The designer of Wingspan has a new game about wandering a beach picking up shells, and it just won Best Family Game at the UK Games Expo 2026 Judges' Choice Awards. Sanibel is Elizabeth Hargrave's cosy follow-up to her smash-hit bird game, published by Avalon Hill, and it is exactly the gentle, chatty sort of game that tends to win over a whole table.
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Set up your group for freeYou stroll along a Florida beach collecting seashells, sand dollars and shark teeth. Movement borrows the lovely idea from Tokaido, where the player furthest back always goes next, so hanging back lets you take an extra turn but lets rivals grab the good tiles first. The shells you pick up then go into your bag with a Tetris-like twist: pieces have to rest on the bottom or be supported by others, and different shells score in different ways, so a snail might reward big connected clusters while another tile wants to sit alone. Waves wash in to refill the beach as you go.
It plays 2 to 4, takes around 30 to 45 minutes and suits ages ten and up. Hargrave has called it a love letter to growing up in Florida and to her dad, who collected sharks' teeth, and that warmth comes through in how relaxed it feels to play. It beat finalists Magical Athlete and Twinkle Twinkle for the family crown.
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See how it worksIf Wingspan got your group into the hobby, this is an easy next pick, and it is on UK shelves now. Time to round up the table and plan a games night.
Sources: Elizabeth Hargrave | GamingTrend | UK Games Expo | Tabletop Sentinel
