Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island – Mystery Tales

Welcome

In the middle of the current golden age on the tabletop

At a Glance

Earn a place in the European Championship Finals by competing at London convention this September

First Turn

The science-game specialist behind Cytosis and Periodic: A Game of the Elements looks back on Linkage: A DNA Card Game

Ten of the Best... Solo Games

Who needs friends when you’ve got amazing games? Treat yourself to these experiences that are just as good when you’re the only player at the table

Role Call

Some of the RPG world’s biggest titans return to action this month, as the legendary Shadowrun and Pathfinder break out their latest incarnations

All the Jahres

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

My Favourite Game

The RPG writer and designer taps into the power of sharing an unforgettable roleplaying experience with strangers

Have you played?

Why the end of Isaac Vega’s card-and-dice battler shouldn’t mean saying farewell forever to a tabletop gem

The independent shelf

Take control of a starship and its crew in this experience that’s half-RPG, half-board game – and totally original

Through the ages

Over three decades, the prolific designer has produced masterpieces from Tigris & Euphrates to Modern Art – and his one-of-a-kind inventiveness continues to astound

Microgame of the month

A FREE GAME FOR YOU TO PLAY INSIDE EVERY ISSUE OF TABLETOP GAMING!

Around the world in 80 plays

Our epic journey across the vast world of tabletop

Unearthed artefacts

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Play it smart

Making a game feel realistic can often rely more on simulating the right elements, rather than every detail

Tabletop time machine

You’d think the idea of a two-player board game where

Going Underground

Dune changed gaming forever – and then it vanished. Its creators tell us the 40-year story of the rise, fall and miraculous return of the tabletop’s ultimate holy grail

In the Zone

Three brothers and their dad turned their Dungeons & Dragons campaign into a hilarious, heartfelt sensation. With a hit podcast and bestselling graphic novel under their belt, the McElroys and artist Carey Pietsch take us deeper into The Adventure Zone

How we made

The historical aerial combat game has flown to new heights since its release 15 years ago, earning a passionate following of players eager to hop in the cockpit of a WWI dogfighter. Co-creator Andrea Angiolino reveals how a wargaming success got off the ground

Making Waves

The sequel to Tokaido takes Antoine Bauza’s serene journey across Japan to the seas. We join the designer on his latest tranquil trip

Top of its game

As the dust settles on War of the Spark’s game-changing finale, Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater looks back on the biggest year yet for the CCG – and tells us what’s next

A league of their own

League of Infamy is turning the dungeoncrawler on its head with a nefarious free-for-all among scoundrels. Sophie Williams and James M. Hewitt warmly invite us in, before nicking our stuff and leaving us for dead

Death before Dishonour

Test of Honour’s lead writer strikes out on the path of the lone wanderer for the samurai game’s cinematic second edition

Smack Bang

A hangover gave Mikkel Bertelsen the idea of a lifetime. Five years on, the Danish inventor’s Klask has become a magnetic sensation with an irresistible pull

Star Wars: Outer Rim

A hive of fun and villainy

Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings

Marching onto new lands with only a few missteps

Pandemic: Rapid Response

Moscow needs water and power. 5,000 miles away, Tokyo

Godsforge

It turns out the gods do play dice after all

Sushi Roll

Dice? Rice? Nice!

High Risk

Designer: Trevor Benjamin, Brett J. Gilbert | Artist:

Filler

Filler is one of those joke-title games, like Deck

Noctiluca

Shem Phillips goes from raiding the North Sea to nicking little glowy things from jungle pools

Imperial Settlers: Roll & Write

A roll-and-write spin-off worth settling for?

KeyForge: Age of Ascension

When KeyForge, the new game from Magic: The Gathering

Miskatonic University: The Restricted Collection

Designer: Reiner Knizia | Artist: Francois Launet,

City of Mist

Legends and lies in the big City

High Treason!: The Trial of Louis Riel, July 1885

Anyone for a game of Hangman?

Silk

Like the slightly terrifying magnified insects on its

Sonic the Hedgehog: Crash Course

In Sonic the Hedgehog: Crash Course, the video game

Gladiatores: Blood for Roses

Are you not entertained? Well, you will be

Deep Space D-6

Solo gaming has been on the rise lately, with many

Ticket to Ride: London

Designer: Alan R. Moon | Artist: Cyrille Daujean, Julien

Air, Land & Sea

Despite being designed by Jon Perry, half of the design

Memoir ’44: New Flight Plan

‘Mechanized doom’ is how Ernest Hemingway described

Zweihänder: Revised Core Rulebook

Designer: Daniel D. Fox | Artist: Dejan Mandic, Jussi

Final Fantasy XIV: Gold Saucer Cactpot Party

Brace yourself for a deep dive because Gold Saucer

Embark

Designer: Philip duBarry | Artist: Robert Gonzales

Painting Guide

We give the comic-book hero, his B.P.R.D. companions and their frog monster foes one hell of a makeover

Dungeon Master’s Guide to Roleplaying

An effective recurring villain can turn your RPG campaign into something especially memorable. But writing a good ba ddie isn’t as easy as it sounds…

Event Report

We have a ‘diplomatic’ chat with Steve Jones about bringing the tabletop to the University of Leicester

Shop Spotlight

We sip trendy lattes, munch a pastry and roll dice with Ringo Stalin at this cool gaming café in London