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 the venue, the booths, the events, and some of the exhibitors. A second post on June 30, 2026 will focus on games seen and played. Many thanks to Saigo and Mr. Ono! —WEM
Game Market 2026 Spring took place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on May 23 (Sat) and 24 (Sun). According to the organizers, there were a total of 1,322 exhibitor booths over the two days, which is a 10% increase from last spring, and 32,000 attendees, marking a record high. Game Market 2027 Spring, which will take place after the next Game Market, is expected to attract more exhibitors and visitors. The number of planned exhibit halls for use is expected to increase from four to five.
In May, temperatures can fluctuate by up to 20°C. However, the weather was pleasant once the rain from the previous day stopped. The daily high was 20°C on the first day and 24°C on the second. In addition to the lines forming before the doors opened, there were also food trucks set up outdoors at this Game Market. The good weather allowed visitors to comfortably enjoy the event outdoors. The venue opened at 11:00 for early entry and at 12:00 for general admission.
This is the entrance to Makuhari Messe. The hall is 1 km from Makuhari-Hongo Station. It takes about 15 minutes to walk between the two locations, so the weather can significantly impact walking with heavy luggage.
IDOLiSH7 EXPO 2026 "DECENNIUM", which had a different target audience, was held in a separate hall. As I entered the venue, I passed some women taking photos of the event sign at the entrance.
On Day 1, the Silk Road man struck a gong to mark the opening. Despite the early entry, there was no guarantee that you could get your hands on the limited-edition items. Since running was prohibited, visitors hurried along at a brisk pace.
As with the Autumn 2025 Game Market, the venue was divided into Halls 1–3, which were connected, and Hall 4, which was separated by passageways. The sections in a single hall tended to lose visitor traffic, which seemed unfair to some exhibitors.
This time, however, the booths were organized by genre. Board games were in Halls 1 to 3, and TRPGs, puzzle-solving games, and murder mysteries were in Hall 4. While this alleviated the sense of inequality within each genre, it complicated the layout because exhibitor participation differed significantly between Days 1 and 2 depending on the genre. The Game Market Office will continue to experiment as they prepare for the Spring 2027 Game Market, which will use five halls.
The top image shows the floor map for Saturday, while the bottom image shows the floor map for Sunday. Board games are marked in yellow, and TRPGs are marked in red. The allocation of the free-play area illustrates the difference between the two days.
This is a view of Halls 1 to 3 from the corner of Hall 3. Starting this year, the exhibitor booths have been organized by genre. Halls 1 to 3 are for board games, and Hall 4 is for tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), puzzle-solving games, murder mysteries, etc.
On Day 1, people gathered around the board games. However, on Day 2, the number of TRPG exhibitors increased, resulting in long lines in Hall 4.
Exhibitors such as Engames and Arclight, which had long lines during the Autumn 2025 event, issued numbered tickets to manage the crowds. This saved the exhibitors the trouble of organizing the line of people visiting their booths and allowed visitors to make good use of their waiting time. However, the tickets ran out quickly, leaving some people unable to purchase the games they wanted.
Visitors from overseas were particularly disadvantaged because purchasing early entry tickets required SMS verification from a Japanese mobile phone number. Consequently, they could enter only through general admission. We hope this issue will be addressed for future events.
Engames, which saw many visitors again this year seeking new titles, such as the trick-taking game Can't Win!, handled the crowds with timed tickets with time slots. Even so, lines formed long enough to require the last-in-line sign at each time slot.
No numbered tickets were provided for the charity sale on Day 2. Long lines formed as board games provided by sponsoring publishers were sold at bargain prices.
In Halls 1 to 3, block booths for companies and major game production groups were placed around the corners and in the center, while standard booths were arranged on long tables in the remaining space. There was plenty of space in the aisles, and there did not seem to be any major congestion.
At this Game Market, the number of booths offering demo play increased significantly. This allowed visitors to play games even after they had sold out and gave families the opportunity to enjoy the venue. Game Market is becoming an event where you can have a whole day of fun, even if you do not buy any games.
As was the case at the Autumn 2025 event, the Pokémon Board Game Club booth is hugely popular with both children and adults.
The Detective Conan Card Game demo sessions were packed all day long.
The booth for the 2.5-D idol group StPri (Strawberry Prince) was decked out entirely in pink and lined with plush toys.
BakaFire Party launched a new Sakura Arms series 再演 (Re-play).
At the 本当に面白いユーロゲームの世界 ("Really Fun World of Euro Games") booth, visitors could play classic board games and receive explanations of the rules. If they wanted to purchase the games, they could receive a map showing where to buy them from Japanese publishers or the shop Yellow Submarine right at the venue. I also helped with game instructions starting Sunday afternoon, and I am glad that the visitors enjoyed the experience.
Children played giant-sized board games at the Big Game Park. Having a place like this makes it easier for families with young children to visit the Game Market.
If you get hungry after playing, head to the food trucks. They were set up outdoors and, with the nice weather, were bustling with visitors.
Many game designers and illustrators participate in Game Market, so you can meet them in person and have them explain their work or sign autographs.
After winning the Spiel des Jahres award for Bomb Busters, Hisashi Hayashi (OKAZU Brand) also won the Japan Boardgame Prize, which is chosen by public vote. His new game, Pizza Otter Double Bingo!, is the second in the Otter series.
Mukai was voted number one in the Japan Board Game Designer Poll for two consecutive years. After releasing Imposter Party, he released Human Debut from UNPOT Game Lab and Hattori Trick from Laugh Games.
Ibuink, who had the general release of Yokai Parade under the title Night Parade, is exhibiting at Game Market for the fourth time. Following the well-received Meow Heist, he released Pitakko Karuta, a word game.
Night Parade was being sold with a major promotion at the Arclight Games booth.
Kaya Miyano (Mob+), who continues to release minimalist card games, announced the pixel art card game Adventurers Just Want to Rest in Fancy Graves.
Toshiki Sato (Sato Familie) released Slopes of Bordeaux, an irregular pentagonal tile placement game with a Euro-style box art.
Yusuke Sato (New Board Game Party — center) released Square, a card-shedding game in which players try to create sets of consecutive numbers. The photo also includes Asozan Daifunka and Tetsuya Ikeda, comedians and friends of Sato's, who happened to stop by.
Saashi (Saashi & Saashi), celebrating their eleventh anniversary, released a dice game titled Railway Porters. Taking on a different genre every time, he said that he wanted to create a tile-placement game.
Illustrator Osamu Inoue exhibited under their name and sold a collection of their past works, including Role Badges.
Mitsuru Nakamura (326), the author of Ito, released three card games at once: SphinQuiz, Ken Tau Rus, and Match.
Kabuki Kenichi (Game NOWA) released Kindoro, a card game in which the objective is not just to get rid of your hand.
The block booths covered a large area, and each featured unique exhibits. Board game raffles, where you could win luxurious prizes for a small fee, were held everywhere and have become a Game Market tradition.
KenBill garnered attention with their crowdfunding campaign for the Japanese version of Slay the Spire: The Board Game – Downfall. They used a truck for their display.
Liquor Gamers Club, who announced a mystery-solving cocktail series in collaboration with Riddler, was in the middle of taking a commemorative photo.
And Riddler released two board games: Meteo Night and Etokoto Battle.
The most dedicated cosplayers at this event were from the one-on-one battle game The Buccaneer Fantasy.
Oink Games exhibited four new titles at the event: The Frozen Passage, Compress, Town 77, and Meow Tiles. The display featured the backs of the game boxes prominently.
This event featured sixty exhibitor groups from ten overseas countries. Although language-dependent games posed a significant challenge, some groups produced Japanese versions to help visitors experience their games.
This marked Washington Secretary of State Steve "Ryoma" Hobbs's second time participating in the event since 2024. This time, he led a delegation of ten Washington-based board game manufacturers and designers. He said that by participating consistently, they could gather information on board games that appeal to Japanese tastes and develop products tailored to those preferences, thereby fostering cultural exchange.
Playte, a South Korean company, released many Japanese versions of Eurogames that were once out of print, as well as remakes of Japanese titles. Since their games come in small boxes, they are also affordable.
There were also overseas exhibitors present at standard booths, showcasing the unique characteristics of their respective countries and giving the event a Little Essen-like atmosphere.
The zoning area caused controversy at the Autumn 2025 event when all displays were banned. This time, only five booths were set up behind partitions. Although they were called "zoned" booths, R18 content was prohibited from the beginning. Even titles like Keep It Dark, which did not require zoning, were assigned to these areas based on self-declaration. Works emphasizing sexual content, as seen in some areas at the previous event, were largely absent (though not entirely), allowing families with children to attend without worry.
チャック横丁 (Zipper-Bag Game Shopping Street) was open only on Day 2. Since fewer people visited on that day, I was able to take my time browsing before the items sold out. It was a nostalgic and emotional experience, reminiscent of when Game Market was held in Asakusa.
The Zipper-Bag Game Shopping Street was lined with unique works and had a quirky vibe.
Finally, I would like to report on the special stages. On Day 1, rakugo storyteller Sanyutei Koenraku (formerly Rakuten) performed a tabletop role-playing game (TRPG)-themed rakugo story. Koenraku was recently promoted to Shin-uchi, the highest rank in rakugo. There was a live streaming exchange with BitSummit (indie game festival in Kyoto), as well as a lecture on board game artwork by Tori Hasegawa.
On Day 2, legal experts discussed board games and intellectual property rights. Antoine Bauza gave a talk on board game design, and there was a symposium on expanding domestic board games to international markets. Some of this content may be available to watch later on the official Game Market YouTube channel.
Next time, I will share my reports on the board games I checked out at the venue.
