Editor's note: Game Market took place in Chiba Prefecture in the greater Tokyo area on May 23-24, 2026, and Saigo — who translates game rules between Japanese and English and who tweets about new JP games — has translated two reports about this event by Takuya Ono, who runs the Table Games in the World blog. Mr. Ono has given permission to publish this translation and reprint the photos from his posts.
This post focuses on games seen and played during the event. The first post on June 29, 2026 covered the venue, the booths, the events, and some exhibitors. Many thanks to Saigo and Mr. Ono! —WEM
At Game Market 2026 Spring, 900 titles were released just based on those registered on the official Game Market website. If we limit the count to new board game titles, the number would be lower, but it is still estimated that around 700 titles were released. This report highlights approximately 60 games that caught our attention while walking around the venue based on our survey of the most anticipated new releases at Tokyo Game Market 2026 Spring, conducted on this website.
Games from Overseas (and Japanese Editions)
In Hot Streak (from Suki Games), players bet on which mascot will win the race, while adding cards to the decks to influence the outcome.
Container (from Allplay) is a Japanese version of a classic game. Players build factories, produce containers, set prices, negotiate with rivals, and trade across the seas.
Klondike (from Hanayama) is a dexterity game in which players move a round metal plate to leave only the yellow marbles on it.
Eatinglym-pics (from B-Cafe Games) is a localized version of the masterpiece card game Taiwan Snack Bar. Players try to survive by letting their rivals be the ones who fill up until they drop out.
CMON Japan showcased the upcoming Japanese version of Andromeda's Edge and had pre-sales of the Japanese version of Men-Nefer.
Happy Baobab (South Korea) released Haenyeo: Sea Divers of Jeju, a remake of the OKAZU brand's Rattaneer with a new theme. Players connect sea divers to collect seafood.
Trick-Taking Games
Octopus Order (from Kentaiki) is a trick-taking game with bidding. Two cards are used to display the suit and rank. You overwrite one of the two cards for each trick, but the must-follow suit system, trump suits, and the last-played card winning on ties make things rarely go according to plan.
Masquerade Trick Party (from Mysboard Games) is a social deduction trick-taking game. Based on trick wins, deduce other players' roles and give a rose to the person you believe is the target of your mission.
Tandem Trick (from Shinohara Yugi Juko) is a trick-taking game with bidding. You have the opportunity to form a tandem with the player to your right and compete based on the total rank of both cards.
Oshaka Trick (from Bamboo Games) is a trick-taking game in which players arrange their cards in ascending order. Failure to do so results in negative points.
Taifū Ikka (Typhoon Family) (from The Summer Parent-Child Game Jam 2025) is a cooperative trick-taking game devised by middle-school students during a workshop. The game was supervised by Sato Toshiki and illustrated by Akko (Studio Citrine).
Gimmicks
In Ghosts' Way Home (from MouB), players race to reach the highest-scoring grave. Ghost pieces come in three sizes: large, medium, and small. If a ghost piece is covered by a larger piece from above, it becomes immobilized.
Detroit (from Peanuts Design) is a two-player racing game. Players combine car interiors and exteriors to build cars and deliver them to the finish. Both players can access the center spaces. Landing on an opponent’s piece sends it back to the starting line. Safety cones are rolled like dice.
Potion Panic (from Nanashi no Seishun) is a game that uses water. Roll the dice to fill a syringe with water, then pour the water into a jar. Be careful not to overflow the jar, or you will be eliminated.
In Sosogisugi Sakazuki (from Shake Up Games), players pour wooden pieces from a can into cups in descending order based on the ranks of the played cards, being careful not to spill.
In Step Seekers (from Mr. and Mrs. Games), players take on the roles of adventurers or a dragon in a game of hide-and-seek. They rely on sound to find treasure and other adventurers. Each cup contains beads and bells that make a sound when stepped on.
Slam Cards (from Daiseiko) is a 3D menko game in which players try to flip each other's cards by slamming them together. Collecting cards unlocks various abilities.
Here is itten's Cube Series: Candy Tap!, Ping Pond Frog!, Pack-Back Robot, Nice Egg! Deluxe, and GENJIN Dice. All of the games feature 3D components and can be played in five minutes.
Thematic Games
In The Great Master's Toilet (from Shikujiri Kobo), players arrange toilet tiles on a 3x3 grid to build walls and create a beautiful restroom. Players can sabotage each other by placing poop tokens, but the Revolution victory is achieved if poop is placed on every space. [Editor's note: I realize this title uses AI-generated artwork, but I'm including it for completeness of the report. The publisher reflects on the reception of this choice in this tweet. —WEM]
Toryo Hojo's new works include Toryo Hojo's Promotion Sugoroku, a cult quiz game reflecting on his works, and Trump Roulette, a game in which you play roulette with playing cards (which are called "trumps" in Japanese).
Hit Plan (from CODA • Agency for Cultural Affairs) is a card game that uses the Hol's der Geier simultaneous blind-bidding system to create IP content. With an impressive line-up that includes game design by Seiji Kanai, illustrations by manga artist Keiichi Arai, graphic design by Sai Beppu, and production by Keiji Kariya, the game reportedly sold over 1,000 copies at Game Market alone.
Shumijin (from Super Number One Games) is a remake with polished rules of a game released for the first time in eight years.
In No Guy Looks Normal (from Seikimatsu Games), players take turns flipping over guy cards to see whether they can spot the slightest differences.
Party Games
Chimera Art (from Chachaya) is a game in which players draw body parts on transparent boards and stack them on top of each other for others to guess. Incidentally, the example in the photo is supposedly "Beethoven".
Gummi Choco Papaya Revolution (from ClaGla) is a rock-paper-scissors, snakes-and-ladders-type game. If you lose, you add a card, which increases the number of steps you can move. You can also enjoy the combinations of added words.
Meat Karuta (from Playcreate) is an old-maid memory game in which it is difficult to tell the cards apart. It is now available in both a Yakiniku version and a black-and-white version.
Magical Girl's Sin (from Yofukashi Project) is a social deduction game in which black magical girls, who know each other, and white magical girls, who do not know each other's identities, cast spells at each other in battle.
Yubi Casino (from 4tousei) is partly based on the traditional Japanese gambling game Tehonbiki. In this game, players bet on the number on which the dealer will stop the roulette wheel. If the required number of chips to participate is low, the dealer should increase the number of spins. If the required number of chips is high, the dealer should decrease the number of spins, but beware — they might outwit you.
Doré (from FR@ Games) is a memory game in which players guess which pieces were added while their eyes were closed. There are two rules: the Arsène rule, in which players remove pieces one by one from the original set; and the Cat's Eye rule, in which players guess the common feature of the removed pieces.
Word Games
In Kataru Karuta (from Macoto Nakamura), the reading cards tell a story. Taking a card that matches the ending reveals what happens next. How will it end?
exghost: The Electric Spirit Deleter (from Studium Mundi) is a "reading gamebook" in which three players each have a different script. The story unfolds differently based on the choices made in each scene. The game is planned to be serialized alongside a film about the production of board games, which has already begun production.
In Goat Got Letter (from K*), players engage in a reverse Aiue Battle. Using clues about the order of the letters in their word, they guess words they cannot see that match the target word.
Board Game Anagram Quiz (from Boardgame Radio Study Group) involves guessing board game titles, the letters of which have been rearranged. The illustrations of the rearranged titles add to the fun.
Euro-Style Games
In Chernozem (from Pampas), players use cards to guess the full appearance of a die that is partially hidden inside a tube. Cards discarded by other players can also serve as clues.
In Deliveries in the Mist (from mmmmemory), you build routes to connect destinations using rail lines, including those of other players. Unlike in TransAmerica, using other players' color-coded rail lines also grants them points.
In History of Greece (from Southern Cross Games), players take charge of 27 nations that flourished during the ancient Greek era. They engage in battles and compete for points using the time-track turn order system.
Stella Frontier (from Kujiradama) is a co-operative deck-building game in which players manipulate dice rolls to complete missions before the air runs out.
Snowball Snowball (from Gomi Kokusai) is a rondel game in which players navigate a circular track made of cards. Players trigger effects, add new cards, and upgrade their set-up by playing cards.
In Conductors (from Hallelujah Rockboy), you play cards from your hand to move your piece and collect resources. To replenish your hand, however, you must switch to a different tribe with different special abilities.
Green Punk (from 8oz Games) is a co-operative game in which players must defend a city from being swallowed by plants. Players send workers to activate technology cards, but there is a risk of being consumed by the plants.
Card Games
32LDK (from 6jizoGames) is a card-shedding game in which players take turns playing cards that are stronger than the previous one. Players can draw and play cards not only from their own hands, but also from the deck or other players' hands. Playing a weak card sends it back to your hand. However, since you can play consecutive numbers all at once, collecting them may be a good strategy.
New Old (from HEY!) is a hand management game in which players take turns playing cards in the L.L.A.M.A. style to reduce their Old cards and keep New cards in their hands. The graphics on the Old cards are fantastic!
Fagioli (from Hoy Games) is a card game in which players take turns playing cards with higher or lower numbers than the card on the table. Players can replenish their hand with a higher-number card or score points with a lower-number card. If your hand exceeds the one-to-five card limit, you go bust and lose points.
3 Mussen Es Sein! (from Saispiel) is a game in which players take turns playing cards in descending order. If you cannot play a card, you take the played cards and lose points. However, if you collect three cards of the same number, you earn points.
Girigiri Labyrinth (from Tareruya) is a card game in which players discard their cards in ascending order and aim to escape at the right moment. As in the author's previous game, Guru Guru Labyrinth, the monsters left in your hand must be defeated by adventurers. You can steal other players' cards, but they may contain monsters.
Vesper (from Dragon Create) is a card game in which players try to win by playing the highest card while avoiding playing cards of the same number that cancel each other out. The winner then flips the card in the center to score points without going bust. The box art features a design reminiscent of cigarette packaging.
The Illusion of the Time Machine (from Zoemooi) is a card game in which players rewrite the cards in the play area to represent point gains and losses for each color, thereby increasing their score. Only players with the most cards of each color score points.
The Flip & Get series (from Burekeke Games) features seven titles. While playing simultaneously, the goal is to find pairs before the lead player flips three timer cards. If you flip a card that your opponent wants, choose carefully where to return it.
City of Stairs (from Polar Pond Games) is a card game in which players create walking routes fit to their characters by placing cards.
Pen-and-Paper Games
Pizza Otter Double Bingo! (from OKAZU Brand) is a roll-and-write game in which players roll two dice and mark their sheets according to the rolls to form ordered hands in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions.
Cat's Eye (from March Hare Games) is a game in which players roll two dice and write the numbers on adjacent squares in rows and columns. Players compete for points based on the multiplication of the rows and columns. Since multiplication is involved, it is best to pair negatives with negatives.
Leiden: The Dice Game (from Spieldisorder) is a pen-and-paper game in the Leiden series. Players roll and write to color tulip fields with five colors, which changes the prices of the tulips. During the tulip bubble, prices can rise too high, then plunge.
Two-Player Games
No Luck Poker (from Kawasaki Factory) is a remake released fourteen years after the original. Since players use markers to form poker hands on the board, there is no element of luck.
Shimaenaga Dango ("Skewered Dumplings of Long-tailed Tits") (from Irodoru) is a two-player abstract game. The winner is the player with more of their colored birds lined up when there are five birds in a row. On your turn, you can place a bird or move one. If another bird is in the adjacent space in the direction you move your bird and the space to move it is empty, you can move that bird too.
We will conduct a survey of newly released games on Table Games in the World. The results will be announced at the end of June.
