7th Seal on Marta's BG Corner

October 2026 Plays

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

October is over, and judging by the shops and the TV, we’ve already entered the Christmas season. But before thinking about Christmas, let’s look back at October.

Last month I was hoping to finally play Dune: Imperium and Planta Nubo, and I’m happy to say I managed both! October was also the month of my very first SPIEL Essen. I shared my adventures day by day, so if you want all the details, have a look at Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.

This recap is also a bit different from usual. After my favourite game of the month, I’m starting with the games I brought home from Essen. These are first impressions, and proper reviews will follow soon.

Table of Contents

October 2026 by Numbers

18 plays (vs. 11 in September)
11 different games
9 new games to me
Most played: Dune: Imperium, Chopstick Tightrope and Castellion (3 plays each)
Solo plays: 14 (Chopstick Tightrope and Moustache were multiplayer)

The month in numbers

The games of the month

Favourite Game of the Month

Moustache

Designed by Alexandre Aguilar and Jules Messaud, published by KODAMA.

Moustache was my top game of Essen and my favourite of the whole month. I completely fell in love with it! It’s a game for 3 to 6 players, so not my usual kind of game, but it’s so much fun with the right people. I got to try it at Essen with two wonderful players who made the game shine, and we had the time of our lives.

It’s a competitive trick-taking game where each round adds a new rule and you team up with a random player. You’re trying to earn the most points by winning tricks and taking trophies, each with a different value. The added rules are fantastic: a type of card you really don’t want in the early rounds can become the one everyone envies in the last round. In our game, the stars on green cards counted negatively for the first three rounds. Then in round four, a new rule made the team with the fewest stars win the round, the complete opposite, so those green cards became pure gold! It was so funny that we still talk about it today. Thank you, Vanessa and Leticia, for that moment.

My hand in Moustache: are those stars a blessing or a curse?

Moustache gets a 9/10 from me.

My SPIEL Essen Haul

I didn’t lose my head at Essen, and five games came home with me: Karnivorous, Light in the Dark, Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs, Chopstick Tightrope and Cat Days. I’ve already played four of them this month. Only Cat Days hasn’t hit the table yet.

Karnivorous

Designed by Inka and Markus Brand, published by inPatience.

The story behind Karnivorous is almost funny. A group of scientists is developing a genetic modification to make apple trees grow faster and bigger, so they produce more and bigger apples. But… they apply it to the wrong plant and trigger a plant apocalypse! And guess who they’re counting on to save them, the lab and the world? The helper robots.

A lab overrun by plants, with my robots trying to keep up

It’s a puzzle-style game where you always seem to be short of actions. You roll dice that help you decide your actions, then solve objectives, but you have to plan carefully which ones you want to tackle. It’s entertaining and a lot of fun. I played it twice, losing once and winning once. I want a few more plays before writing the full review, but it already earns an 8.5/10.

Chopstick Tightrope

Published by Gorilla Games.

This is a party game, and I have to say I love it. I’m not that agile with chopsticks, since I only learned to use them recently, but the game makes me want to improve. All three of my plays were at two players with my boyfriend, which is rare, and that made it even more special. It’s a 9/10 for me, and a full review is coming next week!

Steady hands needed (and spot the blog T-shirt!)

Light in the Dark

Designed by Kai Starck, published by Archona Games.

In Light in the Dark, you’re a plague doctor curing villages and fighting the bad guys. It’s a dungeon crawler with a lot of potential. I’ve only played once (and won!), but I really appreciated the mechanics, especially how the enemies and the doctor move. I’ll need more plays to judge how replayable it is, but so far I’m happy with the game and its theme. Because of those doubts, I’m giving it 7/10 for now, and I’m looking forward to the Fires of Thokaia expansion, which I think will improve the game a lot.

Light in the Dark by candlelight, closing in on the boss

Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs

Designed by Joe Klipfel and Nikki Valens, published by Cephalofair Games.

This one isn’t new, but I’d always been reluctant to try the big Gloomhaven. I’d watched some videos and wasn’t convinced at all. So I went to talk to the person at the booth to find out more. The presentation was really good and won me over, and the tiny box fitted in my luggage (otherwise I’d have had to ship it home).

I played it once in October and already twice in November, and so far I’m enjoying it, though I’ve realised I’m not very good at it: I already lost on scenario 2. Finishing the campaign is going to be a struggle! What I like most is how quick it is. Both setup and play are fast, so it’s perfect for a little break or the end of a tiring day. On the downside, the small size is great for carrying it around, but it makes everything hard to read and handle. It’s cute, but not that practical. It’s a 7/10 at this stage, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the gameplay more once I get the hang of it.

Scenario 1, A Rude Welcome, with the Bruiser

Played at SPIEL Essen

Now let’s talk about the games I played at Essen but didn’t buy (at least, not yet!).

Mayor of Chicago

Designed by Xavier Georges, published by inPatience.

I have to confess that once I got home, I pre-ordered it from my usual shop, and now I’m waiting for it to arrive. That says a lot about how much I enjoyed it! Like most inPatience games, it’s a solo puzzle game. You’re competing against another candidate to become mayor of Chicago, and you need the most votes at the end of the game. You place cards to build the city and bring people in, earning both immediate and permanent bonuses. But be careful: your deck is limited, and each time you complete a column, you need to meet certain conditions to earn more benefits, or bad things happen.

Building my city at the inPatience booth, one headline at a time

You build an engine to earn more points and votes, which I really enjoyed. I loved the artwork and the theme: it’s fun and clever. And yes, I lost, because of a bad move right near the end… I miscounted my cards! It’s an 8/10 so far, and I can’t wait to see how it holds up once my copy arrives.

More Essen Discoveries

Mazing (designed by Jim Deacove, published by inPatience): I played it solo at the inPatience booth. It’s an abstract game where you try to bring the black main pieces to one side of the board and the white ones to the opposite side. Each piece has its own movement rule, and some spaces make you flip a piece face down, leaving it stuck. It’s almost like chess, but you can play it solo. I had a lot of fun! I don’t think I’ll buy it, but I’d happily play it again. I’m giving it 7/10, since I don’t know yet if it stays as fun after several plays.

Black and white messengers, ready to cross the maze

I also tried two games without playing a full game, so they’re not in my numbers.

7th Seal (designed by Julio Falagán, published by Devir): I fell in love with this solo game, where you break the seven seals and fight bosses and minions with dice. I only played one round, but it was enough to enjoy it: the art is really nice, and so is the gameplay. I’ve pre-ordered it too, so I’ll test it more once it arrives.

Facing Teskatlipoka at the Devir booth

The Fog: Escape from Paradise (designed by Robert Müller-Reinwarth, published by XOLLOX Games): a competitive game where you get your people to the boats before a deadly fog catches them. I played a short demo version at three players. My first impression was that you never have enough moves to save your people, or enough of them, but I suppose that’s the whole point: who will you sacrifice, how close to the beach will they get, and who will you save? The closer to the beach someone is when the fog catches them, the fewer points you lose, so you need to find a balance. I’d love to play a full game to form a better opinion, but so far it’s a hit for me.

Everyone racing for the boats before the fog arrives

Other Games Played

Dune: Imperium

Designed by Paul Dennen, published by Dire Wolf.

Dune: Imperium puts you at the head of one of the great houses of the Dune universe, mixing worker placement, deck building and influence majority. The first player to reach 10 points triggers the end of the game.

I’ll confess its dark, strange look made me hesitate for a long time. But the game shines solo, with a deck of cards or a companion app running your two rivals, and it’s probably even better multiplayer. My first game, as Paul Atreides, ended in an 11 to 9 win… with an asterisk, since I played the trash rule wrong in my favour. The next two brought me back down to earth: 6 to 10 with Helena Richese, then 5 to 11 with Duke Leto Atreides. It still earns an 8/10 from me.

The game where Glossu Rabban crushed my Duke Leto

Planta Nubo

Designed by Michael Keller, Andreas Odendahl and Uwe Rosenberg, published by The Game Builders.

In Planta Nubo, you play in a future world where you take care of the Earth, creating your own plantations and forests to deliver flowers. It’s a moderately complex game with lots of small rules. The Botbot is an automa with different difficulty levels: it can be hard to manage at first, but it gets easier after a few turns. I’ve only played once, and I won 94 to 63! I loved it. The components are beautiful, and I love the idea of delivering flowers in so many colours. It gets a 7.5/10, and it will definitely be back on my table next month.

My cloud garden taking shape

Quick Notes

Castellion (designed by Shadi Torbey, published by inPatience): you draw tiles one by one to build your castle, using their powers along the way, and at the end of each ordeal your towers and bastions are put to the test. I’ve played it several times hoping it would click, and it hasn’t yet. I enjoy building with the tiles, and the components are good quality, but losing without any clue how I could have won is frustrating. If I find the right strategy, I’ll probably love it. It’s a 6/10 today, but I’m not giving up.

Codex Naturalis (designed by Thomas Dupont, published by Bombyx): you continue the work of a monk finishing his book about nature, and if you’ve followed my posts about the art in my games, you know how much I love the gold on its cards. This month I tried the solo mode for the first time, after discovering it in a video by Unna, a Spanish reviewer I really appreciate. You play against an automa that takes cards from the same river as you, and I lost 30 to 34. It’s still fun solo, though I need more plays to form a real opinion, and in multiplayer it’s great too. I’m giving it 7.5/10.

All that gold catching the light

Final Thoughts

Even though I’ve been working a lot and had less time to play, I’m really happy with my October. I learnt some new games, and above all, I got to go to SPIEL Essen for the first time. It was a wonderful experience, and I’ll definitely be back next year.

The game that stood out this month is Moustache: such a simple game that made me laugh so much. Its lovely illustrations make it even better.

Looking Ahead

For November, I’d like to play more quick games, like Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs and Conservas. As for bigger games, maybe Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising, which I’m really eager to try.

Your Turn

And you, were you at SPIEL Essen this year, or did you follow it from home? Which new game caught your eye?

Come share your comments on Mastodon, Facebook, and BoardGameGeek.

SPIEL Essen 2026: Day 1

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

This year I’m at SPIEL Essen for the very first time, and it’s amazing! Let me take you along on a tour of my three days at the fair, starting with Day 1.

Getting there

Today was the big day. I was super excited and a bit anxious at the same time, because I really didn’t know what to expect.

We started the day in Bochum, where we’ve been staying for a few days. From Bochum, it’s about a 20 minute train ride to Essen, then a short metro trip to the Messe. But when we arrived at Essen Central Station, surprise: a huge queue for the metro! We were waiting patiently, already resigned to a 30 minute wait, when a really nice person came up to us and asked if we wanted to share an Uber. We said yes, and we reached the Messe in 10 minutes. So thank you to that wonderful person whose name I unfortunately didn’t ask. 😞

That’s how our journey began: as a real adventure.

Arriving at the Messe, along with half of the board game world!

First impressions

In front of the Messe, crowds of people were already heading inside, but getting in was quick and easy. Thank you to everyone organising and working at the event!

My first thought when I walked in was: oh my God, this is BIG. We started wandering between the booths, taking photos and trying not to collapse with so many things to look at, when someone asked us in French if we wanted to join a table to play Moustache. We said yes straight away, even though my boyfriend doesn’t speak French. 😛

We weren’t the only ones excited to be there!

Moustache

Designed by Alexandre Aguilar and Jules Messaud · Illustrated by Manu Gorobeï · Published by KODAMA · BGG page

Moustache is a trick-taking game with four animal colours. Each colour has a different strength, from green (the weakest) to blue (the strongest), and some cards have stars, which are the points you count up.

The fun part is that you play in teams, but the teams change every round and are randomly assigned. On top of that, a new rule card is revealed each round and stays active until the end, so the game keeps changing under your feet. The winning team of each round takes trophies, and after four rounds, the player with the most points wins.

We had the pleasure of playing with Vanessa and Leticia, a lovely Belgian mother and daughter. Before we even started, Vanessa announced, in a really funny way, that she was going to win. And guess what? She did! 😄 We laughed a lot and had a really great time. Thank you both, you were brilliant! The game really shone with you two, and thanks to that I can say I’d recommend Moustache to anyone who likes quick games.

Moustache, a quick trick-taking game full of laughs and surprises

The best table of the day: Vanessa, Leticia, my boyfriend and me (and yes, Vanessa won!)

After that perfect moment, we carried on exploring and talked with lots of people. Here are the moments that stood out most.

Gorilla Games: Chopstick Tightrope

Published by Gorilla Games

Thank you to Oda By for the enthusiastic presentation of Chopstick Tightrope. It’s a dexterity game where you build patterns on an elastic band, placing the pieces with chopsticks. It’s so much fun! I haven’t played a full game yet, but I already know it’s going to bring a lot of laughs. In fact, I couldn’t resist and it was my first purchase of the fair, and I was even offered Cat Days with it!

We also had a really interesting chat with Oda about board games and how important player feedback is. Thank you for your time, Oda!

Chopstick Tightrope: patterns, elastic bands and very steady hands

With Oda By, who showed us Chopstick Tightrope with so much enthusiasm

Black Beacon Games: Era of Tribes

Designed by Arne Lorenz · Illustrated by Marc Exner, Radosław Jaszczuk and Arne Lorenz · Published by Black Beacon Games · BGG page

At Black Beacon Games, we got a presentation of the rules of Era of Tribes, and I have to confess, it won me over much more than I expected. It’s a civilisation game, and the box marks around 30 minutes per player.

The first thing that grabbed me was the big map of Europe. Then came the chance to really deploy your troops and go into battle. The actions feel realistic too: taxes, diplomacy, expansion, trade, revolution and more.

That big map of Europe that won us over

My boyfriend, who isn’t that much into board games, was completely won over. He prefers games with a real theme, and this one sounded like an actual civilisation coming to life. That says a lot! I’ll most likely be digging deeper into this one.

Ice Makes: Epochs: Course of Cultures

Designed by Jeffrey CCH · Published by Ice Makes · BGG page

At the Ice Makes booth, we discovered Epochs: Course of Cultures, another civilisation game that really appealed to me, especially its theme. It plays in around two hours at two players, which is really nice for me. I loved the look of it, with beautiful cards and a player board that reminded me a lot of Age of Civilization. And no wonder: both games are by the same designer, Jeffrey CCH!

Epochs: Course of Cultures

Devir: 7th Seal

Designed by Julio Falagán · Illustrated by Will Kirkby · Published by Devir · BGG page

I was expecting Gaudí to be the game that grabbed me at Devir, but no, it was 7th Seal! It’s a solo game where you fight several bosses and their minions using dice. I got to try it until I beat the first boss, Teskatlipoka, and I was completely hooked.

My first fight in 7th Seal. Teskatlipoka didn’t stand a chance!

The game was wonderfully explained by one of the demonstrators at the booth. I’d love to thank him by name, but I can’t remember it. (Note to self: start writing down names tomorrow!) Either way, thank you so much, I had a great time.

Pektis Studio: Battle of the Knollen and Fintastic Sea

Published by Pektis Studio · Battle of the Knollen on BGG · Fintastic Sea on BGG

At Pektis Studio, we met Echo and Julian, two of the three people behind this indie studio.

Echo presented Battle of the Knollen, a trick-taking game about potatoes designed by Julian. 😛 She showed it with so much passion, along with the beautiful illustrations she created, that it was hard not to fall in love with it. I’ll be following the Gamefound campaign closely and waiting impatiently for its release.

Battle of the Knollen, potatoes have never looked so epic

Echo also showed us Fintastic Sea, a game she co-designed with Mahmoud Abdelwahab and illustrated. You set off on a scientific voyage to explore the depths, collect marine life and build lush, diverse ecosystems. I found it beautiful and I’ll probably give it a try.

Fintastic Sea, collecting marine life to build thriving ecosystems

And thank you to Julian for presenting the print and play roll and write based on Battle of the Knollen. I’ll print it at home and test it, and I promise I’ll be back with a review soon!

InterHuman: Badgers and Fear of the Dark

Published by InterHuman

Last but not least, InterHuman. It was a pleasure to discover Badgers, designed by Boris Malvic and Davor Vizintin, a lovely game for one or two players with gorgeous illustrations by Mihaela Prizmic. Thank you for the explanation and for making me want to play it!

Badgers and its gorgeous illustrations

I’m also curious to learn more about Fear of the Dark, designed by Damir Debanic, so I’ll probably come back tomorrow.

Thank you to Endi Oblak for showing us your fantastic work. The map cards on display are wonderful, and what a surprise to spot Santa Tecla on your Iberian maps! It’s so close to my home and so unexpected. It was a real pleasure talking with you.

My favourite of the day

Without hesitation: Moustache. It was so light and fun, and it gave me so much happiness. Sometimes the best moment of a giant fair is simply sitting at a table with strangers and laughing together.

End of Day 1

All in all, it was a great day. I’m tired, but I wanted so much to share it with you that I just couldn’t wait.

Tomorrow I’ll be back for more adventures: Fear of the Dark is on my list, along with more demos, and hopefully a notebook full of names this time!

And a small confession: if you noticed that some games in this post are shown with pictures from BGG instead of my own photos, it’s because I got so carried away talking and playing that I completely forgot to take pictures. Lesson learnt: tomorrow, phone in hand! 📸

Have you ever been to SPIEL Essen? And if you’re here this year, which game has caught your eye so far?

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