April 2026 brings a breath of fresh air to the gaming tables, with an interesting shift compared to March. Whilst last month was characterised by the consolidation of strategic heavyweights, April brings greater dynamism amongst the faster-paced titles. Flip 7 still reigns supreme at the top, but it is increasingly joined in the battle for players’ attention by thematically rich games such as Harmonies and Forest Shuffle. Spring has clearly awakened a desire for games with nature-themed content and aesthetics, which, alongside Cascadia, form the strong core of April’s rankings.
Alongside these laid-back titles, April also stands out for the rise of tense cooperative experiences. Games such as The Gang and The Brotherhood of the Ring have gained in popularity compared to March, suggesting that players are seeking more joint planning and team-based adrenaline this spring.
Flip 7 2nd Edition
The second edition of the popular game Flip 7, now in a handy, smaller version without a box. Flip cards one at a time, but watch out – if you hit the same number twice, you're bust! Flip 7 is a tense mix of luck…
Harmonies (Slovenian edition)
In Harmonies you build landscapes by placing coloured tokens and creating habitats for your animals. To score the most points and win the game, cleverly incorporate habitats into your landscapes and populate as many of them as possible.
Ark Nova
In Ark Nova you will plan and design a modern zoo. With the goal of owning the most successful zoo, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals and support conservation projects all over the world.
Azul (Slovenian edition)
In Azul, players take turns drafting coloured tiles and placing them on their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they have placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completed sets. Wasted…
Terraforming Mars
In the year 2400, humanity begins terraforming the planet Mars. Contribute the most and beat the other corporations!
Heat: Pedal to the Metal (Slovenian edition)
Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a game that puts players behind the wheel of tense car races, battling for position to cross the finish line first. Players manage their car's speed and must be careful not to overheat. Choosing the right upgrades for their…
Forest Shuffle (Slovenian edition)
In Forest Shuffle, players compete to collect the most valuable trees and then attract species to those trees, creating an ecologically balanced habitat for flora and fauna.
Cascadia
Cascadia is a tile-laying and token-drafting game featuring the habitats and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.
SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a Euro game for 1–4 players, you run a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. The game draws inspiration from current and emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration.
Sky Team
Sky Team is a cooperative game designed exclusively for two players, who take on the roles of pilot and co-pilot of a passenger aircraft. Your goal is to work together in sync as a team and land safely at various airports around the world.
Lost Ruins of Arnak
On an uninhabited island in uncharted seas, explorers have found traces of a great civilisation. Now you will lead an expedition to explore the island, find lost artefacts and face fearsome guardians, all in the quest to learn the island's secrets.
The Gang
Gather your gang and get ready for a series of bank heists using the power of poker! If all players correctly assess their hands, you can crack one of the bank vaults! If not, you trigger the alarm! If you manage to crack three vaults…
Brass Birmingham
Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game and a sequel to Martin Wallace's 2007 masterpiece, Brass. Brass: Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution, between the years 1770 and 1870.
The Fellowship of the Ring - Cooperative Trick-Taking Game
The Fellowship of the Ring: Cooperative Trick-Taking Game unfolds over eighteen chapters that guide players through the events of the novel The Fellowship of the Ring. The chapters can be played in any order, but ideally you play them in sequence.
Carcassonne (Slovenian edition)
Carcassonne is a family board game in which players lay tiles to build the landscape of Carcassonne in southern France.
The White Castle
A heron flies over Himeji Castle while the Daimyo watches the movements of his servants from the top of the castle. Gardeners tend the pond where the koi carp live, warriors stand guard on the walls, and courtiers crowd at the gates, longing for an…
Scout
SCOUT is a ladder-climbing game in which cards have two potential values, players may not change the order of the cards in their hand, and players can skip their turn to take a card from the current high set into their hand.
Splendor (Slovenian edition)
Splendor is a game of token collecting and card development. Players are Renaissance merchants trying to buy gem mines, means of transport and shops – all to gain the most prestige points. If you're wealthy enough, you might even be visited by a noble, which…
Compared to the March chart, which was heavily focused on classic strategy titles, April reveals a more diverse range of player preferences. Whilst stalwarts such as Ark Nova, Terraforming Mars and Brass: Birmingham remain firmly entrenched amongst the best, they are now joined by titles with shorter playing times but equally deep tactics – prime examples being The White Castle and the innovative Scout.
The April selection thus confirms that the gaming scene is evolving; players are seeking not only complexity, but also elegance and innovation. The transition from March to April has brought a perfect balance between ‘timeless’ strategic challenges and new, faster-paced hits, proving that quality entertainment can be found in both a 20-minute duel and a full-length game managing a Martian corporation.
