Best games released at SPIEL 2014 in Essen

Patchwork is a two-player game where you compete to create the most beautiful and high-scoring patchwork quilt on your personal 9x9 game board.

An expansion for Dixit, this set adds 84 new cards. In each round, a player becomes the storyteller, selecting a card and creating a narrative or association related to it. Other players then choose cards from their hands to match the storyteller's theme, and voting determines which card was originally played. Points are awarded based on votes received, and the game concludes after a set number of rounds, with the player amassing the most points declared the winner.

Sushi Go! is a dynamic, fast-paced card game set in a sushi restaurant. Players aim to grab the best sushi combinations as they come around. It's all about strategy, from picking the perfect sushi rolls to collecting sashimi sets. Boost your scores with wasabi-flavored nigiri, and don't forget to load up on pudding by the end!

One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak is a standalone expansion to the popular social deduction game One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Designed for 3-7 players, Daybreak offers a quick, engaging experience where everyone gets a hidden role with a special ability. In the span of just one in-game morning, players must deduce who among them is a werewolf, with the game's outcome hinging on uncovering at least one werewolf.

Immerse yourself in the world of Onitama, a dynamic two-player abstract game offering perfect information and a randomized starting setup on a 5x5 board. Both participants begin the game with five pawns each, strategically placing the main pawn at the board's center.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a dynamic and fast-paced game for 3-10 players that brings the excitement and deduction of werewolf stories to your tabletop. This game is all about quick thinking, bluffing, and trying to outsmart your friends.

Carcassonne is a renowned tile-placement game set in the picturesque landscape of Southern France. This game is beloved for its simplicity, depth, and the beautiful mosaic players create on the table.

Pandemic: On the Brink is an expansion for the popular cooperative board game Pandemic. This expansion adds new dimensions to the base game, offering additional challenges and variability in gameplay.

Tichu is an intriguing partnership card game that combines elements of Zheng Fen with traditional card play. It stands out as a strategic and competitive game, requiring players to be both tactically astute and keenly aware of their partner's actions. Typically played by four players in partnerships, the game is a race to get rid of all cards in hand, while aiming to score points.

Colt Express is a fast-paced, action-packed board game set in the Wild West, where players take on the roles of bandits attempting to rob a moving train.

Red7 is a fast-paced and innovative card game that combines simplicity with strategic depth. The game revolves around a unique mechanic where the rules and the objectives can change dynamically throughout the game.

Pandemic: The Cure is a dice-based adaptation of the popular Pandemic board game. It offers a quicker setup and playtime while retaining the core theme of disease control and teamwork.

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.

Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala is a strategy board game set in the mystical land of Naqala. Designed by Bruno Cathala, it puts a unique spin on the traditional German-style worker placement games.

Abyss plunges players into a deep-sea realm of power struggles, where they aim to ascend the throne and rule the underwater city. This game intertwines development, combination, and collection strategies in a captivating underwater setting.

Qwixx gemixxt includes two new score sheet blocks for use with Qwixx. The rules remain unchanged as players aim to mark off numbers from left to right. However, one block features colors distributed across the number rows, while the other presents numbers in a non-numeric order.

Arcadia Quest is an engaging, campaign-based board game where players lead guilds of heroes on a quest to overthrow a vampire lord and take back the city of Arcadia. It's a competitive yet cooperative game, filled with strategic battles against both other players and game-controlled monsters.

Players can enjoy Speed Cups² with just two participants, or use it as an expansion for Speed Cups, allowing for up to six players. Each player receives a set of five plastic cups in different colors and aims to recreate the colored patterns shown on the flipped cards using their cups. The first player to successfully mimic the sequence rings a bell to claim the card, and then the next round begins with a new card. In this version, players must arrange their cups in various types of stacks, not just horizontally and vertically.

Pick-a-Seal features similar gameplay to Pick-a-Polar Bear, but without the two variants. It supports 2-5 players in a single game and up to eight when combined.

Inis invites players to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Celtic history and lore, vying for the esteemed title of King of the Island. Rooted in strategic depth and Celtic mythology, the game offers a unique blend of victory conditions and gameplay dynamics.

Each set consists of 336 cards featuring a historical event on one side and the year, often with a specific date, on the other. The theme of this edition revolves around historical events in science and research, and it can be played solo or mixed with other sets. Players receive nine cards and must place their card in chronological order relative to the existing ones, challenging the sequence if they believe it's incorrect. The first player to run out of cards wins.

Players aim to win from a limited set of prize cards by navigating a circular track, typically consisting of 21 spaces. A player rolls 1-3 dice each turn to determine movement, but must keep the total rolled at or below 7 to advance. Landing on another player's piece requires them to carry it, influencing how many dice must be rolled, while the top piece owner determines the stakes, leading to potential removals from the board. The player collecting the most valuable prize cards at the end wins.

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.

Carcassonne: Gold Rush marks the second installment in the "Carcassonne: Around the World" series, transporting players to the rugged landscapes of 19th-century America during the height of the gold rush era. This iteration of the beloved Carcassonne franchise retains the core mechanics of tile placement and feature scoring while introducing a thematic twist that captures the spirit of exploration, competition, and fortune-seeking that defined the period.

Manila is an engaging and speculative board game for 3-5 players, centered around the bustling world of maritime trade. Players take on the role of investors, speculating on and betting against a variety of goods shipments – jade, ginseng, silk, and nutmeg – as they make their precarious journey along sea routes to Manila. The game is a blend of strategy, risk, and luck, with the fate of each shipment ultimately being decided by dice rolls.

Alien Frontiers is a competitive board game where players vie to colonize an uncharted planet. As deep space colonists, players must skillfully manage resources, expand their fleet, research alien technology, and establish colonies to gain control of the new world.

Six colored plastic bees are hidden under six beehives, and players initially know the locations of the bees. On each turn, the active player draws a card and follows specific actions based on whether it's a bee card or a bear card. The first player to collect four beehives wins the game, or if the cards run out, the player with the most beehives wins.

Chopstick Dexterity MegaChallenge 3000 is a fast-paced skill game focused on collecting the most game pieces using chopsticks to pick up objects depicted on the pieces. Players compete to retrieve items from a bowl that come in five colors and five shapes, guided by cards revealing specific items or general forms. The game features different rules for two or three players and includes a solo mode where the player has 75 seconds to arrange pieces in a grid based on shapes and colors.

Players roll three dice on an 8x8 grid. They can write the sum of the dice in either of the two touching fields, as long as their opponent hasn't placed a higher number in an adjacent field. The game ends when one player fills a horizontal and a vertical row, with the winner being the one who occupies the most fields.

BANG! The Valley of Shadows is an expansion that introduces eight new characters along with rattlesnakes, tornadoes, ruthless "Bandidos," and other threats for daring gunslingers venturing into the Valley of Shadows. The cards are based on submissions from players in the Czech Republic, with design assistance from BANG! creator, Emiliano Sciarra.

Players try to build projects depicted on construction cards using a hook to lift blocks of various shapes. They score points for each correctly placed block and additional points for completing the structure within a time limit. As players accumulate points, they compete against each other to erect structures or explain constructions to other players, who then attempt to build based on these explanations.

Players are challenged to spot differences in a series of five cards after a brief moment of distraction. Can anyone notice if the light in the house is on or if the boy has his hat on backwards? The first player to find the differences gets to keep the corresponding card.

Co-Mix is a storytelling game about comics. Players have a set of cards, each representing a different comic panel, and must quickly create a simple narrative that fits the theme of the story. The fun arises when these wild tales are shared and discussed, testing the players' imagination and creativity. This game is suitable for everyone, with inspiring illustrations that guide players in creating short, amusing stories that are sure to elicit laughter.

Players lay down sets of animal cards to try to knock over other players' bucket pyramids. By using their hand cards, they can defend their own buckets or attack others, potentially triggering a cascade effect that topples even more buckets. The game ends when a player loses their last bucket, and the player with the most remaining buckets in their pyramid wins.

The legend speaks of the enchanted Sapphire Island, shrouded in mist and magic, where wizards face the ultimate test of magical combat. Only those who survive the supernatural duels will gain great prestige and wealth.

Sushi Dice is a fast-paced dice game where players compete to complete a sushi dish first. In each round, three cards are revealed, and two players roll six dice simultaneously to match one of the dishes. If a player notices their opponent has rolled an "Igitt" symbol, they can shout "Igitt!" to make them reroll their kept dice. The first to complete a dish keeps the card, and the first player to collect 4 to 6 cards wins.

"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.

Illegal is a cheeky party game for 5 to 9 players with a mature theme, where you play black-market dealers who negotiate, bluff, and betray.

Imperial Settlers is a dynamic card game where players lead one of four distinct factions - Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians, and Japanese - to build and expand their empires. It's a game of strategy and resource management, set in a newly discovered land ripe for exploration and conflict.

Bunny splashes around in the bathtub with its two ducks when suddenly its toy disappears into the foam. Players can help the little bunny find all its bath toys by recognizing colors and symbols correctly. The instructions include various suggestions to help parents and children explore the game materials together while developing skills such as fine motor skills, concentration, and language abilities, all while having fun.

Romans Go Home! is a fast-paced and humorous card game where players represent Caledonian clans competing to conquer the greatest and most valuable Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall. The game is played over three rounds, with each player programming their warrior cards in advance to win fort cards that have unique effects. Strategic foresight is key, as players must anticipate their opponents' decisions to succeed.

Cthulhu Wars is a grand strategy board game inspired by the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. This game is notable for its physical scale, featuring an array of detailed figurines representing cultists, monsters, aliens, and the Great Old Ones themselves, varying in size from about 20 mm to a towering 180 mm. Players assume the roles of different factions, each unique in its set of monsters, spell books, and special abilities.