There was an active crowd at Wacky Wizard Games (the Wise Wizard Games nom-de-plume for their lightweight titles) around the Caution Signs sequel, More Fun Ahead, a complete version with new cards. Push Push Penguin has been out for awhile but the cute race for second had its own fans at the booth. Meanwhile the randomized Draconis 8 tile laying fighting game is nearing release. Each 9 card pack will contain completely unique cards which can also be used in the online version of the game. Star Realms Conquest is a new base game in the series with all new cards including Planet cards that can be defeated to be kept for the rest of the game. Northstar Games was showing its newest Nature expansion, Climate. Nature: Climate introduces a climate track that penalizes species who don’t keep up with the changing temperatures. Starlines is an upcoming game that tries to be a non-deckbuilding deckbuilder. Players play out a series of tiles connecting multiple tracks which provide benefits while triggered. Finally, HABA was showing several new releases that will make their way to the U.S. later next year. Stuglandet (Cabin Toss) is a cabin-rolling game (think Pass the Pigs) where players are trying to place their cabins to score points on the game board. In Carni Flora, players use tiles to build up the stem of their venus flytrap. Dragon’s Roll is a cooperative campaign game of dice placement. Finally, in Pixie Time, you and your fellow students are attempting to pass your exams in the Magic Academy. It’s a real-time effort where the group needs to perform silly tasks in unison to progress along the tests.

Wacky Wizard Games

Push Push Penguin by Christopher Ryan Chan, David Gordon (I), TAM

Released last year, Push Push Penguin is a race between players to get their penguins to the ocean. Unfortunately, the poor penguins are being tracked by an orca so the first place penguin will actually get eaten. Early orca gets the worm penguin I guess.

Movement involves two dice which are rolled and players privately choose which one to use. Everyone then moves. When a penguin lands on another, the penguin below is pushed forward. Many spaces on the board have special powers. Slides will automatically advance a penguin.

Seals force a die roll on a special die, moving the penguin forward a few spaces or jumping them all the way to first. Some spaces have fish to pick up. These can be spent to reroll a die or even use both dice at once. When a penguin encounters the orca, all is not lost, the seal die is used and a penguin has a small chance to escape back to the very back of the bunch.

Caution Signs: More Fun Ahead (2026) by Scott Brady, Danielle Reynolds

Caution Signs: More Fun Ahead is a fully compatible sequel to the original Caution Signs cooperative party word game. A bunch of word cards are placed in the center of the table and players are given pairs of words that must be connected through a rough sketch.

The observer player then goes through all the sketches, trying to determine which pair of words go with each sketch – earning points for each correct guess. There are no mechanical changes to the new release, it simply contains all new word cards. However, if you have both releases you can combine both sets to play a mega-game with up to 17 players.

Wise Wizard Games

Draconis 8 by Douglas Hettrick, Carl Van Ostrand

Discussed last year, Draconis 8 has a planned release for Q1 of next year. This is a constructed deck tile-laying game where adjacent cards compare border numbers to determine a winner. Each card is unique. While cards may have a similar special ability, their border numbers are different, created using a set formula to be sure that every card is balanced. Cards come in a resealable pack of 9 cards: 8 cards and 1 terrain which serves as the central base on the game board.

The game can simply be played using two packs, one per player, or in a constructed or draft format. The Draconis title comes in as players are allowed one Dragon card in their deck which is particularly powerful – both in strength and special ability. The game will have a parallel online game offering up the opportunity to play against or with other players or the AI. Every terrain card has a QR code which, when scanned, will unlock all the cards in that pack for use in the online game. There will be robust online deck building features, including the option of sorting one’s cards by physical and digital-only ownership. Rare, foil embossed (art, not rare ability) cards will show up in the online game with additional art and/or animations. Some of these cards will appear via prizes in organized play.

Star Realms Conquest and Star Realms New Worlds by Robert Dougherty, Darwin Kastle

The deckbuilding Star Realms continues strong with a series of upcoming releases. Star Realms Conquest will be a complete (but interchangeable) release for 2 to 4 players with an all new 80 card market including new Planet cards. Planets are “purchased” using combat and go directly to a player’s table area to provide an ongoing ability for the rest of the game. Star Realms New Worlds is a small pack of cards that supplement Conquest and includes two new planet cards. Look for both to release in late 2026 or early 2027

Northstar Games

Nature: Climate by Dominic Crapuchettes

The newest expansion to the Nature series, a reworking of the Evolution boardgame, is Nature:Climate.

This expansion brings back some of the mechanics found in the Evolution: Climate. Players will have to change up their species as the environment, using a temperature track system, may swing between freezing cold and searing heat.

This is the sixth module in the Nature series, following Flight (evading hunters), Jurassic (aggressive, huge animals), Natural Disasters (mostly nasty event cards), Arctic Tundra (cold hardiness & scarce food), and the Amazon Rainforest (hiding, canopy foraging, high population density.) While I’m not aware of the next module, my past discussions indicated that there are several more in development.

Starlines by Dominic Crapuchettes

I was given a brief preview of Starlines, a 1-4 player deckbuilder-ish game with a planned release around June of next year. The game attempts to dodge some of the pitfalls of deckbuilders – namely lots of card text and repeated shuffling of just a few cards.

Cards are never shuffled, they are placed in a tableau and are activated from left to right. Starlines avoids text by putting up to four horizontal lines across each card. Each stripe provides a different ability/resource. By building up a line of cards and connecting them to your home station, a player can build an economic engine.

On a turn, a player will trace their lines from left to right, starting at the home station. There are four lines, each associated with an action or attribute, things like getting more cards, placing them, exploring planets, gaining money to buy things, etc.. Starline cards can be purchased for a one-time use of connecting up broken lines, if I recall correctly. The game ends after only six turns. Points are scored based on cards in one’s tableau as well as explored planets (5 points for two explored, 10 points for five.) A kickstarter for the game is expected in late 2026.

Northstar Cafe line

In other news, we discussed the upcoming line of Northstar Cafe games. These are games designed for “gamers” to share with their friends. Very simple, straightforward rules but with enough space and flexibility to provide interesting decisions. The idea is to have a game to play with your non-gamer relatives that still has some strategy involved. The first four games in the series are already in development in Northstar’s playtest groups. The hope is for the games to be published in time for the 2027 holiday season, Gen Con 2027 at the latest.

HABA

Stuglandet (Cabin Toss) by Erik Ambring, Acke Ambring

Stuglandet (or Cabin Toss) is a lightweight cabin-rolling game for two to four players. A player starts their turn by rolling all their little wooden cabins on the table. They then take actions depending on how the cabins land. Upright cabins are placed onto any open space. Sideways cabins allow a player to move any one opponent’s cabin on the game board. Cabins standing on their end can be used to completely replace any opponent’s cabin on the board. Rolling a roof does not help you at all.

Thankfully, players are able to reroll all (not just some) of their cabins twice, for a total of three times. While cabins ebb and flow, once a player claims an entire small section of the board, it locks down and can’t be adjusted. Play continues until one player is able to place all their cabins and then the game board is scored. Cabins on the board are worth 1 point, 2 if next to water. Having the majority of cabins on a tile is worth 2 points. (Thus, a single cabin claiming a water tile would be worth 4 points.) The player with the longest line of cabins earns 5 points. Cabins in the city are worth 2 points and having the majority in the city is worth 3 points. Finally, any cabin next to the dump also loses a point. Stuglandet plays 2 to 4 players and is targeted to kids (and adults) of 8+ years.

Carni Flora by Martino Chiacchiera

In Carni Flora, 2 to 4 players are each managing their own venus flytrap. Players select a tile and then add it to their growing plant.

Tiles represent the stem of the plant, sometimes branching, sometimes ending in a flower.

When a tile with fly symbols is placed, fly tokens are added to it. These flies are then all consumed, each worth 1 point, when a flower is placed.

It is possible to create stem loops, which earn players a bonus 3 points. The game ends when all the tiles are used up and any flies remaining on tiles provide a -1 point penalty.

Dragon’s Roll by Mads L. Brynnum

Set in the same “world” as King of the Dice, Dragon’s Roll is a cooperative dragon slaying game for 2 to 4 players, roughly 8+ years of age. It’s a quick-playing game of dice placement.

Players roll their dice and then assign them to locations to trigger actions that will protect the kingdom, defeat attacking dragons, and hopefully weaken and then defeat the Master Dragon (it’s two sided) to win before the players are overwhelmed. Dragon’s Roll can be played as a one-off game or as a series of challenges. There are six different Master Dragons, each with their own unique abilities, which can be taken on in a campaign series, gaining Scrolls along the way that will hopefully help the players enough for a win. I have down that it probably won’t make its way into the U.S. until later next year.

Pixie Time by Luca Bellini, Luca Borsa, Carlo Emanuele Lanzavecchia, Walter Obert

In Pixie Time, 2 to 6 players are helping each other survive a semester at the Magic Academy. Players must first pass their midterms and then their final exam. A sand timer is placed at the start of a line of cards.

A die is rolled and the timer moves forward, forcing the players to respond according to the color of the new location. These are a bunch of semi-crazy actions that must be performed in unison. The team may be required to all clap once, knock on the table, raise their hands, snap their fingers, give a thumbs up, or give a cheer. Once everyone has joined in the task, the die can be rolled again and the timer moves on. Finish the midterm and start again with the Final Exam. Complete both exams to win the game. Pixie Time is set up as a progression of seven games, with new mechanics and complexities added to each game. Pixie Time should become available in the U.S. in early 2027.

Final HABA Note:

I was given a tease of a new 2-4 player game that will be released at Essen, hopefully released soon after, appearing in the U.S. sometime in 2027, definitely before Gen Con. It supposedly has gorgeous art and they’re hoping for a Spiel des Jahres win next year…. Time will tell soon enough how it is received.