GEN CON Envie 2026 — Top Games to Buy
It’s almost GEN CON time! Dan (The Geek All Stars) and I published our annual Top 11 games to try and buy at Gen Con. We probably mentioned at a hundred games or so that caught our eye.
So, today’s let’s do a deep dive into some games that I would have tried to bring home if I could have fit them all into my luggage (or games that I already own and can recommend.)
I’ve played Entropy published by Board & Dice and designed by a trio of heavy hitters in the medium weight euro category, Tommaso Battista, Simone Luciani, and Nestore Mangone. I’ve got two plays in so far (one thanks to my buddy Chuck Case in Florida, and one on Logan’s just-delivered copy which you can see us play on our YT channel.) What can I say? It’s fantastic, and all of us around the table this week called it an early leader for game of the year. I am amazed at how much the theme blends into the mechanics, and I adore the rondel action selection.(Board & Dice, #2527, $65).
Next up is Dogfight 1917, designed by Sol Kong and published by Arcane Wonders. I picked this one up at Dice Tower Con East, and have been playing it ever since. It’s Unmatched In The Air, or for someone of my age, a real-life interpretation of the beloved Snoopy and the Red Baron cartoons. (Arcane Wonders, #629, $45).
Nippon: Zaibatsu should make any euro gamer’s list. It’s a reimagining of the original, hard to get economic game set in Japan designed by Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade. The Dukes of Dice podcast turned me on to this one years ago, and I’ve been chasing it ever since. Luckily, Doug picked up a copy and I’ve already got a play of the new version from CrowD Games, which is gorgeous. (CrowD Games, #163, $95).
Rats of Wistar was one of my favorite games when I came out in ’23, both because I’m a sucker for the theme and love the artwork. A spiritual successor has hit the tables called Ants, and it is getting its American release from Capstone, and it shares some of the same DNA and art scheme. I have only one play, but I thought it was even better than Rats. I love the changes made by designers Renato Ciervo and Andrea Robbiani to its predecessors. (Capstone Games, #611, $70).
Go check out the Restoration Games booth and pick up a copy of Unmatched: Stars & Stripes to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. (Restoration Games, ##1735, $45). I’ve written and talked a lot about this newest version of the Unmatched system for a reason!
The rest of the list are games that I have not played yet. I am just going by the descriptions on BGG or social media posts, or in some cases reviewing the available rule books and videos. But one game I would definitely want to bring home is Greylune from designer William Attia (Caylus), published by Sorry We Are French and Pandasaurus here in the States. This one looks like a ‘one hour wonder’ worker placement game, but with a fantastic medieval adventuring and questing theme. I love what I have seen with the art so far. (Pandasaurus, #215, $40.)
We used to play the heck out of Nidavellir when it first came out. It seemed like it hit the table every game night, and now I see that Serge Leget (r.I.p.)’s last version of the game called Dwarves of Aquilon will be published by GRRRE Games and distributed at GEN CON by the Dice Tower at their booth. (Dice Tower booth, #249, $50).
Virginio Gigli and Flaminia Brasini have published so many of my favorite games, so I would definitely be checking out Berlin 1960 at the Devir booth. What a cool theme! (Devir, #2811, $50).
Speaking of themes, how about a trick-taker from the legendary Taiki Shinzawa loosely themed around time travel like Back to the Future? If I were at the show, I’d definitely try to bring home a copy of Trick to the Future from GameHead but I am expecting this one to sell out. (GameHead, #1629, $20).
I love journalism theme games, so Pulitzer from 25th Century and designer David Vaquero certainly caught my eye. It looks like a solid mid weight euro style game that is dripping with theme about scoring the best stories in one of the biggest eras for journalists of all time. (25th Century Games, #2219, $70).
Finally, in my opinion, Portal Games finds and develops some of the best tableau style card games out there. Abroad is their newest entry, from designers Rodrigo Rego and Danilo Valente has a theme that speaks to me. Look at the artwork — there’s tons of places that I have visited across Europe and lots more on my bucket list. (Portal Games, #419, $70).
As some honorable mentions, I would probably run out of room in my backpack, but I’d hope that my buddies would pick up copies of Honeypot from Flatout Games (I’ve played the prototype designed by Joseph Z. Chen and it’s a great little tapas game), Computer Junkyard from Dream Egg (just based on the theme!), the new version of Not Alone (remastered) from Geek Attitude Games (which I think Bradly is bringing home), Drillers from CGE (a publisher that rarely misses for me), the medium heavy Papyria from Capstone Games, and Foxglove Farm, a game from Shun & Aya Taguchi published by Alley Cat Games that has a very unique theme.
Whew, that’s a lot of games. I have a few still left on my shelf of opportunity (although it has shrunk a bit with Mitchell’s help this summer), so maybe it’s best that I skip out on GEN CON this year and let them filter in slowly!
What’s on your list for GEN CON 2026?
Until next time, laissez les bon temps rouler!
— BJ from Board Game Gumbo
** Complimentary copies of some of the games were provided by the publisher. **