The best games by Nigel Buckle 🇬🇧👨 2026

For centuries, the Novarchs, descendants of the royal house of Novarchon, have ruled the feudal galactic empire of humanity, known as the Domineum, with an iron fist. Amidst their technological innovations and scientific advancements, the influence of an ancient cosmic entity, the Voidborn, led to cosmic corruption within the empire. As players lead one of the great houses, they must navigate cycles of galactic events and make strategic decisions to develop technologies, manage resources, and engage in deterministic space battles against the Voidborn or rival players.

Imperium: Classics is a grand strategy board game that puts you in control of one of history’s greatest civilizations. As the leader of your civilization, you face formidable adversaries and must make pivotal decisions to guide your people through challenges and triumphs. With eight unique civilizations to choose from, each with its own strengths and strategies, the game offers a diverse and asymmetric playing experience. Your choices will determine whether your civilization becomes a dominant empire or fades into obscurity.

Imperium: Legends is a deep and engaging deck-building game that places you in command of one of eight legendary civilizations. Each civilization comes with its unique strengths, strategies, and historical narrative, offering a rich tapestry of gameplay experiences. As a leader, you are tasked with guiding your civilization from its humble beginnings to a dominant global empire through strategic expansion, technological and cultural advancements, and military might.

Terrible opponents are advancing against you. Your people are ready to write history. You hold the fate of one of the most storied civilizations in your hands. Constantly threatened by attacks, you must conquer new lands, achieve significant scientific and cultural advancements, and lead your people into the imperial era. Expanding too quickly will cause unrest, while expanding too slowly could reduce your civilization to a mere footnote in history. Competing as one of fourteen radically asymmetric civilizations, you vie to become the most dominant empire the world has ever seen.

Two millennia ago, a loose federation of planets united to form a Galactic Empire that expanded ruthlessly, enslaving or banishing all races that posed a threat. Recently, the Empire has faced uprisings from conquered peoples, and in the barren outskirts of the galaxy, the exiled races are gathering their strength to attack.