With an entirely new army rule, eight detachments, and balance updates for practically every unit in the army, the Aeldari have undergone the biggest revamp compared from Index to Codex so far in 10^th Ed. – and they're looking fierce as a result. Codex: Aeldari also packs in plenty of background information and character profiles for those interested in the current goings-on in the craftworlds and beyond. But, even with radical rules changes and up-to-date lore, the question of how valuable physical army books are in 2025 is as inescapable as the soul-devouring hunger of She Who Thirsts.

Refocused

The most notable change for Codex: Aeldari is that Fate Dice is out and Battle Focus is in. Aeldari players now gain Battle Focus tokens at the start of each round, which can then be spent to buff a unit with one of six Agile Manoeuvres. These manoeuvres range from adding extra movement to an infantry unit or vehicle so that it can storm across the battlefield, to immunity to the Fire Overwatch Stratagem and being able to move after getting shot at.

It admittedly adds a lot more complexity to an already quite tricky army, particularly compared to the previous Fate Dice rule. Battle Focus tokens are yet another resource to manage and some of the Agile Manoeuvres have quite specific triggers, but it's a far superior rule that adds flexibility and realizes the Aeldari's grace in combat much better than Fate Dice.

Being tactical with a range of movement tricks is much more interesting than blowing your opponent to pieces with Fate Dice-empowered bright lances. The best part is Fate Dice's number substitution mechanic isn't even completely gone from the army. Now all Aspect Warrior infantry units can finally use those Aspect Shrine tokens that come in every kit to get an automatic six on a Hit or Wound roll once per battle.

In fact, the Aspect Warriors and their respective Phoenix Lords have all had quite substantial reworks resulting in notable improvements. Dire Avengers have gone from what felt like skilled infantry to Rambo gunners, Howling Banshees are now blenders thanks to gaining Anti-Infantry 3+ on all their melee weapons, and Swooping Hawks have gone from hyper-agile airborne infantry to Aeldari-sized attack aircraft capable of performing bombing runs. Attaching the respective Phoenix Lord to these Aspect units lets them fulfil their niches with even more lethality too.

The Aspect Warriors are also just a part of the army, and the rest of the Asuryani, Harlequins, and Ynnari get explored in the eight detachments available in Codex: Aeldari. Of the Detachments I tested, the all-rounder Warhost seems like it could be the most disruptive, doubling down on Battle Focus to grant frankly ludicrous mobility with extra movement distance for certain Agile Manoeuvres and extra Battle Focus tokens.

Similarly, Aspect Host goes all in on the Avatar of Khaine and the newly buffed Aspect Warriors, coming into its own with its Stratagems. These are all quite powerful, providing moments of extreme lethality when the stars align, particularly as you can improve two of them by also spending an Aspect Shrine token. My favourite was Preternatural Precision, which I used to give Ignores Cover and Lethal Hits to some Dire Avengers and Asurmen who were already benefitting from their Bladestorm Sustained Hits 1 ability, letting them shred a horde of Genestealer Cultists and their Primus.

Elves shelved

Even Spirit Conclave, Windrider Host, and Seer Council provide unique rules that fit well with the Craftworlds they evoke and seem like they'll be able to hold with an optimized list and capable player. However, the Aeldari Codex definitely feels like it's lacking in places when it comes to Detachments and datasheets.

I'm far from a disciple of Yvraine but even I can see why the Devoted of Ynnead Detachment is a step down from the previous Index rules that simply let you have up to half your army consist of Drukhari units. Now the Ynnari are granted a narrow selection of bespoke Drukhari datasheets (conveniently included in the Codex, however) to draw from.

Obviously, this was to end the age of dark and bright lance spam with Scourges and Ravagers, but it's arguably those weapons combined with Fate Dice and Battle Host re-rolls that made the Ynnari so threatening. Now that those are gone too, interesting buffs to Yvraine, the Visarch, and the Yncarne can't distract from the feeling that the Ynnari have been hit doubly hard.

My own gripe with the Aeldari Codex Detachments is the lack of an "Outcast Fleet" catering to Rangers and Corsairs, thematically fitting with Craftworld Alaitoc (the only major Craftworld to get snubbed) or even Prince Yriel's Eldritch Raiders. Of course, the biggest issue there is that Prince Yriel's datasheet has been removed, along with the likes of ranger hero Illic Nightspear and, most frustratingly, Striking Scorpion Phoenix Lord Karandras.

Seeing his Scorpions get updated for Kill Team, along with his Phoenix Lord brethren most recently, is a little painful, even if culling his sculpt from the 1990s is understandable. I can only hope that he makes a triumphant return in the not-too-distant future, but the fates of Yriel, Nightspear, and even the Autarch Skyrunner are uncertain.

Should you buy Codex: Aeldari?

Despite issues with the Ynnari Detachment and important datasheets not carrying over from the Index, the 10^th Ed. Aeldari Codex is a huge improvement on the previous rules, with Battle Focus revitalizing the army and adding significantly more tactical depth. The Detachments, for the most part, help with this a lot too, allowing you to build your army around specific aspects of the Asuryani forces or the Aeldari diaspora more broadly, all in all making the Aeldari one of the most interesting armies in Warhammer 40K.

However, despite my praises for these rules and the physical book itself, which is of the usual high quality we expect from Games Workshop with the most current lore, it's difficult to actually recommend buying it. $60 / £37 is an absurd amount to spend on a book that will be almost redundant upon release thanks to a day one errata document on the way, and an even more absurd amount to spend on just a code for digital rules. I can only hope the Farseers have glimpsed a better system ahead.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

If you already have your fill of Marvel Zombies core games, there's still room to score savings on expansions too. That's because Marvel Zombies Guardians of the Galaxy is also at its lowest ever price of $33.42 at Amazon. That's an entire 33% off its original $50 asking price. As a zombified hero you might not be looking to save the world, but you definitely will be saving some cash with these deals.

Should you buy Marvel Zombies: A Zombicide Game?

Beyond being a wacky What If?.. scenario, Marvel Zombies provides a fun and slightly dark spin on the familiar fight between good and evil. What's more, as we can speak to in our Marvel Zombies: Heroes' Resistance review, the mechanics of Zombiecide lend themselves really bloody well to the undead comic series too.

One of our main gripes with Heroes' Resistance was its pared-back production value, but that's usually easy to make peace with given it's so budget-friendly when compared to its more fleshed out counterparts. But really, the best case scenario is to get your hands on one of the mainline Marvel Zombies games while it's on sale. That way, you have the kind of fabulously-crafted game components that any board game nerd would be happy to have on their shelf while also reducing the strain on your wallet.

If you've already been bitten by the Marvel Zombies bug, it may be time to add a twist to your game. Expansions like the Guardians of the Galaxy set deliver additional missions, miniatures, and map tiles. These add-ons not only introduce even more of your favorite heroes to the fight but to also majorly up the gameplay's replay value – sending that cost per play plummeting even lower, which is always nice to see.

For more great discounts, drop by our roundup of the best of this month's board game deals. If you're looking for some last-minute Valentine's Day inspiration, why not drop by our guide on the best gifts for gamers?

The latest wave of Asuryani models sees sculpts over 30 years old finally getting the rich redesigns they thoroughly deserve, including new Exarch wargear. Best of all, the Warp Spiders, Swooping Hawks, and Fire Dragons are joined by Asurmen and their respective Phoenix Lords, including the entirely new Warp Spider leader, Lhykhis. Altogether they showcase the updated scale, superb detail, and refined craftworld aesthetic perfectly, but they're not without their problems when it comes to getting them tabletop ready.

Well crafted

With such long service records for some of these Aspect Warrior sculpts (the Warp Spiders are from 1994!), improving on them was hardly a challenge for the Warhammer 40K design team. In fact, it'd be more notable if these refreshes were terrible. Thankfully, they're not. The Fire Dragons look more stoic than stiff, the Warp Spiders have been scaled up incredibly well, and the Swooping Hawks no longer look grounded.

Where these new Aspect Warrior kits shine are the extra options for their Exarchs, allowing for much greater customization. Multiple Exarch helmets and entirely new wargear loadouts on top of their classic weapons mean you can create unique squad leaders, with some fitting certain tabletop combat scenarios better than others.

As an example, Warp Spiders Exarchs now have access to spinneret rifles and powerblade arrays to cover all-out melee or ranged combat. Similarly, the Fire Dragons Exarch can wield an extremely cool fusion pistol and dragon axe combo, while the Swooping Hawks Exarch can sport a scatter laser typically reserved for vehicles. As someone who doesn't enjoy getting duplicate units, the limited options of the old kits always put me off owning more than one but having Exarchs with completely different fighting styles is appealing.

Conversely, the Phoenix Lords lack any customization but their updated sculpts are worth considering for their looks alone. I always thought Asurmen and Fuegan's old models looked a little goofy, but the updated designs have made these two lords some of my favourites. And since I've tested their lethality with the new Warhammer 40K Aeldari Codex, I'd say they're worth adding to your army lists.

This release also sees an entirely new Phoenix Lord join the fray and with one of the most stunning Warhammer 40K models I've seen. Lhykhis, the originator of the Warp Spiders, is captured mid-flickerjump, emerging from the warp with all her weapons brandished and it's cool as hell – and she's lethal on the tabletop to boot. She's a welcome addition to the team, even if Karandras has gone missing as a result, and the model makes for a unique centerpiece for your army. Although, the lightning web base, tucked pose, and many limbs means it's an intimidating model to build and paint, and it's not the only one.

Avatar of Pain

Aeldari are hardly a beginner-friendly army for painting and gaming, but I think these Phoenix Lords in particular push this to the limit, for better and for worse. I can attest to how incredible they look when you start getting some paint on them, but the initial assembly can be a bit of a hurdle.

Most importantly, building in sub-assemblies is vital for preserving your sanity when painting. And when you're building, you need to handle each Lord with care, especially when scraping off mould lines. Every Phoenix Lord seems to have a fragile part that looks like it might snap in a light breeze, particularly the spindly warp lightning effects on Lhykhis' base which she awkwardly attaches to via several very small contact points - I've lost count of the number of times I managed to break off the cloth on Asurmen's left arm.

For the most part, this fiddliness doesn't extend to the comparatively robust Aspect Warriors, though Lhykis does pass some to her Warp Spiders. Due to having a massive backpack and two pairs of arms holding one big gun, there are a lot of small connections that need to be carefully lined up. I advise doing rigorous test-fitting for each Warp Spider to avoid any amputations like the one I had to perform.

However, my issues with the fragility and complexity of these 2025 Aeldari models are ultimately quite minor considering the end results. The real issue is prices – a tale perhaps as old as the Aeldari when it comes to Warhammer – as the Aspect Warriors face a sort of Aspect "tax". A box of five of these warriors costs as much as a box of 10 Space Marine Intercessors at $62.50 / £40.

With a hot new Codex that has buffed up the Phoenix Lords and their troopers, they're incredibly tempting, even if you could be spending hundreds on building out your forces or replacing your existing ones. Any Aeldari collector would be extremely pleased to behold these refreshed models but consult the strands of fate (your bank account) first! Now back to looking for Karandras…

It's been a good year so far for tabletop wargamers - the Death Korps of Krieg recently charged back into the spotlight, and heavy metal Space Marines stole the show at the Las Vegas Open 2025.

In the first question, which Rosewater posted an answer to on February 6, the questioner makes it clear they are concerned that the upcoming Lorwyn set "Will be fucked up by [some art style they don't enjoy and] the real world politic agenda (not so) subtly pushed in late sets." It goes on to note that "We want to see", as if speaking for all Magic: The Gathering fans, "Stories of faeries, kithkins, elves, goblins, Giants, merfolk and cinders in their beautiful fantasy setting, no trans they/them faeries that think they're kithkins".

In Rosewater's response, he states that "For far too long, fantasy, as a genre, was used as a way to reflect the worldview of those in power. It leaned into stereotype and reflected how the privileged wished the world was." He goes on to explain that modern fantasy doesn't look like fantasy back in its youth because it responds to a changing world, and has to capture a variety of lived experience, as opposed to constantly revisiting and reaffirming the same old worldview.

"Trans people, people of color, and women playing a larger role, are all part of modern fantasy because they’re all part of the actual world, and it’s important that our stories and world building be reflective of that." He ends with a note of hope, in that "Entertainment is at its best when it lifts everyone up and isn’t used as yet another means to ignore certain people’s reality."

The second post Rosewater deigned to respond to, he posted on Sunday, with a much more comprehensive dive into the subject. This time the questioner seems to have taken issue with Magic: The Gathering's "Push toward DEI": diversity, equity, and inclusion. They refer specifically to Captain Sisay, a character who is both black and a woman.

"I fear if you did it over again Gerrard would be trans, black and disabled just because. It also cheapens the stories of world devastation when characters worry more about their gender than Bolas destroying everything", the questioner laments.

In his reply, Rosewater notes that even the term 'push' seems to imply that "It's unnaturally here, that we’re forcing something that naturally shouldn’t be."

You can almost hear his knuckles crack and the shuffle toward the keyboard as Rosewater spends what commenters notice was "A little over an hour since the last post" composing his careful response.

"Imagine if every time you turned on the TV or watched a movie, no one looked like you", he begins, resonating with the sadness that comes from a lack of positive representation as a Jewish citizen of the US. "You just feel invisible and like an outsider."

Rosewater, clearly recognizing his privilege, admits, "I don’t think we did justice to Sisay as a character. Neither Michael nor I have any knowledge of what it’s like to be a black woman. Nor did we ever talk to someone who did."

He goes on to urge people to consider what it might be like to have a movie made of your life, one that's not representative of your life in any way, shape or form, other than showing your likeness. In putting that movie out into the world, people might assume "That was what you were like [...] because, you know, they’d seen the movie.

"That’s what misrepresenting people does. It not only makes them feel not seen, it falsely represents them, spreading lies, often stereotypes, making people believe things about them that aren’t true."

It's obvious this is something Rosewater feels very strongly about. To hammer the point home, he quotes “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression", making it clear that nothing is being taken away from MTG players by an increase in diversity. It only feels that way because of their privilege. He also believes that "Having a better sense of the rest of the world comes with a lot of benefits."

Rosewater has been outspoken about the subject of diversity and inclusion for some time, with previous posts on the official Magic: The Gathering blog furthering his point. This is yet another reminder that supremacist views are unwelcome in the MTG community.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best card games or best two player board games.

MTG Aetherdrift follows Chandra as she travels across planes in a daring and potentially dangerous race, so the new set has plenty of room to explore both new ideas and old ones from new angles. It introduces a brand-new creature type, but also explores the likes of Amonkhet for some fun flavor in booster packs.That means there's plenty to choose from in terms of the best MTG Aetherdrift cards.

There aren't absolute can't-miss style cards in this set, but there are a handful of great choices that can fit into Standard, Modern, and even Commander. If you are looking to crack some packs, or plan on shopping for singles, here are the best Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift cards I've found. They should spice up your matches for one of the best card games.

Ketramose, the New Dawn

• A great graveyard hate card
• Has menace, lifelink, & indestructible
• Cheap, with consistent card draw

Okay, maybe I'm a little biased here as this is the first rare I got in my first Aetherdrift booster pack, but Ketramose, a 4/4 legendary creature for one generic, one white, and one black, is great. It has menace, lifelink, and indestructible, but can't attack or block unless there are seven or more cards in exile. However, the kicker is that when cards are put into exile from a graveyard, you draw a card and lose a life. This is a great graveyard hate card that comes with consistent card draw, gains back health with lifelink, and is cheap to cast too. As a Commander or just one of many cards in a deck, Ketramose means business.

Loot, the Pathfinder

• Dynamic value engine
• Has double strike, vigilance, & haste
• Three exhaust tap abilities

Loot is one of Magic: The Gathering's best 'little guys.' For one green, one blue, one red, and two generic, he is a legendary 2/4 with double strike, vigilance, and haste. This toughness puts him just out of bolt range and means he also doesn't go down to Cut Down. However, he also has three exhaust tap abilities, with one green giving three mana of any colour, one blue drawing three cards, and one red dealing three damage to any target. Exhaust means you can only do it once per game, but blinking Loot, turning it into soup with Agatha's Soul Cauldron, or recasting him solves this problem. He's a great and dynamic value engine.

Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied

• Always a threat each turn
• Intriguing odd/even counter mechanic
• Has reach, trample, & indestructible

God cards are powerful set pieces that you often have to play around in decks and Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied is no different. For one blue, one green, and three colorless mana, you get a 6/6 reach, trample, and indestructible creature that can't attack or block if it doesn't have an even amount of counters. Still, it gets a 1/1 counter at the beginning of your first main phase and draws two cards when it has an odd number of counters. This means it's a threat of some kind every single turn.

The Speed Demon

• A high risk, high reward card
• Draws cards & loses life equal to your speed
• Has flying & trample

The Speed Demon is black at its most black. A flying trample 5/5 demon that deals damage to you in exchange for card draw, it plays into the new engine mechanic and has tons of flavour. He costs two black and three colorless, draws x cards, and loses x life where x is speed at the start of your draw step. Unfortunately, at full speed of four, this card draw can wipe you out quickly but you've likely got enough firepower in your hand to end the game way before that.

Hashaton, Scarab’s Fist

• Copies creature cards you discard
• You can use this ability multiple times a turn
• Available in a Commander deck

Okay, we've already proselytized about how good Hashaton, Scarab's Fist is, but it bears repeating. For one black and one white, this is a 1/3 creature that gives you the ability to pay one blue and two colorless to copy creature cards you discard. This effectively gives you a reanimate on a stick and it's particularly good because you can do this ability multiple times a turn. It also comes in a Commander deck so you can guarantee one in your collection without having to crack packs.

The Aetherspark

• The first equipment planeswalker
• Features loyalty counter system
• Loyalty abilitie lets you build up steam quickly

The Aetherspark is the first equipment planeswalker in Magic: The Gathering, and almost deserves the nod for just how iconic it is alone. Unfortunately, being an artifact, it is particularly vulnerable to targeted removal. Nevertheless, if it can stay on board, it can turn a game around. For 4 colorless mana, it's a planeswalker that can attach to a creature, whilst adding a 1/1 counter, by adding a loyalty counter. However, it can't be attacked by creatures while equipped and even gets loyalty counters for the amount of damage attached creatures do. By taking away 5 loyalty counters, it draws two cards, and for minus 10 loyalty, it can add 10 of any one color. Within just a few turns, attached to the right creature, it can activate its ultimate quickly and ramp you above the competition.

Thunderous Velocipede

• A vehicle that enables the perfect green ramp
• Gives creatures & vehicles 1/1 counters
• Crews 3, & has trample

Thunderous Velocipede has basically everything you would want from a stompy vehicle green deck. Ramp up mana, curve out on vehicles, and get enough bodies on the field to fill those vehicles with dinosaurs, insects, and plants. For two green mana and one colorless, it's a vehicle that crews for three, has trample and base stats 5/5. This is pretty good in itself but also, it gives vehicles and creatures entering the field a 1/1 counter if they have a mana value four or less. If their mana value is more than three, they get three 1/1 counters. This anthemic effect is deadly in itself and makes crewing vehicles even easier.

Monument to Endurance

• Excellent value engine
• Draw, create Treasure, or cost opponents 3 life when you discard a card
• Can be especially strong if blinked

Aetherdrift has quite a few value engines and Monument to Endurance is a pretty great one at just three mana. Whenever you discard a card, you may either draw a card, create a Treasure token, or make each opponent lose three life. Each ability can only be chosen once each turn but pair it with the likes of Escape Protocol to blink it and you can activate abilities as much as you're able to. Though this heavily serves red aggro looting decks, it also works well with black discard decks like Hashaton. Pair it with the likes of Magmakin Artillerist or Marauding Mako (both also from this set) and you get an awful lot out of that three mana.

Still catching up on the previous set? Here's everything you need to know about MTG Innistrad Remastered, along with the best MTG Innistrad Remastered cards.

It's the kind of attention to detail I wish we got from the official D&D Monster Manual. Alongside video game-inspired behaviour loops it features cues your party can pick up on to anticipate attacks. Throw in an impressive model you can use for all manner of homebrew content and Epic Encounters: Symbaroum – The Corrupted Coloss delivers on its promise.

Features & design

• Features a ready-to-run boss battle
• Includes a high-detail (but unpainted) model
• Can be used standalone or in a series

All Epic Encounters packs provide you with a combat scenario, a mat to play on, and miniatures to use in your games. The Corrupted Coloss is no different, but it's a 'boss' box – and that means you get one massive showpiece model rather than multiple foes.

This adventure takes us deep into the forest's heart in pursuit of an enormous tree-being that's gone mad. These creatures – known as Coloss – are normally bound to the witch who created them and seek to protect the Davokar woods. However, that connection is broken when the witch dies, leaving the Coloss to wander aimlessly in search of food. While this can be enough of a headache for locals (the book describes lost Coloss like hungry bears just trying to find a meal), it's so much worse if the tree-being has been corrupted. Then it actively starts hunting people down and twisting the landscape.

I'll give you one guess as to the state of the Coloss you have to fight in this pack.

Because this is designed to work with the best tabletop RPGs (be that the Ruins of Symbaroum or D&D), you get multiple routes into the encounter and have plenty of options to spice it up with more powerful foes. It can also be used by itself or as a sequel to Epic Encounters: Symbaroum – The Gem in the Barrow.

For the miniature itself, you don't need to worry about assembly; it's ready-made. All you need to do is add a lick of paint, should you so desire.

Gameplay

• Monster behaviour loop is a fantastic addition
• Plenty of cinematic moments to shake things up
• Some attacks feel a little unfair

Seeing as this is a boss fight in every sense of the word, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Corrupted Coloss hits hard. We're talking 'dump truck driving at full speed down a hill' hard; even at lower levels, its legendary action on top of bludgeoning hooves will make short work of the unwary. Meanwhile, versions of the monster for higher-level parties will absolutely wreck shop. This thing has three legendary actions to use on top of mutations that can be used at the GM's discretion.

The latter are particularly exciting, and remind me of mid-battle boss buffs in video games. Oh, so you thought you'd gotten the hang of this? Sorry, the big bad evil guy is gonna throw in an extra attack or effect to kick your ass. Happy birthday! Anyway, the Corrupted Coloss has the ability to boost its armor class, regain health, get an extra attack for a limited number of turns, and more.

This video game-style approach is one of the best things about this encounter, if you ask me. Alongside the above, single-use mega-attacks (called 'Cinematic Moments' here) can pull the rug from under your players in a suitably epic way. Equally, Coloss Abilities are available if you want to keep the party on the edge of their seat and ensure "the combat doesn't just become a series of rolls." GMs are advised to use these sparingly because they're so powerful.

The downside? I'm not sure these are always fair. Don't get me wrong, characters can almost always avoid these attacks if they roll well. One Cinematic Moment sees the Coloss crash to the ground in death, for example, crushing whoever is in the way with 10 times standard bludgeoning damage if they fail a Dexterity save. That seems entirely reasonable, and you could probably anticipate it if you think things through. But anyone within 30 feet also receives five times bludgeoning damage from falling debris if they fail a Dexterity save. I understand the logic, but it feels somewhat underhand after your characters have survived what will probably be a tricky fight. There's no way to predict that this will happen, either.

Similarly, the 'Seething Corruption' ability deals damage even if you succeed the associated Wisdom save. I know these are to shake your players up, but I'm personally not a fan of attacks that automatically get you regardless of skill, tactics, positioning, or rolls.

Still, that's the only complaint I have – and these issues can be easily modded with minimal effort.

The way the creature's behaviours are laid out is top-tier, too. You're given a flowchart describing what the Corrupted Coloss will do in specific situations, like when characters stay at range (meaning you break out the ol' Wooden Darts) or are obviously the most heavily-armed (it tries to take out the biggest threat quickly with multiattacks). These are all accompanied by flavor text describing what the monster does or sounds like at that moment, so canny adventurers can start to work out what's coming before it hits. I love this. It makes the encounter so much more alive, and provides a far more structured fight that avoids the monotony of "I roll to hit you, you roll to hit me." It's reminiscent of Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste, and I wish we had more of this in the D&D Monster Manual.

Should you buy Epic Encounters: Symbaroum - The Corrupted Coloss?

If you're looking for a good boss fight with high stakes, a memorable foe, engaging combat, and vibes all the way down, The Corrupted Coloss will be your jam. Thanks to a comprehensive guide to monster behaviour and plenty of surprises to keep your party on their toes, it'll serve as the perfect cap to an adventure.

Is it perfect? No, but there aren't any problems that can't be fixed with a quick edit. It can be easily modified to fit with your own homebrew campaign or setting as well, especially if you want a stand-in treeant/woodland fey model.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

If you're asking yourself whether Wingspan is really worth it, and if it's really one of the best board games, you'll be surprised at the breadth of play styles this game affords as an asymmetric game. With each player's individual spread taking on a life of its own as a unique avian machine, there's enough strategic variety for your mind to become caught in an updraft.

Let's take a gander, shall we?

Features & design

• Your goal is to attract birds to your wildlife reserve
• Collect birds to earn resources that allow you to collect even more birds
• Work toward shared goals on your own personal board

In Wingspan, players take on the role of avian enthusiasts whose goal is to collect birds, growing their habitats to gain the most points. The standard goal board makes for a less competitive game, while the green goal board increases direct conflict. There's also a solo mode.

In multiplayer, players work toward their own personal bonus, as well as shared, per-round goals that are visible to everyone. Whoever gets the highest score will win.

Unsurprisingly, birds are a big part of that equation. You attract them to their preferred habitat with the right food and egg cost listed on their card, and these feathered friends often have special abilities that earn you more resources when activated. After collecting a selection of birds in each habitat, you'll be able to chain powers in a domino effect.

This is where the magic happens. During your turn, you move down your row of birds from right to left, activating any powers on cards placed there. There are a few powerful combinations, with some even being passively activated by other players.

The art is every bit as strong. Wingspan is famously pretty; the watercolor bird paintings are beautiful, while the boards and components are a pastel rainbow. Tiny plastic eggs you'll use in-game are a highlight, as is a cardboard dicetower made to look like a birdfeeder.

That tower is something of a pain to put away (it doesn't fit neatly into the box unless you take it apart), but everything else about the game's storage solutions is top-notch. Numerous plastic containers are on-hand to help you keep things neat and tidy in-between sessions.

Gameplay

• Steadily increasing tension keeps every stage exciting
• Opportunity for powerful and satisfying ability combos
• Phenomenal replayability

The game is paced well, gently but steadily increasing tension as players forfeit an action cube per round to indicate their current score from shared goals. Not only does this give everyone an idea of how close the final score will be, ramping up the competitive action, it also means earlier rounds are more forgiving of mistakes, while the lack of actions in the late game make it feel more tense as you work more carefully toward your goals. This reduction also negates the extra length of later turns.

Still, there's a certain momentum to Wingspan that keeps everything rolling along. You never feel entirely blocked in as you might in the best family board games like Catan, for example. There's no end to the strategies you can form, and while you might end up relying on randomness for one to play out, failure never leads to an inability to move. You may just have to deal with making the less efficient move.

Efficiency is important to economics gamers, and it can be disheartening to have your plays thwarted by randomness. Wingspan combats this feeling with heaps of player agency. You are in complete control of your own board and plays. There's also less direct conflict and more indirect cooperation thanks to passive (between turns) bird powers inadvertently helping but never hindering.

There's also something to be said about the incredible replayability. Thanks to the incredible number of bird cards, and power chaining potential, no two games are ever the same and you'll be left wanting to come back and test new strategies every time. It does mean that people who prefer to stick to a strict strategy every game will have to adapt. But, of course, in a game about ecology adaptation is king.

The main drawback for me is the convoluted scoring in competitive mode, in that when players tie they must "add the values of the tied and next places and divide by number of players, rounded down." The math checks out, but it does feel like an unnecessarily complex layer to an otherwise simple scoring system.

Otherwise, it's clear that the community agrees five players is too many for a game with this much going on. Rounds can already take up to half an hour with four players, and since four already reduces replayability and momentum a lot, five really feels like a stretch.

Should you buy Wingspan?

If you want a deeper strategy game that you can still enjoy as a family, Wingspan fits the bill (sorry). It's more complex than other family-friendly games like Carcassonne, but it'll keep you so much more engaged once you've got the hang of it.

Not convinced? Photosynthesis is a slightly more straightforward alternative that shares a lot of the same DNA. Similarly, its spiritual successor Finspan uses many of the same mechanics but is pitched as a more accessible entry-point.

Those who are patient enough to learn Wingspan's ins and outs won't regret it, though. This is one of the greats.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Wingspan

We played Wingspan numerous times with different player counts over a course of weeks to get the most complete overview of its gameplay and longevity. Our reviewer also examined the game in context now that it is a few years old.

For a more in-depth look at our process, see this guide on how we test board games. You can also find out more via GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

Want something that lets you work as a team? Don't miss the best cooperative board games. As for those wanting a head-to-head challenge, try the best 2-player board games.

The real culprit behind Dungeons & Dragons' descent into "uncool", Mearls argues, is the 2023 D&D OGL controversy and the reputational damage that followed: "D&D was something that was interesting and fun and creative and different. And I think what the OGL did was take that concept – that Wizards and this idea of creativity that is inherent in the D&D brand because it's a roleplaying game – and I think those two things were sundered. And I don’t know if you can ever put them back together."

While backlash towards the OGL draft led to proposed limitations on third-party D&D content being rolled back, there's still a sour taste left in the mouths of some players and developers alike. Most of all though, the incentive to create within Dungeons & Dragons' world and rule systems is fading due to some players' feeling that the game's time in the sun is slowly but surely coming to an end. As Mearls puts it: "I thought, "Well, maybe I could start doing 5E-compatible stuff." And now what I’m finding is I just don’t want to. Like, it just seems boring. It’s like trying to start a hair metal band in 1992." What exactly the TTRPG equivalent of Nirvana will be remains to be seen.

Looking for the perfect present (or just want to treat yourself)? Check out our round-up of the best gifts for gamers.

If you're tuned into the player base, you've likely seen your fair share of criticisms about the perceived mismatch between Aetherdrift's core premise (i.e. race car go zoom) with the established conventions of Fantasy fiction. Or you might have come across those whose bugbears are at an even more micro level, like a recent question levied at Lead designer Mark Rosewater which criticized the MTG Aetherdrift symbol as "standing out in a negative way from other set symbols". This oddly specific sentiment is echoed across a number of Reddit posts in a far less diplomatic way too, with one user, in particular, calling the chequered flag symbol "the worst in years".

Despite what may be your base desire to paint everyone in this camp as just a garden-variety negative Nancy, I reckon it's worth engaging with this sect's arguments to some degree. I mean, at the very least they're worth reflecting on.

Yet with that said, I've found that despite all the huffing around how MTG Aetherdrift deviates from classic Magic in style, I've yet to see anyone latch on to what is probably one of the most significant shifts we've seen in substance. It comes courtesy of one of Aetherdrift's racing teams; the Guidelight Voyagers, who are the first ever of their Creature type to appear in a canon set. That's right – there are robots in-universe now.

Robots have had their time in Universes Beyond sets and other non-canon Magic: The Gathering releases in the past and there are plenty of robot-flavored creatures that have graced cards in mainline sets. Show a random person art of the majority of artifact creatures and you'll likely have them label them some kind of bot. Still, there's a subtle yet important lore distinction between Golems, Constructs, and full-blown typal Robots.

Notably, Rosewater stated that his perception of what distinguishes a Robot from its artifact creature siblings is that it is a non-organic, non-magical, programmed creature that is solely reserved for use in "more modern settings". So, while there are those who've rang death knell of Magic: The Gathering's Classic Fantasy world upon seeing Duskmourn's CRT televisions or Kamigawa's mechs, these all have in-world magical justifications. The real threat has a lot in common with the fears of many real-world tin-foil hat wearers: the robots are taking over. Welcome to the future, old man.

Ahead of the set's release, catch up on everything you need to know about MTG Aetherdrift. For ideas on what to play in the meantime, check out our best board games list.

MTG Aetherdrift is revving its engines as launch day approaches, and we're now just a few days away from the racing-themed set. What makes it stand out from other Magic: The Gathering releases, though? And is it worth betting on?

Our team is here to give you the lowdown on this multiversal death race, from the exact release date to new mechanics being introduced for MTG Aetherdrift. We've also included the full product lineup and where to get the goods for less (our price-matching software is always on the lookout for deals, so any bargains will appear below).

Basically, this is a pitstop for anyone wanting to swot up on all things Aetherdrift. We'll update this page with tips from our in-house experts as we approach the finish line too, so keep an eye out if you're looking to master one of the best card games.

What is MTG Aetherdrift?

• The first main set of 2025
• Racing-themed
• Visits multiple MTG worlds

Aetherdrift is the first major, main-line Magic set of 2025. That means it includes a couple of premade Commander decks, a Bundle, and alongside the usual Play and Collector Boosters.

In terms of what it's about, this is a racing-themed product that draws on everything from Mario Kart to Mad Max. That means you'll find racers from multiple worlds we've visited before in MTG lore, not to mention a few we haven't. Plenty of existing characters are skidding onto the racetrack for MTG Aetherdrift as well; Chandra and Loot are amongst the returning faces we'll see behind the wheel.

MTG Aetherdrift release date

We don't have long to wait until MTG Aetherdrift screeches past the finish line; it's almost here, and will actually arrive in tabletop form on Valentine's Day. Who says romance is dead?

Here's the exact release schedule, including the launch window for MTG Arena:

• Story: January 14, 2025
• Debut: January 21, 2025
• Card previews: January 21 - 31, 2025
• Pre-release: February 7 - 13, 2025
• MTG Arena release: February 11, 2025
• Tabletop release: February 14, 2025

As an aside, it's worth pointing out that the digital version for MTG Arena is coming out early. Rather than dropping on Valentine's day, mobile and PC players will get it a couple of days early on February 11.

MTG Aetherdrift products

• Two Commander decks
• Play & Collector boosters
• Bundle & Pre-release

As the first major set of 2025 (and unlike MTG Innistrad Remastered), Aetherdrift gets everything publisher Wizards of the Coast can throw at it. That means Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander decks, a Bundle, and more.

Want the full lowdown? Here you go.

Commander decks

MTG Aetherdrift includes Commander decks like all other main releases, but it breaks the mold by having two instead of the usual four. It's not clear why Wizards of the Coast have stripped things back, but perhaps this will avoid one particular deck being so popular it becomes wildly overpriced while the others languish in its shadow.

Oddly, neither of these decks focus on driving or racers to any great degree.

Play Boosters

As always, Play Boosters are available for this MTG set. They're perfect for Limited formats like Draft and Sealed, though you can of course use them to build up decks.

Collector boosters

As the name would suggest, these are made for the collectors amongst you thanks to including cards you won't get anywhere else. However, they're more expensive as a result.

Bundles & Prerelease

If you want the best possible kickoff to Aetherdrift or are buying a present for the Magic fan in your life the following options will be perfect:

MTG Aetherdrift mechanics

As the first 'main' set of 2025, MTG Aetherdrift introduces a raft of new and returning mechanics to spice up your games. Unsurprisingly, these are all racing themed. Here's a brief overview.

• Speed: Appropriately, the biggest addition for Aetherdrift is Speed. You gain a point of Speed whenever an opponent loses life during your turn, and if you reach Max Speed (a score of 4), certain abilities might trigger. 'Streaking Oilgorger' gains lifelink at Max Speed, for example.
• Start Your Engines: Cards with this ability allow you to start building up Speed.
• Exhaust: This is all about giving you a much-needed boost, representing the old saying "pedal to the metal." However, it can only be used once per card.
• Vehicle: Unsurprisingly, a set about racing includes vehicles. This returning mechanic introduces cars and more that can be crewed by other cards for specific effects.
• Mount & Saddle: These aren't new mechanics, but they are appropriate for this set's high-speed theme. Saddling a mount (by tapping cards) usually gives that creature a bonus.
• Cycling: Racing along on your... bicycle? Here's another returning mechanic that lets you discard a card and draw another one.

MTG Aetherdrift tips

So, what should you be looking out for when it comes to Aetherdrift? I pinned down our Magic expert James Bentley to find out what the best MTG Aetherdift cards are, and they said "Aetherdrift feels like a bit of a lull in between iconic sets to me, though that doesn't mean there aren't still some greats to be found. You won't see revelatory combos changing the shape of the game, but you can find a nice new Commander to build around or a value engine to throw into that deck you've been building that just doesn't have enough card draw. Here's what I recommend keeping an eye out for..."

• Ketramose, the New Dawn: "I think I've found my next graveyard hate Commander. It draws you cards and loses you life when you exile cards from graveyards, but also gains that back through the deadly combo of menace, lifelink, and indestructible. Swing out every turn and overwhelm your foes through card advantage."
• Loot, the Pathfinder: "Aetherdrift's version of Loot is not only a strong attacker but super versatile, with the ability to draw cards, do direct damage, and add mana. Its tap abilities only go off once but blinking it or recasting resets the exhaust. This makes it a great combo piece but also just a standout addition for its one-off abilities."
• Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied: "If Ketramose isn't your thing but you still want an Aetherdrift god, Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied is a great Simic (green/blue) card. A reach indestructible trampler, it can only attack or block with an even amount of counters but it also gets a counter at the start of your first main phase every turn. When it lands on an uneven number of counters, you draw two cards. Win-win."
• The Speed Demon: "Black is well known for trading card draw for life loss and that's what The Speed Demon is all about. At every end step, you draw x cards and lose x life where x is speed. At max speed, this means you draw a minimum of five cards every single turn. Just get a bit of life gain in there to avoid dying to The Speed Demon."
• The Aetherspark: "The first planeswalker equipment in Magic: The Gathering history ended up pretty solidly, even though it's a little bit squishy. You can hide it from enemy soldiers by attaching it to your own creatures, gain loyalty by doing combat damage, and then dump those loyalty counters to get 10 mana. It's a great ramp piece and relatively cheap to cast."
• Monument to Endurance: "For just three colourless mana, Monument to Endurance is a solid and versatile artifact. Every time you discard a card, you can either draw a card, create a treasure token, or make each opponent lose three life. You can only choose each option once a turn but you can blink it out to do it again, making an already good card even better."

MTG Aetherdrift story

• Story revisits Kaladesh, now called Avishkar
• Involves a death race across the multiverse
• Prize is an Aetherspark which can make anyone a Planeswalker

Because this is Magic's first major set of 2025, a multi-part story is available to provide context for all the shenanigans you'll be getting up to over the next few months.

Things kick off on Avishkar (a steampunk plane that used to be called Kaladesh) following a revolution that deposed the former, corrupt government. As a way to usher in this fresh start, the new rulers are throwing the multiversal Ghirapur Grand Prix - a legitimized version of a once-illegal street race. The winner earns the 'Aetherspark,' a mystical treasure that turns its bearer into a Planeswalker (AKA someone with the ability to travel the multiverse at will).

Numerous characters from Magic: The Gathering history are approaching the start line, including Chandra Nalaar, an interdimensional critter known as Loot, and Winter - a survivor from the horror-themed realm of MTG Duskmourn. All of them have a reason to seek out the Aetherspark, but only one can get there first. You can catch up on the official plot here.

Best MTG Aetherdrift deals

Hoping to save on Aetherdrift? Not a problem. Our price-matching software is always on the lookout for the lowest possible price, and you'll find these displayed below.

If you're new to the hobby, don't miss our guide on how to play Magic: The Gathering. For those wanting to break into the game's premier match type, be sure to check out this feature on how to play MTG Commander as well.

Being a draftable set, and one looking upon the history of Magic: The Gathering, it has already proven to be quite popular if price gougers are anything to go by. However, not being purely Innistrad, this is a set that many will prefer for its singles than its boosters, and there are a few cards you'll really want to keep an eye on to get the highest value. If you ask me, these are the best Innistrad Remastered cards overall and well worth prioritizing.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on what you think of remastered sets), most of this list comprises classic cards that are just worth looking out for. You likely won't find any picks to be too revelatory, but they will give you another reason to think about where your money and deck-building energy goes when it comes to MTG Innistrad Remastered. Taking into account pricing history, favourability in legacy formats like Commander, and just pure flavour, these are the cards you should keep an eye out for when you visit your LGS.

Edgar Markov

People want him, Commander players fear him. Edgar Markov is the very best vampire Commander, and the single most broken use of the eminence ability. For three colourless, one white, one black, and one red, you get a 4/4 creature that puts 1/1 counters on all vampires every time you attack. This is solid by itself, but he is also not too vulnerable to spot removal because every time you play a vampire spell, you create a 1/1 vampire. This ability happens whether he is on the battlefield or in the command zone. To top all this off, he has first strike and haste, so he can swing immediately for a bunch of damage.

The only real problem with building an Edgar Markov deck is that he previously cost you as much as pretty much any precon by itself. There are four separate versions of this vampire legend in the Innistrad Remastered set so now could be a great time to pick one up.

Emrakul, the Promised End

Emrakul, the Promised End is an absolute showstopper, not only being a 13/13 for 13 mana but also giving you the ability to play your opponent's next turn. Usually, this means fizzling all of their spells and firing all their most important creatures straight into your army of soldiers. With flying, trample, and protection from instants, it is also hard to get off the field once it lands.

However, what often brings this from an interesting card to a quick game-ender is the fact that it costs one mana less for each card type among cards in your graveyard. This means it can cost as little as five in legacy formats and six in draft. If you are playing a graveyard deck all about throwing your own library into the great beyond, you can get this great behemoth out on the field in just a handful of turns.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope

The protector of Innistrad, Avacyn, Angel of Hope had an important job in Magic: The Gathering's lore, and she has the stats to back it up. An 8/8 for five colorless mana and three white, she has flying, vigilance, and gives both herself and other permanents you control indestructible. This is excellent for making your creatures better fighters but also gives you particularly good protection from most board wipes and makes her a pain to get rid of too.

There are only really a handful of exile board wipes, and many of them are quite expensive so you either go drastic to get rid of Avacyn, or she stays until the game is finished. She is a great assurance in any white deck and one of the most iconic white creatures ever.

Snapcaster Mage

Hear me out. Snapcaster mage isn't the staple it used to be with MTG's power creep over the last few years, but it's still situationally great and iconic enough in its own right. For one colorless mana and one blue, this flash creature is just a 2/1. Though not very tough, playing Snapcaster allows you to recast any instant or sorcery card in your graveyard. In a control deck, this allows you a lot of versatility and gets a body on the field for blocks. If you've already run through four legal counter spells and your opponents reckon that last card is a bluff, this can catch them by surprise. However, it also shines in singleton formats like Commander.

See, Snapcaster Mage is often better than an extra counter or creature, as it allows you to dynamically react to the battlefield. For just two mana, you get out of committing to a single effect, and now have as many as you have in your graveyard.

Craterhoof Behemoth

A Triumph of the Hordes style effect, this card does what green does best: make creature big and make creature smash. For five colorless mana and three green mana, this 5/5 haste creature gives all your creatures trample and +X/+X, where X is the number of creatures you control. This means that, with just four creatures on your field, all your creatures get +4/+4 and trample. 16 extra damage, this is often enough to win a game right there.

However, being a mono green card, the color identity known for its incredible ramp abilities, you will get up to the eight necessary mana very quick. This is a card that can turn the tide on pretty much any battle and is an awesome way to close out a game.

The Meathook Massacre

Continuing the trend of Innistrad showstopper cards, The Meathook Massacre is a board wipe and win condition in one. For two black mana and X mana, you give all creatures -X/-X until the end of turn. The kicker is that when one of your creatures dies, opponents lose one life, and when an opponent's creature dies, you gain 1 life. This means you can technically place this down where X = 0, just as an assurance against a board wipe. If you have enough minions on board, just letting them die could win the game without you even attacking anyone.

The sequel (creatively titled Meathook Massacre II) launched in MTG Duskmourn but this card gives you the ability to say you "like their early work more" — a joy of many a horror fan.

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Should you buy Blockbuster Trilogy?

Big Potato is the king of party games and their reign continues with Blockbuster. As mentioned in our Blockbuster: The Game review, this 90s-nostalgia-laden crossover between Five-Second-Rule and Charades is a pick you can rely on every time to get the party started.

You'll love Blockbuster if you're into movies but you don't have to be a total cinephile to keep up. Whether you have a Letterboxd watchlist as long as your arm or you just enjoy munching a bucket of popcorn to the latest big-budget flicks, Blockbuster is a whole lot of fun to pick up and play. It can be enjoyed as a two-player head-to-head experience or as a larger group split up into teams but either way, prepare to get competitive.

This trilogy of board game goodness includes Blockbuster, Blockbuster Returns, and Blockbuster and Chill so it's the best value way to get your hands on all three games. Given you can enjoy them both as standalone titles or mix-and-matched, you're in for some serious replay value. Don't expect this board game combo to collect dust on your shelf.

If you're on the hunt for even more savings on tabletop goodies, you oughta take a peek at our roundup of the top board game deals. If bricks and building is more your speed, checking out our best lego sets list should be next on your agenda.

Monster Hunter fans will be all too familiar with what the Monster Hunter World board games have to offer. Despite being far more rudimentary (as the medium often necessitates), Steamforged Games' interpretation of the beloved franchise is exceptionally well executed, and with heaps of comic relief to boot. Considering how long they've been making some of the best board games based on video games, including the Resident Evil series, that may not come as a surprise.

Even coming at the review from a more TTRPG-heavy background, as opposed to JRPGs, I've had great fun exploring the wilds and taking on ever more deadly challenges in this adventure style combat game. That's thanks not only to its accessibility in spite of its complexity, but also the intriguing narrative facets that work to turn what could have been a simple battle simulator into a versatile, replaybable board game with a little something for everyone.

Features & design

• Co-op arena game
• New core set taking place in the desert
• Compatible with other sets

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste is run in three phases. There's the Gathering phase in which you follow clues to find a monster in a choose-your-own adventure style segment; the Hunting phase that involves slaying said Monster; and the HQ phase in which players use the parts scavenged to upgrade their Hunter's weapons and armor.

As you progress, you're able to take increasingly difficult jobs tracking and killing significantly more deadly marks. The game is meant to be played over several sessions, though you must kill a four star Monster before the specified number of campaign days is up, or you lose the game. There's a bit of choice around how to get there, including deciding which level monster you feel confident enough to take on next.

After selecting your Hunter and finding their starter cards, players head into the Gathering phase of the starter mission. One player reads aloud the narrative and you all agree how to proceed. This stage could involve anything from looting lost packs but potentially losing ground as you linger, examining the massive remains of an even bigger monster's kill, or attempting search and rescue missions. As you step through the narrative you might gain potions or ores, or suffer damage before you even get into a fight. You'll also gain Track tokens that are revealed at the end of the Gathering phase. These contribute to your Scoutfly level, which can affect the Monster's behaviour for better or worse.

When you hit the Hunting phase, it's you against the Monster in a timed battle event. Minis come out, Hunters are randomly assigned a Threat Level, the monster is set to max hitpoints, and depending on your Scoutfly level, different Behaviour cards are shuffled into the Monster's deck. Play is tracked with something called Time cards in this phase, which could throw a status effect or other random event at you at the end of your turn. Players take it in turns to Walk, Sprint and/or play Attack cards in any order. Any number of Attack cards can be chosen to fill your Stamina board as far as you dare – one of which is usually discarded at the end of a turn. Once you run out of cards, you'll need to use the Sharpen action to replenish your Attacks with those discarded.

As for the Monster, they act autonomously targeting whoever is stated on their Behaviour cards and attacking with the body part telegraphed on the back of the face-down pile. Sometimes, however, a Time card might direct you to discard the top one, having Misread the Monster's apparent next move. Terrain cards will also affect play here, reducing Hunter threat level or giving the Monster somewhere to heal, for example.

The goal is to take down the Monster before the Time cards deplete, breaking as many Monster parts as possible to gain more loot in the process. Once the monster is dead, time is up, or one of the Hunters has fainted three times, the fight is over and you enter the Return to HQ phase. You either gain the loot on the loot table from each of the broken Monster parts, then freely trade it amongst yourselves and use it to upgrade your gear or, if you failed, you can reattempt it… or try your hand at a different Quest.

That's the basics, though there are special rules for how to play each Hunter – such as the Insect Glaive Hunter's Kinsect: Harvest Extract cards that add extra bonuses when certain Attack cards are played. One to two player campaigns also gain the benefit of Palico compatriots who add special bonuses, too.

Gameplay

• Monster combat is phenomenal
• Narrative & RPG elements to break up combat
• A faff to set up

All this will seem very familiar to anyone who's played a Monster Hunter video game. There are recognizable monsters, Hunter types, and gear. Thanks to the extremely detailed miniatures, it's even possible to tell which parts of each monster have been used to detail the gear on each of the Hunter's miniatures. If you're in it for the minis, this is one game that won't disappoint. They're high quality and snap together with no need for glue which is fantastic, and I'd happily repurpose them in the best tabletop RPGs.

I have noticed a little wear on the board folds after only a few sessions but that's not something that affects playability, only aesthetics. Though since games are expected to last up to 25 sessions, that's a lot of putting away and getting out that could cause some unwanted wear.

It can be a little hard setting up, too. Finding everything among the masses of very similar looking decks is a little daunting, though thankfully there's a helpful guide as to how to store everything back in the game box. The rest of the manual is well-headlined, step-by-step information as well. The layout is easy on the eyes, and doesn't overload you with information you won't need until you hit the next phase either.

Speaking of which, I love that Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste is broken down into distinct phases. A game that relies entirely on battle segments can start to get stale, and only appeals to a certain kind of board gamer. The phases break up that monotony with narrative-fueled segments and downtime activities that add a new dimension to the game. The Gathering phase especially does wonders to distinguish the game from your average battle sim, while managing to cleverly ramp up the tension with tough choices that affect the outcome of the Hunting phase, such as shuffling detrimental cards into the time deck or making the monster's behaviour deck more powerful.

It took me a moment to get my head around the way Scoutfly level was presented, with paragraphs of text as opposed to what could have been an easy-to-reference table, but it's a great mechanic that supports the game's theme really well and gives it another element of surprise, as well as something solid and numerical to work toward.

The Hunting phase also feels really well balanced between known variables and procedural elements. A good example is the randomly drafted Hunter tokens that give your Hunter a threat rating, which act as a tie-breaker as to who monster is going to target next. These are sometimes shuffled around, and your rating can be reduced by hiding in a bush – something my TTRPG brain latched onto, giving my Hunter the nickname of BUSHMAN.

While there aren't masses of roleplay intensive elements, there are little moments that bring the story to life, which, coupled with the well-paced gameplay, have a fantastic effect on the game's tension building. There's also enough player agency that it gives player's choices real weight – be that the kind of quest you select, your Hunter's positioning and chosen attacks, or just what you choose to do in your downtime.

The main issues for me are in remembering the order of events, how the monster is supposed to move, and which symbols mean what (there are a ton). The game attempts to help out with printed reminders on time cards, and a useful key and appendix in the rulebook, but you will likely need to reference them a whole lot for the first few quests, and it can start to get tiresome.

Should I buy Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste?

Once you get used to how everything works and enter a flow state with your pals, Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste can be a truly rewarding gameplay experience with a great deal of replayability. Its push-your-luck style mechanics tempt you against the clock, adding tension alongside refreshing story elements that pull you in new directions with each and every playthrough.

It's not going to be a game for everyone, but it does well to offer a variety of rewards for the more bloodthirsty, or loot-motivated players, and even those with roleplay frivolity as their main goal. While the rulebook can be clunky with the wording in places, and set-up is a bit of a slog, the game makes fumbling through it all a worthwhile endeavor even for those who've never played a Monster Hunter game in their lives.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Wildspire Waste

Our reviewer played Monster Hunter World: The Board Game multiple times and with different numbers of people to better understand how its systems performed.

To find out more, don't miss our guide to how we test board games or the in-depth GamesRadar+ review policy.

According to the project page, Scourge of the Sarafan "comes complete with six playable character classes, Sarafan weapons and spells, and a bevy of nocturnal horrors to battle. With a simple d20 dice system, both players and the Game Master alike can stay present in their shared adventure without having the action and atmosphere broken by complex mechanics, while high lethality keeps combat risky, forcing players to pick their battles carefully."

Scourge of the Sarafan is available as a pledge reward through the project's Backerkit, where it has managed to crush its £32,500 funding goal to a fine dust within one day (at £176,000 at time of writing). The TTRPG's Standard and Deluxe editions make up a variety of pledge tiers for the project. However, also included among these is The Book of Nosgoth, a 200-page "encyclopedia and archive" that provides both an in-depth collation of the game world and story. Alongside this, it features an exploration of the series' development through behind-the-scenes materials, concept art, and interviews with developers like Michael Bell and Simon Templeman.

Both The Book of Nosgoth and Scourge of the Sarafan appear to be continuing publisher Lost In Cult's pattern of producing stunning game-centric artsy books that are just begging to wind up on your bookshelf. Each one is hardcover, sewn-bound, and filled with the kind of gorgeous design that reminds me that flicking through TTRPG books is almost as fun as actually playing TTRPGs. This is a deeply unfortunate reality for my bank account.

I'm a decent bit too young to have experienced this cult classic series at launch and so I'll admit the Legacy of Kain games are sort of trapped in my jam-packed gaming backlog. That said, I do have a deep love for Gothic fiction and an irresistible urge to try out anything even slightly Mörk Borg-flavored, so I think I may have just accidentally given myself an excuse to pick up the recently released Soul Reaver 1 & 2 remaster to prepare myself ahead of the TTRPG's release.

For recommendations of what to play next, check out the best board games or the best adult board games!

The Disney Lorcana Gateway box – a starter set by any other name – just received a discount that is, to speak frankly, absurd. You can currently pick it up for $6.24 at Amazon instead of the usual $24.99, which is a 75% markdown. That's the cheapest it's ever been. As for UK readers, it's £10 at Amazon rather than £22.99 (a 57% price cut overall).

Considering how popular the game has become just a couple of years after launch (it's already made its way onto lists of the best card games, including ours), that level of reduction surprises me. I'm sure as hell not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, though; if you're looking to break into the hobby or get a friend started, there's no better opportunity than this.

Should you buy Disney Lorcana Gateway?

I've been digging into Gateway recently now that the Christmas rush is over, and I'm impressed with how well it onboards new players to the game. Trading card games and 'accessible' don't always go hand in hand (just look at Magic: The Gathering if you want an example of that), so that's an impressive feat.

It achieves this thanks to a clear and concise rulebook that gets right to the point. Two booklets of tips on how to play the specific decks included in this box are another feather in the cap; players are able to quickly find out how best to use their cards. When combined with a well laid out board and decks that can be used in actual games of Lorcana (or mixed and matched for new combos), Gateway gives newcomers everything they need.

Will experienced players get much out of it? No. For them, grabbing individual starter decks – or booster packs they can use to make decks of their own – is going to be more effective. But if you're a beginner, you can't do much better.

I'd be very surprised if it ever became available for less, either. This is a faintly ridiculous saving that you wouldn't normally see outside of sales season, so I can't say for sure how long it'll last.

For recommendations of what to play next, why not check out the best board games or the best adult board games?

If you haven't dipped into Star Wars: Unlimited before, just imagine something that mixes the collectibility and competitive fun of the best card games with all your favorite characters from throughout the Star Wars universe. It's super easy to get to grips with and could very easily wind up being your next TCG obsession.

We're looking at a combination of mighty fine discounts on both the Shadows of the Galaxy set and the most recent addition to the series, Twilight of the Old Republic. For example, the Star Wars: Unlimited Shadows of the Galaxy Starter Set is currently $18.41 at Amazon, where it would usually set you back $34.99. Tell me that's not just begging to land in your basket. Find more stellar deals below.

Should you buy Star Wars: Unlimited?

If you have a soft spot for other TCG titles like Disney Lorcana, you and Star Wars: Unlimited will click together like Han and Chewie (although without the whole 'starting out as Imperial prisoners' bit … that sounds like a bummer).

There are a couple of ways to add your Star Wars: Unlimited collection once you figure out it's for you. The two 50-card decks that come with the Starter Sets are not only a super quick, simple way to experiment with different characters and abilities but they can be broken down and added to custom-built ones once you get an appetite for deck-building.

If you'd rather skip directly to cracking open packs, you can buy boosters instead. While these can be bought individually for less than $15, if you want to secure the best value, buying these in bulk with a 24-pack display is the way to go.

Each Star Wars: Unlimited set has a little something different to offer depending on your favourite chunk of the Star Wars franchise. The two most recent sets focus on The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars but those prior to that had plenty in the way of the original trilogy and the prequels. Luckily, you can mix and match cards from across every release to customize your deck to fit your preferred playstyle.

For recommendations of what to play next, check out the best board games or the best adult board games!

A new sourcebook for the steampunk setting of Eberron was revealed during our visit to Wizards of the Coast's Renton studio this month, and it'll hit shelves on August 19. Called 'Eberron: Forge of the Artificer,' it revisits the D&D location with all-new adventure outlines, alongside the revised Artificer class and a major change to one of Eberron's more iconic elements – Dragonmarks.

Although they're still recognizable to fans of Eberron, Dragonmarks (essentially a magic tattoo) are now being treated like Feats from the new 2024 Player's Guide. That means species other than the ones originally specified in 2019's Eberron: Rising From the Last War can use them. This is very much in line with Wizards' efforts to make one of the best tabletop RPGs less restrictive.

As for the Artificer class itself (which originated in Eberron books), it will presumably build on the playtest version seen during last year's Unearthed Arcana. Because this was already a "much needed upgrade," it should do wonders for one of the game's least-played classes.

There aren't any other details available for what those adventure outlines will look like, or what the majority of the book will involve, but developers James Wyatt and Jeremy Crawford say that this will serve as a companion to Rising from the Last War – to the point that Wizards is releasing digital and physical sets bundling the two together. With that in mind, I suspect this one could be more adventure-focused… particularly thanks to the concept character lineup artwork shown during the press visit.

Either way, we should find out in a few months. Until then, time to start dusting off that hardboiled warforged detective character I've had in my back pocket…

For ideas of what adventure to play next, try the best D&D books.

So, when the chance presented itself to head to Wizards of the Coast’s headquarters recently to check out their upcoming slate of goodies that will upgrade one of the best tabletop RPGs, I plane-shifted myself right over to check them out. Here is what you can expect to be incorporating into your D&D nights in 2025.

Monster Manual - February 18

Releasing on February 18, Wizards is finally completing their trio of revised core D&D books that finally let players and Dungeon Masters take full advantage of their hard work with the release of the Monster Manual. As a Dungeon Master myself, I fell in love with the tweaks the team has made to improve the organization and general usability of the MM, along with the adjustments and redone monster stats that keep it feeling fresh. This revised manual contains more than 500 creatures to throw into your adventures, with more than 85 of them being brand new. This is a massive book — the largest MM the team has ever put together — and both DMs and players will find things they will love and fear in this book.

After scouring and admiring the critters in the book, I’m most impressed with the improvements to the structure of the book and monster blocks in general. Little things, such as the index at the beginning of the book organizing monsters alphabetically or lair actions of specific monsters being paired alongside the monster’s stat block, make it far more streamlined to set up encounters. Encounters feel fresh and exciting thanks to the redone stats, which see monsters losing and gaining new abilities. Even classic creatures, such as dragons, feel new and fearsome again. And on the topic of dragons…

Dragons Delve – July 8

Following up the Monster Manual, Wizards is turning up the heat... and cold... and thunder, and acid too, with the release of the dragon-centric Dragon Delves: The Adventure Anthology on July 8. This collection brings together 10 shorter adventures — each one focusing on a different type of the classic 10 chromatic and metallic dragon varieties (sorry, fellow gem dragon fans) — that can be put together in a way that creates three potential campaigns.

As neat as this sounds on its own, perhaps what excites me is that this book will also serve as a celebration of the game’s title creature, showcasing the giant lizards throughout Dungeons & Dragons history. Artwork from all the editions will be on display, along with fascinating lore, making this a wonderful recommendation for not only players but also folks who enjoy the history aspect of the game.

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer – August 19

From dragons to dragonmarks, players will return to Eberron on August 19, home of Artificers, the Warforged, and Dragonmark houses, with Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. As someone who has run a Warforged Artificer character before (RIP T4-I — aka Tai), the prospect of revisiting one of my favorite planes is exciting. One of the significant changes that Wizards is taking with this release is adjusting how Dragonmarks work, treating them now as feats, opening them up to species outside of the previously predefined ones. While some longtime Eberron enthusiasts may take issue with this change to the long-held norm, Wizards feels this adjustment will allow for greater freedom and more diverse stories for players and DMs to tell and experience. To help folks along, this book will also contain some outlines of adventures to set you and your players on their way, highlighting various aspects unique to Eberron, such as gritty detective work.

Astute players may have been tipped off that this was coming, thanks to Wizards pulling back the curtains on their Artificer rework in the Unearthed Arcana release back in December. However, it is still a welcome surprise to get this return officially announced. For owners of the previous Eberron: Rising from the Last War, released back in 2019, you don’t have to worry that this release of Forge of the Artificer will replace it or make your previous purchase worthless. In fact, speaking with this supplement’s creators, James Wyatt and Jeremy Crawford, Forge of the Artificer will actually serve as a wonderful companion piece to Rising from the Last War, so much so that Wizards will be releasing bundles — both digitally and physically — that include both Eberron books.

Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands – September 16

New core rulebooks call for a new onboarding set for prospective players, and Wizards is answering the call with an updated, revised Starter Set, this time featuring fresh adventures in the Borderlands. The Borderlands is a classic D&D location, first explored back in 1979 with the adventure module The Keep on the Borderlands. But this Starter Set isn’t just a reworked set of character sheets and a new beginner campaign. Starter Sets do a great job of introducing players to the basics of the game, but there is one fundamental aspect they have always shied away from tackling: letting the player create characters and instead opting for premade character sheets. This new set looks to remedy that. Heroes of the Borderlands will introduce a new tile-based system that lets players create their own characters in a streamlined yet meaningful way, giving them that sense of ownership and excitement.

Many details are being kept under wraps for now, but I already love the idea of constructing a character by mixing and matching tiles. Another game that has taken this approach, which I enjoy, is the Divinity Original Sin: Board Game, and if it manages to be as successful, I would love to see this approach expanded. Give me tile sets alongside each new module to expand the options, a nice dual-layer cardboard character board to slot them in, or let me organize my items like I’m playing Resident Evil 4 with little cardboard tiles of potions and equipment. I think this approach, along with Wizards’ initiative to deliver starter sets to schools, will do wonders for bringing more kids into the world of tabletop roleplaying games in a far more tactile and personal way.

Forgotten Realms – November 11

Closing out this year is the one-two punch of the Forgotten Realms Players Guide and Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide, two large tomes that will give fans perhaps the best look at the various realms that compose this magical place to date. While already popular, the release of Larian’s goliath Baldur’s Gate 3 has shone a bright light on the region of the Forgotten Realms. But as described by Wizards themselves, this is a place of “realms within a realm,” with each being unique and a perfect setting for different styles of campaigns. These books aim to help both players and DMs take advantage of this versatility.

For players using the Player’s Guide, they can look forward to eight new subclasses to experiment with, a tour guide of the Forgotten Realms, and perhaps most excitingly, a new way to cast spells: Circle Spellcasting. This new method of spellcasting combines the power of multiple spellcasters working in unison on a single spell. These empowered spells can be brand new or stronger versions of existing ones. The book will also provide a template and guide for adapting any existing spell into a Circle Spellcasting version, which is especially exciting. I can’t wait to see what happens when you circle cast the Fireball spell!

The Adventure Guide, on the other hand, provides a plethora of new options for DMs to have fun with in their games, including monster stat blocks and magic items. One key distinction with this release, however, is that players won’t have access to the same information. By splitting this content into two books, Wizards has cleverly separated important and spoilery information from the players, which is something previous similar releases didn’t do. It’s a smart move, and as a DM, I can appreciate it.

There is still a lot of time before these books release, so we’ll have to wait for more nitty-gritty details.

There is little doubt about the impact Dungeons & Dragons has had on nerd culture and, thanks to the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film, on pop culture in general. This upcoming year, Wizards is pushing the franchise to be more approachable for both longtime adventurers and first-time heroes with its mix of releases.

2025, more than other years, feels like a celebration of many of the cornerstones of the Wizards brand — from dragons to the Forgotten Realms and even its return to the Borderlands. As someone who loves the Artificer class and the history of Eberron, I can’t wait to crack open Eberron: Forge of the Artificer and see what new goodies await. Everything I’ve seen suggests that Wizards of the Coast’s focus this year is on making it easier for players to jump in and start adventuring, and I’m optimistic they’ll reach that goal.

For recommendations on what to play before these new books drop, why not check out the best board games?

Instead of centering their mechanics and theming around the kind of multiplanar Wacky Races business you might expect, both of the Aetherdrift Commander precons are firmly planted in their respective planes of Amonkhet and Avishkar. With very few vehicle cards to speak of, they're probably not going anywhere either. True to the vision of MTG's head designer, Mark Rosewater, Aetherdrift's Commanders are really giving the "travelogue" experience.

While the backdrop of the Ghirapur Grand Prix certainly plays its part, this multiplanar death race is largely just a vehicle that allows the Aetherdrift set to inhabit multiple planes at once – and allows the designers to create two decks that simultaneously embody the mechanical identity and aesthetic of each one. This world-building, combined with the strength of decklists themselves (I'll get into that soon, just you wait), means that I really can't be too vexed by the relative lack of vehicles.

Eternal Might probably isn't going to knock Wilhelt, The Rotcleaver out of its position as fan-favorite Zombie precon anytime soon. However, it's still an impressive precon that houses some seriously formidable new and returning cards alike.

Both monetarily and gameplay-wise, you're getting pretty good value with reprints. For example, you have Rot Hulk, a beastly $26 card that's particularly well-suited to the multiplayer format of Commander. Pay seven mana for Rot Hulk (or you know, cheat him out, that's always preferable) and you'll have 5/5 Zombie with menace whose enter the battlefield effect rewards you with a reanimated zombie for each opponent you have. With a healthy host of discard triggers in cards like Cryptbreaker and Temmet, Naktamun's Will, you're likely to have a graveyard chock-full of goodies for Rot Hulk to return too.

Whether you intend to tweak Eternal Might with upgrades or transform it entirely, there are plenty of mechanically strong and thematically rich cards that make it a deck worth picking up – doubly so if you have a soft spot for Esper (white-blue-black) color identity or the plane of Amonkhet.

Then there's Living Energy. With this being the third Energy-centric Commander deck released in the last year, you might feel sort of glutted on the mechanic. You may even be one of those Magic: The Gathering players who don't vibe with Energy at all. For those who are on board with the concept, Living Energy promises to be a solid offering.

Again, you're offered some fancy reprints like the gorgeously 'busted-in-Blue-decks' land, Academy Ruins (currently $16.40) and Elder Gargaroth ($13.79), a super powerful, stompy Green creature that provides a range of benefits to your game state every time it attacks or defends. Not only does Living Energy have a less distinct and unique deck identity, it also seems like it will need more TLC in the way of upgrading than Eternal Might. That said, if you're in the market for a project (or you happen to be specifically yearning for an energy-touting Temur Artificer deck), this could be the one worth popping in your basket.

Wondering what to play next? Don't miss the best board games. If you need to know more about the new set, check out these exclusive MTG Aetherdrift cards.

Should you buy Villainous expandalone games?

Just when you thought you'd seen the limits of Disney's influence, the big mouse went and took the board game world by storm with Villainous, its range of family-friendly asymmetrical strategy games based on the dark side of the Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel universes.

While mainline Villainous titles allow up to four players to take up the role of cinematic baddies, the Villainous expandalone games usually contain two villains instead. As a result of their smaller scope, they are easier to learn to play, have a reduced price point, and will take up a decent bit less space in your board game collection. I can say from experience, that last factor is a big ol' win if you too have a tiny apartment but can't help falling in love with new board games.

While Villainous expandalone games can put a fun twist on your usual Villianous experience, these titles can be played separately from the core Disney Villainous, Marvel Villainous, and Star Wars Villainous games. As a matter of fact, you don't have to have ever played any of the original Villainous installments to get to grips with these spin-offs. So, all the best Disney Villianous expansions are ready for you to dive into whether you've played Disney Villainous previously or not.

However, there are plenty of benefits to mixing sets of Villains together. The only issue you might run into with this mix-and-match approach is that villains have to be from the same cinematic universe. For example, villains from Star Wars Villainous and its spin-offs can't be pitted against those from Marvel or Disney. Beyond that though, go nuts – it feels good to be bad!

For more great discounts, be sure to check out the latest from our roundup of the top board game deals. If you're looking to treat a fellow nerd (or just treat yourself), why not drop by our guide on the best gifts for gamers?

You can currently pre-order the MTG Aetherdrift Play Booster Box for $109.95 via Walmart rather than the $150 or so I'm seeing elsewhere, and even though it's not listed as a deal, I can't find a better offer. It's currently $148.69 at Amazon, for example, and $114.99 at Miniature Market.

Such a gulf in pricing isn't unusual where Magic: The Gathering is concerned. Despite it being one of the most popular and best card games around, stable MSRPs don't seem to be a thing where MTG is concerned. While booster boxes and Commander decks hover around the same ballpark with every set, costs between retailers can vary wildly. That makes it difficult to tell what is and isn't a good deal at times, but this is the lowest I've been able to find on Aetherdrift's premier product.

Should you buy the MTG Aetherdrift Play Booster?

Whether you should pick up this pack will depend on what you're looking for with the new set. Are you mainly interested in collecting the cards, playing Limited matches like Draft, or getting enough to build your own decks? This is a no-brainer, because it's the easiest (and cheapest) way of getting MTG Aetherdrift cards in bulk.

However, anyone who wants the rarer card designs or alt-art should opt for the Collector Boosters instead. In addition, it's no good for those who mainly play with precon Commander decks. Unless you're interested in tweaking decks or constructing entirely new ones, it'll feel like overkill.

I doubt the Play Booster Box will dip much lower than this before release, though – and probably not for a long time afterward, if previous sets are any indication. Even then, you're unlikely to see them breach the $95 barrier. In other words? Now's as good a time as any to dive in.

For recommendations on what to play next, don't miss the best board games. As for what we can expect from the new set, check out these exclusive MTG Aetherdrift cards.

MTG Innistrad Remastered is here like a bat out of hell. Indeed, the horror-themed set just launched with a bevvy of products underwing. But what's it all about, and should you bother signing up for this gothic encore?

To help you navigate Magic's eeriest setting, our resident tabletop nerds have weighed in with everything you need to know about MTG Innistrad Remastered. You'll find everything from release dates to mechanics here. We've been sure to include the cheapest available deals as well.

Unsure of which cards to prioritize? Not to worry. We've also consulted with Magic: The Gathering experts to fill you in on what an ideal MTG Innistrad Remastered deck should look like. If you're hoping to dominate the battlefield in one of the best card games, these tips should help.

What is MTG Innistrad Remastered?

• The first release of 2025
• Revisits classic setting & cards
• Gothic horror-themed

As the name would suggest, this set revisits the eerie world of Innistrad - a realm of vampires, werewolves, undead, and all things baroque. It was introduced in 2011 and has featured in numerous expansions since then. Indeed, there have been more than six sets in total. (It seems as though publisher Wizards of the Coast subscribes to the "if it ain't baroque, don't fix it" school of thought.)

However, Remastered isn't an entirely new entry. It revives cards from every previous set alongside adding some retro frames to help fans relive the glory days.

Innistrad Remastered isn't like normal MTG releases, though; it doesn't include any premade Commander decks and is instead limited to Play and Collector booster packs.

MTG Innistrad Remastered release date

The wait for MTG Innistrad Remastered is over! The set is now available, and launched on January 24, 2025.

Here's the exact schedule:

• Premium Preview Events: January 17 - 23
  Full tabletop release: January 24

It's worth pointing out that this is only available as a physical product; Innistrad Remastered is not available on MTG Arena.

MTG Innistrad Remastered products

• Only Play & Collector boosters
• No precons, pre-release, or bundles

What's available for MTG Innistrad Remastered? Unlike so many Magic launches, the horror set has just a couple of items available; there aren't any of the usual bundles, pre-release packs, or precon Commander decks.

Here's what's available.

Play boosters

The ever-reliable Play boosters are your main way of getting MTG Innistrad Remastered cards. These can be used to create decks of any type or to play Limited formats like Draft or Sealed.

Collector boosters

If you have a soft spot for the prettiest cards or want to collect alternate art, Collector Booster packs should be on your radar. These are more expensive on the whole, particularly when bought individually, but they offer card designs you simply can't get elsewhere.

MTG Innistrad Remastered mechanics

Seeing as it's a rework rather than an entirely new set, MTG Innistrad Remastered shouldn't surprise fans. Still, that doesn't mean it's business as usual. There are a few returning mechanics of note players may wanna pay attention to.

• Transforming double-faced cards: Because this is a world of monsters, it's fitting that Innistrad debuted a special kind of double-sided card. Werewolves are a good example. One half will feature the creature's human form, while the other shows them as a monster. This is normally activated by a particular trigger, like no sorceries being cast on your turn.
• Meld: This is a particularly nasty effect that will ruin your opponent's whole day. Meld cards are double-sided, and they combine to form a super monster.
• Blood: These tokens can be discarded to draw cards, or transform certain creatures.
• Disturb: As is only right for a ghostly world, Disturb lets you cast the back side of a card from your graveyard by paying its Disturb cost rather than the mana cost.
• Undying: If a card with this dies and it doesn't have any plus counters, it's returned to your hand with +1/+1.
• Flashback: Like the name suggests, this ability allows you to bring a card back from the graveyard if you pay the Flashback cost. It must then be exiled.
• Emerge: You're able to cast this card by sacrificing a creature, all simulating nasty things bursting from a body. Yuk.
• Investigate: Players who use Investigate are able to create a Clue token, which can be discarded to draw a card.
• Soulbond: You can bond two cards together if you like for specific benefits.
• Madness: If your cards have Madness, you can cast them when they're discarded.
• Miracle: Players who draw this card first can cast it for the Miracle cost rather than the mana cost.
• Escalate: Pay a certain amount to choose one of multiple effects.

MTG Innistrad Remastered tips

What should you look out for when it comes to MTG Innistrad Remastered? I brought the matter to an expert Magic player and writer on our sister site, PC Gamer (James Bentley), to find out. While you can get a full overview in our guide to the best Innistrad Remastered cards, here's an overview.

"The best and worst part of picking out the best cards from a remastered set is that the cards in question will either be staples of the genre or have some sort of appeal through sheer iconography. You won’t see too many surprises but long-term value is there, because it was already there. From this set, I recommend keeping an eye out for..."

• Edgar Markov: "Prioritize this elder Markov for his excellent vampire synergy and remarkably strong eminence effect. He can build even more vampires without even being on the field and buffs them whenever he attacks, which he is very good at thanks to haste and first strike."
• Emrakul, the Promised End: "Alright, putting in a big splashy Eldrazi might feel like cheating, but Emrakul, the Promised End is worth of inclusion despite it. A 13/13 for 13 mana that can be cheated out with some funky graveyard shenanigans, that also take control of your opponent for a turn, is already strong. But give it trample, flying, and protection from instants and it's on another level."
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope: "An indestructible beast that makes all your other permanents indestructible too. Pair this with a 'destroy all creatures' effect and watch everything but your board get taken out."
• Snapcaster Mage: "This blue creature gives a sorcery or instant in your graveyard flashback, a versatile spell that also gives you a chump blocker on the field. What's not to love?"
• Craterhoof Behemoth: "If you like big stompy creatures, Craterhoof Behemoth is the pinnacle of them, being a 6/6 trampler that buffs other creatures for the amount you have on the field. It's strong, but also just iconic."
• Meathook Massacre: "Finally, Meathook Massacre is arguably better than its recent sequel, not only being a board wipe with the right mana but also giving you health and ping enemies for damage with every creature that dies. This can end a game instantly if your opponents don't have a response."

MTG Innistrad Remastered story

• No story for this set
• Based in a world of vampires & undead

Because this isn't a mainline MTG set, Innistrad Remastered doesn't feature a story in the traditional sense. However, you will find fun asides on some cards as always that should provide some much-needed flavor.

The artwork provides atmosphere to spare, too. This is a grim world filled with vampires, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, and other terrors inspired by Gothic literature a la Dracula, so the realm's humans spend much of their time living in fear. Although there are a few noble heroes who seek to push back the tide (like the late Archangel Avacyn, RIP), Innistrad's most notable character is the vampiric planeswalker Sorin Markov.

Best MTG Innistrad Remastered deals

Want to save some cash when collecting MTG Innistrad Remastered? No problem. We've set our bargain-hunting software the task of rounding up the best available prices. You'll find these below from a variety of trusted retailers.

New to all this? Be sure to check our guide on how to play Magic: The Gathering, or this feature on how to play MTG Commander.

As with all things MTG Aetherdrift, they gotta go fast. Well, theoretically. Although these cards tie into the racing theme present across this set, they aren't burning rubber. Instead, they're distinctly prehistoric additions to one of the best card games. First up, have a high-speed mammoth – as a treat.

OK, so the 'Autarch Mammoth' might not be the fastest mount out there. But it packs enough of a punch to send rivals flying thanks to its 5/5 rating and ability to spawn a 3/3 green Elephant token whenever it attacks if saddled. That makes it a great late-game play.

Next, we have a Very Good Boy who'll defend your creatures or create Pilot tokens.

Just like it says on the tin, 'Defend the Rider' will protect high-value cards. It allows you to either make a target permanent you control hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn, or make a 1/1 colorless Pilot who can saddle Mounts and crew Vehicles as if its power were 2 or more. Thanks to the card's single-mana cost, it lets players quickly and easily activate saddle or crew triggers.

More details for MTG Aetherdrift will continue to drop as we march toward the February 14 release date. We'll keep you updated as and when more info becomes available, but in the meantime you can get some discounts on the set via Amazon.

For more recommendations, race over to our guide to the best board games or the best 2-player board games.

There I was, flipping through the almost 500 page rule book, wondering if the Break!! TRPG might be one to make it onto our best tabletop RPGs guide, when I happened across Madriñan's Blogspot. This thing is positively brimming with free supplemental content, and I now have enough lore to keep me going while I wait for the tutorial adventure zine 'Start' to launch on Kickstarter.

If you're in the same boat, perhaps looking for something a bit less vague than the sourcebook's 'possible' world history, the Break!! RPG Blogspot is chock-full of everything from new species designs, to advice on creating your own Outer World histories and quick re-skins of adversaries, to Outer World Holidays meant to spice up your game world with some commonly held festivities.

The most recent post, and one that really got me going, outlines some more of the lore behind the entity known as the Wondersmith. Not only that, it also hints at the existence of another entity for all you lorehounds to latch onto. Just as a spoiler warning, players may want to steer clear in case your GM plans to use any of this as a big reveal moment in your campaign.

The Core Rules note that the Wondersmith is said to have created the Outer World and the Sun Machine against the will of the true Creator. He sides with the Unshaped and steals the people away from the mythical land of Promise, to be used as playthings on the Outer World, or so many believe.

In the blog post, Madriñan goes into more detail around how "Descriptions of the Wondersmith are extremely varied. A bouncing, jocular toymaker. A plump and kindly baker. A wiry blacksmith who lets their craft speak for them, just to name a few. The only consistency is flowing red clothing and a golden mask of some kind." While players might assume those spouting such rumours are mistaken, Madriñan makes it clear that "they are not - these individuals and more are all the Wondersmith. They are simply one of their 7 masks."

In a Voldemort-esque twist, players might come into contact with one of the Wondersmiths many masked constituent parts, whose existence was a sure way for the Wondersmith to "outmaneuver Ending".

Ending is something fans have begun to notice is capitalised, too, and in questioning this ominous capitalisation Madriñan pops into the comments to say they're "Glad to see people caught that". They go on to explain that "Ending is both a concept and an individual, something I'm saving for later."

If that isn't a tease for the upcoming Start adventure I don't know what is.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best D&D books, or some cool D&D gifts for your TRPG loving friends.

For just $19.79 at Amazon you can grab Sounds Fishy and start the obscure family fun at your table. This isn't the first time it's gotten a discount like this, and certainly isn't the cheapest it's been, with some discounts dropping all the way to $16, but it's still a great price against recent price hikes that have seen it skyrocket to around $29. And its a fair bit cheaper than Big Potato's own price of $23.

If you're over in the UK, you an also get Sounds Fishy for a discount, so there's no need for you to miss out. Right now, the game is £19.93 at Amazon.

Should you buy Sounds Fishy?

Sounds Fishy is the kind of game you can pull out over the Holidays when the whole family gets together. First off it won't take you ages to explain the rules, as they're simple as can be, and it can be played by up to 10 players so no one has to feel left out.

Players start with a question, something like "In South Dakota where is it illegal to fall asleep?" Then one player reads the true answer, while others make up plausible answers. Picking out the true answer can be really difficult, especially if your pals are good liars.

It's a great little game, with heaps of replayability. Not to mention you actually feel like you're learning stuff in the process!

For more discounts, be sure to check out the latest the best board game deals. For more for present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?

Based on the show's reveals, this is going to be a busy year. First came glimpses of packaging and art for the initial set of 2025, 'Archazia's Island' – including original character Archazia herself in a mind-bending setting. Then we got our first peek at June's 'Reign of Jafar,' complete with its tease of a more villainous focus. Finally, Lorcana's Q3 release ('Fabled') broke cover. Although there's not much to go on where the latter is concerned, it leans into a fairytale theme and promises a good jumping-on point for new Disney Lorcana players.

Here's a breakdown of everything we saw.

Archazia's Island

In terms of Archazia's Island, artwork indicates that things are getting weird for one of the best card games. The owl-like Archazia is already a trippy concept with their glowing eyes and mask-like face, but it's their home that's frying my noodle. This is a place M.C. Escher would be proud of, and it openly laughs in the face of gravity. Or logic. I dig it. Throw in this set's focus on cute critters and I will very much be seated.

We also got to see the designs for this set's product range. Encanto's Mirabel returns for an encore here, and she's joined by Bolt the dog (remember them?) across booster pack illustrations. As for the precons, we're getting a mix of either steampunk Belle and scholarly Beast or a Godzilla-sized Iago alongside Jafar in his Reign of Jafar getup. Speaking of which…

Reign of Jafar

We didn't receive too much info on the second set of 2025, but we know it'll feature the titular baddie getting up to no good. Indeed, it feels as if this is going to be more villainous than other releases; the blurb states that "Jafar has taken over Archazia’s Island, corrupting the beautiful haven into his menacing fortress. His reign may just be the greatest threat that Lorcana has faced!"

Fabled

Players got a glimpse into the future with the final tease of London Toy Fair, and a poster for a Lorcana set due to arrive later in 2025 was shown off. We know next to nothing about Fabled beyond its fairytale style (artwork depicts Mickey and Minnie in fantasy costumes riding a carousel) and a blurb on the official Lorcana site that says it is a "welcome to Lorcana, a realm where magical stories come to life. Whether this is your first time playing the game, or you're returning to team up with a few new pals, there's something for everyone in Fabled!"

Want to know what to play while you wait for these new sets? Check out the best board games or the best family board games.

You’ll have to wait just a tad longer to get a complete picture of the Aetherdrift Commander decklists, as they're not set to drop until tomorrow, January 23. In the meantime though, the MTG team have given us Face Commanders and Alternate Commanders to mull over.

The four Aetherdrift Commanders revealed include those from Living Energy (a Green-Blue-Red deck that seems focused on leveraging energy counters) and those from Eternal Might (a White-Blue-Black deck which appears to prioritise Zombie Typal play and reanimation mechanics).

Saheeli, Radiant Creator serves as the Face Commander for Living Energy and provides an ability similar to that of Satya from Modern Horizons 3. This card allows you to use energy to copy permanents that can swing big for a single turn before being destroyed. The transience of these copies is a bit of a bummer. However, you don’t even have to attack on your combat phase to trigger this ability, the copies are all 5/5s, and Saheeli is a pretty reliable cog in an energy engine. So, all this more than makes up for that fact.

Living Energy’s Alternate Commander is Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic. This Commander leans hard into an Artificer play style (i.e. a board chock full of artifacts) and her variable energy cost ability allows her to really grow in power as the game progresses. While Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic would be right at home in any Artificer deck you might decide to build, it’ll be key to see what kinds of artifact creatures are in the Living Energy decklist to judge the feasibility of this as the Commander within the precon.

Energy is a resource that has undergone a bit of renaissance in the last year of Magic: The Gathering. While it first made a splash with the Kaladesh expansion in 2016, there was distinct lack of love for the mechanic until its reappearance in Universes Beyond: Fallout and Modern Horizons 3 in 2024. Following on from that trend (and considering that Aetherdrift takes place in the plane formerly known as Kaladesh), it makes a whole lot of sense that we would see that familiar lightning bolt making a regular appearance on upcoming MTG Aetherdrift cards, especially across the Living Energy decklist.

On the other hand, Commanders from the Eternal Might precon seem firmly planted in another plane featured in Aetherdrift's story: Naktamun. This magical pastiche of Ancient Egypt is abound with mummies and other kinds of mythical monsters, but for the sake of clean categorization and typal integration, the creature type that these fall under is Zombie. This allows for a deck with crystal clear Zombie typal design and a reliance on reanimation mechanics.

While Temmet, Naktamun's Will (the Face Commander) is no doubt a formidable card with the capacity for powerful synergies, the Alternate Commander is a great choice to take the helm in my opinion. If you're playing any deck looking to strategically discard cards and especially if your gameplan involves reanimating back from the graveyard, Hashaton, Scarab's Fist is a tempting choice that's worth throwing in your Command Zone.

To start, Hashaton, Scarab's Fist has a two-mana cost, which is ideal for those who like to get their Commander out early in the game and continually return them to the battlefield despite being increasingly bogged down by Commander Tax. Once Hashaton is on the field, he provides a transformative creature-copying ability that not only aligns the copy token with the zombie type but also makes it a 4/4 for just three mana.

Of course, this new addition to your Zombie army has all the same abilities and effects as the card it’s copied from too. Meanwhile, the original creature isn’t exiled but instead goes to your graveyard to lie in wait for their reanimation. The only real downside is that your copy is tapped when created but as soon as you get to untapping it, you can start to cause some havoc.

Time will tell what other key game pieces are included in the MTG Aetherdrift Commander decklists and how they’ll bolster the different playstyles of Living Energy and Eternal Might. However, what we have seen so far offers a pretty strong indication of what we can expect, as well as delivering insight into which Aetherdrift Commander precon you might want to pop in your basket when the set releases next month.

Looking for what to play next? Check out our guide to the best board games. If you're stuck on getting a full party of players together, our choices for the best two player board games have got your back.

Right now, you can get hold of it for half price, that's just $40 on Amazon, against the usual $80 for this comprehensive strategy game. Having released just last year, the game hasn't seen that many drops in price yet. So this is a great opportunity to nab it for a deep discount.

If you're a fellow UK-based caveperson, you can also grab it for just under £20 off at Zatu games, so there's no reason for us to miss out on the fun overseas. Appropriately, that's sort of what Doggerland is all about: exploring the the stretch of land that once connected the British Isles to the rest of Europe, back in the days of wooly mammoths and cave paintings.

Should you buy Doggerland?

There's a lot to love about this game that dives deep into the lives of Prehistoric folk, not least the fact that every game of Doggerland is different. With procedural tiles laid out to be explored, and various goals that change every time you play, there are countless combinations that'll have you pulling Doggerland out of the cupboard time and time again.

The game sees players accumulating points through the seasons by strategising around the limited resources on the map. You grow your clan, migrate across the map hunting wild animals, and uh *checks notes* create megoliths and invoke twin births with the help of your Shaman. Okay, so it's not entirely historically accurate, but a mystical twist never hurt, did it?

As you play, you add to your fresco paintings with great deeds, create tools, as well as statues and necklaces that all add to your point score depending on the current goals. It's a deep and ever-changing game, Doggerland, and one that I can't wait to get hold of for review myself.

For more discounts, be sure to check out the latest the top board game deals for January 2025. As for last-minute present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?

And a great deal is exactly what you're getting if you treat yourself to the Mycelia board game right now, as it's managed to majorly sink down in price as part of a limited time offer. At the moment, you can pick up Mycelia for $26.59 at Amazon where it would usually set you back $39.99.

I don't know about you but that 34% discount sounds pretty tempting to me. As a matter of fact, Mycelia sitting pretty at its lowest ever price probably makes it one of the top board game deals you'll come across all week.

Should you buy Mycelia?

Be sure not to confuse this Mycelia from Ravensburger with its identically-titled counterpart from the publisher Split Stone Games. While both games feature super charming illustrations of fungus friends, they differ in complexity and gameplay style.

The Mycelia from Split Stone Games is more strategy focused and a tad more likely to leave casual players scratching their heads in confusion. Meanwhile, Ravensburger's Mycelia is a more family friendly deck-building game that isn't going to alienate newbies. If you do fancy a bit more of a challenge, Mycelia does provide variable difficulty.

In this way, Mycelia really meets you where you're at. This makes sense, given its creator said that one of his core inspirations was producing an introduction to deckbuilding for his mom, who had never played anything in the genre before.

Wow, even the backstory of Mycelia is adorable. Just when I thought it couldn't get any cuter.

If you're totally taken by deck-builders, why not check out our round-up of the best card games? Or for for last-minute present ideas, drop by our gifts for gamers guide.

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons will take on the same shape and feel of previous Horrified games, with parties of one to five crawling across the map and making moves to thwart monsters and save citizens. Though, some mechanics will lean more into D&D-style gameplay. (For a little refresher of what that might look like, why not check out the best D&D books?)

Rather than trying to avoid your average monsters from folklore and popular horror like previous Horrified games, players will cooperatively take on D&D baddies. Which monsters exactly has yet to be announced, but we can at least guess there will be a Beholder involved since there's one writ across the box – and about as close up as you can get to one before you're rolling a new character.

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons was designed by Dungeons & Dragons board game mastermind Peter Lee, who also worked on the original Horrified: Universal Monsters. So this is someone with an intimate knowledge of D&D and the best cooperative board games that should be able to do justice to the four iconic monsters included here. Speaking to Polygon, Ravensburger's game development manager Mike Mulvihill hinted that a D20 mechanic will also be included because of "how essential a d20 is to gameplay" in Dungeons & Dragons.

Coming some time in the summer of 2025, Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons will cost around $30. So keep an eye out for more updates as to the kind of monsters we can expect to see.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best board games or best two-player board games.

Sounding very much like something I would nominate for the best tabletop RPG list, failure is key in this storytelling game. Designer Austin Walker puts a great deal of emphasis on player characters' specificity of intent – a lack of which could cost you dearly. Realis seems like the kind of system that will really hammer home the belief that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Player characters are built with a collection of sentences that give your actions weight. These are known collectively as your character's Means, and consist of Class Sentences that describe their general behaviour, a couple of important Bonds, and a Dream to give your character purpose.

The more vague your Means, the weaker your actions will be. Over time, your character's intentions become sharper through their failures. As the sentences are Realized you modify them, drilling down from "I do lots of damage" to a far more pointed "When my friends' lives are at stake, a great wave of power overtakes me."

Speaking to Rascal news, Walker goes over some of the more mechanical aspects. He notes that more specific Realized sentences add up to a +3 to their character's interactions, and potentially give them an edge when they have to square up to a Counteractor.

The world itself is described as an "uncanny solar system where a thousand satellites orbit a massive, incandescent planet" from which "only the saint-like Radiant have ever returned." It's sandwiched by a great churning void and a corpse sun shining dimly in its death throes.

With additional design from Jack de Quidt and some writing by Janine Hawkins, Realis looks like a fascinating system. And while it takes away the much-loved act of rolling, Realis brings a more purposeful feeling to characters as they manifest their internal reality, rather than relying on the fates to guide their story.

Still in development, Realis is available for pre-order now but won't be shipping physical copies until some time in late 2025, or 2026.

Until then, why not check out the best D&D books or best cooperative board games if you're into games that encourage your table to work together.

Like actual space research, SETI is complex and time consuming. Even with player guides for everyone that explain the various actions you can take, how technology upgrades work, and what the end-of-game scoring tiles mean, it’s easy to make mistakes on a first playthrough. It’s more satisfying on a second or third attempt, though even then it’s going to require several hours of commitment since even setting up the board involves a fair amount of work.

If that doesn’t deter you, SETI is a deeply rewarding play experience that forces you to think strategically and take into account what other players are working on and how the moving of the Solar System will impact your future actions. It also has one of the best solo modes I’ve seen in a competitive game, using an evolving deck to replicate the feeling of your opponent’s engine ramping up as the game progresses. If you value head-to-head tactics, this may just be one of the best board games in recent years.

Features & design

• About searching for intelligent alien life
• Solar system board looks amazing but takes up lots of space
• Five different aliens to encounter, with two chosen secretly each game
• Cards all have flavor text to teach a bit about astronomy

SETI is a table-hungry game, centering on a spectacular modular game board that replicates the Solar System. You can scan a QR code in the rulebook to get a random starting orientation when setting up for each game, which will determine trajectories for your exploration of different planets. The positions will shift regularly, with three different tracks representing the planets, comets and asteroids revolving around the sun.

The other highlight is the large deck of cards which can be played for a wide variety of effects, spent for immediate benefits like earning publicity or moving a probe, or turned into income that you’ll generate each of the game’s turns. The cards are based on real innovations or projects like the Herschel Space Observatory and Mariner 10 Mission, complete with high quality art and a bit of flavor text.

Each player has a small board that represents what they can do with their actions, unlocking more options for scanning distant stars, deploying probes, and crunching data as they upgrade their technology. While the types of technology you can unlock is consistent across games, the kicker prizes you get along with your research is determined randomly during setup so the resources you need are likely to impact what you prioritize.

Similarly, the five aliens have their own boards and decks that offer fresh objectives and strategies when revealed, complete with small decks of cards and their own rules sheets.

Each player board also has a second side representing a level of difficulty for an AI opponent in SETI’s excellent single player mode. Your virtual academic rival has their own deck that upgrades over the course of a game and based on what aliens you encounter, a dynamic that feels richer than the usual way of increasing difficulty in solo play by denying the player resources.

The pieces are equally well designed, from little microphones representing each player’s publicity score to clear data pieces marked with ones and zeros that you collect from scanning.

Gameplay

• You need to find your ideal mission window based on Solar System movement
• Actions get more complex and competitive as turns go on
• Be sure to build up a good engine rather than just going for big points

Turns in SETI start relatively fast and simple and ramp up in complexity as players build out their engines, gathering more income that can be used to take more actions. Energy and credits are highly limited resources, with credits mostly being used to play cards while energy allows you to move and land probes. Cards give you a huge amount of options and provide major benefits for completing objectives. They can also significantly add to your score at the end of the game so figuring out what to play when is a huge part of SETI's strategy.

The main way you gain more resources is by increasing your income, which gives you an immediate reward and the same resource again at the start of each of the game’s five turns. In early rounds, players will want to prioritize gathering data and putting probes into orbit to increase their income while earning publicity by flying past planets and comets in order to research new techs that will make their actions more efficient. Unfortunately, if you don’t get a good engine going early in the game, you’re likely to fall behind and have a hard time catching up, which can feel very frustrating given how long SETI takes.

Many researchers can gather data on a given star, but only one researcher actually gets full credit for the discovery. That means you’ll want to plan carefully based on what you think your opponents are going to do and even what position the Earth is likely to be in on future turns when you take your actions in order to make the most out of your research. The relative value of scanning versus landing on planets and moons changes depending on the number of players, with more players meaning additional chances to complete scans and fewer offering less competition for key spots for probes.

When a certain amount of discoveries have been made by crunching data, landing on planets and scanning stars, an alien species is discovered. These aren’t as transformative to the game as you might think, but can favor different strategies. For instance, the insectoid Mascamites encourage players to focus on landing probes on Jupiter and Saturn, while the fossilized remains found on Oumaumua provide another place to scan.

SETI also has one of the best solo modes I’ve seen in a competitive game. The AI starts with a simple four-card deck but replaces cards when the aliens arrive to suit the circumstances and also gains cards that allow them to take more powerful actions over the course of the game. Their difficulty ramps up faster if the player doesn’t complete randomly determined objectives, which are mostly things you probably wanted to try to do anyway, so will shape your priorities. Because so much of the game is based on the location of the Earth and other planets in the Solar System, the AI’s actions never seem too random and you might even get help from them completing scans.

Should you buy SETI?

If you find playing highly complex strategic games by yourself or with a small, dedicated group of friends satisfying, SETI would be a great option to add to your collection. It’s especially appealing to fans of astronomy and space faring science fiction, providing rich flavor to compliment the strong design.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested SETI

Our reviewer played SETI multiple times and with different player counts (including by themselves) over a number of days to get the best sense of the game's systems.

To learn more, be sure to check out this guide to how we test board games. As for a broader overview, see the GamesRadar+ review policy.

For more recommendations, be sure to check in with our guide to the best 2-player board games and the best cooperative board games.

I genuinely think this game should be somewhere on our best board games list, and I only wish I knew there was a 15th aniversary edition of Agricola going for $113 on Amazon before we spent money on the standard version of the game. That's around $26 cheaper than its usual price. Generally it sits somewhere around $120, but it has been known to go down to $100 during major sales events and the like. It's only been that low once in the past year, though. It seems to be on an upturn, so now might be the time to buy before it shoots back to full price.

If you're based in the UK, while I cant find the Aniversary edition on offer, you can still get the two player big box edition for £32 on Amazon, as opposed to the standard £37-ish.

Should you buy the Agricola 15th Aniversary Limited Edition?

Agricola is an economic strategy for up to four players. With a simple concept, but countless layers of interest, it doesn't take long to explain and dive in. You take on the role of farmers in the middle ages, competing for points gained by expanding, upgrading and otherwise improving your farm. Head to the cattle market and get into animal husbandry, build yourself an oven so you can bake bread with the wheat you lovingly harvested, and make an "Urgent wish for children" before the 14 rounds are up.

This Aniversary Edition of Agricola includes not only addons and two lovely cardboard inlays for keeping your resources organised, it also comes with "former promo items that were previously unavailable". That means you can show off to all your other economics board game loving pals.

Having only discovered this game mere weeks ago, I've been playing it nonstop with my family, and I finally have a game that sates my apetite for both social interaction and economic strategy.

For more discounts, be sure to check out the latest the board game deals. As for last-minute present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?

January can be a miserable time on the whole, so forces of evil hogging the spotlight in the Warhammer Las Vegas Open 2025 show feels appropriate. It was basically wall-to-wall bad-guys up in here, regardless of whether we're talking Warhammer 40K or Age of Sigmar.

While the forces of Chaos took center stage, the ever-reliable undead also received some much-needed reinforcements. Necromunda got more wastelanders of questionable sanity as well, so even though Games Workshop's more morally-upstanding factions enjoyed some backup during the Warhammer Las Vegas Open show, they were in the minority. And that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon; we also got a handful of teases for what's still to come with Warhammer 40K and Age of Sigmar.

Because a lot was announced, I've broken it all down into bite-size chunks here.

Warhammer 40,000

• Emperor's Children are getting a revamp
• Teases for Salamanders, and more Chaos

This won't come as a surprise to anyone that's been following the Games Workshop social channels recently, but this year's show was pretty Chaos-focused. The teases we got for the near future show that hype train isn't about to stop, either; we've got the Word Bearers, Plague Marines, and Thousand Sons to look forward to.

Emperor's Children

They're back, baby. The most OTT Warhammer 40K faction has returned with a selection of suitably outrageous models, and although they're in line with what we've seen before, these replacements provide a much-needed overhaul of classic minis.

Not sure who the Emperor's Children are? In essence, they're Space Marines who fell in with the demon god of excess and pleasure, Slaanesh. That means they're always on the lookout for greater highs and bombard themselves with all kinds of sensation… as demonstrated by the faction's most iconic unit, the Noise Marines. Here's a breakdown of what we saw.

• New Noise Marines: These guys cart around noise canons that do exactly what they say on the tin – they use weaponized sound to burst your brainpan or turn your innards to jelly. (I like to imagine that they're playing heavy metal really, really loud.) In terms of gameplay they're the equivalent of the heavy weapon-weilding Havoks, and their guns can be tuned to different foes depending on who you're facing.
• Revamped battleline & close combat: Noise Marines are joined by the army's standard battleline, the Tormentors (who can apparently "defile" objectives, according to the live stream – ew), close-combat Infractors that move faster than normal Space Marines.
• New leaders: All of the above feature in the upcoming army set, much like the equivalent for the Death Korps of Krieg, and they're led by the Lord Exultant who can boost his performance in battle when needed (presumably thanks to numerous illicit stimulants). If you'd rather go for something else, you can buy the Lord Cacophonist – who basically walks around with a pipe organ on his back – separately to support your Noise Marines.
• Lucius the Eternal: This guy… damn. He was gross before, and now he's even more disgusting. The best swordsman in the cosmos – who takes your body over if you manage to kill him – has a brand-new model for 2025, and while he's a good addition to a unit, he's a better solo operative who will make mincemeat of enemy leaders.
• New Elites: The Flawless Blades are the best of the best when it comes to the Emperor's Children, and they have demonic patrons that they can call upon in combat for boons. However, if they don't get any kills they're eliminated by those same patrons.

Plague Marines

It was a small addition, but followers of Nurgle did get thrown a (gross) bone during this year's event – the Lord of the Pox, an absolutely gorgeous model that is hopefully a tease of what's to come. These putrid troops wear a massive "miasma turbine" on their back that spews noxious nastiness into the air, which covers the army's advance and also infects the enemy. Nasty.

Upcoming forces

Alongside all these new models, we got a hint of what's still to come in 2025 (and potentially beyond). World Eaters, Death Guard, and Thousand Sons are all coming back in the not-so-distant future, followed by cropped images of giving a hint of what else will follow. I'm sure I can see Salamanders in there, but the others are less clear. My best guess would be Grey Knights, maybe the Space Wolves, and possibly Chaos Undivided or Chaos Knights.

Black Library models

As part of the Black Library publishing celebration, we were treated to a look at the Hell's Last Command Squad – a band of hard-bitten characters led by Minka Lesk, who fans may recognize. Naturally, you can always use these as something else within your Astra Militarum force.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

• Skeletons stole the spotlight
• More Chaos and Kharadron Overlords on the way

There were fewer reveals for Games Workshop's fantasy setting than 40K, but what we got was still impressive… if you're a fan of the undead. The Soulblight Gravelords have been revitalized (metaphorically speaking) thanks to a renewed focus on skeletons, alongside a returning hero/villain. We got teases for a few long-awaited factions too, however.

Soulblight Gravelords

I maintain that the Cursed City undead miniatures are some of the finest that Games Workshop has ever produced, particularly the skeletons, and now we're getting a full army in that style for Age of Sigmar. Here's what was shown off.

• Deathrattle Army Box Set: The focus for this edition is that old faithful foe, skeletons. This army box contains entirely new sculpts based on the dead of ancient barrow kingdoms, with the mounted Wight King or Lord (depending on the variant you build) leading Barrow Knights that replace the old Black Knights, and they're 'cursed to rise' so can replace losses without a dice roll. Similarly, the elite infantry Barrow Guard supersedes the classic Grave Guard, and is able to protect characters due to being their security detail. Both of the old units were in need of a facelift, so these well and truly deliver.
• Returning Character: Welcome back to Prince Vhordrai, Master of the Crimson Keep. Compared to his previous, much less eye-popping model, this thing is a monster. Sat upon an enormous 160mm base and riding an undead dragon, the vampire lord is ready to tear sh*t up big time. You can also build this kit as a plain old zombie dragon without a rider, though.

Upcoming armies

As with 40K, there are plenty of factions on the march for Age of Sigmar's future. Following on from the Soulblight Gravelords, it looks as though the Idoneth Deepkin will be up to bat. After that, and based on the zoomed-in images Games Workshop revealed, I'm pretty certain we're looking at Khorne and the long-awaited Kharadron Overlords next. Seriously, I can't wait for the latter. Steampunk dwarves have always been a cool-as-hell pitch, and they've been left out in the cold for way too long.

As for the final teases, I'm uncertain. Vampires? Maybe. There was also a silhouette with glowing eyes, which would suggest Slaanesh or the Ossiarch Bonereapers to me.

Black Library models

Novel character Maleneth Witchblade is getting her own model. This character has hung out with Gotrek, of Gotrek and Felix fame, so is a big deal on the whole. They also trained as an assassin, so are able to hide in units and leap out to attack on the tabletop.

Necromunda

• New Ash Wastes troops
• New sourcebook and terrain on the way

Games Workshop's take on Mad Max-style chaos is getting a modest update for the new year, a new threat that I'm calling the 'bug enthusiasts.' Known as the Sha'dar Hunters with Arthromite Spinewyrm pets, they're hooded trackers and hunters with weapons made from monsters. These folks are all about close combat so don't utilize long-range firearms, and they call upon monster centipedes that can tunnel through impassable terrain. You can find out more about them in the next sourcebook, Tribes of the Wastelands.

Speaking of terrain, a new set is coming to Necromunda soon – the Fortified Hab Module. This continues the game's emphasis on tall scenery from which to rain hell upon your foes, and it's joined by a combo pack bringing together the Ruined Underhive Sector pieces.

Old World & Horus Heresy

• High Elves shown for The Old World, with new heroes
• New Siege Automata shown off for Horus Heresy

It wasn't all about 40K, Age of Sigmar, and Necromunda during the show; The Old World and Horus Heresy got a look in too. The latter showed off the Thanatar Calix Siege Automata that focuses on beating up singular, well-armored targets, while the former saw the High Elves ride out once again. The big-helmeted lion fans we know and love from yesteryear are back, and every plastic kit that was widely available before has been promised a return. They're being joined by two new heroes this time, though; Ishaya Vess, an expert warrior who looks like she's been through a battle or two, and a rather noble Lord of Chrace. The Beastmen got a similar treatment thanks to an all-new shaman, but we didn't see much else.

That will likely change soon; Games Workshop is promising that the Beastmen and Wood Elf Realms are next to launch.

Want something to play while you wait for these new models? Check out the best board games or maybe the best tabletop RPGs.

Still, if you're in the market for Wizard's of the Coast's latest installation of the official bestiary for the best tabletop RPG, now is the time to head over to Miniature Market and pre-order the Monster Manual for $40, as opposed to its expected retail price of $50.

For those in the UK, you can still nab it on Amazon for £37.69, which will jump up to around £41.45 once the pre-ordering stage is over.

Should you buy the D&D 5e Monster Manual (2024)?

Of course, it depends what you're after from your D&D campaigns. If you're happy with the way WotC presents monsters in the 2014 Monster Manual, then you might not feel the need to grab the new version.

There have been some interesting improvements since the last version, however, and heaps of new content added. We're talking 80-something new monsters, Legendary-level bastards, and more. In fact, it's the biggest Monster Manual to date.

WotC has added everything from more terrifying dragons and legendary creatures, to better CR balancing, and some fantastic additions to some monsters companies such as Squires for the Death Knight, and Vampire Familiars. There's a whole heap of monster variants tweaked for different level parties, too, like Primeval Owlbears.

For more discounts, why not check out the best D&D books or best D&D gifts?

Kickstarted back in 2022, Dragonbane was an ode to Sweden's first and biggest tabletop RPG system, Drakar och Demoner. Launched in celebration of the original game's 40th anniversary, it was another in a long line of old-school-revival (OSR) games that nod to a fierce and deadly heritage. While usually far lighter on rules than most of the best tabletop RPGs today, old-school systems are often far more challenging when it comes to combat.

Take Dolmenwood as an example, or Free League's very own Mork Borg. As OSR games, they're simple, easy to get into and design characters, with heaps of creative freedom, but make a wrong move and you could quickly be dealing with a to a total-party-kill (TPK).

The Dragonbane Kickstarter actually launched along with Riddermound, a free introductory adventure that's super user-friendly for new players. The Sinking Tower adventure turns the heat up a little to further hammer home that old-school lethality with a 'tournament-style' dungeon crawl. It's a quickfire delve into a sinking tower that only emerges and becomes accessible for a limited time. As such, your players will need to get as far as possible, and get out, in just two hours.

The idea of playing a TRPG on an actual timer sounds terrifying to me, as both a GM and a player. Maybe because I tend to play with incredibly cautious friends who spend twenty minutes of real time debating whether to open a door or not. Deliberate for too long in The Sinking Tower, and you'll likely end up underwater.

Dragonbane is, as the Kickstarter notes, "a game with room for laughs at the table and even a pinch of silliness at times – while at the same time offering brutal challenges for the adventurers." If that sounds like something that you might be interested in, you can grab The Sinking Tower on the Free League store, or spend a little dollar to get hold of the official sourcebooks.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best D&D books or best D&D gifts if you're buying for someone special.

Set in a world fractured by sordid betrayal, magical mishaps, and an insatiable chaos Godling, there's plenty of threads to follow as you explore perilous lands, traverse fairy roads, unearth shrines, and get battered by the unpredictable and very British weather of the many seasons and unseasons of Dolmenwood. It's all very enticing for the folklore-inclined, but in a landscape of the best tabletop RPGs dominated by giants like D&D and Pathfinder, where does a game like Dolmenwood stand?

Features & design

• Old School Ruleset
• No point distribution in character creation
• Saving throws are well thought out

The author, Gavin Norman, based Dolmenwood on his Old School Essentials (OSE) system – a clone of the 1981 D&D Basic/Expert (B/X) subset of 1st Edition. It comes with some light customizations to make the system palatable for new players, including a modern higher-is-better ruling for Armor Class, improvements to the Treasure Types system, and a bunch of additional rules for the common challenges and hazards of a British folklore setting.

The campaign book is 470-odd pages of well-structured, easy-to-parse information. The most pertinent notes are emboldened with the rest in parenthesis, or its own little nearby stat block, for when players engage. The 200-page player's handbook gently ushers in newbies with short preambles and examples where necessary. The PDF hyperlinks are well utilized, too, with each map hex linking out to its full description.

And my god the artwork is gorgeous. With contributions from a collective of artists, the designs fit so beautifully with how I envision the setting, I cannot praise this game enough in terms of graphic design and artworking.

When it comes to character creation, Dolmenwood uses terms that'll be familiar to your average D&D player, though some are named more appropriately such as 'Kindred' in place of species. Before choosing a Kindred or Class, players roll 3d6 for all the usual Ability Scores like Strength, Charisma, and Intelligence in turn, with no option to distribute points. After choosing a Kindred and Class, you can improve your Prime Ability scores by adding a point and reducing another, less important score by two points (ouch).

Classes include Friars who can destroy the undead, chivalric Knights who can assess the worth of any steed, and Magicians who can detect magic innately, alongside the usual Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Thief, and Hunter archetypes, all with their own folkloric twists. As for Kindreds you have your average Mortal Humans, and goat-like Breggle with horn-related psychic powers. There are Fairy Kindreds including the immortal Elves and catlike, shapeshifting Grimalkin. Demi-Fey Kindreds such as Mossling and bat-faced Woodgrue also feature, each with special quirks such as the Mosslings' Yeast Master Knack that allows them to ferment sweet liquid and commune with the fungus (ew).

Characters all have Listen, Search, and Survival Targets rolled on a d6, similarly to Ability checks, with situational modifiers often coming into play. Most variables are noted with a percentage or "something in 6" chance to have a certain effect, such as for the Mosslings' fermented brew to be palatable to other Kindreds.

Attack rolls hinge on hitting or beating an opponent's AC on a d20 roll, plus mods, and Saving Throws have had a superb overhaul from D&D's B/X version. These are split into a simple array of Doom, Ray, Hold, Blast and Spell, which makes picking a category much easier when you're trying to avoid being poisoned, knocked down and the like.

Combat is also split into Rounds, at the start of which each side rolls against one another for Initiative. Before Initiative is rolled, however, characters must Declare whether they intend to flee from melee range, cast a spell, or Parry in case they lose Initiative. It's a bit more strat-heavy and much less reactive than something like D&D 5e.

Gameplay

• Highly strategic, often deadly combat
• Reliance on randomness makes balancing hard
• Glorious, deep lore and worldbuilding

Dolmenwood character creation is made easy thanks to the simple, two-page walkthrough and roll tables. They make the process super speedy for when you need to quickly roll up a new character mid-battle. And you most certainly will if you're not careful, because this is not a forgiving system. Once your character's HP hits zero, they die; no Death Saving Throws. Unless you're granted quick access to a high level caster who can revive the dead, it can be game over in an instant.

The real restrictions for player characters become clear when you try to play a Class that doesn't support the Prime Abilities you've rolled. Your character will have to live with a -10% or -20% XP modifier that means being left behind if you roll badly or miss a session, especially if the rest of your party is working with a 10% or 20% XP bonus. The system attempts to curb this by capping advancement so PCs can't rise more than 2 levels in a session. It's rare, but stripping players of their hard earned XP is a sure way to upset them.

Thankfully there are plenty of optional advancement rules, including easier milestone advancement, and XP for gaining and/or spending money. So if someone's lagging behind XP-wise, you can always appoint them to acquire new gear while you're all in the tavern.

The reliance on randomness also means, while you might've come to Dolmenwood to try out one of the fun new Classes Norman dreamed up, you're stuck with whatever ragtag crew the dice cough up unless you're prepared to keep rerolling characters to make your stats fit, make huge sacrifices in your non-Prime Abilities, or give in and let players distribute Ability Points. This reliance on randomness also makes initial party balancing really hard.

As for making Combat declarations and rolling for initiative every round, while it makes sense in a certain way it means combat is pretty front-loaded and much harder to track. It means Dolmenwood feels much more like a combat strategy game than more narrative focussed campaigns, despite the comprehensive narrative building blocks. Players have to think creatively to get out of combat or avoid it altogether, which makes combat all the more intense when it’s unavoidable. It’s tough as a GM as you have to be willing to either kill off your entire party, or give them an out even in low-level combat.

Dolmenwood is a fascinating campaign setting, though. As a GM, you're never strapped for lexical garnishings or substantial narrative fuel to fire a campaign. As far as the system goes, it hits a good middle ground between hardcore OSR and more modern rulesets. While it isn't the most rules-lite system, it covers the most important bits like fighting, looting, timekeeping, and travel succinctly with some unique and fun mechanics for things like drinking and foraging. It also goes over some rarer interactions like fighting in water, so as not to leave you in the dark if this is your first TRPG foray.

Advancement tables and easy fractional chances help soften the crunchiness, and optional rules provide alternate ways to track things like Encumbrance. It's not as dense a system as D&D 5e, but it certainly puts more pressure on the GM to keep track of everything. If they're not on the ball with balancing encounters and placing helpful herbs, potions, and characters, you might find your players TPKed by a handful of Pixies in a starter settlement (I'm not proud that I did this).

Should you buy Dolmenwood?

With OSR at its heart, Dolmenwood encourages a sandbox approach to tabletop gaming, pushing players to think outside the box or get wrecked. It offers abundant narrative building blocks, countless rumors for enticing players into the undergrowth, and all the tools that allow you to quickly slap together a story, supplementing the journey with fantastic roll tables for when players shift off course to follow some inane thread you mentioned on a passing whim.

Against its B/X foundation there are some drastically helpful improvements, but for all its frilly flavor text and drunken roll-table tomfoolery, Dolmenwood packs a punishing ruleset compared to many modern systems.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Dolmenwood

A few sessions of play, leading up to and working through the starter campaign. I also did a deep dive into the Campaign Book, Players Book and Monster Book to get a feel for how the game worked compared to other OSR games, as well as more modern TRPGs.

For a more comprehensive look at our process, see our guide to how we test board games, or the wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

For more content, why not look at some of the best TRPGs out there, or check out the game that beat Dolmenwood in the most anticipated TTRPGs of 2025 survey.

So of course we're here having a nosey look, to see if we might be looking at best tabletop RPG material.

Ten years back, when asked if there were any plans for an Eternity tabletop RPG, Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart told PC Gamer "absolutely on the tabletop roleplaying. We're not sure yet how we're going to do it, we were kind of going back and forth on, do we use the game's rules, do we use someone else's rules, do we come up with another set of rules?"

Since this little hint back in 2015, a bunch of unofficial tabletop content has appeared around the popular game. That filled the gap until those who bought the Explorer's Pack with Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire CRPG were graced with an officially licensed, apparently rather difficult to find and now entirely free to download Pillars of Eternity pen-and-paper system. As the Obsidian site notes, the system was "developed from the ground up by Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire lead designer Josh Sawyer and other members of the Deadfire design team."

That was back in May 2018. Since then Sawyer has tossed around the idea of a potential Eternity pen-and-paper rework on his social media, despite many fans believing the game had been pushed aside and forgotten about.

A year ago, fans were perplexed when it looked like Sawyer had gone back and deleted all his previous posts about the game.

Then, just yesterday, fans were hit with a sneak preview from out of the blue when Sawyer posted on his Bluesky account with insights into some of the changes expected.

In reply to one of his posts, a fan asks "What’s the skinny on the PoE TTRPG?" to which Sawyer replies "Still editing it. Too much text!!!" He then throws the screenshots our way, and fans are absolutely eating up the changes.

"I laughed my ass off at the reputation page", says user ‪Brianne H.

This was in response to the fact that "when a player meets an NPC for the first time, the GM decides how likely the character is to have heard something about the PC" because it has implications as to whether your other party members have been going around saying nice things about you.

Posting a link to the Ringing the Bell reputation system, user TheDevTeam says "Hey, I recognize that reputation system".

To which Sawyer himself replies saying he didn't know about that system, but admits "I did steal/adapt it from another (CRPG) developer I saw post on here."

There's no set release date for the upcoming changes to the Pillars of Eternity TRPG, but keep an eye on Sawyer's Bluesky feed and you might get some more drip-fed to you.

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He tells me games like Monopoly and Risk weren't really his bag. "I was a little frustrated by those kinds of games", he says. "And then arrived Catan, which contained all I missed about the other games: The feeling of really being immersed in the moment, exploring the landscape, interacting with it, seeing the evolution of your settlers". That was a great feeling, and one that "made a big impression" on him as a 10-year-old boy playing what's still considered one of the best board games around today.

Years later, Regnes found himself working on the Dawn of Humankind Catan expansion, for which the Catan team had reached out to him. "Even if it wasn’t THE Catan," he notes, it "was related to a part of my childhood, it was really just a good surprise."

However, this wasn't Regnes' first foray into working on games with big legacies.

Longest Road

"When I was still at school, I received an email from a studio asking me to work for them on a new project. I was really happy, thinking about my very first real work related to drawing and it was for a video game. Cool! A little game no one knows about, to learn about the craft." Or so he thought.

The studio then dropped a note that read, as he remembers it, something like “Can’t wait to see what you will come up with, oh and it’s for World of Warcraft's next expansion.” That was WoW: Battle for Azeroth, and I expect the imposter syndrome would be hard to shake having been approached by Blizzard at such a young age.

As Regnes puts, "in my first work experience I took that imposter syndrome full in the face. And it’s still somewhere, appearing from time to time. I think you never really escape it, you have to accept it and make its presence as silent as you can."

Year of Plenty

Today, having just revealed his work on Catan 6th edition, Regnes looks back at his contribution with pride. But there's a real sense of responsibility that comes along with a project like this.

"I put much more pressure on myself in this project as, this time, it was THE Catan game". As such, he thinks he "probably put a little too much effort in." This isn't just because of the game's popularity, he explains. Part of the worry comes from balancing the need to make your own mark with respecting the work of the previous artist.

"Contributing to a game with such a legacy is often very complicated, especially with Catan and its very recognizable covers. That big sun, that village on a hill, it’s like a printed image in your mind. You also think about the artist who contributed to it before you and want to respect his work, even if you will inevitably add your taste to it too.

"So it’s a tricky mind gymnastic; you want to conserve the legacy and respect the work of previous artists, and in the same time add something fresh".

A difficult project to work on for sure, and when asked if he would change anything around his contributions, Regnes really opened his heart to us.

"Every work you do is a moment of your life", he believes. "If I observe the illustration in several years with my better eye and skills (well I hope so!) I may see some mistakes, some things I would like to change, but that would destroy that memory of who I was at that precise time. And I think that’s precious."

Victory points

When asked if he has any tips for aspiring board game artists out there, his advice leans toward practice, variety and "staying true to your inner self and what drives your feelings".

"Exploring different thematics can always help your art to be more unpredictable, even if you’re specialized in boardgames," he says, making it clear that "people trying to do what they like and not just reproduce a trending style have in my opinion better chances to be noticed, or at least, appreciated for who they are."

You can check out Quinten Regnes' contributions to Catan 6th edition on his Artstation while you await the game's release some time in "Spring 2025". Not long to go then.

For more, why not check out the announcement of Exit: The Game - Adventures on Catan, or read about how Catan changed board games forever.

"We're aware that some fans may experience difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet & Violet-Prismatic Evolutions products at launch due to high demand impacting availability," according to a post from the official Pokemon TCG account on Twitter.

"We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity to acknowledge this. Reprinted products are expected to be available at participating retailers as soon as possible to help ensure more fans receive opportunities to access Scarlet & Violet-Prismatic Evolutions."

Official Elite Trainer Box and booster bundles are already sold out on the official Pokemon Center store, and eBay listings for these items are already selling for well over their retail cost. The Elite Trainer Boxes, which have an MSRP of $60 USD, are now being bought for well over $200 on eBay. Booster bundles, similarly, normally sell for $27, and are now going for about $70 apiece.

Pokemon TCG fansite PokeBeach has polled local retailers to report that many of those stores are expecting to receive much less Prismatic Evolutions product than they've attempted to order from distributors. Players have reported on social media that many local retailers are taking extra measures against scalpers for this release, implementing ticketing systems, limiting sales per customer, and cutting open boxes at the point of sale to devalue the items for scalpers.

We won't know exactly how these shortages play out until the set actually launches, but if The Pokemon Company is already warning buyers about it, it certainly seems likely that this release is going to be a bit of a nightmare. Here's hoping the reprints ease the burden.

These are the best card games you can play in 2025.

The PDF preview contains 12 pages, including the proposed table of contents, with a first look into the Malign Magic and Mechanisms section that goes over a bunch of curses, diseases, hazards, and traps for use in D&D and beyond. Not only does it feature a load of pre-designed traps, it also helpfully breaks down the anatomy or 'elements' of a trap, such as its trigger, effect, and deactivation method.

The PDF also goes through some funky, system-neutral roll tables for creating traps, which I'm going to have endless fun with when I finally get around to running the next session of my Dolmenwood campaign. This is something I love to tinker with across all the best D&D books and beyond, because having roll tables at my disposal keeps me from getting stuck in the choice paralysis that comes with designing dungeons.

I'm now realising that I shouldn't be buying source books detailing things I actually enjoy designing, I should be using books like this that let me roll all my homebrew dungeon traps up without having to think too hard about them. That way I can offload some of the mental strain of dungeon building, and spend my valuable time weaving webs of political intrigue and diabolical plots.

What kind of traps might I design with the preview?

There are loads of potential combinations in the Campaign Builder: Dungeons & Ruins Preview PDF alone, from traps only detectable by deciphering a warning, to those that can be bypassed with a keyed item, and even traps that create new barriers for the party to bash their heads against.

I rolled one up myself that will see my band of adventurers getting into deadly trouble as they enter a new area if their passive perception is too low. This could be if they decide to go for a splash in a fountain – something I'm 100% sure one of my current party members would do – or wander into a flower patch, for example. The effect given is "Magic Complex", which the PDF goes into slightly more detail about:

"Complex traps continue to execute on rounds after activation instead of triggering once and being done. For example, a trap that slowly floods a room is a complex trap." So from when the trigger springs, the trap itself will enter into initiative order and take turns "making successive attacks or maintaining an effect that changes over time."

These tables have gotten the cogs whirring in my brain, at least, and it leaves some stuff open to interpretation while giving examples for the not-so-straightforward options.

Those who backed the Kickstarter campaign should be getting their 256-page hardcover copy and 12-poster map folio some time in February, though Kobold Press has been quiet around the exact dates. Those awaiting the $499 handbound leather edition will have to wait until March, sadly.

Even if you missed the campaign, you can preorder the Hardcover copy of Campaign Builder: Dungeons & Ruins now on the Kobold Press store for $50, which will drop alongside a bundle discount coupon for the Dungeons & Ruins PDF on March 15. Or you can just nab the full PDF for $35.

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Like the legendary game of Catan, it's one of those gateway board games that everyone and their mom has played at one point or another. But is Carcassonne really worth it in 2025? And does it still deserve to be considered one of the best board games two decades after it was first published?

Features & design

• Lay down tiles to create a map
• Claim features with your tokens to get points
• Based on a historic French city fortress

Seeing as it's based on the eponymous French city of walls and picturesque streets, it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that the board game challenges you to build your own using random tiles. These feature parts of towns, roads, abbeys, and gardens that you've got to complete in a grand jigsaw puzzle.

More specifically, each player blind-draws a tile and takes it in turns to expand fields, cities, or roads by joining the piece with a matching edge currently making up the board. The game ends when all tiles are placed.

After placing a tile, a player can decide to claim something on it by putting one of their wooden 'meeples' (the people-shaped tokens, here called 'Followers') there. Points are awarded to that player as soon as their road or city is completed, or their monastery is surrounded by tiles. They then take that meeple back and increase their score by however much they've earned. The bigger the city or road, the more points are up for grabs.

This is essentially the entire game, though as you play it's important to remember the tiles that will be scored at the end. One of the more powerful options for claiming map features, and one that's easy to overlook, is laying a meeple down in a field. This earns you three points for every completed city within or bordering that field. Powerful stuff.

No matter what you build, it'll look rather handsome when finished. A completed board is a satisfying, patchwork map of medieval life.

Yes, the meeple you place there are simplistic, but they're a downright iconic design that stands the test of time.

Gameplay

• Simple rules that are easy to learn
• Heavy focus on luck-of-the-draw
• Perfect for beginners, may frustrate experienced gamers

If you're new to the best adult board games, are hunting down the best family board games, or haven't ventured far beyond Monopoly, Carcassonne serves as the perfect entry-point to this hobby. It's accessible, easy-going, and strategic enough to keep you invested until the end of each match. There's a reason why this is often touted as a good 'beginner' board game, after all.

On the flip side, Carcassonne may not appeal to players who are used to more complex board games or even wargames. While it's easy to learn and teach by comparison, it may leave your average Eurogamer wanting more. Why play with colored blocks when you have Mechano, am I right?

Play also relies almost entirely on the luck of the draw. Players decide where to place tiles and what to claim, but there is no selection process or forewarning around what's coming next. It makes it hard to form strategies and frustration can set in toward the end as you draw tiles from the dregs of the bag. Of course, there are a couple of simple tactics you can set up early on, especially if you're privy to how many of each kind of tile there is in your set, but you're never entirely sure if they'll fully play out.

Similarly, avid city builders will wince at the heavy procedurality, particularly if they have an artistic eye. Honestly, some roads and cities end up looking like they were designed by an alien species.

That said, there are plenty of expansions to give it more depth.

In addition, the randomization means there's heaps of replayability. With countless tile combinations and more than a few ways to score, no two games are ever the same.

Where Carcassonne really shines is in its simplicity, too. Don't get me wrong, assumptions and accidental house rules often creep up. Players often assume they know the rules so they don't think to check, but Carcassonne is at least quick to get the hang of. That's not least thanks to competitive symmetry (when everyone is playing the same game as opposed to working toward separate, hidden goals). No one is stuck pouring over their own version of the rules, and there's also a real social element to a game in which everyone contributes to the building of the same board.

There's a very careful limit placed on the number of meeples each player has in Carcassonne. The fact you use them as placeholders means you have to think carefully about the things you claim and the Followers you'll have left over. It's a smart way to give other players who might not be doing so well a fair chance to catch up.

Should you buy Carcassonne?

Carcassonne is one of those quintessential worker placement board games that's appropriate for the whole family, and takes mere moments to teach. Even non-board gamers tend to get the hang of it pretty quickly, so it's a great one to whip out at family gatherings. If you're looking for something with broad appeal, Carcassonne is a great option.

For those who want a greater challenge, though, it may be worth looking at the likes of Life in Reterra instead. It's a very similar concept, but has far more depth.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Carcassonne

We have had Carcassonne in our collection for years, so have spent a long time getting to grips with its systems. For this review, we paid particular attention to how it holds up more than 20 years after it was first published.

For more on our process, see our guide to how we test board games. You can also check out the wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

This is a collection of 58 books worth over $741, or £600 for those in the UK. You can pay as little as £3.98 / $5 for a few D&D map packs and a single adventure, otherwise you can grab the entire lot for just £19.94 / $25. And, if you feel so inclined, you can pay a little more to support the publishers and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Considering the cost of some of the best D&D books, this is a great buy at any price.

So whether you're thinking of designing a homebrew 5e campaign from scratch, or are just looking for some 5e-compatible adventures to liven up your current campaign, now might be the time to buff up on some GMing techniques or collect a few digital tokens to help your players visualise combat.

So what do you actually get in the bundle?

If you're in the market for ways to lighten the load when it comes to moment-to-moment happenings during your campaign, there's three volumes of the Deck of Dirty Tricks to help shake things up with a bunch of prompts to add interest to your campaign, as well as three Tome of Horrors decks for quick and dirty random encounter creation.

As a GM myself, I understand the need to lighten the load on the fly, because let's face it, running a D&D campaign is utter chaos.

In terms of adventures, there's the continent-spanning quest in Records of Faith: Player's Journal and the Gamemaster's Journal, the brutal Arden's adventures from Frog God Games for 4–6 characters of level 12+, and a whole bunch of Pacesetter Games adventures for characters of 1st, 3rd and 5th level.

All that comes in alongside books filled with traps, NPCs, beasts, fascinating objects and environmental inspiration. And that's just scratching the surface of what this Humble bundle has in store.

For more discounts, be sure to check out the best D&D gifts. As for last-minute present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?

Trollskull Manor was a money sink, but it was our money sink. Owning it created a lot of problems like a new rivalry with the tavern keeper across the street and a nasty rodent infestation caused by wererats. But it also allowed us to flesh out our characters with goals that had nothing to do with the campaign’s quests. Our Druid used the cellar to grow mushrooms and make cheese, the Rogue started up a chamber of commerce with other local businesses, and my drow Warlock gathered information from some of the city’s shadier residents over drinks and games of Sava. The tavern got everyone invested in the setting, even those with no previous attachments to the Forgotten Realms and its place amongst the best tabletop RPGs.

My love of that ramshackle pub is why I was so excited to see Wizards of the Coast offer up rules for bastions in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, encouraging Dungeon Masters to give their players somewhere to call home between adventures to make them feel like they have a real stake in the game world. It’s a new spin on an old idea for the game — the earliest versions of D&D offered rules for players to build strongholds and attract followers as they grew in power, but the concept hasn’t been officially supported since 4th Edition.

Mod-cons

The new DMG rules draw on the mechanics for downtime activities published in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Rather than trying to gather contacts, craft, or gamble on their own when they have a week free between adventures, bastions give players the chance to build structures and hire NPCs to help them gain knowledge, items, and money. There are some great ideas in the rules, but I wish they were friendlier to lower level characters, better balanced, and offered more roleplaying hooks based on how the party is actually using their space.

Players can’t gain a bastion until level 5, well after the level 1-5 adventure Dragon Heist turns over control of Trollskull Manor. The reason is because bastions start with two special facilities which can provide bonus mundane and magic loot. A sanctuary offers a charm that allows a character to cast Healing Word without using a spell slot, while spending a short rest in a workshop can provide heroic inspiration.

But the bastion also starts with mundane facilities like a kitchen or bedroom that don’t provide any game effects beyond giving PCs a place to hang out. Why not encourage the DMs to introduce the bastion at level 2 or whenever appropriate to the story and just provide these basic features, allowing characters to upgrade them when they hit level 5 to introduce their mechanically relevant versions? Bastion upgrades are a great way of providing a sense of progress in the campaign beyond conventional loot and leveling, and getting that going earlier seems like it would be satisfying without any impact on game balance.

A place to call home

The special facilities are far from created equal both in terms of flavor or mechanical impact. I love the archive, a level 13 feature that can be used to grant PCs advantage on knowledge checks when they spend time between sessions studying the books in the collection — which can be expanded by spending more gold. The garden offers the same mix of flavor and utility, allowing characters to grow healing herbs for potions, food for rations, and flowers for perfume or bouquets.

In contrast, using the theater to put on a production takes three times as long as any of the other facilities and only provides the benefit of a single application of bardic inspiration. That’s an especially underwhelming reward since a Bard is the character class most likely to be interested in building the facility in the first place. The level 13 pub provides a bounty of magical drinks, but it’s baffling that there isn’t a lower level version that just provides the information-gathering benefit. DMs often want to give players rumors about plots going on, so having them come from your bartender or barista would actually help them with the game regardless of how powerful the PCs are.

A small table of bastion events provides a lot of potential hooks like refugees or even friendly monsters showing up or an opportunity to host a festival. I’d love to have seen an expanded version of this that goes beyond generic events that could happen at any bastion to be tailored to specific facilities like pilgrims arriving to visit your reliquary or the animals in your menagerie breeding. Tables could also be different based on where your bastion is, whether in the heart of a bustling city like Waterdeep or tucked away in the wilderness.

Hopefully the DMG is just the start to Wizards of the Coast’s exploration of bastions. Going out on adventures is the heart of D&D, but after a long day of slaying monsters and disabling traps it’s nice to have a place to come home to.

Want some new adventures to run? Check out our guide to the best D&D books. As for special extras to spruce up your game, don't miss the best D&D gifts.

As part of Catan's 30th anniversary celebrations, Thames & Kosmos is bringing us Exit: The Game - Adventures on Catan, an escape room-style game with nods to the original Catan gameplay. One that could garner quite a lot of attention, being themed around one of the best board games ever.

"Players trade with residents to build out the island and discover more resources", the press release reveals. But it's not as simple as all that. "Numerous challenges and riddles" await players trying to build a new life in a modern land, so there should be plenty of puzzles and challenges to work out with your other Catan-obsessed pals.

I'm honestly trying to envision a Catan Exit game, but without any more information from the press release it's a little hard to do so. Do you need to figure out how to sail to the island itself? Will there be wheat-based puzzles making their way onto tabletops world-round?

Time will tell, though there are a good few months to go before the game is set to release in North America. We're looking at a June 2025 launch, but pre-orders are open right now for $17.95 on the Thames & Kosmos store.

Of course, it's not the only new product in the Catan franchise - the new version of Catan is "modernizing" the board game and "updating it to today's standards." We'll be able to see how successful that was when the game's sixth edition launches at the end of this month.

For more recommendations, why not check out some other classic family board games, or cooperative board games in the same vein.

Aside from checking out our 5 tips on starting your campaign right, it's always good to brush up on techniques from relevant TTRPG books, and get some physical components in your arsenal that are necessary for a D&D campaign. This includes stuff you might not have thought of yet, like spare pencils for your players (because writing in pen is sacrilege). Even a speaker or lighting setup to get a little atmosphere going.

So, if you're serious about starting your D&D campaign (or adventures for any of the best tabletop RPGs, in fact) on the right foot, and making a good impression on your new players, the below deals should let you do so without emptying your coin purse in the process.

For more discounts, be sure to check out the latest the best D&D gifts. As for last-minute present ideas, why not drop by our gifts for gamers guide?

Depending on how high you go, where you started, and how many arches you used, you're assigned a point value that can be redeemed for cards. These cards determine how many blocks you get immediately as well as your recurring bank of blocks – but more importantly, they also have a banana point value. At the end of a Monkey Palace session, it's all about how many banana points you have; as in so many of the best board games, nothing else matters but your score.

If that sounds a bit complicated, well, yes. It does sound complicated, and trust me when I say reading the rulebook isn't going to help you consider Monkey Palace anything but fiddly. There's really no getting around it, however, and once you have wrapped your head around the rules, it can be a genuinely great time.

Features & design

• A resource management game
• Build as high as you can
• Starts simple, gets much more complex

Helpfully, because it's a board game built with Lego, the vast majority of the game's pieces are just… Lego bricks of some flavor or another. (If you're a fan of the best Lego sets, you'll feel right at home.) Mostly this is arches, columns, or single bricks with some additional decorative plants as well as a monkey, toad, and butterfly. And, of course, the base grid itself – which is covered with one of three different possible sheets to produce different kinds of maps.

Beyond the Lego bricks and the three maps, there are four different player trackers in addition to a whole mess of different cards. While the vast majority of the cards are indicative of how many Lego bricks a player should grab on a given round, some are simply meant to tally points with the game's rules being fairly clear on when that actually triggers.

As for the rulebook, there is helpfully a QR code on the box itself as well as on the first page of the rules that will likely be far more helpful than the written instructions. But for those folks that aren't able to spend time watching a video, there's honestly nothing better for understanding than playing a couple of times after getting at least a rudimentary concept of what you're supposed to do.

Gameplay

• Manage resources over several turns
• Multiple starting points for a variety of outcomes
• Earn banana points by building as high as you can

The game itself plays just fine and in a relatively intuitive way once you've actually figured it out, but if you're only using the rulebook, there might be a bit of confusion when you get started. More than once, for example, I found myself trying to puzzle out exactly what might count for points when the rules mentioned only five bricks high or more without arches but including decoration would count toward a specific objective.

The fact that Monkey Palace uses Lego bricks as such an integral part of it is both a blessing and a curse. The vast majority of people that play Monkey Palace are absolutely going to be familiar with the iconic building toy, making it rather simple to understand the fact that the main point of the game is to build up bigger and better than your rivals (making it a great board game for kids). But trying to apply a fluid framework to something that many adults might associate with explicit instructions is its own challenge, and it took multiple turns before I really began to understand all the possibilities at my fingertips that weren't simply "put this Lego brick on top of this Lego brick" over and over again.

While Monkey Palace can technically be played with just two players, I'd recommend getting as close to the full roster as possible. Because games end when you run out of pieces to grab when refilling, more players means shorter games overall. It also typically means that it's not just you and one other person backstabbing each other on every turn – there are instead multiple folks to sink the figurative knife into.

Adding more players to the mix also increases the impact of all of your decisions. Every single Lego brick you add to the growing monkey palace complicates the next player's decisions that much more. If, for example, you're able to play the little monkey on an arch end because you began in a spot that ended in a golden brick at the highest level yet, that path being blocked for multiple other players is much more significant. If it's just you and one other person trading back and forth, as my first game was, it's just as likely that you'll curse yourself with your previous decisions as you are to give your opponent a headache.

In other words? This isn't going to rank amongst the best 2-player board games anytime soon... but it's a blast with a larger head-count.

Should you buy Monkey Palace?

If you're really into Lego or want a relatively fast-paced game with familiar pieces, Monkey Palace is an easy recommendation. I'm quite picky about what games remain in rotation on my board game shelf, and Monkey Palace has settled into its own spot thanks in large part to the physicality of building wild structures.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Monkey Palace

We played Monkey Palace several times with the different maps and optional rules. To find out more, see our guide to how we test board games. You might also read our wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

For recommendations, don't miss the best cooperative board games or the best family board games.

As much as I'm excited about a fishy version of Wingspan and Wyrmspan, I'm still working my way through the best board games list now. So I promise I didn't contribute to the site crash! This isn't the first time it's happened, either. Fishy Wingspan expansion Oceana crashed the Stonemaier site back in 2018, when masses of people flocked to get their pre-orders in.

There's been a lot of speculation around what the next Wingspan game would look like, which no doubt helped to foreshadowed the big influx. BoardGameGeek forum users speculated around certain trademarks in one thread, with one user noting that Finspan had actually been trademarked a while back. Having gotten the date wrong, Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier games chimed in to correct them.

"I'm not here to confirm or deny anything about our January 8 announcement, but I'd like to clear up one thing and make one request", he says. "We actually applied for the trademark mentioned in this thread on March 18, 2022".

So the Finspan trademark had actually been floating around for two-and-a-bit years before finally coming to a head. Either way, Jamey goes on to ask of anyone thinking of sharing trademark information – which he acknowledges is public information anyway – to keep that kind of thing out of speculation threads since "that's a spoiler, not speculation".

"The request really isn't fair for me to make, but I'll make it anyway: When you see that a company has applied for a trademark [...] please keep that information to yourself. It doesn't seem like it's in the spirit of speculation to share that. If someone really wants to know which trademarks a company has applied for, they would have looked up that information on their own."

He then goes on to thank those in the know, such as his playtesters and the like, for keeping what they knew under wraps until the big reveal. A fair request, but to expect people on the internet not to spill the tea is asking a lot.

Finspan is expected to set sail on January 22, with its gorgeous artwork and apparently less complex design. You'll be able to grab it on the Stonemaier games website, which is back up now in case you were worried.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best card games or best two-player board games.

That's why their new box set has seized my imagination faster than a deserter being collared by their Commissar. Step aside, Space Marines – the Death Korps of Krieg may be the most Warhammer 40K army to ever 40K.

Most wanted

As 2025's first 40K release, the Death Korps of Krieg Army Set kicks off this year with a bang worthy of the faction's signature siege engines. Composed of 10 Death Riders (lance-weilding jockeys on monstrous horses), five Krieg Combat Engineers, an Artillery Team, and the imposing Lord Marshal Dreir, it's pitched as a way to kick off your Imperial Guard battalion in style. You're also getting the new Astra Militarum Codex rulebook here so that you can swot up on the faction's lore and mechanics, albeit with a special cover and similarly premium Datacards. In other words? It's an impressive bundle. Anecdotally, I've heard it described in my local Warhammer store as one of the community's most anticipated box sets for a long time.

I can see why. It's rare for Games Workshop to produce models that don't impress these days (they usually put miniatures in the best board games to shame), but these are soaked in the kind of John Blanche grittiness that has defined the 40K universe for a long time. Those wonky horses are the stars, of course. Thanks to pipes worked into their flesh, barcoded rumps, clawed hooves, and the obligatory Krieg gas masks, they're inspired… in a nightmarish sort of way. The massive artillery piece and the WW1-esque infantry are all well and good, but this cavalry unit steals the show.

They epitomize how dreadful everyone is in the Warhammer 40K setting, too. Sure, the Imperium may be the 'protagonists' of the story by virtue of being human. But make no mistake, they're awful. If you need an example of how little the Imperial army values life, just get a load of the brand and number sizzled into each horse's flesh. It's dark, but provides 40K with one of the most tangible universes in sci-fi.

Indeed, I'd argue that they're a more fitting example of the Imperial horde than those classic Cadian troopers who usually take the limelight (you know, the ones in bog-standard fatigues and green combat plate). The latter would fit in any number of science fiction stories from Alien to Avatar, but the Death Korps of Krieg? They're so unequivocally Warhammer that you can't mistake them for anything else, and I'm happy that they're the focus of Astra Militarum this edition.

Fighting fit

None of these models are beginner-friendly, it's true. There are a lot of fiddly bits to glue together and numerous customization options to choose from, even down to the grungy backpacks on your Combat Engineers. Yet for hobbyists who've spent a while in this quadrant of the galaxy, that's catnip.

I'll admit that it's par for the course with army sets like this, as evidenced by the T’au Empire models that give Kroot the makeover they deserve or last year's Dark Angels pack (I hate to say it, but I love Space Marines now thanks to the Deathwing Assault box). But thanks to the Death Korps' predilection for oodles of 'stuff,' from backpacks crammed with tools to the occasional tin cup lying around, it's particularly noticeable.

This isn't a 'full' army either, despite the name. Because it's only a few hundred points, you'll need plenty more models to get a working force. However, that's a prospect as rife with possibility as the customizable pieces. The Astra Militarum boasts a greater variety of troops than almost any other army, with everything from the jetpack-wielding elites seen in Hivestorm to hobbit snipers and ogre heavy-hitters. There's plenty of room to carve out your own legion.

Honestly, that's where my head is at right now – I've fallen in love with the Death Korps, so am trying to decide what I can add to make this a full fighting force despite never having considered an Astra Militarum army before. It's got me excited about 40K in a way I haven't been for ages, and may drag me away from my beloved Kill Team… if only for a while.

If you're also feeling the same itch, you can pre-order the Death Korps of Krieg Army Set now. It's obviously available via Games Workshop direct, but I'll circle back around to this piece as and when I find deals on the box. A few discounts are sure to pop up before long, so watch this space.

For recommendations of what to play next, check out these essential board games for adults or the best 2-player board games.

For recommendations of what to play next, check out these essential board games for adults or the best 2-player board games.

Seriously, I've seen a lot of weird D&D merchandise in my time, but my initial reaction to discovering scented D&D dice was "Man, I really hope my DM doesn't read this," because he's definitely going to import them and take over the table with some distinctly pungent aromas.

Discovered while perusing The Soloist (one of my favorite Substacks) this morning, I now feel like I've seen everything when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons merch. From Studio Woe – whose art has touched World of Warcraft, Darksiders, Disney, and Warhammer 40K titles – comes Scented Adventure Dice by Baron Smelly Bones. Currently up for pre-order at $20 a pop (bargain), Baron Smelly Bones' dice come in a few different scents.

Nature's Embrace dice are earthen brown and translucent green with copper numbers that emit a subtle scent of earth and fir tree. Ancient Armory dice are black and transparent silver, with micro glitter and red figures, that features notes of steel, leather, and "unbridled power". And the Fireball Char dice are yellow and transparent red with silver numbering, which emulate that campfire waft "or the smoldering remains of your ancestral home."

There's also Arcane Vapors in case you're wondering what D&D magic smells like, and Healers Balm that should make playing the party's medic a little more interesting I suppose.

The studio also Kickstarted a few other designs of the Villanous scent variety back in October. From Vampire Wine to Cemetary Soil, and even Blueberry Hag, 694 backers pledged $50,839 to make these evil scents a reality. Although you can't make late pledges, I imagine you'll be seeing them pop up on the Studio Woe website eventually.

The main question for me (other than just "WHY?") is with all that handling, how do these dice not lose their scent over time? The description helpfully explains: "Our dice are scented with a multi-phase process that infuses both the dice and the dice tin with fragrance! While your dice are not in use, store them back in their tin to recharge their aromatic battery."

That means you're getting a scented dice set and free tin to keep them in for your money, as well as the very unnecessary but very novel infusion of the scent of your choice.

All this has got me considering a really important question I spotted on the D&D Beyond forums, however: "What do Celestials smell like?" More on that at a later date.

For more recommendations, why not check out the best D&D books, or some of the best tabletop RPGs.