Sunday Board Game Briefing – 7 June 2026
A decent weekend for news, mostly because we’re in that sweet spot between UK Games Expo wrapping up last week and Origins kicking off on the 17th. Yesterday was International Tabletop Day, which is always a nice excuse to get people to the table even if they don’t need one.
The big story still reverberating is UK Games Expo smashing past 51,000 attendees last weekend, more than doubling its pre-pandemic numbers. BoardGameWire reported the figures and OnTableTop put out a solid recap video with exhibitor and attendee reactions. The Broken Meeple podcast made a fair point that maybe it’s time to consolidate rather than keep growing — there’s a ceiling where “biggest ever” stops being a good thing and starts being an overcrowded hall. Games that got a lot of buzz on the floor included Symbiosis, a Plants vs Zombies prototype with a legacy element, and Gaudi with its rondel mechanic. Worth keeping an eye on what filters through to retail from the show.
BGG dropped their June Hotness video on Thursday (watch it here), and Corey Konieczka’s Cozy Stickerville is sitting at #10 — not bad for a game that’s also nominated for the Spiel des Jahres. Speaking of which, the SdJ nominees are still generating plenty of chat. The Kennerspiel lineup is genuinely interesting this year: Moon Colony Bloodbath from Donald X. Vaccarino (yes, the Dominion guy) is a shared deck-builder about a moon colony that’s doomed from the start, and the jury statement praised its social criticism. Rebirth from Knizia and Mighty Boards is the other one to watch. Winners announced in July. Full nominee list via ICv2.
On the crowdfunding front, Concordia Special Edition from Awaken Realms is live on Gamefound and getting plenty of attention, as you’d expect for one of the best Eurogames ever made getting the deluxe treatment. You may remember the drama a few months back when early images showed AI-generated art and BGG users went after it hard — Awaken Realms pledged no AI art in the final product. Also still live: Earthborne Trailblazer, a cooperative open-world adventure in the Earthborne Rangers universe, and Kemet: The Gates of Thonis from Kolossal Games adding six-player support and god miniatures. Big Boss Battle has a good roundup of what’s live this month.
Over at Shut Up & Sit Down, the current front-page review is Regicide Legacy, and they’re calling it “absolutely delicious.” If you liked the original Regicide — and loads of people did — this campaign version apparently delivers. Multiple reviewers have flagged it as a contender for game of the year. Read/watch it at SU&SD.
Things worth watching: Origins Game Fair runs June 17–21 in Columbus and should bring a wave of previews and announcements. Asmodee’s Zombicide: Dead Men Tales Gamefound campaign closed at over 2,000% funding ($4.1 million) — their first crowdfunding under the Asmodee banner after acquiring the IP from CMON. That’s a significant signal about where big publishers see crowdfunding going.
Ireland corner. The next big date on the Irish calendar is Q-Con Belfast on June 20–21 — it’s volunteer-run, based at Queen’s University, and covers board games, RPGs, card games, cosplay, the lot. Tickets are available now at q-con.org.uk. Later in the month there’s also the Irish Competition Galecon in Limerick on June 27–28, which is a miniatures wargaming event (Mortem et Gloriam). For Dublin folks, Board Games Ireland continues their Monday night meetups at Ryan’s Bar — free to attend, just buy a drink. And Gaelcon 38 in Dublin is confirmed for October 23–26 with Rob Brennan and Denis O’Connell directing. Beyond that, DagdaCon and Darecon (Naas Board Game Club) both have 2026 dates TBC. I didn’t find any new shop openings or major local news this week — if you know of anything, drop it in the Knavecon group.
For the Knavecon community: Q-Con is only two weeks away and it’s a handy trip from Limerick. If you’ve never been, it’s a good time and Belfast is always worth the visit. Worth organising a crew.
One for the socials: “Moon Colony Bloodbath is nominated for the Kennerspiel des Jahres. A game where your moon colony is guaranteed to be destroyed and you’re just trying to squeeze out some points before the end. The jury praised its ‘surprising social criticism.’ Vaccarino is having a moment.”
Victor Gannon Games 
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