New games for 2025 from all over the world

By Peter Neugebauer

Each year, publishers from every continent showcase their innovations at the world’s leading trade fair in the industry and are also keen to form collaborations with distribution partners for foreign markets. The German market is particularly appealing at this time, with its sheer variety of offerings and multitude of buyers interested in games. Experience shows that this kind of cooperation is common practice in the publishing industry. Some current new games will also be adapted for local markets and find their way into playrooms around the world. 

For the young and old

Design your own aquarium. With Fit the Fishes, Armenian publisher Red Cat has come up with a remarkable game for kids. All players get a sheet of paper showing a sandy seabed and a light-blue watery background. This is their aquarium, and they now have to fill it up. A die is thrown and stencils are chosen to add fish, fish food or even plants to the water scene. Players place down the stencils and then trace inside them. As more fish or even turtles are added, space gets tight and the task becomes more difficult. Children will enjoy working out where everything should go. Coloured pencils are included so that everything contained in the finished aquariums can be coloured in.

Little professors. The Purple Cow from Israel is all about compact kits that introduce children to basic scientific principles through various experiments. These playful pursuits lay the foundations for their acquisition of vital STEM capabilities. Fittingly, the line bears the “Einstein” label. Science Kit – Magnetic Wonder focuses on magnetism. Children can craft a compass, get to grips with electromagnetism and much more. The portfolio offers a dozen experiments and 15 of these metal kits in total.

Fascinating underwater world. In Giant Squid from MindWare, the players dive into the dark blue of the deep sea. All in search of the giant squid. But there are also other fascinating creatures to encounter, including dolphins, turtles, manta rays and many more. The players collect the creatures they come across as individual cards or try to get multiple tiles to complete the giant squid. With a bit of memory and some strategic considerations, the underwater adventurers can get closer to their goals. Thanks to all of the information about the setting, the game is also a valuable aid for teaching little explorers about exotic water worlds.

The jigsaw, reinterpreted. Magnetic Puzzles from wood-e in Belgium contain only 49 pieces that have to be assembled in a 7x7 grid. Of course, the motif is there as a guide. But there’s also a gimmick. As the jigsaw pieces are magnetically charged, they can be lifted with a small lever and then inserted in the right spot. The board with a frame holds the magnetic jigsaw pieces in place. This is useful for the target group, helping older people experiencing a decline in their fine motor skills. What also elevates this product is the factual information offered in addition to the motif.

For families

Looking for hidden pictures. Horrible Guild is an Italian publisher of board games. With Spotlight, it has a truly new idea in its current range for families with even young kids. A foil picture with a hidden object urban setting is set against a black background, so that hardly anything can be identified. This all changes as a white spotlight, like the beam of a torch, is moved around between the foil picture and the background. Details can now be seen in the white circle. The search begins – whether for a globe, cow, mummy, etc. All against the clock, playing with or in opposition to the other players. Fantastic!

Grave robbers on the move. Spy Guy Pyramid from Trefl from Poland is a cops-and-robbers race. The word on the street is that there are valuable treasures to be found in a pyramid. A gang of thieves is already on the move. The players team up to act as detectives and work together to try and catch the bad guy in time. They have to study the large playing board with a three-dimensional pharaoh’s tomb and filter out details based on the instructions on the cards. Good observation skills are priceless. To make things more difficult, uncovering some clues causes others to disappear, an effect created by the moving parts of the board. To come out on top, you’ll have to keep watching like a hawk!

Earth, fire, water, air: playing with the elements is not entirely new. This theme appears again in Path of the Elements from magellan, a still young German games publisher. The aim is to arrange the path, composed of hexagonal pieces, in the best possible way. For this, the players have to call the elemental spirits and lure them to designated locations on their own path. If a spirit obeys a player, they then grant them the power to become a leader. A mix of memory and strategic decision-making is needed, testing the players at various levels. The engaging and esoteric-seeming illustrations will also appeal to an older demographic.

For older players

Hiking in nature. With Refuge, the French team at Bombyx is inviting players to walk through forests and fields. Everyone gets to take in the fresh air and, with a bit of luck, encounter rare animals. But thunderclouds are gathering on the horizon. Suddenly, the storm hits faster than hoped. What began as a stroll in nature is now a race to the protection of the refuge. To win this game, you have to get your timing right – leave it too late to make it back to safety and you’ll lose. With the engaging bag-building mechanism, everyone is hoping the scene stays pleasant as they draw their card from the bag. But the threatening clouds, lightning and thunder may ruin the whole day.

How we live today. It was only a question of time before a tabletop game would make “influencers” its theme. With Subscribe!, the Danes at danspil have captured the zeitgeist in a board game. The players take on the role of YouTubers and have to work hard to gain followers for their channel. And, of course, they can win awards once they have enough subscribers (hence the name of the game). The ranking goes from silver to gold to diamond. The players can make progress with little games played online in the related app or offline on the game board. Once a player reaches the highest level, they are crowned the winner.

In the South American jungle. Who could resist an adventure there? The aim of the game is to uncover lost treasure in a jungle temple. A classic adventure scenario. Pyramido – Forgotten Treasures from Synapses Games based in Canada uses a familiar mechanism. Domino tiles with two colours are laid with as many matching areas as possible. The temple is thereby completed, across multiple levels. Gems can also be selected. Each player uses these to activate their own colour areas to score. The appealing cover graphic is not incorporated into the playing material, but the easily accessible strategic approach compensates for this.

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 as presents for 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.