The year 2026 is here and with it comes a ton of new board games! There’s already dozens if not hundreds of new board games set for release sometime this year. From legacy games to sequels of classic games, there’s a lot to look forward to and these are the board games that we cannot wait to add to our game shelves.
The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game
One of my favorite games of 2025 was the Fellowship of the Rings Trick-Taking Game, an elegant campaign-style game that followed the trials and tribulations of Frodo and his companions through 18 different scenarios. A sequel game, based on the Two Towers, is due out in early 2026. Gameplay is simple. Each player controls a character card with distinct win conditions and all players must fulfill their win condition to complete a round.
With Two Towers, the campaign introduces new characters, two new trump-esque cards (the White Tower and the Black Tower) that can take any trick and new Orc cards that can never lead a round of play. Having played through part of the game already, I guarantee that Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game veterans won’t be disappointed by the new twists on gameplay.
Battle Monsters
A remake of the 1990s floor game Battle Masters, Battle Monsters features Godzilla and other Monsterverse characters duking it out on a massive scale map that will barely fit most game tables. Each monster is supported by more traditional army forces and players will have to position their forces wisely to take down their opposing Titan. Battle Monsters is made by Restoration Games, which has a knack for updating out-of-print board games into modern classics, plus I do love a Godzilla theme. Five monsters – Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Kong, Mechagodzilla, and Mothra have been confirmed for play so far.
Blood Rage: Valhalla
Designer Eric Lang rose to fame in the 2010s with a trilogy of god-themed games that included Blood Rage, a Viking-themed game in which clans blessed by various Norse gods strove for glory in the midst of the end of the world. Lang is back with a new standalone sequel, Blood Rage: Valhalla, which will feature similar gameplay to the original, but with some new mechanics to reflect the Norse afterlife. Players will draft cards and attempt to control areas with their clan, gaining Glory by completing quests and other objectives. The player with the most Glory at the end of three Ages wins the game.
Everdell: Emerland
A new standalone Everdell game, Emerland is in a jungle setting with some unique twists to the familiar Everdell experience. While players will still send out workers to collect resources to build up a city, new minions can help gather more resources. And while the number of cards that can be placed into a city is smaller with 12 cards, these cards are now double-sided and can be upgraded. Plus, there’s a new archeologist track that hands out bonuses and victory points as players progress through the game. If you like Everdell but want some new variations to play, give Emerland a try when it comes out this year.
Bunny Kingdom Town
Richard Garfield is back with a new variant of Bunny Kingdom, an area influence/drafting game where players attempt to build up a kingdom of bunnies. In Bunny Kingdom Town, a two player game, players will compete to purchase and place buildings, aiming to grow out their districts and earn golden carrots. By completing the requests of various townspeople, you can earn even more Golden Carrots. Assumably, the player with the most Golden Carrots at the end of the game wins. Bunny Kingdom is always a fun time, and I’m excited to check out this two-person variant.
Mountain Goats: Legacy
Legacy games are a popular genre of games, with campaign style rules that change after every session. However, the recently announced Mountain Goats Legacy might be one of the stranger legacy games we’ve seen in quite some time. Players will attempt to send their goats up the mountain, trying to summit the mountain when no other player has an approaching goat. Every mission will feature new powers that activate on certain dice roll, and it appears the mountain will be changing with every roll as well.
Horror on the Orient Express
The long-awaited board game adaptation of Horror on the Orient Express is here. Published by Call of Cthulhu maker Chaosium, players will attempt to traverse the famous train to determine which passengers are in fact secret cultists attempting a hideous ritual. They’ll also have to contend with various eldritch terrors attacking the train as it chugs along towards the finish. Featuring a 3D board that includes multiple train cars, this looks like a fantastic and deadly cooperative game.
Legendary: A DC Deck Building Game
The Legendary series of games has primarily featured Marvel superheroes working together to stop a Mastermind from completing an evil scheme. The newest iteration of the game brings DC superheroes into the fold, with several new twists on gameplay including Sidekick cards and a Hope and Fear tracker that determines when players can activate certain superhero abilities. This is one of the classic deck-building games and I can’t wait to see how Upper Deck finds ways to make the DC universe as diverse and unique as their Marvel offerings.
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