Somewhere out there, lost in in the middle of the ocean, there is an island no one mapped. And it is full of strange creatures: glowing birds, giant insects, and weird animals with far too many legs. Wondrous Creatures invites you to go find them.

You're not here to fight. You're not here to survive. You're here because you love animals, and building your own reserve on a mysterious island is absolutely irresistible.

The heart of the game is your reserve: a personal collection of creature cards and eggs you'll carefully curate. Each creature has its own ability, and the magic is in making them all work together. That small creature you picked up early? It might just be the key to a combo you didn't see coming. There's a specific joy in watching your reserve click into place, not just because it is a    digital version of the game...

Every turn, you're making real choices. Do you send your crew out to gather resources, or play the cards already in your hand? Do you rush to complete that achievement before someone else does? And those eggs, oh, those eggs... Collecting them, hatching them, flipping them at just the right moment… it all feeds into something that feels alive.

What makes Wondrous Creatures memorable is that you keep discovering new things: new habitats emerge from the mist as the game progresses, the island keeps growing, and each game tells a different story depending on which creatures you meet.

New to the island? The tutorial will help you when you start exploring. But whether you end up with the highest score or a gloriously chaotic reserve full of dragons and glowing insects, you'll want to go again.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=wondrouscreatures

Our thanks to C.W. Yeom, the game designer, and the team at Bad Comet for letting us add their game to our platform. And a big shoutout to jordijansen who brought the island to life on BGA.

This was your Wednesday release.

Set sail. The creatures are waiting. Take care and play fair.

There is something deeply satisfying about putting things in order. Whether it’s a bookshelf or a hand of cards, our brains just love it when a plan comes together. IPSO takes that feeling and turns it into a fast-paced "construction game".

At its heart, this acronym for Include, Plan, Score, Optimize, is about turning chaos into a masterpiece. You start with 14 cards face down, a pyramid of secrets waiting to be revealed. One by one, you’ll swap them for the numbers in the center, trying to build rows that flow perfectly from low to high.

The magic of the game lies in the choices you make! Do you take that blue 45 now to secure your middle row, or do you wait, hoping for a lower number to keep your options open? Every card you flip over is a moment of truth. There’s a specific kind of joy in watching a row of cards finally click into place. It’s like finding the last piece of a puzzle you didn't know you were solving.

And there is a cherry on top of that cake: your Star card sits there like a silent guardian. It’s your safety net. As the game nears its end, you face the ultimate "what if" moment: do you hold onto it for the guaranteed points, or do you discard it for one final swap to fix a broken row?

IPSO is a game that asks you to be both a strategist and a dreamer. The pyramid is waiting so let’s get ready to scratch that "just one more game" itch. Are you ready to build your legacy, one number at a time?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=ipso

Our thanks to Alexandre Droit, the game designer, and the team at Gigamic for bringing this elegant challenge to BGA. A huge shoutout to darhf and BoucleMed for making the pyramids look as good as the Giza originals on the platform!

This is your Monday release.

Build your own stairway to numerical heaven one card at a time and as always take care and play fair.

The Dwarf King, that’s the one with the longest beard, has challenged humans and goblins to a tournament. Your goal: outscore your rivals across seven deals and claim the crown, even if your beard isn’t quite long enough yet.

You will find all the classic aspects of a trick-taking game, with a twist: every single deal plays by different rules.

What keeps things spicy is the deck itself. Alongside the 39 standard Court cards, one of 14 Special cards is shuffled in each deal. You never quite know which wildcard is lurking until the deal is under way.

Each deal, a special scoring rule called a Quest gets revealed and it completely reshapes what you're trying to do. The result is a game that rewards both planning and adaptability. You might be dealt a hand full of low-value cards and think you're done for, then realize the active Quest scores for exactly those values. Or you'll be sitting on a powerhouse hand only for the Quest to penalize every trick you win. The cards you're trying to collect — or avoid — shift every single round.

The Dwarf King brings you just enough tension and just enough swing to make every deal feel like a proper contest. The crown is up for grabs and we can help with thanks to the tutorial but… who's going to earn it?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=thedwarfking

Our thanks to Bruno Faidutti, the game designer, and the good folks at Iello, the publisher, for letting us use their game on BGA. And to MathCT for doing us a good turn with this adaptation.

This was your Friday release.

No beard was shaved during the making of this article. Take care and play fair…

Let’s be honest: hearing about “cooperative poker” made you a little skeptical. The two words don't exactly belong together. Poker is about reading people, bluffing, and outsmarting everyone, not helping them. But The Gang pulls it off in a way that feels fresh without losing what makes poker fun.

You and your crew are professional thieves orchestrating a series of heists. To crack the vaults, you'll need to play Texas Hold 'em together. Win three heists before tripping three alarms, and the loot is yours.

Each heist follows the familiar poker structure: you get two pocket cards, then community cards are revealed round by round (the Flop, Turn, and River). But instead of betting, you're grabbing chips. Each one represents how strong you think your hand is relative to everyone else's. Take the highest-star chip? You're saying you've got the best hand at the table. Grab the 1-star? You're calling yourself the weakest link.

The first rule of The Gang is: you do not talk about your cards. No hints, no winks, no "hypothetical" questions. The chips are your only language. After four rounds, everyone reveals their hands in chip order, and if the hands come out weakest to strongest without a single mistake, the vault opens. One slip, and the alarm goes off.

Whether you're a poker shark or someone who just learned what a flush is, this game will have you silently losing your mind as your teammate confidently grabs the wrong chip. Ready to pull off the perfect heist?

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=thegang

Our thanks go to John Cooper and Kory Heath, the game designers, as well as the KOSMOS’ crew for letting us add their game to our platform. And we would like to thank darhf and BoucleMed for the BGA port.

This is your Wednesday release.

The house always wins… unless the whole house plays together. Take care and play fair…

Close your eyes and let yourself drift away into the world of Visions, where the night is just beginning and your imagination is about to take flight. You are a dreamer weaving together fragments of a subconscious world. Your mission is to assemble these fragments into two coherent dreams before the sun comes up or someone decides to wake up a little too early.

As you settle into your sleep, you’ll find yourself holding three cards, each representing a piece of a dream with its own unique environment and category. On your turn, you simply play a card to start or continue one of your two dreams.

Your dreams need to make sense, so you can only add a new fragment if it shares the same environment or category as the one before it. Perhaps you’re wandering through an Enchanted Forest and find yourself transitioning into a world of Mythical Creatures, or maybe the cold air of the Icy Birches leads you toward a dream about Time.

Of course, no night is complete without a few shadows. If you find yourself stuck or just feeling a bit mischievous, you can choose to have a Nightmare. It’s a bit of a gamble, but sometimes a little chaos is exactly what your dream needs to stay alive.

When the night finally ends and you open your eyes, you’ll look back at the dreams you’ve built to see who found the most harmony and wins the game…

Master the art of reflections and echoes to score the most points, but stay alert, a nightmare might just change everything before you wake up!

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=visions

A massive high-five to the lead dream architects Bruno Cathala and Florian Sirieix, the game designers, as well as Olemains for bottling this magic and allowing us to share it with the world. A big shout out to Moof for coding the Matrix and turning these fragments into a digital reality.

This was your Monday release.

Exit light. Enter night. You're off to never-never land. take care and play fair...

Long before cities, castles, and complicated tax systems, there were giant creatures living in untamed lands. In First Giants, you are a paleontologist collecting the most beautiful fossils to display at your museum. Choose which specimens to study. Every fossil brings its own unique ability to the table. Slowly, your collection starts to take shape, and you’ll probably grow a little attached to your favorite discoveries along the way. But eventually, the museum wants results.

To score points, you’ll need to put your fossils on display. Sounds great… until you realize that once they’re exhibited, their special abilities are lost for good. Every decision becomes tricky. Do you proudly showcase that powerful fossil now, or keep it in your lab a few more turns to squeeze every last benefit out of it? Push your luck for too long, however, and another player might beat you to important scoring opportunities.

On your turn, place a marker at a dig site and apply the card’s effect. You can also reclaim a marker to gain amber or display a fossil by spending amber and score points when you expand your fossil set. The game ends when a player takes the last Set token from the supply or when the deck is empty after a player refills a Dig Site.

Are you ready to create the most prestigious exhibition with dinosaurs, flying reptiles, and giant mammals? So, take out your brush, embrace your inner Dr Alan Grant and dig in:

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=firstgiants

We would like to thank Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert, the game designers, and Space Cowboys, the publisher, for the opportunity to experience this prehistoric journey online. We would also like to thank darhf and BoucleMed for bringing the giants to life on BGA.

This was your Friday release.
A perfect day to be collecting Giants! Take care and play fair…

You are a brave Emberling and your mission is to rebuild your home in the heart of an ancient forest. Tiny houses rise among the trees, shops appear along winding paths, and every carefully placed tile helps transform the wilderness into a bustling little haven.

Emberleaf manages to balance relaxation and strategy. One moment you’re admiring your cozy woodland bakery, and the next you’re calculating the ideal combo chain like you’re solving a forest-themed chess problem.

The gameplay revolves around tile placement, resource management, and careful planning. Each turn, you and the other players expand the shared forest by placing terrain tiles and constructing buildings that score points in different ways. Some structures reward careful positioning, and others thrive on connections or surrounding terrain. Every decision matters, especially when others are competing for the same perfect spots.

To succeed, you’ll have to brave the wilds, hunt for resources and build a future for your kind. You’ll pick up heroes, some powerful allies, bringing unique skills to back you up. But don't get too comfortable: room is tight in the woods, and you aren’t the only Emberling to have plans for the forest.

Build wisely. Expand carefully. And remember: every great forest kingdom starts with one tiny treehouse. It is easy to jump into your first game while still giving experienced players plenty of room to optimize their leafy empire.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=emberleaf

We would like to thank James Tomblin and Frank West, the game designers, as well as The City of Games’ crew for letting us add their game to our platform. And let’s not forget Sir Heo, the developer who brought this cozy woodland adventure to BGA.

This was your Wednesday release.
Every decision you make shapes the destiny of your people, so take care and play fair...

Your job is to build a wildlife park where animals can thrive in their natural environments, no cages, no fences. You want grassland for your Zebras, watery hideouts for crocodiles, and gorillas? They have very specific needs too. So do all 68 different animals ready to join your reserve.

Cozy on the surface, this game turns every turn into a satisfying puzzle. Move your ranger jeep around a shared market of tiles, choosing animals and terrain for your park. Animals will only score if their habitat requirements are met. An otter without water? A rhino stuck next to rocks? That’s an unhappy preserve right there. But fulfilling every animal's desire for land becomes a more and more difficult task with each tile you add.

As your park expands, so do your opportunities. Aside from expanding your park with different landscape types, flora and animals, you can improve its profitability by building extra entrance roads, trek spots, and watchtowers.

Habitats is played over three years (not real ones, rest assured) and whoever best met their goals, once the number of turns shown on the Year Track are done, receives bonus points and guess what: whoever scores the most points at the end of the 3 years, wins the game.

So, once you have mastered the tutorial, build smart to keep your animals happy. And maybe don’t leave the crocodiles too close to the tourists.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=habitats

We would like to thank Corné van Moorsel, the game designer, as well as Allplay, the publisher, for giving us the opportunity to add their game to our platform. And thanks to harpwn for bringing this wonderful wildlife adventure to players around the world.

This was your Monday release.
If you do things right, otters might hold your hand to go to sleep, so take care and play fair…

Pyramis might look innocent at first glance: just a handful of colored blocks and a shared space… But give it a turn or two and you’ll realize it’s more about outmaneuvering everyone at the table than just stacking cards.

The premise is disarmingly simple: you build a pyramid, placing colored blocks layer by layer. Every block (aka card) you add reshapes the possibilities, not just for you, but for everyone else. That perfect spot you’re eyeing? It might also be the one your opponent has been quietly planning around for the past three turns.

Your objective is straightforward: score more points than anyone else! The way you get there is where things become interesting. You’ll want to create clusters of matching colors, sneak your cards into high-value positions, and keep a careful eye on how the structure evolves. The pyramid doesn’t just grow upward; it tightens, narrows, and forces harder decisions as the game goes on.

On your turn, pick a block, place it according to the rules, and watch the consequences unfold immediately. Sometimes it’s satisfying. Sometimes it’s… educational. The game has a way of rewarding clever setups while ruthlessly exposing wishful thinking. There’s no dice to blame, no deck to curse; just your decisions, laid bare in bright, stackable form.

By the time the final block is placed, the pyramid tells the whole story: ambition, miscalculation, and the occasional moment of brilliance. And chances are, you’ll already be thinking about how you’d build it differently next time.

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=pyramis

We would like to thank Joan Dufour, the game designer, and everyone at Subverti for allowing us to add their game to the platform. And a tip of the hat to GhOwOst for the BGA port.

This was your Friday release.

It’s all about climbing, in style… So take care, and play fair!

Some games wait a few rounds before things get interesting, but DNUP gets right to it. From the very beginning, players are pulled into a fast-moving battle where every decision matters and every move can shake up the whole table.

Many games feel best with the “right” group size and lose their charm when the table is too small or too crowded. This is not the case here. With two players, it becomes a tight duel where every move feels direct and every decision puts pressure on your opponent. With three to five players, the game opens up into a lively battlefield of shifting opportunities, sudden reversals, and constant interaction.

That interaction is where the game truly comes alive. Every move counts for everyone; one smart play can shift the pace or disrupt a strategy, forcing everyone to rethink their next step. This eliminates downtime and keeps the momentum building from start to finish.

The experience is defined by constant shifts. No one stays in the lead for long, so you must always be ready to change your plan. You might feel comfortable one moment and find yourself scrambling to adapt the next. These unpredictable swings ensure everyone stays engaged and ready for the next surprise.

DNUP proves that you don’t need complicated rules to create big moments. Once you get acquainted with the tutorial, you’ll want to jump right in, and then immediately back in for another round, and another round, and another…

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=dnup

Our thanks go to Kei Kajino, the game designer, and asmodee for allowing us to host the game on the platform. And we want to take this opportunity to thank tchobello for the BGA version.

This was your Wednesday release.

You can dnup everywhere, during vacations or after work. It's always dnup-time! Take care and have fun...