Kasper Lapp made his name with Magic Maze, the frantic co-op played almost entirely in silence. His latest game could not be more different, and it has just won Best Abstract Game at UK Games Expo 2026. Ink is a quiet, colourful tile-layer about making paintings, and it arrives at the 20th-anniversary show with a divided critical reception and a shiny trophy.
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Set up your group for freeLapp, a designer based in Copenhagen, broke through with the Spiel des Jahres-nominated Magic Maze back in 2017, where players robbed a shopping mall as a barbarian, mage, elf and dwarf without being allowed to talk. Ink, published by Final Score Games, trades that chaos for something contemplative.
You draft colourful ink tiles from a circular market wheel and lay them onto your canvas, building up contiguous areas of colour to fulfil numbered contracts. The goal is to empty your supply by cleverly placing all your ink bottles. It plays one to four (there is a solo mode), suits ages 8 and up, and runs around 30 to 45 minutes.
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Find events near youThe reviews are genuinely split. At The Opinionated Gamers, Dale Yu enjoyed the surprisingly tough decisions and compared it to the wildlife tile-layer Habitats, while a co-reviewer found it dry. The UKGE judges had no such doubts. If you want to make up your own mind, Ink is available to play on Board Game Arena, which makes it an easy one to try before game night.
Sources: UK Games Expo Awards | The Opinionated Gamers | Mojo Nation | Board Game Arena
