Are you crazy, or are you NUTS! What are we actually talking about?

NUTS! Publishing is a French publisher that appeared in 2011 with a strong fondness for wargames: games in which historical conflicts, military choices and difficult consequences are not tucked away behind a cheerful cardboard castle wall. Think of titles such as Urban Operations, Phantom Fury, We Are Coming, Nineveh! and all kinds of other games where you are not so much “just casually doing a little battle”, but rather frowning as you realize that history is often just as tactical as it is tragic.

But NUTS! is not only the publisher of maps full of front lines, supply lines and historical misery. In recent years, the publisher has taken a broader course and now also releases more than enough board games: French editions of international successes, but also its own titles in French and English. And sometimes even in Breton. Breton is a Celtic language from Brittany, in western France. Put simply: if French is the baguette of the French languages, then Breton is more like a crêpe complète with its own full history, sound and character. It is especially nice that a publisher gives attention to a less widely spoken language to help ensure that history does not disappear, just as NUTS! does with its games.

What I find interesting about NUTS! is that they often position themselves right on the dividing line between wargame and board game. On the one hand, you get historical context, asymmetry, tension and sometimes a military theme. On the other hand, the games often remain compact, accessible and playful enough to bring people to the table who would normally pull a white flag out of their backpack at the word “wargame”.

Their internally developed range includes titles such as Diluvium, Mini Rogue and Rolling Seas, which can hold their own among the lighter heavyweights of board games. As for French-language editions, this French publishing house provides, among others, the French editions of Undaunted, Catacombs and more.

SPIEL 2026: come play and chat

This year I will be attending SPIEL in Essen, the largest public board game fair in the world. The 2026 edition takes place from Thursday 22 October through Sunday 25 October 2026 at Messe Essen. I myself will be present for most of the week at the NUTS! stand (stand number 3K415). The hall map and exhibitor list are already online on the Spiel website, so anyone who is smart will plan their route before the exhibition floor turns into a roll-and-move with thousands of pawns at once.

I will mainly be at the fair on the NUTS! stand to explain games such as Spell and Diluvium. Diluvium has a warm place in my board-gaming heart: compact, thematic, accessible and still full of enough choices to let your brain bob along on strategic waves. Spell is a delightful short puzzler for two. My mission? Getting other people excited about these NUTS! games. Or, in Dice Daniel terms: winning souls, but with rulebooks, wooden pieces and hopefully less religious persecution.

At NUTS! during SPIEL you can play, see or at least give the games discussed below a good sniff without anyone officially needing to check whether that is allowed. If you play a game with me or simply come over for a chat: I am a pleasant conversation partner, I do not bite and I (hopefully) do not smell, and anyone who makes time for a game or conversation may even receive some Dice Daniel memorabilia.

Playing board games and having a good conversation? Sign me up! Fortunately, the games themselves are also rather fun, so here is a little preview.

Diluvium

Diluvium is a manageable 4X game in which the world has suffered some serious water damage. After a great flood, only scattered islands remain, and players take on the role of civilizations trying to gather resources, settlements and gold. In our review, we particularly highlighted how cleverly the game reduces the four big 4X pillars — explore, expand, exploit and exterminate — to four intuitive actions: explore, settle, produce and engage. You turn your ship’s wheel, choose wisely and try not to go under.

For me, Diluvium is exactly the kind of NUTS! title that shows that big does not always have to be large. It feels strategic, thematic and rich, but without immediately requiring half a Saturday, three pots of coffee and a serious emergency ration. It is 4X in figurative backpack format: everything is in there, but it remains nicely portable, unlike the larger 4X games where even a container and two tables still often leave you short on space.

Mini Rogue en Mini Rogue: The Council

Mini Rogue is a small dungeon box with big suffering. In our review, we descended toward the treasure of Og, almost certain of our success, until one final room, trap or snake decided that heroism can also simply have an expiry date. The game translates the roguelike experience to the tabletop: random dungeons, monsters, traps, treasures, permanent death and, of course, the familiar sentence afterwards: “just one more game”.

Mini Rogue works solo and cooperatively, with familiar fantasy archetypes and enough dice tension to make your knightly shoes squeak nervously. Mini Rogue: The Council builds on that foundation and feels like another invitation to head back into the depths — or this time into a dangerous city, think the outskirts of Brussels but with more fantasy.

300: Earth & Water

300: Earth & Water is an asymmetric two-player game about the Persian Wars. The title refers both to the famous 300 Spartans and to the demand made by the Persians to the Greek city-states: earth and water, meaning submission and control. In our review, we appreciated how the game combines historical tension, simple rules and strategic choices. One player represents the Greek city-states, the other the Persian superpower, and the asymmetry between the two sides is immediately tangible.

The beauty of 300 is that it feels small on the table, but large in consequences. Every card, every movement and every battle can provide exactly that one decisive push. It is not a Hollywood spectacle with slow motion and perfectly oiled abs, but a compact historical confrontation in which every decision feels Spartanly strict.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur moves the struggle to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. In our review, we discussed not only the game itself, but also the broader conversation about wargames: yes, you are replaying conflicts, but good wargames can also provide historical context, education and reflection. Port Arthur lets two players trace key elements of that conflict on an asymmetric battlefield on and around the sea.

Like 300, Port Arthur is part of the Combat Rations series: small boxes with compact components, but with surprisingly substantial bite. Think of it as a combat ration for your game shelf: small, nourishing and probably easier to digest than actual field rations.

Guerre Éclair

Guerre Éclair is the third title in that Combat Rations series and covers the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France in May 1940. In our review, we described it as waging war in about 45 minutes — a true blitzkrieg, then. One player controls the German troops and tries to break through the Allied lines with speed, deception and concentrated force, while the other player tries to determine where the real threat is coming from before the front collapses like a badly folded croissant.

What makes Guerre Éclair interesting is that it is not only about positions on the map, but also about expectation, hidden information and psychological pressure. It is a game about planning, bluffing and anticipating. You are not only playing against your opponent’s troops, but also against their assumptions. That makes it compact, tense and surprisingly vicious.

Rolling Seas

Rolling Seas takes things in a pirate direction. Or actually: it rolls and flips things in a pirate direction. In our review, we called it a thematic roll/flip-and-write in which players roll dice, flip cards, plot routes, visit ports and collect stories. Because a pirate without a story is really just someone with poor dental hygiene and a questionable career choice.

Rolling Seas reminded us of Diluvium: lots of possibilities, a clear thematic angle and a game that feels expansive without becoming unmanageable. You sail, discover, fight dangers and try to gain fame by telling your pirate stories in ports. In short: finally a game in which bragging is not only allowed, but probably also part of your strategy.

Spell

A personal favourite of mine is the magical pink, black and white puzzle game for two players in which players cast spells by making Tetris shapes by flipping and moving tiles.

NUTS!, but not mad

To me, NUTS! Publishing is a publisher that takes stories seriously, while not forgetting that games are also, above all, meant to be played. Whether it is a strong thematic wargame, an imaginative flood, a scary dungeon or dangerous city, a Persian invasion, a besieged harbour, a lightning war or a pirate map full of scribbles: the games often seek out the edge between history, theme and playability.

Are you at SPIEL and do you see NUTS!, Spell, Diluvium or yours truly around a game table? Please come join in. I am happy to explain, happy to chat and will try, with all the Dice Daniel charm available, to warm you up to a game. And if the conversation is pleasant, there is a good chance you will go home not only with a gaming experience, but also with some Dice Daniel memorabilia. Because there is something playful for everyone, but for friendly players perhaps just a little something extra.