Here is a trick-taking game with a twist that should make any card-game group sit up: the cards have no numbers on them at all. In Crits & Tricks, you roll a fistful of polyhedral dice to set the value of your cards, and the result has just won Best Dice Game at UK Games Expo 2026.
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Set up your group for freeDesigned by Pete Wissinger and published by Inside Up Games, it is a fantasy trick-taker for one to four players (there is a solo mode), ages 14 and up, in 20 to 45 minutes. Everyone gets a set of dice from a d4 up to a d20, and you roll to assign values to the cards in your hand, with the option to reroll a die when you play a card if you do not like what you have.
The clever bit is that each trick's win condition depends on the class leading it. Barbarian tricks go to the highest value, rogue tricks to the lowest, and so on down the party roster. On top of the shared scoring goal each round, you draft secret personal quests for bonus points, such as 2.5 points for winning a trick with a d4. Two extra cards let you trigger suit-dependent abilities mid-round, like forcing yourself to play last or reusing a die you have already spent.
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See how it worksIt is the kind of fresh idea that makes a familiar genre feel new, which is exactly why a trick-taker walked off with the dice prize. Crits & Tricks is up for pre-order now, and it is a natural pick for a group that loves a clever card game on game night.
Sources: UK Games Expo Awards | Inside Up Games | Gaming Trend
