The best games presented at the Spiel 2019 game fair in Essen, Germany 2024

Embark on a collaborative journey of espionage in Codenames Duet, where the familiar elements of Codenames persist – providing one-word clues to unveil your agents among those on the table. This time, however, you and your teammate work together to uncover all your agents, adding a thrilling cooperative dimension to the challenge. The mystery of not knowing your agents from the outset adds an intriguing layer to the mission, raising questions that even Congressional investigators might ponder later!

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is a cooperative trick-taking game that takes players on an adventurous space journey, filled with challenges and strategic gameplay.

Point Salad is a dynamic and engaging card drafting game that is suitable for players of all ages. It stands out for its simplicity and the vast array of scoring strategies it offers.

Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated is an innovative extension of the deck-building game Clank!, incorporating legacy-style elements. Players get the opportunity to establish and grow their own franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, leading a team of intrepid adventurers on a quest for treasure and corporate fame. The game evolves uniquely across multiple play sessions, creating a personalized adventure campaign.

In Trails of Tucana, players embark on an adventure to connect the mystical island's villages and landmarks through an intricate network of trails. This flip-and-write game, designed by the creators of Avenue and Doodle City, offers a unique challenge with each playthrough thanks to randomized village setups. Players draw trails on their maps, aiming to link together sights and harbors for points, while navigating the island's diverse terrains. Strategic planning and adaptability are key, as the terrain card distribution influences potential pathways and scoring opportunities.

Project L is a dynamic and visually appealing board game that combines tile-matching with engine-building elements. It's designed to challenge players with its strategic depth, encapsulated within an elegant and simple design. The game features unique triple-layer 3D puzzles and attractive acrylic pieces, making it not only a test of intellect but also a delight to play.

Hanamikoji is a strategic card game set in the historical context of Geisha culture in Japan. The game immerses players in the role of patrons who are competing to gain the favor of seven renowned Geishas by collecting items related to their art and performances.

Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale transports players to a realm where they take on the roles of mapmakers, tasked by Queen Gimnax to chart the northern territories for the Kingdom of Nalos. This game combines elements of strategy and creativity, challenging players to create the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing maps.

Cthulhu: Death May Die is an intense, cooperative board game set in the 1920s, drawing inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's universe. Players take on the roles of daring investigators, embarking on a perilous mission to confront and eliminate Elder Gods.

Draftosaurus is a charming and quick drafting game where players aim to build the most attractive dinosaur park. The game stands out for its use of dino meeples and unique placement restrictions, making it an engaging experience for all ages.

Cahoots is a cooperative card game where players work together to meet a series of challenging goals. Each player must strategically contribute to four communal piles by matching either the color or the number of the cards. Communication about the contents of one's hand is not allowed, adding a layer of challenge as players must intuitively cooperate to meet the objectives.

The Castles of Burgundy is a strategy board game set in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France, where players assume the roles of aristocrats controlling small princedoms. The game combines tile placement and dice rolling mechanics to offer a rich and strategic experience.

PARKS is a visually stunning board game that celebrates the beauty and splendor of U.S. National Parks. With artwork from Fifty-Nine Parks, this game offers players a unique blend of strategy and adventure as they embark on a journey through nature.

Azul: Summer Pavilion takes players back to Portugal to embark on an artistic challenge of crafting a summer pavilion, a task assigned by King Manuel I. As master artisans, players must use their skills to construct the pavilion using the finest materials while efficiently managing their resources.

Undaunted: Normandy is a deck-building war game that immerses players in the pivotal battles of Normandy following the D-Day landings during World War II. It offers a unique blend of strategy, historical warfare, and deck management.

Mandala is an intriguing two-player game that combines strategy and contemplation. Players compete to collect valuable cards by building mandalas, but the true value of these cards only becomes clear as the game progresses. It's a delicate balance of strategy and adaptation, set against the backdrop of a symbolic ritual.

Planet Unknown is a competitive and strategic game for 1-6 players set in a future where Earth's resources are depleted. Players are tasked with developing the most efficient and habitable planet among a series of newfound worlds. Using polyomino-shaped tiles, each representing vital infrastructure, players work to efficiently cover their planets and build an effective support system for life.

Similo is a cooperative deduction game where players work together to guess a secret character from a set of twelve displayed in the middle of the table. Each version of Similo - such as Fables, History, or Myths - comes with a deck of thirty beautifully illustrated cards by Naïade, featuring characters that share a common theme.

Watergate thrusts players into the historical tug-of-war between the Nixon Administration and a determined journalist from the Washington Post. This game recreates the infamous political scandal, requiring strategic card play and keen decision-making.

Ticket to Ride: London brings the classic gameplay of the Ticket to Ride series to the vibrant city of London in the 1970s. This edition offers a fast-paced, streamlined experience on a condensed map of London, allowing players to complete a game in just about 15 minutes.

The Fox in the Forest is a captivating two-player trick-taking card game that brings a unique twist to a classic genre with its enchanting fairy tale theme and strategic gameplay.

Sprawlopolis is an engaging cooperative city-building game where 1-4 players join forces to transform a tiny town into a bustling metropolis. The game is known for its compact design, using only 18 cards, and a dynamic scoring system that ensures a unique experience every time you play.

It's a Wonderful World is a strategic card drafting and engine-building game, where players take on the role of leaders of expanding empires. The game is designed for 1 to 5 players and offers a compelling blend of careful planning and resource management.

CuBirds is a charming and strategic card game where players help disorganized birds regroup into their flocks to return home. Featuring a unique gameplay mechanism and a delightful bird theme, this game requires players to cleverly manage their hand of bird cards and make tactical decisions on gathering and scoring bird flocks.

Unlock! Timeless Adventures offers a trio of captivating "escape room" scenarios packed into one tabletop game. This cooperative card game draws players into immersive adventures requiring teamwork, puzzle-solving, and quick thinking, all facilitated through a blend of physical cards and a digital companion app.

The King's Dilemma presents a captivating blend of narrative storytelling and strategy, set in the fictional Kingdom of Ankist. As players, you step into the roles of leaders of various noble houses, each with your own agendas and influence, making critical decisions that shape the fate of the kingdom.

Hansa Teutonica: Big Box is an expansive edition of the acclaimed strategy game "Hansa Teutonica," renowned for its deep strategic gameplay and interactive mechanics. This edition not only includes the base game but also all its expansions, offering an enriched experience of the historical Hanseatic League trading theme.

Engage in the captivating world of art commerce with Modern Art. As both buyer and seller, players navigate the vibrant art market, aiming to turn their transactions into lucrative endeavors. Five unique artists have contributed a plethora of paintings, and it's your task to strategically auction them for maximum profit. Each turn, players auction a painting from their hand, gaining wealth if others purchase it or incurring costs if they buy it themselves. The key lies in shrewd decision-making.

Nova Luna is an abstract tile-laying strategy game that focuses on careful planning and decision-making. Players are tasked with fulfilling objectives by placing tiles strategically, creating a unique and engaging gameplay experience.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle is a cooperative deck-building game set in the beloved world of Harry Potter. Players join forces as Hogwarts students to protect the castle from dark forces.

Champions of Midgard: Valhalla enhances the base game, Champions of Midgard, by introducing new elements that celebrate the valor of warriors who fall in battle. This expansion shifts the perspective on loss in combat, transforming it into a strategic element that benefits players in their quest for glory.

Awkward Guests: The Walton Case, also known as Incómodos Invitados, is a uniquely engaging deduction board game boasting infinite replayability. The game revolves around solving the murder of Mr. Walton, with varied scenarios ensuring no two games are the same.

Champions of Midgard: The Dark Mountains expansion brings new adventures and challenges to the acclaimed Champions of Midgard board game, transporting players to the treacherous terrain of the dark mountains. This expansion broadens the game's universe with the introduction of the Bergrisar, fearsome mountain giants, and the Archer Clans of the North, offering new dynamics and strategic options.

Tiny Towns is a charming and strategic board game where players take on the role of mayors building their own tiny towns in a forest. The game challenges players to manage resources wisely and plan their towns carefully to maximize prosperity.

Oriflamme immerses players in the cutthroat world of medieval politics. After the king's death, players, as leaders of influential families, vie for the throne using strategy and deceit.

Palm Island is a uniquely portable and versatile card game that can be played in almost any setting, with no table required. It's designed to be accessible and engaging whether you are sitting, standing, or on the move. The game's innovative mechanics allow players to use just 17 cards to manage resources, upgrade buildings, and shape their island through 8 rounds of play.

Conspiracy: Abyss Universe is an intriguing card game that delves into the rich and vibrant world of Abyss. Players find themselves crafting a strategic reverse pyramid from a deck composed of cards across five colors, ranging in value from 0 to 6. The game's core revolves around drafting cards, with a clever twist on traditional mechanics. Each turn presents the opportunity to draw cards from the deck, select one to add to your pyramid, and strategically position the rest, fostering a dynamic play environment that challenges players to think ahead and adapt their strategies on the fly.

Everdell: Bellfaire is an expansion to the enchanting world of Everdell, celebrating a century of prosperity and peace with the grandest event yet, the Bellfaire. This expansion enriches the base game by introducing new elements that add depth and variety, accommodating more players and introducing new ways to compete and cooperate in building your woodland city. With Bellfaire, the game opens up to larger groups and offers players unique abilities, making the world of Everdell even more vibrant and competitive.

Roll Player: Monsters & Minions is an expansion to the game Roll Player, where players not only strive to create the ultimate fantasy characters but also prepare for a climactic battle against a terrifying beast terrorizing the kingdom. This expansion adds a new dimension to the game, combining character creation with the gathering of information and preparation for a final showdown against the monster.

Everdell: Spirecrest is a captivating expansion for the beloved board game Everdell, taking players on an adventurous journey beyond the familiar territories of Everdell Valley into the untamed and mystical lands of Spirecrest. This expansion enriches the enchanting world of Everdell with new mechanics and features that challenge players to adapt their strategies and explore the vastness of a world filled with wonders and perils.

Paris: La Cité de la Lumière is a two-player board game designed by José Antonio Abascal, beautifully illustrated by Oriol Hernández. Set in the enchanting city of Paris during the 1889 "Exposition Universelle," the game captures the era when electricity began illuminating the city, leading to its nickname "La Cité de la Lumière" or the City of Light.

Wonderland's War is an imaginative and strategic board game set in a war-torn Wonderland. Players take on the roles of iconic characters like Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Red Queen, each leading their faction to vie for control in a beautifully chaotic Wonderland.

Nemesis is a semi-cooperative, survival horror board game set in a sci-fi universe, offering an intense and immersive experience as players navigate a spacecraft infested with hostile alien organisms.

Letter Jam is a cooperative word game for 2-6 players, focusing on teamwork to create words from visible letters. The catch? You can't see your own letter card – it's only visible to others.

Century: A New World is the captivating final chapter in the acclaimed "Century" series by Emerson Matsuuchi. This installment transports players to the rich and uncharted territories of the Americas during the 16th century, offering a unique blend of strategy, exploration, and resource management.

Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy is an enhanced version of the original Eclipse game, first released in 2011. It's a grand strategy game set in the depths of space, where players lead their own interstellar civilizations to explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate.

Little Town is a charming and strategic board game where players take on the roles of architects with the goal of developing their own little town over four rounds. Through careful placement of workers on the game board, players gather essential resources, construct buildings, and earn victory points. The game challenges players to make the most out of their workers each round, strategically planning to gather resources, and cleverly positioning themselves in relation to buildings for optimal gain.

Coffee Roaster is a unique solitaire pool-building game that immerses players in the art of coffee roasting. Through careful management of a variety of coffee beans, players aim to perfect the roast level of each bean type to achieve the highest quality of coffee. The game challenges players to balance the roasting process, managing not just the desired roast level but also the uniformity of the roast across all beans, while avoiding the pitfalls of smoke and burnt tokens that can spoil the batch.

Obscurio is a captivating blend of cooperative gameplay and deception, set against the backdrop of a magical library filled with illusions and a malevolent Sorcerer. Players work together to escape, guided by the Grimoire, which provides visual clues. The twist? Among the players, a traitor seeks to sabotage the escape. As players interpret the images and navigate through traps, they must discern truth from deception, making communication and trust pivotal to their survival.

The Grimm Forest is a strategic and imaginative board game where players enter the world of the legendary Three Little Pigs and other famous Fairy Tale characters. In this game, family members of the Three Little Pigs compete in an epic house-building competition, with various Fairy Tale characters making appearances and impacting the game in different ways.

Atlantis Rising (Second Edition) is a beautifully reimagined version of the beloved cooperative worker placement game where players unite to save the mythical island of Atlantis from inevitable doom. As leaders of Atlantis, players collaborate to gather resources, manage the workforce, and construct a cosmic gate capable of saving the Atlantean populace from the rising tides. The game challenges players with a blend of strategic planning, resource management, and a pressing urgency to complete the gate before the island succumbs to the ocean.

Glen More II: Chronicles is a sequel to the original Glen More game, offering a richly expanded gameplay experience. It transports players into the roles of leaders of Scottish clans from the early medieval ages to the 19th century.

Talisman (Revised 4th Edition): The Reaper Expansion brings a chilling new dimension to the race for the Crown of Command in the classic adventure board game Talisman. As players venture through the land, they must now contend with the ominous presence of Death himself. This expansion introduces a host of new elements that intensify gameplay and strategy, ensuring that encounters with the Grim Reaper will keep players on the edge of their seats.