Spielwarenmesse 2024: Fresh supplies for games enthusiasts

By Peter Neugebauer

It’s always surprising just how diverse the world of board and card games is. Besides the traditional multiplayer games, what is striking is that a lot of small and micro publishers are coming up with new ideas. And all of them are professionally designed. Their distinguishing features are often different mechanisms and unusual themes. You might well believe that the more established publishers don’t have the confidence to use hourglasses as game pieces, watch a gravedigger at work and so on.

What is fun for children

Jack and the Beanstalk from Granna, Poland 

Children like stories. The Polish games publisher Granna understands this very well and has wrapped an exciting adventure around its new game. In “Jack and the Beanstalk” a new bean is planted. It rises up high into the sky to a castle that’s shrouded in legends, where there is a chicken that lays golden eggs. A powerful giant guards this fairy-tale world. It’s Jack’s job to trick the powerful protector of the castle and to escape with as many golden eggs as possible. A card-reveal mechanism is used to cheat the giant. However, anyone who is too greedy loses.

Traffic Game from Tactic, Finland

In its series of educational games called “let’s learn”, Tactic from Finland has now launched the “Traffic Game”. Children are meant to learn the road traffic rules in a playful way. This is a valuable educational opportunity that is often squandered. Children have to choose their way home from school wisely. The right form of transport is also important. And they can learn the road signs, too! As these signs can be positioned anywhere on the city map, the process is slightly different each time they play and the game value is maintained.

Game with cards

Quiz Wiz from Brain Games, Latvia

Brain Games comes from Latvia. In 2017, the publisher and its German partner Amigo caused a veritable sensation when “Ice Cool” was named “Spiel des Jahres”, i.e. the best board game for children. The Latvians have now come up with a new game idea with “Quiz Wiz”, a game in which players work together. They have to answer questions about the geography, history, pop culture and a whole lot more regarding the countries of the world. The answer is always given with a country card. The challenge increases through the use of various stimuli, so that players need to discuss and exchange knowledge in the guessing round.

Fanion from Game Division, Switzerland

The relatively young publishing house that is Game Division is based in Switzerland. Its concept is based on stylishly illustrated playing cards. The card images in the new game “Fanion” are also an aesthetic delight. In a bi-colour scheme, colourful ribbons wind their way across the face of the cards. The rhythm of the game is based on a tried and tested mix, which is, however, diverse. Cards may only be discarded if their colours match. More than one card at a time can be laid down. The aim is to be the first to lay down one’s entire hand.

Strato from Helvetiq, Switzerland

The international games publisher Helvetiq is also based in Switzerland. Its product portfolio lists a lot of card games, sometimes in a mini box no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. “Strato” is a new product for 2024. The challenges of the elements in the stratosphere become increasingly complex. Only by working together can the group of players overcome the conditions. This has to be done in such a way that the cards in the players’ hands don’t run out. When the winds blow, clouds gather and the sun breaks through – this is an unusual scenario in keeping with the topic in question.

Clever ideas

Medieval from Albi, Czech Republic

The Czech publisher Albi is known in Germany for its “Karak” line of games published by Kosmos. Now it’s come up trumps with a historical game that’s deeply rooted in its own history. In “Medieval”, players re-enact the machinations of Bohemia in the late Middle Ages. The leaders roam the countryside, besiege castles, help monks or even play their merry games in the taverns of the era. But no-one is allowed to maraud indiscriminately, because an integrated, card-controlled system of morals sometimes puts a spoke into the players’ plan.

Unmatched Adventures – Tales of Amaze from iello, France

iello from France has been very successful with its “Unmatched” series of games. They always involve unequal opponents from completely different worlds who fight each other with whatever means they have at their disposal. There is the allure of the impossible, for example, when the escape artist Houdini competes against the fairy-tale character of the djinn. But now the basic idea is reversed. In “Unmatched Adventures – Tales of Amaze”, everyone works together against the game system. An unnamed villain and his nasty henchmen fight against the good and it’s by no means certain that the good guys will always win…

Quicksand from Horrible Guild, Italy

Horrible Guild is a game that comes from Italy. The games publisher wows players with a rather novel, unusual mechanism. In “Quicksand”, hourglasses must not be allowed to run out of sand. The group of players has to cooperate. Cards are placed down on the table and move a certain timer forward. The timer is tilted and the ratio of the flowing sand is reversed. The secret is to never move an hourglass too early, but also not too late either. This depends on the cards in your hand but also on the good timing of all the other players.

Party time is playtime

Dumb Questions To Ask Your Friends from Big Potato Games, UK

Big Potato Games from the UK specialises in party games. And some of them have even reached the German market, such as Game Factory’s recent “Colour Brain”. The new game “Dumb Questions To Ask Your Friends” is all about the teasing out interesting answers from your best friends to questions such as “Which famous voice you would like to have as the voice of the navigation system in your car?” You can’t see the question but you can hear the answers given by the other players. And then you have to pick the correct question from a choice of five to win points. There are bound to be questions about the incorrect answers.

VIP RIP from Nice Game, Germany

Nice Game is based in Bonn, Germany. As a small niche games publisher, the makers consistently focus on bizarre topics. In “Vip RIP”, the poetic gravedigger Aurora is on the move and players take turns slipping into her role. She assigns three epitaphs to different dead people in the cemetery. The rest of the group has to filter out whether, for example, a saying such as “One for all and all for one” is better suited to Batman, Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes or some other dead person. After the puzzle is resolved – especially if it was wrong – that’s when the discussion begins.

About the author

Peter Neugebauer is still a "big kid" through and through. In early childhood, his parents introduced him to board games. And games were obligatory and always welcome at Christmas and on his birthday. He didn’t stop playing, not even during his years of study or working life. Early on, he reviewed new products, initially in trade journals, then also in daily newspapers and, for almost 40 years, in industry magazines. He can’t live without playing.