All Aboard Expo 2026 sa QC

The second All Aboard Expo 2026 sa QC was held this year last May 28-31 at the M.I.C.E. Center in Quezon City Hall. And for the second year in a row, I decided to take a day off to attend the opening day.

Due to last year's success, the event this year was bigger, with even more game designers and people renowned globally in the game board community. I got to meet and have my photo taken with Tom Vasel, Founder and Head Game Guru of The Dice Tower. (I was hoping I could run into Emerson Matsuuchi, the designer of Century Spice Road which I have, but I didn't get to see him.)

The event allowed me to try a few new games including Misfit Heroes,

Misfit Heroes

Sea Divers of Jeju,

Sea Divers of Jeju

and Lion Wake.

Lion Wake

I particularly enjoyed Lion Wake, probably because the people from the company that created that game were there to explain it to us. And party because I absolutely love its aesthetic and even how thematic it is. I think that when my friend Jovan and I played it, the idea was for it to only be a quick demo and that we would end after a few turns but Jovan and I ended up playing the full game. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to finish. Given how intricate it looked, I thought it would take a lot longer. I have to say, this game was really enjoyable to play. Apparently, it was also a beta test run for the game. The makers said that they try to have this game test-played in its current form so that they can see how the gameplay and all the components work. That way, they can get feedback and enhance it further before launching. It was such a cool experience and I'm happy that not only was I able to try out a new game that I really enjoyed, I also got to participate in its beta testing. Cool!

The event spanned four days, from Thursday to Sunday, but I had plans on all other days so I could only go on its opening day. But even if I got to go on only one day, I still enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to participating again in next year's event.