The best games presented at the Spiel 2001 game fair in Essen, Germany 2025

Pick Picknic is a delightful board game that combines strategy and chance with a charming farmyard theme. Designed by Stefan Dorra, this game invites players to help their flock of hungry chickens, geese, and ducks feed on as much corn as possible while avoiding the cunning foxes looking for a feathered feast. A remake of Dorra's earlier game Razzia, Pick Picknic integrates fun poultry antics with tactical gameplay suitable for both children and adults.

Villa Paletti is an engaging and whimsical game designed for 2 to 4 players, aged 8 and up, that challenges budding architects to construct a towering structure. Set in a land of blooming lemons, players follow in the footsteps of the sage "Paletti" who sought to complete his grandfather's unfinished castle in the sky. The twist in Paletti's plan is to reuse old columns from the lower levels of the castle to build higher floors, creating a daring and precarious architectural marvel – the Villa Paletti.

Stick 'Em, initially released as Sticheln, is a captivating trick-taking card game that turns traditional card game objectives on their head. Players aim to score points by collecting as many cards as possible, except in one chosen color—referred to as their "pain" color—which they seek to avoid. The game involves both strategic depth and a twist of predicting opponents' moves to avoid pitfalls.

Players envision witches or wizards buying ingredients for their potions. They move their game piece around a grid of cards and collect ingredients to form sets of four matching types while managing their score. The game includes a memory element, as players can only see the last ingredient they picked, and it ends when one row of cards is empty, leading to a scoring phase based on the collected ingredients.

Heimlich & Co. is a clever and secretive board game where players maneuver a group of spies around a track to earn points, all while keeping their true identity hidden. The game's unique twist lies in the mystery of each player's color, only revealed at the end, making deduction and misdirection key elements of play. With a simple roll of the dice, players decide how to advance the spies, influencing the scoring but trying to conceal their motives.

All cards are laid face up on the table. Players alternately buy one of the five visible cards to form pairs of the same color for profitable resale.

Bus is a pioneering strategy game by Splotter Spellen, emerging from Essen 1999 as a standout creation by a group of students. This game challenges players to efficiently manage a public transportation system to deliver as many passengers to their destinations as possible. The game combines route planning, passenger distribution, and timing to create a deeply strategic and competitive experience.

Eynstein features two overlapping game boards connected by a line. Players place stones on the board to manipulate the line, and the first player to successfully connect it wins.

A group gathers to play in a casino. Players determine how much money can be won at the casino tables, play their character cards, and move their figures to a table. Bets start low but increase each round, and by observing others and guessing their bluffs, players can win big.

This is a remake of Premiere and Queen Games' Show Manager by db Spiele. The theme has been changed to a cruise, where players travel by sea, while the mechanics remain almost identical.

Players take on the role of football players in a hidden draw card game. Each player card features different players and indicates to whom the ball is passed. If a player cannot make a valid move, the last player who played gets the chance to score a goal by drawing from the action deck.

High Bohn is the first expansion of the Bohnanza series printed by Lookout Games. Each type of bean corresponds to a building type, granting players special abilities for trading, planting, and harvesting beans. The value of the buildings a player constructs is added to their score at the end, with bonus points awarded for completing different building types.

Starship Catan takes you on an interstellar adventure for two players, blending the thematic elements of Starfarers of Catan with a unique gameplay experience. This card-based game focuses on exploration, strategy, and resource management. Players explore shuffled decks to find new colonies, engage in trade, assist planets, and face off against pirates. The game's depth comes from upgrading your starship's various systems - weapons for combating pirates, thrusters for deeper space exploration, scanners to foresee upcoming challenges, and more. Victory is achieved by earning points through colonies, upgraded systems, friendship, and heroism, with the goal to reach 10 VP first.

Players engage in the epic struggle of the American Civil War, focusing on the themes of slavery and states' rights. From the first Battle of Bull Run to Lee's surrender at Appomattox, each player commands either the North or the South, making strategic decisions that influence the war's outcome. The game board represents the United States, featuring key locations connected by transport lines, highlighting pathways to victory or defeat.

It is April 14, 1912. Players accompany the good Dr. Lucky on the Titanic's maiden voyage, where they must desperately try to save him as the ship sinks. While he believes his luck will save him and refuses help, players navigate the doomed vessel, collecting items to aid in his rescue while other players attempt to hinder their efforts with failure cards.

Shark is a stock trading game reminiscent of Acquire, where abstract moves on the board determine the stock values of various companies. Players can buy and sell stocks both before and after their turn, rolling dice to decide which company to influence and where to place their marker. The game ends when all markers of a company are used, when a company's stock price reaches 15, or when all stocks have been sold, at which point players cash in their stocks to see who has the most money.

Welcome to the zombie-infested Old West. Undead chefs at Friedey's Chuck Wagon are tired of merely serving brains, so they plan to hijack a train full of them instead. Players must find the brain with the highest IQ and defend it from other zombies eager to bash it and claim superiority. This imaginative adventure supports 3-7 players and features delightful artwork by Brian Snoddy.

Gnumies and their friends from planet Gnum love big parties but want to avoid the dreaded Wullawakis. Players bid using Gnumie cards to win party cards, which are worth between 1 and 15 points. The value of matched party cards can multiply, increasing points significantly, while acquiring Wullawakis leads to point losses. The game ends when one player remains with Gnumie cards, and the score is tallied based on pairs and sets from the party cards won. The player with the most points at the end wins!

Gargon is a fantasy-themed card game for 3-5 players, featuring 6 Gargon cards in 6 colors, each representing a fantasy creature with values from 0 to 15. Players will play hidden cards in rounds, needing to match the number and color distribution of the lead player, with battles determined by the highest card in each color and bonuses awarded for the most cards collected. The game concludes when one draw pile is exhausted, followed by scoring based on the cards collected.

Players are dealt 10 cards in four colors, with specific cards representing male and female characters. The rules dictate that the player who is the least fortunate goes first and can perform one of three actions: play a higher card, play a pair of the same color with a lesser sum, or draw cards from the deck until they have one male and one female card. The game continues until one player runs out of cards, earning points based on the remaining cards in other players' hands.

Draco is the king of all villains and bandits, known not only for his grim temperament but also for his terrible breath. Every evening, he and his infamous "Round Table Gang" gather in the Shadowy Dragon Tavern to divide the day's loot. As Draco drinks and celebrates, he rewards those on his good side with treasures while forcing those on his bad side to part with some of their own.

Players operate factories in a fast-paced yet deep game. They buy materials, complete orders, and invest in technological upgrades to earn victory points, while managing their waste output to avoid costly environmental disasters. The game revolves around bidding for resources, hand management, and designing cards to gain actions, with the winner being the first to increase their factory's value to twenty points.

Players take on the role of male birds attempting to attract stunning females using gifts (worms). The goal is to secure paternity over various eggs, with values differing based on their position in the nest. The player who successfully pairs with all the females, collecting eggs of every color, will be crowned the Nest King.

Race chariots in an exciting competition featuring card auctions before the race. The "pot" for the race is formed by the bids, requiring players to balance card costs against potential gains while outmaneuvering opponents to secure valuable cards at lower prices. However, luck plays a significant role during the race, as poor dice rolls can undermine even the best strategies.

Liberté is a strategic board game that immerses players in the turbulent period of the French Revolution, from 1789 to the rise of Bonaparte in 1799. Players navigate the political upheavals of the era by aligning with one of three factions: the Radicals (red), the Moderates (blue), and the Royalists (white). The game challenges players to exert influence, control factions, and manipulate political outcomes through elections and battles.

Players compete to bring their creatures to land in Urland. One player selects which land area will be scored in a round, while others use a series of actions to move their creatures. At certain intervals, genetic modifications are auctioned off on the scoring track, providing players with extra actions.

The first German Lord of the Rings film game is a small card game about the Fellowship of the Ring, though it is quite abstract. The rules are relatively simple, with some German text on the cards, which may require a cheat sheet for those less familiar with the language. This game was later rebranded as King's Gate.

Players lay down game pieces to create a railroad network using cards. They move locomotives to transport cargo from one station to another, while track cards also facilitate the movement of locomotives and enable special actions at designated stations.

Teams of snowboard racers compete for the Yeti Cup. Movement is determined by cards. Other cards can make Yetis throw snowballs, which can take racers out of the game.

Players connect cities on the board with electrical networks and supply them with power by purchasing power plants and the necessary resources. This is the first edition of the game released solely by 2F Spiele, featuring several changes to create Power Grid, including a payout plan and a fixed game board.