SPIEL 2025: a cultural tour of game ideas

By Peter Neugebauer

This year’s SPIEL at Messe Essen  broke all records, with visitor numbers up around 7% on the previous high and some 13% more exhibition space in use. 948 exhibitors from 50 countries reflected the sheer variety of analogue games and the obvious rich diversity between the cultures. All of this makes the event both appealing and exciting for visitors and exhibitors alike.

Cattle and crops. A seasoned farmer has to consider a lot of things, especially when not engaged in single-crop farming. Rather, cattle graze on lush pasture, fruit trees thrive in green meadows and field crops grow on arable land. All of these elements have to be handled expertly in Countryside from Nanox Games e.U. in Austria. Designer Peter Prinz and illustrator Alizée Favier have come up with a game that requires striking a balance between many competing needs. Project and area cards drive the action. Ultimately, the aim is to “plough ahead” and earn the title of top family farm. There’s a lot to tend to.
Author: Peter Prinz. Illustrator: Alizée Favier.

Illuminating the dark pine woods. Will-o’-the-wisps light up the forest at night. They flicker with various colours and form a symbiosis with the surrounding trees. Bursting with life, they can be guided with the aim of brightly illuminating the players’ own forests. Designer Reed Ambrose and illustrator Stepán Drasták have released Wispwood through Czech publisher CGE. Everyone chooses the desired wisp tile and a related pentomino shape from a shared pool to form their personal grid. The preferences of the wisps and trees have to be considered over three rounds, during which the glow gradually fades. For a beautiful effect.
Author: Reed Ambrose. Illustrator: Stepán Drasták.

Island full of magical beings. Mookies  are adorable little sprites that live on Mooki Island in the game from Le Scorpion Masqué in Canada. Game designer Florian Sireix and graphic designer Seppyo have produced outstanding work with this accomplished two-player card game. Five families of wondrous beings are shown on large double-sided cards with one Mookie on the front and another on the back. Players decide which to choose and collect. The aim is to get the most cards in each Mooki clan. But watch out for the spiders looking to spoil the party. And in the end, players can have fun naming individual Mookies  on a poster. A recommended two-player children’s game.
Author: Florian Sireix. Graphic designer: Seppyo.

Day of the Dead. Mexicans remember their dead each year during the colourful Dia de los Muertos festivities. All under the watchful eye of La Catrina , the patron figure. Designers Frédéric Boulle and Grégory Crad have brought this idea to life in a playful way, Jérémie Fleury has provided the colourful illustrations and French publisher The Flying Games has released Viva Catrina. Everyone creates a village of their own in this tile-laying game – linking up paths, placing mythical creatures made of coloured paper in good positions and winning skull lanterns. Colourful, chaotic activity is the result. Another way of honouring the dead.
Authors: Frédéric Boulle und Grégory Crad. Illustrator: Jérémie Fleury.

North Pole expedition. Animal scientists and photographers are exploring the icy terrain. To get a good photo, the scientists have to keep their distance from the objects to avoid scaring the animals. Borealis from Polish publisher Lucky Duck Games, designer Dariusz Mindur, illustrator Rodrigo Camilo and others provides an atmospheric setting. Polar bears, seals and other animals are observed by playing cards. No prize money is at stake – rather, everyone needs resources such as scientists and suitable vehicles on the ground. Special cards open up additional options. An atmospheric and engaging game that takes you on an adventure.
Author: Dariusz Mindur. Illustrator: Rodrigo Camilo.

Meditative temple pond. Architects in the Far East love to complement the tranquillity of nature with water lily ponds that are home to koi fish. Publisher Albi from the Czech Republic, designer Uwe Rosenberg and illustrator Jindrich Pavlásek have brought this theme to life in Garden Lake, a beautifully designed tile-laying game. Everyone uses the tiles to build their own lake, striving for harmony between the water flowers and the golden fish. The game’s clever touch is the ingenious actions that allow for combo moves and involve taking tiles from others’ pools. Interaction is therefore ensured. A peaceful theme with a mild frustration factor.
Author: Uwe Rosenberg. Illustrator: Jindrich Pavlásek.

Technology and nature. This game has a futuristic concept. Each player is an eco-mechanic trying to help to shape a new world with an environmentally minded community. This involves breaking down old droids to repurpose their parts. Some are worth repairing, while others are recycled to build a new generation of domestic droids. Fabien Gridel, the designer, and Anne Heidsieck with her sensitive illustrations have turned this current game story into The Last Droids for Blue Cocker Games from France. Thanks to a clever swap mechanism, necessary resources can be obtained and then used with purpose. The cards are beautifully illustrated to fit the theme.
Author: Fabien Gridel. Illustrator: Anne Heidsieck.

Exotic royal dynasty. A medieval empire in Korea is to be rebuilt. A landscape with an oriental touch and iconic buildings such as pagodas as well as Buddha statues and trees in full bloom gradually takes shape on the board. Silla, the name of the game and the kingdom, is published by Magic Bean Games from South Korea (designer and illustrator not referenced). The setting is a treat for the eyes. Landscape pieces are laid side by side like dominos, while powerful wooden pieces beautify the tableau. It’s important to sense the right moment to make your move. Playing early means fewer resources, but more options. A touch of the Far East.

Like a Hollywood movie from the eighties. A UFO (with ET?) has crash-landed on Earth. The mothership has been notified and is on its way for the rescue. The alien must stay hidden until it arrives, as detectives are immediately in hot pursuit. An asymmetrical hunt begins, in which the visitor operates entirely in secret and the pursuing group can coordinate their moves on the board. 1ers Contacts from French publisher Explor 8 has been designed by Michael Munoz and illustrated by VIDU and others. Twelve secret files ensure the scenarios always change, as the alien has to complete different individual missions without getting caught. For a new gameplay experience every time.
Author: Michael Munoz. Illustration: VIDU

Swamp life. There are constant comings and goings in this landscape of moors and marshes. Various dwellers of these swamplands are competing for promotion and prestige. They have to look for fishing spots as well as places with firm ground that would be suitable for settlements. Clan cooperation  is key, trading partners are essential to getting ahead and the gods in the nearby temple lie in wait to be awakened. Publisher Fractal Juegos comes from Chile. Designers Helge and Anselm Ostertag and illustrator Mihajlo Dimitrievski have devised the swamp adventure Feya’s Swamp. Highly promising.
Authors: Helge und Anselm Ostertag. Illustrator: Mihajlo Dimitrievski.

Tourist attraction. Prague’s astronomical clock, one of three in all of Europe, is attached to the city’s Old Town Hall. It is known as the Orloj, which is also the name of the latest game from publisher Perro Loko Games in Spain. The designers are Paloma J. Pascual and Abraham S. Hermida, and the wonderful illustrations come from Amelia Sales. This marvel of medieval technology still works today and is honoured in this game. The game revolves around the carillon, the zodiac calendar and the moving Apostle figures. By placing workers, the players assume the role of skilled master builder to reconstruct the clock. A superb setting.
Authors: Paloma J. Pascual und Abraham S. Hermida. Illustrator: Amelia Sales.

Classic dungeon crawler. Off to the dungeon with you! But first, all kinds of useful items have to be bought at the fairy market. As usual, there’s not enough money to get everything. Everyone builds and explores their own tunnel world. Final and interim missions set the tone. Discussions are needed before and during the adventure in cooperative mode. Now watch out for the monsters to be battled. A supplement with 14 missions makes for variety. Map Masters from Belgian publisher Captain Games, designer Ian Sebastian Bach and illustrator Adrien Journal doesn’t do much that’s new. But what it does, it does really well.
Author: Ian Sebastian Bach. Illustrator: Adrien Journal.

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.