AT A GLANCE

TABLETOP GAMING AWARDS 2022 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 

NO MORE COMPONENTS PLEASE!

Ben Maddox tells us why we should give up on the plastic and embrace the humble cube

10 OF THE BEST BIG GAMES IN SMALL BOXES

It’s great to pop a few games in your bag for a trip away, and even better if they have some meat on the bones. Here’s ten of our favourite small box games that require some genuine brain power.

RoleCall

We’ve got a lot of adventuring to do in this month’s ROLE CALL, with trips to the far future, a draconic island, and... the slightly less far future

BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL

We take a look at the endlessly replayable Betrayal at House on the Hill – and discover our inner traitors

THE VALLEY STANDARD

We explore the world of solo gaming one move at a time. This month: a system for journaling

TOM BREWSTER

Shut Up & Sit Down’s Tom Brewster tells us why Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile is the storytelling game for him

FIGHTING FANTASY AT 40

Forty years on we look at a series that brought so many gamers, and designers, into the hobby

SPELLJAMMER RETURNS

Time to brush up on your fantasy astrophysics as we hop into a space galleon to discover what’s out there amongst the spheres

VENGEANCE: ROLL & FIGHT

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but the real-time action dice rolling Vengeance: Roll & Fight might heat things up a bit

UNDER SIEGE

The next step for the Undaunted series is a big one – a huge part of World War II and a frankly huge box. Welcome to Stalingrad

ESTONIA

On the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea lies

HAVE YOU GOT AN ALIBI?

We all know games are good for us, but in what way? Each month Tim Clare untangles the science and philosophy behind what makes games good

ACCIDENTALLY SOLO AGAIN

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

ENCAPSULATE 2008

Sci-Fi and Silliness abound as massively influential games come into orbit!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Our live show is finally back – and here’s a peek at what you might be able to get your hands on in Manchester.

AIR, LAND & SEA: SPIES, LIES & SUPPLIES

PLAYED Hold it or fold it is the

SOUNDS FISHY

When you bring a Big Potato game to

LEGENDS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

PLAYED Lin a large box. Dauntingly large, some

THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI

WHAT’S IN THE BOX? ◗Historical supplement & designer

HONK!

PLAYED Ilike to think of myself as a

FULL THROTTLE

Full Throttle is a betting and drafting race

MERCHANTS OF THE DARK ROAD

Set in a frozen fantasy world, Brian “Winterborne”

AZUL: QUEEN’S GARDEN

PLAYED The fourth Azul instalment, Queen’s Garden is

TURING

How do you distinguish humanity, from artificial intelligence?

IMMUNOWARS

Not so long ago, we all suffered through

FOUNDERS OF TEOTIHUACAN

PLAYED It’s Mesoamerica and there’s a city of

FREE RIDE

In Free Ride, you build lines and run

TOKYO SIDEKICK

PLAYED The superheroes are coming to Tokyo, and

VILLAGE RAILS

The English countryside needs a few train lines

METAZOO: CRYPTID NATION (SECOND EDITION)

PLAYED New trading card games come and go.

ROAR AND WRITE!

The boom of roll-and-writes has begun an interesting

PAUPER’S LADDER: THE MOON TOWERS

Pauper’s Ladder is a charming indie adventure game

TOPOUM

PLAYED Topoum offers a somewhat bizarre thematic meld,

PAX: EMANCIPATION

Fans of Phil Eklund know that he’s not

KARAK

PLAYED In school I wasn’t particularly fond of

THE DWARVES BIG BOX

The Dwarves (from the novels of Markus Heitz),

DISTANT SUNS

PLAYED The (sort of) roll and write Distant

SO, YOU’VE BEEN EATEN

So, You’ve Been Eaten is a colourful, two

AEON’S END: LEGACY OF GRAVEHOLD

PLAYED As the sun slowly dips below the

DISNEY SORCERER’S ARENA: EPIC ALLIANCES CORE SET

WHAT’S IN THE BOX? ◗Game board ◗8 Acrylic

INTO THE ODD

PLAYED When it was first released in 2014,

WORLD-Z LEAGUE

It’s been some time since the zombie apocalypse,

HAND-TO-HAND WOMBAT

Three towers, many hands, some of which are

TERMITE TOWERS

PLAYED In Termite Towers, players control rival termite

BATMAN: EVERYBODY LIES

Crime is rife in Gotham city, a new

ZAPOTEC

PLAYED Among the ever-growing series of other Mesoamerican

SQUARING CIRCLEVILLE

Nostalgia can be debilitating. A fetishization of the

BLOOD LEGACY VAMPIRES

FROSTGRAVE

FESTIVALS

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

GOOD ARTISTS STEAL

What’s a little pickpocketing between friends?

GAMES HUB

This month, we caught up with Julian from GamesHub, in the riverside market town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire. Opening just six months ago with a Warhammer 40,000 battle between two Mayors, we caught up with Julian about how it’s going, and what you might find there.

1860 THE CHECKERED GAME OF LIFE

The modern board games industry was built on