By Peter Neugebauer

The level of international involvement continues to increase. Manufacturers from 56 countries, more than ever before, made the trip to Essen in the Ruhr region for the SPIEL trade fair in 2023. In some cases, they already had German distribution partners or licensees for their games. Quite a few others were hoping to establish connections through face-to-face discussions at the trade fair and get their games offered on the local market. This has already proven a successful approach.

Technology and fantasy

Scorpion Masqué is based in Canada. It brought a flight simulator in its luggage – “Sky Team”. Two players take on the role of pilot and co-pilot. Their goal is to safely land an aircraft. To this end, they have to take a number of actions, such as throttling the speed, deploying the landing flaps and much more. The players use dice to try and keep the aircraft balanced. But, and this is the key feature, they cannot talk to each other. And obviously, they have to work as a team, not against each other. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.

The Belgians from Repos want everyone to build a “Waterfall Park”. A colourful amusement park is to be erected on an island. The land has to be purchased, attractions designed and lots of visitors secured. Everyone negotiates with each other. Agreements can be made. These may usually be adhered to, but not always – after all, the other players are competing to get the best “pieces” in this turbulent theme park. Ultimately, this is a business game. Negotiating skills are required. Asmodee has the German distribution rights.

Modern board games are also coming out of Chile. “Sea Dragons” from Fractal Juegos is played in an unknown ocean in which everyone wants to achieve a presence and defeat intruders with dragon attacks. Players have to sink pirate ships to collect their treasures, and thereby become the protectors of the kingdom. They use cards to engineer a presence in four areas of the forbidden seas, while remaining vigilant for run-ins with new pirate fleets. But treasure can also be stolen from the other dragons. Players can’t hold back if they want to triumph in the battle of the sea dragons.

Who would have thought consuming delicious sushi rolls could become the stuff of nightmares? Good Spirit Games from Singapore makes it so in “Nightmares of Sushi”. Players assume the role of sushi fans who experience different dreams, some sweet, some eerily fiery. They dream of delicious sushi creations, which their fellow players dish up. No one knows who is adding lots of wasabi. As the other players always chose what goes in the sushi, the active player can only get ahead by listening to their gut and figuring out who wants to spoil the taste for others.

Flora and fauna

DV Games is based in Italy. Its new release “Bonsai” is a feel-good game. Using a drafting mechanism, the active player draws a card from the common supply, giving them fruits, flowers or leaves. They then get to cultivating their own bonsai tree. All of the players’ trees grow and thrive, each with their own form. This not only looks beautiful, but also determines who wins and loses. Skilful players invest in watering cans that make their trees grow faster. No player can take anything from another and all can enjoy everyone’s pleasing efforts.

The USA has a trump card in Pandasaurus Games and “The Fox Experiment”, an unusual topic. In this game, each player breeds their own animals. They select a pair of fox parents and optimise their traits using dice. Depending on how successful they are, the pups receive tokens with their parents’ genes. The game ends after five rounds and the aim is to domesticate the animals so that they become more and more used to people and are less aggressive around them. The game is already appealing for its highly unusual subject matter.

The “Whale to Look” game from Oink Games from Japan which is distributed by its German subsidiary, revolves around whale watching, a popular tourist activity. The players offer boats that can carry multiple tourists out into the bay. But it’s hard to tell where the animals may turn up. It’s worth taking a look at the goings-on out at sea. Good research and watching what competitors are doing are both advisable. If the sea mammals are spotted, tourist boats nearby score points and the players can let out a shout. Like with all Oink releases, the compact box makes for an appealing offering.

The idea for turning hiking into a game has been brought to life by Trefl in Poland. “Five Peaks” have to be scaled. Berries and mushrooms are foraged along the way, but the overall aim is to reach the panoramic viewing points on the colourful autumn trails. The game is played with cards that not only move the players forward but can also be used to perform a multitude of actions. It’s worth thinking carefully about how best to use each. The starter cards are added to as the game is played so that the hiking is increasingly efficient and ultimately all five peaks can be scaled.

Past and future

Game Factory from Switzerland is attracting attention with “Trekking – Reise durch die Zeit” (English: Trekking – Journey Through Time). 5,000 years of human history are examined. Players collect events from all eras in chronological order. In doing so, they are sometimes lured away from safe paths by bonus tokens. They then have to start their journey again from the beginning, but hopefully the bonuses are worth it. In each of the three rounds, the players take a new look back into the past. The mechanism of paying with time is interesting. Often the hours trickle away like sand through hands.

Spanish manufacturer Devir is blossoming in its domestic market and increasingly across Europe due to its unusual themes, among other things. Take the current game, “Ierusalem” (English: Jerusalem). The times are changing. Jesus of Nazareth is carrying out his works in Galilee while the region is seething under Roman occupation. New ideas such as charity and the telling of parables are important in this scenario. Followers jostle to be close to the spiritual leader and want to sit near him during the Last Supper. The bold theme produces a demanding game.

The Mandoo publishing house based in South Korea challenges two players at once with a dual task with “Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard”. The objective is to maintain the balance in the duality of personality, and not let Mr Hyde gain the upper hand over Dr Jekyll. Meanwhile, the British police are on the trail of the terrible Mr Hyde. It’s important to stay ahead of Scotland Yard. This undertaking falls to both players, working together to meet these two demands. This all takes the form of a story-based campaign game. Nice Games is responsible for distributing the game in Germany.

French publisher Catch Up Games along with its German distributor Pegasus presents a dystopian scenario in “After Us”. Mankind has died out. All that humans built has been reclaimed by nature. Apes now come on the scene and help themselves to what is left. Through deck building, different tribes begin to compete for resources and to recruit other primates. This is a battle for the best collective intelligence.

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.