Leader 1 (Christophe Leclerq and Alain Ollier)

Terrific cycle racing simulation from Italy. Players use the peloton to progress, playing to the strengths of the different members of their team and picking their moment to break away. Excellent racing: £30.00.

League of Six (Vladimír Suchý)

This game is played around the six towns of the title over six rounds. Each round opens with an auction, then players use the resources they’ve gathered for player order, bidding next turn and goods that gain victory points and income. This is a clever game, where players need to think ahead, but also adjust their strategy to what’s available each turn: £23.00.

LeCardo (Hugh Marshall and Priscilla McIntosh)

A fun little word game where the cards are words, not letters. Players use them to make phrases or compound words and score points—or just be funny: £5.50.

Lords of Creation (Martin Wallace)

A reprint of Martin Wallace's excellent first game. Players are Gods trying to attract and civilise followers—and convert other players' of course. A game that requires strategic thinking and a bit of diplomacy: £33.00.

Lost Cities (Reiner Knizia)

A classic card game and possibly my favourite two-player game. It’s a finely balanced game that requires planning and good decision-making—and a splash of luck! It plays quickly and well: £18.00.

Master Builder (Wolfgang Kramer and Hartmut Witt)

A game where the players construct model buildings. The tricky bit is hiring (and firing!) the right workers to get your buildings done without running out of cash: £35.00.

Masters of Venice (Frank DiLorenzo)

A complex strategy game of trading in the Renaissance city. Players buy and sell goods, take shares in the shops and fulfil orders for the Guild, aiming to earn money and prestige. Excellent stuff: £23.00.

Mesopotamia (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede)

A challenging game of exploring, building and sacrificing to the Gods! You need to use your limited actions to best effect to expand your clan in this fast-playing game from the designer of Carcassonne: £24.00.

Metallurgie (Maik Hennebach)

Convert base iron to gold! A clever, pattern-matching card game where players emulate alchemists. (German edition with English rules)

Monastery (Ragnar Brothers)

The latest from the Ragnar Brothers is a tactical game of monastery building. Players' monks work to build the monastery – and do better than the other teams. Challenging and atmospheric: £24.00.

Money (Reiner Knizia)

New edition of another classic Reiner Knizia game: simple, elegant and very tricky. Mix and match your cards (banknotes) to get the best set: £15.00.

Nacho Incident (Jim Doherty)

Players try to earn the most money they can by smuggling Mexican Food into Canada. Stuff tortillas down your shirt and evade the Mounties! £15.00. Now out of print: I have one copy left.

Neuland (Peter Eggert and Tobias Stapelfeldt)

A neat update of a terrific game. Essentially, it's a development game. Players collect and use raw materials to construct buildings to produce more sophisticated goods and so on. Clever with some innovative touches: £23.00.

Nomads of Arabia (Kris Gould)

A fascinating game where players catch and herd animals across the ever-changing sands of Araby. The aim is to sell your animals for a good price – without falling off the board: £18.00.