Czech Games Edition has lifted the lid on its Q3 2026 line-up, and the headline acts are a mining mech game called Drillers and a fully cooperative Critical Role-themed take on Codenames. CGE, the Brno-based publisher behind Codenames, Galaxy Trucker and SETI, dropped the details through distributor PHD Games yesterday, with both titles aimed at the autumn shopping window.
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Find events near youDrillers is a 1-4 player game where you pilot mechs into an abandoned shaft to dig up minerals, manage fuel, collect new action cards and tinker with upgrades. CGE pitches play time at 30 to 120 minutes for ages 12 and up, with a $59.99 MSRP. The interesting hook is that every decision ripples across the table. Choices made on one player's turn can crack open new opportunities for everyone else, so the table stays alive even when it is not your move. CGE has form here, having spent the past few years building a catalogue of crunchy, interlocking euros after its recent space-exploration hit SETI cleared 100,000 sales, as reported by BoardGameWire earlier this month.
Codenames: Critical Role Adventures is the bigger swing. It takes the original 4x4 word-association party game and flips it into a fully cooperative RPG-lite campaign for 2-4 players. One person plays game master while the rest pick from seven Critical Role faces (Vex, Percy, Grog, Jester, Nott, Dorian and Fresh Cut Grass), each with their own abilities and progression across branching missions in three campaigns. A D20 is in the box for skill checks, and a Vox Machina expansion pack lands day-and-date as a $71.94 bundle of new characters and missions. The base RRP is $39.99.
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Set up your group for freeUpgraded component sets are also on the way for SETI and Lost Ruins of Arnak ($44.99 each), plus a $39.99 metal coin set for Drillers. If you fancy running a learn-to-play night for the new Codenames once it lands, list your session on Backseat Gamer and round up your group.
Sources: PHD Games | Czech Games Edition | BoardGameWire
