The Board Hoard has thoroughly rested.
This was done on purpose to give you fine Boardies an opportunity to absorb the wealth of information I’ve been feeding you for months on end. It was too much for a human mind to handle: much more and I feared inducing some form of brain-bursting overload. I’m not here to destroy you, dudettes and dudes, I’m here to enrichen your existences, to induce waves of happiness, not stress you out by wondering how in the good darn heck you could ever deal with so many games at once. A rest was needed. A time of recuperation. You’ve had that. You’ve had as much as you’re getting. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
I’ve wasted enough of your valuable time. Let’s delve into our next board game obsessions. I’ve got new releases, Kickstarter campaigns, re-releases and second editions. I know, I’m spoiling you, but that’s the kinda guy I am! Let’s go.
Diatoms
Before we get into this, take a look at that box cover. Unreal. I recently ran an Instagram post where I asked people about their fave box art, and I chose Perch for mine (go and look, it’s fab), but that was just before I saw this. Oh boy, is it a looker. What is Diatoms except for a cool name and a wicked piece of art? It is a puzzly tile-placement and pattern-making game in which players create their own microscopic mosaic, based on an obscure Victorian art form.
This is where you find out that science really is fun. Hidden in the water all around us are tiny lifeforms known as “diatoms”. These microscopic algae cells come in a variety of exquisite geometric shapes and patterns. Their outer layer is made with silica, giving them a glass-like quality. Here at the Society for the Microscopic Arts (yeah, I know, the second I heard this I wanted to join up too, whether it’s real or not), we collect these diatoms and delicately arrange them on slides into beautiful, tiny mosaics. As part of your induction into the Society, you will each create your own entry for today’s Exhibition of Microscopic Mosaics.
To play, you’re going to collect and place diatom shapes into a mosaic form. You take turns placing tiles representing algae colonies, which will earn you diatoms of different colors and shapes. These diatoms are placed on your personal board, taking care to consider how your arrangement will be scored at the end of the game. Good news soloists! Diatoms has you covered wih a variant in which you collect diatom tiles, while trying to create a mosaic that fulfills specific requirements. Interested? You should be. Head here to take a look.
Video Game Champion
There was no way on this plane of existence that I’d be able to walk past this one. They’ve themed it around the golden age of 16-bit videogames. Have they done this to snare me? Are they weaponising my love of the Super Nintendo in an effort to compel me to pay up? If so, I congratulate them: it’s worked.
In Video Game Champion, players will step into the shoes of children balancing multiple activities such as earning pocket money, studying, and immersing themselves in the captivating world of 16-BIT gaming (got a fair idea which of these activities is the most interesting). From flipping through video game magazines (oh, the internet has nothing compared to the joy of a brand new issue of your fave mag) to renting games, asking your parents for gifts and spending hours pushing buttons, the game captures the essence of that era.
Are you an old videogame nerd like me? Are you a youthful videogame nerd like I used to be? Check this one out here.
Pet Names: A Game of Endearments
I get called all kinds of names. The ones I get called at work are incredible. In fact, it feels like everywhere I go, someone has a term of endearment for me (like the corner shop, where I swear I heard them say ‘Not that turkey again’ when I was in last week). And I like to dish out pet names of my own. Cats get a lot of names, don’t they? Our boy cat – originally Tonto – gets called Ronald, Ronald Donald, and the near-legendary Ron Ton Tontington. We have no idea how this happened. He loves it, I promise.
But wouldn’t it be nice to have some help coming up with nicknames for your nearest and dearest? That’s where Pet Names: A Game of Endearments could come in handy. This is a fast, fun party game for 2-7 players that will take around 15 minutes, where you compete to create the best nicknames for your friends and family (keep it clean, people). The best (and most genuinely surprising) bit is Charlie, an adorable fox plush bag filled with 400 mini cards that you’ll use to craft endless combinations of playful, charming, and hilarious nicknames.
Charlie also doubles as a cute mini-bag: just attach your favourite strap to the attached rings to carry it as a hands-free cross-body bag. Yep, this is a properly innovative way to carry your game around with you. I don’t believe I’ve seen anything quite like this.
The player holding Charlie deals everyone seven cards, and places five cards face-up in the centre of the table within reach of all players. In each round, every player makes one pet name for the person holding Charlie using 2 to 4 cards from their hand. Make it funny, sweet, or silly—whatever you think fits them best! Players may also choose to draw from the pool of face-up cards on the table or a random card from Charlie. Always replenish the pool of face-up cards to five. Here’s the catch: Any card drawn from Charlie or the card pool must be used in the pet name on your turn.
Fancy a game that’s not only fun, it can also give your mates/partner/mother a nickname that could haunt them for life? Go here, my friends.
Transgalactica
You’re off to the outer reaches of the galaxy! Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? An opportunity to make history (in the future, obviously: we haven’t got the tech to rocket out that far yet, in fact you and I will probably be skellywags in the ground by the time all this becomes reality, in which case why should I care, eh?), and I’d hope for a few rules to be in place. There’s certain things we simply shouldn’t take with us. Social media should be left in the dust, as should tuna sandwiches (abominations) and all politicians. Cats must come along, as must large amounts of cheddar cheese. These are non-negotiables.
Anyway, the Galactic Senate has launched the “Transgalactica Decree” in order to increase their knowledge and influence beyond the already well-known fringes of the galaxy. Fleets from every planet have been launched to the stars in search of adventure, riches, and (hopefully) an influential seat in the governing spheres that lie beyond the known space.
Transgalactica is a worker-placement and engine-building game for 2-5 players with a high level of interaction. In order to thrive in this game, you will travel the far reaches of the galaxy, improve your fleet’s influence in all galactic matters, compete with other fleets for technological advancements, build a commercial network, and possibly even send representatives to the Galactic Senate to claim political advantages.
The game is divided into five rounds. In each round, players use their Captains to perform powerful actions in their own operations panel. Then, the other players can take this same action using their crew, but without gaining a bonus – I wouldn’t expect too much downtime in this game, which is always a plus for keeping players engaged. Little by little, players will increase their military power, political influence, or technology level, and earn victory points by exploring, trading, mining or completing missions. May the best spacefarer win! Rocket on over to this page for more info.
Kryptothera: The Cryptid Hunt
Let’s switch to something that is currently a very big deal on Kickstarter. If you love The X Files, Arkham Horror, then this could call out to you…
They usually hunt us. Cryptids, I mean. That’s what I’ve seen on films and tv and all that. Bigfoot has a habit of ripping people’s arms off and using them as clubs. Mothman pops up out of nowhere to ruin your night. Nessie lurks about waiting for wild swimmers. The Goatsucker Bird is… something I don’t understand. But I’ll tell you what! It’s time to turn the tables.
Kryptothera is a 2-6 player competitive adventure game set in an alternate reality where cryptids — creatures from folklore — are found, and their energy fuels a radical new form of technology (this sounds like the kind of unpleasant, immoral thing that Shell and BP would get involved in). Rival hunters journey across treacherous terrain in pursuit of these elusive beings, navigating a world shaped by myth, invention, and escalating ambition (oo, sounds deep!).
Each player takes on the role of a hunter with unique skill competencies that influence dice-based outcomes during cryptid hunts and challenge events. Successfully capturing a cryptid is only part of the challenge — hunters must also return it to their headquarters to secure it. In the later stage of the game, players can initiate duels — introducing a PvP element where hunters may attempt to steal cryptids from one another, adding a layer of high-stakes rivalry before the hunt concludes.
The aim is to secure the most valuable collection of cryptids before the hunt ends. Players must balance risk and timing — deciding when to explore further, when to return to base, and when to confront their rivals. Every action shapes the outcome, and no lead is ever safe. You’ll need to be adaptable in your strategy if you’ve any hope of success. If you love Sasquatch, Mothman and co. as much as I do, go check out the crowdfunding page.
Gloomies
Let’s end with something nice. A bit of feel-good cuteness, clear away the horror of all those monsters from myth and legend (the ones that definitely aren’t lurking in your garden at night, waiting for all the lights to go out before they scratch at the windows). All safe and nice here. It’s a lovely little premise: adorable alien creatures plant and harvest galactic flowers in a simple, yet strategic, two-phase game. Wait. What? Aliens? ALIENS??? They’re here, oh God they’re here, they’re among us, run for your lives!
Gloomies is a 2-4 player card game for all the family that blends clever strategy with a bit of luck. In the first phase, players use cards to plant colourful flowers on the board, following specific colour patterns to shape their garden. In the second phase, those planted flowers become valuable resources. Players harvest them to score points, completing tasks and reaping the rewards of their careful planning.
With beautifully crafted wooden flowers and charming artwork, Gloomies offers a warm, inviting experience that’s easy to learn and great for families or casual gamers! See it’s a nice game really, despite the diabolical threat of an alien invasion, aliens that are perfectly capable of manipulating things called galactic flowers, which sounds to me like they could rip the house right up from over you and fling it aside like a piece of paper and pluck you up like one of those glowing flowers and drag you off to their spaceship… Ignore me, I might have watched War Of The Worlds one too many times. Head on over to this link and take another look at a genuinely beautiful game.
Once again, it is time for us to part ways. No, no, don’t shed a tear, I promise to be back soon with more amazing board game selections to dazzle and excite. In the meanstwhile, try to play some of the games you already own, just in case someone accuses them of sitting around gathering dust and threatens to stick the lot on eBay for a tenner…
Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here: www.instagram.com/positively.board
