Alex Swift

I'm a board game reviewer and storyteller for The Outerhaven, blending sharp analysis with a love for immersive tabletop worlds. When not dissecting rulebooks or testing new mechanics, I teach my kids the fine art of strategic betrayal in tabletop and meeple form.
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Ascend the Shinra Tower - Final Fantasy VII Board Game Brings Cooperative Chaos in 2027

In this new adaptation, players work together to climb the iconic Shinra Tower, stacking Floor and Wall tiles of varying heights to build upward while maintaining the tower’s stability. The higher you go, the more the structure begins to tilt, turning each decision into a careful balance between progress and collapse.

The game reimagines Final Fantasy VII’s cast through wooden pieces featuring a charming, storybook-inspired art style. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and other familiar faces appear alongsi...
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The Official Magic: The Gathering Coloring Book Review - A Different Kind of Spellcasting

Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Artists: Yvonne Gilbert, Tomislav Tomic
Licensed by: Wizards of the Coast
Genre: Art / Hobby / Collector Piece
Release: 4/28/2026
At a glance, this looks like a novelty release, the kind of thing you grab as a gift and forget about. But once you flip through it, it becomes clear this isn’t just filler content with a logo slapped on top. It’s a surprisingly deliberate product that sits somewhere between an art book and a personal hobby project.

And depending on how ser...
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Magic: The Gathering teams up with Secret Lair x Deadpool

There’s a moment every long-running franchise hits where it has to decide what it is.
For Magic: The Gathering, that moment isn’t coming. It’s already here – and it’s wearing red spandex, scribbling on Lightning Bolt, and yelling about “Pool Party Foils.”

Wizards of the Coast just announced a new Secret Lair drop featuring Deadpool as a “creative consultant,” complete with altered versions of staple cards and a brand-new foil treatment that sounds like it was invented during a sugar high.
And d...
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Above and Below: Haunted Review – When Your Cozy Village Gets a Ghost Problem

It lets you build an engine and wander through a storybook adventure.

Haunted takes that cozy village-builder and whispers, “What if the caves underneath your town… weren’t empty anymore?”
Publisher: Red Raven GamesDesigner: Ryan LaukatPlayers: 2–4Playtime: ~90 minutesGenre: Narrative Worker Placement / Village BuildingRelease: 2025
Instead of just expanding your village and exploring the underground like before, Above and Below: Haunted adds a supernatural layer to the system. Ghosts appear, s...
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Fallout: Power Play Review – Take Power, By Any Means

Fallout: Power Play takes that idea and zooms out. You’re no longer just trying to survive the Wasteland, you’re shaping it. Leading one of Fallout’s iconic factions, you’re fighting for control of key locations, pushing out rivals, and deciding exactly how ruthless you’re willing to be to stay on top.
It’s still survival at its core. It just looks a lot more like domination once you have the power to choose.
Publisher: Modiphius Entertainment
Designer: Resurrectionist Games
Players: 2-4
Playtim...
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Riftbound: Unleashed Preview - Inviolus Vox Crashes the Jungle Party

Preview season for Riftbound: Unleashed officially kicked off on March 16, and the set is already shaping up to reward patience and calculated aggression. The jungle theme leans heavily into conquer-and-hold strategies, introducing the new Experience resource and Hunt keyword to build toward explosive late-game swings.
Right in the middle of that patience-versus-payoff tension is one of the loudest threats revealed so far: Inviolus Vox. This Mount Targon dragon doesn’t wait around to make an imp...
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Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Out of the Sewers and Onto Shelves: Turtle Power Unleashed Today!

MTG | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits the streets today, blending the strategic crunch of Magic with four decades of pizza-loving, Foot-Clan-smashing ninja turtle glory. Whether you’re drafting in the sewers, commanding a five-color turtle squad, or teaming up in co-op mode against Shredder’s horde, this Universes Beyond set delivers mutant mayhem with heart.
The core set packs around 190+ cards (plus Commander extras), spotlighting Kevin Eastman‘s gritty original art on borderless treatments,...
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Firefly Reboot Rumors Ignite as Nathan Fillion Teases Reunion With Cast

Recent social media activity from series star Nathan Fillion has sparked renewed speculation that a reboot or revival of the beloved space western could finally be on the horizon. The actor, best known to fans as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, recently posted mysterious videos teasing a meeting with his former co-stars from the original series.

https://www.instagram.com/oncewewerespacemen/reel/DVHV3_ljlh7/
The short clips show Fillion reaching out to them, hinting that something bigger may be brewin...
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Riftbound’s Next Era: Vendetta and Radiance

When Riot Games launched Riftbound: TCG from League of Legends, the question wasn’t whether Runeterra had enough characters to support a card game. That world is overflowing with champions, factions, and grudges.
The real question was how Riot would turn those stories into a long-term TCG ecosystem.

With the reveal of Riftbound: Vendetta and Riftbound: Radiance, Riot is starting to answer that question in a very clear way: lean hard into the rivalries and personalities that made League of Legen...
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The One Ring Starter Set: Over Hill and Under Hill vs. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E Starter Set

Both The One Ring and The Lord of the Rings 5E of Free League Publishing’s Tolkien starter sets drop players into the same story: Over Hill and Under Hill. Your fellowship begins with a quiet start at the Prancing Pony in Bree before heading north into the wilds of Eriador, where something dark is stirring in the North Downs.

On the surface, these boxes are nearly identical. They share the same map, standees, pre-generated characters, campaign structure, and overall production quality. The diff...
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The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E Starter Set Review

“If you’ve read my review of The One Ring Starter Set, this adventure will feel familiar. The difference isn’t the story – it’s the system. This box exists for tables that want Middle-earth through the lens of D&D 5E.”

Publisher: Free League Publishing
Designer: Francesco Nepitello
Players: 2–6 + 1 Loremaster
Playtime: 3-4 hours (longer for less experienced players)
Genre: Tabletop RPG
Release: 2025
The Lord of the Rings 5E Starter Set opens in familiar territory: a warm fire at the Prancing Po...
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The One Ring Starter Set: Over Hill and Under Hill Review

Publisher: Free League Publishing
Designer: Francesco Nepitello, Jacob Rodgers
Players: 2–6 + 1 Loremaster
Playtime: 3–4 hours (longer for less experienced players)
Genre: Tabletop RPG
Release: 2025
Over Hill and Under Hill drops you into Middle-earth the right way: not as legendary heroes, but as ordinary folk drawn into trouble they don’t fully understand yet. A quiet evening at the Prancing Pony in Bree turns into rumors, unease, and the sense that something old and unpleasant is waking up in...
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Riftbound: Spiritforged Review – Forging Legends in the Heat of Battle

Riftbound: Spiritforged feels like handing your League of Legends mains a forge instead of a battlefield. Champions aren’t just fighting anymore. They’re being armed, upgraded, and pushed into repeatable, momentum-heavy clashes that feel distinctly Runeterran.

Publisher: UVS Games
Designer: Riot Games
Players: 2–4 (2 person is my favorite)
Playtime: 25–45 minutes
Release: February 13, 2026
From the first pre-release games, Spiritforged makes it clear this is the set where Riftbound leans fully...
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Cyberpunk TCG Review – Chrome Your Crew, Steal the Night, Become a Legend

Imagine Night City shrunk down to your tabletop: neon-drenched mercs duking it out over high-stakes gigs, dice rolling like loaded chrome, and every attack a razor-edge gamble between glory and the trash heap.

Publisher: WeirdCo
Designer: WeirdCo Games (in collaboration with CD Projekt RED)
Players: 2
Playtime: 30-45 minutes
Genre: Trading Card Game
Release: 2026 (Kickstarter campaign)
Cyberpunk TCG‘s alpha kit hits like a Sandevistan burst – brutal, stylish, and begging for more blood in the s...
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Wizards of the Coast is debuting a new card game at MagicCon - and it’s not Magic

Instead of another expansion or spin-off product for Magic: The Gathering, the company is debuting an entirely new, fast-play card game designed by Magic’s longtime head designer Mark Rosewater.

The game will make its first public appearance at MagicCon: Las Vegas in May, where attendees can sit down and try it in short, demo-friendly sessions throughout the weekend.
And yes – this is a completely separate game, not a new Magic format.
Wizards is keeping most details under wraps, but here’s wha...
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Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies Review – Soaring Through a Living World of Wonder and Peril

A battered cargo plane tears through a glowing rift in the sky and crash-lands into a realm that feels painted by dreams and edged with danger. Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies drops you – and your small, determined crew – into that impossible place

Publisher: Red Raven Games
Designer: Ryan Laukat
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 60-600 minutes (campaign ~15 hours)
Genre: Cooperative Narrative Adventure / Campaign
Release: 2023
Picture this: It’s 1937, your cargo plane punches through a shimmering portal in...
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Everdell: Farshore Review – A Sun-Drenched Sequel That Polishes the Forest Gem into a Coastal Masterpiece

Trading cozy woodland fires for salty breezes, puffin captains, and a round travel board that turns your table into an inviting seaside paradise.

Publisher: Starling Games
Designer: James A. Wilson
Players: 1–4
Playtime: 40–80 minutes
Genre: Worker Placement, Tableau Building, Engine Builder
Release: 2023
From the first unboxing, with its squishy seaweed, glassy sea glass, and that exquisite round map, Everdell: Farshore captures the same irresistible charm as the original but feels fresher, mo...
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Reigns: The Witcher Brings Geralt’s Legend to Mobile This February

Nerial and Devolver Digital have announced Reigns: The Witcher, a new narrative-driven entry in the swipe-based Reigns series, developed in cooperation with CD PROJEKT RED. The game launches February 25, 2026 on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, with wishlisting and pre-registration now open.

Rather than retelling Geralt of Rivia’s story from the usual grim, monster-hunting perspective, Reigns: The Witcher reframes the legend through the unreliable, theatrical lens of bard extraordinaire Dandelion. Pl...
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Cyberpunk 2077 Trading Card Game – Alpha Kit Preview

Night City is expanding again, and this time it’s hitting the table instead of your GPU. The Cyberpunk 2077 Trading Card Game is gearing up for its Alpha Kit phase, giving players their first real look at how this neon-soaked universe translates into a physical card game.

Developed by Weird Co., the Cyberpunk TCG aims to capture the brutality, style, and risk-reward mindset of the video game while carving out its own mechanical identity.
The Alpha Kit (list here) is designed as an early-access...
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Magic: The Gathering | Lorwyn Eclipsed – Preview

Wizards of the Coast has officially pulled back the curtain on Magic: The Gathering | Lorwyn Eclipsed, with a full debut revealed today ahead of the set’s global release on January 23, 2026.
If you’ve been waiting for Magic to revisit one of its most beloved and mechanically distinctive planes, this is the moment. Lorwyn Eclipsed brings players back to the shifting world of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor, where sunlight and moonlight aren’t just flavor, they fundamentally reshape the creatures, strategie...
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Cyberpunk 2077 TCG in Development: Here’s Everything We Know So Far

The world of Night City is getting louder again – this time without a console, controller, or expansion pack attached. According to multiple industry sources and a trail of quietly updated trademarks, a Cyberpunk 2077 trading card game is officially in development.
Yep. A full TCG. Night City, but in cardboard form. And honestly? It makes way too much sense.

CD Projekt RED hasn’t made a formal announcement (yet), but the signs have been flashing like a Tyger Claws billboard at 3AM:
Trademark up...
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Wizards of the Coast Reveals First Look at Magic: The Gathering - Marvel Super Heroes

Renton, WA – December 9, 2025 – Wizards of the Coast has pulled back the curtain on one of its biggest collaborations ever, giving fans their first glimpse at Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes ahead of its 2026 worldwide release. Shared during a global livestream, the reveal showcased an ambitious crossover set merging two titanic fandoms: the strategic depth of Magic and the iconic characters of the Marvel Universe.
And yes-The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, The Thunderbolts*, Doctor Do...
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Altered TCG Review – A Fresh, Vibrant Adventure in the TCG World

Altered is one of the rare trading card games that doesn’t just tweak familiar formulas – it rebuilds them into something smoother, brighter, and genuinely refreshing. Created by Régis Bonnessée (the mind behind Dixit, Mysterium, Seasons, and Dice Forge) and developed at his French studio Equinox, Altered arrives with the backing of Asmodee, meaning this isn’t some experimental boutique TCG destined to vanish in a year.
It plays like a whimsical fantasy adventure, looks like a storybook come ali...
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Dragon Eclipse Review - A Co-Op Adventure Forged in Fire and Moonlight

Dragon Eclipse doesn’t posture or play coy. You open the box, and it immediately feels like an Awaken Realms title with a lighter heart: clean production, sharp art direction, well-sculpted Mystling minis, and a layout that says “set this up and play – you won’t be fighting with inserts for 20 minutes.”

What stands out first isn’t size or density, but intention. This is a compact 1–2 player game built around exploration, tactical combat, and a creature-taming system that feels familiar in the b...
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