The first Tabletop Gaming of 2018 is out today! With Fallout, Stuffed Fables, your free Secrets promo card and more

Start your New Year right: the latest issue of Tabletop Gaming magazine is out today!

Our January issue has the latest previews and behind-the-scenes looks at the hottest games you should be playing in 2018.

Top of the pile Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, the massive post-apocalyptic miniatures game that promises to land with a bang. We’ve got an exclusive cover feature on the unmissable title, revealing how the series’ roleplaying origins have resulted in a wargame like no other.

If you pick up the magazine in person this month, you’ll be able to grab one of two free collectible promo cards for Cold War social deduction game Secrets, featuring one of its two acclaimed designers: Eric Lang or Bruno Faidutti. Simply fill in the space on the card with the rules for another of the game’s characters and you can use the designers in your next game!

If you’re a fan of Mice & Mystics, you won’t want to miss our interview with designer Jerry Hawthorne about his latest fantasy adventure, Stuffed Fables. The co-op tale takes place in the dreams of a young girl as her beloved toys battle the forces of the terrifying Nightmare King – what’s more, you play the entire game inside a book! Find out how Pixar movies and sudoku led to one of the most original games in years by checking out the piece.

We also take a look at the darker side of buying games online as the number of bogus board games finding their way into the hands of fans rises. Major publishers tell us the very real danger of ending up with a counterfeit in your collection and reveal the telltale signs to look for to check if your copy is a fake in a must-read exposé.

As well as visiting the worlds of Fallout and Stuffed Fables, we’re also taking a trip back in time to learn about Hnefatafl, the ancient board game played by Vikings that’s making a comeback in the modern gaming scene. How good is the game? All you need to know is that Viking generals were buried with a copy of it in their arms – it’s that good.

Like your action brutal and bloody? Check out our chat with the creator of Vengeance, a hard-hitting dice-roller in the mould of revenge flicks like John Wick, Kill Bill and Oldboy sure to get the blood pumping.

Elsewhere, legendary designer Donald X. Vaccarino is the latest subject of our regular look at how your favourite games are made, revealing how he came up with one of the most influential card games in decades: revolutionary deckbuilder Dominion.

There’s all this and more, plus the regular hobby tips, world-beating designer interviews and reviews of the latest releases you’ve come to expect; this issue we’ve checked out Azul, Civilization: A New Dawn, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything for Dungeons & Dragons, Queendomino, Hunt for the Ring, Sidereal Confluence and Photosynthesis, to name just a few.

You can pick up January’s issue of Tabletop Gaming magazine today in hobby stores, WHSmith, Tesco and Sainsbury’s (see the full list of stores here) or direct via our online store, with brand new subscription options (including quarterly and half-yearly rates) available. Don’t miss out!