Mensa’s Top Board Games for 2026 Are…
Plus Xbox lowers the price of Game Pass, with a catch
The Mensa society bestowed their Select seal on a number of board games. Find out which ones make the cut. Also, Xbox reduced the price of Game Pass, but one game will be left out. All this and more. Let’s go!
Mensa announces their top board games
The High-IQ group Mensa revealed their latest round of board games to receive their Mensa Select seal.
The games were voted on by hundreds of Mensa members at an annual four-day gaming event. According to their website, games are chosen for the award based on aesthetics, instructions, originality, play appeal and play value.
The list of this year’s winners are:
Xbox updates Game Pass
After a memo from Xbox head Asha Sharma leaked saying their subscription service was too expensive, Xbox dropped the prices last week. However, one of their biggest titles will no longer be part of their offering.
The price of Game Pass Ultimate dropped from $30 per month to $23, while PC Game Pass went from $16.50 to $14. However, the subscription service will lose day-one access to the Call of Duty franchise.
“We’ll keep learning and evolving Game Pass to better match what matters to players,” said Sharma in a Twitter post.
Analysts say Xbox removing Call of Duty from Game Pass is “unsurprising,” as the game failed to increase subscriptions to the service. Microsoft believes lowering the price will encourage people to return to the service, while Xbox can sell the latest Call of Duty game at full price to fans of that franchise.
What do you think? Does removing Call of Duty day-one titles make Game Pass more appealing? Let us know in the comments.
Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
♟️ Board game publisher CMON is investing in video game development and blockchain-based projects for some of its titles.
🎮 A recent report says that the upcoming Steam Controller will sell for $99.
😢 Epic Games said it will issue refunds for players who bought D4vd Fortnite cosmetics, as the performer was recently charged in the muder of a 14 year-old girl.
👽 Sega released a teaser trailer for Alien Isolation 2.
⚖️ Nintendo customers are suing the company over tariff refunds, saying they should get the money instead of the company.
📅 The next expansion for Final Fantasy 14 called Evercold was announced, and it arrives January of 2027. The game will also be coming to the Switch 2 in August.
🐬 Ecco the Dolphin: Complete was announced, and will include the first two games along with a completely new game.
🧑🏾💻 A developer working on Mass Effect 5 provided a rare update on the game, saying the crew was “just busy workin’.”
🐉 Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2026 took place, announcing the franchise’s plans for the next year including Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3.
🧛🏻 After the release of Vampire Crawlers last week, the developer behind Vampire Survivors says it is working on over 15 projects and IP collaborations.
🎥 An Elden Ring movie is scheduled to release in March of 2028, featuring Nick Offerman, Peter Serafinowicz and some other big names.
📈 Round numbers: Resident Evil Requiem sold over 7 million copies and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sold over 8 million copies.
New Releases this week:
4/28: Aphelion (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
4/29: Industria 2 (PC)
4/29: MotoGP 26 (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
4/30: inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)
4/30: Saros (PlayStation)
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