An Interview with Travel Games
If you’ve been following along with the Japanese Game Festival (日本のゲーム祭り) here, you might have picked up on a common theme. Some of these games are very difficult to get hold of. Often, they’re printed in small batches and never end up with proper distribution outside of Japan. So what are you meant to do?
The answer is to find an importer. Someone who takes the donkey work and pain out of sourcing, importing, customs fees, and sometimes even translation, too. In the UK, we’re lucky to have a specialist importer now in the form of Travel Games – travel-games.co.uk. I’m a customer myself, so I reached out to the owner – Ben Davenward – to see what he can tell me about the import game scene in the UK, preconceptions about Japanese games, and which games you should look out for on your first steps into the often confusing world of games from Nihon.
The interview
Me: First things first, who are you, and why did you start Travel Games?
Ben: I’m Ben. Honestly, the store started as a mix of impulsivity and necessity. I was stuck in an insecure job that was seriously affecting my mental health. One day, when my short-term contract came up for renewal — for the nth time — I decided not to sign it. I was tired of the constant uncertainty and stress of wondering if I’d need to find a new job every few months.
Instead, I had an idea: curate a collection of small-box games perfect for holidays, and sell them with a focus on great customer service and an indie record store vibe. I’d been importing games for myself for years, so I set aside a small corner of the shop for cool imports I loved but figured no one else would be interested in. They sold out on opening day — and that’s what I’ve specialised in ever since.
It’s definitely hard work compared to a more conventional board game shop. There’s no magic wholesale catalogue for indie imports. Everything’s in another language, you have to translate rules, navigate shipping, customs, currencies — the list goes on. But the payoff is huge: I get to meet brilliant people and dive into the weird, wonderful, and wildly creative world of indie board games from around the globe.
Since you started importing Japanese and Asian games, how has the landscape changed in terms of interest and availability?
Interest — especially in Japanese games — has definitely grown. I think that’s partly due to reviewers and players looking for something a bit different in the hobby. There’s also been a huge increase in tourism to Japan, which has its pros and cons.
Availability has improved too. I’ve worked hard to remove the risks from importing for customers. When you import directly, you’re often dealing with customs charges, confusing forms, lost parcels — all that fun stuff. One of my first imports was a tiny 18-card game called VUGHEX, which ended up costing me around £70 thanks to unlucky fees. I think most importers have similar horror stories.
Now, there’s more infrastructure. In the UK, there’s Travel-Games; in the US, Tricky Imports and Tanuki Games; and in Europe, Golden Meeple. While general availability is still limited — print runs remain small, and quality can vary — import-focused indie shops can sometimes help scale up production to make games more accessible and affordable.
One major shift is the speed at which hot games are getting signed and reprinted. Publishers like New Mill Industries, Portland Game Collective, Bright Eye Games, Allplay, and even us at Travel-Games.co.uk are now signing and localising games from TGM (note: TGM = Tokyo Games Market, a twice yearly convention in Japan). That boosts visibility, increases print runs, and sometimes removes the need to import at all.
You mention hot games, and I guess that despite the growing interest and a level of mystique around Japanese games in particular, they’re not always hits?
No, not all Japanese games are great, they are just very heavily curated, those that get imported I will have researched, translated, and where possible, proxied. If it’s broken or no fun, it doesn’t get ordered.
Print runs for games at TGM range from 20 to 1000 copies generally, usually in the 50-200 copies territory. They are often made at home by designers using craft pieces and non-standard pieces. As a result, the concept of wholesale doesn’t really exist with the exception of a few bigger publishers. This is also a big part of why I make TGM mystery boxes each year, despite it being a ton of work and very inefficient.
Also, the games are generally designed with a focus on making something fun for a designer’s friend group, so they are often printed once, and that’s it. A lot of designers don’t design for profit, contracts, etc.
People going to Japan are unlikely to find a lot of the hot games they are looking for. Most of them are available at TGM, and then they are gone. Big stores tend to stock the same games we have in the west, translated to Japanese, plus a few of the bigger Japanese publishers like Okazu and Saashi and Saashi. You might be lucky and find something second-hand hand but tbh I recommend just exploring more and enjoying your holiday.
So if you were to recommend three games that a) give a feel for Japanese games, and b) are available somehow, what would you choose?
It’s very hard to narrow it down, but here are three standouts (plus a few honourable mentions):
Harvest. One of my absolute favourites. It’s light, plays well with 1–6 players, and was designed to be played on a train — perfect for travel. It’s a mix of passive-aggressive noughts and crosses with lots of player interaction. The solo mode is like Space Invaders, and the expansion tweaks an already great game into something even better. A perfect filler — it deserves a spot in everyone’s collection.
Eternal Decks. Currently out of print but coming back in Fall 2025. This co-op campaign card game is like nothing else — it feels like a roguelite video game. You play cards to satisfy shifting restrictions, unlock asymmetric decks, and battle level-based mechanics. The production is phenomenal, and the gameplay is deep and satisfying.
Schadenfreude. TGM is best known for trick-takers, and this one’s a gem. It’s a clean, interactive design with just the right amount of meanness. The goal is to push others to go over 40 points while staying closest to 40 without busting yourself. The tension builds beautifully — it’s always a great time.
Honourable Mentions:
Nedorite. A con favourite. Trick-taking with three colours of plasticine and a cardboard seesaw. Suit = colour, rank = weight. Ridiculous and brilliant.
Mr Pai Pai. All the cards are blank — but some are secretly glued together in weird pairs. Toss them in a messy pile, take turns drawing. If it’s glued, toss it back in. Find all the singles, count them up. Simple, elegant, and hilarious.
Compress. From Jun Sasaki, published under Pampas Games. A minimalist memory game using binary cards (1s and 0s) in two colours. You have eight cards to take notes, but once you run out of 1s, you’ll be improvising — maybe blue means 1 now? Incredibly clever, clean, and absolutely a prime example of TGM creativity.
Finally, what are your future plans for the store?
Good question. The core mission has always been the same: promote creativity, spotlight indie designers and publishers, and brighten people’s day — that’s why we hand-wrap everything, include notes and little gifts, and make every order feel personal.
So far this year, we’ve published and localised Trick Taking Werewolf, and we’re co-publishing a retheme of Boast or Nothing (also known as Best of Neapolitan) with Portland Game Collective. That’s coming to Kickstarter soon — after a brief pause due to tariffs.
I’m also designing my own game, Rotisserie Tricken, which is headed to Kickstarter.
To help foster creativity, we’ve launched the Travel-Games Compendium — a collection of games from both well-known and emerging indie designers using a shared card deck. The idea is to release new volumes and cards over time, and allow designers to publish games using the deck without having to invest in art, printing, or manufacturing. More on this later in the year.
In November, we’re hosting our first mini-convention — Hamishcon — in Warwick, where people can gather and play small imported games from around the world.
We’re also exploring ways to introduce Jubensha to the UK. It’s a massively popular format in China that blends RPG, murder mystery, and escape room elements — and I think it could be a fantastic addition to the Western analogue game scene.
Ultimately, the goal is simple: keep promoting creativity, build a warm and supportive community, and continue discovering small boxes of fun from all over the world.
Thanks again to Ben for his time, and for adding more games I didn’t know I needed to my wishlist.
Head on over to Travel Games now to see what’s in stock, and how your bank balance can be dented too.
