Top 10 Anticipated Solo Board Games from Gen Con 2026

0:00 Gen Con, the largest game convention in the US, takes place from July 30th to August 2nd this year. Normally, I make a video going over my top 10 most anticipated new solo games that will be available to buy at the convention. I make this video using the BoardGameGeek Gen Con preview list. I'll leave a link to it in the description below. This year, the list is no longer curated, but rather publishers must add themselves to the list. This means the information about what will be for sale versus only available to demo is even less clear than usual. There simply weren't enough games that were clearly marked for sale that I was interested in in order to complete a top 10 list. 2026 is shaping up to be a disappointing year for new solo games, and really games in general, but that's a topic for another video.

0:54 Short story long, I've decided to include demo-only games on this year's list. Now, I'm not going to talk about games that I've already featured on the channel, but you should know that Nippon Eba Tsu Ringyo Hot Shots and Cozy Sticker Ville will all be there at the convention. I've made tutorial play-through videos for all of those. There's also going to be games at the convention that I've discussed in other top 10 videos, including Doomtown: Weird West Edition, Revenant, Moitara, Winnie the Pooh: Serious Detective, Satchel Quest, Queen of Spies, and Frosted Blooms. Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started with the list. Number 10 is Enchanted Ivy.

1:42 Enchanted Ivy is a small-box solo-only tile-laying game that plays lightning quick. Like, we're talking 10 to 10 to 20 minutes. You take the role of Ivy, the owner of a magical bed and breakfast. You must place guests according to their preferences and complete challenges. There's also a story mode that sounds like it might have scenarios or maybe some kind of campaign attached to it. I have to say light to medium-weight tile-laying games have become a really crowded genre. There's Cascadia, Harmonies, Shallow Sea, and the Sprawlopolis series just to name a few. I'm not entirely sure that I need another one, but at least this one has a very charming theme and some bizarre artwork to add a little extra interest.

2:34 Number nine is Estate: Raise the Realm. It's a worker placement engine building game about rebuilding an empire after a devastating war. The twist here is that the worker actions that you're taking will become more powerful as the game goes on. There's also going to be events each era that change the gameplay and provide these public objectives. I have to say my first impressions just looking at the game is that everything feels a little bit generic. Looking into it a little bit more though, there do appear to be asymmetric leaders that have unique special abilities and cards and even these secret family objectives, which I think adds a nice little bit of flavor. Also, the game seems to be nicely streamlined and quick to play. So, I don't know. Maybe there's more here than meets the eye.

3:26 Number eight is Drillers. Drillers is a deck-building game where players use asymmetrical mechs to explore an abandoned mine trying to find anything valuable left behind that they can extract. You'll collect cards to improve your mining abilities, but you'll apparently have to worry about fuel and other challenges as you dig deeper and deeper underground. I'll be honest, I just do not care about this theme at all. This game would be so much higher on this list if it had a fun and engaging theme. But nevertheless, I do like deck-building card games, you know, even though this is also another very crowded genre. Hopefully, this one can do something interesting with the mechanism.

4:12 Number seven is Excursions. This is marketed as a galactic cruise experience in only an hour, similar to something like Sanctuary was to Ark Nova. Apart from being set in the galactic cruise universe and having the same Eon Tool artwork, it sounds like it's quite a different game. I mean, the designers are different. You know, the designer of Excursions has done the Search for Planet X and Fromage and a underrated gem Brewcrafters. So, that's definitely piqued my interest. On your turn, you're going to take one of seven actions, and all players will follow that action. Now, unless I'm losing my mind, I don't think that the following mechanism was a part of Galactic Cruise. I also don't believe that in any way, shape, or form, this game is a worker placement game. So, like I say, this sounds entirely different. And I'm happy for that.

5:08 Excursions will be a lot more exciting if it's more than just a simple streamlining of Galactic Cruise. Number six is Maestro. In Maestro, master artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo vie for fame and prestige across the Italian Peninsula in the early 1500s. Yes, you heard that right. This is actually a team game with basically just two teams, team Leonardo and team Michelangelo. That means that in a four-player game, two players will control one artist's workshop, and two players will control the other workshop. I assume that in a solo game, you know, you take one of the two workshops and then the solo opponent will take the other. In Maestro, you're going to be using cards in order to take actions, but the twist is the two workshops are asymmetrical and they score points in different ways.

6:02 All of this sounds pretty compelling and unique, at least at the higher player counts. Solo might not be the best player count for this one. I It really depends on how streamlined the solo opponent ends up being. Number five is Clandestine. Clandestine has a surprising and kind of fascinating theme. Each player takes control of a powerful secret society trying to research enchanted relics that possess strange energies. I must admit, I was not expecting ancient powerful artifacts when I first saw the cover of this game. The main mechanism here is described as mancalas within interconnecting rondels. Now, what the hell does that mean? Well, judging from the photos, it appears as if you have a large mancala sort of around the main board, but then you have your own secret society that has its own rondel that you can manipulate. And you're using that to take actions. That has me a bit concerned about the solo game since, you know, the mancala mechanism is so interconnected to other players' actions. But with a smartly designed solo mode, I think this one could be pretty amazing.

7:14 Number four is Diabless. This one is currently seeking funding on Gamefound. To be fully transparent, I've received a review copy of this game and I plan on making a video sometime this month before the end of the campaign. So, you know, keep that in mind and keep an eye out for the play-through. Diabless is a medium to heavyweight Eurogame about the Bye Day Diabless, or Devil's Dance, a traditional celebration in many towns and cities in the Mediterranean. This is a game from designer Danny Garcia and publisher Salt & Pepper Games, which is the main reason I'm so interested in it. It looks like this is a worker placement game where you take actions by sending out your performers onto the streets to interact with the crowd.

8:02 Again, for more information, I'm going to have a full play through out very soon. Number three is Kingdom Crossing. Once again, full transparency, I have a review copy of this one and I'm going to make a video very soon. I actually sought out a copy of this game for one reason. The designers Marco Canetta and Stefania Niccolini are the same pair behind one of my favorite Euro games, Zeng Guo, The First Empire. Please check out my full solo play through for that one. Despite its artsy artwork, Kingdom Crossing appears to have a surprising collection of mechanisms under the hood, including programmed movement in order to take actions. The production is also through the roof with wonderful wooden components and character pieces. I simply just cannot wait to get this one to the table.

8:53 Number two is Song of Silverwreath. This is the next game designed and illustrated by Ryan Laukat of Sleeping Gods fame. In fact, Song of Silverwreath is another cooperative open world narrative adventure game in the tradition of Sleeping Gods. I've made a series of videos on Sleeping Gods and, you know, it's one of my favorite solo games of all time. I couldn't find much information about this one, but from the images, there appears to be an overland map book and a dungeon booklet. I love that idea. This also seems like it has more of a focused story and plot than Sleeping Gods. You and your friends are undertaking a dangerous journey to the Dragon of Havoc in hopes of getting the money to free your imprisoned father.

9:45 According to the game description, there is going to be a branching main story with world-altering decisions. Every character will have their own quest line, and the combat system is described as quick and dynamic using a press-your-luck system. This is all music to my ears. Now, before you get too excited, I will warn you that this game is clearly marked as for demo only at Gen Con, and it has an estimated release date of mid-2027. So, this one is still a long way away. And my number one is Entropy. Entropy is a medium-to-heavyweight rondel Eurogame from a trio of accomplished designers. They've been involved in games like Barrage, Darwin's Journey, Shackleton Base, Grand Austria Hotel, Nucleum, and so many more.

10:41 On your turn, you will move your scientist one to three spaces around the main rondel and take an action. You'll build solar systems with planets and stars, and then play cards to fill your planets with life. There's so much about this game that I love. First, I love rondels. I love a circular board, and I just love how bright and colorful everything is. This is a Eurogame that both sounds and looks like a ton of fun. That's pretty unusual. And with a track record of these designers, I'm confident that this one is going to be one of the best games of the year. There you go. That's Entropy, my number one most anticipated solo game of Gen Con 2026.

11:26 What games are you anticipating? Please let me know in the comments below. And if you like this video, please consider subscribing to the channel and becoming a member or a patron. I'd like to thank all the financial supporters of Totally Taboo, including the totally radical Jeff Fitzsimmons, Hextra, John Kohler, Scott Myers, Kevin Qualls, and Jay Satterwhite, as well as the totally bodacious Michael Crampton. If you're interested in becoming a member, you can join on YouTube or my Patreon at www.patreon.com/totallytabled. You'll gain access to my new exclusive podcast Table Talk, as well as unboxing videos and whatever extra stuff I come up with. As always, thank you so much for watching, and goodbye.