As token-smiths we’re often playing and researching all sorts of games, from the latest release to much-requested classics. It’s a sad truth that there isn’t always that much time for an old favourite to return to the table but we do our best to get a game going when we can! Here is a little bit about the games that hit the table and stuck with us long after.
TCG of 2025: Sorcery: Contested Realm
A real contested spot this one, it’s difficult to compete with juggernauts the like of SWU, FaB and the newly arrived Riftbound, but something had us coming back to Sorcery again and again. It isn't just the beautifully fully painted art, or even the flavourful, sometimes nightmarish to interpret text-boxes. Sorcery has been a source of tightly-knit community for us. We spent a lot of time in the game playing between just three of us, which led to all sorts of brewing and tech, mostly for horrible Root Spiders. Even participating in our first Cornerstone event, amongst far more experienced players, Sorcery seems to have a level of low-stakes whimsy that is sometimes absent in other TCGs. As a game of pretty high variance this really suits, and makes the moments you catapult ghosts all over the board, or push snowballs into a clamour of skeletons, all the more enjoyable. In a hobby where burn-out is very real, I’d call Sorcery the relaxation TCG, and I think we all could do with that sometimes.
Wargame of 2025: Battletech Alphastrike
Mechs! The BTST penchant for giant robots is extremely real, so there may be some bias, but as wargames to pick up and put down go this has been one of the easiest. The game certainly nets bonus points for one of the first games we’ve had a fully painted set-up for.
I think it says something about the ease of play this game has that it’s something I’ve taught in an afternoon to players multiple times. The sliding scale of rules complexity in the Commander’s Handbook may sometimes be intimidating, but with enough time and an experienced player there’s a surprising amount of depth to be unlocked from a seemingly-simple system. The universe really reflects this too, from a passing fancy to getting deep into the lore, regiments and their preferred mech compositions, Alphastrike is a game you can invest in as much or as little as you’d like. We’ve recently delved a little deeper into scenario writing and with the Aces single and co-op campaign system coming early next year, we’re really looking forward to a new kind of mech warfare. You can check out Ed chatting with Mike Whitaker on the Tales From The Periphery Podcast here!
Boardgame of 2025: Slay The Spire
It’s a reasonable question when you see an adaptation of a game from one medium to another, what are you really trying to achieve? Slay the Spire on PC is a game that captivated a few of us very much, for me personally it feels like the closest thing we’ll get to a PVE Flesh and Blood so it’ll always have a place in my heart. What then, does a boardgame adaptation bring that whipping out your phone for a quick run doesn’t? Fears of tedious admin abounded and certainly there’s a good amount of upkeep in running the game. The answer, like a lot of gaming experiences, is the people. Slay The Spire is a game that wants you to break it, like a lot of cardgames it gives you a meticulous framework of values and rules and asks you to find a way to exploit them, what better way to do that then than with a group of peers? Memorable moments include the Silent stacking ridiculous sums of poison into an Act 2 boss, or the Defect clearing rows of enemies in a single round. A game of card expression is a game that’s better shared.
Honorable Mention: Arcs: Blighted Reach
It couldn’t really go without mentioning, simply for the monumental feat of getting four of us in a room together for roughly 18 hours split over two sessions. Blighted Reach in some ways is a holy grail of campaign experiences. The base game of Arcs is something we can appreciate for an intense level of tactical depth and perhaps the most fascinating thing about Blighted Reach was unlearning this and letting the story propel us forward. The space opera that unfolded in our campaign was a grim one. The Reach was not consumed by the mysterious Blight, however the story ended with the Admiral responsible for saving it being exiled, the Founder failing and a Keeper stripped of all their knowledge. Only the Magnate stood victorious, lording over a pile of resources and a broken civilisation. I could wax poetic about this experience for a while, and I suppose that is my point, a game that leads you through such a compelling narrative whilst offering deep tactical choices is surely worth remembering.
And there it is, with much more gaming to be had over the holidays and beyond. Next time will be the final installment in our series, a bit of navel-gazing as we consider some of our favourite designs and releases over the last year. We’ll see you then!
Written by Ed Cardall