Happy 2026, everyone!

Steve here, writing to you from a cold New York. I’m starting the new year with a blog post for Gumbo. I hope your next trip around the sun is full of health, happiness, and lots of gaming!

During the break between the fall and spring semesters, I have some free time. I decided to use that time to write reviews for two games that are new to me. I will be sharing my thoughts on two games I brought home from PAX Unplugged last year: Enthrone and Here Lies.

Quick Summary: Enthrone is a two-player game of wits and strategy. It is perfect for thoughtful players who might not enjoy the loud chaos of typical social deduction games. (Full disclosure: Enthrone was provided by Smirk and Dagger Games for review purposes.)

BJ has not yet made the trip up to the chilly north of Philadelphia for PAX Unplugged, so I have been the one representing Gumbo at that convention. Along with friends from SUNY WCC, I traveled down again this past year to see what was new and to share it with you. As you may have heard on our podcast chat with BJ, Julie, Houston, and I went to PAX U and had a wonderful time.

I have some very interesting games to review from Smirk and Dagger. The three of us also got some excellent games from D.V.C Games. We are looking forward to some upcoming releases from D.V.C Games, especially Inkwell and Rosetta 2nd edition. Stay tuned for more news in the months ahead.

The first new Smirk and Dagger game I played was Enthrone, designed by Sawyer West. I taught and played it with some members of our Gaming Guild at the college. It is a game for two players only and takes about 30 minutes to play. How do I describe it? Enthrone is an abstract game that involves a push and pull of hidden identity and clever movements.

There are eight pawns on the octagonal board: the reigning King, the Priestess, the Knight, the Jester, the Demon, the Assassin, the Archer, and the Wizard. Smirk and Dagger gets bonus points for making the miniatures for the pawns look very cool. At the start of the game, each player is dealt three cards. These cards represent three of the different pawns. You pick one pawn that you will try to get to the middle of the board to be Enthroned as the new ruler. Your opponent does the same.

You win if one of three things happens: 1) You enthrone your secretly chosen pawn, 2) You eliminate the pawn chosen by your opponent as their heir to the throne, or 3) You eliminate the three pawns listed on your specific card. Think of these three targets as the publicly known enemies of your chosen champion. There is a re

Now begins a clever game of tactical movement, bluff, misdirection, deduction, and attack. All pawns are in play and can be used by either player. However, there are rules for actions that are governed by my favorite part of the game: the vertical tile track beside the main board. There are eight spaces on the track, and each pawn has a card placed on the track from top to bottom. When you move a pawn, its card gets moved to the bottom of the track. All other cards are pushed up to fill in the gaps.

Brilliant, but it gets better.

The only pawns that can be moved on the board are the ones in the top five slots. The bottom three can only climb the track as other pawns move and push their cards further up. And the only pawns that can be moved to the center space and take the throne are the ones whose cards are in the top three slots. Again, you will have to maneuver your favored pawn toward the center. You also need to get its card to the top to access the throne room.

Recall that you can also capture other pawns? The only pawns that can capture adjacent minis are the ones whose cards are in the top two slots on the track. If you want to attack, you’ll have to cleverly move to get close to your target. You also need to have things ready for when that card gets near the top of the track and powers up its attack.

The push and pull of this game is very clever. You want to make the moves that will give you what you need. However, all moves are public and could give away your plan. If your opponent knows who you are scheming to enthrone, they can attack that pawn. They can also make moves that shuffle the pawns you need to move or attack with down to the bottom of the track.

When it comes to social deduction games, it is usually a fair bet that I will be terrible at them and won’t have fun playing them. In my view, they usually devolve into a painful shouting match of baseless accusations among more extroverted people. These people can hide deception better than I can. So I become a spectator who gets picked off quickly. Once I’m eliminated, I leave to go play a game I will probably enjoy more.

But Enthrone is a perfect game for those people who want the social deduction cleverness without the stress. The only things that can betray you are your choices on the board. These can be made quietly and without the high energy discomfort that hampers the introvert cursed with an honest face.

When we played this, the teach seemed like there were a lot of moving parts. However, once the game begins, new players are very quick to pick up the gist. Once you have played it once, it is super-easy to set up and play again. To the game’s credit, there is enough to chew on in the choices and gameplay. You feel fulfilled after 30 minutes and want to try it again.

Go forth and king-make!

Thanks, Steve, for the review of Enthrone. Click here for Steve’s look at Here Lies.