The BGG Hotness list is one of the best real-time signals we have for what the hobby is thinking about. This week, it’s thinking about interaction.

The Top 5

#1 — Concordia Special Edition is holding firm at the top for a second consecutive week. This isn’t surprising — Concordia has always been the euro that euro-sceptics love, precisely because your card plays directly affect what’s available to opponents. The Special Edition adds enough production value to justify a re-buy for existing fans, and it’s pulling in new players who skipped the understated original box.

#2 — Fossilium continues its climb. A set collection game about fossil excavation might sound dry, but the spatial puzzle of dig site management has genuine teeth. Players compete for the same excavation sites, and timing your digs around opponents’ plans is the whole game.

#3 — Pies has entered the chat. Yes, it’s called Pies. No, don’t let the name fool you — this is a surprisingly sharp area-control game from a first-time designer that’s been generating word-of-mouth buzz since Essen prototypes started circulating.

#4 — The Old Kings Crown is a legacy-adjacent campaign game that’s been slowly building momentum. The cooperative play is tight enough that table talk genuinely matters — you can’t just optimise your own board and hope for the best.

#5 — Harmonies rounds out the top five. An abstract game about building natural landscapes that rewards spatial awareness and forward planning.

The New Entry

#19 — Dune Imperium: Uprising makes its first appearance on the Hotness, driven by the digital implementation announcement. The original Dune Imperium was already the gold standard for deck-building-meets-worker-placement, and Uprising’s expanded market row and new faction mechanics have been divisive enough to keep people talking. That’s usually a good sign.

The Pattern

Look at the top five again. Concordia: your card play affects opponents’ options. Fossilium: competing for dig sites. Pies: area control. The Old Kings Crown: cooperative dependency. Even Harmonies requires awareness of the shared landscape pool.

This isn’t coincidence. After years of multiplayer-solitaire engine builders dominating the Hotness, we’re seeing a clear swing toward games where what your opponents do matters. Players seem to be asking: if I wanted to optimise alone, I’d play a video game.

The question is whether publishers are listening. The crowdfunding space is still dominated by big-box productions where player interaction is an afterthought. But the Hotness — which tracks what people are actively looking at and discussing — is telling a different story.

What to Watch

Keep an eye on Concordia at #1. Games rarely hold the top spot for three consecutive weeks unless there’s sustained new-player discovery happening. If it’s still there next Monday, we’re looking at a genuine phenomenon — a 12-year-old design outperforming everything new on the market.

Weekly Hotness is published every Monday based on BoardGameGeek’s trending data. Follow @TheDiceDrop for daily analysis.