The brand new 12 months is upon us, and with it comes the promise of name new board video games for our weekly sport nights. That is the time of 12 months the place releases are slim as publishers are gearing as much as have their newest and best titles prepared for the upcoming conference season. So what video games do now we have our eyes on this 12 months? Glad you requested! The BGQ Staff gathers to listing out the video games we’re most trying ahead to taking part in this 12 months.
Shallow Sea
Chosen by Marcus
I’ve not been let down but by Dangerous Comet’s free sequence of nature-themed video games, with Wild: Serengeti being satisfying and Lifetime of the Amazonia changing into a favourite. Late final 12 months after I heard about Shallow Sea, I backed straight away. This time, the sport goes to the Nice Barrier Reef in Australia. The gameplay consists of putting fish in your reef and transferring them round to finish reef tiles with sure fish to attain factors. There are additionally sea life tiles for different animals that decision the Nice Barrier Reef dwelling, from the dugong to the seahorse, which requires fish in numerous patterns to attain their factors. It appears to be a really completely different sport from its predecessors, however that’s a part of the attract of this “sequence.” That, and the attractive artwork of cute animals.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 14+ • half-hour 
Railroad Tiles
Chosen by Emma
I performed a lot Railroad Ink in 2024. So very a lot. I performed each growth and each core set. I performed it on-line, in bodily format, solo, and with mates. It even went on my Honeymoon with me. There was positively a degree the place I requested myself how far more of my life I might spend rolling cube and squiggling down prepare routes. Then the Horrible Guild introduced a tile-laying model! Along with drafting tiles to position routes, Railroad Tiles additionally enables you to place vehicles, trains, and vacationers, creating some new challenges on your community. I’m excited to see how these will replace the texture of the sport, and the way it will seize the spirit of the unique.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 8+ • half-hour
Oath: New Foundations
Chosen by Brandon
The brand new 12 months is shaping as much as characteristic some heavy-hitting releases which are definitely on my radar. I’ve backed Everlasting Decks and Queen’s Dilemma, and am extremely anticipating Candy Lands, Shinjuku, Unmatched: TMNT, the Calimala reprint, and the upcoming Mage Knight growth. A buddy even secured me a duplicate of Molly Home, releasing quickly! However anybody who is aware of me is aware of the place my coronary heart lies. And the Oath: New Foundations growth is the discharge that I’m pining for essentially the most. Taking a system that’s already infinitely evolving and including extra content material that straight interacts with the chronicle facet is precisely what I’m looking for. There are new traits and curses, shadow denizens, web site enhancements, new targets, new relics and denizen playing cards, a star chart, an improved solo mode—AND there have been guidelines revisits to scrub it up additional. Oath is my group’s favourite expertise. Every of us is able to introduce all of the shiny additions and proceed to increase upon the majestic story (and wild inside jokes!) of a world we’re constructing (and tearing down) collectively.
1-6 Gamers • Ages 10+ • 45+ minutes
Galactic Cruise
Chosen by Michelle
In a wierd accident, now we have each a euro-style sport and pleasing artwork multi functional! With an area backdrop thrown in as a deal with, I couldn’t assist however pre-order this after lacking the Kickstarter in early 2024. For the solo players on the market or those that wish to spend a while with a board sport whereas ready on the subsequent sport night time, there’s a solo guidelines part. You might be instructed to play in opposition to an autonomous “unconventional rent” who seems to be a nepo child, which is a enjoyable theme so as to add to Galactic Cruise’s lore. I really like that there are such a lot of transferring components and that the principle mechanic is employee placement. At its coronary heart, this can be a complicated technique sport and one of many principal points with these video games is the overwhelm of what to do subsequent. Nonetheless, having firm objectives and a progress monitor will assist gamers get their bearings rapidly so I’m assured that this generally is a good selection when persuading your folks to play extra euros. Sections of the board devoted to planning, headquarters, manufacturing, and advertising and marketing will add that additional contact of immersion for anybody who prefers to get misplaced in a theme as nicely.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 14+ • 90+ minutes • $118
Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns
Chosen by James
As I obtained an opportunity to play Arydia in 2024, it didn’t really feel acceptable to listing right here so I’m going to listing one other crowdfunded sport that can most likely slip into subsequent 12 months like a lot of my current picks: Rogue Angels. It’s sci-fi dungeon crawler with a singular IP that many liken to Mass Impact. And whereas there may be already a Mass Impact board sport (that wasn’t pretty much as good as some hoped) this may be the one which finest captures the vibe of the online game with character relationship arcs and a branching narrative throughout one other marketing campaign sport I’ll wrestle to complete. Harm clogs your motion card slots which come again to your hand by way of a simplified Oathsworn-like settle down mechanic. Characters on this RPG-like sport evolve with personalities, expertise, tools, relationships, and scars (assuming battle scars, not emotional scars). And with battles being in a ebook, a la Jaws of the Lion, or many Plaid Hat video games, it appears to arrange and play rapidly.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 16+ • 60-120 minutes
Dust & Mud
Chosen by Austin
There may be treasured little data obtainable for Dust & Mud in the intervening time, however what I’ve seen has me very . I really like video games that summary giant ideas into intelligent mechanisms, and “rally driving as card-and-dice placement” might match that to a tee. The promise of a solo mode can be intriguing, though there’s even much less details about that than the remainder of the sport. It’s laborious to attract every other conclusions about Dust & Mud in the intervening time, however that received’t cease me from getting excited!
2-4 Gamers • Ages 13+ • 60 minutes
A Place for All My Books
Chosen by April
I deliberated a lot over which sport to characteristic right here. I thought of many deep, crunchy, and sprawling video games, however I ended and requested myself, “Would I truly purchase this?” Then I stumbled upon A Place for All My Books. At first, it simply made me chuckle, as I appreciated the relatable theme. However the extra I checked out it, the extra I noticed that it’d truly be a great sport, if far faraway from the euros and wargames I used to be drooling over, however couldn’t select between. A Place for All My Books is a comfy, sample constructing, employee placement sport about shopping for books. Then you definately go dwelling to rearrange and admire them, thus recharging your “introvert batteries” so you may exit and purchase extra books! I believe that’s a premise we introverts can unite behind.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 10+ • 40-60 minutes
Dying Gentle: The Board Recreation
Chosen by Tony
Glass Canon Unplugged knocked it out of the park with their online game to tabletop adaption of Frostpunk: The Board Recreation and I’m excited to check out their newest providing: Dying Gentle: The Board Recreation, primarily based on the online game of the identical identify. It drops gamers within the sneakers of Runners as they parkour across the metropolis, attempting to outlive and combat off the undead. It tried this one out on Tabletop Simulator throughout its crowdfunding marketing campaign and was drawn in fairly rapidly. I cherished the fast-paced motion and 3D buildings to actually assist to create an immersive expertise.
1-4 Gamers • Ages 16+ • 60-120 minutes
Cross Bronx Expressway
Chosen by Daybreak
I really like each historic and political video games, so that is a straightforward choose for me. It made the P500 in 2024, GMT’s pre-order system, and is predicted to ship later this 12 months. This can be a card-driven uneven technique sport about city planning: the cash, the infrastructure, the individuals, and the politics. It’s a part of a sequence known as Irregular Conflicts, which adapts wargame mechanics to different kinds of battle. I haven’t performed something on this sequence, though I’ve loved a few their different card-driven technique video games.
1-3 Gamers • Ages 14+ • 90-180 minutes • $86
Deep Regrets
Chosen by Brian W
I really like macabre video games and this one caught my eye on Kickstarter final 12 months and backed this one. The cartoony paintings is the correct mix of creepy incorrect and proper that I really like and jogs my memory of the Lovecraft story: Shadows over Innsmouth however it’s not so refined. Deep Regrets is a dice-driven sport the place gamers roll and resolve whether or not to remain at sea or return to port to promote fish or mount fish, purchase provisions, and recharge their vitality for return journeys to the ocean. However it’s also possible to catch monsters and do some regrettable issues, which is able to drive you mad. Deep Regrets continues to be anticipated to ship in March and I can’t wait to get my palms on it and to the desk.
1-5 Gamers • Ages 12+ • 30-150 minutes
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Period
Chosen by Brian B
Whereas 2024 was an amazing 12 months for coop fantasy video games (my favourite style), three of them slipped into 2025: Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Period, Elden Ring, and Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread. Of those three, I’m most trying ahead to Elder Scrolls. First, not solely am I a complete fanboy of the Elder Scrolls sequence, however I additionally play the net sport the board sport is predicated on. Moreover, it has been respectfully labeled Too Many Bones 2.0, one other sport I really like, primarily based on the similarities of their dice-driven leveling up in addition to the usage of poker chips for battles on a tactical map.
What units Elder Scrolls aside is its customization and replay worth. There are 5 distinctive areas, every with its personal map and quest booklet. There are 9 completely different guilds. Guild alternative impacts your principal quest, which, in flip, is impacted by the area you might be exploring. There are 10 races, every with its personal skill and beginning stat scores. There are 15 lessons, every with its personal set of skills. Lastly, there are 11 completely different talent strains to study, none of which has a race or class restriction. Phew…
1-4 Gamers • Ages 12+ • 120-240 minutes
