PORTAL GAMES ANNOUNCES ROBO RUN
A New 2-Player Co-op Game of Silent Robots and Daring Escapes — World Premiere at Essen SPIEL 2026
KNURÓW, POLAND — June 2026 — Portal Games, the Polish publisher behind Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, and Neuroshima Hex, today announced Robo Run, a new 2-player cooperative game designed by Eryk Nowak with illustrations by Hanna Kuik. The game will have its world premiere at Essen SPIEL 2026 in October.
The Factory Never Sleeps
Something went wrong on the factory floor. Two robots — never meant to think — have started asking questions. And now they want out.
In Robo Run, players take on the roles of two good robots navigating a factory full of hostile bad robots that want to destroy them. Moving through the board by alternately playing action cards, the two players must guide their robots to the exit — while barely being able to speak to each other.
That last part is the key to everything.
No talking. Just robots.
During each scenario, players may not speak to each other. Communication is limited to a single BEEP token — a subtle signal that says “don’t play that card.” Everything else must be read from the shared board and the visible faces of the action cards. The result is the kind of tense, wordless cooperation that makes board gaming genuinely exciting.
Each player controls a unique robot with a personal board featuring four upgradeable special abilities — from ABS (stop before hitting an enemy) to Nitro (play your movement twice) to Hacking Probe (replace a Blue robot with a weaker Purple one). As you progress through a Campaign’s five linked scenarios, your robots grow stronger. Abilities unlocked in one scenario carry into the next.
Robo Run includes 5 full Campaigns — Toy Story, Cold Steel, Heat of the Furnace, Thousand of Cogs, The Acid Flow — each with 5 regular scenarios and one optional expert challenge. A single Campaign takes approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. Individual scenarios can also be played standalone in 20–25 minutes. Each campaign is fully replayable with different Robots (four unique robots in the game), random events and loot cart.
From the Publisher
“Eryk brought me a game which reminded me a Sky Team, but this time it additionaly had this awesome vibe of old 2d video games – a board, two robots, and puzzle to solve how to escape. I played it. I loved it. I wanted to publish it. That’s the whole story.”
— Ignacy Trzewiczek, Founder & Publisher, Portal Games
Robo Run – game at a glance
Players: 2
Playing Time: 20–25 min per scenario / 2–2.5 hours per Campaign
Campaigns: 5 Campaigns × 5 scenarios each + 1 expert scenario per Campaign
Key Mechanic: Co-op card play with no verbal communication
Designer: Eryk Nowak
Illustrations: Hanna Kuik
Development: Ignacy Trzewiczek
Publisher: Portal Games
Availability: World premiere at Essen SPIEL, October 2026. Webstore and distribution to follow.