The debut design from Iranian video game veteran Yasaman Farazan was praised by judges for its "genius" action selection system, which makes use of a physical 'astrolabe', calling it "thematic, toyetic, and an absolute joy to engage with".
Speaking to BoardGameWire in her first long-form interview since being elected GAMA president last month, Meredith Placko said putting proactive structures in place to prevent GAMA "stepping in the mud all the time" was one of her priorities.
Chad Krizan told Possess Me, Satan publisher Falling Whale Games that he couldn't "in good conscience" approve ads for its Gamefound campaign as "the thought of displaying this subject matter makes me sick to my stomach".
Spiel des Jahres Association chairman Harald Schrapers said the jury looked at a record 571 games for this year's awards, underscoring the sheer mass of games being released through retail.
Endeavor: Deep Sea co-publisher Grand Gamers Guild, Ascension publisher Stone Blade Entertainment, and Play to Z, the board game publisher created by Z-Man Games founder Zev Schlasinger, have all been selected by Asmodee to produce new Lord of the Rings titles.
Osprey said it would not commission any new board and card games, but would continue to release, sell and license upcoming titles while parent company Bloomsbury Publishing hunts for a new owner for its board games.
The Root publisher is rebuilding after a staff exodus earlier this year that included star designer Cole Wehrle and style-defining artist Kyle Ferrin, who left to form Buried Giant Studios.
Bender and Badell, who launched the business in 2011 alongside Adam Rebottaro, have reacquired the brand and the rights for the Sentinels of the Multiverse titles alongside their other original IP such as the Sentinel Comics RPG.
Fate of the Fellowship's flurry of wins and runner-up nods continues a powerful run in the Golden Geeks for games based on JRR Tolkien's seminal novels, with Bryan Bornmueller's The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game and Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala's Duel for Middle-earth both having secured wins in last year's contest.
Law wrote more than 300 pieces across those sites following his debut article in 2013, helping bring modern board gaming to a wider audience through his reviews, opinion pieces and highly regarded 'games of the year' lists.
SETI's rapid success is striking following a year which has seen many publishers pivoting to smaller box titles over more heavyweight designs, as a response to economic factors such as US tariff volatility, as well as gamers having less money to spend due to inflation and general cost of living struggles.
The acquisition comes just over a month after Asmodee agreed to pay up to €250m for French social and party game publisher ATM Gaming, the publisher of titles including Speed Bac/Quickstop, Mouton Mouton and Pili Pili.
Universal said it is waiving all registration fees to celebrate the inaugural US Universal Summit, which will continue its predecessor's slate of game demos, panels and workshops, vendor exhibit hall and networking opportunities.
UK-based Gutter Games, which was launced in 2017, is best known for dexterity challenge party game Beat That!, and has also published adult-themed party titles including Gutterhead and Trunk of Drunk.
ioGioco said the tabletop gaming sector continues to prove "particularly vibrant", with the market in Italy seeing a 27% rise in value last year compared to 2024 according to data from research company Circana.
Roxley Games' Brass: Pittsburgh has raised $9.1m in the biggest board game crowdfund of 2026 so far - and one of the top ten tabletop gaming raises of all time. Roxley CEO Gavan Brown, who co-designed the game alongside original Brass creator Martin Wallace, spoke to BoardGameWire about soaring past his expectations for the crowdfund, avoiding the 'arms race' of deluxe editions, the advantages of Gamefound over Kickstarter and overcoming the campaign's biggest mis-step.
Childres founded Cephalofair in 2014 to self-publish his first game, Forge War, and subsequently struck huge success with his fantasy co-op campaign designs Gloomhaven and Frosthaven.
CMON's board said it planned to transition its titles such as Massive Darkness and Super Fantasy Brawl Reborn into "high-quality digital assets", adding that it believed integrating its board games with digital and Web3 technologies "would enhance the long-term commercial value of the group’s portfolio".
Hasbro said it identified "unauthorized access" to the company's network on March 28, but believes that access has been "contained" - adding that Magic's shipments and release cadence had continued unaffected.
Alex Cutler and Peter C Hayward both saw two of their creations win the seal this year, including their co-design Critter Kitchen, Hayward's Things in Rings and Cutler's A Place for All My Books - which he co-created with Michael Mihealsick.
Other titles picking up nominations across multiple categories included Eternal Decks, Star Trek: Captain's Chair and Hot Streak, with four each, while Magical Athlete, Molly House, Luthier, Galactic Cruise, Corps of Discovery, The Old King's Crown, Speakeasy and The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era all picked up three nods.
