The best games by Karl-Heinz Schmiel 🇩🇪👨 2026

In A la carte, players don the hats of eccentric chefs embroiled in the culinary showdown of a lifetime. This lighthearted and quirky game, conceived by Karl-Heinz Schmiel, is as much about managing the chaos of a kitchen as it is about the precise art of cooking itself. Each chef is armed with a mini pan and a hotplate, competing not just against time but against each other's culinary shenanigans.

Saint Petersburg (Second Edition) revitalizes the classic game of economic strategy and development set in the historical backdrop of the city's construction under the reign of Czar Peter the Great. This edition not only enhances the gameplay with updated mechanics and components but also introduces a variety of new modules that expand the strategic possibilities and replayability of the game.

While players will recognize much of the card art from Mü & More, this edition of "Die besten Trickspiele" features a different selection of games, some of which have been revised. It also includes more components and cards.

Cardcassonne offers a unique twist on the beloved Carcassonne tile-laying game, translating its core mechanics into a card-based format. Players strategically place cards in various rows, representing different elements such as fields, cities, roads, and abbeys, to maximize their points while competing against opponents. The essence of Carcassonne's strategic planning is preserved, with players faced with the dilemma of whether to claim a series of cards for points now or risk waiting for the row to grow at the potential cost of another player seizing the opportunity.

In Tribune: Primus Inter Pares, players embody powerful patrician families in ancient Rome, striving to attain the high office of the tribune. This strategic game, designed by Karl-Heinz Schmiel of Die Macher fame, masterfully blends worker placement and set collection mechanics. Players use their followers to collect cards, achieve objectives, and vie for control over various factions. Control is gained and maintained by playing specific card sets from those factions, with leadership changing hands when a stronger set is presented.

Players try to protect their chosen dinosaurs in a constantly changing environment. Each round, they attempt to alter their surroundings. Those unable to survive in the current environment risk extinction, while those who do must survive a battle round against the opposing player's dinosaurs.

Players assume the roles of editors who select various stories, such as politics, sports, and entertainment, for their newspapers. The value of a story is influenced by its timing and size. Later stories can earn more points, but only the largest story under a particular headline can score.

Die Macher is a political strategy game for 3 to 5 players. You lead a national party through seven regional elections across Germany, and the party with the most victory points wins.

Colored sticks of two lengths (short and long) are placed randomly on a game board representing a prison. These sticks cover prisoner tiles. On each turn, one player closes their eyes while another player removes a stick. The first player must then identify the location, size, and color of the removed stick. A player wins by collecting three prisoners of the same type or three different prisoners.

Players fight for control over the Bavarian people in 1705, with three factions vying for power: the imperial Austrian army, the prince's soldiers, and the rebellious peasants, along with intervening monks. Each player competes for influence within these factions each round, acquiring colored tokens to lead their chosen side and gather points. Points are earned by conquering key cities, which provide funds to maintain troops, and battles are resolved using maneuver cards and dice. The player with the most points at the end wins.