Welcome

DAVID THOMPSON

The Undaunted co-designer on his post-apocalyptic 2016 debut, Armageddon

10 OF THE BEST DECKBUILDING GAMES

We’ve drawn a great hand of games that ask you to create your deck at the table (no pre-construction here) to give you that satisfying power curve in your games evening

Role Call

It’s a month of expansions here at ROLE CALL, as we take in some of the brightest releases hitting shelves over the next couple of months Words by Richard Jansen-Parkes

HELLAPAGOS

Keep an eye on your friends as you attempt to make it off a desert island alive, maybe even together

RESEARCHING A VALIANT DEFENCE

We explore the world of solo gaming one move at a time This month: the research and design process for solitaire wargames

MARTIN TAKAICHI

The designer of Crusader Kings and Tales From the Loop: The Board Game talks us through his travels to discover Triplanetary

AVE CTHULHU

Chris Birch and Doug Seacat unveil the hidden mysteries of Cohorts of Cthulhu

QATAR

Just under a day’s drive south-east of Jordan

BATTER UP!

We talk to Wayfinder Games about their adaptation of the curious online meta-sports game, Blaseball

SAFETY IN NUMBERS

Does every game need to work for every player count? Not always, argues Chris Marling

SHIVER ME TIMBERS

Nothing stays tidy out on the high seas, and this adventure could be as endless as the waves themselves

THEATRE OF WAR

We talk about making it real with our guide to battle maps, ruined towers and unlikely cover for roleplaying and wargames

LISTEN UP!

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

GOING WITH THE GRAIN

Gigamic’s wooden abstract games are now widely available in the UK, so we ask, are any of them any good? Words by Christopher John Eggett

2005

The hits just keep on coming as tabletop gaming revels in dark fantasy and chilly history

WELCOME TO THE CITY

We explore a new world in Magic: The Gathering with the crime-ridden, mob-controlled Streets of New Capenna – and cleaning them up doesn’t seem to be an option

AT A GLANCE

Tabletop Gaming Live 2022 is less than 150 days away

GLOW

Iadmit to being more excited about game components

NEMESIS: LOCKDOWN

Any ‘serious’ board-gamer will assert (correctly) that the

THE MILLION DOLLAR DOODLE

Ahastily scribbled idea could be worth millions or

FUNGI

Fungi is like the essence of an autumn

CAVERNA: CAVE VS CAVE THE BIG BOX

With a growing team of trusty dwarves, scavenge

STAR REALMS BOX SET

Sometimes a fancier version of a beloved game

TABANNUSI: BUILDERS OF UR

Becoming an architect is a long and arduous

LOCO MOMO

Loco Momo proceeds from the – obvious if

DÉCORUM

We’ve all been there. You’ve moved in with

KINOKO

Mushrooms love company, as the saying goes, and

SOBEK: 2 PLAYERS

Sobek: 2 Players is the slightly clunkily named

CRYPTID: URBAN LEGENDS

Idon’t know if this game is smarter than

RULEBENDERS

Theme or mechanism? It’s the classic board-gaming dichotomy.

DEATH IN SPACE

Watch the Death In Space Trailer With its

Turf and surf war

Everyone loves the land. It’s where pizza was

TINY TURBO CARS

Acting as the interface for all of this

CAESAR!

All roads lead to Rome, which could well

ORIGINS: FIRST BUILDERS

Do you want to know who built the

BAD COMPANY

Designers Kristian Ostby and Eilif Svensson have been

TRANSFORMERS DECK-BUILDING GAME

Following on from their recent G.I. JOE and

VIVID MEMORIES

Vivid Memories combines abstract, pattern-making Azul-like gameplay with

FIRST EMPIRES

First Empires imagines an alternate history where five

MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS

Tunnelling is a mucky job, but someone has

LAST ONE ALIVE

Last One Alive is a quick and light

BITOKU

Y’know that part in Indiana Jones when they

CANOPY

Sometimes the theme in board games are just

DINOSAUR ISLAND: RAWR ‘N WRITE

Running a dinosaur theme park can be thrilling,

BLACK ROSE WARS: INFERNO

We get fired up with a painting guide for this expansion to the wizard fight that is Black Rose Wars

FEASTS

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

SAY ‘NO’ TO ‘NEVER SAY NO’

We explore when no really should mean no Words by Richard Jansen-Parkes Art from Death in Space

DICE AND A SLICE

We caught up with Mac and Carole about their Devon-based board game cafe

BCE MAHEN

ABOVE: Modern version, publisher unspecified. FAR LEFT: Painting