Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries (@dnlnwmn.bsky.social)

A Preview of Game Market Vegas 2026 Designer Taylor Reiner is a fan of trick-taking games, as he makes abundantly clear on his YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ClaudeAndTaylor" rel="noreferrer">Taylor's Trick-Taking Table</a>, and has self-published several trick-taking games — and he wants others to self-publish as well: "I'm a huge proponent for getting my friends who are disposed to game design to get their designs out there."In 2025, Reiner co-ordinated Game Market Vegas, an event taking place at <a href="https://dicetowerwest.com" rel="noreferrer">Dice Tower West</a> where designers could present self-published games to attendees for play and purchase, and in 2026 he's doing it again, with Game Market Vegas 2026 taking place on March 12 and 14 during Dice Tower West in the event room near the welcome area around 17:00. "The line management is much easier when split up", he says, "and you get folks who play the game with others at the con, then people will come by on Saturday and say, 'I played this earlier and want to get a copy.'"Here's an overview of the games that will be available:<ul><li>Daryl Durston's <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/463281" rel="noreferrer">Aetherium: The Forgotten Duel</a> is a two-player abstract strategy duel in which players use actions to boost the power of element tokens. Max out a token, and you pull the aether market toward your side of the board. If you get the aether token to your end of the track or max out the final token in an element, you win instantly.</li><li>In Chris Lawrence's <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/457851" rel="noreferrer">Coupon Clipper</a>, 2-4 players pass around sheets of paper filled with coupons, making two cuts on a sheet each turn, plus one extra cut per bonus token spent. You collect everything cut free from the sheet, trying to end up with the best groceries for a BBQ picnic.</li><li>I Cut, You Lose is Taylor Reiner's own contribution to the show, with this being a single-card, micro-legacy game in which players try to rip off the "middlest" piece from a card during a snake draft.</li><li>Dennis Bigelow's Tricked Out from <a href="https://farallongames.com/" rel="noreferrer">Farallon Games</a> can be played only while playing a trick-taking game, with the winners and losers of tricks earning "Tricked Out" cards with "special abilities that change how the trick-taker is played and give points in Tricked Out".</li><li>Perhaps you can pair Tricked Out with Bigelow's own <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/436394" rel="noreferrer">Trickster Gods</a>, a game for 3-4 players in which trick winners can keep winning cards or use them to manipulate the 'Cosmic Equation' that determines how sets score at the end of the round.</li><li>Tommy Kerbow's Trixy Rabbits is a bidding-free, trick-taking game in which rabbits can cost you points or help you score.</li></ul><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://www.wericmartin.com/content/images/2026/02/trick-hero-1.jpg" class="kg-image" alt="" loading="lazy" width="1361" height="911" srcset="https://www.wericmartin.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/trick-hero-1.jpg 600w, https://www.wericmartin.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/trick-hero-1.jpg 1000w, https://www.wericmartin.com/content/images/2026/02/trick-hero-1.jpg 1361w" /></figure> <div style="text-align:center;color:#E26D5A;letter-spacing:6px;font-size:14px;line-height:14px;margin:20px 0"> • • • • • • • • • • • • • • </div> <aside class="mt-10 text-center text-base"> Like what you read? Leave a tip to support independent board game journalism! <a href="#/portal/support" class="px-4 py-2 bg-brand text-brand-contrast rounded-btn hover:brightness-110 no-underline" style="text-decoration:none"> Leave a tip </a> </aside> https://www.wericmartin.com/a-preview-of-game-market-vegas-2026/