These Are The Hottest Boardgame Releases from the Essen SPIEL Games Fair

It is hard not to notice that geek culture has been making its way into the mainstream more and more in recent years, and this holds true of boardgames also. But if you want to deep dive into the heart of the hobby there are few better places to start than at SPIEL; it’s here that lockdown favourite Codenames was unveiled back in 2015, and more recently that the highest ranked release of 2021, Ark Nova made its debut. For those who have not heard of it before, SPIEL is the name of the world’s largest boardgame convention, held in Essen, Germany, every October. 2022 saw 147,000 attendees flock from all over the word to play a selection of over 1,800 games over the course of the four days of the fair. We were there, and while we only scratched the surface, we did our best to seek out the hot release, and get a feel for the latest trends on the tabletop. Now that we move into 2023 and have had a couple of months to put some of the most promising titles through their paces a few times, we are ready to bring you our highlights from the SPIEL 2022 releases.

Usual Suspects 

As is often the case, much of the pre SPIEL hype was focused around a cohort of new Euro games. You will find a variety of definitions of a Euro game out there on the interwebs. For my money these are games that typically have a fairly high strategy / low luck ratio, play in a couple of hours, will usually feature some wooden pieces, have low to middling levels of direct player interaction and have multiple possible paths to victory. 

One highly anticipated Euro we got a chance to play a few rounds of was the new release from Uwe Rosenberg, of Agricola fame. This was Atiwa, in which you are trying to develop a small community in rural Ghana, with a strong focus on conservation. Central to this are the local fruit bats, with many of your actions focused around building habitats for the bats and encouraging the growth of fruit trees to attract and feed them, all while feeding and housing the local people without allowing pollution to blight your card tableau. At its heart this is a satisfying worker placement game with some nice decisions to be made about what kind of strategy you focus on. One of the central mechanics sees you removing pieces from tracks on your player board when placing them on your card tableau. In doing so you uncover production icons underneath. The more trees you plant, the more fruit pieces you receive each round. The more fruit you have lifted from the track the more bats you will attract, and so on. Conversely when you spend these resources they go back on to your tracks and reduce the output of the engine you had built. This is where a lot of the balancing comes in as you try to create a satisfying feedback loop without running into problems with food supply or population overcrowding. Sadly the setup the publisher had for the fair did not allow us to play the full game, but everyone enjoyed the time we did get with it.

Oak was another Euro that drew a lot of interest. It is a truly good looking game with a strong and unique theme. Each player is the leader of an ancient druidic order. Play focuses around placing your druids (workers). This is mostly to the central main board, and often in combination with cards from your hand that alter the outcome. Alternatively you can commit druids to paths on the branches of the eponymous Oak where they can advance to get powerful payouts. The core game plays as a fairly conventional but engaging mid weight Euro with lots of options to make combos and forge different paths to victory. However the twist it brings to this familiar tale is with the ability to upgrade your druids. When you unlock an upgrade there are six different options, each of which bestows a unique power on that druid when they are placed in future actions. The icing on the cake (stone on the henge?) is that each upgrade is indicated by a unique piece of miniature kit which is placed onto the wooden druid meeple. This might be a cape, a satchel, a raven, or for the mega upgraded ‘Ancient’ a hood with a set of antlers on them. It is a great touch which is both a neat gimmick and a fully functional integrated part of the game play.

There were of course a number of other Euro games sparking interest this year, with Tiletum, Woodcraft and Hamlet: The Village Building Game all being popular examples, but as is always the case, we were in search of games that did something a little different.

The Games Is Afoot

One of the themes that could not be missed at the SPIEL this year was that of deduction, with several of the most sought after (and sold out) games asking the players to put their little grey cells to good use.

Turing Machine was a perfect example. Each player competes to solve a logic puzzle using less questions than their opponents. The solution to the puzzle is a three digit number, one blue, one yellow and one purple, with each number having a value between 1 and 5. Each game will have a different set of available questions on the table for players to choose from, and these questions can all be asked in different ways. For example the question might be “The blue number compared to 3 is…” and a player could use this card to ask if the blue number is greater than, equal to, or less than, 3. Or the the question card might allow a player to ask of any coloured number, if it is the smallest of the three numbers. Players will use their powers of logic to build up information until they feel ready to make a guess at the final answer. Guess right first and you win, guess wrong and you are out! One of the nicest features of the game is the way you ask these questions. There is a selection of old school computer style punch cards on the table and players will choose three of these depending on what colours and values they want to ask about. These are then stacked together like misaligned Swiss cheese and will leave only a single hole passing through all three. You then lay these on top of the key cards for each question and will see a tick or a cross to give them the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer to the exact question you just asked. How they built this kind of blows one’s mind. There are a vast array of puzzles of various difficulties available. Each key card has a matrix of almost 150 ticks and crosses on them. There is something satisfying about the way that all the combinations of fenestrated punch cards and complex key cards match up in every case to give the correct answers to solve that puzzle. A couple of criticisms we did have was that we found that most of the players in our group reached the correct answer at pretty much the same time, often with a similar choice of questions, and also that there is not really much player interaction. Ultimately this felt to us like it might be more satisfying played as a single player game, in which case it could be a nice one-a-day kind of logic puzzle experience.

Elsewhere in Hall 3 was another competitive game of logic and deduction, Tiwanaku. However, despite these similarities, this is a very different game. Players move their pawns around a square gridded board. To begin with this board is completely blank, but it is actually secretly divided into different coloured regions, ranging in size between 1 and 5 contiguous squares of the same colour. Also, upon each tile will be planted a specific crop. For example, within a 3 tile region there will be a 1 crop, a 2 crop and a 3 crop. Importantly, a crop will never be found in the 8 tiles surrounding a crop of the same size. As you can see, these strict rules allow players to make calculations about the locations of other tiles and crops as the board is gradually revealed. The more information you have the better you are able to score points as you move around the board. While the ultimate ‘solution’ for each game is predetermined, there is no printed map to consult. Similarly to Turing Machine, the game has a very satisfying physical mechanism to allow you to effectively ask questions. There is a cardboard wheel into which a different disc is inserted for each game. When you are ready to ask a question about the colour of the tile you are on, or the crop to be planted there, you dial in the coordinates of your location, and slide open a little window to find the answer. For my mileage I enjoyed Tiwanaku more than Turing Machine, it just felt there was more of a game to be played. It also has a simple but beautiful aesthetic, and if you plump for the luxury version there are some nice chunky wooden pieces for all the square tiles and round crop tokens.

Time… Enough

Gardeners is a game that not only requires deduction, but also features what seemed to be another common theme this year: real time play. Players co-operate to try and appease a fickle and capricious king, who has a very specific idea of how he wants his magnificent garden arranged, and also sees fit to disseminate his different directives separately to the different gardeners. Players arrange tiles in a 6×6 grid, each of which is a specific colour and depicts different garden features, such as trees, flowers, benches, fountains and paths. Each player also holds a certain Constraint tile which must be obeyed. Maybe one player knows that each bench must face a tree, and another that all red trees and flowers must be at the edge of the garden. For the garden to be complete all the Constraints must be met, once this is achieved one of the players draws a new constraint and play continues. The game itself takes place simultaneously and in real time. And in total silence. Each of you will be placing tiles to try and deduce, and then meet, the Constraints of other players, while removing tiles that don’t meet yours. The goal is to fulfil as many Constraint cards as possible before the timer runs out. This experience is an interesting mix of a frantic race against time and a puzzle solving experience. 

Another real time game which is definitely not played in silence is Ready Set Bet. The concept is simple, a day at the horse races. In fact it is so simple it is a wonder nobody has thought of it before. There are 9 horses running, in 4 different colours. The centre piece is a large table where players place a limited number of betting chips on different possible race outcomes. Each horse has spaces for Win, Place (first or second) or Show (first second or third). In addition there are other options such as ‘a Blue horse wins’ or ‘the Black horse will place ahead of the Blue horses’. The race itself is run by rolling dice and moving different horses depending on the results, with some clever mechanisms that prevent the number 7 horse from winning every race, and also allows for outsiders to suddenly make a break for the finish line. The real magic is the fact that the race takes place in real time. Players take it in turn to ‘run’ the race, frantically rolling the dice and moving the corresponding horses, ideally all while calling out a running commentary in your best horse racing voice. Meanwhile the other players place their bets, right up until just before the horses enter the final furlong. If you place too late all the highest paying spots on the board will be gone, if you go to early you may have dropped all your cash on a horse that started well, but never makes it over the line. Perhaps one of the indicators of how much fun we had playing this in the hotel, was the fact we became so raucous that we had to stop after a few races because the table behind us kept asking us to keep it down!

There were a couple of other real time releases that deserve a quick mention. Sync or Swim is a cooperative game where players have a very limited time to quickly place coloured number cards down in slots in front of them with specific rules, while also passing cards to their teammates to allow them to do the same thing. Kites was also a co-operative game that required players to simultaneously play cards from their hands, but in this case the time pressure comes from using those cards to flip corresponding coloured sand timers at just the right moment to stop any of them from running out, trying to keep them all running until all the players have managed to get rid of all their cards. This was a game I foolishly delayed picking up at SPIEL, and am now still waiting for it to come in stock with retailers.

Three Games to Rule Them All

It is at this point that the few months between attending the show and writing this report pays dividends. In this intervening period it has been possible to see which games have risen to the top. The three following titles are the most played and most purchased releases from SPIEL 2022 within our group, in addition to also drawing a fair bit of attention in the wider gaming community. The other advantage of a little time is that you might actually be able to pick a copy of one of them yourself if you fancy. All three were released at SPIEL ahead of retail and all three sold out there before the end of the show, two on the first day. Two became available in retail in late December, and the other will hopefully be out imminently.

Let’s start with Cat in the Box, or to give it the full title Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition. The original version was published in Japanese only in a small print run last year. Cat in the Box is a trick taking game. One player leads the hand by playing a card, other players must follow by playing a card of the same colour if they have one, or another colour if not. One colour is ‘trumps’ and beats all other colours when played. Winner of the trick leads the next one. The aim of the game is to win points by predicting how many tricks you will get in each hand. Cat in the Box preserves almost all these conventions, but adds one crucial twist. Where Schrodinger’s cat in the box was neither dead nor alive until the box was opened, these cats (or the cards) have no colour until they are played. All the players have a hand of numbered cards with no colour. Only when you play a card must you declare what colour it is. Crucially this information is tracked on a central board and if you are forced to play a card that cannot exist then a Paradox is created, the hand ends and you score negative points. Such a paradox can occur for a couple of reasons, firstly there will be five cards of some numbers in each round, and there are only four possible colours. Secondly you might choose to strategically declare you have no more cards of a given colour. This might allow you to play the trump colour when others cannot and pick up extra tricks, but it comes with a risk. This game is genius. The concept is simple and clever, but importantly it also translates to a truly great game. Of the seven of us in our core SPIEL group, all seven have purchased a copy of this!

The next most purchased game by our group at SPIEL was Challengers! This is again a game with a simple concept which sounds like it should not work when explained, but actually really does. Each round is played head to head between two players, each facing off to try and capture the flag. You take it in turns to play cards from your deck to try and match the power of the card in front of your opponent who is currently holding the flag, if you match or beat them you then capture the flag. It is then their turn to try and do the same, rinse and repeat. Crucially though, once you shuffle your deck, you have no control over which card you play, flip the top card of your deck, then the one after, and so on. No choices. So where is the game? Well the choices are actually between the matches when you deck build. You will draw a handful of cards and add one or two to your deck, also choosing if you want to cull any of the older cards out of your deck. Then shuffle your deck and hit the next match. The game works so well for a number of reasons. There is a central conflicting mechanic at the heart of each battle; the flag passes back and forwards between players until one is eliminated, either because their deck is empty, or because they have run out of slots to place their exhausted cards on at the side of the play mat. So in deck construction you are constantly balancing between risking the former loss condition by having too small a deck, and risking the latter by having too large a deck. As identical cards stack together to use only one ‘slot’ this also affects your choices. When deck building there are lots of options to build combos and synergies as most of the upgraded cards you acquire will have some kind of special power on them. Another strong point is that the game plays up to eight players, with multiple 2 player games all running at the same time. There is a set order of rotation for each player count to mix up who you play against. It is genuinely exciting to see what kind of deck your new opponent has built, and to find out how your own newly finessed deck will fare against them. This tension and discovery more than offsets the fact that you will, certain card powers excepted, make no actual choices for the short duration of the actual match. A great game, roll on the inevitable expansions. 

My personal favourite, and the game which has seen the most plays among the team since SPIEL, is War of the Ring: The Card Game. There were a very limited number of copies at the fair, and we only managed to snag two. As of writing it still has not made it retail, making this a real SPIEL exclusive at present. As the name implies, the game casts you in the role of characters from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Two players are on the side of Shadow, while the other two players are the Free Peoples. Each faction has a unique deck of 30 cards. Play focuses on large format Battleground and Path cards in the centre of the table, with the default position being that one if each is contested every round. As expected the Battlefields focus on the classic military clashes such as Helm’s Deep, Isengard and Minas Tirith. The Paths on the other hand relate to the journey of the Fellowship and include locations all the way from Bag End to the Crack of Doom. Players take it in turn to play a card to one of these locations, or to their reserve for a future round. The cards are mostly Armies and Characters, although there are some one time Events, as well as Items that can attach to certain characters. Once all players are satisfied that they have played enough cards then the round ends and each Path and Battlefield cards goes to the team who won the contest there, earning victory points. New hand cards are drawn and a new Path and Battlefield added to the table, starting the next round. Play continues until 9 Paths have been resolved, or before if one team gains a 10 point lead for an instant win. 

The core gameplay is simple but there are so many ways in which the game mechanics make for an engaging and tense experience. Some of this comes down to the unique powers many of the cards have. While some will simply contribute a certain amount of strength to a Battlefield or a Path, many have unique abilities which come into effect when they enter play, or simply by having them in your reserve. Really though, much of the joy comes from agonising decisions. Every time you play a card you must discard another card from your hand to do so. These cards have a chance of coming back into your hand later, but you never know quite when . This leads to real dilemmas about which cards to keep and which to let go of. There is also a very satisfying ebb and flow of the game with the Free People starting stronger but the Shadow players building momentum as the game goes on. There are great opportunities for team work as you figure out which of you is best placed to contribute to which battle in any given round. Deciding when to go all in, spending lots of valuable cards, and when to concede a battle is yet another example of the satisfying predicaments the game presents you with. Finally there is a really satisfying learning curve. The four decks are all unique, and play slightly differently. There is nothing so complex as to make the early games futile, but you do feel truly rewarded as you become more familiar with the contents of not only your deck, but that of your ally, and your two opponents. I am confident this will be hitting the table repeatedly over the coming months and beyond.

Finally a special mention to the Spiel Des Jahres Kid’s game of the year Magic Mountain or Zauberberg!  This had us on a knife edge with tension building throughout as we rolled balls down the beautifully crafted mountain trying to save the princess from the evil witches.  Think Plinko but with theme and a modicum of strategy.  Yes this is a kids game but this game was unashamedly enjoyed by a us, a large group of adults. 

So here ends my selected highlights from SPIEL 2022, and while with so many new releases we have only scratched the surface, I like to think that between the preshow research, a bit of a nose for the the unusual, and the 100+ games the team played, we have identified some of the classics that will will endure going forward. Having said that, our hotel rooms are booked, and the clock is already ticking down to SPIEL 2023….