The best games presented at the Spiel 2014 game fair in Essen, Germany 2024

Patchwork is a two-player game where you compete to create the most beautiful and high-scoring patchwork quilt on your personal 9x9 game board.

Sushi Go! is a dynamic, fast-paced card game set in a sushi restaurant. Players aim to grab the best sushi combinations as they come around. It's all about strategy, from picking the perfect sushi rolls to collecting sashimi sets. Boost your scores with wasabi-flavored nigiri, and don't forget to load up on pudding by the end!

Star Realms is a fast-paced, deck-building card game set in the vastness of space. Designed by renowned game creators, it combines the excitement of deck-building with the strategic depth of combat trading card games.

Immerse yourself in the world of Onitama, a dynamic two-player abstract game offering perfect information and a randomized starting setup on a 5x5 board. Both participants begin the game with five pawns each, strategically placing the main pawn at the board's center.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak is a standalone expansion to the popular social deduction game One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Designed for 3-7 players, Daybreak offers a quick, engaging experience where everyone gets a hidden role with a special ability. In the span of just one in-game morning, players must deduce who among them is a werewolf, with the game's outcome hinging on uncovering at least one werewolf.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a dynamic and fast-paced game for 3-10 players that brings the excitement and deduction of werewolf stories to your tabletop. This game is all about quick thinking, bluffing, and trying to outsmart your friends.

Carcassonne is a renowned tile-placement game set in the picturesque landscape of Southern France. This game is beloved for its simplicity, depth, and the beautiful mosaic players create on the table.

Pandemic: On the Brink is an expansion for the popular cooperative board game Pandemic. This expansion adds new dimensions to the base game, offering additional challenges and variability in gameplay.

Loony Quest is a vibrant and imaginative drawing game set in the fantastical land of Arkadia, where players embark on an adventurous quest to win a royal tournament and claim the throne of an heirless king. The game stands out with its unique blend of drawing challenges and video game-inspired mechanics, making it a delightful experience for players of all ages.

Ca$h 'n Guns: Second Edition is an action-packed board game that combines strategy, bluffing, and a touch of luck, capturing the essence of classic gangster movie showdowns. In this game, players are members of a gangster band, aiming to outsmart each other in a bid to end up with the most loot after eight intense rounds.

Spyfall immerses players in a unique party game experience where they step into the intriguing roles of spies, navigating through various scenarios to decipher their surroundings. In this engaging game, participants aim to uncover the spy in their midst while the spy endeavors to blend in and discern the secret location.

The Hare & the Tortoise offers a unique spin on the classic fable through a card-driven betting game where players wager on the outcomes of an animal race. This game combines strategy, luck, and deduction as players manage their hands and place their bets on various creatures, each with distinct movement abilities influenced by the cards played.

Witness is a unique cooperative board game designed for exactly four players, based on the intriguing universe of the Belgian comic series Blake and Mortimer by Edgar P. Jacobs. The game revolves around solving mysteries through a clever yet challenging communication system where players can only share information in a very restricted manner.

Hanabi, named after the Japanese word for "fireworks," invites players to collaboratively create the perfect fireworks display. In this cooperative game, the goal is to arrange cards on the table in the correct order to achieve a stunning pyrotechnic spectacle. However, there's a catch - players must hold their cards so that they are visible only to their teammates. To succeed, you'll need to provide hints to your fellow players about the numbers and colors of their cards, working together to avoid mistakes and complete the fireworks show before running out of cards.

Orléans is a strategic board game set in medieval France, where players compete to gain supremacy through trade, construction, and science by assembling a diverse following of characters like farmers, merchants, knights, and monks.

Tichu is an intriguing partnership card game that combines elements of Zheng Fen with traditional card play. It stands out as a strategic and competitive game, requiring players to be both tactically astute and keenly aware of their partner's actions. Typically played by four players in partnerships, the game is a race to get rid of all cards in hand, while aiming to score points.

Colt Express is a fast-paced, action-packed board game set in the Wild West, where players take on the roles of bandits attempting to rob a moving train.

Snake Oil offers a refreshing twist on party games, where creativity, quick thinking, and persuasive skills reign supreme. Players transform into cunning salespeople, concocting bizarre products from a random assortment of word cards to pitch to various "customers" drawn from a deck of unique character cards. The aim is not just to sell a product but to tailor the pitch to the whims and needs of an ever-changing clientele, ranging from pirates to zombies.

Pandemic: The Cure is a dice-based adaptation of the popular Pandemic board game. It offers a quicker setup and playtime while retaining the core theme of disease control and teamwork.

Five Tribes: The Djinns of Naqala is a strategy board game set in the mystical land of Naqala. Designed by Bruno Cathala, it puts a unique spin on the traditional German-style worker placement games.

Beasty Bar takes the party to the animal kingdom with a twist on the classic card game format. Picture this: animals decked out in their finest, queuing up to get into the exclusive Beasty Bar nightclub. But not all will make it past the bouncer. In this competitive and cheeky game, players use their animal cards, each boasting unique abilities to shuffle the queue's order. Your goal? Outwit your opponents to get your animals through the door, with a mix of strategy and luck determining who gets to dance the night away and who's left out in the cold.

Diamonds offers a unique twist on traditional trick-taking card games. Instead of merely collecting cards, players are vying for "Diamond Crystals," represented by actual acrylic crystals included in the game. This game stands out with its innovative "Suit Actions" that come into play when players cannot follow suit or win tricks.

Red7 is a fast-paced and innovative card game that combines simplicity with strategic depth. The game revolves around a unique mechanic where the rules and the objectives can change dynamically throughout the game.

Arcadia Quest is an engaging, campaign-based board game where players lead guilds of heroes on a quest to overthrow a vampire lord and take back the city of Arcadia. It's a competitive yet cooperative game, filled with strategic battles against both other players and game-controlled monsters.

Abyss plunges players into a deep-sea realm of power struggles, where they aim to ascend the throne and rule the underwater city. This game intertwines development, combination, and collection strategies in a captivating underwater setting.

Inis invites players to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Celtic history and lore, vying for the esteemed title of King of the Island. Rooted in strategic depth and Celtic mythology, the game offers a unique blend of victory conditions and gameplay dynamics.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a creative and strategic tile-laying game where players construct an opulent castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This game combines architectural planning with economic strategy.

Machi Koro is a light and fast-paced city-building board game, where players take on the role of mayor of a small town, striving to develop it into a thriving city.

King of New York is a fast-paced, standalone board game designed by Richard Garfield, which builds upon the ideas of its predecessor, King of Tokyo. Players step into the roles of giant monsters vying for supremacy in the bustling metropolis of New York City. The objective is to be the first to accumulate 20 victory points (VPs) or to be the last monster standing in this thrilling city-destroying battle.

Terra is a trivia-based party game that marries the thrill of geographical discovery with the fun of educated guessing. A spiritual successor to Friedemann's FAUNA, this game shifts the focus from animals to a wide array of geographic information, challenging players to approximate answers to questions about landmarks, historical events, and natural wonders. With a dual-sided board featuring both Metric and Imperial measurements and 300 diverse topics across oversized cards, Terra invites players to venture guesses on everything from the length of the Golden Gate Bridge to the number of sculptures on Easter Island.

Medieval Academy is a strategic drafting and board movement game that transports players to a vibrant medieval setting where they assume the roles of squires aiming to earn their knighthood. The game is designed to be accessible to families while still offering enough depth to engage more seasoned gamers, making it a "family+" game.

Black Fleet sets you in the bustling Caribbean, captaining merchant ships, pirate vessels, and even Navy ships, each with their own quest for glory and fortune. This tactical card-driven game mixes strategy with a dash of luck as you navigate different ship types to achieve your goals.

Alien Frontiers is a competitive board game where players vie to colonize an uncharted planet. As deep space colonists, players must skillfully manage resources, expand their fleet, research alien technology, and establish colonies to gain control of the new world.

Manila is an engaging and speculative board game for 3-5 players, centered around the bustling world of maritime trade. Players take on the role of investors, speculating on and betting against a variety of goods shipments – jade, ginseng, silk, and nutmeg – as they make their precarious journey along sea routes to Manila. The game is a blend of strategy, risk, and luck, with the fate of each shipment ultimately being decided by dice rolls.

Smash Up: Monster Smash adds a thrilling twist to the Smash Up universe with its inclusion of four new, terrifying factions: vampires, mad scientists, werewolves, and giant ants. This expansion not only enriches the game's thematic diversity but also introduces unique mechanics that reflect the iconic abilities and lore associated with each monster genre.

Nations: The Dice Game is a fast-paced, dice-driven game that captures the essence of civilization-building. Designed for 1-4 players, it condenses the expansive experience of the original Nations board game into a more streamlined and quicker format, ideal for players looking for a shorter playtime without sacrificing strategic depth.

Carcassonne: Gold Rush marks the second installment in the "Carcassonne: Around the World" series, transporting players to the rugged landscapes of 19th-century America during the height of the gold rush era. This iteration of the beloved Carcassonne franchise retains the core mechanics of tile placement and feature scoring while introducing a thematic twist that captures the spirit of exploration, competition, and fortune-seeking that defined the period.

Coup: Rebellion G54 is a standalone game that evolves the successful elements of the original "Coup" into a new and exciting format. The game emphasizes strategy, deception, and survival, making it a thrilling challenge for players who enjoy bluffing and deduction.

Welcome to the universe of Among the Stars, a galaxy scarred by war but now united in the face of an imminent danger. In this captivating board game, players find themselves as leaders of various alien races, tasked with the monumental mission of constructing space stations. These stations serve as hubs for trade, diplomacy, and defense, essential for the survival of all.

Quartermaster General is a dynamic board game that immerses players in the strategic military operations of the Second World War. Representing major powers from the Axis and Allied teams, players must effectively manage their forces through careful use of cards and maintain supply lines to sustain their military efforts. The objective is to maximize victory points, either by controlling key supply spaces or by successfully executing strategic card-driven maneuvers.

Valley of the Kings is a unique deck-building board game that transports players back to ancient Egypt, where they take on the roles of nobles preparing for the afterlife. The game cleverly integrates Egyptian burial customs and artifacts into its mechanics, offering a thematic and strategic experience.

Royals is a strategic board game where players assume the roles of powerful noble houses in 17th-century Europe, competing to assert their dominance across the continent. Through skillful management of country and intrigue cards, players aim to secure influential positions and earn victory points by gaining the most influence in key territories.

Imperial Settlers is a dynamic card game where players lead one of four distinct factions - Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians, and Japanese - to build and expand their empires. It's a game of strategy and resource management, set in a newly discovered land ripe for exploration and conflict.

Conan is an asymmetric, semi-cooperative board game set in Robert E. Howard's universe, where players take on the roles of Conan and his companions, or the Overlord controlling opposition forces. The game, emphasizing Howard's original stories, features various scenarios and maps with diverse objectives. Players engage in strategic battles using a unique energy gem system for actions, while the Overlord manages units with a sliding tile board. Each scenario offers a distinct adventure with an approximate one-hour playtime.

Irish Gauge is a compelling board game set against the picturesque backdrop of Ireland, embodying the essence of stock-based, cube-rail games that have become a signature of Winsome Games. As part of the esteemed 2014 Essen Set, this game invites players to immerse themselves in the competitive world of railway development and investment during the golden age of rail.

Cthulhu Wars is a grand strategy board game inspired by the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. This game is notable for its physical scale, featuring an array of detailed figurines representing cultists, monsters, aliens, and the Great Old Ones themselves, varying in size from about 20 mm to a towering 180 mm. Players assume the roles of different factions, each unique in its set of monsters, spell books, and special abilities.

Power Grid Deluxe: Europe/North America is a standalone game in the Power Grid universe, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the original Power Grid game. This deluxe edition boasts a double-sided game board featuring maps of Europe and North America, newly designed wooden components, and a completely new deck of power plants, including some that use natural gas. The game also introduces an enhanced two-player experience called “Against the Trust” and new overview cards for resource refills.

Evolution is a dynamic board game that simulates an ecosystem where players adapt their species to survive in a changing environment. The game emphasizes strategic adaptation, where players must develop their species with various traits to secure food and protect themselves from predators.

"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.

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.

La Isla is a strategic board game that immerses players in the role of explorers on an uncharted island. The objective is to capture and study various animal species, leveraging resources and scientific planning to earn points. The game combines elements of tile placement, resource management, and set collection, offering a rich and engaging experience.

Pirate Fluxx takes the ever-changing rules of the classic card game Fluxx and adds a swashbuckling pirate twist. Players navigate a sea of shifting strategies, aiming to meet the conditions of newly revealed Goal cards by collecting an assortment of thematic Keepers like Ships and Booty. Beware of hindrances like Scurvy and Shackles that can prevent victory, while Captain's Hat grants significant control over the game's flow.