- 6 minutes 26 seconds157 Devon Dice Podcast Spiel Essen Preview show
Join Joel and Nick as they take you on a journey through what’s caught their eye and what’s new and exciting at SPIEL Essen 2026!
First, they’ll take a look at the upcoming board gaming conventions before diving into the latest industry news, catching up on exciting new crowdfunding projects, and then getting stuck into the good old Top 10 list!
That’s right! Joel and Nick reveal their Top 10 most anticipated board games heading to SPIEL Essen this year. What has piqued their interest, and which games are they most excited to get their hands on?
So grab a cuppa, settle in, and join us for another episode of the Devon Dice Podcast! 🎲
Conventions
- Essen Spiel this week (22nd – 25th Oct)!
- The Ocean City Games Convention – 31st Oct – 1st Nov
- Gridcon 7 – 20th – 22nd November (obviously no tickets left)
- Full Board Gaming, Torbay – 29th Jan – 1st Feb 2027
- Devon Gaming weekend @ the Fox & Hounds: 19th – 21st Feb 27
News
- The sequel to Through the Desert coming from Allplay: Through the Mountains, on Kickstarter October 27th.
- Rebirth II announced from Mighty Boards, due on KS in February. Kicked off a lot of conversations on BGG about whether a spin-off/sequel game should be an expansion vs a whole new game.
- New expansion for Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth to be released in Feb: “Journeys”.
- Osprey Games lays off all board/card game staff, and cancels Essen booth.
Crowdfunding
Live now
- Bride of Spooktacular
- Excursions — a Galactic Cruise Game
- DECKO: Pistachio
- Lorenzo il Magnifico 10th Anniversary edition(s)
- Nemesis Legacy
- Satisfactory: The Board Game
Essen 2026 Most Anticipated
- Light Speed: Arena – The Space Banana
- Light Speed: Arena – League 56
- Bomb Busters: The Pro Kit
- Rebirth II
- The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict
- Gold Country
- Thunder Road: Ignition
- Final Titan
- Fishing 2
- Medico
- Citadels Duel
- Timespan
- Rock Hard 1977: Ear Candy
- Boss Fighters QR: Jungle Fever
- Pasteles
- Endeavor: Deep Sea – Uncharted Waters
- -60°
- For the Gods!
- Queen of Spies
- Underhaven
- Chivalry
- Scotland Yard Duel
- Eldur
- Ways you can engage with or contact the showHere is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK. Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
19 October 2026, 8:00 am - 1 hour 49 minutes156 Devon Dice Podcast October '26 News Show
Joel and Nick bring you the month’s board gaming news, Crowdfunding projects and what they have been playing.
Conventions
- The Ocean City Games Convention – 31st Oct – 1st Nov
- Full Board Gaming, Torbay – 29th Jan – 1st Feb 2027
- Devon Dice Con ???…
News
- Mark Cooke, of AireCon fame, joins UKGE team as Ops Director
- The new Stonemaier game announced & soon to be released: Braided Skies
- Moon Colony Bloodbath expansion announced: Aliens from Space
- New Garphill Games available directly from them:
- Crest – Q2 2027 from their webstore
- Spirited expansions (African & Scandinavian) – available from their webstore this month (Oct)
- Nucleum Duel announced, coming in 2027
- Too Many Bones sequel announced: Too Little Time
- Western Legends Stories (from KS last year) delivering soon
Crowdfunding
Live now
- Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit – already at £1.2million, almost 5,000 backers.
- Thessaloniki & Windmill Valley: Duel – the new Tascini “T” game, plus a 2-player-only spinoff of Windmill Valley
- Electrify
- Personal Demons
- Catvale
Late Pledges
Coming soon
- Zoo Tycoon – Dinosaur Digs
- New Garphill Games announced for future crowdfunding:
- Wallguards of the East Empire – KS in November
- Paladins of the Highcrown – KS Q1 2027
What we played
- Joel – local games day with Hachette Games demo in Yeoford
- Nick
- Wingspan Pocket at 5p (twice)
- Keyflower
- No Thanks!
- Port Royal
- Solar Storm
And some cool things
- A daily puzzle trick-taking app (in the style of Wordle), endPlay, released. Solve daily trick-taking puzzles!
Coming up next show (hopefully!)
Ways you can engage with or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK. Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
17 October 2026, 8:03 am - 1 hour 15 minutes155 Clank! Podcast, the Devon Dice Episode
The gang is back! In Episode 155 of the Devon Dice Podcast, Joel is joined by Nick, Claire, and Honey for another catch-up from the world of board gaming. We chat about upcoming conventions and some sad convention news, including the end of AireCon in 2027, before diving into the latest board game news, from the Deutscher Spiele Preis to Wyrmspan Pocket, Timespan and yet another HEAT expansion. On the crowdfunding front, we take a look at Cola Wars and the huge Clank! 10th Anniversary Big Box. Finally, we round things off with what we’ve been playing. Plenty of games, plenty of opinions and the usual Devon Dice chaos!
Conventions
- The Devon Gaming Weekend @ Fox & Hounds in Autumn has been cancelled
- The Ocean City Games Convention – 31st Oct – 1st Nov
- Devon Dice Con might have a date
- Torbay – Full Board Gaming – Jan 28th – Feb 1st
- AireCon 2027 will be its last
News
- Deutscher Spiele Preis
- Asmodee purchases Welcome To… line
- Wyrmspan Pocket hinted at by Jamey Stegmeier
- Timespan
- Magical Athlete: Second Wind announced
- 5th HEAT expansion – Narrow Streets – announced, incl. 2 new maps (Canada & Australia)
Crowdfunding
What we played
- Joel
- Nick
- Wingspan @ 7 players
- Wingspan Pocket
- Upland & Prairie
- Endeavor: Deep Sea
(for next show):
Ways you can engage with or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK. Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
13 September 2026, 8:00 am - 1 hour 39 minutes154 Devon Dice Podcast: Board Game News from Around the World July '26
Joel and Nick return to the Mics for a quick podcast to bring you the latest news and crowdfunding from around the world. Also, they catch up on what they have been playing over the last month.
News
- Spiel des Jahres Winners: JinxO, Rebirth
- After 10 years, Mechs vs Minions gets its first expansion – Bandle City
- CGE: Kingdom Come: Deliverance: The Boardgame
- CGE: Surprise Shipment expansion for Lost Ruins of Arnak
- Small Batch, a Distilled spin-off game from Paverson Games (coming ‘27)
- Dominant Species, new print from AllPlay, with Ian O’Toole artwork & graphic design. And yes, solo mode from Dávid Turczi & team (including Nick!)
- Crash Landed from AllPlay is designed by Robert Hovakimyan and Sen-Foong Lim with artwork by Jake Morrison, and puts players in the role of survivors after their ship crashes on a mysterious alien planet.
- Restoration Games blueprints panel was a little underwhelming; nothing much too exciting unless you like Unmatched, Study in Terror and collab with Slay the Spire
- Rain ends play at GenCon
- Tag Team: SNK Arcade Legends. A seventh character, Iori Yagami, is available as an exclusive pre-order promo.
- Clank! 10th anniversary big box edition coming to Kickstarter.
Crowdfunding
- HOXFALL
- Space Junkers
- The Lord of the Rings: Ascension
- STAG
- The Guild: Ren Faire’d
- Children of Time: The Roleplaying Game
What we played
- Joel
- Nick
Ways you can engage or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
5 August 2026, 8:13 am - 2 hours 13 minutes153 Devon Dice Podcast: The After Show, of the UKGE 2026 Show
Episode 153 sees Joel, Nick and Sam looking back at a fantastic UK Games Expo 2026, sharing their highlights from the UK’s biggest board gaming event, from the Bring & Buy and press event to the games they demoed and discovered. They also discuss the Spiel des Jahres nominations, the latest crowdfunding campaigns, upcoming releases, and plenty of the new titles that caught their attention, including Space Junkers, Papyria, For the Gods, Clank! Catacombs, Finspan, and many more. Whether you made it to UKGE or not, join us for our roundup of one of the biggest weekends in the board gaming calendar.
Quick News
- Spiel des Jahres nominees announced:
- Whose Turn Is It Anyway – rebrands / relaunches as Just Play Podcast, hosted just by JP
Crowdfunders
- Concordia Special Edition
- Altera – the new game from IV Studios
- Shug – the UKGE party game winner for a whole 10-minutes 😀
- ROKR Dinosaur Lab Pinball
Coming Soon
UK Games Expo Wrap-up
- Hotels
- Parking
- Interesting stands
- Nice art stalls
- Socks stand
- Pin collection
- Bring and Buy
- Press Event
- Attendance: 51,196 unique attendees, 87,837 turnstile attendees
- Events
- Nick: How was: Discworld: All That is Gold Is Not Butter
- Games demoed/played
- Joel:
- Sam
- Mythologies
- First Giants
- Link City
- Star Wars: Battle of Hoth
- Clank! Catacombs + both expansions
- Finspan + expansion
- DC Breakout – finally picked up a copy
- Nick: Mostly same as Joel. 😀
12 July 2026, 2:31 pm - 2 hours 3 minutes152 The Devon Dice Podcast: The UKGE 2026 Preview show
The gang are back to preview the UK Games Expo 2026 at NEC Birmingham, 29th to 31st May.
News
- Clank! Master Thief Edition announced
- Bloomsbury want to offload Osprey Games
- Golden Geek Awards announced
- Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG + Unstoppable on Backerkit
- UKGE Judges Choice Awards announced
UK Games Expo
- Quick overview of changes to the expo
- Only Nick has tickets for an event – though Sam just found out the original Treyguard from Knightmare the TV show is guesting Knightmare Live on Saturday night!
- We run down a very loose top ten games we’re excited for
Ways you can engage or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/bastian/better-together License code: DG5OGTZEG80OP2S0
25 May 2026, 2:46 pm - 1 hour 9 minutes151 the Devon Dice Podcast: The Late, Late, Late News and Crowdfunding ShowDevon Dice Podcast 151
Joel and Nick are back with a very late episode, recorded at the end of March and only just released now.
Yes, the news and crowdfunding sections are now wildly out of date, but somehow it is still entertaining. We hope you enjoy the episode, and stay tuned, as our UKGE preview show is coming up next.
Conventions
- The Torquay Full Board Gaming weekend – available to book now for Jan 2027
- Fox and Hound’s Boardgaming Weekend – last weekend, podcast to follow
- Baycon: 8th-12th April, in Kennford
News
- Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit gets a Restoration Games restoration as The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit.
- Asmodee acquires Japon Brand.
- Awaken Realms makes a statement about their use (or not) of AI in their games’ artwork.
- Smaller Games are the new ‘thing’ in gaming for 2026.
- Dicetower review of Roborover: 2077 Last Hope, but Grimcoven gets some great reviews
Crowdfunding
- Brass: Pittsburgh
- Apex Carnivore
- Here to Slay DUNGEONS
- The Official Cyberpunk Trading Card Game
- Slay the Spire: Downfall
- Fight! Mortal Kombat Deckbuilding Game – based on Cyptozoic’s Cerebus deck-building engine
- Capitals of Tactoria
What we played
- Joel
- Nick
17 May 2026, 5:37 pm - 1 hour 45 minutes150 Devon Dice Podcast, the Top 10 Board Games from 2011 and more
In Episode 150 of the Devon Dice Podcast, Joel is joined by Nick, Claire, Lewis, and Sam as they travel back 15 years to count down their Top 10 games of 2011. Along the way, they chat conventions, cover the latest board game news, highlight some exciting crowdfunding projects, and celebrate a decade of Clank!—all before diving into a nostalgia-packed list of 2011 classics.
Conventions
- The Torquay Full Board Gaming weekend: Just happened this past weekend
- Fox and Hound’s Boardgaming Weekend: 20th-22nd March
- Baycon: 8th-12th April, in Kennford
News
- As reported a few podcast episodes ago, W Eric Martin has now left BGG to run his own independent news site, Board Game Beat. No clue as to if anyone will take over BGG’s News blog.
- Sam Healey leaves the Dice Tower amidst a bit of controversy
- A new Forest Shuffle stand-alone game: Smoky Mountains, plus a Forest Shuffle Dartmoor expansion, Exmoor, announced.
- Two new King of Tokyo spinoff games announced: King of Tokyo Duel: Tokyo Bay, and King of Tokyo: Godzilla.
- Clank! 10 years old
- Labyrinth + Carcassonne crossover
Crowdfunding
- The next Scott Almes’ game: Tiny Epic Invincible
- Pampero reprint + new expansion
- A triple KS of Trick Takers from Portland Game Collective
- Knizia’s next rebranding is for his older game, Spectaculum, as Gold Country
- Mythwind – new expansions
- Stellar Ventures – described as “cube rails in space”
2011 Joel Nick Sam 1 The Castles of Burgundy The Castles of Burgundy King of Tokyo 2 Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game Trajan Discworld: Ankh-Morpork 3 Village Village The Castles of Burgundy 4 Belfort King of Tokyo Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game 5 Takenoko Friday Takenoko 6 Skull Takenoko Skull 7 Discworld: Ankh-Morpork Space Station Letters from Whitechapel 8 Dungeon Fighter Discworld: Ankh-Morpork Martian Dice 9 Small World Underground Super Rhino! Elder Sign 10 Cargo NoirFlash Point: Fire Rescue Micro Space Empire Kingdom Builder 11 A Game of Thrones 19 My Happy Farm
Ways you can engage or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
17 February 2026, 7:16 pm - 1 hour 31 minutes149 Devon Dice Podcast's Best Board Games from 2016 & 2021
Episode 149: The Best of 2016 & 2021
In this episode of the Devon Dice Podcast, Joel is joined by Nick to dive into a nostalgic showdown of their best games of 2016 and 2021, comparing favourites, surprises, and all-time table hits from two great gaming years. The duo also cover upcoming conventions, including Torquay Gaming Weekend, AndyCon, and the Fox & Hounds Board Gaming Weekend. Along the way, they tackle the latest news—such as Cole Wehrle leaving Leder Games and the cancellation of the TAKE crowdfunder—plus a stack of crowdfunding highlights before counting down their Top 5 lists and honourable mentions from both 2016 and 2021.
Upcoming conventions:
- Torquay gaming weekend (Full Board Gaming) at the end of January
- AndyCon
- Fox and Hound’s 20th-22nd March Boardgaming Weekend
News:
- Cole Wehrle leaves Leder Games, causing the planned forthcoming TAKE crowdfunder to be scrapped.
Crowdfunding:
- Colt Express: Complete Collection
- Mountain Goats Legacy + Enchanted Ivy
- Old King’s Crown: 2nd printing + new expansion
- Arboria: Reprint, + new Corruption & Rewild expansions
Top 5 of 2016, top 5 of 2021
(games in orange are on other lists)
- Merchants Cove
- Mechs vs. Minions
- Red Rising
- Ark Nova
- Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure
- Terraforming Mars
- Imperial Steam
- Descent: Le
- Great Western Trail
- Junk Art
- The Hunger
- Golem
- Vast: The Crystal Caverns
- Excavation Earth
- The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
- Crisis
- Happy Salmon
- Boonlake
- Lorenzo il Magnifico
- Citadels (2016 Edition)
Ways you can engage or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
29 January 2026, 1:55 pm - 1 hour 36 minutes148 Devon Dice Podcast The best of 2025 (board games)
In this episode of the Devon Dice Podcast, Joel is joined by Nick and Claire to round up the best games they’ve played in 2025—all new-to-them discoveries that have really hit the table this year. With Lewis struck down by the lurgy, Sam lost to board gaming winter blues, and Honey enjoying a well-earned nap, the trio also dive into the latest news, including the Fox & Hounds Board Gaming Weekend, a huge Stonemaier Games announcement dump, AllPlay reveals, Dice Tower crowdfunding, and some fresh GenCon breaking news. Then it’s time to celebrate the standout games that made 2025 a great year for gaming at Devon Dice HQ.
Upcoming conventions:
- Torquay gaming weekend (Full Board Gaming) at the end of January
- AndyCon
- Fox and Hound’s 20th-22nd March Boardgaming Weekend
-
News
- Fox and Hound’s 20th-22nd March Boardgaming Weekend
- Stonemeier’s big news dump:
- Wingspan expansion #4 is South & Central America and Caribbean, and includes smaller Hummingbird cards and a new card action. Coming Jan 21st.
- Euphoria new “revised edition”, which will include the expansion.
- New Scythe vs Expeditions 2p battling game, which can use factions from each of the other games.
- Viticulture new expansion.
- Next Finspan expansion due Q2.
- Namiji, in the new Stonemeier edition, due Q4
- New unnamed Wingspan spinoff game which is meant to be a quick (20min) and smaller-table-hog version, more suitable for introducing to players new to boardgaming.
- AllPlay announces Mountain Goats Legacy, and Enchanted Ivy, solo only!
- Dice Tower Gamefound campaign
- Breaking news (just put on BGG), for GenCon releases:
- New sequel to The Crew: The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth
- New Deluxe edition of The Gang
Best played games of 2025, new games to us.
- Harmonies
- Light Speed: Arena
- The Guild of Merchant Explorers
- Pirates of Maracaibo
- The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition
- Vantage
- Transgalactica
- Rainbow
- 1A.M. Jailbreak
- Boss Fighters QR
- Endeavor: Deep Sea
- Railway Boom
- Finspan
- Spectacular
- Rock Hard 1977
- Coming of Age
- Flash Point: Legacy of Flame
- Petiquette
- Finspan
- Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan
- River of Gold
- Let’s Go To Japan
- Wriggle Roulette
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game
- The White Castle
- Tag Team
- Fire Tower: Rising Flames
- Civolution
- Lost Ruins of Arnak: Twisted Paths
- The Game Makers
- Pirates of Maracaibo
- Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Ways you can engage or contact the show
Here is the link to our Discord channel, Devon Dice: https://discord.gg/ma7Z4Jvv2z
Find us on all the socials: @DevonDiceUK, Facebook page, BGG Guild
On X / Twitter: @DepressedMonk3y @The_BreweryTour @njshaw2
On Bluesky: njshaw2.bsky.social, devondice.bsky.social
On the web: www.devondice.co.uk
YouTube – DevonDiceUK Please like and subscribe to our channel: https://youtube.com/@DevonDice
Joel’s list of all new to him, played games:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game
6 Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom 7 Above and Below: Haunted 8 Railway Boom 9 Tag Team 10 Deep Regrets 11 Fishing 12 Fearless 13 Galactic Cruise 14 Black Forest 15 Flash Point: Legacy of Flame 16 Hamburg 17 Lords of Vegas 18 Fire Tower 19 Flip 7 20 Comic Hunters 21 Oranges & Lemons 22 Millennia: Tracks of Time 23 Tenby 24 Caracas 25 Steam Power 26 Dead Reckoning 27 Fall 28 Nucleum 29 Emberheart 30 Finspan 31 TRICKTAKERs 32 Sanctuary 33 Wroth 34 3 Chapters 35 Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels 36 Compile: Main 1 37 Slambo! 38 DroPolter20 January 2026, 4:04 pm - 1 hour 41 minutes147 Devon Dice Podcast The Christmas Show 202525 December 2025, 4:58 pm
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