The best games presented at the Spiel 2002 game fair in Essen, Germany 2025

Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers is a standalone game in the Carcassonne series, transporting players to the Stone Age. This version maintains the essence of the original Carcassonne game but introduces new thematic elements and rules suitable for this prehistoric setting.

BANG! is a fast-paced card game that simulates a Wild West shootout, where players take on hidden roles with different objectives and engage in strategic gunplay.

Odin's Ravens is a strategic two-player card game where participants embody Hugin and Munin, Odin's ravens, in a race across Midgard. Utilizing a unique deck of cards, players navigate a track of landscape cards, aiming to outmaneuver their opponent through clever use of their cards and special actions provided by Odin (or Loki in the Osprey Edition) cards.

Loot is a fast-paced, pirate-themed card game where players vie to accumulate the most gold by attacking and defending trading ships. The game involves strategic deployment of pirate ships, captains, and an admiral, making it a test of cunning and daring on the high seas.

Clans is a strategic and secretive board game where players aim to score points for their hidden color. Each player's color is randomly assigned and remains a secret until the end of the game. The board consists of 12 regions, each containing five areas with different terrain types. Huts of various colors are placed in these areas, and players strategically move these huts across the board to score points while attempting to conceal their true color.

Players assume the role of zoo owners, each starting with some money and a plot of land. Over five years, five zoo tiles featuring different animal species, paths, and possibly trees are auctioned annually to the highest bidder. The aim is to attract as many visitors as possible, as each visitor contributes points at the end of the year, and ultimately, players seek to outperform their opponents.

Age of Steam transports players back to the pioneering days of U.S. railroad expansion, offering a strategic gaming experience centered around building and operating a railroad empire.

In War & Sheep, players control sheep grazing on grass while avoiding magical grass and lurking wolves. Two factions of sheep compete for the same pasture, aiming to eliminate the opponent's sheep or consume the best grass for points. Each grass clump offers different point values, but beware of wolves hiding beneath them, as they can eat your sheep if you aren't careful.

Keythedral takes you into the heart of Keydom, where the monumental task of building the Keythedral unfolds. Players act as planners, marshaling resources from the countryside to construct this grand edifice through five progressive stages, each demanding a unique set of materials. As the structure grows, so does the complexity of your strategy.

A card game version of San Marco where players attempt to gain influence in the districts of Venice. One player divides a set of cards into two stacks, while the other chooses which stack to take. The cards provide influence in the districts, actions, or negative points.

Tony and Tino are twin sons of the local mob boss, competing for control over the streets of Chicago. The one who earns the most money will have the honor of becoming the new boss. The tile-laying system is reminiscent of Kingdoms but is presented in a much lighter way.

Players face new challenges emerging from the dangers and opportunities of the Stone Age, building on the acclaimed Catan experience. They guide a branch of early humans on their journey to spread across the world, developing skills in food preparation, hunting techniques, and creating clothing and boats to adapt to various environments. Success hinges on resource management, including meat, hides, bones, and flint, while the most strategic players will find their way to victory.

Dinosaur species inhabit the modular hexagons of the supercontinent Pangaea. Each hexagon has a limited capacity for animals as the continent fractures, causing land to disappear and new territories to form elsewhere. Players strive to spread their presence while dominating each continent they occupy, with the game concluding upon the meteor impact that ends the era of the great dinosaurs.

Drake & Drake is a complex and possibly the most strategic of the three games. It is an abstract board game featuring event cards that allow players to either place new farmers on the board or move them in various ways.

Set in the USA during the Roaring Twenties, players navigate a booming economy and fierce competition among industrial magnates. The goal is to gain a majority of shares in expanding industries like shipping, aviation, construction, automotive, and telecommunications. However, reckless pursuit of profit can lead to disastrous outcomes if the stock market crashes.

Players hire explorers to embark on expeditions, each with unique abilities and varying requirements. More than one explorer may be needed for tougher expeditions, which offer greater rewards in gold. The first player to collect a specific amount of gold wins the game.

Players promote monkey civilizations and free monkeys from lunar isolation by launching spaceships. They must carefully consider which tribes to advance, as their actions can provoke rival tribes. The player who sends the most powerful primates back to Earth by the end of the game will win. Each move impresses one of the six monkey tribes while angering another, making it crucial to know when to play favorites or risk incurring the wrath of a tribe. The game also features six original illustrations by cartoonist Scott Starkey.

A great uproar ensues as the fearsome feudal lord, Fieso, holds the enchanting fairy, Fabula, captive since the famous February festivities. To free her, players must escape to the Finnish fjords and trade with locals for fascinating fetishes. Players act as merchants navigating through the city, visiting different market stalls to buy, sell, or trade goods while utilizing unique abilities from each stall to achieve their goals.

Eight track cards out of a total of 48 are used to build a racing route. Each player receives five speed cards and plays them simultaneously, aiming to advance on the game board. Six non-player cars, referred to as "Old Pros," are controlled by a set of rules, ensuring that seven cars are always in the race, even with six players. Players earn chips for good maneuvers, which can be used to bluff when attacking other cars.

Arabana-Opodopo was introduced as a version for up to four players, based on Arabana-Ikibiti. Players build bridges between islands using bamboo sticks. Controlling the majority of bridges on an island allows a player to remove their opponents' bridges there, earning points during scoring rounds for the islands they control. The game was later re-released by Tilsit in 2003 under the confusing title Kanaloa.

Players take on the role of nobles in 18th-century France, competing to gain the most influence. They collect cards representing five different abilities, as well as power and gold represented by tokens. Players can perform special actions to gain more resources or disrupt others, and they earn points based on their power, gold, and specific cards at the end of the game.

Players take on the role of small film producers trying to create as many films as possible. The nominations for prestigious awards are coming soon, adding pressure to succeed. The game accommodates 2 to 4 players and lasts between 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of players and their experience.

Players take on the role of bean traders, members of the famous Bean Hanse, a coalition of northern European cities and merchants involved in the bean trade during the Middle Ages. They travel in carts filled with valuable beans, delivering orders and purchasing more beans in various Hansa cities. Players can exchange beans when they meet in a city, and the game concludes after the last round, with the winner being the player who has accumulated the most coins.

Krone & Schwert is a city-building game where players construct fortresses, cities, and cathedrals on their land. Aspiring to be king, players can start a revolution to gather support and claim the crown for victory points. The game features card mechanics for building and battling, with players having three action points per turn and opportunities to earn bonus points for their structures.