SPIEL Essen, the world’s biggest board game fair, smashed records again this year, bringing in 230,000 people from around the world to try 2,012 new games from 997 exhibitors representing 53 countries. Attendees sprinted across the convention hall as soon as the doors opened to have the chance to buy some of the hottest games, xclusive promotional cards and miniatures. I filled my days and nights in Essen, Germany with playtesting and interviews, trying some of the most anticipated upcoming releases along with small titles from up-and-coming designers worth watching.
Here are the seven best games I played at SPIEL Essen and when you’ll be able to buy them. A session of Gloomhaven takes hours to set up and complete, but Mercenaries Wanted offers a taste of its rich fantasy universe in just 45 minutes. One to six players draft a team of characters from Gloomhaven’s mercenary packs and then send them on jobs.
You’ll need to assemble synergies based on each card’s type and special abilities while also carefully considering which ones you’ll want to keep between rounds so they can earn lots of points in the final tournament. Secret loot adds some extra strategy as you try to outmaneuver your opponent by nabbing the best job first. Hatch sea turtle eggs and navigate them safely onto an algal mat in this sweet board game from the designer of Apiary and Wyrmspan.
Each player has a secret scoring condition and is competing for prime spots on the mat. The key is taking advantage of the free movement that comes at the end of every round and from positioning your turtles on the rotating rondel representing the tides. You have to look out for crabs eager to eat your turtles, but luckily, this cozy game is pretty forgiving, so you have plenty of opportunities to evade the predators.
Rather than adapting a specific Diablo game, the upcoming cooperative board game pulls in the best elements from the franchise. Each player takes on a class like the Rogue or Paladin with their own distinct strategies, equipment, and skill trees. You’ll need to complete objectives, grab loot, and kill constantly respawning monsters while protecting yourself from brutal attacks, since if one character goes down, the whole party loses.
Luckily, you’ll still get benefits even from a loss, which you can use to try the encounter again. Death can come unexpectedly if the boss or another wandering monster shows up. Crowdfunding begins Q1 2027 on Gamefound This relaxing game is filled with beautiful animal art that you can admire as you craft a riverside forest and fill it with creatures like herons, bass, and otters, each with their own habitat preferences, special abilities and scoring conditions.
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