Garrett's Games 1067: Meeplefest 2026 with Tom Lehmann, Scott Caputo, Joe Huber, and Ric Bretschneider

This year's Meeplefest roundtable found 3 designers once again joining us for a discussion of the state of the hobby, design choices, and the ways in which our gaming tastes and approaches to gaming have changed over the years.

This week as Shelley and I wend our way to Essen, we talk about two games that should be readily available in the halls, and heading your way soon if you're not in Germany for Spiel. First we take on the roles of either Michelangelo or Leonardo and compete for patrons throughout Italy in Maestro by Andrea Robbiani from Board&Dice (1-4/120-150/14+) Then we find ourselves taking the Grand Tour which became an essential part of one's upbringing if you were of a certain status back in the 18th & 19th centuries in Timeless Journey - The Italian Grand Tour by Nestore Mangone & Andrea Robbiani from Lirius Games (1-5/50-90/14+) Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

SO MANY ESSEN GAMES! We've covered over 60 games on our YouTube channel, but there are many more games coming out at Essen NEXT WEEK, so this week Shelley and I do a quick rundown (organized by publisher) of all of the other titles I marked as "Interested" on BGG's Essen 2026 Preview. Elementica from 14games Observatory & Star Gazers from 25th Century Games Palinka from A Games Gnomeville from Adam's Apple Games Bookshelf, Spaghettin, and Time of your Life from Alley Cat Games Le Chocolat, Enchanted Ivy, Golden Goal and Mountain Goats Legacy from Allplay Nine Tails from Amuri Studio Orkney from Ars Edition Gamma Extra from Batusaki Warp 99 from Bezier Games Arribada & Gold Country from Bitewing Games Fame & Fable and Reforest from Board Game Circus Shapemash from Boardcubator Flamenco, HUND, and ONDA from BoardM Factory Near: Echoes of Civilization from Le Boite de Jeu Road Master from Bouvier International Shrine: Duel of Light from Bright Horizon Games Bubble & Shadow from Boradway Toys Shards of Creation from Brotherwise Games Treeline from Burnt Island Games Yin Yang from Capstone Games Fireflies from Catch Up Games Vine from Cavernwire Games Bee Bee and Pet's Run from Cayro, The Games Red Panda Surprise and Use Up All Your Sick Days from Carming Games Collective KumoKumo Park from CMON Ltd. Kumata from Cosmoludo Oil Rock from Cranio Creations Foundation: Isaac Asimov from CREARDO Bloom Kingdom from Deep Print Let's Dance, Nascard, Rock Hard Expansion, White Castle Expansion from Devir Underwood from dlp games The Travels of Isabella Lucy Bird from Dotakusha The Old Ones of El Dorado from Dranda Games Villa from DV Games Spooky Bar from Edition Spielwiese Roxanne from Elznir Games Dino Museum, Omelette Express and Word Buffet from Fractal Juegos Jurassic Zoo and Warp & Weft from frechverlag Chamelio and Pirate King! from Funbot Dutch Flower Auction from Good Game Studio Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon from Good Games Publishing Under the Leaves from Grand Gamers Guild Akakor from Granna Estate: Raise The Realm from Grod Games LLC Molecools, Orbita, Pixie Time, and Salaryman Madness from HABA Allegra from HeidelBAR Games Fugu from Helvetiq The Amazing Journey and Drops of Evil from Horrible Guild Tricky Traps from Inside Up Games Hanami from J&M Space Entertainment Card Trip Europe, Jolly Christmas, and Snowy Tricks from Jolly Dutch Productions Photosaphari and Tramposo from Kokorin Games Blancat, Brushwood, Capsule Collector, and Coffee Rush: Winter from Korea Boardgames Fourth Wing: Das Spiel and Heartbeats from KOSMOS River Market and Seashells from KTBG Harmonies Expansions and Take Time Expansion from Libellud Dragon Overlord and Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains from Lookout Games Purrramid from Lucky Duck Games Aspens from Ludivore Games Dice Arcana from Ludonova Right Now from Mandoo Games Crescendo from MEBO Games For the Gods! and Yotel from Mighty Boards Bear Necessities from Mojito Studios Van Sutnivalod (Got What It Bakes?) from Myam Games The Beat: Rock Stars of the Galaxy from Nerdlab Melodies from Next Move Games Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo and Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict from Office Dog Loop 40 from Oink Torii Valley from Origames Stars of Ilumeia from Ornament Games Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points from Osprey Games Ashes Blackout Protocol from Perro Loko Games Pirates of the High Teas from Pink Hawk Games Seoul Journey and Week Folk from Play to Z Dance of Ibexes from Playte Capybara Run & Fun and Dancing Birds from Queen The Happiest Cat in the World and The Trial of the Forest from Rebel Studio Stem & Branch from Rolling Wizards Studio Perfect Tour from Schmidt Spiele Avalon: The Riven Veil from Shadowborne Games Button from Shilipash Studio Dicecream from Skellig Games West Story: A Town Building Game from Smart Flamingo Pleesheez from Snowvid Bean to Bar from Spielefaible Interregnum from Strategos Games Temple of Five from Strohmann Games Mythologies from Super Meeple Snowp fromSzpiLAB Valley of Sky Lanterns from Taiwan Boardgame Design Mini Gold Designer and Paragliders from Thematic Games Bologna from TLAMA Games Dawn of Pangaea from Treecer

This week we check out THREE fun card games, two of which are just hitting the shelves now/at Essen: Space Lab by Corentin Lebrat and Johannes Goupy from Pandasaurus Games 6 Nimmt! Baron Oxx by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling from Pandasaurus Games and Crops by Giampaolo Razzino from Little Rocket Games Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I once again break the "two games discussed" format and instead cover FIVE games! Circadia by Hisashi Hayashi from Synapses Games Knowsy by Luke Hohmann from Luverly Stereo Mind by Silvergun and Sunhyuk Chae from Playte Then two games with Essen 2025 expansions: Galileo Galilei with the Luna Expansion by Tomas Holek and Michal Pechl from Pink Troubadour Atlantis Exodus with the Polymathis Expansion by George Halkias and Konstantinos Karagiannis from dlp Games Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I check out THREE new games! Machi Koro Life by Masao Suganuma from Pandasaurus Games Then TWO new titles from R2I Games Bordeaux by Ben Rosset (a draw and draw from one of the designers of Fromage) Pop Art by Jeff Chin and Andrew Nerger (designers of Canvas) Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I team up as forest rangers to complete missions and discover wildlife in The Peak Team: Rangers by Scott Almes from Matagot then we try to become the next Rick Steves, wandering around Europe and discovering its beauty in Abroad by Rodrigo Rego and Danilo Valente from 1 More Time Games and Portal Games Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I check out a gorgeous game about art, and a wonderful sequel to an already good game. First we play Cascadia: Alpine Lakes by Randy Flynn from AEG and Flatout Games, a sequel to the SdJ winner Cascadia Then we draft 3-D paint pots and place them in our grids to create art in Kanó by Angel Pintero and Pablo Jimenez (with art by Jun Sato) from Matagot Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week Shelley and I enjoy some of our favorite beverage and food, along with some fun forthcoming micro card games! First we check out two forthcoming Button Shy Game releases that use cards in interesting ways Forest Rivals by Ryan Cooke and Steven L. Smith where bears and bees compete for honey in a 2-player shared tableau and Cursed Cat by Scott Almes where a solo (or co-operative married couple) try to get all of the monsters banished then we enjoy the much heavier and quite excellent 2-player Wine & Cheese by Scott Almes from Deep Print Games and Pegasus Spiele Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing

This week it's all about Stonemaier Games! First up is an older title that builds on a game from 2021: Rolling Realms Redux by Jamey Stegmaier and Karel Titeca from Stonemaier Games then we check out the brand new Scythe/Expeditions 2-player mash-up Duel of Meloch by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games Remember to check out our video series over on YouTube, and you can sponsor this podcast and our video series by going to www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out our extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing