Essen 2026 – novelties

V háji (Czech edition of Brushwood) is a peaceful yet strategic set-collection game for 2–4 players. Players take on the role of hikers navigating a vast, ever-changing forest trail to observe local wildlife, pick up berries, and forage for mushrooms.

Skřítkov (Minikin City - Czech Edition) is a strategic game where every card you play has a double meaning. Colors and values give you rewards each round, while icons and effects give you points at the end, but only if you fill the card with Minikins!

Bologna, the city of towers, is torn by the rivalry between the Guelfs and Ghibellines, competing for influence and the favor of the podestà. In this two-player strategy game, you fill city districts with buildings, enclose courtyards for immediate influence, and build towers that determine control of landmarks at the end of the game. With no randomness, every decision shapes the outcome and...

A cooperative expansion for Akropolis where players build a grand capital for the gods, complete challenges, and earn sacred altars.

Here's the plan: stack your bumbling orcs up a castle wall and reach the top.

Flourishing times in the kingdom! With every card played, the kingdom’s display grows in power – but only your last two cards in hand will score at the end of the round. Will you build up a character’s strength, or go for their victory points? And are the conditions met for a particularly lucrative scoring?

In Fishing 2, you try to catch as many tricks as possible over eight rounds, with each card you catch being worth 1 point. You then use your caught cards for the next round — and if you didn't catch enough tricks to fill your hand, you'll draw fresh cards from the ocean stack, which will introduce new cards for you fishers to fight over.

This value set includes the base game and an expansion. Help the zoo animals get back to their homes in time.

Kluster TRIOis an incredibly fun family-friendly dexterity game! 

A fast-paced card game for everyone. Adapt and "dnup" your game! Quick decision-making, working with combinations, and constantly changing card values create a dynamic game where every round feels different. dnup is based on simple principles, but these constantly evolve during play, forcing you to react to other players and the developments on the table. Be the first to get rid of all your...

Flip 7 is back - With a Vengeance! All of the fun of the original game, plus new player interactions and special take-that cards! Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. Sound easy? Think again! This isn't just any deck of cards… In Flip 7: With A Vengeance, there's only one 1 card, two 2's, three 3’s, etc., plus a bunch of special cards that can cut your points in...

In Star Trek: Captain's Chair   you go head-to-head against an opponent, each stepping into the shoes of an iconic leader from across the history of the Star Trek galaxy. This expansion contains new captains and a location with a portal.

Venture even deeper into the jungle, where the ancient canopy still guards its oldest mysteries. Invest in better equipment and discover precious artifacts lost to time. Expansion Surprise Shipment for the game Lost Ruins of Arnak.

Bookshelf is the new game in Alley Cat Games' ever popular tin line. Players must work together to cooperatively stack books on top of a tower of cards. Cards have instructions on which books to place on top of it, and restrictions of where most of the books need to be placed. Don't be fooled though, placing books one at a time is harder than it initially looks!

Harbordrift is a small, standalone expansion for the game Dirt & Dust.

In Drillers, players explore an abandoned mine using their mechs, trying to find and excavate anything useful or valuable left behind by a forgotten mining corporation.

Jisogi is a worker-placement board game. The theme is Anime, more specifically the hard-working folks and the crushing business behind it.

Nippon: Zaibatsu is a new edition of Nippon, a fast-paced, area-majority economic game. Players control "zaibatsu": massive conglomerates of interconnected companies driving Japan's economy in the Industrial Revolution era.

The year is 1971, but not the history we know. The wait is over! You and your research team have finally arrived in the eternal ice of Antarctica. But this is only the beginning of a series of thrilling expeditions in this alternate era. Your objectives are clear: establish a highly efficient network of stations, scout the unforgiving wilderness, and be the first to reach the mysterious...

Planet Bee is a strategic tile‑placement game from Cranio Creations, where players act as pioneers tasked with developing a thriving ecosystem inside a geodesic dome on a barren new planet. By placing Ecosystem tiles efficiently, you generate life, expand biodiversity, and manage two vital resources — oxygen and water — which determine how effectively your habitats can grow. Bees play a central...

Harmonies: Pulse introduces 10 new animals and the option to mirror-fold the landscape for even greater variety.Create even more diverse landscapes, combine new animal patterns, and discover the possibilities that mirror placement of landscape elements brings to the game. Harmonies: Pulse expands the familiar mechanics with additional planning space and variability.This is an expansion only....

Skřítkov (Minikin City - Czech Edition) is a strategic game where every card you play has a double meaning. Colors and values give you rewards each round, while icons and effects give you points at the end, but only if you fill the card with Minikins!

Jack’s tale continues in this thrilling expansion to Ace of Spades, where his dark magic has spawned an unstoppable horde of undead. This first expansion introduces 15 new zombie enemy cards and four versions of the Hellbilly Zombie Master, each bringing fresh challenges to the table. Enemies now “capture” the cards you use against them, permanently removing those cards from your deck as the...