The 35 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2024

In just under two weeks, Spiel 2024 kicks off. The largest board game convention in the world, Spiel (sometimes just called Essen, or Essen Spiel) is the mecca for board gamers of all stripes. Over 1,100 new games will debut in the European market at the event, many of which will make their way to the United States next year. The Meeple Mountain crew will be there in force, so let’s see what we recommend as we comb through the new releases and help you find the diamonds in the rough.

Tom Franklin

MATRX GIPF

I love all the GIPF Project games. They embody my two essentials for a great abstract strategy game: simple rules, complex strategy. While revisiting GIPF to write my review for Meeple Mountain, I was taken by how difficult this simple game is. You can win by capturing all your opponent’s pieces; you’ll lose if you run out of pieces. Brilliant. When designer Kris Burm announced a new game that features movement options from the other games in the GIPF Project, I was stunned. Burm is a genius at abstract design and I am SO looking forward to this game!

Publisher: HUCH!
Designer: Kris Burm

Colosseum

In Colosseum, you’ll compete with your opponents to create the greatest spectacles in the Roman arenas and attract the most $pectators. Originally released in 2007, Colosseum combines an auction mechanic with trading, set collection, and (shudder) dice rolling as you work to increase the size and scope of your presentations. It’s a game that surprised me by how much I enjoyed it. One of my gaming group owns a hard-to-find copy of the original, so I’ve had a chance to play the original Colosseum several times. I’m very interested to see what this new edition has to offer.

Publisher: Days of Wonder
Designer: Wolfgang Kramer and Markus Lübke

Endeavor: Deep Sea

An underwater Eurogame of research, exploration, and conservation. Endeavor: Deep Sea is based on the same design team’s Endeavor: Age of Sail, but streamlines some of the rules of the original. It makes for a straightforward game of taking actions to advance your abilities in order to take more and better actions—just what a concise Eurogame should do. Endeavor: Deep Sea comes with eight different scenarios, and three ways to play each one (multiplayer cooperative, multiplayer adversarial, and solo). This alone piques my curiosity. Add  in the gameplay and I’m sold.

Publisher: Burnt Island Games
Designer: Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray

David McMillan

Black Forest

Black Forest takes players back to the world of the Uwe Rosenberg classic, Glass Road. In fact, some have touted it as Glass Road 2.0. I’m not sure how accurate that is. I’ve watched a few videos and, while I can definitely see some similarities between the two, gone is the clever card game, and there’s a strong worker placement element involved now. If there’s one thing at which Uwe Rosenberg excels, it’s worker placement. I’m giddy with excitement just thinking about this, y’all.

Publisher: Capstone Games
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg

Civolution

What Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel  list would this be without me gushing about an upcoming Stefan Feld title? When I heard that Stefan Feld had a new game on the horizon, I was excited. When I heard that Stefan Feld’s new game was going to be a heavy euro, I was even more excited. When I heard that Stefan Feld’s new game was going to be a civ game, I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. This game has got it all. Resource management, exploration, tech trees, dice placement, hand management, and more. Civolution looks to be the heaviest game that Stefan Feld has ever designed, and I’m here for it.

Publisher: Deep Print Games
Designer: Stefan Feld

Resafa

Over the last few years, Vladimír Suchý has become a designer that’s constantly on my radar. Among the various titles he’s got coming out this year is this gem of a game about merchants working to build up the titular desert outpost of Resafa. Players will be buying and selling goods, building cisterns to supply water to the town, and constructing gardens, among other things. The trick is that each player begins the game with a set of double-sided cards. Each card features two different actions. Each round, players will be performing just three actions. So, the action economy is very tight. I’m always in the mood for a Suchý title, and I’m definitely in the mood for this one.

Publisher: Delicious Games
Designer: Vladimír Suchý

Andy Matthews

Diluvium

I’ve had my eye on Diluvium since it was announced back in 2022. The combination of the rich color palette, hex-tile based game board, and the fact that it’s billed as “A 4x game that lasts less than an hour.” really captured my imagination. I’m certainly going to be making a beeline for the Nuts! Publishing booth in order to see Diluvium for myself. Here’s hoping it doesn’t disappoint!

Publisher: Nuts! Publishing
Designer: Antoni Guillen

Minecart Town

While browsing through this year’s Essen SPIEL list I noticed that most of the games I gravitated towards were from Asian designers. I think it’s because they’re looking at games through a lens that I’m not as familiar with. Minecart Town is one that caught my eye, in part because the publisher is, like Randolph in Canada, a chain of board game cafes throughout Japan. The game itself is a delightful tile-laying game (one of my weaknesses) with colorful artwork and a whimsical feel about it. I liked it so much that I backed the Kickstarter.

Publisher: JELLY JELLY GAMES
Designer: Aya Taguchi, Shun Taguchi

Vegetable Stock

Early last year I came across mention of a light card game about stock manipulation called Vegetable Stock. Since I love card games, and I also appreciated the pun, I found out that I could order it from Taiwan (and did so). Originally published by the Taiwan Boardgame Design publishing house, it’s now been picked up by Arcane Wonders for distribution in North America. And even though I already own a copy of the original, and love it, I’m terribly excited for more people to find out about this game and enjoy themselves playing it.

Publisher: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Zong-Ger(蔥哥)

Farland

Back in 2022 I came across a game called Sriracha, a water-themed game from a Thai-based publisher called Siam Board Games. It turned out to be a pleasure to play, with clever card and tile play, and really unique illustrations. Now Siam Board Games is back with a new release called Farland. It’s set on a distant planet and requires players to raise crops and livestock. It might not be the most unique theme, but based on how much I enjoyed Sriracha, I expect the same to be true of Farland.

Publisher: Siam Board Games
Designer: T-raz Bank Piamdumrongsak

Clayton Schoonover

Altay: Dawn of Civilization

Combining deck-building, civilization-building, and area control, for me, is a dream come true. These are some of my favorite mechanisms. Plus, Pauliina Hannuniemi’s artwork makes this game absolute eye candy. This isn’t one to miss.

Publisher: Ares Games
Designer: Paolo Mori and Ole Steiness

SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Call me a UFO nut, but I am deeply fascinated by all things alien. SETI represents, for me, a passion that goes way back to when I was a child. Explore nearby planets, gather samples, search for exoplanets, analyze data, and upgrade your equipment in your search for intelligent life among the stars.

Publisher: Czech Games Edition
Designer: Tomáš Holek

Babylon

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about gaming, it’s that table presence turns heads. What could be more eye-grabbing than building a 3D structure of Babylon’s Hanging Gardens, which was likely the most beautiful of the Ancient Wonders? I’m hoping the gameplay is equally as attractive.

Publisher: Geek Attitude Games
Designer: Olivier Grégoire

Age of Comics: The Golden Years

I’ve always loved comics. The thought of a game about publishing and selling them has me super excited. Worker placement is the primary mechanism here, which isn’t my strong suit, but I love it all the same. Really looking forward to getting my hands on this one!

Publisher: Lirius Games
Designer: Giacomo Cimini and Sónia Gonçalves

Justin Bell

The White Castle: Matcha

The White Castle was one of the 10 best games I played last year, and I think Devir is the hottest publisher in the tabletop space today (The Red Cathedral, Sand, Bitoku, 3 Ring Circus, Rock Hard: 1977, and many others). So, when this expansion was announced, this immediately rose to the top of my most-wanted list. The White Castle: Matcha addresses one of the very few things on the list called out by many of my peers—The White Castle is really short, so the expansion adds a tenth turn as well as a new location to visit.

Publisher: Devir
Designer: Llama Dice (Israel Cendrero and Sheila Santos)

Men-Nefer

I’m a big fan of Sabika, designer Germán P. MIlián’s historically-themed Euro that featured one of my favorite gaming mechanics, a worker-placement rondel system that forced some of the toughest decisions in a game in recent years. From one look at the artwork for Milian’s latest big piece of chicken, Men-Nefer, I know we are going to get another interesting series of decisions in a heavy strategy game in line with the experience Milián delivered with Sabika as well as Bitoku. Based on the number of thumbs on the SPIEL preview page on BGG, Men-Nefer is definitely going to sell out at the show so I’m hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get a copy!

Publisher: Ludonova
Designer: Germán P. Milián

Andromeda’s Edge

I’ve been waiting for Andromeda’s Edge since December 2022, when I first had the chance to demo the game at PAX Unplugged with the team from Cardboard Alchemy. As a massive fan of Dwellings of Eldervale, Andromeda’s Edge—an updated and reimagined version of Dwellings, designed by Luke Laurie (Cryo) and Maximus Laurie—should be a big hit. While some have minor issues with the dice-driven combat elements of the base game, I love how chaotic this makes the overall design as players vie to build a new civilization in a distant corner of space. A sci-fi theme and sick minis only drew me in further when I saw the demo!

Publisher: Cardboard Alchemy
Designer: Luke Laurie and Maximum Laurie

Asian Tigers: A Story of Prosperity

Asian Tigers is one of the wildcard picks I’m following, so I really need to do a demo of the game before being sure I should be so excited about it. The theme here is a little different, featuring Asian economic powers in the 1960s, a boring-looking spreadsheet for a board, and cute wooden pieces. But the designers previously gave us Madeira, a game I tried on Board Game Arena with my fellow Mountaineer David and really enjoyed. So, there are signs of life here that I’m intrigued to see on the table.

Publisher: PYTHAGORAS
Designer: Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade

DerrocAr: The Week of Five Presidents

I met with Ion at SPIEL 2023 and we discussed DerrocAr at that show, so this game was already on my radar. The theme is wild—back in 2001, Argentina’s economic and political crisis led to a scenario where five different people had a claim on the country’s presidency. In the game, players need to find ways to prove themselves as a contender…the “least bad” of the five options, an acknowledgement of the poor reception of politicians back in the day (a theme that rings true even today, depending on your perspective). The gameplay is the question, so DerrocAr (designed by a native Argentinian) is high on my list of games to demo at the show.

Publisher: Ion Game Design
Designer: Bruss Brussco

House of Fado

If you’ve followed my content you are already aware of my appreciation for anything touched by strategy game enthusiast Vital Lacerda. House of Fado, a lighter release co-designed by Lacerda and João Quintela Martins (the two also gave us Bot Factory), might cap an exceptional year for Lacerda’s footprint…Inventions: Evolution of Ideas and Speakeasy were both fantastic, so I’m hoping House of Fado will continue to cement Lacerda’s legacy as one of the greatest designers to ever lace ‘em up.

Publisher: Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designer: Vital Lacerda and João Quintela Martins

Neko Syndicate

Last year, prolific Italian designer Simone Luciani gave us like a half-dozen games in the same year…this year’s designer of the moment has got to be Dani Garcia. Garcia’s medium-weight Euro Barcelona was a big hit last year, and it’s not a surprise that Garcia’s designs seem to be everywhere now–this year, we have Windmill Valley (a review will hit later this fall), the upcoming heavy strategy game Daitoshi (Garcia + Devir = 100% go!), a Barcelona expansion, and Neko Syndicate, a tableau builder featuring cats, an animal mafia theme, and…sushi? Where Garcia goes, we follow, so I’m hoping to try this one out and see if Garcia can continue to turn water into wine. (Dani—don’t forget to sleep!)

Publisher: Combo Games
Designer: Dani Garcia

Kraftwagen: Age of Engineering

Kraftwagen is a 2015 design from Matthias Cramer, and this new version changes the setting from Germany to the US in an attempt to reboot the production for audiences both old and new. Even though the theme is why I was originally interested in Kraftwagen: Age of Engineering, the discovery that this is a Cramer game (Glen More II: Chronicles is one of the best games I’ve ever played, and I loved Rococo: Deluxe Edition as well) got me all tabletop hot-and-bothered when I did a little more digging. I can’t wait to try the new Kraftwagen at the show.

Publisher: Arcane Wonders
Designer: Vital Lacerda and João Quintela Martins

Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game

Scorpion Masqué is one of the very few (only?) publishers I’ve worked with that has never made a bad game. In fact, it’s gone the complete opposite direction for me—everything I’ve tried from the Montreal-based publisher has been solid gold, including Decrypto, Turing Machine, a number of party games like Zero to 100, and Sky Team. The long wait for Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game (based on the video game) is finally over, and now we get to find out if the hot streak for Scorpion Masqué continues. The safe money says yes, because one of this game’s designers is Antoine Bauza…and Bauza is in my personal game designer hall of fame, with credits including 7 Wonders Duel, the best dedicated two-player game I have ever played.

Publisher: Scorpion Masqué
Designer: Antoine Bauza, Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc, and Théo Rivière

Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age

Board&Dice has given us some of my favorite games over the last five years, including Tiletum (my game of the year from 2022), Nucleum, Teotihuacan: City of Gods, and Origins: First Builders. In fact, every single one of the SPIEL games Board&Dice has released the last four years has been great, so I don’t even need to open the box to know that Minos: Dawn of the Bronze Age is going to be great. But, trust me—I’m going to open the box, so I’m hoping to pick up a copy at this year’s show and find out if Board&Dice has done it again.

Publisher: Board&Dice
Designer: Stan Kordonskiy

Battalion: War of the Ancients

I’ve had great experiences with games from Osprey, including Wildlands and the sadly-underrated Crescent Moon. (I still think back to my plays as the Nomad faction in Crescent Moon and shed a tear from time to time.) Paolo Mori co-designed Battalion: War of the Ancients with Francesco Sirocchi, and while I don’t know Sirocchi’s work, I do know Mori…and, like my fellow Mountaineer Clayton, I know Mori does great work. All this and a playtime that runs under an hour for a card-driven wargame with dice chucking and Osprey’s typically handsome production gives me the warm and fuzzy feeling that Battalion will be a winner.

Publisher: Osprey Games
Designer: Paolo Mori and Francesco Sirocchi

Ascendancy

Ascendancy was one of the few crowdfunding campaigns where I was intrigued enough by a game’s marketing strategy to actually subscribe and follow it, in part because I enjoyed its pitch: worker placement meets 4X-style strategy game with options for single play and campaign-style sessions. (It’s cool—my 4X bonafides check out.) Ascendancy’s production elements looked insane, so I’m curious to see if the game turns out to be what it purports to be. I’m excited to demo this at SPIEL so I can see if this is the game that brings me back around to campaign experiences. First-time designer Matthew Meeple clearly has a labor of love on his hands with Ascendancy and it must have been an adventure to bring this game to market.

Publisher: One More Turn Games
Designer: Matthew Meeple

Bob Pazehoski, Jr.

Drachentreppe

I cannot tell a lie. This selection is driven purely by table presence and the desire to play it with my kids. Walking these wooden wizards up the steps, eggs in hand, trying to avoid the dragon—well, it all sounds just lovely after a day at work. The information is limited at this point, but the gameplay seems to be fraught with randomness and, to be honest, I love it. I can get behind a puzzle that fights against you for a short time if it means a few laughs with the family and maybe an epic victory of sorts. Sign me up.

Publisher: Clemens Gerhards
Designer: Werner Hodel

Moving Wild

I have little doubt that my interests this year are guided by my current life situation. I’ve just not had as much time for grand adventures lately. I am in the mood for small boxes, short play times, and approachable themes and mechanics. Enter Oink. Moving Wild is a drafting card game of sorts that’s all about matching animals and habitats in the name of building a better zoo.I love the Oink aesthetic, and I definitely love the space their games don’t take up in my collection. I’m ready to move—wild.

Publisher: Oink Games
Designer: Chris Prescott

Souvenirs from Venice

While I’m singing the Oink song, I was also immediately drawn to Souvenirs from Venice. Gondolas and souvenirs on the waterway in a design by Sasaki and Sasaki? This one has my attention. I am a fan of simple set-collection games, so the idea of hunting down matching tiles to maximize memories sounds like an after-dinner title that we can enjoy in the household. As for the aesthetic, I’m digging the silhouetted, two-tone look. I say take me to Venice and take me now.

Publisher: Oink Games
Designer: Jun Sasaki, Goro Sasaki

Abram Towle

Chants for the Old Ones

I’m not usually big on Cthulian horror games, but the production of Chants for the Old Ones caught my eye with its cult member figurines and double-layered boards. Advertised as having deck construction elements mixed with worker placement promises an approachable game that offers a different experience depending on which Old One you’re trying to summon. Factor in some noir-adjacent art and the price of admission is already paid.

Publisher: Cthulhu Project
Designer: Bernat Buxaus

Speakeasy

Lacerda and O’Toole are back with a 1920s mobster game in Manhattan featuring delivery trucks and mobster meeples that scream table presence. Expect another heavy-weight game with plenty going on during your turn. Once again, this also gives initial impressions of an optimization puzzle reliant on timing to expand your influence across the island. I’m really looking forward to transporting goods across the map and making my speakeasy empire shine while practicing my mobster voice.

Publisher: Eagle-Gryphon Games
Designer: Vital Lacerda

Hermit

While being released only in German – having a German degree certainly helps me out here – Hermit seems like it avoids any language barrier mishaps through its gameplay. There is a set path for the hermit crab to navigate and it’s your job to play cards to create sequences of shells that match its planned journey. I get some Gentle Rain vibes coming out of this, so I hope that it has that same relaxing kind of feel. Summer may be drawing to a close but that doesn’t mean I have to stop thinking of the beach!

Publisher: Board Game Circus
Designer: Amelie Le-Roche

Andrew Holmes

Kimono Memories

Ok, I’m cheating here as I was sent a copy of this to review a couple of weeks back and therefore I already know it’s worth looking out for (as is my review!). The fourth game in the Hanamikoji line (after Hanamikoji, Geisha’s Road and Shadows of Kyoto), Kimono Memories adds a spatial puzzle twist to the usual tug-of-war shenanigans. With the usual gorgeous artwork by Maisherly it’s a worthy addition to the Hanamikoji series.

Publisher: EmperorS4
Designer: Nao Shimamura

Minecraft Explorers

I have a seven year old who loves both Minecraft and games, so this one feels like a win for me. We’ve played Heroes of the Village together and he’s beaten the whole family at Minecraft Uno (although we’ve yet to try Builders and Biomes). This latest game feels like it covers the adventure side of the original game a little more and it’ll be good to see how it plays and how our son reacts.

Publisher: Ravensburger
Designer: Matthew Dunstan

Dorfromantik: Sakura

A sequel to the 2023 Spiele des Jarhes winner, Dorfromantik: Sakura looks to provide a Japanese-inspired take on the original. Featuring the titular cherry blossom (Sakura being the Japanese for cherry blossom) and a host of other surprises to be found across 6 boxes, it’ll be interesting to see how designers Palm and Zach have built on the original and whether this version can step out from under its older sibling’s shadow.

Publisher: Pegasus Spiele
Designer: Michael Palm, Lukas Zach

Previously Reviewed

In addition to the games we’re looking forward to, we’ve already covered a number of titles that will make their first appearances in the European market at Essen Spiel 2024.

---

Check out our previous most anticipated lists for Essen Spiel and find out if we picked some winners!

• The 40 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2023
• The 43 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2022
• The 29 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2021
• The 34 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2020
• The 48 Most Anticipated Games of Essen Spiel 2019