Best games released at SPIEL 1997 in Essen 2026

This expansion adds several new types of beans and allows the game to be played with up to 7 players. It includes a reference card that specifies which types of beans should be included for different player counts. This expansion is essential for an optimal Bohnanza experience with more than 4 players.

Slapshot is a clever trading game for hockey enthusiasts of all ages. Players take on the role of team managers, aiming to skillfully guide their teams into the playoffs and ultimately win the championship. They can enhance their team through trades and drafts during the regular season, while injuries and luck also play a part in determining victory or defeat.

The Rose King (originally published as Texas) is a strategic board game that pits two players—or two teams in a four-player partnership variant—against each other in an abstract battle for territory. Set against the historical backdrop of the Wars of the Roses, players assume the roles of the Lancaster and York factions, striving to dominate the board by forming contiguous regions of their markers.

Metro is a strategic tile-placement board game where players build rail lines to score points. It shares similarities with games like "Streetcar," "Tsuro," "Tantrix," and "Spaghetti Junction," but distinguishes itself with unique gameplay elements.

Canyon is a trick-taking game where players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will win. The number of cards in a player's hand fluctuates, and correct predictions allow players to move their markers on a scoring track depicted as a river in a canyon. If too many cards are played without a correct prediction, players risk being sent back several spaces when caught "in the current" near the finish line.

In Caesar & Cleopatra, a two-player card game, participants step into the roles of these iconic historical figures, with Caesar advocating for Rome's invasion of Egypt and Cleopatra fighting for its independence. The core of the game revolves around influencing Roman officials - Aedils, Quaestors, Senators, Pretorians, and Censors - using agent cards numbered 1 to 5. Players must strategically decide whether to play these agents face-down for secrecy or face-up for greater influence. Additionally, action cards like Assassins and Scouts add layers of strategy, allowing players to remove opposing agents or reveal hidden ones. The game progresses by revealing votes from the Roman officials, with the player having the most influence winning their support. The game concludes once all officials have chosen sides, with victory going to the player who has garnered the most support, factoring in bonus points for majorities in specific groups and certain hidden objectives.

Reiner Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates is a highly regarded strategy board game, often considered his masterpiece. It's set in the ancient fertile crescent and involves building civilizations through strategic tile placement.

Kismet is a card and dice game focused on discarding cards to achieve the lowest negative points. Each player has a hand of 11 cards numbered from 2 to 12. On a turn, a player rolls three dice, selects two to form a sum, and discards the corresponding card. If a player cannot match their remaining cards to a sum, the first other player who notices can call out a sum and discard their card instead.

The award-winning cooperative board game features a dice-based movement mechanic. Players navigate a tree-shaped board filled with movement spaces, which are gradually covered by game pieces representing acid rain. It's a race between accumulating droplets and the players' collective ability to deftly flick them away. Players are encouraged to openly discuss their movement options, but tackling the acid rain together remains a challenging task, with adjustable difficulty based on the number of droplets that fall.

GIPF is a highly strategic two-player game that elevates the traditional concept of achieving four-in-a-row into a deeper tactical battle. The game stands out for its simplicity in rules but complexity in strategy, providing a rich tactical experience where players not only aim to create rows of four of their own pieces but also strategically capture their opponent's pieces, thereby altering the game state.

Players collect, process, and sell recycled components for profit. Each turn, a player rolls a pair of colored dice and selects one die's color to perform an action related to a specific type of recyclable material. The market grid accommodates five rows for different materials, and when selling goods, players must follow placement rules, with game end triggered once four rows are completely filled.

Players assemble a suitable crew for their ship by selecting from a deck of villains with different values. Villains are revealed in a circle of inns, and players discreetly choose movement cards to navigate their captain while collecting chosen villains. The highest number of villains of the same color is worth double points, and a tougher variant includes elements of Blackjack to steal villains.

Primordial Soup is a unique strategy game where each player guides a species of amoeboid organisms in an evolving ecosystem. Players must navigate a world where species depend on each other’s excreta for survival. The goal is to evolve your species to enhance its population and genetic sophistication. The game involves moving organisms, feeding, adapting to environmental changes, acquiring new genes, reproducing, and ultimately scoring points. The game ends when a species reaches 42 points or the environment cards run out. The available genes offer various abilities like improved movement control, efficient metabolism, and enhanced reproductive or defensive capabilities.

The game includes a wooden board and wooden chips. Each player has a different objective; one must place the chips chaotically while the other does so systematically. The player who best achieves their goal wins.

This expansion adds ships, colonies, and the Grand Inquisitor. It is included in both the 10th Anniversary Edition (Decennial) and the Big Box version.

Similar to a card game with a hockey theme, this version features a magical fantasy tournament theme. Characters of varying strengths compete, with the number of dice indicating how many can be placed for attack or defense. Action cards influence gameplay, and there are options for a money variant and a solo play mode.

Hyle is played on a 5x5 board. In each round, one player (Chaos) randomly places colored wooden discs on a vinyl cloth. The other player (Order) then moves the discs to create palindromes, sequences that read the same forwards and backwards. The game consists of two rounds, with points awarded based on the length of the formed palindromes. Hyle 7 follows the same rules but on a 7x7 grid.

This underwater game is designed for two to six players, each with their own deck consisting of sea creatures and a fisherman. Players create a board using food (prey) cards that provide either positive or negative points, drawing eight cards for their hand.

Die Macher is a deeply strategic board game centered around seven sequential political races in various regions of Germany. Players take on the roles of leaders of national political parties, tasked with wisely managing their resources to lead their party to victory across these regional elections.