As a publisher, Randy Lein sees a lot of great game submissions come across his desk. Most of them are wargames. That’s fitting, because Randy founded Legion Wargames in 2009 and has spent the better part of two decades building one of the hobby’s most distinctive catalogs of historical conflict games. But not every submission Randy sees fits that profile.
Launched in 2026, Jackl Games is his answer. Jackl is a new brand, built for the submissions that don’t fit the Legion mold but are too good to pass up. Readers familiar with our earlier Legion Wargames Publisher Spotlight will recognize Randy’s name. We sat down to talk with him a second time and find out what to expect from his newest brand.
ORIGINS
Under Legion Wargames, Randy has published more than 50 titles, with another 25 in various stages of development. More than 15 years of working with some of the hobby’s top designers has given him a clear sense of what makes a game worth publishing.
“I publish more games than I play, and most of those that I do are wargames,” Randy explains. “But I appreciate and see the potential in these more traditional boardgame submissions.”
For Randy, Jackl Games opens a door to a broader audience. The wargame hobby has a relatively small number of major publishers and an equally focused customer base. The tabletop market at large is simply bigger.
OLYMPUS
Jackl’s debut title is a miniatures-focused game called Heirs to Olympus. It’s a tactical strategy game featuring some very familiar characters.
“You are Achilles, Theseus, Hercules, or Macaria – the mortal child of a Greek God,” Randy says. “With a small band of allies, you must defend your divine parent’s sacred relic while working to destroy those of your rivals.”
But Heirs to Olympus isn’t just another arena battler, it’s a game that let’s you play through your own Greek epic. One reviewer said, “This board game brings together beautifully sculpted minis and original art across the entire game to give it an almost cinematic feeling while you’re playing. It feels like a Greek myth movie.”
The result is a little Percy Jackson, a little Clash of the Titans, with a large selection of visually appealing components. The game features 28 original miniatures, crafted by Gonzalo Yañez, who worked closely with the game’s designer to capture the specific look and feel of each mythological character. During development, the designer 3D printed the miniatures for playtesting, refining each one before committing to the final sculpts.
“We are also very fortunate to be working with veteran board game illustrator Jarek Nocoń,” Randy adds. “With over 14 years of experience creating original art for boardgames he brought not only his immense talent, but also a wealth of boardgame experience to the table.”
In addition to a strong table presentation, Heirs to Olympus also introduces a unique design mechanic called the Phoenix Rising System.
“When one of your pieces is defeated in combat it is moved off the board to a respawning queue where it waits its turn to re-enter the combat arena,” Randy says. “There is no limit to the number of pieces you can have in the respawning queue but only one piece can re-enter per turn. It makes for some tense gameplay as no one player is ever out of the fight.”
The game supports two to four players, with dedicated boards for both configurations, and plays in roughly sixty to ninety minutes.
Heirs to Olympus is Jackl Games’ debut Kickstarter campaign. Readers interested in backing the project can find it via Jackl Games website. And check it out right here on Noble Knight Games.
GLORY…OR THE GULAG
Some games just have a premise too fun to pass up. That’s perhaps never been more true than with Laboratory: Glory or the Gulag. Set against an absurd version of
1960s Eastern Bloc science, players take on the role of researchers conscripted to carry out ridiculous projects under the watchful eye of the Party.
“Each player leads a laboratory assigned an ambitious Project such as Pig Manure Distillation Vodka or Potato Peel Textile Substitute,” Randy says. “Each round, players conduct Lab Tests on a shoestring budget using limited Resources, Catalysts, and Assistants, including equipment, funding, and test subjects supplied by political re-education facilities. Assistants range from the occasionally competent to incompetent hires, Party appointees, secret police moles, opportunists, and alcoholics. Lab Test results determine the credibility of the Progress Report, from Laughably Fake to Vaguely Credible.”
Succeeding at these ridiculous tasks is one strategy (and a means to avoid a one-way trip to Siberia). But you can also get ahead by making sure your fellow players struggle to keep up.
“Players will of course attempt to Discredit and invalidate their rivals’ reports,” Randy says. “In Laboratory, weakening a competitor’s Authority or Loyalty can be as decisive as strengthening one’s own.”
Laboratory was originally submitted to Legion Wargames. It’s easy to see why Randy couldn’t pass it up. He sums up the winning strategy pretty succinctly:
“In Laboratory, the surest advancement rests on one expertise: concealing your crimes while exposing your rivals’.”
MORE ZOMBIES, MORE BRAINS
The third of Jackl’s initial offerings, More Brains!, came to Randy as a combination he couldn’t resist: the theme of Zombies and designer Hermann Luttmann.
“Well, that and the fact that he’s a friend, and I just recently published a wargame designed by him (Miracle at Dunkerque),” Randy says. “Plus he has a very successful game called Dawn of the Zeds so I knew he knows his stuff regarding zombies.”
More Brains! inverts the zombie stereotype by putting the players in the role of intelligent “alpha” zombies, who lead hordes of brainless undead against a human city. The more brains your alpha zombies eat, the smarter they get. And the smarter they get, the better they are at getting more brains.
“And when it comes to wide appeal,” Randy adds, “I’m not sure that zombies don’t trump Greek mythology.”
More Brains! is a press-your-luck style game for up to four players that can also be played solo or cooperatively.
NEW BEGINNINGS
When asked why he chose games with such memorable themes as Greek mythology or zombies for Jackl’s initial titles, Randy downplays the idea of any sort of
grand plan or purpose.
“As much as I would like to take credit for molding my own destiny, it just worked out that way,” he says.
Randy has always been a wargame publisher with a sharp eye for historical themes, but he knows a good game when he sees one.
“Jackl Games is aimed at a person who enjoys a face-to-face tabletop boardgame experience,” he says. “If a game submission isn’t a ‘wargame’ then it falls into the Jackl Games realm.”
Starting with Heirs to Olympus, Randy plans to bring Jackl’s initial games to print via crowdfunding. It’s new territory for him, but he’s not without resources.
“Since I am a crowd funding first-timer, I’m an ‘unknown’ on the platforms. But rest assured that I bring to Jackl Games what I have always brought to Legion Wargames, a game that is well designed and play-tested, and with nothing but the highest quality artwork and components.”
Keep an eye on the Noble Knight Games website for future Jackl Games releases, including Heirs to Olympus. You can also follow their development on Jackl Games’ official site.
As for what comes next, Randy is characteristically modest about his own role in Jackl’s future.
“I believe it is the customers, not me, that will lead to Jackl Games being a success.”
