This started out as a geeklist to write some comments about my purchases and plays from the spring 2026 Tokyo Game Market and it has grown into a blog covering my favorite games that I have played from the 2023-2026 TGM and other parts of Asia. Currently most of my the games are from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan because of Tokyo Game Market but I am hoping to add a few games from other countries this year.
There isn’t a rigid criteria for games eligible for the list but generally these are games from as Asian publisher that were released 2023 or later. I think a couple of tiny print run games that were reprinted snuck onto the geeklist. Games like Fischen that I bought at TGM aren’t included since they are definitely an international release. In addition I haven’t included several games like Rainbow that I bought the version published by an international publisher. There are a few small print run games included like Bested Another Time from US designers (self published) that were released at TGM.
Check out my geeklist for all of the games (about 70) that I have bought (and plan to play) or played from Asia (2023-2026). And I expect to add another 20 games to the list with Taipei Original Boardgame Expo and Tokyo Game Market coming up soon.
This list will continue to be updated for awhile. At least expect the rest of the 2026 games to be added to the geeklist and top games added here.
Honorable mention – Formosa Formosa – Taiwan/USA
It is my game and I think it is awesome but I can’t rank it on a list like this because I of course am partial to it. Formosa Formosa is a throw and write game where you travel around Taiwan hiking and visiting temples and waterfalls. It includes simultaneous action so nobody is waiting and you can setup combos similar to Ganz Schonz Clever.
21) Tsumoo! – PAIX Guild – Japan
Tsumoo! is fun but unpredictable trick taking game with great art. Players are dealt cards and they each secretly bid how many tricks they will win that hand. Next they split their hand in half with half becoming their hand and half in a draw deck in front of them. The catch is that each time they play a card they draw a card from a different player’s deck. It is a little crazy trying to hit a bid when you don’t know what half of your cards will be. Lots of fun. Lots of laughs. Maybe not for those that are too serious.
20) Salty and Vivo – Vic Village – Japan
These are two very different tricktakers from Vic Village but I like both of them a lot. I only played Salty once at TGM but players select bids one at a time and then try to win tricks to match their bid. Each time you win a trick you take a cube but the cubes might run out of a certain color.
Vivo has a couple of interesting mechanics but is still very easy to teach. It isn’t must follow but it isn’t may follow either. Every round a new card is drawn that tells everyone how many colors may be played into the trick. The players later in the trick have very strict may/must follow rules and may not be able to win. It is a very simple twist that changes each trick. The low card played each time is the winner and is worth points equal to its rank. The high card each time is flipped over and it is worth 2 points. It is brilliant because two players each round are winners and are happy.
19) Hot Pot Holic – Clueless Games (and TBD) – Taiwan
Hot Pot Holic initially started out as a trick taking game but the end result is highly thematic set collection game with a bit of action selection. Players play cards to determine the order that you will draft cards or perform other actions. Very cute art.
18) 108 Outlaws – Origame – Singapore
108 Outlaws is a very cool game with Geoffrey Chia art based on the 108 Outlaws from Chinese History. On your turn you can draw cards if you don’t have what you want or play cards to build your engine or score points. The lower level cards (worth zero points) might give you an immediate benefit but more importantly they give you resources to use later when you want to play the scoring cards. The challenge in the game is to have the correct outlaws aka resources (unexhausted) when you decide to start going for the scoring cards. Excellent game with some of my favorite art.
17) HANAMI – J & M Space Entertainment – Japan
This isn’t the Reiner Knizia Hanami. This is one of the most beautifully produced games that I have bought at TGM. The game board is made up of tatami mat material and there are colored glass cubes. The game itself is very good but it seems like there needed to be one extra layer of strategy to make this game great.
16) 10 To Leave – Compound Eye Fox Studio and JJ Board Games – Taiwan
10 to Leave is a logic deduction game where you try to send mosquitoes out for a late night snack. Depending on player count there will be 2 or 3 sets of cards placed facedown by players on their turn. In addition to placing a card players can additionally choose (before or after placing) one of three things options on their turn. They can secretly look at one card, they can move the first card in a line to the end or they can call stop (minimum 2 cards in each line).
The objective is to have your mosquitoes fly away and for the other players to get smashed when the child wakes up.
a) if the cards in a set add up to <10 then the largest mosquito is smashed (worth negative points)
b) If they = 10 then all mosquitoes fly away
c) if they are > 10 then the mosquitoes in a certain position in the order are smashed (negative points). This order is randomly selected at the beginning of each game.
Overall, I really like this game. All of my students also like it but I don’t think they like it as much as me.
15) Lumina Spell – PhantomLab Games – Japan
I bought this only because of how much I LOVE my clear acrylic tiles in Kohaku. Lumina Spell is a puzzle where you need push tiles out of the grid that will let you complete scoring cards. Probably the only issue with the game is that the tiles can catch (like a snag) on other tiles or the game board but that can be minimized.
14) Trickarus – Learn Bridge Online – Japan/USA
Trickarus is a light, fun and fast tricktaker designed and published by an American living in Japan. Many tricktaking games now use a mechanism that prevents players with the strongest hands of cards from overpowering the other players. In Trickarus, cards have two values. One is one the top (current value) and the bottom (flipped value). Whenever a player plays a 5 card (4 times in one game) everyone flips their hand of cards over so that the bottom value is now the current value. A 9 changes to a 1. And 8 changes to a 2. And so on.
In addition, players don’t want to win tricks too quickly because they will into the sun and fall down the scoring track below the last place player.
This game has been a consistent hit with my friends and students because it is really easy to teach and understand.
13) HELLO! Tea Time (Taiwan version of Vegetable Stock)- Taiwan Boardgame Design – Taiwan
Hello! Tea Time is an adaptation of Vegetable Stock from Taiwan Boardgame Design. Vegetable Stock is already a very good game but Tea Time uses majorities scoring in addition to the variable market that is so good in Vegetable Stock. Now players don’t simply want to get a lot of something that will be expensive but they also need to make sure that they have more than the other players.
One of my students will only play this at the end of our class. And she wins almost every time.
The Hello Kitty license for the game is only held for Taiwan so it won’t be sold anywhere overseas. Vegetable Stock might be available internationally.
12) Bus & Stop – Saashi and Saashi – Japan
Initially I thought Bus & Stop would be a nice filler game with my students but my students love it. It is simple, easy to teach and plays fast (very little downtime). Players one a time take all bus passengers of one color from the center display. But they are trying to get many of the same type (businessman for example) before they hit their hand size limit (10 cards) and need to claim a scoring card. It is much, much better to hit the maximum scoring for a passenger type but sometimes it doesn’t work and you need to adjust your strategy.
11) Ouroboros Trick – self published – Japan
Ouroboros Trick was one of the sleeper hits that delivered. Sometimes you just need to take a chance on interesting unknown games by unknown designers. Ourosboros is a trick taking game where you lose if you run out of cards. The winner of a trick takes the cards from the trick into a pile that will become his hand but the catch is that the winner also needs to discard cards equal to the lowest rank card in the trick. So the winner of a trick can end up in a worse situation after winning a trick. I think the game still needs more development. People don’t really like the one loser result and there should be multiple rounds but the core of the game is excellent.
10) Bested Another Time – Gotcha Gotcha Games – US (TGM release)
Bested Another Time is another attempt to standout in what I consider a narrow mechanic. I love shedding games but frequently I feel like most new entries are just slight variations of a similar game and I am usually unimpressed. This isn’t the case with Bested Another Time in my opinion. Bested Another Time adds bonuses for passing. Scout (my measuring stick for shedding games) added the one time benefit of using your car to pass and then play. I love this agency in the game. Bested took the passing bonus to the extreme and it worked really well for me. Deciding when to play because you can and when to pass even if you can play so you can improve your hand because there is a bonus available was my favorite part.
Note – This game plays very differently at different player counts and uses different bonuses. I think we played at 4 both times but I don’t remember for sure.
9) Slime Artist – Poki Design – Taiwan
Slime Artist is like Dixit but with silly puddy. A card is drawn for the table with six numbered choices on it. Each player draws a number (secret) and needs to mold the object on the card. My students love this game and even though I find the scoring a little bothersome to track and kind of boring the game is a lot of fun.
8) Park Life – Charming Games – US/China
An excellent casual gamer trick taker. It is may follow (play anything you want) and the lowest card of the led suit wins the trick. And the rank value becomes your score. The catch is that every time you win a trick you must discard cards (1-4) based on the rank of the card. This is a game where you definitely want to carefully pick which tricks you win and lose.
Note – This ranking is based on me playing with 12 card hands (double deck) so that the tableau gets a better chance to develop during a game. Also of note – I prefer the People rules but mix the Hedgehog and People decks together to get enough cards for the expanded hand size.
7) Lone Wolves – Wonderful World Board Games – Taiwan/Japan
Lone Wolves is a remake of a classic TGM game (Four Clans Conflict). And it is one of the best 2p trick taking games mixed with lane battling. Instead of penalizing the player that wins tricks too quickly to nerf powerful hands it uses the loser also gets a benefit mechanic. It is more about winning the right cards and choosing the correct tokens when losing. It has been a long time since I played but I really liked it.
6) Planepita – SpziLAB – Japan
It is kind of like mini Crokinole except points are earned from winning area majorities in the 3 circular regions on the game board. The one catch is that a player can flip their disc over to the magnetic side if they aren’t in the same region as the alien. I really enjoy this game but my students universally LOVE this game. Adults can enjoy this but I think it is best to play with children.
SpziLAB’s other game, Snowp, is a completely different game but just as fun. It easily could have been in this list.
5) Agent Black – Olin Studios – South Korea
Agent Black is a mashup of Coup and Clue. Each player gets 3 cards (a disguise, a location and an item/weapon). Your goal is to expose the other players secret identity before your secret identity is revealed.
All cards (including undealt cards) have a corresponding token placed in a large circle in the middle of the table. On their turn, each player places a spy marker on a token activating that token and the two tokens beside it or they make an accusation. Players then have to say if one of their secret identities matches any of those tokens.
If they make an accusation then they name a player and a secret card. If it matches then the player reveals their card and they have lost one of their lives. If it doesn’t match then the accusing player reveals one of their cards just like in Coup.
This is definitely a game that needs the right group but it is A LOT OF FUN with the right group.
4) Identity – Bamboo Games – Japan
Identity was a Spring 2025 TGM game that sold out very quickly but I was able to get a copy on a different trip to Japan. Early indications are that their Spring 2026 game (Oshaka Trick) has been a hit as well.
One of my favorite TGM tricktakers. Typically in a trick taking game players are pitted against each other and usually it is better to win tricks (or shoot the moon for a nil bid). Players in Identity make a concealed bid using the cards in their hand and then they are only working towards that bid. Each player can be successful regardless of what the other players do at the table.
Deck – 5 suits ranging from -3 to +4 (no zero) – use the same number of suits as players
Identity is all about creating your own identity. Players must NOT follow any previously played suit or value. The high number wins the trick but if you can’t play you turn your card over and it counts as -1 trick. Very odd to like a trick taking game that isn’t about countering other players.
3) Sea Divers of Jeju – Happy Baobab – South Korea/Japan
Sea Divers of Jeju (a reimplementation of an earlier game) is a Korean themed (Jeju Island) game from a Korean publisher but designed by a famous Japanese designer Hisashi Hayashi.
Sea Divers is a push your luck Roll and Write. There are 11 levels that players can choose to send their 3 divers to. Each level has rewards that become increasingly strong as you dive further down. Each player secretly chooses two levels to send their divers to and all players simultaneously reveal. This is where push your luck comes in. Each diver occupies two levels (rewards from one) but needs a link to the surface to gain rewards. Will you push for the deepest rewards or take the safer rewards near the surface.
This game is what I am looking for. I play lots of games with my students (age 8-15). This is light, quick and fun. It also is similar to my game so another reason to enjoy it. I think it is best at 4 players but 3 and 5 have both been pretty good.
2) CMYK Tricks – Dimidium – South Korea
Dimidium’s first game, Fractal Tricks was more of a blend between trick taking and abstracts, CMYK Tricks is a trick taker blended with set collection. Just like Fractal Tricks, Dimidium brought the weird with this game. Perhaps you could sort of play this with mini cards (hate those) but the chips work very well for the set collection tableau and the feel great to play with. And the tube box stands out on the shelf.
The game is Must Follow trick taking but with 8 total suits (CMY and RGB and B(K) and W) it is likely that you won’t be able to follow that often. And that is where the game gets weird and confusing. The color wheel below shows the range of chips in each suit and will tell you which suits can win based on the lead suit. Your decision is very easy if you can follow the lead suit but if you can’t follow suit then you have lots of choices to consider. To win a trick you have to play a chip that is the same color as the lead or one of the two adjacent colors. Or the very few white/black chips that are adjacent to everything.
And one more thing… If CMYK is lead then the largest legal chip is the winner. If RGBW is lead then the smallest legal chip is the winner. This is marked on the chips as an arrow pointing up or down.
That means that if Red is the lead suit then the adjacent colors are Yellow, Magenta, Black and White. Red chips have a down arrow so the smallest chip of the mentioned colors will be the winner. If multiple of the same number are played then the first played is the winner. Alright now we know how to win tricks so it is worth mentioning that you don’t want to win every trick.
Scoring is based on set collection. There are several ways to combine your chips to score points but every chip that doesn’t go into a set is -1 point. I am not going to list every possible scoring combo but there are 4 basic ways to score points. 2 of a kind (same color), 3 of a kind (same color), 2 chips opposite on color wheel (red and cyan for example) or making a set of RGB or CMY chips. Every chip that doesn’t make a set is -1 point.
This game was a hit with all 4 that played it at TGM. I had chosen to buy it because of the novelty of having a chip trick taker and the color wheel integration into the design fascinated me. I am not sure if I can play it much but this is one of those wacky TGM treasures that you just want to keep. And then we played it and loved it.
- Great Evening Banquet – Saashi & Saashi – Japan
The Great Evening Banquet was Saashi’s Spring 2025 release and it is one of my favorite Saashi games since Coffee Roaster. Come Sail Away has been mentioned several times as a comparable but different game from Saashi that some people like better but I haven’t played it yet. Great Evening Banquet is fantastic.
The objectives in Great Evening Banquet are simple yet incredibly difficult. 4 guests can sit at each table. Each table has a restriction of who may sit at the table (so full points are scored) and there are end game objectives for each row and column. Players draft a set (1-3) of guests each round and seat them at tables until each table is full. I find the challenge to meet different objectives the best part.
There are 100’s of games from TGM that I wanted to play but either didn’t have a chance or I didn’t buy them when released and they are no longer available. I also have about 12 unplayed games from TGM on my shelf. Here are some of the games I don’t have but want to play:
- Tornado Splash – very much available
- Railway Porters – very much available but I didn’t have any luggage space last time. And pretty much every Saashi game is on this list. Especially Come Sail Away.
- All of the Taiki Shinzawa and Mashikamaru games – Most are a little too thinky for my students which is a bulk of my game playing time
- Bean to Bar – No idea when I would play it
- Jisogi – people saying good things
- Dualis – I liked Trickarus but thinky 2v2 is very difficult to get played.
- Storm in a Teacup – sometimes you learn about games the day after TGM ends and they are on the hype list.
- Spot Me Gaffer – no luggage space last time
- White Runner – very cool art but I still don’t really know how the game plays
Lynx Lake Games 