Now Playing: Tiles in the Moonlight

For this edition, we spiced things up with an upbeat acoustic flamenco-pop track inspired by Azul . It has that tile-laying, table-glowing, one-more-round energy: bright guitars, warm rhythm, and just enough moonlit drama to make your next game night feel like it has a soundtrack.

Queue it up while you build your perfect wall in Azul or let it play in the background while any game night finds its groove.

Blanket Fort Bargains!

Cosy up to these incredible deals.

Running from 26 June through to 24 July , there is still plenty of time to take advantage of this month's deals — whether you are stocking shelves, planning ahead, or just looking for the perfect excuse to upgrade your winter game nights.

The selection is below. Go find your next favourite

That wraps up our latest Hot & New highlights — from collectible cards and drinkware to major crossover releases and fan-favourite favourites making their way onto shelves. Whether you are after something magical, musical, heroic, or just plain fun, there is plenty waiting to be discovered in our newest arrivals.

Important Update – Riftbound Trading Card Game: Vendetta

Following requests from the market for access to the popular Riftbound Trading Card Game, Solarpop engaged several suppliers to source stock for South Africa. Many resellers do not have the territorial rights to sell into Africa, and Solarpop approached an existing supplier with the same request.

In May, we opened pre-orders for the upcoming fourth expansion, Vendetta, scheduled for global release at the end of July. Unfortunately, our supplier has since informed us that they too do not have the territorial rights to supply Riftbound to our market and cannot process the order that was placed.

This means that all current orders for the Vendetta release will be cancelled. Affected items include:

Solarpop has engaged the publisher of Riftbound, UVS Games, who confirmed that they don’t have any spare stock for the Vendetta expansion. As for future releases, all we can say for now is… watch this space!

There’s no denying that one of the biggest challenges in the world of tabletop gaming these days is just finding the time to get the whole group around a table long enough to actually play. It’s the endless struggle, the subject of countless memes, the one experience we all share no matter what our game or genre of choice. And so there comes a time for many of us when we decide that if we ever want to get anything done, we’re going to have to join the likes of Robbie Williams and Justin Timberlake and Go Solo.

Playing a boardgame on your own might sound like a bit of a sad way to spend your time, but there’s a world of difference between a game that can be played solo and a game that’s meant to be played solo. Most games nowadays set their minimum player count to 1, and there are some multiplayer games that actually do work – Stonemaier games are often praised for their solo playability, and Project L 's 1-player variant is quite engaging because it’s very different from the standard way to play – but too often it does feel like you’re simply filling in for the rest of the table who couldn’t be there.

By contrast, games like Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs , Legacy of Yu , and Unstoppable recreate the feeling of the lone hero battling against the odds. Some, like Paper App Dungeon and Mini Rogue , use solo play design as an opportunity to scale down their components, giving tabletop gamers a true play-anywhere experience. Or if you’d prefer something more relaxed, Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom gives you a full campaign experience as you craft your perfect medieval realm, which – let’s face it – is just better without those pesky other players and their shenanigans messing it up.

These are solo-first games, the games for whom even a second player is an optional extra at best. They capitalise on the unique challenges that playing alone presents and turn it into something fun and engaging.

So when real life keeps getting in the way of having fun with your friends, solo games are a great way to scratch the itch until the big game day next week.

Oh, ok… maybe next month then? Really?

How about, I don’t know, the 3rd weekend in October then…

Build, Play, Adventure: Discover LEGO Board Games from Asmodee

Howzit everyone! In this edition, I wanted to shine a spotlight on a few hidden gems that bring together two things many of us know and love: board games and LEGO. For me, LEGO has always been about creativity, imagination, collectability, and pure fun. Now, those same elements are coming together in an exciting range of LEGO board games from Asmodee (Dotted Games). Combining the joy of building with engaging gameplay, these titles offer something for every kind of player, from family adventures and cooperative challenges to fast-paced team fun. Let’s take a closer look at these hidden gems and see what makes them so special.

There you have it, folks! If the idea of combining LEGO with board gaming sounds like your kind of fun, then these titles are definitely worth checking out.

Happy building and happy gaming!