Best games released at SPIEL 2013 in Essen

Skull is a pure bluffing game: players lay face-down cards of roses and skulls, then bid on how many they can flip without hitting a skull. Two successful challenges win the game — a steady poker face does the rest.

In Love Letter, you must compete with other suitors to deliver a romantic letter to Princess Annette, who has secluded herself in the palace.

Las Vegas is a lively, dice-based game that combines luck, strategy, and the joy of thwarting your opponents. Developed by Stefan Brück at alea, it's designed to be an easy and interactive game, full of schadenfreude moments.

Qwixx is a fast-paced and engaging dice game that involves all players actively, regardless of whose turn it is. It combines simple mechanics with a need for strategic decision-making, making it a fun and interactive game for all involved.

BANG! The Dice Game transports players to the U.S. wild west, where the classic confrontation between the law and outlaws unfolds with an added threat of Indian attacks. This dice game adaptation retains the essence of the original Bang! card game while introducing new dynamics and challenges.

In Concept, the challenge is to convey words using a network of icons. A pair of players, seated as neighbors, collaborate to select a word or phrase that others must deduce. Working in tandem, they strategically place markers on the available icons on the game board.

Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, also known as Geister, Geister, Schatzsuchmeister!, is an award-winning cooperative board game where players embark on an eerie adventure to collect treasures from a haunted house.

Takenoko is a charming board game set in the Japanese Imperial court, revolving around the care of a giant panda gifted by the Chinese Emperor. Players, as court members, are tasked with managing a bamboo garden for the panda.

Concordia is a peaceful yet strategic board game set in Roman times, focusing on economic development and expansion. It is designed for 2-5 players aged 13 and up.

Tokaido: Crossroads introduces new treasures for the most dedicated travelers. Experience cherry blossoms, luxurious bathhouses, lucky charms, calligraphy, legendary items, and even secret game halls. This expansion opens new avenues and strategies to enhance your journey.

King of Tokyo: Halloween is an exciting expansion to the popular King of Tokyo game. It brings a spooky twist to the city-smashing monster battles, perfect for Halloween or any fans of horror-themed fun.

The fast-paced game adds new shapes and challenges. Five wooden objects sit on the table, with players competing to grab the correct one based on the current card showing three items. The game escalates as players must navigate various rules involving color, shape, and special scenarios like identifying times or naming objects, all while aiming to collect the most cards by the end.

Northern Pacific is a railway construction game for 3-5 players, lasting about twenty minutes. Players start with a mix of investment dice and build tracks across the United States from Minnesota to Washington, beginning in Minneapolis-St. Paul. When the railway reaches Seattle, the round ends, and players compare their investment successes to determine the winner, who is either the one with the most good investments or, in case of a tie, the fewest bad investments.

Machi Koro is a light and fast-paced city-building board game, where players take on the role of mayor of a small town, striving to develop it into a thriving city.

Compact Curling is a board game version of curling designed for two players, or more if played in teams. Each team has four stones and begins in a starting zone at one edge of the board, aiming to slide their stones across to the house on the opposite side. The goal is to have as many stones as possible closest to the center of the house.

Players take on the role of Nanuks navigating global warming challenges while trying to survive with a limited supply of canned fish. The game involves matching cards with various attributes and offers two gameplay variants that introduce exciting bonus rounds and strategic decisions. The player with the most collected cards at the end wins.

Mascarade is a bluffing and strategy card game that revolves around hidden identities and tactical actions. Players engage in a masquerade, taking on various roles to gain coins and outwit their opponents.

The Pillbug is a new tile addition that can be integrated into Hive. It moves like the queen bee, one space at a time, but also has a unique ability to move an adjacent, non-stacked piece, whether friend or foe, two spaces. This ability comes with specific restrictions, such as not moving a recently moved opponent's piece or any piece in a stack.

Haim Shafir's renowned game features a bell that players love to ring after discovering winning combinations. Each player has a set of five colored plastic cups and tries to replicate a colored sequence shown on a card drawn from a shuffled deck. The first to ring the bell correctly claims the card, and play continues until all cards are collected, with the player holding the most cards declared the winner.

Players strive to become as strong, brave, and glorious as the knight Brandon the Brave. To achieve knighthood, they must complete royal tasks and demonstrate good intuition. The player who skillfully arranges the tiles to conquer these challenges will emerge as the shining champion at the end of the game.

Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 4 - Nederland adds an innovative twist to the classic Ticket to Ride gameplay, focusing on the picturesque landscapes and intricate waterways of the Netherlands. This expansion not only brings a fresh geographical setting to the game but also introduces new strategic elements that significantly impact how players approach the game.

In the icy frost of the Arctic, Inuit or polar bears engage in their favorite activity: ice fishing. Players punch holes in the "ice" to try to catch fish represented by steel balls of various sizes. The first player to catch ten fish wins, and for children aged six and up, larger fish are worth more points.

Players take turns telling stories based on themes drawn from cards. Before telling a story, they must list five words they expect to hear, earning points for each word mentioned. Asking questions during the story allows them to influence the narrative, but doing so can also cost them points if they ask too many.

CATAN, formerly known as The Settlers of Catan, is a highly acclaimed and award-winning strategy board game where players aim to become the dominant force on the island of Catan. The game is renowned for its appeal to both experienced gamers and newcomers to the board game hobby.

In 1887, a vampire awakens and seeks to quench his thirst for blood. Brave men and women unite to destroy him while thwarting the plot of his loyal servant, Renfield.

Scopa is a traditional Italian card game played for over 400 years. It uses a 40-card Italian deck and can be played by four players in partnerships or individually. Players aim to capture cards from the table based on their values, scoring points for various achievements, such as sweeping the table or collecting the most cards. The game continues until a player or team reaches a specific point total, typically 11 or 21.

Players act as art critics and gallery owners, working to increase the value of certain artists' works before redeeming them. The game includes masterpieces from five different artists, and players start with a hand of masterpiece cards that let them influence the fate of these artists. The game consists of four rounds where players earn money based on the popularity and representation of the artists’ works.

DOG shares similarities with the "Mensch Ärgere Dich nicht" game family but introduces notable twists. Players move their game pieces from home to the target area based on card values, aiming to be the first team to place all eight pieces in the target area.

Trains is a strategic deck-building board game that combines railway development with elements of capitalist competition. Set against the backdrop of the industrial revolution and the subsequent railway boom, players take on the roles of capitalists managing private railway companies in Japan. The game offers a fascinating blend of historical railway development and modern strategic gameplay.

The tribe's wizard has died, leading aspiring wizards to make predictions for the ostrich race in hopes of becoming the new wizard. Players must forecast the finishing order of racing ostriches, while avoiding obstacles, collecting berries, evading a feared lion, and not waking sleeping crocodiles. Banjooli Xeet is a fast-paced racing game for 2 to 5 players filled with bluffs, wild predictions, and hilarious fun.

"Coal Baron," also known as "Glück Auf" in German, is a strategic and immersive board game that plunges players into the world of coal mining. In this game, players become managers of their own coal mines, sending workers underground to dig tunnels and extract coal of varying quality to fulfill contracts.

Players take on the role of witches and wizards, purchasing ingredients for their potions. Their game piece moves around a row of ingredient cards, allowing them to choose one from the row or column they land on, with the card’s number determining their movement for the next turn. To earn points, players must collect sets of four matching ingredients; having only one of a specific ingredient results in penalty points.

Players trade various spices that travel along the Silk Road from Asia to Europe. Each controls three caravans, starting with three cards representing caravan members with unique abilities. Players perform one action on their turn by selecting a card and executing its action, affecting their supply of spices, gold, and mules, while also bringing new members into their caravans or completing delivery cards. The game ends when a player reaches 25 points through collecting character cards and fulfilling delivery requests.

Coconuts is a lively dexterity game inspired by the "Monkey King" character from Chinese mythology. In this engaging and playful game, players take turns launching coconuts towards cups positioned in the center of the play area. Successfully landing a coconut in a cup allows you to stack it on your board. Even more strategically, if you land a coconut in an opponent's cup, you can claim it and move it to your board. The game also features "Monkey King Magic" cards, which add a twist by allowing players to disrupt their opponents' shots in various ways. The first player to build a pyramid of six cups on their board is the winner.

In the valley of Fire Dragon, danger brews beneath the earth. The mighty volcano Rubino is about to erupt after a thousand years. Players assume the role of dragon riders, aiming to collect valuable dragon rubies by navigating around the volcano with tactical skill and a bit of luck. The player with the most rubies in their pouch at the end wins.

Players attempt to establish a powerful kingdom by expanding their realm with well-maintained territories. The game involves playing cards in turns, where the highest card wins the round, with tiebreakers determined by following the lead color. Cards are added to the winner's kingdom in a specific order, and once placed, they cannot be rearranged for the next round.

Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature is an expansion to the popular game Zombie Dice, adding a cinematic twist with three new thematic dice that enhance gameplay and offer fresh challenges. This expansion is cleverly divided into two thematic "movies," each introducing unique characters and mechanics, and can be combined for an even more engaging gameplay experience.

The unexpected journey of the Hobbits continues. In Mirkwood, Bilbo and his companions face treacherous spiders and must escape from hostile Wood Elves, but their greatest threat is the dragon Smaug, who relentlessly attacks them. Players must cooperate to reach the Lonely Mountain and succeed in the game.

Step into the world of outlaws and gunslingers in the year 1892, as Jack Colty and his gang wreak havoc after robbing a bank in Repentance Springs. Players take on the roles of Colonel Ned McReady and his lawmen or the infamous Colty gang, each featuring unique cards and abilities for a life-or-death showdown. The game's asymmetrical structure leads to intense tactical decisions, with victory hinged on eliminating gang members or ensuring their escape across the Mexican border.

Crokinole is a traditional action and dexterity game that has been enjoyed for generations. Played on a circular wooden board, it combines skill, strategy, and a touch of luck.

In a local village, a terrible event occurs: werewolves are responsible for the deaths of many villagers. To restore order, master inquisitors are called in to eliminate the chaos before it's too late. However, the inquisitor team has been infiltrated by werewolves, creating a dilemma where players must save the village while outsmarting their own infiltrators.

Koryŏ is set in a politically steampunk universe. Players simultaneously choose a political family from their hand and play as many cards as they wish from that family. Each family has a value from 1 to 9, determining both the number of cards and the victory points earned by the controlling player. The game lasts for eight rounds, with each family providing specific powers that are crucial for success. As players gain influence, the number of cards drawn per round decreases, complicating their choices.

Cthulhu Fluxx immerses players in the eerie and uncertain world of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, where sanity is fleeting and the risk of doom is ever-present. This iteration of the popular Fluxx card game series brings the thematic elements of cosmic horror and the supernatural into the ever-changing rules and gameplay that Fluxx fans adore. Players will navigate through the chaos, attempting to fulfill strange and shifting victory conditions while warding off madness and the disruptive influence of Creepers like Cthulhu itself.

Players acquire cards from a central pool in this deck-building game and use them to enhance their decks. They can also battle creatures to gain victory points and other advantages, such as removing less useful cards from their decks. The game ends when all victory points are claimed or the shared deck is exhausted. New treasure cards introduce energy that players can use to activate special powers on certain cards.

Carcassonne: South Seas brings the classic tile-laying charm of the original Carcassonne to a vibrant, tropical setting. This standalone game, the first in the "Carcassonne Around the World" series, offers players the task of building island landscapes filled with inviting seas and lush islands. Instead of the traditional cities, roads, and fields, players work to gather bananas, shellfish, and fish, trading these resources for points with various traders. The familiar mechanics of placing tiles and meeples blend seamlessly with this refreshing maritime theme, offering both seasoned Carcassonne fans and newcomers a delightful new variant to explore.

Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game is a creative and interactive game where players collaboratively weave a fairy tale story. Using cards that depict common fairy tale elements, one player takes on the role of the Storyteller, steering the narrative toward their desired ending, while others interject to redirect the story and become the new Storyteller. The objective is to play all your cards and conclude with your "Happy Ever After" ending.

A blister pack includes a fully assembled and painted 1200 scale model airplane along with additional maneuver cards.

Rococo immerses players in the lavish Rococo era during the reign of Louis XV, where they take on the role of managing a prestigious ball. The game blends elements of deck-building and resource management, requiring players to skilfully navigate the demands of dressmaking and event planning to gain the most prestige.