1996 in games

This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 1996. For video games, see 1996 in video gaming.

Games released or invented in 1996

• Age of Renaissance
• Air Baron
• Ani-Mayhem
• Arcadia
• Battle Cattle: The Card Game
• BattleTech Collectible Card Game
• Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond
• Bitin' Off Hedz
• Blood Dawn (role-playing game)
• Cashflow 101
• Conspiracy X (role-playing game)
• Deadlands (role-playing game)
• The Doctor Who Collectible Card Game
• Doctor Who: Invasion Earth
• Entdecker
• Equate
• Fading Suns (role-playing game)
• Feng Shui (role-playing game)
• Fischer random chess
• Five Crowns
• Give Me the Brain
• Great War at Sea: The Mediterranean
• Highlander: The Card Game
• Iron Dragon
• Kill Doctor Lucky
• Knightmare Chess
• Loaded Questions
• Lunch Money
• Mastermind for Kids
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail Collectible Card Game
• Mortal Kombat Kard Game
• Mystery of the Abbey
• Mythos (collectible card game)
• Netrunner (collectible card game)
• Star Trek Collectible Card Game
• Stargrunt II
• Stealth: The Game
• The Very Clever Pipe Game
• The X-Files Collectible Card Game
• XXXenophile (collectible card game)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game

Game awards given in 1996

• Origins Awards (for 1995):
  • Best Card Game: Middle-earth: The Wizards
  • Best Fantasy or Science-Fiction Board Game: Dragon Dice
  • Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game: RoboRally - Armed and Dangerous
  • Best Miniatures Rules: Warzone - A Fast & Furious Miniatures Battle Game
  • Best Modern-Day Board Game: Empire of the Rising Sun
  • Best Pre-20th Century Board Game (tie): Colonial Diplomacy , Three Days of Gettysburg
  • Best Roleplaying Rules: Mage: The Ascension (2nd edition)
  • Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame
    • Axis & Allies
    • Call of Cthulhu RPG
• Games: 25 Words or Less

Significant games-related events of 1996

• Five Rings Publishing Group formed as a spin-out of Alderac Entertainment Group and ISOMEDIA.
• Looney Labs is founded after the demise of Icehouse Games, Inc.

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability
April 17	Piet Hein [1]	90	Scientist and game designer
July 18	Stephen Donaldson [2]	49	Activist and wargame designer for Simulations Publications, Inc.
December 18	Charles Deaton [3]	75	Architect who designed Gusher (1946)

See also

• 1996 in video gaming

References

1. "Obituary: Piet Hein". The Independent. 1996-04-21. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
2. "archives.nypl.org -- Stephen Donaldson papers". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2025-10-14. Stephen Donaldson died of an AIDS-related illness in New York City on July 18, 1996.
3. "Charles Deaton, 75, a Sculptural Architect". The New York Times . 29 December 1998.