I've been reporting on board games and tabletop RPGs for years, and I think these upcoming projects need to be on your wishlist

There are so many board games, TCGs, and TTRPGs released in any given year that it's incredibly difficult to keep up with if it's not your job. Thankfully, it's my job, at least in part, and after running up and down Gen Con 2025 seeking contenders for our list of the best board games, I have plenty to recommend.

Naturally, take these with a grain of salt and all that because these only represent my personal highlights, and even then, only from what I actually saw or played or bought. There is just… so much of the convention that I didn't even get to eyeball with any seriousness. For example, I regret not finding the time and money to grab The Land of Eem, which looks great but isn't included here. If you're just looking for a variety of options to consider the next time you want to grab a new tabletop game, however, I've a nice tasting menu of titles to consider. Here are 5 tabletop games, ranging from card to board games to role-playing, that have dominated my thoughts since Gen Con 2025.

Triangle Agency

Tabletop role-playing game Triangle Agency from Haunted Table has been kicking around in some form or another to varying degrees of success for several years now. There's a good chance you might have seen its popular Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign back in 2023. But the paranormal-meets-corporate investigative TTRPG has perhaps never been hotter after winning several Gold Ennies – including the coveted Best Game in addition to Best Rules and Best Writing – during Gen Con this year following its full release.

Attempting to succinctly describe Triangle Agency is madness (perhaps literally) but essentially players take on the role of blue-collar agents working for a Control-style agency that's looking to take care of reality-breaking Anomalies under the care of a General Manager (GM) that sets them on these tasks. While doing so, they must balance their own inherent Anomalies, relationships, and job responsibilities. Hey, it's a living… and a dying.

Triangle Agency Normal Briefcase Collection | $99.99 at Amazon
While you can grab the book PDFs and individual hardback copies of the core rules or missions, this bundle is probably the best value in that it comes with everything you need to play.

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Riftbound

The upcoming Riot Games trading card game Riftbound has admittedly had its hooks in me from the start. While I largely avoid new paper TCGs – I'm an old man and only have so much space in the house – the combination of contested battlefields and freeform phase timings in Riftbound are enough to convince me.

The card game also has the benefit of leaning on all the worldbuilding and lore from the wildly popular video game League of Legends for characters, locations, and so on. And, full disclosure, I happen to (irrationally) enjoy League of Legends, so that helps. With an upcoming release on October 31, gorgeous "overnumbered" cards, and a mixture of modern mechanics, Riftbound is one to watch.

Riftbound | Pre-order at Riot Games
There's still a ways to go before the English-language Riftbound release in October, but you can pre-order everything from the full booster box to starter set via Riot Games.

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Tag Team

Of all the games I actually had a chance to play at Gen Con, Tag Team from Scorpion Masque is probably the easiest recommendation for me to make. While it's somewhat cheating as I liked what I saw at GAMA earlier this year, I'd not actually played until Gen Con, so I like to think it counts as a pleasant surprise regardless.

Functionally, Tag Team is a cross between a deckbuilder and an auto battler. Essentially, two players pick two fighters, combine those decks of cards together, and then draw from the top of the decks that they build over time. The trick is that you add new cards each round either in front of, behind, or between the cards in the deck you've already built. It's tactical and chance and speculation all in one with a hefty dash of lovely artwork. To be entirely honest, I wish I were playing Tag Team right now.

Tag Team | View at Thirsty Meeples UK
I've struggled to find this one for pre-order in most places, but it is available from UK tabletop retailer Thirsty Meeples.

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The Sandcastles of Burgundy

If you're familiar with the tabletop classics of the past several decades, there's a good chance you're already aware of The Castles of Burgundy. The Sandcastles of Burgundy is a colorful, playful version of the classic that's intentionally designed for younger audiences. The box recommends 5 and up, and that certainly matches my experience.

In The Sandcastles of Burgundy, your ultimate goal is to attend Queen Crab's beach party after decorating shops, searching for party supplies, and finding Royal Guild animals. I suspect that some adults might scoff at the kid-friendly version, but in my experience any game that's compelling for people of all ages makes for an incredibly versatile addition to any collection.

The Sandcastles of Burgundy | $29.99 at Amazon
As a major title from a major publisher, The Sandcastles of Burgundy isn't hard to get your hands on; it's widely available to pre-order from the likes of Amazon.

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Perfect Mismatch

Every year, I take the opportunity to ask people about what they've seen or played at the show that they actually like and would recommend. Everyone's got different opinions, of course, but it's a useful barometer in aggregate. This year, the vast majority of recommendations were for games I'd already bought or was previously aware of.

Except for the party game Perfect Mismatch from Ares Games. Players take turns trying to describe a single word in a list of possibilities by moving beads to either side of a board to indicate how much it's like a list of words. Is "karate" more "rustling" or "guilty" and so on. It's quick, funny, and easy to play – and recommended.

Perfect Mismatch | View at Zatu UK
This is another game that's proving tricky to get our hands on, and I'm really seeing it at the likes of Zatu, Forbidden Planet, and Wayland Games in the UK. With an imminent 'coming soon' release date, I'm hopeful stock will be more forthcoming soon.

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Looking for more recommendations? Don't miss the best family board games, or the best tabletop RPGs.