Vital Lacerda doesn't do light. Speakeasy, his sprawling worker-placement game of Prohibition-era Manhattan, has just been named Heavy Strategy Game of the Year at the 2026 Origins Awards, handed out at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio over 17-21 June. For anyone who loves a proper brain-burner, that is a strong signal this one is worth clearing the table for.
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See how it worksIn Speakeasy (1-4 players, 45 to 180 minutes) you play a mobster building an illicit drinks empire under the watchful eye of Lucky Luciano. You hire goons, run liquor across the city and upgrade grimy backrooms into glittering casinos, all while managing a tight hand of cards and your standing with both the mob and the police. Published by Eagle-Gryphon Games with artwork by Ian O'Toole, it is classic Lacerda, lots of interlocking parts that only start to sing once the whole system clicks in your head. Lacerda is the designer behind heavy-euro favourites like Lisboa, On Mars and The Gallerist, several of which rank among BoardGameGeek's most respected strategy games, so this puts Speakeasy in serious company.
Origins picks in this category tend to age well, because Heavy Strategy is where the genre's biggest designers go head to head. If your group has been circling Lacerda's back catalogue, consider this your nudge. It is a meaty two-to-three-hour commitment, though, so it pays to round up players who will go the distance. Find a group near you and block out an evening for it.
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Find events near youSources: Tabletop Sentinel | Eagle-Gryphon Games | Quackalope
