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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
Game type: Tabletop RPG
Price: From $30 (PDF)
Release date: Available now
Designers: Caleb Zane Huett, Sean Ireland
Publisher: Haunted Table, Modiphius
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.
Riftbound
Game type: Trading card game
Price: From $19.99
Release date: October 31, 2025
Designers: UVS Games, Riot Games
Publisher: Riot Games
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.
Tag Team
Game type: Deckbuilder/auto battler
Price: $24.99
Release date: September, 2025
Designers: Gricha German, Corentin Lebrat
Publisher: Scorpion Masque
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.
The Sandcastles of Burgundy
Game type: Strategy
Price: $29.99
Release date: September 20, 2025
Designers: Susan & Stefan Feld
Publisher: Ravensburger
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.
Perfect Mismatch
Game type: Party
Price: Unknown
Release date: Summer, 2025
Designers: Alexander Peshkov
Publisher: Ares
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.
Looking for more recommendations? Don't miss the best family board games, or the best tabletop RPGs.
