We’re halfway through 2026, and it’s time to look back at the shiny new cardboard that still smells like the Panda Games manufacturing line. Unfortunately for you, your wallet, and your social obligations, the Golden Age of Games continues. There are so many new releases. And so many of those are good-to-great games! How do you choose?

Lucky for you, we are reviewers on the Internet, and it’s our job to keep playing these bangin’ games and then Sophie’s Choice them into the active volcano or onto this list.

The Best Board Games of 2026… So Far

Ace of Spades

Chosen by Tony
This one may be cheating a little, as Ace of Spades had an early release at Gen Con 2025. However, people soon noticed some ill-chosen art on the cards, and the game was quickly pulled from the shelves. This spring, it was released (with some updated cards), and I’ve finally got a chance to try it. It was billed as Balatro on your tabletop, and that’s a pretty good comparison. In Ace of Spades, you are trying to get through 12 demons by playing poker hands. Each one you defeat will give you either a one-time-use power or a persistent one. The thing is that you only have so many hands and discards to use each round, so you’ve got to make sure to get the best hands you can.

1-2 Players • Ages 10+ • 45 minutes • $25

The Queen’s Dilemma

Chosen by Brandon
After years of anticipation, the sequel to The King’s Dilemma finally reached our shores! The Queen’s Dilemma is a legacy card-driven narrative experience for up to six players. I’m currently halfway through the campaign as of this writing and have enjoyed the dive back into the lore of the Ankist kingdom as well as the return to the council seat. So far, there have been several improvements to the original game design, including character focus, region and resource development, keyword and skill upgrades, and a more robust pass system. Another highlight is the new ideology board, which helps direct players to stay true to their character’s goals. I would love to share the choices that we’ve made along the way, both exciting and at times morally dubious, but that’s for you to discover. This system continues to be a shining example of how to make a narrative design enjoyable. Kudos to the design team and publisher Horrible Guild.

3-6 Players • Ages 14+ • 60-90 minutes • $150

Duel of Meloch

Chosen by Victoria
Stonemaier Games’ 2026 release, Duel of Meloch, is a 1-2 player dueling game that combines the mechanics of Scythe (for one player) and the mechanics of Expeditions (for the other player). While it is very much a stand-alone game, players who own Scythe and/or Expeditions will be able to mix and match the existing factions for countless match-ups, including Scythe v. Scythe and Expeditions v. Expeditions options within this new dueling title. Some may be wondering how the more conflict-driven Scythe will blend with the more Euro-centric Expeditions mechanics, and if this is just too ambitious an undertaking hoping to profit from the popularity of these two great titles. Having already played this new dueling game four times, I can confidently say the new system is elegant, surprisingly balanced, full of tension, and A LOT of fun. Fans of either Scythe or Expeditions are likely to thoroughly enjoy this new release.

1-2 Players • Ages 14+ • 45 minutes • $50

Nippon Zaibatsu

Chosen by Zach
Zaibatsu is a new edition of the 2015 game Nippon from Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade. It is an economic area control game, where players build and grow their own corporate conglomerates (Zaibatsus) in Meiji-era Japan. Zaibatsu refines and slightly tweaks what was already an excellent medium/heavy weight Euro. By introducing silk as a wild resource (used as money or temporary R&D upgrades), the game gains a bit of flexibility in what is otherwise a cutthroat battle for actions and area control. CrowD games has produced an absolutely gorgeous game. With the Genro expansion incoming, Nippon Zaibatsu is poised to become the best Euro released this year.

1-4 Players • Ages 13+ • 60-120 minutes • $150

The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game

Chosen by Brian W
This game picks up literally where the 2025’s The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game left off with chapters 19-36 of gameplay. Now this game is standalone, so you do not need the 2025 version, but it does continue the narrative-driven story with new heroes and villains plus new game card mechanics. Some of the new mechanics are Orcs, and Black and White tower cards that will be included in each chapter. The Orc cards introduce troublesome mechanics because you cannot win tricks with these cards, and they can cause you to lose a chapter. The two Tower cards will win any trick as long as both are not played on the same trick. Again, new card mechanics and a continuation of a great thematic and cooperative experience.

1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 20 minutes • $27

Galactic Cruise

Chosen by Andrea
I am terrible at this list. I am pretty good at resisting the cult of the new. Don’t get me wrong, I am easily distracted by new pretty games, but generally I like to see if games have staying power before I start shelling out big bucks. Most games that enter my collection any given year were published a couple of years prior. Which is where I found myself when our fearless BGQ leader said ‘gimme your best game from 2026’. I gotta give him something, or there will be one less Internet Reviewer next year. After a little consideration, I looked at the games entering my collection in 2026.  Best game of my year? A 2025 publication that has lived up to every ounce of its hype. Galactic Cruise. This game hits every note and rings every bell. It’s complex without being punishingly hard. Strong theme that informs rules and decisions. A new expansion is due in 2026, so it kinda counts. Right?

1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 90-120 minutes • $118

Everdell Emerland

Chosen by James
I really liked the base game of Everdell and found that the Collector’s Edition proved that there can be too much of a good thing. Emerland is once again a base version of Everdell with a few twists. There’s a new exploring-a-ruins mechanic, which is reminiscent of the Spirecrest journey, as well as upgradeable cards, realm cards to expand your tableau, and helpers which can either boost an action, allow you to use a location that’s already been taken, or take some actions on their own.  Like with every version of Everdell, there are great components to play with and evocative critter art (this time by the talented David Forest and Lina Cossette (aka Mr. Cuddington)). The overall experience feels like base Everdell with a really good expansion attached.

1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 30-120 minutes • $50

World Order: A Race to Global Hegemony

Chosen by Andy
I am a huge fan of the first offering from Hegemonic Project games, the almost eponymous Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory. So, I insta-backed their follow-up offer (also semi-eponymously named), World Order: A Race to Global Hegemony, designed by the same Greek team of Vangelis Bagiartakis and Varnavas Timotheou, with art by Angga Satriohadi and Miłosz Wojtasik. Where Hegemony puts you in the role of one of four classes vying to dominate domestic politics/economics/social policy in a non-superpower state (think Greece), World Order now puts you in charge of one of four superpowers (USA, China, Russia, or the EU) trying to dominate global politics/economics/war. Both games are CDGs (Card-Driven [war] Games) at heart, but where Hegemony was an intricate minuet of coopetition among mutually interlocked members of a society, World Order is a much more straightforward game of zero-sum area control. Still, when I finished my first play (a learning game that took 4-ish hours), I immediately wanted to run it back again. I think it will continue to grow on me, and so I am looking forward to writing it up as my game of the entire year when early 2027 (and Tony’s nag to do my write-up) rolls around.

2-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 120-180 minutes • $60

Kittens in Space

Chosen by Marcus
This small-box card game just missed out on my cat games top 10 recently, but had it arrived beforehand, I would have likely included it in the top 10. It’s a light, quick game, as many cat-themed games are. Throughout the game, you’re trying to empty your hand by building card stacks (representing the kitten lunar adoption & rescue center) based on rules that shift as the game progresses. The game is played over a number of rounds, with the winner of each round scoring a point, and the game ending after someone scores their third point. I had originally pegged it as just another cute game (it is that, at least – the art is adorable), but the gameplay is engaging, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was.

1-6 Players • Ages 8+ • 15 minutes • $20

Misfit Heroes

Chosen by Brian B
2025 – Castle Combo is an amazing, easy-to-play tableau bui-

Cult of the New enters the chat

2026 – Misfit Heroes is an amazing, easy-to-play tableau builder.

Misfit Heroes has replaced Castle Combo as my go-to game for a quick-playing tableau builder for three reasons:

1. Variety – Misfit Heroes uses modified card crafting (Mystic Vale, Dead Reckoning, etc.) so that every card is one of 96 normal cards and one of 96 plastic overlays combined in one card sleeve. So, you can transform a Wealthy Treasure Hunter into a Reptilian Treasure Hunter simply by changing the card. Note: This is a modified version of card crafting as you set up the cards BEFORE playing. No changes are made during the game.
2. More decisions – You build a 4×4 grid tableau by playing a card from your hand and paying its cost. Additionally, there are other options besides playing a card every turn. You can also gain money, gain influence to complete quests, or draw more cards. I preferred the broader decision space compared to Castle Combos, which plays a card every turn.
3. Humor – The card combinations can be quite funny. I have always wanted to see a Gangster Mime or an Evil Town Crier.

2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 30-45 minutes • $39