Over the weekend, tens of thousands filed into Boston’s Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center for PAX East 2026, Penny Arcade’s annual East Coast-set gaming convention. While well-known video game brands and tech titans like Nintendo and Logitech greeted eager players, exhibitors, and content creators as they stepped from the escalator to the show floor, tabletop game (TTG) and trading card game (TCG) vendors generated similar buzz. Whether you sling cards competitively or you’ve not picked up a deck since playing Go Fish with gam-gam, PAX East’s ample offerings had a little something for everyone. After spending four days shuffling from table to table in the congested convention center, I walked away with a list of tabletop titles to recommend to friends and family of all ages and skill levels.
Whether you know your way around a TCG tourney or your tabletop experience stops at Scrabble, these five TCG and TTG games from PAX East 2026 are guaranteed to make a fan out of you yet. Check out my favorite tabletop and trading-card picks from the event:
Slay the Spire: The Board Game
The tabletop iteration of MegaCrit’s hit roguelike deckbuilder Slay the Spire couldn’t be a more faithful adaptation, and with the closely-timed launch of Slay the Spire II, it’s no surprise the TTG’s “Downfall” expansion is dominating Kickstarter. More than 25,000 backers have pledged $5.09 million with eight days remaining, scorching the game’s modest $50,000 goal by, well, a lot.
Whether you’ve played the indie darling or not, players can quickly begin their ascent and face the same increasingly challenging beasts and baddies on their way up. The board game was the first multiplayer Slay the Spire experience, but individual players can tackle the title independently. As a “whatever, I’ll do it myself” kind of group project contributor, the option to solo the spire is a tempting one.
Find Slay the Spire: The Board Game on Amazon for about $115, but note that this price reflects just how beefy this game is. When I asked how easy the game would be to transport, the exhibitor said the full game weighs in at about 15 pounds. Not great for a checked bag, but definitely ideal for my game collection.
Cyberpunk TCG
WeirdCo’s official Cyberpunk TCG was an unsurprising hit among expo attendees, but we weren’t expecting to fall in love so fast. The visually stunning TCG leans into the blockbuster video game’s futuristic yet bleak motif and stays true to CD PROJEKT RED’s source material. The game borrows mechanics from other popular TCGs to boost accessibility, but is plenty substantive for die-hard fans of the IP.
Much like Slay the Spire, the Cyberpunk TCG far overshot its Kickstarter goal. At the time of writing, the WeirdCo trading card title boasts over 21,500 backers with 16 days remaining. The game’s goal? $100,000. Total pledged? $15.4 million.
This one’s still in the works, so keep an eye on the official Kickstarter for more info as it becomes available.
First-Class Letters
If convenient “thinky” games like Wordle have you in a chokehold (like they do me), then First-Class Letters might spell trouble. Thankfully, this word-based, parcel delivery-inspired tabletop game from GameHead and Australian board game artist Peter C. Hayward is as delightfully petite an adventure as the itty-bitty box would lead you to believe. During my time at the GameHead booth, the kind rep stressed a brand focus: all offerings take around five minutes to set up, five minutes to learn, and five minutes to tear down.
In this “roll-and-write word game played over 7 rounds,” players write a word on the provided stationery using letters they rolled with their adorable package-like dice blocks. You’re in charge of shipments here, so stay organized! All words must be alphabetized, but that dreaded red “dead letter” risks unraveling your entire route. Have a “priority” shipment to make? That letter must be used!
First-Class Letters is available now for just $20 and is designed for solo or group play. GameHead also offers themed accessories, though none are required for play.
Coriolis: The Great Dark
Dune and Mass Effect fans will flip for Coriolis: The Great Dark, Free League Publishing’s follow-up to 2017’s award-winning title, Coriolis: The Third Horizon. Playable for up to five players (but as few as one), celestial Explorers living on the asteroid-set Ship City in the Jumuah system must work together for survival, utilizing special skills to brave the Blight. Coriolis: The Great Dark draws inspiration from the dizzying deep-sea dives and archeological discoveries of the 19th century.
“The rules of the game are based on the acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as the ALIEN RPG, Tales From the Loop, and Forbidden Lands,” reads Free League’s description. These mechanics “have been further developed and streamlined for Coriolis: The Great Dark. Making a character and a crew is easy, quick, and flavorful, letting you jump right into the action.”
Find Coriolis: The Great Dark on Free League Publishing’s website alongside the brand’s virtually endless collection of TTG accessories and expansions.
Punk is Dead
Over at Project Hedron‘s booth sat a hot-pink, blood-spattered core rulebook for Punk is Dead, a songwriting tabletop RPG set in the Un-United Kingdom, a gritty and unforgiving corporate dystopia. While the game itself is an extension of Swedish TTRPG Mork Borg, prior knowledge isn’t needed here. The award-winning tabletop title requires a copy of the game’s guide to play, but not much else. “YOU DON’T NEED ANY OTHER BOOKS TO PLAY PUNK IS DEAD,” reads the game’s description on Critical Kit’s website.
The TTRPG, which Critical Kit describes as a “game about creativity, nostalgia, friendship and bringing hope to a hopeless world through music,” will take brand-new players just 45 minutes to get up and running. While the publisher also offers themed DM screens, snazzy dice, and a sick vinyl to set the scene, no other pieces are required for your adventure. What’s more, no musical skills are needed! Additionally, Critical Kit offers free downloadable character sheets, allowing would-be rockers to efficiently build their character to gameplay specifications.
Ready to rock? Check out Punk is Dead now!
