is bursting with clever ideas

PLAGUE INC: THE BOARD GAME

Wiping out humanity has rarely been so much fun

SICK IDEAS

Before he decided to bring his viral video game to the tabletop, Plague Inc creator James Vaughan had let the modern board game renaissance pass him by. He reveals what he discovered as he designed his debut and the differences between building with cardboard and code

DIPLOMACY (2017 EDITION)

We see if the notoriously ruthless game of alliance and betrayal holds up nearly 60 years on

SHAHRAZAD

Osprey | £12.99 | Tile laying | 1-2 players 10-20 minutes

ANOMIA

Coiledspring | £12.49 | Party | 3-6 players 30 minutes

MANGAKA

Japanime | £39.99 | Drawing | 1-8 players | 30-60 minutes

ONE DECK DUNGEON

Asmadi | £23.99 | Dice-rolling | 1-2 players | 30 minutes

METAL CALL OF CTHULHU DICE SET

Themed dice are one of the smaller but effective ways

DIMENSION WEST SCENERY AND TERRAIN

Red Beam Designs | £75 (main set), £15 (storage box)

PAINTING GUIDE: RUNEWARS MINIATURES GAME

Make your mark on the tabletop by learning how to decorate the Daqan Lords and Waiqar the Undying armies, including grunts, heroes and giant monsters, found in the wargame’s core box

BUILDING AN RPG CAMPAIGN (PART THREE)

Our ongoing column focuses specifically on providing tips, guidance and advice to dungeon masters as they create their own worlds to run campaigns in. Some of the advice will be specific to the latest fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but the majority of the concepts are app licable to any setting, game or ruleset that you prefer. This is the third entry in the series and focuses on how to expand upon a world you’ve just started building using smart storytelling

REDDITCH WARGAMING SOCIETY

Matt Purdie discusses the Worcestershire club’s expansion outside of miniatures, the ongoing popularity of sci-fi and the universal love of Dropfleet Commander

BOARD IN THE CITY

Co-founder and director Hayley Binstead looks back on the Southampton café’s first year and discusses how gaming can do good in the local community

FIGHTER COMMAND GAME (1976)

Phil Robinson is a game historian and the founder of