Welcome

NOW PLAYING

AT A GLANCE

FIND NEW FAVOURITES AND INDIE GEMS AT TABLETOP

HOW THEY REMEMBERED THEIR FIRST TIMES

Dan Jolin looks back on five years of interviewing designers about their debuts, and finds a lesson in there for anyone keen to create their own game one day

10 OF THE BEST WOODEN GAMES

Our hobby is dominated by cardboard, with a heavy sprinkling of plastic. Yet, for many of us, some of the games that introduced us to gaming also utilised beautiful wooden components; games like Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne stood apart with the organic joy of their pieces. This month, we thought we would celebrate the games out there that exclusively use wood in their composition.

Role Call

Summer is here, and so are the big dogs of nerd-dom. Expect everything from Middle-earth to Kronos (that’s where the Klingons live) in this month’s ROLL CALL

SCOTLAND YARD

Get your ‘looking at the board’ caps on (yes, literally) for this game of cat and mouse across old London town

SMALL BOXES ON THE CARDS

We explore the world of solo gaming one move at a time This month: small box games that pack a big punch

JUSTIN KEMPPAINEN

The designer of Wrath of the Lich King tells us about getting over Pandemic, and then falling in love again

THE WAR GOES ON

Ten years on from the second edition being released, we return to the Lord of the Rings game that sparked a love of Tolkien on the tabletop

ENCAPSULATE: LORD OF THE RINGS

To celebrate the anniversary of the films, we

ONE TO RULE THEM ALL

Tristan Hall tells us why this card game is the Tolkien masterpiece on our tabletops

THE MANY FACES OF MIDDLE EARTH

We take a trip around the Middle-earth games that you can make your own

FORMING A FELLOWSHIP

Join us for a look at a direct retelling of the original story of Lord of the Rings, which became what is often called one of the first ‘modern’ co-operative board-games.

REGICIDE

It’s (standard deck of) cards on the table time with this brutal boss battler

HAITI

This month, Tabletop Gaming heads to the Caribbean

WHAT’S IN A GAME?

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO SPEAK?

BAKER BUTCHERS ENLIGHTENED EVENINGS

Each month our in-house agony aunt, Ben Maddox, answers your ludological lamentations

WRITE FOR THE GALAXY

Can we fit the fight for the galaxy on a piece of paper? We’re about to find out

LAND OF THE RISING FUN

The Japanese hobby scene is starkly different to the English-speaking world’s, so we thought we’d pop in to the biggest event in the Japanese calendar Tokyo Game Market. Here’s our report

STORM WEAVERS

It blows

DICE THEME PARK

Another day in paradice?

GET ON BOARD: NEW YORK & LONDON

Megabus

ETERNAL PALACE

One thick coat

ROLLING REALMS REVIEW

Your aim is to earn the most stars

TACOPOCALYPSE

I imagine it can be difficult applying a

LUCIDITY: SIX- SIDED NIGHTMARES

A nightmare... no, not like that!

FIRST RAT

A rat race you won’t want to escape

MARVEL CHAMPIONS: THE CARD GAME – SINISTER MOTIVES

A web slinging showdown

KARDASHEV SCALE

A familiar feel with a sci-fi coating

PATHFINDER GOBLIN FIREWORK FIGHT

We be goblins, you be advised to stand well back

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

Looting and a-losing

THE KRAKEN EXPANSION

Release The Kraken! As if there aren’t already

BERRIED TREASURE

This is the fourth version of a game

NOW OR NEVER

An ultimatum worth considering

WONDERLAND’S WAR

We all go a little mad sometimes

CREATURE COMFORTS

Relax in the socks of a well-stocked fox

COSMIC ENCOUNTER DUEL

This galaxy ain’t big enough for the both of us

ROOM 25 ULTIMATE

Gaming for your life

HERO: TALES OF THE TOMES

Fantasy melee feels like tome to me

PARIS

Spend a pleasant couple of hours in Paris with all the sophistication and savoir faire

STARDEW VALLEY: THE BOARD GAME

Grafting for grandpa

SNIPER ELITE: THE BOARD GAME

Elite tier hide and seek

PHANTOM INK

You’re only a word awa

THE CUBE: AREA 51 REVIEW

Huey Lewis and the News might change their tune after playing The Cube

BARDSUNG

A little out of tune

FALLOUT: WASTELAND WARFARE

We splash a (little bit) of colour on to the wasteland with this Railroad Core Box set

THE SHIRE

We bring you a smorgasbord of roleplaying tools and ephemera, this month: the shire

DUNGEONS & DELEGATION

Dishing out the jobs can make dungeons less of a drag

BLACK DRAGON MINIATURES

We caught up with David from Black Dragon Miniatures in Leicester, about the store and its miniatures focus

tabletop time machine

CIRCA 950 LUDUS REGULARIS The least you can