Namibia (Brian Robson)

A game of blatant exploitation as players race to mine the country's minerals, sell them and ship them out. A clever mechanism for the market prices means this is not straightforward. Players need to keep an eye on what everybody else is up to as well: £28.00.
 

Nations (Rustan and Nina Håkansson and Einar and Robert Rosén)

A cracking civilisation-development game with some familiar elements and some innovative mechanisms. There's real time pressure as it plays over just a few rounds and I keep wanting to play it again so that I can do better: £54.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Neanderthal (Phil Eklund)

A kind of prequel to Greenland, this is another brutal struggle for survival. This time it's tribes of proto-humans mixing it with each other and the Pleistocene megafauna. Hunting and gathering keeps your tribe alive while you try to develop a full culture. Brilliant. £22.00.
 

Nefarious (Donald X Vaccarino)

A chance to play the mad scientist: construct your greatest invention and take over the world! Before the other players have a chance to build theirs and do the same... It's wonderful fun deploying your 'Igors' to best effect: £20.00 £15.00 (£12.50 ex-VAT outside the EU).
 

Niña & Pinta (Ragnar Brothers)

Billed as "the first Quantum game", this has players exploring and developing three parallel versions of the New World – one for each of the ships in Columbus's expedition. And each player has their own version of the three ships! Plenty to think about and lots of decision making in another excellent game from the Ragnars: £33.00 £24.00 (£20.00 ex-VAT outside the EU).
 

Nippon (Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade)

This is the game that prompted me to stock the What's Your Game? line. It's a deep, complex game of industrialising Japan. It has a clever worker-removal mechanism for taking actions, with the decision of which worker to take having wider implications than just which action is triggered. I'm struggling to work out how best to play, but am definitely addicted: £36.00

NMBR 9 (Peter Wichmann)

Having seen this game at the Gathering, I got a closer look at the UK Games Expo and was taken with its cleverness. The idea is to stack up the number tiles: the higher they go, the more they're worth. However, the placement restrictions make this tricky and everybody else is playing the same numbers in the same sequence. Simple and ingenious: £16.00

Out of stock
 

No Thanks! (Thorsten Gimmler)

One of my favourite little card games, this is so simple. You either take the card on offer or pay a chip to pass it on. But it's such a big decision! I find it huge fun: £9.00.
 

Nomads of Arabia (Kris Gould)

A fascinating game where players catch and herd animals across the ever-changing sands of Araby. The aim is to sell your animals for a good price – without falling off the board: £17.00.
 

OddVille (Carlo Lavezzi)

A city-building game powered by players' worker cards. Apart from adding buildings to the city, players try to inter-connect them with roads for bonus points. The twist is the opportunity to disrupt players' plans by summoning guild members back to HQ: £18.00 (£15.00 outside the EU)
 

Oh my Goods! (Alexander Pfister)

Ingenious card game of using goods to construct buildings that use resources to produce goods that... And the same cards are used for all of that. Cracking stuff from a designer of complex games: £10.00

Oklahoma Boomers (Martyn F)

A clever two-player abstract of grabbing territory in the Oklahoma land rush. Players manoeuvre their pieces to gradually build the boundaries of their territory. Largest area wins: £20.00.
 

Old Town Robbery (Günter Cornett and Peer Sylvester)

This is a memory and communications game that requires quite some mental concentration. First, players devise a story as they track a robber; then they use the story to retrace his steps. It's hard work being sheriff: £10.00 £7.50 (£6.25 ex-VAT outside the EU).
 

Om Nom Nom (Meelis Looveer)

A game all about munching things: om nom nom, indeed! Players position their critters secretly, hoping to eat rather than be eaten: cat eats mouse eats cheese, for example. Delightful illustrations add to the enjoyment: £15.00.
 

Out of stock
 

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (Ted Alspach and Akihisa Okui)

A clever variant on Werewolf that packs the action into just one night. What's more, everybody gets to play and nobody gets knocked out. It's fast and furious: £15.00.
 

Onward to Venus (Martin Wallace)

This game has a real retro feel to it. It's played over a sequence of discs representing the planets (and moons) of the solar system. Players use their cards to move their spaceships and colonise the planets in the name of their empire, subduing the unruly natives along the way. It's bonkers and great fun: £23.00 £17.50.
 

The Oracle of Delphi (Stefan Feld)

A new Stefan Feld game has to be worth a look and this one looks interesting. It's set in Ancient Greece, of course, with the players racing to complete the tasks Zeus has set them. To do these, they've got to get round the islands, whose configuration is different each game: £38.00 (£31.67 outside the EU)
 

Outpost (James Hlavaty and Timothy Moore)

I think of Outpost as an economic development race! Players add factories to expand their colony and bid for upgrades that improve it. This leads to an accelerating increase in technology across the game. It demands concentration: £45.00.
 

Palmyra (Bernd Eisenstein)

This fascinating tile-laying game sees the players expand the ancient city of Palmyra. The trick is knowing when to stop collecting tiles and start using them to score points. It's quite abstract, but I've been enjoying it: £20.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Pandemic (2nd ed) (Matt Leacock)

A geat cooperative game that creates real tension as the players struggle to cure several virulent viruses, while fighting specific outbreaks. Each has a different role, but they must work together to save mankind. The new edition has new artwork and a couple of extra roles. It remains huge fun: £26.00.
 

Pandemic expansions (Matt Leacock and Tom Lehmann)

Two expansions for this brilliant co-operative game. Pandemic: On the Brink lets an extra player join in, while complicating the team's job – and introducing a bio-terrorist. Pandemic: In the Lab adds a separate laboratory board and yet further complications, including a team-play option.
 

Panthalos (Bernd Eisenstein)

The titans are coming! Emerging from the underworld in the Ancient Greek city of Corinth, they are a threat players must counter. However, the way to win is to acquire goods and trade or export them. And manage your resources. It's good, challenging fun: £30.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Pax Pamir (Phil Eklund and Cole Wehrle)

This uses the mechanisms of Pax Porfiriana to good effect to re-create the machinations of the "Great Game" between the British and Russian Empires over Afghanistan (aka the North-West Frontier). An impressive game that's also packed with history: £22.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Pax Pamir – Khyber Knives (Phil Eklund and Cole Wehrle)

The nineteenth century struggle for influence in Afghanistan gets more complicated with an expansion for this terrific card game. Apart from adding more cards – which in itself provides variety – there are some different cards. 'Capabilities' can be played to add to another card, while the 'Wazirs' indicate who is the current ruler in each area, giving that player some different actions: £12.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Pax Porfiriana Collector's Edition (Phil and Matt Eklund and Jim Gutt)

Initially a fan project to produce a 'bigger' version of the game, it was adopted by original publisher Sierra Madre as the game's second edition. It's still an intense struggle to end up on top in the turbulent times of the Mexican revolution. Viva Zapata! £38.00.
 

Out of stock
 

Pax Renaissance (Matt and Phil Eklund)

The latest in the 'Pax' series applies the game's mechanisms to the Renaissance period. The players are the major European bankers, financing governments, the church, explorations and, of course, great art. The players' choices will determine how Europe enters the modern era. This is my new must-play game: £25.00.
 

Peloponnes (Bernd Eisenstein)

I was impressed with this first game from Irongames a few years ago. Set in Ancient Greece, players expand their city-state with buildings and land. From these, they gain resources and increase their population. A balanced strategy is needed to win. It's still excellent: £32.00.
 

Peloponnes: Sacrum (Bernd Eisenstein)

A clever expansion for this civilisation-development game adds an extra player and gives players some additional options. In particular, they can sacrifice some of their population, exchanging income during the game for points at the end: £5.00.
 

Peloponnes Card Game (Bernd Eisenstein)

Terrific development of the cracking Peloponnes, turning it into a card game. It's essentially the same game, streamlined a bit and packed into a handy box. It's just as much fun – and as challenging – to play: £17.00.
 

Peloponnes Card Game – Patronus expansion (Bernd Eisenstein)

This expansion adds three things to the base game. First, pieces and cards for a sixth player – or the cards can be used to provide more options. A second set of cards extends the game by one more round and can be used with any number of players. Finally, "Patronus" cards can be bought to provide extra protection from catastrophes. All excellent stuff: £5.00
 

Phalanxx (Bernd Eisenstein)

The latest from Herr Eisenstein is this intriguing game about the struggle for succession in Alexander the Great's empire. The game contains a board, meeples, cards and, most importantly, dice. These are key to the game as players' options depend on the combinations of dice available to them. The trick is changing your dice to get the combinations you need. Another one I'm looking forward to: £28.00
 

Port Royal (Alexander Pfister)

Clever, tricky, quick-playing card game of piratical adventures. Players draw cards, deciding how far to push their luck as they look for the right cards. Then it's onto the high seas in search of plunder: £9.00.
 

Port Royal – ein auftrag geht noch... (Alexander Pfister)

"Just one more contract..." is the translation for this neat expansion to Port Royal. As well as extra cards, it adds contracts to the game, giving players another way of scoring points. Or the contracts can be used to make this a co-operative game where players race to get contracts completed. It's a new game as much as an expansion: £8.50

Port Royal Unterwegs! (Alexander Pfister)

This is a separate game, albeit one that is essentially a streamlined version of Port Royal. Paring down the game, while retaining the core mechanisms, it plays the same way, but more quickly. Key to this game is the different set of characters, which can alos be used to give a different flavour to the base game: £6.00

Porta Nigra (Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer)

Latest from this great design duo: a game of city building in Roman times, centred around the "Black Gate". Stacking the building pieces makes it look like a city, too: £35.00.
 

Porto Carthago (Bernd Eisenstein)

Set around the port of ancient Carthage (Rome's great trading rival), this is such a clever game. Players have to think carefully about positioning their 'servant' pawns to gain the right goods, deliver them to the right ships and get these safely to their destinations. Great stuff: £40.00 £30.00 (£25.00 ex-VAT outside the EU).
 

Out of stock

Power Grid deluxe (Friedemann Friese)

I've always considered Power Grid to be something of a masterpiece. This ten-year anniversary re-vamp makes a few, very subtle rule changes that add even more to the game. This is on top of a complete physical workover with new artwork. It gets 10/10 from me: £50.00.