The best games from Wolfgang Kramer 🇩🇪👨 2025

6 nimmt!, also known as Take 5, Category 5 and other names, is a card game focused on scoring as few points as possible. It combines elements of strategy, prediction, and a bit of luck.

Players aim to collect as few points as possible in the game. After shuffling the 104 number cards and laying out four to start the rows, each player receives ten cards. Players simultaneously choose and reveal a card, adding it to a row based on its number, and if the sixth card is added to a row, the player takes the previous five cards.

Downforce is a fast-paced and exhilarating board game that captures the intense world of motor racing. Combining elements of card-driven gameplay, bidding, and betting, it offers a thrilling race experience for 2-6 players.

Players aim to bring all their wizards home to the Raven Castle before their opponents. The game board is set up in a circle with towers placed in a specific order, and each player starts with a certain number of wizards and movement cards. Players move their wizards or towers based on their played cards, capture opponents' wizards to fill their potion bottles, and ultimately try to place their last wizard in the Raven Castle to win. The game can also be played in teams with a variant that adds various spells.

Gulo Gulo is an innovative and family-friendly board game that challenges players with a unique and tactile experience. In this game, players take on the roles of wolverines (Gulos) on a daring mission to rescue a baby Gulo from the clutches of a swamp vulture. However, the rescue mission is not straightforward, as the adult Gulos are tempted by the delicious eggs of the swamp vulture, leading to a series of precarious attempts to steal the eggs without triggering an alarm.

Linko! is a dynamic card game, also known as Abluxxen, that combines strategy and luck. The objective is to play your cards wisely to score points while using your turns to disrupt your opponents' plans.

El Grande Big Box is the definitive edition of the classic area control game El Grande, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a comprehensive collection that includes the base game and all its expansions. In this strategic board game, players assume the roles of Grandes in medieval Spain, competing to exert their dominance over the various regions as the king's power wanes. Through cunning deployment of caballeros (knights represented by meeples), players seek to secure majorities in Spain's diverse territories, leveraging power cards for turn order and action cards for strategic moves.

El Grande is a classic strategy board game set in medieval Spain, where players, as powerful lords or "Grandes," vie for control over various regions in a declining kingdom. The game is known for its blend of tactical depth and strategic planning.

Players manage their own wildlife parks with the goal of grouping animals by species. Each begins with the same set of 33 unique animal tiles placed randomly in their park, while certain spaces remain unoccupied throughout the game. Players take turns choosing tiles to place in their parks, and the game ends when all tiles are moved, leading to a scoring round based on the size of animal herds and proximity to water holes, with various game modes to enhance replayability.

That's Life! (also known as Verflixxt!) revitalizes the traditional roll-and-move game genre with elements that give players more strategic control. In this game, players navigate a path laid out with tiles, aiming to collect as many positive tiles as possible while avoiding negative ones. The addition of guards and clovers introduces strategic depth, turning what could be a game of chance into one of tactical decision-making.

It's time to run away from the bullheaded ones in this exciting card game. Players start with eight cards and a personal X-row. In each turn, they simultaneously reveal a card, which is then placed in one of three rows, and if a row is full, the player who completed it takes all the cards, receiving negative points for the bullheaded cards. The game ends when a player runs out of cards, and the player with the fewest negative points after two rounds wins.

The gray morning has arrived, and the vampires of the old clans must quickly return to their graves. While the powerful can do this easily, weaker vampires need to band together for strength. As a vampire lord, consider playing several low-value characters together to avoid being outmatched, but beware of the persistent vampire hunter lurking around!

Raiders once looted the tomb of Pharaoh Anopheles, stealing all the valuable scarab beetles. Since then, his restless mummy haunts the pyramids, driving away anyone who dares to enter. Brave heroes can only break the mummy's curse by crawling through dark tunnels, collecting precious scarabs, and avoiding the fearsome mummy.

Players rely on strategies to manage numbered cards from 1 to 98, featuring green cards for positive points and red cards for negative points. In this game, players create sets of cards, but the fifth card played takes the entire set. Players take turns, playing one to three cards from their hand during their turn.

King Agamis rules from his castle in a land filled with rich cities, expansive forests, and rugged mountain ranges. Beneath the mist, dangers lurk, challenging only the bravest adventurers. Players must move strategically and bravely confront eerie creatures to earn the king's favor, with three adventure scenarios available based on player age and experience.

Players control party guests, with the number of guests depending on the number of players. Each turn, players roll a special die to determine Hugo's movement, who starts in the basement and moves through the gallery to catch guests. The game involves strategic placement and adjustment as players try to minimize their "scare points" while avoiding capture by Hugo.

Haste Worte is a party word game by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. Players have 30 seconds each round to write down as many answers as possible for the given category or question. After that, they bid on how many unique answers they have, revealing bids simultaneously and reading answers in order, with players receiving points for successful answers.

Players take on the role of competitors in a game where cards are numbered from 1 to 100, each featuring a certain number of bullheads. Starting with ten cards, players aim to play their cards to win rounds; the player who discards all cards scores zero points, while others lose points based on the bullheads on their remaining cards. Instead of multiple rows, cards are played onto a single stack, needing to be within ten points of the top card; failing to do so means picking up the stack, thereby increasing the number of stacks as the game progresses.

Colors and shapes are arranged in a 3x3 card layout. Players use their symbol cards to change the layout, aiming to match the specified tasks related to colors or shapes. The player who collects the most symbols from the task cards wins, but the simultaneous play creates a colorful challenge as task cards can be flipped in players' minds.

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.

This is the second game in Kramer's Formula 1 racing series. It features a different game board based on the actual Nürburgring track in Germany. Players auction cars and then race, maintaining the core mechanics of earlier games, while also including the infamous "White 10," which was considered too unbalanced for use.

Welcome to the wilderness of North America! Breathtaking mountain views and spectacular geysers await, with vast forests and prairies providing habitat for native animals. Your task is to group animals of the same type into large families while ensuring they have access to water sources and avoiding bad weather.

Players aim to be the first to exit or avoid getting stuck with too many high-value cards. The deck consists of two traditional card sets, including jokers, and features two special cards marked as a large "A" and a small "A." The game includes twists and improvements reminiscent of career poker and The Great Dalmuti.

Players roll dice to form specific combinations in a race to win in Kniffel Master. Each player has a personal game board and four tokens. On their turn, they roll up to three times and record their results to earn stars based on various combinations. The first player to collect fifteen stars finishes the game, and the player with the most stars wins.

Fifteen amazing games were selected for being easy to learn, rewarding multiple plays, and appealing to a wide range of players. They also received positive feedback from children at El Carmelo Elementary.

Tikal is a compelling strategy game set in the dense jungles of Central America, where players embark on an expedition to uncover lost temples and hidden treasures. As explorers, players reveal new parts of the jungle board, discovering temples that need to be excavated and treasures that can be collected. The objective is to score points by controlling these temples and treasures. Notably, Tikal is the first game in the renowned Mask Trilogy.

A board game version of the card game 6 nimmt!, it presents a unique experience while building on the original concept. Players aim to place their cow tokens on grassy fields while avoiding bullhead spaces. The game includes various enhancements like double play spaces and happy cow fields, significantly boosting its dynamics and appeal.

Players reveal a card from their hand simultaneously, adding these cards to a central display where misplacement can lead to penalties. The game includes stones numbered 1-100, with each player managing twelve stones, aiming to place them strategically on the board based on their values. Points are gained or lost depending on where the stones land, and the game concludes when players have placed all their stones, with the highest score winning.

"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.

Players compete in a majority game using dominoes, suitable for 2-4 participants. Each player has a game board with wooden tiles depicting grass, bushes, pines, and oaks, which are used for majority scoring on a central board. Throughout the game, players can place dominoes and plants, earn points based on their placements, and strategically acquire resources to maximize their scores. The game concludes when all players have used their dominoes.