Board games are international – the ideas for great experiences at the gaming table come from authors from many countries around the world.
The jury for the game and connoisseur game of the year and the jury for the children’s game of the year selected the best of these ideas from hundreds of new products. In 2022, 22 games have proven to be particularly outstanding. These include games for the little ones as well as titles for game connoisseurs who already have sufficient previous gaming experience and are looking for new challenges.
Randy Flynn from Seattle takes us to the American
“Cascadia” region: in this placement game, an untouched landscape with bears, buzzards and foxes is created in front of us. Aske Christiansen from Copenhagen impresses us with the burning trees of the “Living Forest”, a sophisticated connoisseur’s game adventure. Jens-Peter Schliemann and Bernhard Weber from Bonn not only fascinate the children with a spectacular marble run event on the
“Magic Mountain”. There are also the games that have been nominated and the games on the recommendation lists, which are hardly inferior to the main winners. The variety is very large – there are board and card games for old or young, a lot or little time, large or small groups, for level-headed strategists and fun groups. Here in this brochure you are guaranteed to find the right game.
Cascadia
Players: 1 to 4 players
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 30 – 60 minutes
The “Cascadia” region is characterized by its varied animal and plant diversity. In the placement game of the same name, up to four nature lovers compete to put together a biotope in which the largest possible areas of land of the same type are connected. However, this task only represents one level of the two-part puzzle task, because the native animals only move in if the geographical conditions are right.
In one game the bears are loners and don’t want anyone around, in the next they are pack animals and want to cuddle as a group of four. Only those who manage to make bears, foxes, buzzards, deer and salmon happy through skillful landscape development can win a game of this wonderful and accessible placement game.
“Cascadia” is a true feel-good game. The moves are always rewarding, even if the choices offered are not always appropriate. The two-part puzzle task, for which a good balance between the appropriate landscapes and the correct animal symbols has to be found, is particularly successful. The modular rule cards, which present the players with new challenges in each round, and an optional campaign ensure high replayability.
Scout
Players: 3 to 5 players
Ages: 9+
Playing Time: 15 – 30 minutes
One can well imagine that there is fierce competition for the best talent even in the colorful world of the circus. In this card game we slip into the role of such a talent scout in order to poach artists from the ensemble of our fellow players (engl: to scout).
The fact that these images only appear in our heads and are not picked up visually on the number cards does not detract from the fun of the game. The mechanics of the game work too well: The cards in hand may not be sorted, but we want to lay out the longest possible rows of numbers or lay out several identical cards as a show. In order for this to succeed, newly recruited artists can be added to the hand at will, which opens up new possibilities for playing. Each new performance must outperform the current show troupe.
Top Ten
Players: 4 to 59 players
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 30-45 minutes
Measured on a scale from 1 to 10: what use is a gold-plated barbecue tong in a shipwreck? The creative party game “Top Ten” calls for such abstruse considerations. As a guide, everyone receives a secret number card with the values between 1 and 10. Everyone takes turns giving a term, a sentence or a short play about this number. A guessing person must now put all the answers in the right order. Is a defective air mattress really more useful than said barbecue tongs, and where does the rotten square timber fit in? The fact that you forget about counting points after only a few rounds speaks for this creative and cooperative group task, which, above all, causes a lot of laughter thanks to its varied and crazy questions.
7 Wonders: Architects
Players: 2 to 7 players
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 25-35 minutes
The seven wonders of the ancient world are the focus of “7 Wonders: Architects”. Historically not entirely correct, these are all built at the same time. The competition for the required resources is represented in the form of open decks of cards, each lying between two players. It is important to set clear priorities, whether you prefer to train new soldiers to protect them from the approaching war or take the missing tree trunks that you have been waiting for for so long. Alternatively, some time can also be invested in science in order to obtain lasting improvements. Since victory points can also be gained by winning wars and culture points, it is not always the most nimble construction site that wins in this wonder building rally, but rather the most efficient one.
Echoes:Die Tänzerin
Players: 1 to 6 players
Ages: 14+
Playing Time: 60 minutes
Using objects to recreate the sounds of bygone days is an exciting ability. As investigators with supernatural abilities, we can do just that in “Echoes: The Dancer”. This mechanism is implemented in an app: we scan picture cards that show objects relevant to the story and then listen to audio snippets. With the help of these short snippets of sound, the aim is to determine the captivating story behind the picture cards and to solve the riddle of the dancer who gave the game its name. What happened back then on the estate of the dance teacher? And what is the mysterious porcelain figure all about? The dense atmosphere that the game impressively conjures up on the table with few resources invites you to let your imagination run wild and immerse yourself in the gripping story.
Magic Rabbit
Players: 1 to 4 players
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
It’s not just children’s eyes that sparkle when magicians do things in front of our eyes that we can’t explain.
“Magic Rabbit” skilfully captures this fascination. As a group we have to hide nine bunnies in matching hats. At the beginning the hats 1 to 9 are in a row and under each of them is a rabbit. However, their order is not correct. But no magician likes to pull rabbit 4 out of hat 7. We try to help: In your own turn you can look under the hats or swap the order of the tiles, but you are not allowed to talk about the information you have gained. The time pressure of two and a half minutes increases the hectic pace. If the feat succeeds, the joy is great. New rules that increase the demands on the group are waiting in the enclosed envelopes.
My Gold Mine
Players: 2 to 6 players
Ages: 7+
Playing Time: 25 minutes
Only those who risk a lot can win a lot: In “My Gold Mine” we penetrate a dangerous dungeon in search of gold treasures. Unfortunately, the expedition enraged the dragon. Everyone is running greedily in the direction of the exit to save their own skin; but not without scooping up as much gold as possible on the way out. When it is your turn, you have the choice between two card stacks: The exit stack moves your own character (and possibly also that of the others) by at least one safe step in the direction of the exit, but it does not score any points either. The other stack is the more risky choice, because the coveted gold nuggets are underneath it, but also dragon cards, which the fire roller moves one space further in the direction of the game pieces. Schadenfreude and thrills are writ large!
So Kleever!
Players: 2 to 6 players
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Eight punch cards, each with four different words, are attached in four pairs to each side of a plastic cloverleaf. An umbrella term should be found for each pair of words: in the combination of “apple” and “giant”, “Adam” might be a good clue, but what could connect the two words “car” and “meat”? Once the words have been written down on the cloverleaf, additional cards are added to the four cards depending on the desired level of difficulty. Now the actual guessing task begins: The remaining players are supposed to reconstruct the correct pairings using the generic terms. Clever thinking around corners (in the truest sense of the word) helps to find a solution, since the shape of the cloverleaf means that certain pairs of words can be mutually dependent or mutually exclusive.
Trek 12: Himalaja
Players: 1 to 50 players
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 15 – 30 minutes
The Himalayan Mountains are the unusual setting of this clever and tactical dice game. Two dice show points between 0 and 6, from which a result must be formed in each round. Each player can choose from four arithmetic operations to form a number from the two dice. The eyes can be added, subtracted or multiplied four times per game, with 12 being the highest value. Nineteen fields make up the tour to be climbed on the playing block. Points are awarded for connected fields with the same numbers (the higher, the better) and for ascending lines. The optional campaign mode adds thematically appropriate pieces of equipment and the unlocking of new mountain regions to the gameplay.
Living Forest
Players: 2 to 4 players
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 30 – 60 minutes
The forest is on fire. As in reality, this is also a threat to everyone in “Living Forest”. Because of this, everyone works together to some extent: extinguishing flames, reforesting the forest with new trees, and collecting magical lotus flowers that restore the sacred grove’s power. If, at the end of a round, a person scores at least twelve points in one of these three disciplines, the game ends. The game is interactive due to the possibility of being able to wrest at least a few of these victory points from the other players. We are supported by nature spirits, of which we gradually add more to our deck of cards. However, some of them are loners, and so we must always consider uncovering more to support.
Three central factors make up the thrill and attraction of “Living Forest”: The exciting race to twelve points, the risky gamble when revealing the cards and the high level of interaction with the other players. The three different victory conditions are particularly motivating, creating a high level of replay appeal and ensuring a constantly changing dynamic depending on the course of the game
Cryptid
Players: 3 to 5 players
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 30 – 50 minutes
The science of cryptozoology deals with mythical creatures such as the yeti or the wolpertinger. We never see these creatures in “Cryptid” either, but narrow down their destination. The search begins as a joint safari of up to five search parties, each of which is given only one secret indication of the whereabouts of the creature being sought. By questioning everyone now tries to get the secret key information of the others. The questions must be answered truthfully and new clues must be marked on the game board for everyone to see. Wrong attempts at guessing are paid for by revealing one’s own information. Round by round, the net tightens around the one square where the “Cryptid” can only logically be.
Dune: Imperium
Players: 3 to 4 players
Ages: 13+
Playing Time: 90 – 120 minutes
Based on the novel by Frank Herbert and graphically based on the current cinema adaptation by Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Imperium” takes us to the desert planet of Arrakis. There we not only want to use spice and water resources as efficiently as possible, but also strive for power and influence with the dominant factions. The classic-looking worker deployment mechanism is skillfully expanded by always having to play a suitable hand card. Acquiring new cards opens up new strategies and more options. Even if there is a conflict on the battlefield at the end of each round, Dune: Imperium is not a confrontational game, but a very interactive one. Since ten points are enough to win, almost every game ends in an exciting and nerve-racking final.
Arche Nova
Players: 1 to 4 players
Ages: 14+
Playing Time: 90 – 150 minutes
Modern zoos no longer primarily have the visitors in mind, but place a strong focus on animal welfare and sustainability. “Arche Nova” puts us in a position to set up and manage such a zoo according to our wishes and ideas. In addition to rearing animals, expanding the enclosures on our premises and, of course, funding from sponsors, relationships with partner countries, university research projects and species protection programs must not be neglected. Only those who keep the attractiveness of their own zoo in perfect balance with sustainable animal welfare will win in this demanding management simulation. With only five basic actions, the rules are accessible, easy to understand and develop enormous game depth thanks to over 200 unique cards
Khôra: Rise of an Empire
Players: 2 to 4 players
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 75 minutes
Olympia vs. Sparta, Corinth vs. Thebes: In “Khôra” seven ancient city-states compete against each other in military competition. In the struggle for power and glory, they have individual strengths that need to be used skillfully. The almost parallel way of playing is unique: At the beginning of each round, all states choose two out of a total of seven actions, which are then processed in ascending order. Military actions are not confrontational, since the players never fight each other directly, but only vie for the best trophies on an abstract battlefield. Prestigious political cards, cultural superiority, and financial power can quickly turn the tide. “Khôra” manages to implement the building of a civilization in a very accessible game, without sacrificing tactical finesse
Witchstone
Players: 2 to 4 players
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 60 – 90 minutes
What probably many did not know: witches and sorcerers can also lose their supernatural powers again. To prevent this, the players in “Witchstone” must be successful in various magical disciplines and renew the energy field of the legendary witch stone.
And so we compete for the best chain of actions in our cauldron. Because if we cleverly place the tiles there, on which the various actions are shown, they strengthen and become more and more powerful from round to round. If we plan smarter than the other players, additional bonuses beckon after each action. Whoever is best able to follow their strategy after eleven rounds, but also keeps an eye on the plans of the others, wins in this supernatural competition for the most points. Hex! Hex!
