The best new board game releases🆕 2025

A dark rumor arises from Mordor, and the time has come for the Fellowship to unite once more. Players can choose to defend the free peoples as the Fellowship of the Ring or pursue Frodo and Sam as Sauron, deploying their hordes at enemy city gates. The fate of Middle-earth rests in your hands as you navigate the three chapters of the game, strengthening your skills and gathering resources to achieve one of the victory conditions.

Players build landscapes by placing colored tiles to create habitats for their animals. To score the most points and win, they must cleverly integrate these habitats into their landscapes and attract as many animals as possible.

Players select a marble card each turn and roll two or three marbles into their grid. When three or more marbles of the same color touch, they burst, allowing the player to take the corresponding scoring card. Larger groups yield bonus tokens, enabling players to place additional marbles in their grid for better scoring opportunities. In advanced gameplay, players earn stars for forming two or more groups in a single turn, providing greater options for scoring cards and extra points at the end of the game.

The great houses of the Empire thrive and perish through their lineage. Conspiracies unfold over generations as emperors build dynasties and the Bene Gesserit prophecies come to fruition. Bloodlines expands both Dune: Imperium and Uprising with powerful new tools for victory, including the recruitment of Sardaukar commanders and the introduction of new technology tiles. New leaders, contracts, and cards offer more strategic opportunities than ever before, with only the strongest bloodlines poised to survive the ongoing war.

A cooperative card game spans eighteen chapters that guide players through the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Each player assumes a different character, such as Frodo, Gandalf, or Pippin, each with specific goals to achieve in order to progress through the chapters. The game features a set of 37 cards, and as players advance, new characters, items, and challenges are introduced.

Hitster is a party game featuring summer hits from past decades. Players take turns placing cards in the correct chronological order on their music timeline. This edition can be played on its own or combined with other Hitster editions.

Ahoy, Captain! Raise your flag, recruit a crew, and fill your coffers with shiny gold coins. The game is simple and can be explained faster than a cannon shot. On your turn, draw a tile from the bag; if you like it, keep it, and if not, flip it over. Place it on your board to build your crew. With nine characters and four boards featuring different tactics, it offers an engaging and fun experience.

New cards are added to the base game to bring even more variety to your gaming tables. Players aim to attract the most valuable species to their forest, with some cards being removed from play based on the number of players. This first expansion introduces 36 new multifunctional cards, including two new tree species, along with some changes to the base game rules.

Players move through the seasons and encounter tiny creatures that emerge from flowers or hide in tree hollows. Choose one of the revealed cards carefully, as you must consider which ones to leave for your opponents. Cards will be stacked and scored at the end of the round, along with your largest color zone and spirals.