Best games released at SPIEL 2017 in Essen 2026

Embark on a noble quest to expand your kingdom in Kingdomino. As a lord, your mission is to explore vast lands filled with wheat fields, serene lakes, and towering mountains. Competing with fellow lords, you must identify the choicest plots to claim as your own.

Embark on a collaborative journey of espionage in Codenames Duet, where the familiar elements of Codenames persist – providing one-word clues to unveil your agents among those on the table. This time, however, you and your teammate work together to uncover all your agents, adding a thrilling cooperative dimension to the challenge. The mystery of not knowing your agents from the outset adds an intriguing layer to the mission, raising questions that even Congressional investigators might ponder later!

Azul is a tile-laying game inspired by Portuguese azulejos: as artisans, players draft colored tiles from suppliers and place them in patterns to decorate the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora, scoring points for clever arrangements.

Engage in the riveting team-based challenge of Decrypto, where players strive to correctly interpret coded messages from their teammates while unraveling the intercepted codes of the opposing team.

Sushi Go Party! is an expanded version of the popular card game Sushi Go!, offering more variety and accommodating more players for a larger, more dynamic game experience.

Dive even deeper into fantasy with the latest expansion of the hit game Dixit: Harmonies! This expansion features unique artwork by Paul Echegoyen, enhancing players' imagination and challenging them as only Dixit can. Compatible with the base game and other expansions, it adds 84 new image cards to increase replayability and enjoyment.

Hanamikoji is a strategic card game set in the historical context of Geisha culture in Japan. The game immerses players in the role of patrons who are competing to gain the favor of seven renowned Geishas by collecting items related to their art and performances.

Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure is an exciting board game where players become daring thieves, sneaking into a dragon's lair to steal artifacts while avoiding making noise to prevent waking the dragon.

When I Dream is a whimsical and imaginative board game that delves into the world of dreams, blending elements of storytelling, deduction, and teamwork in a playful setting.

Meeple Circus is a vibrant and engaging dexterity board game where players become circus directors, aiming to create the most spectacular show and wow the audience. It's a game where physical skill meets strategic planning, and each action is a performance in itself.

You are finally a king! All your dreams have come true as you enjoy the view of your wonderful kingdom filled with green meadows, rolling fields, tall mountains, and clear rivers. However, you need citizens to thrive, so you must promote the merits of your kingdom throughout the land while competing against other kings to attract the best inhabitants.

Lovecraft Letter transports you into the eerie world of H.P. Lovecraft in the 1920s. This card game, a unique take on the Love Letter system, blends mystery with an "insanity" mechanic that adds depth and intrigue to the gameplay.

"Face to Face" offers similar gameplay to its predecessor, where players must place their hand cards in ascending and descending stacks. Now, it’s a two-player competition where each player races to discard their cards first. Though aiming for individual victory, players inevitably have to assist their opponent along the way.

Embark on a heroic journey in Dice Forge, where the gods extend an invitation to heaven for the hero who can conquer their rivals. Your courage and wit will be crucial as you harness divine dice to collect resources on the path to victory.

Istanbul: The Dice Game is a vibrant standalone dice game set in the bustling bazaar of Istanbul, where players vie to collect rubies as a symbol of their prosperity and victory. Utilizing dice as the core mechanic, participants must strategically acquire money and goods through the roll of the dice. These resources are then cleverly traded for the coveted rubies. The game encapsulates the essence of the Istanbul bazaar's lively trade and commerce atmosphere, demanding clever strategy and a bit of luck from its players to navigate the market's opportunities and secure the precious jewels that signify triumph.

Players need the power of memory and a bit of pirate luck to escape Captain Goldfish's island before the lava engulfs them in the game. They reveal locations connected to the last shown spot, but making a wrong connection eliminates them from the round. The last remaining pirate claims a valuable treasure, with each round building on previously gathered information for a chance at victory. Advanced players can utilize special actions triggered by connected locations for an even more exciting experience.

Bunny Kingdom is a charming and strategic board game where players lead clans of rabbits to establish their dominance over a vast kingdom. The game combines elements of drafting, resource management, and area control to create a dynamic and engaging experience.

Ethnos is a fantasy-themed board game where players harness the powers of various mythical tribes to gain control of the land. The game is a blend of strategy and area control mechanics, set in a vibrant mythical world.

Majesty: For the Realm is a strategic board game set in the Middle Ages, where players vie for the crown by building the most prosperous domain. The game revolves around recruiting a variety of characters from the medieval society, each contributing to the growth and wealth of your kingdom in different ways. Players must make tactical decisions to assemble the most effective combination of subjects to outmaneuver their rivals and claim supremacy.

The Lost Expedition is a gripping survival game that takes you on a perilous journey through the Amazon jungle, following in the footsteps of the legendary explorer Percy Fawcett. The goal is not only to trace Fawcett's path but more importantly, to emerge alive with the ultimate treasure: your life.

The card collection includes a double-sided game board featuring France on one side and the western half of the United States on the other. Players collect train cards and claim routes to complete tickets, navigating the challenge of uncolored tracks in France and overlapping railway beds. In the Old West portion, players choose starting cities and connect their routes, earning points based on city ownership and completed tickets, with an optional variant involving a character named Alvin the Alien.

Players arrange game pieces to gain the favor of the emperor in Okiya, also known as Niya. They can also block opponents from placing their tokens in the imperial garden to show more control.

Exit: The Game – The Sunken Treasure immerses players in the captivating world of puzzle-solving and adventure, akin to the thrilling experience of an escape room. This installment, part of the acclaimed Exit series, introduces players to the mysteries of a sunken treasure, offering a gateway to the series with a beginner-level difficulty.

Paaranoia is a game where players aim to avoid pairs of cards. Using a deck of 55 cards, players are dealt one card and must decide whether to draw again or risk losing the round. If they draw a matching card, they incur penalty points and the game continues until someone exceeds a predefined threshold of penalty points and loses. Various versions of the game feature different artwork and some include unique rules related to their themes.

Voodoo Prince focuses on making the necessary tricks as late as possible. Waiting too long, however, may result in not scoring any points at all.

Players aim to repair their houses using three different resources hidden in the grass. With the help of Martin, the mammoth, they search for these resources. The first player to build three houses wins the game.

Cities of Splendor enriches the Splendor base game with four distinct expansions, each offering a unique twist to the original gameplay. These expansions are designed to be used one at a time, adding variety and strategic depth to the classic gem-collecting game.

Players work together in a tile-laying adventure to help three brave explorers search for treasures in the jungle of Karuba Island. They must strategically place the path tiles to reach all the treasures before the pirates invade. Cooperation and careful navigation are key to outsmarting the pirates and avoiding tigers that block the paths.

Players engage in a puzzle game inspired by escape rooms. Starting from the third season, the EXIT series is divided into difficulty levels, with "The House of Riddles" categorized as beginner level.

To win, players must get rid of their cards before everyone else, and unlike most games, they can cheat to discard cards from their hand. However, one player acts as the guardian, and if they catch someone cheating, that player must keep their original card and take one of the guardian's cards while also becoming the guardian themselves.

Kodama: The Tree Spirits is a charming and strategic board game where players assume the role of caretakers for Kodama, the enchanting tree spirits. The game is set in a rapidly growing forest, and your goal is to create a healthy and thriving home for these whimsical creatures. Designed by the creator of Kigi, this game offers a unique and engaging way to play.

Rajas of the Ganges is a strategy board game set in 16th century India, during the rise of the Great Mogul Empire. Players take on the roles of influential nobles, striving to transform their estates into prosperous provinces.

Gloomhaven is a Euro-inspired tactical combat game set in a persistent and evolving world. Players assume the roles of adventurers, each with unique skills and motives, as they explore dungeons, ruins, and engage in cooperative battles against automated monsters.

The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game is a streamlined, dice-driven version of the acclaimed strategy game The Castles of Burgundy. This adaptation retains the essence of expanding territorial estates through strategic decisions but transitions the gameplay into a fast-paced, roll-and-write format.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is an epic, cooperative board game that continues the narrative and innovative gameplay of its predecessor. This game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity struggles to survive after a devastating plague. It offers a unique gaming experience, where players' decisions and actions have long-lasting consequences, making each playthrough distinct.

The Godfather: Corleone's Empire is a standalone big box board game designed by Eric Lang, renowned for his "dudes on a map" games. In Lang's words, this game can be described as "thugs on a map." It delivers a streamlined, confrontational worker placement experience filled with intrigue and criminal activities. Players assume the roles of rival mafia families, competing for economic control over the organized crime networks of New York City. Deploy your thugs, don, wife, and heir on the board, extort businesses, and engage in turf wars to establish dominance.

King Kong is not happy! He is ready to conquer the Empire State Building and the Tokyo Tower to find his love. Players can choose to cross his path or, even worse, capture his beloved.

Players use a dry-erase marker and a shiny game board featuring a 5x5 grid in this dice-based game. During a round, they roll two standard six-sided dice 25 times, recording each sum on their board. After three rounds, the player with the highest cumulative score wins, with specialized scoring for different combinations. A double-sided board allows for an alternative 6x6 grid, shortening the game to two rounds for more players.

Up to eight players take on the role of a submarine crew in a fierce battle against rival players. The expansion introduces five new scenarios, two new weapons, eight erasable markers, and various options for playing the roles of captain and radio operator.

Unearth is a dice placement and set collection game that invites players to explore ancient ruins and rebuild a lost civilization. Suitable for 2-4 players and taking less than an hour to play, it's a blend of strategy and luck, accessible to gamers of various skill levels.

Manhattan is a strategic board game where players engage in the construction of a skyline of skyscrapers on Manhattan Island. The game blends area control mechanics with spatial strategy, as players aim to dominate the skyline by building the tallest structures in various districts of Manhattan.

Exit: The Game – Dead Man on the Orient Express is a captivating addition to the popular "Exit: The Game" series, which simulates the escape room experience in a board game format. This particular edition draws inspiration from the classic mystery setting of the Orient Express, offering players a challenging and immersive puzzle-solving adventure.

Players fill in the blanks on cards with suitable terms. The goal is not to create grammatically correct or meaningful sentences, but to convince the BAM! Master that your idea is the most original and funniest. The game features popular "Cards of the Month" and some of the best suggestions from the community.

Photosynthesis is a green strategy board game where players engage in the growth and development of a forest. The game revolves around the central theme of photosynthesis, the process by which trees and plants use sunlight to produce energy.

A wizard has sent you, a street boy like Aladdin, into a cave to search for a magic lamp that grants you the favor of a genie. The cave also holds fabulous treasures sorted into three chests. If you can curb your greed, this might be your chance to get rich!

London (Second Edition) is a refined version of a classic board game that caters to players who enjoy strategic planning and city-building. Set in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, players are tasked with the ambitious goal of reconstructing the city. This game challenges players to balance the complexities of urban development, financial management, and social responsibility.

13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis is a tense, strategic two-player game set during the critical moments of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It captures the high-stakes Cold War atmosphere, offering a rich thematic experience in just 45 minutes. The game challenges players to navigate complex dilemmas, such as choosing between gaining prestige or risking global nuclear war, and strategically managing their hand of cards to outmaneuver their opponent.

Imhotep: A New Dynasty adds five new locations, fourteen market cards, seven god cards, four chariots, and 56 game pieces. Players can use the god cards to predict the progress of various buildings, receiving rewards for correct forecasts and penalties for incorrect ones at the end of the game.

Recently, the Magic Maze has been regularly raided by unscrupulous adventurers stealing from the same four shops. As a response, new security systems have been installed to deter further dishonest acts.

Players take turns adding tiles to a shared game area. Each time a tile is placed, points are earned for matching symbols in rows extending from the newly placed tile. At the end of the game, players calculate their scores based on the lowest value among their symbols, and the player with the highest of these lowest scores wins.

Lorenzo il Magnifico is a strategic board game set in the Italian Renaissance, where players embody heads of noble families vying for prestige and fame. This game is a blend of resource management, strategic planning, and careful maneuvering.

In Hollywood, the ghosts of the past never sleep! Players embark on an adventure back to 1982 to investigate a time anomaly in an allegedly haunted Hollywood villa as members of the T.I.M.E. Agency. This expansion is recommended for an adult audience due to certain themes that may be offensive to younger players.

Hostage Negotiator is a gripping solo board game where you take on the role of a law enforcement agent tasked with negotiating the release of hostages from a dangerous hostage-taker. The game immerses you in high-stakes crisis negotiation, demanding strategic thinking and decision-making under pressure.

Players engage in a game of luck and skill, using a magical cup to unleash dizzying gnomes. As wizards, they must outsmart lazy bakers and sleepy carpenters to make business thrive. However, if the gnome-shaking goes awry, they may face ridicule and penalties from their opponents.

The Inox people have lived peacefully in the land of waterfalls, but now they face a dangerous threat from evil Rhujas seeking to steal their gems. To protect them, the Inox hide their gems behind the Iquazú waterfall, guarded by their water dragon Silon. Players must skillfully use their cards to place their colored gems on the board while avoiding obstacles, aiming for the best scoring opportunities as they take turns until the last column is filled.

Qwixx: Characters is a mini-expansion that includes five character tiles, each with a special power. Players can transform a missed turn into a marked space, rewind and fill a missed space, or use the white die twice.

Concordia: Aegyptus & Creta is an expansion that introduces two new maps for strategic challenges. Aegyptus features the Nile, which provides additional food through annual floods, and the chance to trade incense or gold for sesterces and victory points. Creta presents a compact map with only twenty cities across nine provinces, ensuring competitive play especially with four or five players, and includes a new format for personality cards that features diverse additional costs.

In Yokohama, set during the Meiji era's transformative period, you step into the role of a merchant in the rapidly modernizing city of Yokohama. As the city evolves from a quaint fishing village into a bustling trade hub, you are at the forefront, capitalizing on this economic boom.

Players must quickly acquire the necessary microbes in Dr. Microbe. Each round starts with a challenge card indicating a combination of microbes and possibly a superbug. Using tweezers, players place the correct microbes in their petri dish while ensuring the superbug has a different shape and color from the other microbes. The first to fill their dish correctly claims the challenge card, and the first to collect five cards wins.

A new theater production has arrived from Paris to Arkham, capturing the attention of the town's elite. Investigating the play reveals a darker history of disappearances, suicides, and madness. In the second Deluxe expansion for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, players must uncover the secrets of this unusual performance while delving deeper into mystery and insanity. The expansion introduces new scenarios, encounter cards, six new investigators, and sixty player cards, offering fresh ways to explore the game and face new challenges.

Smash Up: Sheep is a promotional item for the different factions given out by AEG to those who complete a survey about the Smash Up game line. The minions in the sheep faction obediently follow other minions from base to base, then crush their opponents relentlessly with an unstoppable wave of minions. Baaa!

The party game features a format where players challenge others with questions and vote on their expected responses. Each player has a sheet with hexagonal cards containing words or phrases in three color-coded blocks. Players pose a question to someone with a token, select two cards from their hand, and add the appropriately colored sections to the question. After everyone votes, the tokens are revealed, and players move forward based on correct guesses, aiming to have the most points after a set number of rounds.

Players receive a sheet with five multifunction cards, each depicting a professional who has come to Longsdale. After selecting a card, players choose how to use it: as a worker, builder, or city citizen, each providing different strengths and abilities. After a set number of rounds, players tally their points from buildings, and the one with the highest score wins.

Kleine Welt: Sky Islands introduces seven new races and powers to the base game, along with new territories for previously released races to fight over. At the start, set up the Sky Islands board to display either two or three islands, and use the Standard board as if playing with one fewer player. Players can then place access points to the sky islands and attempt to conquer areas as permitted by their powers. Controlling all regions on an island at the end of a turn grants an extra coin.

Indian Summer is a strategic puzzle game by Uwe Rosenberg, the second in a trilogy that began with Cottage Garden. Set against the vibrant backdrop of New England's fall season, players immerse themselves in the beauty of the forest, collecting treasures as they aim to cover their board with leaf tiles.