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Unearthed Artefacts

++YEAR 3148++INCOMING TRANSMISSION++ Found Sector E2: Pastime x17 – Board Game – “Junk Art” {Dimensions threcognised:3} arts value fitrue > warthengaged

Microgame of the Month

It’s Victorian London, and there’s a mystery to solve.

Have you Played?

Weight anchor and set sail in this fast-paced pirate race that puts a modern twist on classic roll-and-move board games. The sea dogs might be salty, but you won’t be!

Through the Ages

From classics like Scrabble to modern hits such as Codenames, games where players must use their words wisely have been a mainstay of the tabletop for decades

Welcome

Now Playing… Deep Blue

At a Glance

London’s unmissable gaming convention returns to Alexandra Palace next September for its third year

First Turn TRISTAN HALL

The 1066, Tears to Many Mothers designer recounts the saga of his Frst game, fantasy epic Gloom of Kilforth

Ten of the Best

The world’s biggest board game convention is back for another year with thousands of tabletop titles making their debut. Save yourself the plane ticket as we pick out the ones to play

Role Call

From the murky depths of British history to the weird chaos of the post-apocalypse, roleplaying has a little bit of something for everyone – as this month’s RPG releases prove!

All the Jahres

Replaying the winners of the Spiel des Jahres so you don’t have to

My Favourite Game

The roleplaying designer behind the dark fantasy universe of Black Void remembers how his sons’ discovery of Warhammer 40,000 helped him revisit his own childhood

The Independent Shelf

This punchy video game-inspired brawler from the minds behind Warhammer Quest lands a knockout blow

Around the World in 80 Plays

Join us again as we hop onboard the plane of investigative

Play It Smart

Board games aren’t just for fun – they can also deal with serious subjects. But tackling challenging topics around the table can prove highly controversial

Friday Knight Magic

Magic: The Gathering’s latest set has been a decade in the making, but head designer Mark Rosewater believes its world of fairytales and fantasy is worth the wait. Will Throne of Eldraine give players their happy ever after?

Remaking History

Scythe and Charterstone creator Jamey Stegmaier’s Tapestry is reinventing a tabletop epic: the civilisation game. Will the designer’s modern vision advance the classic genre into a new age?

How we made Citadels

Bruno Faidutti drew on a love of Catan, Magic and Cosmic Encounter to create this sharp game of bluing and city-building. the designer reveals how a Marxist upbringing and being ‘too lazy to write a book’ led to his biggest hit

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Hello Darkness: Horror in Dungeons & Dragons

Lead writer Chris Perkins reveals how the vampiric villains and delightful dread of Ravenloft and Curse of Strahd helped the RPG’s adventures discover a dark side

’Quick & Painful’: How Call of Cthulhu’s scary stories changed roleplaying

Call of Cthulhu helped transform H.P. Lovecraft from cult figure into pop culture icon. Lead writer Mike Mason looks back on how the underdog RPG deffined horror gaming – and how it continues to terrorise players almost 40 years later

Running from Ghosts: The Mechanics of a Haunting

Betrayal at House on the Hill creator Bruce Glassco and co-designer Rob Daviau takes us inside the terrifying treachery of the horror board game’s haunts

The Key to Happiness

Board games brought Kyle Key and his friends together in the wake of a medical emergency. Now, he’s hoping to get others around the table with his own tabletop creations

Fus Roll Dah

Hands-on with Call to Arms, the might-and-magic tabletop debut for fantasy video game epic the Elder Scrolls

Going Green

Kingdomino and 7 Wonders Duel designer Bruno Cathala is reinventing the classic game of Go in Ishtar. We join him on his quest to turn the desert into a wonder of the world

Deep Blue

20,000 leagues of its own

Aeronautia Imperialis: Wings of Vengeance

Dog fighting over the scraps of a game

Band of Blades

We are Legion

Ragusa

We built this city on rocks and, um, fish

Dune

Sand, spice and everything ni– OH GOD A WORM

Zombicide: Invader

Dead space

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit

There’s something wonderfully precise about the naming of the Essentials Kit. In one smallish box it holds everything needed to sink your teeth into the latest version of D&D and, though veterans migh

Tonari

Alex Randolph was one of the pivotal games designers of the 20th century - that ‘was’ is because he died 15 years ago. Tonari is not the result of a session with some rice wine and an Ouija board; it’

Lifeform

We can’t lie to you about your chances, but you have our sympathies

Bbosk

A game for all seasons

DEAD MAN’S CABAL

Missing this would be a grave mistake

FALLOUT: WASTELAND WARFARE RPG

Looking over the ramshackle weirdness that is Modiphius’

TUKI

It’s easy to see why stacking games are so perennially

HADARA

A very European approach to world domination

STAR TREK: CONFLICK IN THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Highly illogical

BUILDING BLOCKS OF TABLETOP GAME DESIGN

There’s an ever-increasing number of books about games

THE TOWERS OF ARKHANOS

In 1976, British band Rainbow released their classic album Rising. The fifth track, ‘Stargazer’, tells the story of a tyrannical wizard constructing a gigantic stone tower, and stands out for its Midd

PAINTING GUIDE

Cosmic nightmares become a painter’s dream as we brush up the Great Old Ones from the epic Lovecraftian board game

THE DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE TO ROLE PLAYING

Introducing a new player character into the fold of a tight-knit roleplaying group isn’t always easy, but there are simple steps that can make it work without breaking the story – or friendships

EVENT REPORT

Organiser Ross Keeping talks about how the dads of Didsbury are bringing gaming gaiety to all ages

SHOP SPOTLIGHT

If you’re in Colchester and could use a coffee and a quick game, café owner Jessica Caws has you covered

tabletop time machine

THE ROYAL GAME OF GOOSE