Knavecon Boardgame Briefing — Friday, 18 September 2026

A properly stacked week in board games, and honestly one of those weeks where there’s enough going on that you could lose an afternoon just reading about it all. Essen season is cranking up, crowdfunding is relentless, and there’s a major leadership change at one of the hobby’s most iconic publishers. Plus, Knavecon 27 is exactly one week away. Let’s get into it.

Steve Jackson steps down. The biggest industry story this week is Steve Jackson stepping down as CEO of Steve Jackson Games after decades running the company. Sabrina Gonzalez, who’s been with SJG since 2013, takes over as CEO, and Allison Page moves up to COO. Jackson says he’ll stay on to help design games, though it’s not clear whether that’s full-time or more of a winding-down role. Either way, end of an era. The man basically defined a corner of this hobby. Gonzalez’s statement was solid — she talked about weathering the pandemic, navigating tariff changes, and wanting to keep developing new titles alongside supporting the classics. No drama, just a clean handover. (ICv2, Tabletop Battles)

Clank! turns 10, makes a million dollars. The Clank! 10th anniversary Kickstarter — “Cube of Holding and The Forgotten Vault” — launched on September 9th and absolutely flew past its funding goal, hitting over $1 million at 2000%+ funded. It’s a deluxe storage solution plus a new expansion, and Dire Wolf are offering Master Thief Edition upgrades for the entire original Clank! line. If you’re a Clank! person, this is as good as it gets. If you’re not, this probably won’t convert you, but the campaign numbers speak for themselves. (Dire Wolf, r/boardgames)

Everdell Journeys hits 912% on Kickstarter. Tycoon Games launched Everdell Journeys on September 8th and it’s now sitting at over $146,000 against a $35,000 goal. This one’s interesting because it’s not just another Everdell expansion — it’s a card-drafting game set in the Everdell world, a different system to the worker-placement core game. Players lay paths of landmark and city cards. The deluxe edition scales up to 10 players, which is mad but could be brilliant for convention play. Campaign ends September 25th. (GodisaGeek, Kickstarter)

Rheinlander is back, and it’s gorgeous. Knizia’s 1999 area control game Rheinlander has been given the full 25th Century Games treatment with Ian O’Toole art and new expansion modules designed by Knizia himself. Game Boy Geek put out a review earlier this month calling it “Acquire with area control,” which is a hell of a pitch. It plays under an hour, it’s card-driven, and O’Toole’s work on it looks stunning. This is the kind of Knizia reissue that could genuinely find a new audience. Due in September/October. (Bitewing Games preview, Game Boy Geek review)

Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy confirmed for fall. Dire Wolf’s next Dune: Imperium expansion is called Conspiracy and introduces an asymmetric “Overthrow Mode” where one player is the Emperor and the rest team up to take them down, 3v1 style. It’s cross-compatible with both Dune: Imperium and Uprising. Pre-orders are showing an October 31st date. If you’re already deep into Dune: Imperium, this feels like a must-have. If you’re not, well, Dune: Imperium remains one of the best deck-builders of the last five years and this might be the excuse to jump in. (Screen Rant, BGG)

Worth tracking next week: City of the Great Machine hits Kickstarter on September 22nd. The Food Chain Magnate Special Edition on Gamefound is down to its last copies from the print run — if you’ve been on the fence, the fence is about to disappear (Gamefound). And the BGG Hotness is currently being dominated by Entropy (Board&Dice), Horror on the Orient Express, Medico, Dewan, and Avalon: The Riven Veil — all jostling for attention ahead of Essen preview season. SPIEL Essen itself runs October 22–25 and the BGG preview list is already filling up (BGG Previews).

Ireland round-up. This is a big weekend. The Glendalough Gaming Retreat run by Board & Brewed is happening right now — September 18–20 in Wicklow, with board games, wargames, and RPGs in the mountains. Non-residential tickets were €40, residential €150pp, but they were selling fast so might well be gone by now (Board & Brewed). Meanwhile Board Games Ireland on Meetup has a game night coming up in Celbridge on the 17th and Dublin on the 23rd (Meetup). Looking further ahead, DAREcon in Naas is October 17–18 (darecon.ie), Gaelcon 38 — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention — is October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport (iga.ie/gaelcon), and Comic Con Northern Ireland is this weekend too if that’s your thing (cons.ie). The Irish tabletop scene is in good health — Rogue Gaming opened in Dublin’s Liberties back in June, Board & Brewed continues to be excellent in Dún Laoghaire, and Imirt in Naas is still going strong.

And of course: Knavecon 27 is next Saturday, September 26th, Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick. Kicking off at 10am and running into the small hours. The raffle is shaping up to be a big one. If you haven’t sorted your ticket yet, now’s the time.

One for social media: “Steve Jackson stepping down from Steve Jackson Games after all these years. Whatever you think of Munchkin, the man shaped an entire corner of tabletop gaming. Meanwhile Clank! just turned 10 and raised a million quid in a week. This hobby doesn’t slow down.”

Solid mid-September Tuesday. Not an avalanche of news but a few things actually worth paying attention to, and a busy week ahead on the crowdfunding side.

Perennial just went live on Kickstarter. Flatout Games — the team behind Cascadia — launched their new one today. It’s a puzzly tile-laying game about building a prairie garden with wildflowers and wildlife, designed for 1–4 players, 30–45 minutes. Beth Sobel did the art, which is gorgeous as you’d expect. The team have said it’s crunchier than Cascadia, which is interesting — that game worked precisely because it was breezy. Worth watching how this funds. If you liked Cascadia but wished it had a bit more bite, this might be your thing. Kickstarter page here. What’s Eric Playing also posted a preview yesterday if you want more detail before backing.

The Dice Tower’s Week in Review dropped for September 14th and there’s a standout. Tom gave Realm of Reckoning an 8.5 and a Seal of Excellence. It’s from IV Studio, and the pitch is player-controlled scoring with area control elements — the kind of thing that sounds like it could be a Knavecon favourite if it holds up. They also covered Citadels Duel, 17 Dice Bets, and the Scythe-meets-Expeditions mashup Duel of Meloch. Full rundown on the Dice Tower site.

Everdell Journeys is running hot on Kickstarter. The campaign launched September 8th with a $35,000 goal and has already blown past $500K — over 912% funded according to GodisaGeek. This isn’t another expansion for the base game. It’s a standalone card-drafting game set in the Everdell world, where you’re laying paths of cards rather than doing worker placement. Tycoon Games are behind it. The campaign runs until September 25th. I’m curious but slightly cautious — Everdell has had so many expansions and editions that there’s a bit of franchise fatigue floating around. But the numbers don’t lie.

Clank! is celebrating 10 years. Dire Wolf launched the Cube of Holding — a deluxe big box set — plus a new expansion called The Forgotten Vault on Kickstarter on September 9th. There are also “Master Thief Editions” of the original Clank! line with upgraded components. If you’re a Clank! household, this is the anniversary package. Dire Wolf’s announcement is here.

Tomorrow: Gift of Tulips: Ribbons hits BackerKit (September 16th). It’s an expansion from Weird Giraffe Games to the light tulip-trading game. Small campaign, probably a quick back-or-skip decision. And looking further ahead, City of the Great Machine launches on Kickstarter on September 22nd and Gallery Gambit on September 28th.

Worth watching: the r/boardgames weekly “What Did You Play?” thread for September 14th has Nemesis, Regicide Legacy, and 7 Wonders Duel getting mentions. Duel of Meloch from Stonemaier continues to generate chatter on BGG — it made BoardGameQuest’s best of 2026 so far list.

Ireland corner. The big one for us: Knavecon 27 is eleven days away. September 26th, Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick. €20 adults, €10 students/unwaged, kids free with an adult. Full games library, free coffee all day. If you haven’t got your tickets yet, sort that out at victorgannongames.com. And if there are games you want in the library, tell me now — not on the morning of.

Before that, the Glendalough Gaming Retreat is this Friday through Sunday (September 18–20) in Co. Wicklow. Board & Brewed are running a full weekend of board games, wargames, and RPGs at the Glendalough International Hostel. €150 with accommodation or €40 for a day pass. They’ve said more than half the spots are gone. Gorgeous location. If you can swing it, book through Board & Brewed.

Locally, there’s a Templemore Tabletop game night tonight (September 15th) at Templemore Library in Tipperary, 7:00–10:00 PM — free, no experience needed, just turn up. Spotted it on the Board Games Ireland Facebook group. And Gaelcon 38 is shaping up for October 23–26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport if you’re planning ahead for the autumn convention season. Details at iga.ie.

For the Knavecon community: we’re less than two weeks out. This is your last proper window to request games for the library, volunteer to teach something, or just tell me you’re coming so I can plan tables. Drop a comment on the Knavecon Facebook page or message me directly.

One for social: “Perennial from the Cascadia team just launched on Kickstarter. Crunchier, prettier, and about planting wildflower gardens. Between this, Everdell Journeys, and the Clank! 10th anniversary — September is emptying wallets faster than Essen.”

Quiet-ish start to the week, which is no surprise — PAX West just wrapped up and everyone’s still digesting whatever happened at Dragon Con over the weekend. But there are a few things worth your attention, and September is shaping up to be a busy month on both sides of the Atlantic.

Dice Tower dropped their Week in Review yesterday and it’s a meaty one. They covered reviews of Arkham Horror LCG: Children of Blood, Codenames: Critical Role Adventures, Dice Throne: Vanguard, Sunderfolk, and a bunch more. Tom’s “6 Games I Played So You Don’t Have To” segment is always worth a watch if you want to save yourself some money. Full list at dicetower.com. Meanwhile, Shut Up & Sit Down have been rolling through their Board Games Direct 2026 series — the latest instalment (#4) focuses on co-op and solo games, with a preview of the next game from the BEAST team and something called Animal Rescue Team that SU&SD are apparently co-publishing. That’s a new one. Worth checking out at shutupandsitdown.com.

Spiel Essen launched their new B2B matchmaking tool last week, and it’s now baked into the official SPIEL app as of September 3rd. More than 920 exhibitors from 53 countries are confirmed for the October 22–25 show, with demand apparently up from both returning and first-time exhibitors. About half of Thursday, Friday and Saturday tickets are already sold. If you’re thinking about making the trip this year — and I know some of the Knavecon crowd are — don’t leave tickets too late. The matchmaking system is aimed at trade visitors (€46 business ticket), but it signals that Essen is taking the industry-networking side of things more seriously. Reported by Board Game Wire and Meeplay.

The TTGDA publisher contract benchmark is still making waves since its August release. If you missed it: the Tabletop Game Designers Association scored and compared the standard contracts that publishers offer to designers, looking at fairness around IP, royalties, and designer involvement. It’s a genuinely important piece of work — the kind of transparency that didn’t exist even two years ago. Elizabeth Hargrave, Geoff Engelstein and Sen-Foong Lim are behind it. Full report is a PDF via Board Game Wire. Even if you’re not a designer, it’s interesting reading for anyone who cares about how this industry treats its creators.

On the crowdfunding side, September is picking up. The Food Chain Magnate Special Edition Redux is still available on Gamefound via Lucky Duck Games — the deluxe version with miniatures and double-layer components, estimated delivery December 2026. FCM is one of those games that polarises people on production quality versus gameplay purity, but there’s no denying the original is a masterpiece. Also launching today (September 8th) on Gamefound is a game from Department of Lore — details are thin but it’s a 1–4 player game designed by Anand Gandhi with art from 9B Collective, listed on the BGG prelaunched crowdfunding geeklist. One to watch if you like supporting newer studios.

Worth watching: the broader industry health story continues to be interesting. French distributor Atalia went into liquidation back in July, blaming market saturation and the arms race for bestseller distribution rights. Their statement — “shops no longer have the space, the time or the cash flow to stock all the games arriving each week” — is something every FLGS owner in the world would nod at. The full story is on Board Game Wire. That’s not new news, but it’s still the backdrop to everything else happening right now.

Ireland corner. Three weeks out from Knavecon 27 on September 26th at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick — €20 adults, €10 students/unwaged, kids free with an adult. Full games library, free coffee. Get tickets at victorgannongames.com. Before that though, the Glendalough Gaming Retreat is September 18–20 in Co. Wicklow, run by the Board & Brewed crew out of Dún Laoghaire. A full weekend of board games, wargames and RPGs in one of the most scenic spots in Ireland. Tickets from €40 non-residential or €150pp with accommodation, and they’re saying more than half the spots are gone. Details and booking via Board & Brewed. Looking further ahead, Gaelcon 38 runs October 23–26 at the Crowne Plaza in Santry, Dublin — four days of RPGs, board games, LARPs and wargames. Tickets and info at iga.ie/gaelcon. And if you’re in Dublin this week, the Board Games Ireland Meetup group has their Wednesday session tomorrow (September 9th) at the NYX Hotel in Portobello — details on Meetup.

For the Knavecon community specifically: We’re less than three weeks out. If there are games you want in the library, shout now — don’t wait until the week before. And if anyone’s planning an Essen trip in October, let’s talk group coordination on the Facebook page. There’s always a better deal when a few of us go in together on shipping.

One for social: “920 exhibitors from 53 countries confirmed for Essen this October. Meanwhile a French distributor just went under saying shops can’t stock all the games coming out every week. The hobby is booming and buckling at the same time. Interesting times.”

Knavecon Boardgame Briefing — Weekly Edition, Friday 04 September 2026

It’s been one of those weeks where the news is more about what’s about to happen than what’s already landed. September is stacking up to be a monster month for crowdfunding, Dragon Con and PAX West are both running this weekend with tabletop components, and there’s a growing pile of interesting games hitting shelves. Meanwhile, Essen is now less than seven weeks away. Deep breath.

The September crowdfunding calendar is ridiculous. Tantrum House put out their September overview and the volume is hard to ignore. Food Chain Magnate: Special Edition from Lucky Duck Games relaunched on Gamefound on September 1st — same rules, completely overhauled components, miniatures for the restaurants, the Ketchup Mechanism expansion included. It’s a one-off print run with no retail planned, so if you want it, that’s your only window (Gamefound page). Then on September 8th you’ve got Everdell Journeys hitting Kickstarter via Tycoon Games (everdelljourneys.com), and later in the month there’s Ten Years of Clank from Dire Wolf, City of the Great Machine’s expansion, and more. Brass: Pittsburgh from Roxley is still open on Gamefound too — that campaign has now crossed $11.4 million, which is staggering for a Martin Wallace sequel (Gamefound). Estimated shipping March 2027.

Duel of Meloch is getting reviewed everywhere and the reception is genuinely interesting. Jamey Stegmaier’s idea to combine Scythe and Expeditions into a head-to-head duelling game sounded gimmicky when it was announced, but the reviews are largely positive. BoardGameQuest reviewed it, Board Game Views called it “extremely cohesive” (link), and Shelfside raised some balance concerns around the scoring track but still found it engaging. It plays in about 45 minutes and apparently captures the feel of both games without being a diluted mess. That’s the bit I didn’t expect. It was sitting at #7 on BGG’s July Hotness list and seems to be holding strong on shopping threads into September (BGG).

The TTGDA contract benchmark is the most important industry story of the summer. The Tabletop Game Designers Association published their Contract Scoring Rubric and full Market Contract Analysis in August (report PDF, Board Game Wire coverage). They’ve scored and compared the standard contracts that publishers offer designers, looking at payment fairness, IP protection, designer involvement, and use of names and likenesses in marketing. This is significant. It’s the first time anyone’s done this publicly and systematically, and it gives designers real leverage when negotiating. If you know any aspiring game designers, point them at this.

Shut Up & Sit Down wrapped their Board Games Direct 2026 series over the last few weeks — a video a day covering different categories of new and upcoming games. The co-op and solo video (#4) is worth watching if that’s your thing (SUSD site), and the shorts by Dani Standring have been great bite-sized looks at individual titles. Highlights from their library additions include Citadels Duel (coming fall 2026), Brass: Pittsburgh, and Mechs vs. Minions: Bandle City Edition. Their coverage of The Queen’s Dilemma — a standalone King’s Dilemma follow-up for 3-6 players — caught my eye. That’s available now.

On the convention front: Dragon Con is running in Atlanta right now through Sunday (September 3-7), PAX West is live in Seattle this weekend (September 4-7) with an expanded tabletop area in the Summit building including a board game library, TCG zone, and RPG sessions (PAX West tabletop details). And Spiel Essen tickets are on sale — October 22-25, with close to 950 exhibitors expected (spiel-essen.de). If you’re going from Ireland, now’s the time to sort flights and hotels.

Games worth tracking right now: Revenant from Mindclash Games (set in the Voidfall universe, competitive worker placement, getting strong reviews on Meeple Mountain and elsewhere — BGG page), The Great Sea from Garphill Games (Phoenician maritime trading, pre-orders open for November release via Renegade — renegadegamestudios.com), and Buttons & Bugs: Pub Crawlers from Cephalofair (the Gloomhaven solo spinoff gets its first expansion, shipping this month — Cephalofair). Also keep an eye on the BGG July Hotness video which just dropped — Harmonies: Crescendo, Chivalry from Dávid Turczi, and Altera were all featured alongside the Duel of Meloch (BGG video).

Ireland corner. The big one for us: Knavecon 27 is September 26th at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick. Tickets are €20 adults, €10 students/unwaged, kids free with an adult. Full games library, free coffee all day. You know the drill. Get your tickets sorted at victorgannongames.com.

Beyond that, the Irish convention calendar is stacking up nicely for autumn. Collector Con Ireland is next weekend — September 12-13 at the RDS in Dublin (Eventbrite). It’s more of a TCG/collectibles event than pure board gaming, but if you’re into Pokémon, Lorcana, or sports cards it’s worth the trip. DARECon 2026 is confirmed for October 17-18 at the Osprey Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare — run by Naas Board Game Club, it’s two days of open play, organised games, and family tables. Tickets on darecon.ie. And Gaelcon 38 runs October 23-26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention covering RPGs, board games, card games, LARPs, and wargames (iga.ie/gaelcon). Board Games Ireland’s Meetup group continues to run regular events — check them on Meetup for Dublin dates. And if you haven’t been, Board & Brewed in Dún Laoghaire is Dublin’s dedicated board game café with 700+ games, stone-baked pizza, and BYOB nights on Fridays (boardandbrewed.ie). I’ve heard nothing new from the Munster side beyond our own Knavecon, which tells me there’s still a gap to fill down here.

For the Knavecon Facebook community: September is going to be busy. Knavecon 27 is three weeks out. If there are games you want to make sure are in the library, now’s the time to shout. And if you’re heading to Essen in October, let’s coordinate — there’s always a better deal on games when a few of us pool shipping.

One for social: “The TTGDA just published a public scorecard ranking how fairly board game publishers treat their designers. Every game designer should read it. Every publisher should be nervous about it. This is how industries improve.” (boardgamewire.com)

Knavecon Board Game Briefing — Tuesday, 1 September 2026

First day of September and the hobby calendar is about to get very busy. Dragon Con and PAX West both kick off later this week, Essen season is warming up in the background, and — most importantly for us — Knavecon 27 is now less than four weeks away. Plenty to talk about today.

The big retail news this month is that Asmodee’s September release calendar is stacked. Marvel: Crisis Protocol Alliances – Night of the Goblin drops on September 4th, and there’s a new Harmonies Pulse expansion due mid-month. But the one I’d pay attention to is the Rheinlander: Evolved release from 25th Century Games — a Knizia area control classic from 1999 that’s been given a full makeover with Ian O’Toole art and new expansion modules designed by Knizia himself. That’s a serious pedigree and it should be hitting shelves this month. Bitewing Games had it on their most anticipated list earlier in the year and rightly so. Keep an eye on it. (Bitewing Games, Asmodee release calendar)

Games Workshop is bumping prices again on September 21st — about 4% across the board on paints and models. They announced it through the retailer network back in August with minimal fanfare, as usual. If you’re a Warhammer person and you’ve been putting off a purchase, you’ve got about three weeks to buy at current prices. (Spikey Bits breakdown, GW Retailer Network)

On the content side, Shut Up & Sit Down recently reviewed Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon and seemed to enjoy it — a thematic euro about running an anime production house where you’re constantly teetering on the edge of burnout and debt. It’s been getting buzz from multiple reviewers and it’s on the Essen 2026 strategic euro watchlists too. If you like your euros with a bit of personality and theme baked in, this is worth a look. (SU&SD review) Meanwhile, BoardGameQuest posted their crowdfunding roundup last week with Echoes of Artemis (asymmetric deck-builder, funded on Kickstarter, ending September 4th) and Steel Wolves Deluxe Edition among the picks. (BGQ roundup)

Convention-wise, Dragon Con (September 3–7, Atlanta) and PAX West (September 4–7, Seattle) both fire up this week. PAX West’s tabletop presence in the Summit building looks substantial again — board game library, Dice Throne demos, a Deception Zone, plus exhibitors including Misty Mountain Gaming and the new Riftbound: League of Legends TCG. Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill is doing the Friday keynote. If anyone’s reporting from either event, the tabletop previews coming out of those shows will set the tone heading into Essen. (PAX West tabletop, Dragon Con gaming)

Worth watching: Wirecutter named their top 5 Gen Con standouts recently and Wingspan Pocket was at the top of the list — it’s already available at $20 and reviews are strong. Elizabeth Hargrave’s lighter, 30-minute, cards-and-eggs version of Wingspan that plays up to 5. If it’s as good as people say, it’ll be everywhere at game nights by Christmas. (Wirecutter)

Ireland

September is genuinely stacked for gaming in Ireland. Three events in the next four weeks:

Pax Hibernia is on September 12th at the Teacher’s Club, Parnell Square, Dublin — a full day of board gaming in the city centre. Tickets are €15 in advance or €20 on the door. It’s the inaugural edition, so worth supporting. Details at paxhibernia.ie.

The Glendalough Gaming Retreat runs September 18–20 in Co. Wicklow — a full weekend of board games, wargames, and RPGs with accommodation included for €150, or €40 if you’re just coming for the day. Board & Brewed are running it and they’ve said more than half the tickets are already gone. If you fancy gaming in one of the most scenic spots in the country, this is your chance. Book through Board & Brewed.

And then Knavecon 27 on September 26th at the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick. Our own one. €20 adults, €10 students, kids free. Massive games library, free coffee all day, and apparently the biggest raffle yet. Tickets are on sale now at victorgannongames.com. Cork people allowed under license, as always.

Beyond that, the regular Board Games Ireland meetup continues every Sunday at Alfie Byrne’s opposite the National Concert Hall in Dublin, and there’s a Celbridge board game meetup on September 2nd listed on Meetup.com. Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport for anyone already looking ahead. (Board Games Ireland on Facebook, Gaelcon)

Knavecon Boardgame Briefing — Friday, 28 August 2026

Decent week. Not the noisiest of the summer — we’re in that late-August lull where Gen Con has fully settled and the Essen machine is just starting to warm up — but there’s enough going on to keep you busy. A major retail release finally landing, FFG continuing to tease the Vault Series, a couple of things climbing the BGG Hotness that deserve your attention, and a surprisingly active autumn shaping up for Irish conventions.

The five things that mattered this week

Wingspan Pocket is shipping today, August 28th, to retailers (Taps Games listing). This is Stonemaier’s compact version of Wingspan — smaller box, 30-minute playtime, designed for portability without gutting what makes the original work. It’s been sitting at #8 on the BGG Hotness and early buzz is positive. Elizabeth Hargrave designed it, which matters — this isn’t a cash-in shrink-down by a different team. If you’ve ever wanted Wingspan but found the setup or table footprint a barrier, this is probably for you. If you already own Wingspan and both expansions, it’s harder to justify, but at the price point it’s an easy gift buy. Stonemaier’s own page has all the details.

ICv2 reported this week that Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy is officially heading to retail, with preorders now live and an October release window (ICv2). This is the new expansion from Dire Wolf that works with both the original Dune: Imperium and Uprising — cross-compatibility is a smart move given how split the playerbase is between the two versions. New cards, new leaders, planetary raids. GameNerdz has it listed at $40 (link). This’ll be one to watch for the Essen/autumn review cycle. Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy was already sitting in the BGG Hotness top 10 this month, so there’s real appetite for it.

Shut Up & Sit Down wrapped their Board Games Direct 2026 series over the past few weeks and it’s worth going back through if you missed any of it. They ran themed days — thematic games, crunchy games, chill games, co-op and solo, card games, two-player — and covered a huge amount of upcoming stuff. Highlights included Thunder Road: Ignition (coming this month), a Mechs vs. Minions: Bandle City Edition reveal to kick the whole thing off, and a pile of shorter previews through Dani Standring’s excellent BGD Shorts series. It’s a lot of content but genuinely useful if you want to know what’s coming before Essen. All of it is on shutupandsitdown.com and their YouTube channel.

The Arkham Horror Remastered Gamefound campaign continues to build anticipation. This is the first title in FFG’s new Vault Series — bringing back the beloved 2nd Edition of Arkham Horror with revamped rules, upgraded components, new illustrations, and the entire run of 2nd Edition expansions rolled in. The campaign launches in October on Gamefound. For anyone who loved 2nd Edition (and there are a lot of us), this is a big deal. The 3rd Edition never quite captured the same magic for a chunk of the fanbase, so a properly remastered 2nd Edition with modern production values is exactly the right call. No pricing yet, but expect it won’t be cheap — it’s the full collection.

Restoration Games posted more behind-the-scenes content this week for The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit — their restoration of the old Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit, re-themed to Middle-earth with a crowdfunding campaign coming in September (Restoration Games). The deluxe edition will feature 3D representations of Minas Tirith and Mordor. It’s a joint effort with Space Cowboys and it’s #7 on the BGG Hotness already. The standard retail edition is due in 2027, but the limited deluxe is crowdfund-only. This one has serious hype behind it.

What’s worth tracking next week

The BGG Hotness has been interesting this month. Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy, Wingspan Pocket, and Night at the Zoo (from Czech designer Tomáš Holek) are all jostling for position. Dominant Species has been climbing again — a 16-year-old game still finding new fans. Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship moved up a couple of spots too. Worth keeping an eye on Rebirth by Reiner Knizia, which got a Spiel des Jahres nomination and is still generating discussion.

Essen is less than two months out (22–25 October). The Essen Spiel Preview on BGG is now live, and publishers are starting to reveal their lineups. If you’re planning a trip, hotel rooms go fast — book now if you haven’t already.

Ireland

The Irish convention calendar for autumn is genuinely stacked this year. DARECon 2026 is confirmed for 17–18 October at the Osprey Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare — run by Naas Board Game Club, two days of open play, organised games, and family-friendly tables. Tickets are live on Fienta and on darecon.ie. Then just a few days later, Gaelcon 38 runs from 23–26 October at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport in Santry. Ireland’s oldest independent gaming convention, now in its 38th year — RPGs, board games, LARPs, wargames, trade hall, charity auction, the works. They updated their schedule on August 26th and RPG tickets are on sale now at iga.ie/gaelcon. Hotel rooms at the convention rate are €185/€195 per night Fri–Sat. That’s two solid weekends of gaming in October for anyone willing to travel.

CraiCON in Ballymena ran successfully at the start of the month — Northern Ireland’s newest board game convention — so fair play to them for getting that off the ground (craicon-ni.com). And for Cork folk, The Collector’s Cave opened earlier this summer at 14B French Church Street — a new hobby and gaming store with a dedicated sensory space for neurodivergent players, which is a genuinely thoughtful touch (Yay Cork). Competition for Sandbox in the city, and healthy competition at that. Board & Brewed also continues ticking along as Ireland’s board game café option. Dublin has Gamers World, Rogue Gaming (relatively new), and Underworld Gaming all doing their thing.

For the Knavecon community

Essen is eight weeks away and October is shaping up to be a brilliant month for Irish tabletop. If you’re thinking about going to DARECon, Gaelcon, or both, now’s the time to sort tickets. And if Arkham Horror 2nd Edition was your thing back in the day, the Vault Series remaster launching in October could be the crowdfunding campaign of the autumn. Worth discussing in the group — how many of us would back a full remastered 2nd Edition collection?

One for socials

“Wingspan Pocket ships today. Arkham Horror 2nd Edition is getting a full remaster. Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit crowdfunds next month. And Ireland has two board game conventions in October plus a brand new game shop in Cork. Not bad for a quiet August.”

Knavecon 27 – September 26

Huge news in the gaming Calender. Knavecon Ireland’s OG board gaming event is once again happening on the 26th September in Limerick.  There’s talk about the biggest boardgaming raffle yet.  Idle talk perhaps but probably true

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Knavecon Board Game Briefing — Tuesday, 25 August 2026

A relatively quiet Tuesday after the Gen Con dust has settled and while the industry catches its breath before Essen season kicks off properly. There’s still a few bits worth paying attention to though, especially if you’re already starting to think about October.

SU&SD wraps Board Games Direct with a pair of new episodes

Shut Up & Sit Down have been pumping out their Board Games Direct series all month — basically their annual showcase of new and upcoming games. The final episode, New Games for Two, dropped recently and covers two-player games including Tag Team: Arthur’s Legacy (September), Night Witches (Fall 2026), Red Notice (October), and Dice Throne Vanguard. Alongside that, their latest podcast — episode 299.15, “A Sliver of Small Boxes” — has Tom and Matt reviewing small-box games including Otter (a shedding game). They also did a meaty episode 299 on The Queen’s Dilemma, the follow-up to The King’s Dilemma, plus Railway Porters. If you liked The King’s Dilemma, that one’s worth a listen.

The Essen 2026 preview list is filling up on BGG

If you haven’t already poked around the SPIEL Essen 2026 preview on BGG, now’s a good time to start. It went live in late July and publishers are adding games daily. Essen runs October 22–25 this year. Multiple publishers — Devir, Kolossal, and plenty of smaller outfits — are already staking their claims. For anyone planning the trip, BGG’s monthly Best of BGG August video flagged that the preview list is live and growing. Two months out, the serious planning starts now.

Atalia’s liquidation is a warning sign

I mentioned this a while back but it’s still worth flagging for context: French distributor and publisher Atalia entered liquidation in July after losing distribution rights to key bestsellers. Board Game Wire covered it well. They blamed market saturation and the stranglehold Asmodee and Hachette have on French distribution. It’s a stark reminder that the mid-tier publisher/distributor space is getting tighter. Anyone who thinks the board game market is pure sunshine hasn’t been paying attention. Steelwing Games — the new label from industry vet Scott Morris (ex-Arcane Wonders, ex-Lucky Duck) — launching with Rainbow Blvd. is the other side of the coin: experienced people starting lean and focused. His interview on Board Game Wire is worth reading if you’re interested in where the business side of things is going.

BGG Hotness: the usual suspects and one newcomer

The current BGG Hotness is sitting with Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy at the top, which has been parked there since its Gen Con debut. Night at the Zoo is the interesting one — it’s been climbing and holding position alongside heavyweights like Wingspan Pocket and Rebirth (the Knizia/Mighty Boards game). Night at the Zoo is a 2026 release that seems to have properly caught on. Worth keeping an eye on if you haven’t looked into it yet.

Crowdfunding — one launch today

According to the BGG prelaunched projects list, a game from Sword and Stone Studios was slated for Gamefound launch today (August 25). It’s a 1–10 player game designed by Luke Skelton with a 240-minute play time. Not a lot of buzz around it yet but if that player count and length appeal to you, it could be worth a look. August overall has been quieter on the crowdfunding front — most publishers seem to be holding their big launches for September/October to ride the Essen wave.

In Ireland

A few things happening. Tonight (Tuesday 25th August), Board & Brewed in Dún Laoghaire has their regular Tuesday board game meetup — 5pm to 10pm, free entry, over 700 games on the shelf, and they’ll sort you onto a table if you come on your own. They also do pizza and pints. It’s one of the best regular game nights in Dublin.

Looking ahead: the Irish Catan Jamboree is on Saturday September 5th at Board & Brewed — the first event from the Irish Catan Association outside of their competitive cups. Tickets are €14 and it runs 10am to 6pm. If you’re a Catan person (or know one), that’s a nice casual day out.

For anyone who hasn’t been yet, Rogue Gaming opened on Francis Street in Dublin back in June — a dedicated tabletop gaming space doing trading cards, board games, and RPGs. Dublin’s scene keeps growing.

And the big one on the calendar: Gaelcon 38 runs October 23–26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport. Early bird tickets and RPG/LARP event tickets are available now on their website. It’s Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention and always worth the trip.

I haven’t found anything new in Munster or the rest of the country in the last couple of days. If anyone knows of game nights or events outside Dublin, shout in the comments — I’d love to cover them.

For the Knavecon community: with Essen two months away and Gaelcon in October, now’s the time to start thinking about autumn gaming plans. If anyone’s heading to either, flag it in the Knavecon group — could be worth coordinating.

Worth sharing: “The Queen’s Dilemma is apparently out and SU&SD are already playing it. If The King’s Dilemma was one of your group’s favourites, this follow-up might be the autumn campaign game sorted.”

Knavecon Boardgame Briefing — Friday, 21 August 2026

Good week, this one. The post-Gen Con dust is settling, SU&SD ran their massive Board Games Direct event, the BGG Hotness is full of genuinely interesting games, and there are a couple of Irish things worth flagging. Let’s get into it.

Shut Up & Sit Down went big with Board Games Direct 2026. Their week-long digital convention alternative wrapped up with seven themed episodes — thematic games, crunchy euros, chill games, co-op and solo, card games, a Lorcana session, and two-player picks. If you missed it, the whole lot is up on their site. The standouts from the “Chewy & Chunky” episode are worth a look if you like heavier fare, and the two-player episode covered Spell, Madcala, Logic & Lore, Red Notice, Dice Throne Vanguard, and Tag Team. It’s genuinely useful as a preview of what’s coming into Essen season. Not every game they covered will land, obviously, but this is SU&SD at their most useful — a firehose of new titles with honest first impressions. Bookmark it.

The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth is out. Thomas Sing’s third entry in The Crew series debuted at Gen Con and is now hitting retail — estimated at your FLGS any day now, priced around $15. This time it’s a globe-trotting treasure hunt with 25 stages and new team-based mission mechanics. The first two Crew games were legitimate masterpieces of cooperative trick-taking, and early buzz from Eric Martin’s review and the BGG community is positive. It’s sitting in the top 3 of the BGG Hotness alongside Wildscape and Whisperwood. If your group loved Mission Deep Sea, this is a no-brainer pickup.

Gen Con 2026 numbers are in: 74,000 unique attendees, 200,000 turnstile. That’s up on previous years and confirms Gen Con as the second-largest tabletop event globally behind Essen (220,000 turnstile). The big talking point from the show was Gen Con’s leadership transition — a new director is coming in, with former Director of Events Derek Guder shifting to a consultancy role. The new person, as reported by Tabletop Battles, is apparently taking a “listen first” approach, which is about the best thing you can say about someone stepping into a role that size. Worth watching how that plays out. On the game side, Bitewing Games’ Gold Country (a Reiner Knizia rework with Beth Sobel art) was a Gen Con highlight, and the Matchmakers trick-taking game is getting buzz among the card game crowd — team-based, expert-level, with a Swiss jass trumping system. That one’s headed for Essen.

The BGG Hotness is stacked right now. Whisperwood (2027 release, already generating huge anticipation), Wildscape (Karma Games, top 3 and climbing without any paid push — just word of mouth), The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth, Dino Racer, Wingspan Pocket, Drillers, and Avalon: The Riven Veil are all jostling for position. Wildscape in particular has been a slow burner that’s now a genuine contender for game of the year conversations. Meanwhile, the BGG Top 100 analysis from August 18 notes Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship climbing two spots to #63. Wingspan Pocket — Elizabeth Hargrave’s compact, travel-friendly version of Wingspan — has been out since mid-July from Stonemaier and is doing well. It’s a 30-minute card-driven distillation of the original, no board, no dice, and it works.

Essen Spiel 2026 (October 22–25) is shaping up. The BGG preview list is live, publishers are already showing their hands, and Albi announced they’re nearly tripling their booth size. Inside Up Games teased a new suitless trick-taker for Essen. Devir’s Essen preview is up. The Essen ticket shop is open. If you’re going — or even just planning your wishlist — now’s the time to start tracking what’s coming. The BGG Essen preview page is the place.

In Ireland. A few things to flag. Tonight (Friday 21st August), The Hobby Space in Listowel has their board games club meetup at 7pm, €5 entry — that’s right here in Kerry/North Limerick range, very doable for Knavecon regulars. In Dublin, the Board Games Ireland group continues to be the best free regular gaming in the country — Sundays at the Black Sheep on Capel Street (all day, no charge, just buy a drink), Mondays at Ryan’s of Store Street, and Wednesdays in D8. All details on their Meetup page. There’s also a board game meetup in Rush on Wednesday the 26th at The Strand Family Bar, run by the Rush Boardgame & Pub Group.

Looking ahead for Irish conventions: DARECon 2026 in Naas is coming up on October 17–18 at the Osprey Hotel — early bird tickets are ending imminently, so grab them at darecon.ie if you’re interested. It’s run by Naas Board Game Club and looks like a solid two-day event. Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23–26 at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport — Ireland’s longest-running gaming convention, always worth attending. And Rogue Gaming, Dublin’s newest tabletop gaming space in the Liberties (opened in June), is now up and running if you’re looking for a new FLGS in the capital.

For the Knavecon community specifically: if anyone’s thinking about Essen this year, now’s a good time to start organising. The preview list is live, flights from Shannon and Dublin to Düsseldorf are still reasonable in October, and a few of us went last year. Worth a conversation on the Facebook group if there’s interest in a loose Knavecon crew heading over.

One for the socials: “Wildscape climbing to top 3 on BGG Hotness purely on word of mouth, no Kickstarter hype, no publisher marketing blitz — just people playing it and telling their friends. That’s how it should work.”

Reasonably busy Tuesday. The Dice Tower crew are on vacation this week so the usual firehose of content has slowed to a trickle, but there’s enough happening elsewhere to keep things interesting. Essen Spiel preview season is properly underway, a chunky Kickstarter just closed, and another one launched today.

Cult of the Lamb: The Board Game closed its Kickstarter on Friday at £2.6 million — that’s 137 times its original goal, from over 14,000 backers. Paper Fort Games out of Nottingham ran the campaign. It’s a worker placement dungeon crawler based on the video game, which checks a lot of boxes for the “IP adaptation that might actually be good” category. Whether you care about the licence or not, that’s a serious amount of money for a relatively unknown studio. Worth keeping an eye on how delivery goes. (Backseat Gamer)

Spirit Train: The Final Journey launched on Kickstarter today. Designed by Casey and Zoey Mattes, published by SweaterBear Games, it’s a 2–4 player game where you’re a conductor guiding spirits through the realm between worlds. 60–90 minutes, art by Maruša Gorjup. The Spiritfarer comparisons are inevitable and probably intentional. If the theme grabs you, the preview page is live now. (Kickstarter)

The BGG Hotness for August is worth a look. Entropy (Battista, Luciani, and Mangone) is sitting at number one for the second month running — it’s clearly the game of the summer for the BGG crowd. Greylune from William Attia (the Caylus designer) via Sorry We Are French is at number three and generating serious buzz. Timespan is at two. Drillers from CGE is climbing at four, and Night at the Zoo (also from the Séti designer Tomáš Holek) is at five. Further down, Duel of Meloch from Stonemaier and Dune: Imperium – Conspiracy are both hanging around. (Best of BGG August 2026)

If you’re into classic euros getting the deluxe treatment, there’s a Kickstarter running until August 25th from Play For Keeps bundling new editions of Mexica, Bridges of Shangri-La, Gheos, and Reel Rivals (formerly El Caballero). It’s at 372% funded. Mexica is a cracker and Bridges of Shangri-La is underrated, so this one might be worth a pledge if you missed these games the first time around. (Meeple Mountain crowdfunding roundup)

BoardGameQuest have been busy post-Gen Con. They published their Symbiosis review last week (3 stars — light card game, nice theme, not essential) and a Qomet review before that. Their Gen Con 2026 recap from August 7th is still worth reading if you missed it. Also on the review front, Stefan Feld’s City Collection got a top 10 ranking piece from BGQ on the 14th, which is handy if you’re wondering where to start with that series. (BoardGameQuest)

Games worth watching right now: Entropy continues to be the one everyone’s talking about and it ships end of August. The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth (the third in the series) is expected Q3 and should be excellent if the first two are anything to go by. And the Essen Spiel 2026 preview list is now live on BGG — October 22–25, start planning your wishlist.

Ireland corner. A few things coming up that Knavecon people should know about. Pax Hibernia is on September 12th at the Teacher’s Club on Parnell Square in Dublin — a full day of board gaming, tickets €15 in advance or €20 on the door. Good event, city centre, easy to get to. Details at paxhibernia.ie. The Glendalough Gaming Retreat is September 18–20, a full weekend of tabletop gaming in Wicklow with accommodation included for €150 or €40 non-residential. More than half the tickets are already gone so don’t sit on it if you’re interested. Book through Board & Brewed. Gaelcon 38 is confirmed for October 23–26 at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport — Ireland’s longest-running gaming con, now in its 38th year. Rob Brennan is convention director. And if you missed it, the Irish Card Market summer edition was on August 15th in Dún Laoghaire. On BGG’s Ireland forum there’s an active thread about gaming in Carrigaline, Cork, which was updated just a couple of days ago — worth a look if you’re in that part of the world. Board Games Ireland continues their regular meetups at The Black Sheep on Capel Street (Sundays) and Ryan’s Bar (Monday nights) in Dublin.

For the Knavecon community specifically: between Pax Hibernia in September and the Glendalough Retreat the following weekend, there’s a decent stretch of gaming to be had if you’re willing to travel. Both are well-run events. And Essen is only two months away if anyone’s thinking about the trip — the ticket shop is open.

One for the socials: “Cult of the Lamb raised £2.6 million on Kickstarter — 137 times its goal. Meanwhile Entropy has been number one on the BGG Hotness for two months straight and it’s from a studio most people hadn’t heard of eighteen months ago. The hobby continues to reward the weird and the ambitious.”