B-Rex Tage
Neue Spiele der B-Rex Group 2026 / Germany

B-Rex Tage 2026

This year, once again, it was time for me to head to Schkopau for the B-Rex Days! Since I’d already had the pleasure of spending a weekend packed with gaming with some fellow enthusiasts at the B-Rex Group in previous years, it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to be there again in 2026.

This time, however, our travel group was significantly smaller. Unfortunately, two of our fellow travelers from previous years had to cancel at the last minute, so this time I was traveling only with Oliver (Olli) from the BoardGameTheory podcast. What we lost in company, we at least gained in space at our lodging. And as it turned out, even as a pair, there were plenty of games waiting for us—and in Schkopau, it’s easy to find more players anyway.

After arriving in Schkopau, we headed straight for the gaming tables.

Olli and I kicked things off with Dutch Resistance: Orange shall overcome by Giant.Roc. In this game, we take on the roles of resistance fighters and try to gradually secure various locations on the game board for the resistance—in an informative rather than combative manner.

The gameplay is delightfully simple at first. At the start of a game, we have only three cards in our hand, but each one opens up several possibilities. For example, we can use them to travel from one location to the next—such as from the bank to the hair salon—or, if a particular location has already been unlocked, use its special action.

This is primarily about resource management. The activities provide us with the items we need to unlock additional locations. The actual goal is to gradually make all locations on the map accessible.

However, things aren’t quite as peaceful as that might sound at first. During our travels, we may encounter police officers or Wehrmacht soldiers. A short text is then read aloud, and we have to decide how to handle the situation. And, of course, these decisions don’t always have a positive outcome.

After we’ve played our cards and—depending on the optimism level of our resistance fighters—carried out a few additional actions that we could divide among ourselves, it’s our opponents’ turn—that is, the automated occupiers. Police officers and soldiers move around, and buildings may be searched. To do this, cards are simply drawn that show us in which neighborhood the opponents are moving and in which direction. Locations gradually become more suspicious due to our actions and our presence there, so searches can take place when police officers or soldiers move through such a location.

Overall, I quite liked Dutch Resistance: Orange shall overcome . Above all, I think the theme of the resistance movement is actually conveyed well in the game through the short text passages. At the same time, the game isn’t quite as oppressive as, for example, This War of Mine. That makes it, for me, an interesting mix of a relatively accessible resource management game and a serious historical theme.

Olli and I, at any rate, had a lot of fun playing it just the two of us. I could definitely imagine, though, that the game works even better with more players.

After playing *Dutch Resistance*, we then headed in a completely different direction. The German title alone—*Gestern wirst Du mich töten* by Corax Games—had certainly caught our attention. In terms of gameplay, however, the game is much more abstract than the title suggests.

We have three small game boards in front of us, each forming a 4x4 grid. They represent the past, present, and future. At the start, each of these three boards has its own game piece.

A pointer determines which time slot we can use in each round. And this is exactly where a nice restriction comes into play: After each round, we move the pointer to a different time slot, so you can’t simply take your turn twice in a row in the same time slot. Of course, our opponent can see this and take into account during their turn which time slot we’ll be able to move in during the next round.

The pieces always move orthogonally across the grid. When they encounter other pieces, those pieces are pushed and can thus be eliminated—namely, by pushing them into obstacles or off the edge of the board. This is also our goal: to gradually destroy or kill the opponent’s pieces, as the title already suggests. In addition to our moves, however, there is the option to travel through time and thus have a piece from our own supply appear on the corresponding space at a different point in time. But this supply is also limited, and eventually all pieces will be used up, at which point a winner is determined.

Three scenarios introduce different elements such as trees, elephants, or combinations thereof.

The game is a highly tactical two-player game. And although we’re naturally a long way from a classic game of chess here, I repeatedly had the feeling during the game that Yesterday You Will Kill Me has something of chess about it. That’s because you have to think very tactically and not just consider your own move, but also think about what the other player can do with it.

For two players who enjoy abstract tactical games, this is an extremely interesting experience.

Next up on the table was Coming of Age, also from Giant.Roc—a game whose theme immediately appealed to me. It’s about the journey from childhood to adolescence. The game board features cards depicting various events from this phase of life.

In the game, however, we’re less focused on moving a character through a story than on developing our own personality. Actions allow us to gain life or experience points and alter various tracks on our personal game board, which, in a sense, represents our personality.

And this is exactly where the problem lay for me: I really love the theme, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite click for me while playing. For a theme that certainly appeals to many casual players, I also found the game to be relatively complex and, at times, a bit monotonous.

Perhaps it was also because, during the B-Rex Days, we naturally play through a whole series of games, and expectations for a game with such an interesting theme are correspondingly high. For me personally, at least, Coming of Age left me with the impression that much more could have been made of the theme.

To wrap up the first day, things were set to get much more laid-back again. With Excalibur from Mirakulus, we had a game on the table that I think is perfect as a party game or a nightcap.

Here at the B-Rex Days, we played the Deluxe version, which really looks the part. However, it’s not currently available in stores. I do think, though, that the game works just fine in the standard version, even if my fellow players can’t wrap their heads around that idea at all (if there’s already a deluxe version, you’d naturally want that one too, right?).

Well, anyway, here’s the highlight of the game: In each round, every player simultaneously chooses one of their four tiles laid out in front of them. Everyone then reveals their tiles at the same time, and the selected effects are resolved one after another. After that, you often get to draw a new tile from the supply. The gameplay reminded me a bit of Love Letter—quick to explain, quick to play, and with plenty of opportunities to throw a wrench in the other players’ plans.

Because, of course, in the end, you want to have Excalibur in front of you. Whoever ends up with the wooden sword instead loses.

I especially liked the bluffing opportunities. You try to guess what the other players might be playing (you know some of this from the earlier rounds, though the tiles often change hands), and at the same time, you have to be careful not to fall into a trap yourself. Sometimes you get to take a tile from another player; other times, certain cards must be discarded… . In any case, there’s a lot going on at the table.

I can definitely see Excalibur working particularly well for larger groups. The game is entertaining, quick to explain, and pretty quickly generates the necessary schadenfreude around the table.

In my opinion, however, there’s a slight drawback regarding the starting player in the final round. That player has a certain disadvantage. In such a short, luck-based game, though, I don’t think this is a major issue.

In any case, Excalibur was a pretty good way for us to wrap up the first day. And this time, we weren’t entirely on our own—a few more players joined us for the final game.

After a fairly restful night, we picked right up where we left off the next morning. By then, our group had grown a bit larger. Markus from the BoardGameTheory podcast and Phil from the Brettgespräche podcast joined us in the morning to participate in Olli’s podcast. Afterward, they stayed with us for most of the day’s games.

With Joyride by Grimspire, the day began with a racing game that I really enjoyed. Plus, with such a fast-paced and interactive start to the day, I could even skip my coffee—maybe I should start my day like this more often...

There have been quite a few racing games in recent years. What makes this one special is that we don’t just drive in circles on a predetermined track. Instead, we can carve our own path across the open terrain, which features a sandy or muddy landscape. The only rule: we have to pass through the individual checkpoints in the correct order. Movement works a bit like in Heat, though here you don’t play action cards—instead, you roll dice, one die for each gear you’re in.

Of course, this means that things don’t always go as planned. Normally, only one change of direction is possible, and if the dice subsequently result in a longer range than expected, it can happen that instead of making the planned turn, you drive straight into a rock or another car.

And that’s when things get really interesting, because collisions are possible. Cars can be spun around or damaged as a result. At checkpoints, you can also obtain additional weapons—such as a rocket launcher or oil fields—that can be used later in the race against your opponents.

I really enjoyed this. The game looks great, plays fast-paced, and has a nice dynamic thanks to the free choice of routes.

In any case, it became clear to me pretty quickly: Joyride is a must-buy.

After the race, things got a bit more mentally challenging again—though “a bit” is a massive understatement. Because Trismegistus by Giant.Roc is a new edition of a game I actually hadn’t played yet. The original was one of the few games from the original publisher, Board&Dice, that was still missing from my collection and gaming experience.

The reissue features revised artwork and updated rules. The game centers around dice that you select and then use for various actions.

When you roll the selected die, you first receive a resource and a certain number of action points based on the number shown. The color of the die also determines which specific actions you can use. Depending on which character you’ve taken on, the selected die can also trigger individual effects.

And then the real brain-teasing begins.

Trismegistus is definitely a real brain-teaser. Ultimately, it’s all about transforming the elements in the best possible way—after all, we’re alchemists. However, there are always numerous options available, and you’ll only win if you can identify the optimal choice among them. In our game, at any rate, we were occupied for about three hours, and it’s precisely the multitude of possibilities that ensures you have to concentrate very, very hard. I actually quite like that, though, because it lets you really lose yourself in the game.

At first, the symbols on the dice took some getting used to for me. Yet they do have a historical background: they are the original symbols for the elements used by medieval alchemists.

I really enjoyed the game; the downtime is surprisingly low, since you’re constantly optimizing your next move. And with that, my mind was made up: I’ll definitely have to add the new edition to my collection.

Next up was a game of Inis – Nemed by Giant.Roc. And here, I was finally able to fill a very personal gap in my knowledge: I had actually never played Inis before, even though I’m very interested in area control and the genre in particular, and I’ve owned the base game for quite some time now.

Together with Olli, as well as Anna and Lukas from Boardgame_Historian, who joined us for this game and conveniently explained the rules, we set out to make up for this oversight—and at the same time get to know the new expansion, Nemed.

Nemed integrated seamlessly into the game; after all, the base game was quick to explain, and the rules of the expansion weren’t difficult to learn either. New heroes and terrain tiles are added, which, among other things, cause the game board to expand more quickly.

At its core, the game features a very nice area-control system. Players try to distribute their units across the landscape, control areas, and keep an eye on the various victory conditions at the same time.

I found that particularly enjoyable: Compared to, for example, Blood Rage, it was much easier to get into (though Blood Rage remains an almost perfect game). But here, you get into the game much more quickly without the battle for territories ever becoming boring.

The playing time is also pleasantly fast-paced. However, you really need to keep a close eye on the three different victory conditions at all times.

This became particularly clear during our last round. In the end, three players could actually have won. Olli, however, had been watching the situation unfold very closely—and ultimately sealed the deal.

For me, Inis was a pretty pleasant surprise. I was especially pleased that it was so easy to get into. Naturally, you can’t help but wonder why you let a game like this sit in the basement for so long and simply ignored it for so long.

With Weirdwood Manor by Grimspire, we then ventured back into a completely different world. And of all places, that’s where I ended up choosing the hero Oliver during character selection. With a fellow player named Olli, this was naturally a perfect setup for some appropriate jokes around the table.

The heroes differ significantly from one another and have very unique abilities. They can also be further upgraded as the game progresses.

I found the layout of the Manor particularly interesting. The rooms are arranged in three rings that shift relative to one another as time progresses. As a result, the ways to move from one room to the next are constantly changing.

We move our heroes from one accessible room to the next using our actions, stay there, and can use the respective room action. The goal is often to gather the right resources so that we can ultimately face off against the various opponents.

At first, I found the changing access points a bit confusing. But you get the hang of it surprisingly quickly and then start using the time mechanic to your advantage.

I also really liked Weirdwood Manor. There are several possible final bosses, and after just one playthrough, I obviously can’t yet judge whether the game offers enough variety in the long run or if it might get a bit repetitive at some point.

But that’s a question for later. For now, at any rate, I was glad to have had this experience.

And then, suddenly, it was already the third day. As always at the B-Rex Days, I had the feeling that we’d only just really gotten started—and at the same time, there were already far too many games on the list that we actually still wanted to try out.

One of them would turn out to be perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire weekend for me.

Yonder by Giant.Roc really blew me away.

Visually, the game stands out from the crowd with its very colorful graphics. Apparently, even Giant.Roc wasn’t entirely sure at first how the game would be received, so only a relatively small number of copies were produced initially.

Based on what I observed during the B-Rex Days, they could perhaps have been a bit bolder. Almost everyone I spoke with about Yonder described it as one of the highlights of the weekend.

And I can totally understand why.

Yonder is a pure worker-placement game that plays surprisingly quickly. The available actions are very clear and can be carried out swiftly. As a result, there’s hardly any downtime. At the same time, the individual workers have a surprising amount of personality.

This is because the different races have various special abilities. The ogre, for example, doubles food production on the corresponding action spaces. Skeletons, on the other hand, do not need to be fed, and elves can even be placed on action spaces that are already full.

On top of that, there are buildings with some pretty wild functions. The Skeleton Maker, for example, processes other workers into meat, which can then be used to feed your own workers. In exchange, a skeleton moves into your player area.

I found the ability to use other players’ buildings particularly interesting. When you do this, your worker switches to that player’s side, the corresponding space is occupied, and during the next supply phase, the new owner must, of course, provide for that worker as well. However, the active player—not the building’s owner—carries out the benefit, namely the action.

It was precisely this combination of simple basic rules and a constant stream of new, subtle interactions that I really enjoyed. You actually figure out very quickly what you can do—but then suddenly you discover all the possibilities that can arise from it.

I was actually equally blown away by all these elements: the different workers, the buildings, the use of other players’ buildings, and the speed at which everything unfolds.

For me, that’s why Yonder was one of the clear highlights of this year’s B-Rex Days.

To wrap things up, there was Trash Poker from Corax Games. And that was a great fit, if only because I really love poker-based games.

This time, Olli and I even sat right at the table with Frank Noack, the head of Corax Games and co-designer of the game. So it was a slightly different kind of playtest.

The starting point is the same for everyone: Each player gets their own poker deck. As the game progresses, however, this deck changes dramatically. Cards are removed, new cards with enhanced abilities (such as a double ace) are added, and by the end, each player has their very own, individually customized poker deck.

And that’s exactly what hooked me.

Because suddenly, it’s no longer just about skillfully putting together a poker hand from the cards you’ve drawn. As the game progresses, you essentially change your own poker strategy. This sometimes results in some pretty crazy poker combinations that you couldn’t have planned at all at the beginning.

I really liked this combination of poker and constantly changing your own deck. Precisely because this causes the players’ decks to differ more and more from one another, the game feels increasingly personalized as it progresses.

I’ll definitely have to play Trash Poker again in much greater depth. But after our first game, one thing is clear to me: I was really thrilled by it.

And it’s over already...

And just like that, the B-Rex Days 2026 were over.

Three days in Schkopau, tons of new games, lots of familiar faces, and, of course, far too little time to try out everything that was on the tables.

This year, our travel group—Olli, me, and a few others—was significantly smaller than in previous years, but the crowd at the game tables quickly grew larger. Markus from Brett und Pad and Phil from Brettgespräche joined us for many games, while Anna and Lukas from Boardgame_Historian sat at the table with Inis and Yonder. And playing a game of Trash Poker with Frank Noack himself was a pretty fitting way to wrap things up.

In terms of games, I’m taking home a whole host of interesting impressions from Schkopau this time. Joyride is pretty much a must-buy for me; I’ll probably have to add Trismegistus to my collection as well, and Yonder actually surprised me the most. I’d also love to play Trash Poker again.

But Inis, Weirdwood Manor, Excalibur, and Better Orange Than Brown also left a positive impression on me. Not every game won me over equally—but that’s exactly what makes the B-Rex Days so special. You spend three days sitting at tables, trying out things you may not have known anything about before, and time and again you discover games that make you think: “I have to play this again.”

And once that thought crosses your mind, it’s clear:

After the B-Rex Days is before the next B-Rex Days.

Yours, Ralf

Copyright © 2026 Frank Schulte-Kulkmann and Ralf Togler, Essen, Germany