Hello everyone! Jason here with our favorite post of the year. It's also the one with the most prep work, with weeks of catching up with signing games, working on titles and themes, creating logos, writing text, and prepping images... all to give you a peek behind the curtain that we scramble behind. I'll start this out with a quick 2025 recap. If 2024 was the year of ramping up our development team, 2025 was going to be the year of ramping up marketing. That didn't even come close to happening, but instead it became the year of bouncing around and trying new things. We exhibited at Gen Con for the first time. We extended our licensing with both Shallow Regrets and Dustbiters. And new to the whole industry was trying to survive the tariffs when they were at their worst (fingers crossed!). So it was a weird year for us (and the whole industry), so let's call 2025 a successful speedbump as we race to 2026.
Learning from 2025 and all of the years that led up to it, we are constantly trying to find the right balance between bringing back old games and launching new ones. You'll see a good mix of them here, with 3-5 of the main 12 games being an extension of our ongoing series. And 7-9 of the main 12 being all new. These numbers aren't concrete because I'm not sure how to classify Simply Solo games? They are both ongoing (the series) and all new (the games).
I think we also have an interesting mix of player counts in the main 12 games. Half are solo only, and the other half has a wide variety (one 1-2P, two 1-4P, one 2-3P, and two 2-6P). We have two others that didn't make the announcement, but are in the early stages and support 2-3P, and some other multiplayer stuff in the additional games below. But solo gaming is going so strong, and we like to make sure our games are some of the best out there, and easiest to bring around with you. With that in mind, we're constantly chasing those amazing 2-4P games with solo expansions, as I think that's where we can really shine, but looking for great games at any player count.
Enough of me talking, let's look at what's coming!
2026 Wallet Line
A quick note for patrons is that the vast majority of these are coming to the club, and if they aren't they will either be discounted for Black Friday, or they will be direct releases where you can use coupons on them. Just keep in mind this is a preview of our whole line, which includes the 12 monthly Board Game Of The Month Club games, and a handful extras. We will post updates when each game releases and let you know if it's coming to the club or not.
Drumroll..................
A Dragon's Gift (1P)
High atop the mountain, a single dragon guards a peaceful village. Each year, the local craftspeople show the dragon their appreciation with a thoughtful gift. Help out by making sure each villager has what they need to deliver the final gift!
A Dragon’s Gift is the 10th Simply Solo game by Scott Almes. Build your map by adding new cards, connecting along road lines. Deliver goods along existing roads or use a special transport to enable unusual routes. As you fulfill villagers’ needs, they’ll offer higher-grade goods. Put together all three goods for the dragon’s gift to show your full appreciation!
Adventurous Outlands (1-4P)
Keep the adventure going in this standalone sequel to Adventurous. Abandon your ship for new vehicles that allow you to explore overland in search of fresh marvels and wonders!
Astro ROVE (1P)
It’s ROVE…in space! You’d think that everyone’s favorite robotic explorer would have had enough adventure by now, but our intrepid hero has its sights set on the furthest reaches of the galaxy. As with previous ROVE games, you’ll be in charge of moving modules around to complete spatial puzzles, but with all-new twists that make this ROVE unlike any other.
Astronotl (1-2P)
Help your astronautical axolotls survive the pitfalls and perils of outer space in this cooperative game for 1 to 2 players. Designed by Erica Pinto, Astronotl was a finalist in our 9 Cards Per Game Challenge and received high marks for its whimsical yet challenging nature. Keep your ship’s precious modules functional despite the hazardous conditions to complete your mission!
Banana Carts (2-3P)
Bananas are notoriously fickle: too green one day and too brown the next! As the manager of a banana cart, you need to watch your inventory carefully to maximize your fruits’ freshness. Grab bananas and use their special powers to shuffle your line of bananas so that you can put your best fruit forward in this game from Marceline Leiman!
The Cursed Cat (1P)
Our ELEVENTH (!) entry in the Simply Solo line from Scott Almes, The Cursed Cat puts you in the shoes of a very beleaguered witch or wizard whose feline familiar is causing problems around the lab. Try to keep everything in order while that cursed cat makes a mess!
The Daily Weather (1P)
Today’s a brand new day! And with each new day comes a new puzzle, courtesy of this relaxing yet thinky solo game. The Daily Weather was designed by Ian Tarter and was a finalist in our 9-Cards Per Game challenge. Determine today’s unique setup using the real-world date and season, then use overlapping cards to work your way towards a solution. Score points for more effective solutions as you try to predict the unpredictable weather!
[Note from Jason - we're planning on doing some really fun daily challenges with The Daily Weather on Discord and other places online. The PNP will be available starting January 1st, with the physical campaign coming in February].
Everything Machine (2-6P)
Test your deductive skills using the marvelous Everything Machine! This cooperative party game features clever clue-giving and shrewd guesswork. The team of engineers run queries across rows and columns of the grid to identify the hidden traits of each card, while the Everything Machine does their level best to provide clues that link together the queried cards without sending the engineers astray! Designed by Connor Wielgosz, Everything Machine was the winner in our 9 Cards Per Game challenge.
Jarl (1P)
The Viking Age is at hand and with prosperity comes power. As a ruling jarl, chart a new future for your people through careful development and expansion to secure your eternal legacy throughout the world.
In Joe Klipfel's newest game, you'll build up your Viking civilization through resource management, balancing expansion with defense to protect your gains. Devote your efforts to long-term innovations or focus on accumulating wealth and food for your citizens. Forge your own path through the Viking Age and leave your mark on the known world!
Reawaken (1P)
In the farthest corners of the world, ancient relics of immense power lie waiting, lost to the sands of time. Brave harrowing dangers to recover these forgotten objects and return them to their rightful owners. Reawaken is a spiritual successor to At the Helm from Ted Heidersdorf, taking the familiar deckbuilding gameplay in all-new directions.
Shaper (2-6P)
What do you see? Is that a dinosaur or a dumbbell? Create unique images to communicate your secret clue in this cooperative picture-making game designed by Mark Tuck. Shaper was a finalist in our 9 Cards per Game challenge. Take turns channeling your inner artist and complete enough clues to win!
Villainopolis (1-4P)
Not all heroes wear capes, but those who do have a pesky tendency to ruin your sinister plans! It’s time for the supervillains to seize the city in this twist on our classic -Opolis line. In true comic book fashion, these ne’er-do-wells only care about their own goals: unlike previous -Opolis games, Villainopolis has no scoring whatsoever! Instead, you must complete each of three villains’ ultimate schemes at the end of the game to win. Who says that crime isn’t fun?
That's it for the main line for now. I know of at least three more that are on their way, and we have some intentionally open slots just incase a great opportunity arises. Now you might say how do we release more than 12 in a year? Sometimes there are games that don't come to the club (usually licensed games or heavily expanded games), sometimes there are months where we release a bunch of games at once (Black Friday will do that), and sometimes there are club-exclusive games (more on this later).
2026 Expansions and Additional Games
Now here's a bunch of wallets that may or may not come to the club. There's not a lot of room for expansion collections in the current pricing structure, but we will make sure you can get them with your discounts. But some of this is definitely coming to the club.
We're expanding both Apropos games with standalone and combinable expansions. These will come to the club with a 7 card starter kit, and then a card each month in 2026 until they are complete. The game is playable with as little as 7 cards, but each card adds some more variety. If you hang around long enough you'll get the whole game! They'll be released to the general public closer to the end of the monthly releases.
We're also expanding Adventurous with more Marvel expansions, and eventually the new Epilogue Expansions. All of this will lead into Adventurous Outlands.
And then there's Cuckoo Shuffle. We've released so many weird little sets, but Cats and Dogs will be the main one, if we can call it that. Cows and Pigs might be the other main one. Both of these should be a little easier to get.
And finally a few expansion collections. Lands of Amazement and A Dragon's Gift continue the tradition of expanding each Simply Solo game with a collection. And Battlecrest gets weird with 3 more heroes in 2026, wrapping up the Deadrock set and getting us to 21 heroes and 10 wallets!
To follow along with any of these releases, we have preview pages for each, and we will be adding more to each as we go: https://buttonshygames.com/pages/upcoming-releases
And how about something completely different?
Starting in 2026, we're going to be releasing Button Shy Paper Jams.
What are these? They are pen and paper dice games based on our wallet games. The plan is for them to be PNP only, maybe released through Gamefound - and maybe a discount for patrons, just at a different level than wallets as the price structure will be quite different.
We've started the design side with Skulls of Sedlec. It's simple and crunchy. With just two dice, and some running combos, each decision feels really strong. I've had a lot of fun testing this with Dustin and Milan, and I'm looking forward to how they covert some of our other games.
I think that's it!
We have lots of additional ideas and hopes for next year, but let's see if we can pull them off before getting ahead of ourselves. As we get new opportunities, we will share them. Thanks for the support in 2025, and we hope to get you some great games in 2026!