The busiest time of the year for tabletop games brings with it new Warhammer, Marvel, and Dungeons & Dragons titles to warm up your Halloween celebrations.
Spooky season is always an important time for tabletop gaming, as the nights draw in and the weather makes a night in, playing board and card games, seem more attractive than ever. That always inspires a lot of horror themed games and expansions, but the industry also treats it as just a generally good time of the year to release important new titles.
This year, Halloween brings with it multiple new Dungeons & Dragons games, including another Stranger Things crossover; as well as a lot of Spider-Man crossovers; and a crowd-funded Invincible role-playing game. Although there’s still a place for original IP too, including dice placement game The Druids Of Edora.
There’re also the obligatory video spin-offs, including a very hard-to-acquire Pokémon Trading Card Game box set and Riot Games’ new attempt to create a League Of Legends card game to rival Magic: The Gathering.
Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons
This is more than just a crossover, it’s a hellishly well thought out blend of D&D lore and co-operative tension. Players assume the roles of classic classes such as Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Cleric, and Wizard, each with class-specific special abilities that are resolved by rolling a dice. Facing off are four iconic monsters: the Beholder, Mimic, Displacer Beast, and Red Dragon. Each requires its own unique strategy and puzzle to defeat.
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The Beholder’s eye rays require shutting down its eyestalks; the Mimic conceals itself until certain items are gathered; the Displacer Beast demands players place item tokens before attempting a hit; and the Red Dragon introduces a full, two-stage campaign involving finding the Orb of Dragonkind and then luring the dragon back to its lair.
Mechanically, this edition updates Horrified with teleportation circles for faster board traversal, tight action economy, and a monster phase driven by an unpredictable deck. While random results from the dice can be risky, they inject the suspense and unpredictability that make every turn feel meaningful. Roll a crit at you Halloween party with this one!
Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying
While still only on Kickstarter, this Invincible tie-in is one of the most anticipated tabletop role-playing games of recent years. Developed by Free League Publishing, in close partnership with Skybound Entertainment, it adapts the brutal, morally complex world of Robert Kirkman’s Invincible comic into tabletop form. The lead designers Adam Bradford (of Dungeons & Dragons: Beyond) and Tomas Härenstam (Alien RPG and Blade Runner RPG) have matched the tone with the Year Zero Engine gaming system, chosen for its ability to handle visceral action alongside emotional stakes.
The game will offer both a core rulebook and a starter set, with art by original Invincible artists Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, and graphic design by Mork Borg fan favourite Johan Nohr. There’s also a free Quickstart PDF to let you test drive the system ahead of the full campaign. This won’t just appeal to comics fans, but to tabletop players craving high-stakes conflict, moral ambiguity, human drama, and a system built for city… no, planet shaking fights.
Price pledge starts at around £80
Magic: The Gathering – Spider-Man
Wizards of the Coast’s Universes Beyond line has already fused Magic: The Gathering with everything from Tolkien to TARDISes, but Spider-Man might be its most thematically satisfying crossover yet. Marvel’s friendly neighbourhood hero fits right into Magic’s web of multiverses, slinging between colour identities like a planeswalker in spandex.
The set brings with it a tangle of clever mechanical nods, such as the sinister Venom Symbiote enchantment that plays like a deliciously sticky take on black-green sacrifice decks. Expect Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Gwen Stacy – I loved her double-sided card – to each bring their own archetypes to the table, from agile tempo decks to stealthy rogue builds.
Beyond the mechanics, Spider-Man reminds you why Magic’s crossovers matter; these cards are not just collectibles but an evolving language of storytelling through play, each thread connecting fantasy, comic lore, and strategy into something spectacularly cohesive.
RRP: £42.45; booster packs around £4
Riftbound: League Of Legends TCG – Set 1: Origins Proving Grounds Box Set
Riot Games has finally cracked open the vault of Runeterra and their new trading card game is a glorious initiation into a new era of tactical card play, with some of their most popular characters. Fusing the studio’s champion driven drama with razor sharp deck construction, Riftbound feels like a confident rival to Magic and Lorcana, blending explosive mechanics with League’s unmistakable swagger and global supremacy.
I couldn’t wait to charge onto the tabletop with Jinx detonating her Pow-Pow combos for rapid-fire damage chains, while Ahri manipulates charm counters to disrupt tempo decks, and Darius’s brutal Noxian Might mechanic rewards relentless cardboard-based aggression. Meanwhile, Thresh introduces a graveyard loop that turns every fallen ally into fuel for the next play. Each faction – Demacia, Ionia, Noxus, and Freljord – feels distinct, with regional synergy decks encouraging experimentation and allegiance.
The Proving Grounds box offers an ideal two-player starter kit, complete with preconstructed decks and a progression ladder that mimics League Of Legend’s ranked climb but without the toxic chatter. Matches swing between clever resource juggling and Netflix worthy moments. With Origins, Riot hasn’t just ported its champions onto cards it’s distilled the spirit of the Rift into a tactile, fiercely competitive tabletop experience that’s bound to head butt its way into the trading card landscape.
Disney Lorcana: Fabled Collection Starter Set
This might be a reprint expansion, with only 33 new cards, but it’s best to think of it as a welcome refresh that also brings with it two new rarities: Epic and the sought after two Iconic cards. Avoiding the larger boxes of boosters, I really like the Fabled Collection Starter Set, which is packed with four Fabled boosters and a sparkling (foil) Tinker Bell Giant Fairy promo, that makes it a perfect launchpad for budding collectors. You also get a slick Mickey Mouse Brave Little Tailor portfolio to keep your Disney favourites safe.
Lorcana can be a very expensive game to play competitively, given the random nature of pulls from boosters, so some might consider giving this latest expansion a miss, but I’m never going to not enjoy pulling a rare card or smiling with joy at the introduction of a Goofy Movie to the mix.
Fittingly for Halloween, Maleficent Mistress of All Evil returns, torching the board with her devastating Dragon’s Flame. With many upcoming Lorcana Challenge events taking place across the globe, including last month’s UK Challenge Championship Qualifier at Firestorm Games in Cardiff, the Disney magic continues to get stronger, despite the reprint quibbles.
The Druids Of Edora
This new Asmodee release is a dice placement game by the king of the genre, Castles Of Burgundy creator Stefan Feld. In Druids you need to place die but you are constrained by the number of moves. In what could have been a very beige game, what you actually get is a captivating new strategy game that immerses you in a magical Celtic Forest filled with sacred sites and mysterious locations.
It offers a blend of strategic dice placement and resource management, as you take on the roles of druids and sorceresses, navigating through the enchanted woodland to construct menhirs and stelae, visit dolmens and the oracle’s shrine, and collect resources like diamonds, mistletoe, and medicinal herbs.
It’s a quick game, with a good a pace, and while getting to grips with the tiny components can make it a fiddly experience, especially if tipsy on your favourite mead, The Druids Of Edora offers a rich and engaging experience for seasoned strategists, even if it’s a bit challenging for tabletop beginner.
Pokémon Trading Card Game: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box
Pokémon has just announced a residency at the Natural History Museum early next year, with plans for exclusive merch for anyone who can get a ticket, although there’ll hardly be any more difficult to get hold of than the Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box, which has become 2025’s must-have Pokémon release. It’s already sold out across UK retailers, with resale prices climbing faster than a Mega Rayquaza’s Sky Ascent.
Anyone who does manage to get a box will find it includes a treasure trove of nostalgia and meta-shifting potential. Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex are already headline cards, the former packing Aura Sphere Pulse, which deals huge damage and pierces through Bench protection, while Mega Gardevoir’s Psychic Spiral shuffles energy for devastating combo setups. Meanwhile, Mega Charizard ex remains the collector’s holy grail: a fire-breathing powerhouse with Crimson Tempest, capable of wiping the board at the cost of self damage.
What makes this set shine is how it brings back the high stakes drama of Mega Evolution mechanics, powerful evolutions that demand strategic timing, balancing risk and reward in tournament play. This nostalgic release underpins a sharply competitive meta that has older players dusting off their binders.
Dungeons & Dragons – Stranger Things Welcome To The Hellfire Club
As the nights draw in and the dice bags come out, Welcome To The Hellfire Club lands just in time for spooky season. It’s a devilishly nostalgic crossover between Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons, with a full-blooded return to the satanic panic soaked glory of the 1980s. Designed for three to five players, the set revives Eddie Munson’s infamous Hellfire Club campaigns across four creepy adventures: The Vanishing Gnome, Scream of the Crop, Ballad of the Rat King, and Devil, Metal, Die!
Each session is steeped in the eerie spirit of Hawkins, laced with Demogorgons, Demodogs, and all the strange horrors of the Upside Down. While the box includes a vintage styled Dungeon Master screen, retro maps, and throwback handouts. Whether you’re a lapsed player, a Stranger Things obsessive, or a Dungeon Master in search of something suitably sinister for Halloween night, Welcome to the Hellfire Club hits that sweet spot between nostalgia and new blood.
Marvel: Crisis Protocol – Prowler, Spider-Man 2099 & Ultimate Spider-Man
It’s not just Magic: The Gathering that’s putting Spidey front and centre this Halloween, as Marvel: Crisis Protocol continues to prove highly popular. Its latest character expansion adds brawler Prowler, Spider-Man 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Prowler, with his nimble mobility and disruptive abilities rewards strategic positioning and offers players a satisfying blend of cloaking, cunning and chaos.
Spider-Man 2099 brings a futuristic flair and a highly tactical edge, blending rapid movement with area control and overpowered health. Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales stands out as the character I’m most keen to play from the Web Warriors, with the Venom blast ready to KO any opponent and a Web Sling ability that’s a boost across any kitchen table.
Each miniature is exquisitely detailed and captures the essence of the iconic comic books; even the accompanying stat cards would make Jack Kirby proud, as they expand on the game’s tactical depth without overcomplicating play.
Warhammer: Helsmiths Of Hashut
Warhammer’s Helsmiths Of Hashut bring the Chaos Duardin (aka Demon Dwarves) back with industrial fury and a focus on resource driven play. At the core are the Infernal Cohorts, infantry who toughen up as they generate Daemonic Power Points (DPP), while the War Despot boosts objective control and grows stronger with each desolation token earned. The showpiece Dominator Engine is a juggernaut you can arm with Bane Maces, for crushing melee, or Immolation Cannons for ranged devastation, and it only gets deadlier as you feed it power.
Artillery options like the Tormentor Bombard and Deathshrieker Rocket Battery give the army credible long-range punch, ensuring flexibility across the battlefield. The Helsmiths’ unique loop, of converting battlefield control into DPP, then spending it to enhance units, makes every decision matter and rewards careful planning. The starter set may not seem like much in terms of the number of size of the miniatures, but it’s a striking new collection and tactically sharp.
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