DYLAN BAILEY
A Familiar Find
Play as the whimsical familiars of the world’s greatest sorcerers in a race to gather spell components and ingredients in Darrington Press’s A Familiar Find, a new charming and fast-paced strategic card game fun for the whole family set in Critical Role’s storytelling world of Exandria™, launching on April 7, 2026.
In 2015, Critical Role Productions LLC was founded on the core values of believing in the positive impact of storytelling, sharing the love of games with others, staying curious and always learning, and leaving the world better than we found it. Critical Role began as a group of friendly voice actors sharing stories and fun moments around a table. The group quickly made a name for themselves and garnered a cult like following through their Thursday night tabletop entertainment. Some can even argue that Critical Role has been a leading cause in the continued rise in popularity of Dungeons and Dragons in recent years. They have made DnD cool.
With their strong passion and experience in tabletop gaming and roleplaying, launching Darrington Press as a subsidiary in 2020 was a natural next step. Darrington Press is a publishing company that provides ways for people worldwide to create shared experiences through storytelling, while shaping their own adventures and making invaluable memories along the way. Darrington Press features games and products created and enjoyed by the team at Critical Role, and looks to solidify a long-lasting positive impact on the gaming community and industry as a whole. Some of their previous products include the board games Solar Gardens and Queen by Midnight, the DnD 5th edition sourcebook Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, the investigative horror TTRPG Candella Obscura, and of course…Daggerheart. And now they have announced A Familiar Find, a new charming and fast-paced strategic card game fun for the whole family set in Critical Role’s storytelling world of Exandria™.
Learn more about Darrington Press LLC and their products by checking out their website.
In A Familiar Find, players take on the role of loyal animal companions on a critical mission. Across the corners of Exandria, powerful spellcasters are searching for rare magical ingredients—and it’s up to you, their familiar, to be the first to gather them. Players race through ever-shifting magical locations, collect key components, and outwit rival familiars attempting to sabotage their plans.
Bluffs will be called, traps will be set, and strategies will be evaded; A Familiar Find challenges players to think sharply and act fast but decisively. Featuring quick turns, easy-to-learn rules, and a deck full of surprises, every game delivers a fresh and delightfully magical experience. This lighthearted adventure will transport you into the paws, claws, wings, and abilities of a loyal animal companion racing to gather rare spell ingredients for the most powerful spellcasters in the world. Fans will be thrilled to play as iconic familiars from Critical Role Campaigns 1–3, including: Trinket the Bear, Mister, Pâté de Rolo, and more.
A Familiar Find will be available April 7, 2026, through Darrington Press Guild stores, Critical Role shops (US, CA, UK, EU, AU), and friendly local game stores at a market price of $29.99. The game can be played with 2-4 players over a course of 30-40 minutes and is intended for ages 12+. The game offers a diverse experience with 10 unique Familiar Character Boards, each featuring distinct abilities and playstyles for players to choose from. The gameplay is kept dynamic and ever-evolving by the inclusion of 84 Arcane Cards and 13 Location Cards.
Plus, Darrington Press Guild stores will have 5 unique Promo Location Cards that add even more variance and replayability! Go to https://darringtonpress.com/explore to find a Darrington Press Guild store near you.
We would like to give a special Thank You to our friends at Critical Role and Darrington Press for allowing us the opportunity to share this exciting news.
Cinderedge - Solo Survival TTRPG
Firewatch meets Disco Elysium in this haunting solo journaling tabletop RPG where you play a forgotten Ward Keeper maintaining a magical barrier against apocalyptic flames. Sacrifice memories to survive and create something beautiful from inevitable loss. Inspired by many of our favorite games, Cinderedge transforms tabletop gaming into an intimate meditation on duty, isolation, and what we sacrifice to protect others.
QuasiReal Publishing, founded by Grant Mielke, combines over 60 years of expertise in game design, development, and marketing. The company is dedicated to creating innovative tabletop experiences that push the boundaries of traditional gaming narratives. In the past they have done so through projects such as MythCraft RPG, Veil of the Eternal Night, and Bria’s Mythical Menagerie. Now they push that boundary to the limit with their newest project, Cinderedge.
Die alone in a burning forest. Firewatch meets Disco Elysium in this haunting solo journaling tabletop RPG where you play a forgotten Ward Keeper maintaining a magical barrier against apocalyptic flames. Using just cards, dice, and a journal, document your final days through 150+ evolving prompts over the course of 3 distinct chapters. Balance your Ward’s supplies, sanity, and stability. Sacrifice memories to survive and create something beautiful from inevitable loss. Inspired by many of our favorite games, Cinderedge transforms tabletop gaming into an intimate meditation on duty, isolation, and what we sacrifice to protect others.
While the PDF version of Cinderedge may already be purchased for $14.99 on DriveThruRPG, QuasiReal Publishing has recently started a Kickstarter campaign (that is already fully backed at time of writing) that will introduce other variations of the RPG along with premium Cinderedge themed physical components for use while playing. This campaign will allow players to purchase this game in PDF, Zine, Hardcover, or even a limited Collector’s Edition. The Hardcover Collector’s Edition may be purchased on its own for $59. But there are also two main pledge bundles that offer even more. All Kickstarter contents are estimated to be delivered June of 2026.
Hardcover Collector’s Edition
Ward Keeper’s Stash
The Ward Keeper’s Stash ($69): Includes the Cinderedge Zine, Ward Keeper's Log Journal, the Collector's Playing Card Deck, and the Official Dice Set. All in a high-quality, magnetic close, rigid box. Also includes free PDF and OST Digital Downloads.
Unmarked Grave
Unmarked Grave ($129): includes the Hardcover Collector's Edition book, Ward Keeper's Log Journal, the Collector's Playing Card Deck, and the Official Dice Set. All in a handcrafted acacia wood box with burnt lettering and soft felt liner. Also includes free PDF and OST Digital Downloads. This will be a Limited-Edition Kickstarter Exclusive.
As a gift, QuasiReal Publishing passed along a PDF copy of the rulebook to allow for a review to go along with this article. Spoiler Alert! There is no happy ending, there is only the record you leave behind. An overwhelming ominous sensation is felt while playing knowing that at the end of it, there was nothing you can do. Ultimately, death comes for us all. I have run through 2 playthroughs so far and can gladly say that both were unique and saw different prompts.
For those who have never played a solo journaling TTRPG, the biggest gameplay mechanic is your own imagination. Typically you are given a setting for the story to take place; Cinderedge happens to take place during the mid-17th century in a magical high-fantasy world called Ancerra. Then you draw from a deck of everyday playing cards, with each card representing a different prompt to roleplay. By journaling how your character plays out these prompts, a story is formed.
Cinderedge takes that key mechanic of using the imagination and slowly twists it, homing to works by Lovecraft and Robert Howard. As the game and story progress your character, who you know is on a collision path with death, slowly goes insane as you are asked to sacrifice memories in order to survive. Imagine you are carrying a sentimental photo of a loved one in your wallet. Now imagine if the face in that photo began to blur, have its mouth sowed shut, or even grew horns. These are the types of mental obstacles your Ward will face; and you as the player are sickly asked to be the one that drives your character down that dark path. Words alone cannot describe this experience. There are genuine emotional stakes as players literally forget pieces of their character's identity to survive another day.
Nature - Digital Release Date Announcement
The physical version of Nature released in August 2025. Now in an industry first, the digital board game will release right after its cardboard counterpart. Nature by NorthStar Digital Games is coming to Steam on November 5, 2025.
In 2014, NorthStar Games released the award-winning strategy board game Evolution. The premise was simple, use traits to adapt to an ever-changing ecosystem where you and your opponent vie for scarce resources. But after multiple expansions, promo packs with new traits, and standalone sequels that original concept became muddled for new players stuck behind a barrier on entry. For this reason, NorthStar Games has decided to reboot through their newest board game Nature. Nature is meant to be a redesigned and streamlined version of Evolution that is more forgiving and seamlessly expandable through a modular design allowing expansions to be added and combined, creating a fresh ecosystem every time you play. Nature reinvents the beloved series' mechanics, offering faster gameplay, balanced strategy, and virtually endless variety. The physical version of Nature released in August of 2025; it along with 2 of the 5 planned modules can be purchased now. Check out the video above for a better look at what Nature has to offer.
Learn more about NorthStar Games and their products by checking out their website.
Digital Release
In what is marketed as an industry first, the digital board game will release right after its cardboard counterpart. On October 9th NorthStar Digital Games announced that the digital adaptation of Nature, “the most anticipated board game of the year”, will launch fully featured on November 5, 2025. The core game can be purchased on Steam for $12.99, or for $24.99 you can purchase the Core Game + Flight & Jurassic Modules. The Digital version of Nature offers a full campaign, custom challenges, online matchmaking, and local multiplayer. You can also learn to play with an interactive tutorial on the free-to-try Nature app (iOS, Android, and Steam). Progress from the full game can be connected to an account, so you can pick up right where you left off on mobile.
At Gen Con 2025 I had the pleasure of spending time with President of NorthStar Games, Scott Rencher, who walked me through the digital version of Nature and later provided us with the opportunity to test the game out early on Steam. “We're thrilled to bring the dynamic, vibrant world of Nature alive in Steam,” he excitedly shared. “This is our Grail Project. Our team has poured our Evolution experience and four years of relentless testing and tweaking into this adaptation, and we can't wait for players to feel the thrill of trying to keep their species alive in this ever-changing ecosystem.”
For transparency, it is important to note that my time spent with Nature included the two modules that will be present for purchase at launch, Flight and Jurassic. These extra modules expand the game by adding many more levels, traits, and hours of gameplay.
In Flight, you find freedom and safety by taking to the skies.
In Jurassic, ferocious predators and colossal dinosaurs roam the land, making for much more of a carnivorous experience.
The core principle of adapt to survive is easy to understand as each round sees you growing your population and attempting to consume more resources than your opponent. Yet, strategy and complexity are added over time as you begin to add traits that evolve your species, while maintaining a balance of your own population size in relation to the overall resource pool. These traits can combine and synergize to create truly unique combinations and strategies that can be enjoyed by the most advanced of players.
If these complex strategies aren’t enough to satisfy these players, then maybe an advanced game mode can. Nature is intended for players 10+. While it is simple enough for all players that age to enjoy it does offer a Hard mode and online matchmaking centered around an ELO system, catered towards the more hardcore audience.
As someone who considers themselves a completionist, overall level design gets me excited. After completing each level, you can earn a rating (1 -3 Stars) that keeps me replaying them until I’ve achieved the highest score and checked off all goals. The digital map housing all of these levels is a treat visually, being reminiscent to educational computer games of the 90’s and early-2000s. Which brings up a thought that kept nagging at me the entire time I played this game.
Although not directly marketed too or targeted, Nature is the perfect game to be used as a tool to gamify a classroom, especially that of Biology and other Natural Sciences. According to Scott Rencher, the game was made with direct consulting from actual Biologists and Professors. Once high scores on levels are reached, you are rewarded with photos of different species that also contain insightful facts about each of them. Ultimately, Nature stays true to its name and showcases that it can be both scary and beautiful.
Elden Ring: the Board Game Rot & Sorcery Gamefound Launch
Rot and Sorcery, the two new standalone core boxes that expand the tabletop Land Between are live now on Gamefound. Steamforged Games are once again returning to the world of Elden Ring with Machinations of the Witch and Dominion of Rot. These new games can be enjoyed as self-contained experiences or integrated with the ones from the original version released in March 2025.
On February 25, 2022 the world was introduced to the Soulslike lovechild of FromSoftware Director Hidetaka Miyazaki and writer George R.R. Martin. Elden Ring would become one of the most polarizing videogames of the past generation and would even go on to win Game of the Year at the 2022 Game Awards. Critics and players were swept away by the massive world and naturally integrated storytelling. Yet, once the Elden Beast was slain and the credits rolled, fans were left with a yearning sensation and wanted to explore the masterfully crafted world even more. Then enters Steamforged Games.
Learn more about Steam Forged Games and their products by checking out their website.
Founded in 2014, Steamforged Games saw a humble beginning in the corner of a Manchester, UK hobby store. Today, they are one of the most recognizable and respected teams in the board game space. Their most notable work being tabletop adaptations of triple - AAA video games such as Monster Hunter World, Horizon Zero Dawn, Dark Souls, Resident Evil, Gears of War, and most recently Elden Ring.
Elden Ring the Board Game found its way to stores on March 31, 2025. Its original campaign launched in 2022 raising over £3.3 million (~4.4 million USD) with more the 130,000 backers. Now Steamforged looks to build on that success with a new, accessible entry point that expands the tabletop Lands Between.
Just as they have done previously, Steamforged will return to crowdfunding as they introduce two all-new core boxes —Machinations of the Witch and Dominion of Rot— set in eerie fog of Liurnia and the corruption of Caelid. While these boxes are compatible with the contents of the first campaign (Realm of the Grafted King, Weeping Peninsula, and Stormveil Castle), they also act as standalone entries with previous contents not needed to fully play and enjoy the self-contained experience.
In the Lakes of Liurnia, sorceries lay dormant, secrets dwell deep, and the Machinations of the Witch ensnare even the most cunning. In the Dominion of Rot, players must survive theaffliction gripping Caelid, traversing ravaged lands to face grotesque enemies, including thefan-favourite Starscourge.
“With the first core boxes, we built an engine we’re extremely proud of, that pushedthe boundaries of tabletop combat to recreate the challenging fights of the videogame,” said Mat Hart, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Steamforged Games.“Now, we’re expanding that foundation with new regions, new stories, and newgameplay, while making sure newcomers and returning players feel equally welcome.Fans can start their journey right here, with Rot & Sorcery, or returnto the beginning.”
As someone who has never played Elden Ring and finds little enjoyment in Soulslikes, I was fearful of even approaching this board game. But at Gen Con 2025, I was given the opportunity to demo portions of both Machinations of the Witch and Dominion of Rot, guided by the advice and wisdom of Steamforged game designers. Even with a minuscule amount of knowledge of the Elden Ring world, I still had a fantastic time. Gameplay felt similar to participating in a DnD campaign, but without a GM as the game smoothly runs itself. Combat had a degree of difficulty and strategy that matched the Soulslike genre. And that rush of excitement you get after defeating a powerful boss or pulling off some cool combo, is still there. But my favorite part was the level of strategy when deciding the best way to move in combat tiles and the most beneficial way to spend actions each turn. Below you can check out the demos I participated in for yourself.
Each core box offers a self-contained experience—fully playable without previous content—and includes richly detailed miniatures representing iconic enemies, immersive combat, and flavorful narrative. For returning Tarnished, the new boxes also integrate with those from the first Kickstarter for a grander, interconnected experience. The Gamefound campaign also features expansions and unlockable content that will be revealed while the funding period is live. Some content will be exclusive, making this a key moment for collectors and players alike. The Gamefound campaign is live now for both newcomers and veteran Tarnished. Discover the boxes, explore the expansions, and join the campaign.
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