The Top 5 Games of July 2026

0:00 Ooh, that looks tasty. Welcome folks, the Hungry Gamer is back with another episode of the monthly menu. And today we are talking about the top five games of July 2026. And now this was a month of a couple of different conventions for me. And so widespread of gaming activities for me this month. Though I will say since I was at Gen Con for a part of that, it actually knocked off some of the amount of games that I played because I actually don't play a lot of games at the big conventions. It's at the small ones I get to play lots of games. Anyhow, none of that's really of interest to you. As a reminder, if you have not watched one of these before, the way I pick the top five games of each month is what games did I sit down to play the most times. Not necessarily number of plays because a 15-minute game does not count the same as a 3-hour game. So what hit the table the most during the month? And I only count digital plays if they're played in real time. So, with that being said, jumping right in with the picks for July. First we had The List, and yes, we got one title off. We got 5-Minute Dungeon Played, which is one of Mrs. Hungry Gamer's favorite games. We played for her birthday, and we haven't played in a long time, and it really holds up. In fact, we played with Original Don and Mrs. Original Don, and she really enjoyed it. And it was awesome to see because going in it was

1:31 definitely a we're going to play this because Mrs. Hungry Gamer likes it, wants to play. And by the end everybody was having a good time. Just a delightful little game. But anyhow, yes, got The List played. Next we have a Votes for Women, and yes, not only did I play it, I played it a whole bunch of times solo, and have a mini review out on it, and really it's a really good game. It doesn't have a huge arc, I guess I would say. It's going to be kind of the same type of thing every game, but wow, what a satisfying experience to play through, and it is really challenging in the best way. Next was wondrous creatures, and yes, again, I just released a video on the expansion, played that a few times, and up for expansion of the year for me, without a doubt. Really good expansion, really enjoy it. Next is Codex Leicester. This was a little bit of a gimme because I was going to be running a game of it at Ragecon, so I knew I was going to get one in unless it didn't go, but more on that later. And the last one was also a little bit of a gimme cuz I decided to add a game at Ragecon as well, where I ran a game of Aberrations.

2:36 So, that also got played, and I'm actually working on a video for that before their new campaign launches, as well. But, a very cool tower defense, crisis managy-style game with some work placement going on, bag building, very cool stuff. But, that's another month where I got the entire picks list played, and that's very exciting. So, jumping into the most played games of the month, coming at number five is one that has not made the top five in a very long time, but I do still regularly play it, and that is Red Dragon Inn. Not Tales from Red Dragon Inn, not Battle for Greyport, regular Red Dragon Inn. I played a couple times just with people coming over, we just played normal. I got to join in on the stream that Slugfest was doing. I got to kind of jump in and just play in a game with them, and had a blast doing that.

3:30 And I got to play a couple of games of the solo mode that comes with the new Red Dragon Inn 10, and I have a video that has not quite released yet, or has just released. It's actually a play through of how that works. So, a lot of play on Red Dragon Inn, and still a game that is a delight. I bought more decks at Gen Con. I don't need more decks, but man, I really really enjoy that game. It's definitely a a guilty pleasure for me. Coming at number four is one that I talked about last month also, that is Skyward Republic. And this one got a lot of play for me at RageCon. It just is a game that takes mechanic that I didn't know I cared about, this I cut, you choose, and just makes it so fun, so clever, and even though the game is a little bit more than filler length, it feels like a full-on game. It just has that kind of brain burn. I really like it. I actually went out and got some little metal gears things, so I can bling out my copy cuz I like it that much. Super clever game. I have a video recently out about that.

4:37 Coming at number three is a game that's going to be coming back to crowdfunding soon. That's a big dungeon crawl called Phantom Epoch. And my video has not released yet on it, and it's just a first impression video, but this is a kind of Gloomhaven-like, but it's lighter and it's more forgiving style game where you are building up your ship as you're kind of flying around the galaxy, picking different planets to go to quests on and jobs on, and it got some dice chucking and card play, and it does some cool stuff, I think, with initiative. I really like the way the initiative works. I like the way the AI works. All very very clever stuff, and I'm looking forward to getting back to it. I'm hoping to kind of get through the campaign maybe during October. That would be really cool if I had that done before Coup Con Fall, but we shall see. We shall see what happens.

5:26 Number two on the list, we're going from the huge heavy and Phantom Epoch to the light Flip Tunes. And I include Flip Tunes Season 1 and Season 2 from Thunderworks Games. This is one that original Dawn introduced me to. And I'm like, "Wow, that's really fun." All it is All that game is is it is deck management. It's deck building really, but

5:50 [sighs]

5:51 you're just building the deck cuz you're just building this deck and hoping stuff comes out. And that's it. And it doesn't sound satisfying when I say that, but what a wonderful light quick game. This is in the same realm as like a Castle Combo, that weight. And I think it might even be better than Castle Combo. It's really, really delightful. It's really, really fun. And kudos to Thunderworks because they were giving away hot sauce if you bought a couple things at their booth at Gen Con, and I just I just adore that. But really like Flip Tunes. I will be having a video on that coming decently soon as well. That brings us to number one, Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester. We played it once at Rage Con, and Original Don really liked it. And we played it I think two more times at Rage Con. And then I think we even played it one more time when we got back. It just works so well. It does some really cool stuff with the way you're placing your workers out, and you have to put a little more and you can put more workers out, which means you're going to get first crack at something, or fewer workers out, and maybe you'll get other stuff later. But if you're the only person there, you might get a little You might be able to do the action four times, and you're spending your points to do the things, and it's just a really clean, tight bag builder is what it is, but man, really, really good. The only issue that I really have with it is Original Don is a savant at it.

7:20 He keeps whooping me lately. So, that brings us into the picks for August. And now I suspect this video is going to be releasing mid, maybe pushing towards the third week of August, just because I have a Gen Con video to put out, and a bunch of other big videos that need to go out, and everybody's got campaigns coming up, and just the schedule's packed. But, that being said, starting out with the list, that is getting harder. The list is getting harder because we keep knocking things off it, but I'm hoping I'm hoping we can get one off. I have a couple ideas of ones I think I'll be able to get Mrs. Hungry Gamer to play if I can work out the time. Next one is a game called Opera Magna, and I know this one's going to get played cuz I am making a preview video for Ludus Magnus on it. This is a Eurogame about building a building cathedral, I think.

8:12 And the key stick of it is you're moving your workers around the different areas of the city. Depending on where they go, you're going to be able to change what the cost of all the stuff is or what you get for whatever the cost of all the stuff is. And so, it's it's kind of a fancy cube pusher in some ways, but it's really Well, it seems like it's got a lot of nuance to the way that works. And so, I'm excited to try it. It promises us to play in only an hour. I'm very curious if that is true, and I'm going to have Mr. Steve, Hissy Chris, and Original Don down. We're going to try to play a game. We'll see how close to an hour it's actually going to come. Next is a game called The Presents. And this is a game that I agreed to cover less because it's my style game. It's it's potentially a one versus many game, which is not usually my favorite, but might be a one with all kind of game, and you never know. It's kind of a mix of Mysterium and Betrayal at House on the Hill. But, this is a kind of game that Hissy Chris just loves, and I know that he's coming down, so we're going to play this game. And the real question's going to be is do we get to play it more times than that, or is this going to be mostly a one-and-done? So, we shall see what happens with The Presence.

9:26 Next, we have Duel of Melok, and that is from Stonemaier Games. It's the Scythe Expeditions expansion for both, but also a two-player game. And I've been working on a review for this, and I just haven't gotten the plays for it. There's a few people I really want to play the game with, and I've not been able to play it with them, and it's coming to the point where I might just have to kind of give up on that, but really curious on how this works. How does it actually take mechanics from both of those games and make them work cohesively? Really curious how that's going to pan out as I play more than I've played before. I've just kind of dabbled and figured out the rules. I'm trying to get these game days scheduled.

10:12 Now, usually I will have one more, but this time I couldn't decide. There was three different titles I couldn't decide between, and it was a Vampire Survivors, which is something that came back with me from Gen Con. There is Star Driven Gateway, which is one that sits right here, and this is one that I'm really excited about. I was super excited about last year. I got one play at Rage Con, and I really want to dig into the solo co-op mode, and I really want to. I haven't had a chance to do that yet. And the last one is a game called Fire Siege, and this is one that I'm waiting to arrive. I'm waiting on it to arrive, I should say, and they have a new campaign coming up. This is a tower defense game, and the cool thing about it is you pick an action tile, but you don't know what it's going to do to you because there's something else on the back. And so, I'm really curious how that plays. So, what I'm going to do for this time, I'm not going to This is not precedent setting.

11:09 I'm not going to do this all the time, but I'm going to say if I can play Vampire Survivors, Star Driven Gateway, or Fire Siege, I'm counting it, and I'm going to do my best to maybe hit two of them so I feel better about it. But, there we have it, folks. Now, as always, I have to say thank you so very much to Noble Knight Games for continuing to sponsor the channel. If you are not familiar with them, it is an online and brick-and-mortar game store. They have so many games. They have great prices on new releases. They have really good prices on used games. And then if you are looking for those grail games, well, you know, you have to pay pay a premium for those, but I used them long before they were a sponsor, and I actually I'm just packing up a box of stuff that I'm actually going to send to them cuz they also will buy games from you for store credit or cash. I always get the store credit cuz you get a little more. And I I really like working with them. And they are kind enough to send me store credit each month. And down in the description of all my videos you will find a link to their page. If you go through that link and buy something, then I get a little bit more store credit. It costs you nothing at all. So So thank you to Noble Knight Games for continuing to support the channel. Many of the things I bought there have actually wound up being covered on the channel. And more importantly, thank you to all my channel members. You're seeing them cycling across the bottom.

12:31 As I say over and over again, it really helps me continue to make content. Would I still do it without them? Absolutely. But I would have a harder time. The most Just recently I actually upgraded batteries for my audio system. It seem It's not exciting. It's not a sexy thing. But for me, it's been amazing. I have not had a single time where I've lost audio because of battery since I got that. Just really exciting. And that is directly something I was able to purchase because of the channel members. You can join for as little as 99 cents a month, and it goes up. You get various perks for any of the different levels, but mostly it is because you want to support the channel. And if you can't can't swing that, that's okay. Continuing to be a subscriber and watch is great support as well. So there you have folks. There's the monthly menu for July 2026. As always, if you found this video useful, please like, subscribe, share, maybe become a channel member. As always, thank you so much for watching. Have a wonderful, wonderful day.