Newsletter Oct.2026
We’re very proud to announce that we have a brand-new campaign coming up soon:
Japan Artist Series Vol. 1
In 2025, we began exploring a new idea: a collection of small-box games created in collaboration with artists from Japan’s vibrant art community.
Rather than adding art to an existing game, we wanted to build each game around the artist’s vision, letting their work shape the theme, world, and experience while introducing their art to a wider audience.
We’re now kicking off the series with two games!
In 99x1, one player becomes a legendary Swordsman, while the others take on the roles of an army of 99 Demons in a deadly battle for survival and supremacy.
The Swordsman must outwit an entire army, while the Demons must cooperate just enough to bring him down, while turning on each other to claim victory. It’s as much a battle of wits as it is a battle of strength, and only the savviest will come out on top.
OKU, the artist behind the game, is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist born and raised in Japan. Specializing in samurai and traditional Japanese attire, her distinctive style combines rich, intricate detail with charming and expressive characters.
Her work draws inspiration from period dramas and Japanese fantasy, as well as traditional Japanese culture, including ukiyo-e, picture scrolls, armor, clothing, crafts, and architecture.
We had been fans of OKU’s work for some time, after discovering her original artwork and illustrations in books and TCG cards. When we finally had the opportunity to connect, we proposed creating a dueling card game inspired by the iconic samurai battles we had seen in movies. Turning that idea into a mystical confrontation between demons and a demi-human warrior made the concept even more exciting, and a perfect match for OKU’s unique artistic world.
Dream Hoppers is a unique cooperative drafting game where players take on the daring task of working together to build a child’s perfect dream.
Players must balance elements of fantasy and reality, shape their dreams to fulfill different Quests, and navigate increasingly challenging scenarios, all while communicating with limited information and keeping nightmares at bay.
Eisuke Gou is a freelance illustrator based in Tokyo. She has worked professionally on a wide range of projects, such as board games, children’s books and magazines.
Her work is characterized by a traditional, hand-crafted feel, with a particular focus on bringing out the personality and stories of her characters.
Gou was one of the lead artists for two games previously released by Esper Games: JISOGI and Eldertide.
Dream Hoppers was born after the team discovered the charming characters she had created for her newborn son. We immediately fell in love with them and invited her to bring these little creatures into a world of their own, giving them the spotlight they truly deserve!
Both games will be available to play at our booth during the upcoming events!
So, if you’re attending Tokyo Game Market Autumn, Essen Spiel, or PAX Unplugged, make sure to stop by and check them out!
You can find more details about the upcoming events further down in this post.
Upcoming Events
We’ll be attending three major conventions over the next few months, and we can’t wait to meet everyone, showcase our latest games, and share what we’ve been working on. Whether you’re a fan or simply curious to see what we’re up to, we’d love to have you stop by!
October 17–18 — Tokyo Game Market (JP)
Booth: 21
Coming up next week! This will be the Japan Artist Series Vol. 1 games’ event debut, and we can’t wait to see what everyone thinks!
You can also stop by and pick up some of the following games:
Eldertide: A Thousand Lights - Founders Edition
JISOGI Anime Studio Tycoon - Edition 1.5
Upgrade Pack for JISOGI Founders Edition
Fomo: Foragers of Mechanical Oddities
October 22–25 — SPIEL Essen (Germany)
Booth: 5K325
Stop by to play the Japan Artist Series games. 99x1 and Dream Hoppers!
We will also have copies available for purchase of:
These are also available for pre-order for pickup at the event through our shop! We’ll only have a limited number of retail copies available at the booth, so pre-ordering is the best way to make sure you don’t miss out.
JISOGI: Anime Studio Tycoon - Edition 1.5 will not be available at our booth, and therefore we are not offering a SPIEL Essen pre-order for it either. However, the game will be available at the Good Games Publishing booth 2D530.
December 4-6 — PAX Unplugged (USA)
The official booth assignments have not been released yet, but we’ll share more information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, please keep an eye on our social media for updates!
Will there be pre-orders? Absolutely! We’ll open pre-orders for PAX Unplugged shortly after SPIEL Essen, so if you’re attending, make sure to keep an eye on our shop!
And if you haven’t already, make sure to check out our YouTube channel, Tokyo Board Game Club! In addition to covering our latest news and featuring our games, we also publish content from and about other creators in the board game community.
We have just launched a new Instagram account for it, to make it easier to follow and consumer our content ;D
