THE KITCHEN TABLE
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SUMMER 2026 NEW GAMES LAUNCH
We’re adding six new titles to the shelves the first week, and this drop leans hard into quick plays, sharp decisions, and a little bit of chaos (the good kind).
Leading the charge (haha, get it--charge?) is Bomb Busters, the 2025 Spiel des Jahres winner, where your table works together to defuse a bomb with imperfect info. It's tense, clever, and wildly satisfying when it clicks.
Our staff (ok, Kierra and Zach to be precise) fell in love with Snakes of Wrath , a head-to-head tile layer which is quick to learn, hard to master, and just mean enough; so we went back for more from the same designer, Dan Cassaro. Desperate Oasis is his tight 2-player lane battler with surprising depth in a tiny box and Fruit Boss features fast, punchy set collection with just enough edge to keep it competitive.
Rounding things out, we have YRO, a slick 20–30 minute drafting game where you’re building a 3x3 grid of powers and synergies, and Vale of Eternity: Curse, the latest expansion of another of our staff’s favorite games that adds new twists for experienced players ready to shake up their builds (we recommend you get comfortable with the base game before adding the expansions).
In short: easy to get to the table, tough to put down. Come play something new.
5/25
6/1
Round two is a mix of clever card play, head-to-head strategy, and again has just enough chaos to keep things interesting.
3 Chapters brings a fresh twist with its three-act structure. It's drafting, trick-taking, and engine building all in one tight package, wrapped in a world of fairytale and folklore characters. It’s quick, smart, and rewards players who can pivot on the fly.
For two-player fans, Aspens is a quiet standout: a clean, abstract duel about growth and territory where every move matters more than it first appears.
Looking for something light but sneaky? Fliptoons delivers with a small deck and big decisions—building your grid of hopeful performers each round in a way that stays tense well past your first play.
Then there’s Magical Athlete, which fully embraces the chaos. You'll draft your racers, roll the die, and let wildly unbalanced powers turn every race into a story.
On the strategy side, Res Arcana offers deeper engine-building in a tight timeframe, with tons of replayability packed into a small set of highly efficient cards.
And for pure, joyful nonsense, Stack O’ Cats invites you to test your steady hand—stacking wooden cats higher and higher while pretending you’re totally in control.
Different vibes, same goal: easy to get to the table, tough to put down.
Week three leans into a softer side of the table with lush, nature-themed games with plenty of strategy tucked beneath the calm.
Fairy Ring has you growing a personal mushroom garden while circling a shared ring with your fairy and landing just right to score off your own (or someone else’s) carefully placed fungi.
Floriferous keeps things easy and elegant. You'll stroll the garden, collect blooms, and build bouquets that satisfy your goals. It’s relaxed, beautiful, and quietly competitive in all the right ways.
For a sharper two-player duel, Floristry turns flower arranging into a battle of timing and nerve, using a clever real-time Dutch auction system to build the most charming storefront.
Pixies brings a bit more bite in a tiny box. You'll be drafting and arranging a 3x3 grid where color, order, and placement all matter if you want to come out ahead.
And then the last two round things out underwater in the coral reefs. First, the brand new Finspan Expansion, Sharks & Reefs (from the Wingspan family) which introduces vibrant coral reef habitats to your Finspan ocean mat along with incredible new sharks that bring fearsome abilities and fresh strategic possibilities.
And finally, Shallow Sea, which is a multi-layer puzzle board game featuring marine animals of the Great Barrier Reef with scoring patterns that reward thoughtful planning.
Same easy entry, just a little greener: thoughtful, tactile games that trade noise for nuance without losing their edge.
6/8
6/15
Final week, and we’re finishing with games that dial up the tension with head-to-head battles, clever card play, and just enough risk to make every decision matter.
Duel for Cardia is pure, distilled competition: both players draw from matching decks of numbered cards, but it’s how—and when—you use their abilities that decides everything—think Love Letter on steroids.
Knarr brings fast, satisfying engine-building to the table, with Viking crews, quick turns, and a tight race to 40 points that keeps the pressure on from start to finish.
Graft is all about pushing your luck by building high-scoring chains while navigating restrictions that can unravel your whole plan in a heartbeat.
As the name suggests, Push lives right in that “one more turn” space. You'll flip cards, build stacks, and decide exactly how far to tempt fate before you bust and lose it all.
Then there’s Pillars of Fate, a completely different beast. It's a 2-player lane battler layered with deduction, misdirection, and asymmetric powers.
And Tether closes things out with a sharp abstract twist: a spatial, asymmetric puzzle where you’re building connections from opposite directions, racing to form scoring patterns before your opponent locks you out.
Same idea but with sharper edges: quick games, big decisions, and just enough danger to keep things interesting.