Seven board games worth watching after SPIEL Essen 2026
SPIEL Essen, the world’s largest board-game fair, set another attendance record in 2026. Around 230,000 visitors travelled to Essen, Germany, to explore 2,012 new games presented by 997 exhibitors from 53 countries.
The event combined major releases with small projects from emerging designers. Visitors arrived early to buy sought-after games, reserve demonstrations for titles due in 2027 and collect promotional cards and miniatures. These seven games stood out for their themes, mechanics and potential appeal to Australian tabletop players.
7. Mercenaries Wanted
Designer: Dennis Vögele
Gloomhaven is known for lengthy setup and substantial play sessions, but Mercenaries Wanted distils that fantasy setting into a game designed to finish in about 45 minutes. One to six players draft a team from the Gloomhaven mercenary packs before sending those characters on jobs.
Success depends on combining card types and special abilities, while deciding which characters to retain between rounds for the final tournament. Secret loot introduces another layer of competition as players try to secure the most valuable jobs ahead of their opponents.
Expected release: December 2026
Players interested in the broader tabletop-to-arcade connection can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade blog.
6. Tideward
Designer: Connie Vogelmann
In Tideward, players hatch sea-turtle eggs and guide the young turtles towards safe positions on an algal mat. Every player has a hidden scoring objective and competes for the most advantageous spaces.
Movement at the end of each round and the rotating tide rondel create the game’s central tactical puzzle. Crabs threaten to eat exposed turtles, although the forgiving design gives players several chances to avoid predators and recover from a poor position.
Release date: 16 January 2027
5. Diablo: Unbound
Designer: Glass Cannon Unplugged
Rather than reproduce one particular video game, Diablo: Unbound draws on the franchise’s wider collection of classes, loot and monster-slaying ideas. Players choose heroes such as the Rogue or Paladin, each offering a different approach through equipment and skill trees.
The cooperative campaign asks the party to complete objectives, collect loot and defeat monsters that continually return to the fight. If one character falls, the entire group loses the encounter. A defeat still provides benefits that can help the party make another attempt, but bosses and wandering monsters can turn a promising run into a sudden disaster.
Crowdfunding: The campaign is scheduled to begin on Gamefound in the first quarter of 2027. Visit Gamefound for the project page.
4. Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains
Designer: Kosch
Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains keeps the series’ focus on building an efficient natural habitat, this time centred on a riverside forest populated by animals including herons, bass and otters. Each species has its own habitat needs, powers and scoring opportunities.
The emphasis on waterways changes the familiar card play and creates new combinations to consider. Players must use their turns carefully before winter arrives, with many possible routes to points and plenty of scope for different strategies.
Release date: 30 October
3. Cyberpunk Trading Card Game
Designers: Luohan Wei and Elliot Cook
The Cyberpunk Trading Card Game attracted one of the longest queues in the card-game hall. Its Arasaka and Mercs demonstration decks supported a quick, accessible match for players familiar with Magic: The Gathering or Lorcana, and both decks were available as print-and-play options.
Players compete for status in Night City by stealing gig dice valued from d4 through to d20. Cards can be used for their effects or converted into resources, while Legend cards begin face down as resources and can later become powerful attackers. A strong card may take several dice at once, and the firm turn limit keeps matches moving even when a strategy fails.
Release date: 6 November
For readers who enjoy interactive controls and competitive play, RETROCADE’s arcade machines offer another way to bring game-night energy into the home.
2. Timespan
Designers: Kenneth Minde and Kristian Amundsen Østby
Timespan offers a faster route into civilisation building than the longer Through the Ages. A game takes roughly 90 minutes and travels from the Stone Age to the Space Age.
There is some card drafting, but much of the play happens simultaneously as participants place workers, improve technology and recruit historical figures. Asymmetric civilisations and a large card pool support varied approaches to gathering resources and developing culture.
Expected release: First quarter of 2027
1. Prague Unseen
Designers: Jindřich Pavlásek, Michal Peichl and Petr Vojtěch
Prague Unseen combines a strong setting with a demanding strategic core. Players compete for influence in a mythical version of 19th-century Prague, rebuilding districts with help from creatures drawn from Czech folklore.
Each district introduces its own mini-game and resources. These include winding the city’s famous clock and collecting magical objects for a display case. The systems are intuitive once understood, but the real challenge is finding the most efficient use for every worker.
Availability: Available now for $69.99 from Capstone Games.
Why these games matter to arcade fans
These releases cover a broad range of tabletop design, from fast card battles and cooperative dungeon-crawling to habitat building and asymmetric civilisation development. They also show how familiar game worlds can be adapted without relying on identical mechanics.
For a different kind of dedicated game-room setup, explore RETROCADE’s bartop arcades, DIY arcade kits and arcade videos.
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