Best games released at SPIEL 2022 in Essen 2026

With HITSTER, the ultimate music card game, you can instantly throw a party! Listen to over 100 years of fantastic hits, arrange them chronologically on your music timeline, and relive unforgettable memories. The first player to collect 10 hits is crowned the HITSTER.

MicroMacro: Crime City – All In is the latest installment in the MicroMacro: Crime City series, offering players a new district of the black-and-white, crime-ridden metropolis known as Crime City to explore. This edition comes with a fresh, large city map that connects seamlessly with the maps from previous games, presenting 16 new and more complex crime cases for players to solve.

Players and their friends head to the races to cheer and bet on their favorite horses, with outcomes determined by dice rolls. The game is played over four rounds, each consisting of a race followed by a betting resolution. Players can place their betting tokens freely on the board during the race and earn money based on their bets, with a chance to gain a VIP club card for greater winnings in subsequent races. The player with the most money after four rounds wins.

Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a dynamic and strategic racing board game that simulates the thrill and intricacies of car racing. It offers players a chance to experience the excitement of racing while managing crucial elements like speed, car upgrades, and varying track conditions.

Dorfromantik: The Board Game transitions the charming and strategic essence of the beloved video game into a tactile family board game experience. Designed by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, this game invites up to six players to collaboratively construct a picturesque landscape using hexagonal tiles. Players aim to satisfy community demands while strategically extending rivers and tracks, and optimizing points through clever area enclosure with flags.

Splendor Duel is an intriguing two-player game that builds upon the foundation of its predecessor, Splendor, enhancing it with new layers of strategy and competitiveness. Designed specifically for two players, this standalone game maintains the core elements of Splendor while introducing novel twists and mechanics, making it more dynamic and interactive.

Sea Salt & Paper is a set collection card game that combines strategic decision-making with the excitement of timing your moves just right. Similar to Rummy in gameplay, it involves collecting sets of cards to score points, while also navigating the timing of when to end the round for optimal advantage.

Next Station: London invites players to take on the role of project managers tasked with the ambitious job of redesigning London's iconic underground network. The game challenges players to strategically optimize connections, incorporate as many of the city's landmarks as possible, and efficiently use the tunnels under the Thames, all while adhering to the city's specific requirements.

Each round, a question is placed in the center of the table, such as "How long is the perfect nap?" Players secretly write their answers on colored arrows and place them face down on the table.

Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume Two features four heroes: Yennenga, Achilles, Sun Wukong, and Bloody Mary. The game introduces a new battlefield and includes pre-painted miniatures for each hero, along with custom life trackers adorned with stunning artwork.

Grove is a citrus-themed sequel to the award-winning 9-card solitaire game Orchard. It features orange, lemon, and lime trees, as well as a new "wildcard" element—glades—that enhance gameplay by offering more opportunities to boost your harvest. The game also includes recipe challenges on the back of the cards, providing alternative winning conditions for added variety.

The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and it's time to gather your friends to fly some kites! Players collaborate to keep all their kites, represented by colorful hourglasses, in the air by playing cards, flipping the hourglasses, and coordinating with each other. If any hourglass runs out, a kite crashes, adding a fun challenge to the game. Play all the kite cards in the stack to achieve a collective victory!

Unlock! Kids: Detective Stories brings the beloved Unlock! game system to younger audiences, allowing families to enjoy the thrill of escape rooms from the comfort of their homes. This edition is tailored for children aged 6 and up, offering a simplified experience that encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and imaginative play without the need for an app.

Players take turns drawing colored tiles from suppliers to place on their boards. Points are awarded based on how the tiles are arranged to decorate the palace, with extra points for specific patterns and completing sets. Wasted resources will reduce a player's score, and the player with the most points at the end wins.

Build your castles, assemble your troops, load your catapults, and employ clever tactics to emerge victorious! The battle for territory has begun again, as players aim to eliminate all opposing troops and be the last standing.

The goal is to score as many points as possible by marking off the nine numbers printed on the cards in front of you on a 3x3 grid. In each of the four rounds, you shuffle 18 cards and reveal nine, marking off the corresponding numbers on your selected cards. Bonuses are awarded for completing rows or columns, and players score points at the end based on their completed cards, stars, and moons.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers is a unique and engaging strategy game that blends exploration with city-building elements. Players begin with a single city on their personal map and must skillfully expand their territory by placing cubes based on terrain cards drawn from a shuffled deck. The game emphasizes strategic planning and adaptability, with players aiming to efficiently complete areas, connect cities, and maximize their score through various means.

Players must guess their opponents' hidden identities while trying to make them guess theirs. At the start of each round, a key card indicates your character from eight on the table. Using double-sided "Picto" cards, you give hints about your identity while trying to deduce others. New characters appear each round, adding variety, but your supply of Picto cards is limited. After the fourth round, the player with the most points wins.

Players take on the role of one of eight iconic Marvel heroes, including Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Thor. Each hero is uniquely designed to provide a thematic experience, allowing you to truly embody your favorite characters. The game features fast-paced action with skillful card play and dice manipulation across various modes, including free-for-all and team battles.

Players take on the role of young wizards in a cooperative family game filled with adventure and mysterious investigations. They explore the fairyland of the Summer and Winter Kingdoms with Nils, the Moon Cat, while searching for four magical moon stones. Using unique QR codes for each game component, players engage with the game through their mobile device to uncover clues and experiences in a virtual world. Each session lasts around 30 to 45 minutes and comes with a tutorial and five unique stories.

A terrible egg theft has occurred! Players will turn the town upside down to find the culprit. Choose to be Zoé the mouse, Jeppy the bear, or Nouki the raccoon, and embark on a unique adventure where every decision changes the course of the story.

Radlands is a competitive and tactical dueling card game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Players lead groups of survivors, each fighting to protect their camps from a rival tribe. The game emphasizes the importance of strategic card synergy and resource management, with water being a crucial element in gameplay.

Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition is a unique and innovative quantum trick-taking card game that challenges 2 to 5 players to think strategically about color and number. This deluxe edition of the game enhances the experience with high-quality components and new features.

Let's head to the Forest of Keys to regain the King's memories! Players must find the beautiful memories sealed in the treasure chest, where real and false keys are hidden. Adventures await in this enchanting forest!

Players engage in a tactical battle inspired by pebbles stacked along paths. Each player begins with eight colored pebbles, while a neutral colored set is placed in the corners of the board. On their turn, players stack a pebble on a chosen pile and then shift it, leaving one pebble on each space crossed. The first to stack four pebbles of their color wins the game.

Welcome to the Moon is an innovative flip-and-write game that evolves the gameplay of its predecessors, Welcome To... and Welcome To New Las Vegas. It takes players on a space colonization adventure, combining familiar mechanisms with new twists and a campaign mode that spans eight unique adventure sheets.

Sound Box is a cooperative party game for 4 to 7 players where you listen to your friends make strange sounds while trying to guess various concepts. At the start of each round, you lay down sound cards and draw a numbered token to find out which one you must imitate. As the timer starts, all sound makers create their noises simultaneously for 13 seconds of hilarious chaos. Players earn points for correct guesses, but wrong guesses end the round and mean players risk losing lives if cards go unguessed.

Hues and Cues is a lively board game that explores the fascinating intersection of language and color perception. Players challenge each other to connect specific colors to word cues, using just one or two words to describe one of 480 distinct hues on the board. The accuracy of the guesses determines the score, making each round an engaging test of how we individually interpret color through language.

Qwixx: 10 Jahre Limited-Edition is a special edition celebrating the game's ten-year anniversary. It includes the base game as well as the expansions Bonus and Gemixxt, along with components needed for the standalone game Qwixx Longo. All game boards are wipeable, and it comes with dry-erase markers.

Stalingrad, 1942, is a grueling conflict that affects the entire Eastern Front. Players must use strategy and bravery to secure this pivotal stronghold while every loss in battle decreases their forces for the entire campaign. Through up to fifteen branching scenarios, decisions influence the fate of Stalingrad and possibly the war itself, allowing for varied playthroughs despite the lasting consequences of actions taken. This standalone campaign game features over 300 unique illustrations and 150 vivid mission descriptions, immersing players in a crucial moment of history.

Excitement fills the farm as ducklings, rabbits, dogs, and roosters prepare for a race. Teammates cheer each other on, promising thrilling relay events with unexpected twists. Players select an animal from their team and reveal them simultaneously to race. Each character has unique abilities and moves differently on the track. Play wisely to cross the finish line first and claim victory!

Travel back to the prehistoric era of Kingdomino. Players will experience familiar gameplay with new components that introduce additional actions and scoring opportunities. Regions in your territory earn points when they contain fire, which can be gained either through terrain or by adding dominoes with volcanoes. The game features three play modes that incorporate fire, wood resources, and cave people tiles, allowing for varied strategies and rewards.

An island is in a state of shock! A missing mayor, a wayward contractor, and a dead police officer need to be investigated. Commissioner Hahnke requires your assistance to solve all the puzzles.

Players assemble a team of heroes and allies to face notorious villains. They receive a sheet of seven cards featuring characters, items, or locations from the Marvel universe. By equipping their characters with powerful gear and maneuvers, they can perform epic combos and compete for the highest score to win. The game includes 61 Remix cards, 18 villain cards, a scorepad, and a rulebook, suitable for 2 to 6 players aged 12 and up, with a playtime of about 20 minutes.

Welcome back to your charming and quirky favorite city! In Machi Koro 2, players will notice significant changes with new area laws and a limited budget to select starting businesses. Cards are drawn from three decks and displayed for everyone, creating a race to build the coolest new establishments and landmarks across the country. Choose wisely, as your landmarks could also benefit your opponents, ensuring that no two games are alike.

Players take on the role of monsters defending their hard-earned treasures from invading hordes of heroes. Each turn, players draw five cards to move, activate pieces, attack heroes, and manage their units. The goal is to survive three threat levels posed by the heroes while protecting the treasures in each room; if the main treasure is taken, the game ends in defeat, but successfully protecting the treasures leads to victory.

In Flamecraft, you delve into a whimsical world where artisan dragons, smaller yet magically adept relatives of their larger kin, are the stars. As a Flamekeeper, your role is to communicate with these dragons, finding them the perfect shop to call home and using enchantments to coax them into creating marvelous things. Your success in aiding the dragons and shopkeepers boosts your reputation, with the goal of becoming the Master of Flamecraft.

Undaunted: North Africa is an engaging two-player deck-building game that immerses players in the tactical ground combat of World War II's North African Theater. Building on the success of its predecessor, Undaunted: Normandy, this sequel introduces new mechanics and challenges, focusing on the historical skirmishes between Britain's Long Range Desert Group and Italian forces.

Players work to get rid of cards as quickly as possible through a mix of luck and smart choices involving dice rolls. Each player starts with ten randomly numbered cards and two chips. By rolling a combination of six dice, they match the rolled numbers to cards in hand to discard them. Players can spend chips to modify their rolls or to discard any card outright. The round ends when a player empties their hand, with remaining players earning points for any cards left. The player with the fewest points after three rounds wins.

Challengers! offers a fresh and dynamic deck-management experience, where 1-8 players engage in a tournament-style battle that lasts around 45 minutes, regardless of the number of players. This game stands out by allowing players to encounter a new opponent in each round, pushing the excitement and strategic planning to new heights with every match.

Players find themselves in a nightmarish sea adventure, trying to recover their precious cargo and captain while avoiding an angry giant octopus. They race to collect five types of cargo - chalice, chest, gem, gold, and captain - to win the game. Players take turns using their flags to navigate or snap cargo, while a black pearl on the cargo tracker signals an attack from the octopus, adding an extra layer of challenge as they must dodge its tentacles.

Dice Throne Season One ReRolled is a revamped edition featuring two new characters: the Pyromancer and the Shadow Thief. This fast-paced battle game accommodates 2-6 players and involves choosing diverse heroes, attacking opponents, and using unique abilities through dice rolls. Players can collect combat points to spend on cards that enhance their heroes and manipulate dice.

Players assume the roles of brave heroes tasked with saving their magical land. They create a unique character, equip themselves, and prepare for adventure while managing limited inventory space. Together, they explore a modular game board, battle dangerous monsters, and earn powerful rewards through teamwork and strategic preparation.

Cartaventura: Oklahoma is a narrative card adventure for 1–6 players in which you collectively build a story with multiple endings. You play Bass Reeves, born into slavery in 1854, who must find his path to freedom — every card choice branches the tale.

Traverse a galaxy where iconic Jedi heroes utilize familiar Pandemic mechanics. Players assume the roles of legendary Jedi, joining forces to combat the threat posed by the Separatists while defending besieged planets. They must work together to fend off droid assaults, conquer blockades, complete missions, and face iconic villains to turn the tide of war.

Players engage in a dice and writing game with progressive difficulty levels. They aim to create chains of consecutive numbers from 0 to 12 and areas with the same number to score points.

When the moon rises, witches gather for a friendly contest. They trade crystals for ingredients to cast spells and earn magic. The game is a fast-paced card game for 2-6 witches, each with unique starting abilities, competing to collect the most magic. Players take turns exchanging crystals for spell ingredients, buying new spells, or acquiring familiars for assistance. The first to collect 20 spells wins.

Autumn has arrived, and the forests are soaked with rain, causing mushrooms to sprout from the ground. Gather your friends and search for your favorite mushroom spots to collect delicious varieties like porcini, morrels, and parasol mushrooms. Use your foraging skills wisely, but beware of others who may be after the same secret locations!

Verdant is a strategic and engaging card game where players become houseplant enthusiasts, aiming to craft the coziest, most plant-filled spaces in their homes. Suitable for 1 to 5 players, this game combines spatial reasoning with light puzzle elements, inviting players to carefully select and position plants and comfort items for optimal growth and aesthetics.

Players aim to create a lush ecosystem by planting seeds, growing trees, and placing natural elements on their planet to make it the greenest and most fertile of all. They select biome cards from a shared pool to develop different areas each round, while unchosen cards increase the fertility and value of those regions. To build a vast forest, players plant trees and shrubs, and create lakes, strategically positioning them to maximize light without overlapping.

This is the Monk vs. Paladin expansion for Dice Throne. It features a fast-paced battle game for 2-6 players, where heroes attack opponents and activate abilities using unique dice. Players can choose from a variety of heroes, each with different gameplay styles, to engage in combat and collect points for cards that offer various powerful effects.

Strange things are happening! Someone is trying to disrupt the agents' joint missions. In this "almost" cooperative trickery game, 3-5 players aim to complete as many missions as possible while the insider gathers information and sabotages the team's efforts.

Players take on the roles of land or sea, using double-sided hex tiles that represent land and water shapes. Each player places tiles alternately to create a shared map, aiming to complete land or sea areas for points. The game concludes when the last tile is played, and the player or team with the highest score wins. Additional scoring options can be unlocked for added complexity, allowing for strategic play in varying player modes.

The legend says that the old mansion on the edge of town holds a legendary treasure. To find it, you decide to spend the night there. Just when you are about to give up, the ghost of Captain Echo appears to assist you, using a tambourine to guide you on which rooms to search. Players must work together to uncover the captain's treasure before the night ends. Each round, one player becomes the ghost, providing hints with the tambourine to help the others guess the correct sound cards. If successful, they can reveal a piece of the captain's treasure.

Players explore the smallest island of the Japanese archipelago in Tokaido Duo. They experience various landscapes from the perspectives of three distinct characters: a pilgrim visiting temples and hot springs, a merchant crafting and selling handmade goods, and an artist painting beautiful scenery. By embarking on adventures with all three characters, players collect points and deepen their connection to their journeys.

Dice Throne Season One ReRolled is an updated edition featuring the Barbarian and Moon Elf characters. Players engage in fast-paced battles, using unique dice to attack opponents and activate powerful abilities. Collect combat points to spend on cards that offer various effects, including hero upgrades and dice manipulation.

Rats on the old junkyard have long told the legend of the cheese moon, dreaming of reaching this endless treasure. When the young rats discover a comic about the first moon landing, they hatch a plan to build a rocket and conquer the cheese moon. Players must gather resources, build rocket parts, and train ratonauts while competing against other families to collect the most cheese and points. The game ends when a player launches their fourth rat or achieves their eighth scoring marker, with the winner being the one with the most points.

Turing Machine is a competitive deduction game that presents a unique and intriguing challenge. Inspired by the pioneering work of Alan Turing, the game revolves around the concept of deducing a secret code using an analog proto-computer, a device that operates without electricity or modern technology. This innovative approach sets the stage for a new kind of deduction game experience.

Players take on the role of a dice hero, confronting villains that plague the kingdom. They use their dice to secure rewards and discover valuable treasures. With courage and the favor of the dice, they will achieve glory and honor in the name of Therion.

The game features familiar mechanics such as collecting cards, claiming routes, and drawing tickets, set against a 1960s San Francisco backdrop for quick play sessions lasting 15 minutes. Each player starts with 20 Cable Cars, two transport cards, and one or two destination cards representing locations in the city. Players take turns drawing cards, claiming routes by discarding matching cards, or picking up souvenir tokens by building routes to popular sites. The game ends when a player has two or fewer Cable Cars left, after which players tally points for claimed routes, completed destination cards, and collected souvenirs. The player with the highest score wins.

In your enchanted kingdom, a flock of colorful birds is flying around. Players attract the best specimens to impress the queen while carefully selecting to avoid scoring fewer points than other bird catchers. In the game, players collect bird cards, trade larger birds for smaller ones or vice versa, and create pairs to achieve the perfect balance on their wire. Mozart's famous bird catcher, Papageno, can help attract birds to your garden or disrupt all players in the game.

Unlock! Game Adventures brings the thrill of escape rooms to the tabletop, combining the enigmatic puzzles and cooperative gameplay of the Unlock! series with the universes of three iconic board games. This expansion introduces a trio of scenarios, each immersing players in the worlds of Mysterium, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic, offering unique challenges that blend the mechanics and themes of these beloved games with the puzzle-solving and teamwork of escape rooms.