In the world of animal athletics, frogs are unsung heroes. They're amphibious, so they can dominate both land and water based events, not to mention that they're famously great at jumping. The Board Game Frog Faire aims to explore the sporting potential of frogs, except it may never get published. Frog Faire is one of several games that won't be made available for purchase, that's debuting today at the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia.
The Indie Games Night Market is hosted by New Mill Industries, the publisher of titles like Worst in Show, London Necropolis Railway, and Reapers. The purpose of the night market, per its website, is to "feature games that have not been signed by publishers, had no intention to go on Kickstarter, and may otherwise not be available. This is meant to be an outlet for interesting ideas that may not have wide appeal."
Frog Faire is just one of several interesting tiles from this exhibition of the unknown and the unpublished. There's also Beastro, a game about running a bistro working alongside mythological monsters, Adulting, an engine building game about the struggles of being a grown-up, and several more.
As for how Frog Faire actually plays, it's three mini card games, representing different sporting events rolled into a single experience. First, players need to gather sets of cards with the same value in order to compete in the long hop. Then they need to amass a large number of either odd or even cards to pull ahead in swimming. Finally, Frog Faire becomes a drafting game, as players pick up cards from a grid in order to take home the gold in the talent contest.
If Frog Faire ever does get published, would you hop out to pick it up? Similarly, what are some of your favorite obscure board games? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord.
For more board gaming content from us, have a look at our list of the best family games of 2025.