Weekly Hotness: Week of May 11, 2026

Last week, Lairs was sitting comfortably on the throne at #1. This week? It’s plummeted to #41. That’s not a fall from grace - that’s falling off a cliff, bouncing off several ledges, and landing in a ravine. In its place, Terraria: The Board Game has dug, fought, and crafted its way to the top of the Hotness - fuelled by a wave of fresh reviews including No Pun Included’s delightfully titled “We Could Not Finish Terraria: The Board Game.”

This is one of the biggest shakeups we’ve tracked. Five completely new entries have stormed the top 10, led by Rolling Deep at #2 - a Balatro-inspired dice roguelike from Bitewing Games that won’t even release until 2027 but is already generating enormous buzz. Meanwhile, Lands of Evershade has muscled into #3 on the back of a staggering €12.6 million Gamefound campaign. When Awaken Realms decides to build a DM-free open-world RPG, the hobby listens.

This Week’s Top 20

Dropped off: Lairs (#1→#41!), Bailiff of Boscoop, Aygor: Demons’ Hollow, Rumble Nation, Toy Battle, Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable, Nemesis: Retaliation, Root, Unstoppable

Terraria digs to #1 - the video game adaptation that actually works

Box art via BoardGameGeek. Terraria: The Board Game.

Terraria: The Board Game is a co-operative deck-building adventure from Paper Fort Games that translates Re-Logic’s beloved sandbox into cardboard. And unlike most video game adaptations - which tend to slap a brand on generic mechanics and call it a day - this one actually captures the gameplay loop. You dig, you fight, you explore, you build. The deck-building drives a flexible action point system where you’re constantly making interesting choices about resource management and risk.

The game raised £1.6 million on Kickstarter and carries an 8.0 on BGG from 228 ratings. But what’s really driving the buzz this week is No Pun Included’s review, which went semi-viral with the headline “We Could Not Finish Terraria: The Board Game.” At 120-180 minutes on the box (and significantly longer in practice - Punchboard’s review called the 45-minutes-per-player estimate “straight-up fantasy”), this is a commitment. But the community seems to love it precisely because it’s a full Terraria experience, not a watered-down cash grab.

It’s rated 3.65/5 on complexity, placing it firmly in “you’ll need a rules refresher” territory. Best at 3 players according to the community.

Rolling Deep - the Balatro of dice games arrives (in 2027)

Box art via BoardGameGeek. Rolling Deep.

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a game that won’t release until 2027 sitting at #2 on the Hotness. Rolling Deep, designed by Peter C. Hayward and published by Bitewing Games, is being described as a “Balatro-style dice roguelike” - and if you know how much the gaming community loves Balatro right now, you understand exactly why this is generating so much excitement.

It’s a solo adventure game combining action queuing with deck/bag/pool building and dice rolling. The early BGG rating of 9.3 (from a tiny sample) is clearly inflated, but it tells you something about the enthusiasm. The Balatro comparison isn’t just marketing either - Hayward has been open about the influence, and early previews suggest it captures that “one more run” compulsion loop.

At 45 minutes for a solo experience, this is the polar opposite of Terraria’s epic sprawl. Sometimes the Hotness likes to keep things interesting by putting a 6-hour co-op adventure right next to a 45-minute solo dice game.

Lands of Evershade storms in on €12.6 million of hype

Lands of Evershade is what happens when Awaken Realms - the studio behind Tainted Grail, ISS Vanguard, and other crowdfunding juggernauts - decides to build a DM-free open-world RPG for 1-5 players. The result is a €12.6 million Gamefound campaign that makes most Kickstarters look like lemonade stands.

It’s a hybrid RPG/board game featuring dice rolling, role-playing, and scenario-driven campaigns - essentially a tabletop equivalent of an open-world video game, but without requiring someone to spend 40 hours prepping encounters. The “no dungeon master needed” pitch is potent, and given Awaken Realms’ track record of delivering genuinely impressive production values, the hype makes sense.

Feya’s Swamp - the next game from the Terra Mystica designers

Feya’s Swamp at #4 deserves special attention because of its pedigree. This is from Helge and Anselm Ostertag - yes, that Helge Ostertag, co-designer of Terra Mystica and Age of Innovation. When the Terra Mystica designer puts out a new worker placement game about swamp-dwelling clans competing over fishing spots and temple exploration, serious Euro gamers pay attention.

It’s a 2-4 player game running 80-100 minutes with asymmetric clan abilities, variable scoring, and the kind of strategic depth you’d expect from the Ostertag lineage. Published by Grail Games and Cranio Creations, with art by Mihajlo Dimitrievski (the artist behind Raiders of the North Sea and Architects of the West Kingdom). An 8.4 rating on BGG from early adopters is very promising.

The bigger picture - a generational shift?

This week’s Hotness tells a fascinating story about where the hobby is heading. Look at the new entries:

• Terraria and Lands of Evershade represent the “big box experience” trend - massive, production-heavy games that blur the line between board games and video games
• Rolling Deep channels the indie video game zeitgeist (Balatro’s influence is everywhere)
• Feya’s Swamp proves that heavyweight Euro designers still command instant attention
• Compania from Level 99 Games offers simultaneous hidden worker placement - a clever mechanical hook for 1-6 players

Meanwhile, the evergreens continue their rotation. Ark Nova, Heat, Spirit Island, Brass: Birmingham, and Terraforming Mars are permanently camped in or around the Hotness like they own the place. Spirit Island’s climb to #15 (up from #20) is notable - it’s been on a quiet upswing for weeks.

The biggest casualty? Arcs, which dropped from #8 to #19. And Lairs’ fall from #1 to #41 is one of the most dramatic single-week crashes we’ve recorded - a reminder that the Hotness is ruthless. You’re king one week and forgotten the next.

What to watch next week

Rolling Deep’s momentum will be interesting to track - can a game 18 months from release sustain this kind of attention? Lands of Evershade likely has legs as the Gamefound campaign continues. And we’re overdue for a new game to emerge from absolutely nowhere and claim the top spot, as the Hotness loves nothing more than a dramatic entrance.

Data sourced from BoardGameGeek. Cover images via BGG, used with attribution. The Weekly Hotness tracks BGG’s trending games list, which reflects search activity, page views, and community engagement.