Quiet couple of days in board game news, which is typical for mid-August when everyone is still digesting the Gen Con haul and waiting for Essen announcements to start rolling in. A few things worth knowing about though.

The big release this week is Duel of Meloch hitting local retail shelves. Stonemaier shipped direct orders back in July, and it was available at Gen Con, but this is when your FLGS should start getting copies. It’s a standalone 2-player game that pits Scythe mechanics against Expeditions mechanics on a tight 10-location map. Forty-five minutes, no prior knowledge of either game required. If you own Scythe and/or Expeditions you can mix and match factions across all three boxes, which is a clever bit of cross-compatibility. It’s sitting at 7.6 on BGG with early ratings. Worth trying before buying — it’s a very specific itch being scratched here. Stonemaier’s product page has all the details.

Over on the BGG Hotness and the “Best of BGG August 2026” video, Drillers from CGE continues to get a lot of love. It’s a deck-builder where you’re piloting mechs through an abandoned mine, and it’s got a clever card-stand system so you always see what’s coming next. Wargamer gave it a 9/10 back in July, calling it their board game of the year so far, though they flagged some component quality issues. An 8.0 on BGG right now with 175 ratings. CGE rarely misses, and this feels like it could be a sleeper hit for the mid-weight crowd. Wargamer review here.

Greylune from William Attia (yes, the Caylus designer) is also climbing the BGG charts. It’s a worker placement game published by Sorry We Are French that reimplements Spyrium with a two-phase timing system. Early BGG buzz is very positive — 7.9 rating, though from a small sample of 43 ratings. Attia doesn’t put games out often, so when he does it’s worth paying attention. BGG page here.

Stonemaier’s Jamey Stegmaier posted a blog piece yesterday recapping some older Kickstarter lessons, and his recent post about the “proof-of-play” publishing model is still generating discussion. The idea is small print runs to generate real-world feedback before scaling up. Scott Brady from A Game Studio is pioneering it. Interesting concept for small publishers who can’t afford to bet big on untested designs.

On the crowdfunding side, the Gamefound Summer Feast wrapped up recently but several campaigns from it are still live, including Slay the Spire: The Board Game – Downfall and The Witcher: Legacy from Go On Board. Both are funded and ticking along. Food Chain Magnate Special Edition Redux is also on Gamefound if you missed it the first time around. Gamefound’s front page has the full rundown.

Worth watching: Entropy, Altera, and Harmonies: Pulse are all trending on Meeple Mountain’s tracker. Night at the Zoo from Albi and The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit from Restoration Games both featured in BGG’s August best-of video. King’s Gambit isn’t due until 2027 but it’s already generating serious hype — Restoration rebuilding the Star Wars: Queen’s Gambit formula in a Lord of the Rings setting. That could be very special if they land it.

Ireland corner. The Irish Card Market Summer 2026 is this Saturday, August 15, at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire — mostly TCG focused but worth knowing about if that’s your thing. Eventbrite listing here. Board Games Ireland continues their free weekly Sunday meetups at the Black Sheep on Capel Street in Dublin, run by Gavin Byrne and crew. Meetup page here. The next big tabletop convention on the island is Gaelcon 38, October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport. Details at iga.ie/gaelcon. Nothing new popping up in Munster or the west right now — if anyone’s running game nights in Limerick, Cork, or Galway, let us know in the Knavecon Facebook group and we’ll signal boost it.

For the Knavecon community: Duel of Meloch hitting retail this week is relevant if any of you are Scythe or Expeditions players. It’s a compact two-player box that could work well for game nights between cons. If someone picks up a copy, bring it to the next meetup and let us know if it’s worth the €49.

One for the socials: “William Attia designed Caylus in 2005 and has basically released three games in twenty-one years. Greylune is his latest and it’s already at 7.9 on BGG. Some designers flood the market. Others just show up every seven years with something worth playing.”

Big week. Gen Con just wrapped up last weekend in Indianapolis and the dust is still settling — the recaps, the hype, the “this is the next Arnak” chatter are all rolling in. Meanwhile Shut Up & Sit Down ran their Board Games Direct event showcasing over 50 new and upcoming games across themed days, and the BGG Hotness is buzzing with fresh Gen Con releases. There’s a lot to dig through, so here’s what actually matters.

Drillers is the Gen Con darling. Czech Games Edition’s new deck-builder about sending mechs into an abandoned mine sold out before Saturday at Gen Con, and the early buzz is enormous. Wargamer’s review already called it their board game of the year so far. It’s getting constant comparisons to Lost Ruins of Arnak — same publisher, similar weight — but with a push-your-luck depth mechanic where going deeper means risking not having the fuel to get back up. BoardGameQuest flagged it as one of their most anticipated titles going in, and the Gen Con recap from Meadow Party had it at number one. CGE says retail copies will be available shortly after Gen Con. This is one to keep an eye on — it’s going to be everywhere at Essen. Wargamer review, CGE info.

Shut Up & Sit Down’s Board Games Direct was a firehose. They ran a full week of themed showcase videos — thematic games, crunchy games, chill games, co-op & solo, card games, two-player games, and more. The kickoff revealed Mechs vs. Minions: Bandle City Edition. The full shorts list on their site covers a massive spread including Thunder Road: Ignition from Restoration Games (debuted at Gen Con, coming August), Rattlesnake, Points for Everything, The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era, and The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict. If you missed it, the individual day videos are well worth going back through — the “Chewy & Chunky” and “Chill” episodes in particular seem to have the most Knavecon-relevant picks.

Container is back in the wild. Allplay’s new edition of the classic 2007 economic game is now shipping, and reviews are landing. The Dice Tower has a video up on the deluxe edition. Container has been one of those grail games that was impossible to find for years without paying silly money on the secondary market. The new version comes in standard and deluxe (with metal ships), and the word is that the production quality is excellent. If you’ve ever wanted to try one of the purest economic games in the hobby, this is the cheapest and easiest it’s ever been to get your hands on a copy. Allplay store.

The BGG Hotness is packed with Gen Con heat. As of this week, the top trending games on BoardGameGeek include Kingdom Come: Deliverance – The Board Game (Czech Games again, pre-orders open until August 16, shipping around Essen), Wingspan Pocket (Stonemaier’s compact standalone that launched in mid-July and is already everywhere), Drillers, Duel of Meloch, and Container. Also notable: Crab Rage jumped 9 spots, Tigris & Euphrates climbed 4 — looks like the Knizia wave from the Spiel des Jahres win is still carrying momentum. Rebirth winning the Kennerspiel back in July was a big moment for Knizia and for Mighty Boards, and it’s clearly still driving interest in his catalogue. BGG Hotness.

Restoration Games brought the noise at Gen Con. Fireball Island is back with a reprint (available to order now from their website — surprise drop), and Thunder Road: Ignition debuted as a standalone, more accessible version of the award-winning Thunder Road: Vendetta. SU&SD featured Ignition in their thematic games showcase and seemed genuinely excited about it. Restoration Games recap.

Worth tracking over the coming weeks: DOOM Arena Board Game from Modiphius is due in October from the Kickstarter fulfillment. The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth (the third installment) is expected Q3. And Essen Spiel ticket sales are open — October 22–25 in Essen. The preview list on BGG is already live and publishers will be ramping up announcements from here. If you’re thinking about Essen this year, now’s the time to start planning.

Ireland corner. Dublin Comic Con Summer Edition is literally this weekend — August 8–9 at the Convention Centre Dublin. The IGA/Gaelcon crew will have a fan table there on level 2, so if you’re going along, stop by and roll some dice for merch. Speaking of Gaelcon, their 38th year is confirmed for October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport — they’ve made a push to improve the RPG offering this year with more rooms and earlier scheduling. Gaelcon info. CraiCON, Northern Ireland’s newest board gaming convention, ran last weekend (August 1–2) up in Ballymena — good to see a new event up there getting going. CraiCON. Board Games Ireland continue their weekly Sunday meetup at The Black Sheep on Capel Street in Dublin — free to attend, runs all day, just buy a drink. Meetup page. There’s also a thread on the BGG Ireland forum from someone looking to start a game group in East Cork / Midleton — if you’re down that way, worth chiming in. And for anyone in or near Limerick this weekend, the European Sport for All Games are running in the city August 7–10, which is mainly traditional sports but worth knowing about if you’re wondering why the city centre is busier than usual.

For the Knavecon community: Knavecon 28 was a great day back in April and the next one hasn’t been announced yet. In the meantime, Dublin Comic Con this weekend has the Gaelcon table, the Board Games Ireland Sunday meetups are a solid option if you’re ever in Dublin, and keep an eye on the site for any Knavecon news. If anyone went to CraiCON last weekend I’d love to hear how it was.

One for the socials: “Drillers sold out at Gen Con before Saturday. Czech Games Edition keeps doing this — quiet announcement, elegant design, then everyone loses their minds at the convention. It’s basically the Arnak playbook all over again and I’m absolutely here for it.”

Knavecon Boardgame Briefing — Tuesday, 4 August 2026

Quiet enough start to the week, which isn’t surprising — everyone’s still digesting the Gen Con firehose. But there are a few things worth your attention as August gets going.

The big news from last Thursday is the Dice Tower Awards. Galactic Cruise took Game of the Year, which is a genuinely interesting pick. The designers — T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, and Koltin Thompson — weren’t on anyone’s radar before this game, and neither was the publisher (Kinson Key Games). It had already won the Golden Geek for best heavy game and a Meeples Choice Award, so this completes a proper clean sweep. Love seeing an unknown outfit come out of nowhere and take the top prize. Opinionated Gamers has a good write-up.

Stonemaier’s Duel of Meloch is about to hit general retail. If you didn’t grab it from their webstore in July or pick it up at Gen Con, expect it in shops and online stores by late August (Game Nerdz has it listed for August 28). It’s a standalone 1-2 player dueling game where one player uses Scythe mechanics and the other uses Expeditions mechanics, and every faction/character from both games is compatible. It’s an unusual product — genuinely cross-compatible with two existing games — and early reception from Board Game Quest has been positive. Whether it’s more than a curiosity for people who don’t already own both Scythe and Expeditions is the real question. Stonemaier’s design diary is worth reading.

If you missed it in the Gen Con noise, Allplay announced a new edition of Dominant Species as the first title in their “Masterworks” line, with Ian O’Toole doing the art. That’s a proper pairing — O’Toole’s graphic design on a game that’s always been fantastic mechanically but looked a bit like a geography textbook. It’s coming to Kickstarter, likely October. They also announced Through the Mountains, a sequel to Through the Desert, and a big adventure game called Crash Landed. Gaming Trend covered the full Allplay lineup.

Whisperwood from Cardboard Alchemy (the Flamecraft people) launches on Kickstarter next Monday, August 11. It’s a bag-building game for 1-4 players, heavier than anything they’ve done before — 120 to 180 minutes, so a proper sit-down game. Co-designed by Brad Brooks, Erin McDonald, and Christian Strain. It’s been doing the rounds at Origins and Gen Con in prototype form and prototypes have been getting into people’s hands. One to watch if you like the studio but wanted something with more meat. BGG page here.

Shut Up & Sit Down have been running their Board Games Direct 2026 series — they’re up to episode 4 now, covering co-op and solo games. The thematic games episode from July 20 highlighted Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict (coming this autumn) and Thunder Road: Ignition (this month). If you haven’t been following the series, their BGD tag page has the lot. It’s their equivalent of a convention preview show and it’s been solid this year.

Worth watching: the BGG Hotness right now is dominated by Gen Con aftermath. Entropy from Board&Dice was the people’s choice #1 most wanted game at the show. Drillers, Wingspan Pocket, Lairs, and Timespan are all trending heavily. Hacienda from Pandasaurus — a Patagonian wildlife conservation game — hits retail on August 26 and is generating quiet buzz. Board Game Hangover did their August hotness rundown.

Ireland corner. Board Games Ireland continues running their regular meetups in Dublin — Sundays at Black Sheep Pub on Capel Street and Monday nights at Ryan’s on Store Street. Both are free, casual, and welcoming to new players. Meetup page here. Over on Eventbrite, the Irish Card Market – Summer 2026 is on August 15 at the Royal Marine Hotel if that’s your thing, and an Irish Catan Jamboree is listed for September 5 at Board And Brewed. Dublin Comic Con Summer Edition is August 8-9. The next proper tabletop convention on the island is Gaelcon 38 in Dublin, October 23-26 at Crowne Plaza Airport — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention. Down in Limerick, The Gathering on O’Connell Street is still the go-to FLGS and gaming spot. Nothing new popping up that I can see, but if anyone knows of events in Munster over the summer, drop it in the Knavecon Facebook group.

For the Knavecon community specifically: Knavecon 28 was a great day back in April and the next one isn’t announced yet, but if you’re looking for gaming between now and then, those Dublin meetups are worth a visit if you’re up that way, and keep an eye on the Gathering’s event calendar in Limerick for local organised play.

One for the socials: “Galactic Cruise just won Dice Tower Game of the Year. Nobody had heard of the designers or the publisher a year ago. That’s the hobby at its best — you don’t need a marketing department, you just need a good game.”

Saturday Briefing — 1 August 2026

It’s Gen Con weekend and the news firehose is on full blast. If you’re not in Indianapolis, here’s what matters from your couch.

Gen Con is live. The show opened Thursday and runs through tomorrow. BGG has published the full list of new releases dropping this week and there’s a lot to sift through. The names I keep seeing pop up are Drillers, Entropy (new Simone Luciani from Board & Dice), Mythologies from Super Meeple (light civ/tableau builder, 2-4 players, out August 12 but available for Gen Con pickup), and The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth — the third instalment of the cooperative trick-taking series that’s been one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Stonemaier are at booth 2909 selling Duel of Meloch (the asymmetric Scythe-meets-Expeditions duelling game that launched July 15) and Wingspan Pocket, their compact Wingspan spinoff. Polygon is doing rolling coverage if you want to follow along. Restoration Games also used the show to recap their Blueprints announcements — Unmatched now has 78 heroes, which is frankly absurd, and they’ve already got a reprint in for their Stars and Stripes set after it sold through fast.

The CGE / Harry Potter boycott continues to rumble on in the background. If you missed it: Czech Games Edition announced Codenames: Back to Hogwarts on Bluesky in late July and got absolutely torched for it given JK Rowling’s anti-trans campaigning. Shut Up & Sit Down, No Pun Included, and 3 Minute Board Games have all announced they’ll no longer cover any CGE products. CGE subsequently pledged to donate 100% of profits from the game to trans charities, but the damage to their relationship with key media outlets looks lasting. SU&SD’s Tom Brewster was scathing in his comments to BoardGameWire. Whatever you think of the politics, losing coverage from the biggest reviewers in the hobby is a real business problem for CGE, and it’ll be interesting to see whether this affects their Gen Con presence.

Whisperwood from Cardboard Alchemy hits Kickstarter on August 11. It’s a bag-building game for 1-4 players where you’re using druidic magic to restore a corrupted forest. It demoed well at Origins and has picked up around 8,000 followers on the pre-launch page. Worth keeping an eye on if you like your euros with a bit of theme — Kickstarter page is live for follows.

For anyone who missed it a couple of weeks back, the 2026 Spiel des Jahres winners are now official. JinxO (a word-association game from Tabletoys Games) took the main prize. Rebirth by Reiner Knizia, published by Mighty Boards, won the Kennerspiel des Jahres — which gives Knizia a historic clean sweep of all three SdJ awards across his career. It’s a tile-laying game and by all accounts a proper Knizia: elegant, thinky, and clean. Mooki Island took the Kinderspiel. Full breakdown at BoardGameWire.

Worth watching: The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth is going to dominate conversation for the next few weeks. If the first two games in that series are anything to go by, this will end up on every recommendation list going. Entropy from Simone Luciani is getting quiet hype from the heavier-game crowd — new Luciani is always an event. And Duel of Meloch hitting wider retail in late August means it’ll start showing up in European shops soon for those of us who didn’t order from the Stonemaier webstore.

In Ireland: Today and tomorrow, CraiCON is running in Ballymena — Northern Ireland’s newest board game convention at St Patrick’s College. Two days of open gaming, welcoming to all experience levels. If you’re anywhere near Antrim it’s worth the trip. Details and tickets at craicon-ni.com. Tomorrow (Sunday), the Board Games Ireland group has their regular free meetup at the Black Sheep Pub on Capel Street in Dublin, running all afternoon — details on their Meetup page. They also run a Monday night session at Ryan’s of Store Street. Looking further ahead, Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23-26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention. The Irish Catan Jamboree is on September 5 at Board And Brewed. And Dublin got a new FLGS earlier this summer: Rogue Gaming opened on Francis Street in the Liberties back in June, focused on TCGs, board games, and RPGs. Good to see another shop in the city.

For the Knavecon community: Gen Con is obviously the big show this weekend but it’s worth remembering that Essen Spiel is now less than three months away (October 22-25). If anyone’s planning a trip, tickets are on sale at spiel-essen.de. Publishers will be ramping up preview announcements from here on out. Closer to home, if any Knavecon regulars fancy a road trip north, CraiCON is literally happening right now.

One for social: “Reiner Knizia now holds all three Spiel des Jahres awards across his career. The man is 68 years old and still designing games that win the biggest prize in the hobby. Whatever you think of tile-layers, that’s a hell of a legacy.”

Decent week. Not a blockbuster, but Gen Con is six days away and that’s colouring everything — publishers are holding their biggest announcements, reviewers are packing bags, and BGG is filling up with preview lists. In the meantime, we got SUSD’s Board Games Direct, a strong Dice Tower roundup, some crowdfunding worth noting, and the ongoing glow from Knizia’s Spiel des Jahres clean sweep.

The five things that mattered this week

Shut Up & Sit Down dropped their second Board Games Direct video on Monday — their digital alternative to a convention show floor. This one was the “Chewy & Chunky” edition, covering meatier games including Guards of Atlantis II (third printing), Stag, Six Sojourns, Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo, Bridges of Shangri-La, and something called DIABLES. Whisperwood also got a spotlight — it’s heading to Kickstarter on August 11th from Cardboard Alchemy, a cooperative game about healing a corrupted forest. SUSD’s Board Games Direct series has quietly become one of the best ways to discover upcoming games without sitting through trade show footage, and this batch looks strong. Worth watching the full video on their site.

Tom Vasel’s Week in Review for July 20th covered two games worth flagging. Dwarves of Elvenland — the follow-up to Nidavellir — got a 9.5 from Tom. He called it “basically Nidavellir with new scoring methods,” which is high praise given how much he loved the original. Caveat: the Dice Tower is distributing it at Gen Con, so take the gushing with a grain of salt, but Nidavellir fans should have this on their radar. He also gave a 9 out of 10 to another title for its mechanisms and theme. The Dice Tower’s Week in Review is on YouTube.

Gen Con 2026 kicks off next Wednesday, July 30th, and the BGG preview list is already massive. Games generating the most pre-show buzz include The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth (the third Crew game from Kosmos), Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains, Circadia, Honeypot, Forbidden Legacy, and Bordeaux. The Gen Con Watchlist on BGG is a good resource — have a look here. Plaid Hat have also announced their Gen Con plans, and Lacerda did a cover reveal for The Resort, his next big euro. If any of these sound like Knavecon games, they probably are.

The Dice Tower’s Crowdsurfing episode from July 22nd covered the latest crop on Kickstarter, Gamefound and Backerkit. Meeple Mountain’s crowdfunding roundup highlights En-nichi — a cozy Japanese festival game ending August 11th — and Goalix, a flicking-based tabletop football game. Over on Gamefound, Relive Alexandria launched mid-July, a fully asymmetric game set during the era of the Great Library. The crowdfunding space is quieter than usual pre-Gen Con, which is normal — expect a flood in August. Dice Tower Crowdsurfing here, Meeple Mountain roundup here.

On the BGG Hotness, Siege Perilous — an Arthurian adventure game — is sitting at position 21. Brass: Birmingham is still lurking in the mid-20s as it always does. The BGG Climbers list for the week ending July 22nd is up (here on BGG), with Entropy, Container, and Stonemaier’s Duel of Meloch all climbing. Board Game Quest named Duel of Meloch — the Scythe vs Expeditions duelling game — to their best of 2026 so far list, which is a solid endorsement.

Worth tracking next week

Gen Con, obviously. That’s the main event. Expect a tsunami of announcements, demos, and hot takes from July 30th onwards. The big question: what does Stonemaier bring beyond Duel of Meloch? They’re exhibiting with Meeple Source at booth 2909 and will also be at Essen in October. The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth could be the sleeper hit of the show — the first two Crew games are all-timers. Whisperwood’s Kickstarter launches August 11th. And Dice Throne teased Nexus, a cyberpunk-themed line, for a Kickstarter later this autumn — that’s one to bookmark.

Ireland

Rogue Gaming opened in The Liberties, Dublin on June 6th. It’s now Dublin’s newest dedicated tabletop gaming space — board games, RPGs, trading cards — and it’s already showing up on the Wizards Store Locator running regular Commander nights and events. If you’re in Dublin, it’s worth checking out alongside the established spots like Gamers World, The Warchest in Dún Laoghaire, and Board And Brewed. Rogue Gaming’s site here.

The Irish Gaming Market Summer Edition ran July 11-12 at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire. That’s already happened, but if you missed it, the next thing on the calendar worth knowing is the Irish Card Market on August 15th, same venue. Gaelcon 38 — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention — is October 23-26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport. Details at iga.ie/gaelcon.

For regular gaming, the Board Games Ireland Meetup group is still running their Sunday sessions at The Black Sheep on Capel Street, Dublin — free, casual, bring-your-own-games setup. Meetup page here. If you know of anything happening in Munster between now and Knavecon, throw it in the Facebook group — I haven’t been able to find anything scheduled down this way for the summer, which is a shame.

For the Knavecon community

Gen Con is next week and the preview lists are enormous. If you’re the kind of person who likes to know what’s coming before it hits your FLGS in September, now’s the time to start following the BGG Gen Con Preview list and the various YouTube channels that’ll be doing floor coverage. The games that do well at Gen Con tend to dominate autumn tables. Worth keeping a shared wishlist going in the Knavecon Facebook group so we can coordinate who’s getting what for the next event.

One for the socials: “Shut Up & Sit Down are now doing a better job of previewing games than most actual conventions. Board Games Direct is free, you can watch it in your pants, and nobody queues for two hours to play a 15-minute demo. The future is now.”

A decent mid-July Tuesday with a few things worth knowing about, most of them pointing towards Gen Con in ten days’ time.

Dice Tower’s Week in Review just dropped and it’s a hefty one. Tom and crew covered Wingspan Pocket, Aqua Garden Trilogy Edition, Fliptown: New Frontier, and a bunch more. The Wingspan Pocket coverage is timely — Stonemaier launched it on their webstore last Tuesday (July 15) and shared sales data the next day. It’s a compact standalone version of Wingspan designed by Elizabeth Hargrave, not just a shrunk-down repack. Ships from EU fulfilment too, so relevant for us. It won’t hit local retail until mid-to-late August, but if you want one before Gen Con hype makes them scarce, the Stonemaier webstore is the move. Dice Tower Week in Review – July 20, 2026.

Kemet: The Gates of Thonis closes today on Gamefound. If you’re a Kemet: Blood and Sand fan, this is Kolossal Games adding new maps and tiles. It’s been comfortably funded — nearly 3,000 backers and over $318k raised at time of writing, which is 1,692% of its goal. That’s a strong showing for an expansion campaign. Last chance if you want in. Gamefound campaign page.

Gen Con preview season is in full swing. Meeple Mountain put out their 22 most anticipated games list and there’s a genuinely interesting one for the Irish gaming crowd: Moytura from Bitewing Games, a 1-2 player area control game set in ancient Ireland, featuring the Tuatha Dé Danann. Designed by Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson, with art that’s being described as Samurai Jack meets Spirit Island. That’s a combination that should get your attention. Meeple Mountain’s Gen Con 2026 list. BoardGameCo and How I Roll also put out a joint top 10 anticipated Gen Con games video this week if you want more of that. Watch it here.

Eagle-Gryphon are pushing the Kickstarter pre-launch page for Vital Lacerda’s The Resort, his next big design with Ian O’Toole on art. It won’t campaign until 2027, but the cover reveal happened earlier this month and they’re building their notification list now. If you’re a Lacerda person, you already know about this. If you’re not, it probably won’t convert you. Eagle-Gryphon’s Facebook post.

Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy continues to build buzz ahead of its Fall 2026 release. It’s not a standalone — it’s an expansion compatible with both the original Dune: Imperium and Uprising, adding new leaders, cards, and an Overthrow Mode. Dire Wolf are running a Conspiracy championship tournament at Gen Con, which tells you they’re confident in it. If Dune: Imperium is in your regular rotation, this is the one to track. Dire Wolf’s announcement.

Worth watching: Bomb Busters has apparently overtaken everything to become the most-played game on BGA this month according to BGG’s Best of July video. Dice Throne teased their next product line — Nexus, with a cyberpunk theme — coming to Kickstarter this autumn. And the Reiner Knizia Spiel des Jahres clean sweep from two weeks ago (JinxO for SdJ, Rebirth for Kennerspiel) is still generating conversation. Rebirth in particular, published by Malta-based Mighty Boards, is worth getting to the table if you haven’t already. Board Game Wire’s coverage.

Ireland roundup. A few things on the radar. The big one coming up soon is CraiCON in Ballymena — Northern Ireland’s newest board gaming convention, August 1-2 at St Patrick’s College. Two days of pure board gaming. Tickets are available at craicon-ni.com. That’s less than two weeks away. Then there’s the Belfast Anime & Gaming Con on July 25-26 at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, if that’s your thing. Further out, Board & Brewed in Dún Laoghaire are running a Glendalough Gaming Retreat on September 18-20 — a weekend of board games, wargames, and RPGs in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. Tickets from €40 non-residential or €150 with accommodation. They say more than half the tickets are already gone. Details at boardandbrewed.ie. And of course Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23-26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport. Closer to home, The Gathering in Limerick continues to be the local hub — worth checking their socials for upcoming club nights. thegathering.ie.

For the Knavecon community: Moytura is the game I’d flag. An area control game themed around Irish mythology, designed by two strong designers, from a publisher (Bitewing) that’s been putting out consistently interesting stuff. It’s debuting at Gen Con at the end of the month. If anyone going to Gen Con can grab a copy and bring it to the next Knavecon, you’ll be very popular.

One for social:

“Reiner Knizia winning both the Spiel des Jahres and the Kennerspiel in the same year at age 68 is genuinely remarkable. The man has been designing games since the early 90s and he’s arguably having his best decade right now. Rebirth is the real deal.”

Monday 20 July 2026 — Daily Briefing

Fairly quiet weekend in terms of breaking news, but there’s a good bit bubbling away under the surface with Gen Con now just ten days out. The pre-Gen Con announcement season is in full swing and a few things are worth your attention this Monday morning.

The big story still reverberating from the last week is the Dice Throne Nexus announcement. The teaser dropped on July 7th and confirms a cyberpunk-themed next chapter for Dice Throne, launching on Kickstarter this autumn. The trailer is short on detail — mostly vibes and the word “Brains” repeated — but the Reddit thread is buzzing with speculation about new characters and whether it’ll be compatible with existing seasons. If you’re a Dice Throne household (and a lot of Knavecon regulars are), this one’s worth keeping an eye on. Teaser on YouTube / Reddit discussion.

Chip Theory Games’ Wreck is now live on Gamefound and sitting at $315k after launching on July 14th. It’s a new standalone game set in the Wroth universe — naval combat this time — and the campaign also includes a fresh printing of Wroth itself. Goal was reached in 26 seconds, which tells you everything about Chip Theory’s audience. If you like neoprene chips and big tactical fights, this is exactly your sort of thing. Campaign runs for another 20 days. Gamefound page.

Eagle-Gryphon dropped the cover art for Vital Lacerda’s The Resort last week, with art by Ian O’Toole. It won’t hit Kickstarter until 2027 so this is purely a “look at this pretty thing” situation, but any new Lacerda gets people talking. The BGG thread has the usual mix of excitement and “my wife loves tropical themes but I know this will be too heavy for her.” Classic. Facebook post from Eagle-Gryphon.

Plaid Hat had a rough start to the month — they pulled The Monolith from Kickstarter after the campaign stagnated on day two despite hitting its (very low) $15k goal. They’ve admitted to already spending $35k on moulds alone, so the economics were off. They’re planning a relaunch after Gen Con with better pricing options. Meanwhile they’re pushing ahead with Gen Con plans including the Summoner Wars tournament, Ashes: Natural Magic shipping mid-July, and teasing a new game called Brumble. Board Game Wire coverage.

Garphill Games have announced two new Ancient Anthology expansions — Skara Brae: Headlands and Raiders of Scythia: Omens — heading to Kickstarter. No launch date yet but the Garphill faithful will want to keep an eye on their news page.

Worth watching: Bomb Busters is the most-played game on BGA this month with over 10,000 plays according to the BGG July roundup, overtaking Flip 7. On the BGG Hotness, Kemet: The Gates of Thonis and Nippon: Zaibatsu continue to trend. Gen Con watchlists on BGG are filling up fast — the usual suspects like Arcs, Slay the Spire, and Root are there, alongside 2026 releases like Kemet and Hot Streak. Best of BGG July.

Ireland round-up. A few things happening on the island worth flagging. The Belfast Anime & Gaming Con is this weekend, July 25-26, at the Crowne Plaza Belfast. Battle Inc Gaming will be there with board games to play and buy, with volunteers teaching games all weekend. It’s primarily an anime/cosplay event but the tabletop presence has been growing. Tickets on Eventbrite. In Dublin, there’s an Adult Board Games Social Night this Wednesday July 22nd at This Must Be The Place in Smithfield, 6:30-8:30pm, €8.48 entry — decent casual option if you’re in town. Details on VisitDublin. Also worth noting: Rogue Gaming opened its doors in the Liberties on Francis Street back in June and seems to be settling in nicely — they’re running regular Flesh and Blood and MTG events and stocking board games too. Good to see another FLGS in Dublin. And if you’re the “plan ahead” type, the Glendalough Gaming Retreat from Board & Brewed is September 18-20 in Co. Wicklow — a full weekend of tabletop gaming, tickets from €40 non-residential or €150 with accommodation. More than half the spots are already gone. Book here. Gaelcon 38 is locked in for October 23-26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport as usual.

For Knavecon folks specifically: Gen Con is July 30 to August 2, and a lot of the games that’ll show up at future Knavecons will get their first outings there. If you see something at Gen Con that you think we should get into the Knavecon library, give us a shout. That’s what the community’s for.

One for social: “Chip Theory raised $315k in 26 seconds for Wreck. Meanwhile I still can’t get four people to commit to a game night. Different worlds.”

Busy week for industry news, even if the actual new-releases shelf was fairly quiet. The big stories were about who owns what and who’s leaving whom — consolidation season continues. Meanwhile Dice Tower East kicked off in Orlando, the BGG Hotness is showing some interesting movement, and there’s a notable crowdfunding launch landing next week that euro gamers should pay attention to.

Spirit Island is looking for a new home. R. Eric Reuss posted a detailed update on June 26th confirming he’s opted not to renew with Flat River Group. The licence will terminate and he’ll find a new publisher “within the next year or so.” He’s also planning a complete art overhaul — not just tweaks, entirely new takes on the Spirits — though the game will keep its name and its vibrant visual style. The Dahan-centric expansion is still his main design focus. This is one of the most important co-op games of the last decade and it’s been through a rough ride since Greater Than Games collapsed in 2025. Reuss is clearly being careful about who picks it up next. No word on suitors yet, but every mid-size publisher in the hobby will be circling. BoardGameWire covered it here.

Awaken Realms bought Thundergryph Games. This one dropped via BoardGameWire on June 24th and it’s AR’s first M&A move. Thundergryph make beautiful, lighter-to-medium euro games — Darwin’s Journey, Tang Garden — and Awaken Realms CEO Marcin Świerkot said the buy is specifically because TG’s portfolio is so different from AR’s usual dark-and-gritty stuff. Thundergryph will handle design while AR takes care of logistics and distribution. The first project under the new arrangement is Galileo’s Truth by Virginio Gigli and Flaminia Brasini (the designers behind Grand Austria Hotel and Lorenzo il Magnifico), launching on Gamefound on July 7th. That’s Monday. If you’re a euro gamer, that’s the crowdfunding launch of the week, possibly the month. Tabletop Sentinel has a good write-up.

Dice Tower East is happening right now. Running July 1–5 in Orlando. Not much in the way of major announcements filtering through yet — it’s more of a play-focused convention than a news-breaking one — but expect Tom and crew to surface new content over the weekend. dicetower.com/dice-tower-east if you want to follow along. Gen Con is still four weeks out (July 30–Aug 2) and that’s where the real announcement avalanche will land.

The Osprey Games situation continues to develop. Bloomsbury announced back in May that it’s selling off Osprey’s board and card game line to focus on books. Wargamer covered it well. Osprey will still publish wargames and RPGs, but Undaunted, Cryptid, and the rest of the board game catalogue are looking for a new owner. Osprey is currently running a July flash sale with up to 70% off — worth checking if there’s anything you’ve been eyeing. Still no word on who might buy the line.

On the BGG Hotness, Regicide Legacy continues to sit at #1 and deservedly so — SUSD loved it, the campaign is excellent, and the eternal mode after you finish is genuinely great. Yotei is at #2. Brass: Pittsburgh (the $9.1m Gamefound monster from Roxley) is at #3 despite not shipping until 2027. Nippon: Zaibatsu holds #4 — it’s one of the standout heavy euros of 2026. And the original Regicide is back at #5, presumably dragged up by Legacy hype. Worth noting that Goa — the 2004 classic — is randomly at #8, which usually means a reprint or new edition is in the works. Keep an eye on that.

On the retail side, July releases worth knowing about include Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game – Missions ($19.99, adds purple influence dice and new corporations), Scotland Yard (new edition), and Babylonia (Knizia reprint). None of these are world-shaking but the TM Dice Game expansion is solid value if you’re already into that system. ICv2 had the details.

Ireland corner. The Irish Gaming Market runs July 11–12 at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire — it’s a gaming and pop culture market with cosplay, vendors, and tabletop stuff. Tickets are live at irishgamingmarket.ie. That’s next weekend and it’s worth the trip if you’re anywhere near Dublin. CéilíCon is listed on Eventbrite for August 22nd at the Lucan Spa Hotel — looks like a newer board gaming event, details are thin but it’s on the radar. Gaelcon 38 in Dublin is confirmed for October 23–26 at the Crowne Plaza Airport, same venue as last year. iga.ie/gaelcon for tickets.

For the Knavecon community specifically: Galileo’s Truth launching Monday on Gamefound is the one to watch. Gigli and Brasini are an elite design partnership, the theme is cracking (scholars in 1610 risking their freedom to pursue scientific truth), and the AR/Thundergryph merger means it’ll actually get produced and delivered properly. If it plays anything like Darwin’s Journey this will be on tables at the next Knavecon.

One for the socials: “Spirit Island is looking for a new publisher, Osprey’s board game line is up for sale, and Awaken Realms just bought Thundergryph. The board game industry right now is basically a transfer deadline day that never ends. If your favourite game’s publisher is still the same one it had six months ago, count yourself lucky.”

Quiet enough Tuesday but there are a few things worth knowing about heading into July.

Splendor Duel: The Counterfeiters drops this Thursday. The first expansion for what’s become one of the best two-player games in the hobby lands on July 3rd. It adds Glassware tokens, Counterfeiter cards, and new Royal cards. Small box, $12.99, and it sounds like it tightens up decisions rather than bloating things. If you play Splendor Duel regularly — and a lot of us at Knavecon do — this is a day-one pickup. Asmodee store listing

Essen is fully sold out for exhibitors. SPIEL 2026 (October 22–25) has booked every square metre of exhibition space and opened a waiting list. They’ve named Peter Mohrbacher as this year’s ambassador, which is a good pick — his art is stunning. Tickets aren’t on sale yet but they’ll go live over the summer. Three of four days sold out last year, so don’t be slow if you’re planning a trip. spiel-essen.de

The Diana Jones Award finalists are out and it’s a strong list: Molly House (Cole Wehrle/Wehrlegig), Trench Crusade, Price Johnson from Cephalofair, Rob Wieland, and Mischief Toy Store in Minnesota. Molly House getting a nod here is interesting — it’s a genuinely unusual game and exactly the kind of thing this award tends to champion. Winner announced July 29th at Gen Con. dianajonesaward.org

Concordia Special Edition on Gamefound has crossed €2 million. The Awaken Realms deluxe treatment of Mac Gerdts’ classic launched June 9th and is doing very well. They had to publicly commit to no AI art after BGG review-bombing earlier this year, and they’ve named all 32 people on their art team. If you love Concordia and want the premium components, it’s there. If your existing copy works fine, it still works fine. Gamefound campaign — and the AI art controversy was covered well by BoardGameWire.

Asmodee’s numbers tell a story. Their annual revenue hit €1.68 billion but more than 72% of that is now distribution of other companies’ games. Their own board game publishing sales fell nearly 6% year-on-year, and Q1 2026 is down almost 10% against the same period last year. Asmodee’s CEO was asked directly whether they’re still a publisher or an infrastructure company. That’s a fair question. BoardGameWire report

Worth watching: Stonespine Architects: Invasion is running on Kickstarter with a base game reprint — ends July 8th. Aeon’s End: System Overload is live on Gamefound if you’re into cooperative deckbuilding. And Gen Con is exactly a month away (July 30 – August 2) so expect announcements to start ramping up.

Ireland corner. The Irish Gaming Market Summer Edition is on July 11–12 at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire. It’s more video game and TCG focused than tabletop, but it’s a gaming event and it’s nearby-ish. Gaelcon 38 runs October 23–26 in Dublin — same venue as last year at Crowne Plaza Airport — and weekend supporter tickets are already on sale at €40. Over in Dublin, Board & Brewed in Dún Laoghaire and Board Dublin are both running regular game nights. Sadly Tabletop Cork remains closed. There’s a healthy Meetup scene in Dublin with groups like the Rush Board Game Meetup and weekly sessions in D8, Celbridge, and at the Marlin Hotel. Limerick’s quieter on the public events front right now — if you know of anything running locally, let us know and we’ll share it. Eventbrite Ireland gaming | Meetup tabletop Ireland

For the Knavecon community: Splendor Duel is one of the most-played games at our events. If The Counterfeiters is as good as the base game, we should have copies in the library for Knavecon 29. Worth grabbing one this weekend if you want to try it early.

One for the socials: “Asmodee made €1.68 billion last year but nearly three quarters of it was distributing other people’s games. Their own publishing arm is shrinking. At what point do we stop calling them a board game publisher?”

Knavecon Weekly — Friday 26 June 2026

A busy week in board games, this one. A major acquisition, a crowdfunding campaign that refuses to slow down, Origins Game Fair wrapped up, and the Dice Tower has been firing out reviews like they’re getting paid per video (which, fair enough, they are). Plenty to talk about.

Awaken Realms buys Thundergryph Games

The biggest industry story of the week. Awaken Realms announced on Tuesday that they’ve acquired Thundergryph Games — the Portuguese publisher behind Darwin’s Journey and Tang Garden. Thundergryph keeps its name and creative team, but Awaken Realms takes over production, logistics, and distribution. The first joint project is Galileo’s Truth by Virginio Gigli and Flaminia Brasini, hitting Gamefound on July 7th. BoardGameWire broke the story (link). This is Awaken Realms’ first M&A move, and given how aggressively they’ve been growing — Concordia Special Edition, the Castles of Burgundy deluxe, and now their own crowdfunding platform in Gamefound — it feels like the start of something bigger. Thundergryph has made some lovely games but has had a reputation for shaky fulfilment, so this might actually be good news for backers. Worth watching how it plays out.

Concordia Special Edition still climbing on Gamefound

Speaking of Awaken Realms, their Concordia Special Edition campaign on Gamefound is in its final days — four days left as of today — and it’s sitting at over €3.6 million raised. It hit its goal in literally one minute. The campaign wasn’t without controversy earlier in the year when it got review-bombed on BGG over AI art concerns, which Awaken Realms responded to by publicly listing all 24 artists, designers and modellers on the project and pledging “no AI art” (BoardGameWire). If you love Concordia and want the premium treatment, this is your last window. If you’re happy with your existing copy, honestly, it’s the same great game.

Origins Game Fair came and went

Origins 2026 ran June 17–21 in Columbus, Ohio. About 19,000 attendees and 400+ vendors, which is respectable but still a fraction of UK Games Expo’s monster numbers (more on that below). The Opinionated Gamers had a report from the floor (link) and a few YouTube channels covered demos and highlights. No single breakout announcement dominated, but the general vibe was positive. It’s a good convention that knows what it is — more intimate than Gen Con, more open gaming, less hype.

The Dice Tower’s week in review

Tom Vasel and the Dice Tower crew covered a pile of games this past week: Clans of Caledonia: Industria (the new expansion with the train map — getting solid marks), Tales of Arabian Nights 40th Anniversary (updated with 200+ new paragraphs and a solo mode, sitting at 8.1 on BGG), Brushwood, Fearless, and a bunch more. The Tales of Arabian Nights review is probably the most interesting if you have any nostalgia for that game — it’s the same beautiful mess it always was, just more of it. The Clans of Caledonia: Industria expansion is one for the Knavecon crowd — Scottish whisky theme, meaty euro, now with trains. What’s not to like? (Dice Tower Week in Review – June 22)

UK Games Expo’s numbers are staggering

This technically broke a few weeks back but the full picture is now clear: UKGE 2026 hit 87,837 total attendance with 51,196 unique ticket holders, making it the biggest event ever held at the NEC Birmingham. That’s the 20th anniversary show and it’s more than doubled its pre-pandemic record. It’s now firmly the third-largest tabletop convention in the world and closing in on Gen Con. Multiple reports noted the infrastructure struggled with the crowds — queues, congestion, the usual growing pains. But vendors reported record sales. Geek Native had a good write-up on the logistics issues (link). For anyone thinking about going next year, it’s June 4–6 2027.

On the BGG Hotness

The June BGG Hotness video from Board Game Hangover (link) has the usual suspects plus a few worth noting. Cozy Stickerville from Corey Konieczka (the Unexpected Games designer behind The Initiative) has been generating a lot of chat — it’s a co-op legacy game with 800+ stickers where you build a little village. Cute concept, about 10 hours total playtime, and it’s getting “game of the year contender” whispers from some corners. SETI continues to be parked in the hotness like it owns the space. And Fate of the Fellowship (the Lord of the Rings co-op from Fantasy Flight) seems permanently lodged there too.

Ireland

This weekend — literally tomorrow — the Irish Competition Galecon runs in Limerick on June 27–28. It’s a miniatures wargaming event focused on Mortem et Gloriam, so not board games strictly, but it’s on our doorstep so worth knowing about (BGG conventions list).

The bigger date coming up is IGM Summer Edition on July 11–12 at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire. It’s a gaming and pop culture market but Tabletop Ireland will be there running D&D for beginners, Warhammer 40K, Werewolf, and a big board game library. Tickets are on sale at irishgamingmarket.ie.

Dublin’s new game shop Rogue Gaming opened on Francis Street in the Liberties on June 6th. It’s a dedicated tabletop space — Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Flesh and Blood, D&D, board games. They’re already running weekly Flesh and Blood armory events on Wednesday evenings. Good to see another FLGS in Dublin. (Rogue Gaming)

Board Games Ireland’s Monday night meetups at Ryan’s Bar in Dublin continue to tick over — 9,886 members on their Meetup group now, free to attend.

Further out, Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport with Rob Brennan directing. And for anyone keeping a calendar, Dublin Comic Con Summer Edition is August 8–9.

For the Knavecon community

Clans of Caledonia: Industria might be worth getting on the table at the next Knavecon. The base game is already a crowd favourite and the expansion adds new clans, a train-era map, and a proper solo Automa. Board Game Quest and Meeple Mountain both gave it positive reviews. If you loved the original, the expansion doesn’t reinvent it — it just gives you more reasons to play.

One for the socials

“Awaken Realms buying Thundergryph feels like watching someone who already owns three houses buy a fourth. But if it means Darwin’s Journey backers actually get their stuff on time, maybe that’s fine.”