Codex Naturalis 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?

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The Art of My Shelf, Part 2: Worth Framing

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Some games stop me before I even start playing. Others stop me right in the middle of a turn.

That happened with Unconscious Mind, the first time a dream card with a flying whale came into play. The art is wonderful, but it was the sheer improbability of it that made me put everything down and just look.

Welcome back to my little series on the games whose art I love. Part 1 was about boxes, cozy worlds and invented creatures. Today it’s all about cards: the ones I’d happily frame, and the ones that build a whole world on the table.

The card that stopped me mid-turn.

One Card at a Time

Codex Naturalis

Art: Maxime Morin · Publisher: Bombyx

In Codex Naturalis you continue the work of the illuminating monk Tybor Kwelein, assembling the manuscripts that list the living species of the forest. It’s a puzzle: every card has conditions before it can be placed, and they all connect through their corners, so your manuscript grows into one big picture.

The species are sorted by kingdom: trees in green, animals in blue, insects in purple, mushrooms in red. The illustrations are quite realistic, but each card stays monochrome, playing with the different tones of its own colour, with gold traces running through to lift it. That’s what makes the whole thing so relaxing.

The gold catching the light, which is what sold me in the first place.

I bought this one for its cards. I saw them online and they won me over before I knew anything about how it played. The end of a game delivers exactly what I hoped for: a shiny tableau, vibrant and full of gold.

Four kingdoms, four colours, all locking together at the corners.

Unconscious Mind

Art: Andrew Bosley, Vincent Dutrait, Yoma · Publisher: Fantasia Games

In Unconscious Mind you play as one of Freud’s followers, treating patients. The palette is dark throughout, and that’s exactly what makes it work: it puts you straight into a psychologist’s cabinet. The only things that pop are the dreams, with their bright colours in the middle of all that darkness.

A psychologist’s cabinet, in board form.

The dream cards are the ones I love. The longer you study them, the more details you find, and that part is fantastic. The flying whale still gets me every time.

Everything is muted except the dreams.

There are also transparent cards that lay over your patient’s card. They represent the fog, the catharsis happening in the patient’s mind, and they keep working every single time, not just on the first play.

The leaves and the flowers aren’t printed on the portraits. They’re the transparent cards sitting on top.

Terrors of London

Art: Ryan Pye · Publisher: Kolossal Games

A complete change of register. Terrors of London is a competitive deck builder for two players, where each of you plays an Overlord with a unique ability and two unique influence cards, recruiting monsters from four factions: Beasts, Mortals, Spirits and Undead. Line them up and they form hordes for some powerful combos.

Two Overlords, four factions, and a street full of monsters.

Opening this game is like stepping into a fantasy novel. You cross paths with vampires, werewolves and every other kind of creature, there are Cthulhu references hiding on the cards, and the relics are pictured perfectly. The illustrations are packed with detail, as if the artist wanted to capture every corner of that dark world, and for all that darkness everything stays perfectly legible at the table.

This is a winter game for me, or a Halloween one.

Mark of Cain and Healing Locus, two of the relics.

A Word on Sleeves

I take a lot of care of my games and I like the feel of the material, so sleeving is something I do whenever the cards are going to be handled a lot. Usually that means deck builders, because of all the shuffling. From today’s games I’ve sleeved Terrors of London, and the hero cards of Tainted Grail, which you’ll meet in a moment.

Cards That Build a World

And now the part I love most: the games where cards laid side by side build an entire scene.

T.I.M.E Stories

Art (base box): Benjamin Carré, David Lecossu, Pascal Quidault · Publisher: Space Cowboys

T.I.M.E Stories was the first game that did this to me. You travel through time to solve mysteries, moving from room to room, and each room is a panorama made of two to six cards laid side by side. Every card is something you can interact with or someone you can talk to, so there’s a lot going on in every scene.

The very first panorama I ever laid out wasn’t even in the scenario. It’s the agency base, with its pods and its blue light, where every mission begins. Seeing it unfold card by card was my first whaou, before I’d even travelled anywhere.

Pods and blue light. The first panorama I ever laid out.

I’ve played the base game and five of the eight scenarios in the white series, and every single one has had that same effect, so I really can’t pick a favourite. They’re thematic, they’re a pleasure to study, and they matter for the mechanics too, which is rarer than it sounds. Each scenario brings its own illustrators as well, Vincent Dutrait on A Prophecy of Dragons for example, so every new box feels like a new world.

One room, six cards, and the people you can talk to.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Art: Piotr Foksowicz, Piotr Gacek, Patryk Jędraszek · Publisher: Awaken Realms

Tainted Grail is set in Arthurian times, and you build the map with cards as you explore. Picture the map of Avalon cut into pieces: each card is one place, a village, a hunter’s grove with the skeleton of some huge animal, big standing statues. Lay them next to each other and they become a map, and a wonderful one.

A corner of the map. Each card is one place, and they join into a landscape.

How big it gets depends on how many menhirs you’ve lit, but it can reach five cards by five, and they’re big cards. That’s a lot of table. I stop every single time I open a new part of the map, just to take in the details and see how the cards connect. Don’t worry, I’m only showing you a corner of it here, nothing that will spoil anything.

The rest of the deck lives up to it. The combat and diplomacy cards are painted in the same Celtic, mystical style, and so are the creatures.

The combat and diplomacy cards, in the same Celtic, mystical style.

It’s long to set up, so it stays on my table for days. That turns out to be the best part. When you’re not playing and you just look at it, it makes even more sense, because you’re looking with nothing but admiration.

The One I’d Actually Frame

If I had to frame one thing from all of this, it wouldn’t be a single card. It would be the Tainted Grail map, complete, once I finish the campaign. I’m curious to see it all together, and I think it will be incredible.

As far as I’ve got. There’s a whole campaign still to come.

See You in Part 3

That’s it for the cards! The last part is about the games that take over the whole table: big colours, busy boards, and the miniatures I can’t play without. I’ll also finally tell you which game is my favourite of them all.

In the meantime, tell me: has a card ever stopped you mid-game, just so you could look at it?

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