It’s about that time for my annual Essen spiel.digital 2020 wish list. But it really isn’t the same, is it? Despite enjoying Castle TriCon a few weeks back, the levels of excitement for this event are a long way the norm. Essen may not be glamourous as a city, but it beats my poky office…

I suppose you just have to think positive. Sure, my favourite recurring event of the year has been taken away from me. But I got my hotel money back and a voucher for Eurostar. And there are still hundreds of new board games being released in the run up to Christmas. So here we go again.

Of course for a board game journalist, not getting face-to-face time with publishers is an issue. As I’m not a big-time Charlie (read: YouTuber) I have to work pretty hard sometimes to get a look-in for review copies. Which is made much harder when the publisher is having to ship the games, rather than me collecting them at their booth. So for that reason, I don’t expect to get nearly as many first choices this time out. But finger’s crossed…

As for titles, the law of diminishing returns continues. I got the list down below 100 quite quickly. And from there I got it down to about 25 with little fuss. The lack of ‘live’ playing opportunities – especially with more than two – was a factor. But largely it was, “…and?” when looking at rulebooks. There seemed an even bigger dearth in originality this year. But again, when you’ve played hundreds of games, it’s going to be harder to find the ‘wow’ factor. And I should probably be happy. Those old favourites still need a lot of love!

Essen spiel.digital 2020 wish list – Top 10

I’m going to be very brief here, instead linking to the games on BGG for more info. In almost every case here I’ve simply flipped through the rules or watched a short video – so it’s probably better to let you draw your own conclusions! I’ll just list what drew me in.

• Alma Mater (Eggertspiele, 2-4 players, 2-3 hours) – Lorenzo-ish looking euro, with decent looking player interaction and lots of tricky decisions. Worker placement, resource management and engine/tableau building.
• Baron Voodoo (Lucky Duck, 2-4 players, 45 mins) – Gorgeous looking abstract, where you’re jumping over cubes (dice) to capture them. But also to use their special abilities. The basic mechanism looks nice, while the extra actions may elevate to the next level.
• Beyond the Sun (Rio Grande, 2-4 players, 1-2 hours) – This spread sheet euro looks very cool. Tech trees open up new actions, but these arrive semi-randomly creating a lot of scope for genuine replay variety.
• Bonfire (Pegasus) – Looks like a typical Feld euro; so what’s not to like? Spend tiles to do actions, gain resources, and (of course) score points. Timing looks crucial, which will hopefully create some light player interaction.
• Gods Love Dinosaurs (Pandasaurus, 2-5 players, 30-45 mins) – Tile laying game where you expand and score different species. Looks light but thinky enough to draw you in, as you try to balance predators and their prey.
• Mariposas (AEG, 2-5 players, 60 mins) – The new game from Elizabeth Hargrave, which looks a lot more interesting than Wingspan. The theme this time is butterflies, but what drew me in were some interesting movement and scoring mechanisms.
• Monasterium (dlp, 2-4 players, 90-120 mins) – A dice-powered action selection euro. An absolute ton of choices and a proper victory point salad. Is going to stand or fall on how interesting the dice placement actually is. But looks like it could be a winner.
• Remember Our Trip (dlp, 2-4 players, 30 mins) – A typically quirky Japanese theme that impacts the mechanisms. Draft tiles to score areas, which are then transferred to a growing central ‘memory’. Others can then replicate those memories for additional points.
• Ride the Rails (Capstone, 3-5 players, 45-60 mins) – Super light-on-rules economic route builder. Competitive, fast moving and interactive but in a family level title. Seems a step sideways, rather than up from, the likes of Ticket to Ride
• Warps Edge (Renegade, 1 player, 30-45 mins) – A direct competitor for CGE’s Under Falling Skies (below), this bag-building solo space battler looks deep enough to hit the target.

The next 10

In many ways these were just as interesting. And who knows? Maybe the real gems will come from here. I usually totally fail what turn out to be my eventual favourites anyway! I doubt this year will be any different…

• Caretos (Mebo, 2-4 players, 45-60 mins) – Scare and capture people you move on a map.
• Castles of Tuscany (Alea, 2-4, 45-60 mins) – Yes, it’s another Feld euro…
• Codex Naturalis (Bombyx, 2-4, 30 mins) – Clever looking hand management game.
• Curious Cargo (Capstone, 2, 45 mins) – Create pipes, fill trucks, screw opponent.
• Glow (Bombyx, 2-4 players) – Gorgeous looking dice, set collection and racing game.
• On the Origin of the Species (Artana, 2-4, 60 mins) – Interesting looking euro.
• Pan Am (Funko, 2-4, 60 mins) – Routes and stocks with an Acquire-style twist.
• Red Cathedral (Devir, 1-4, 30-120 mins) – Interactive looking euro game.
• Rollecate (Gam’inBIZ, 1-4, 15 mins) – Light card/track building/luck pushing game.
• Royal Visit (IELLO, 2, 30 mins) – Knizia’s ‘manipulate people on a track’ game (reissue).

Honourable mentions

I’m also looking forward to trying Aqualin (two-player abstract), Lost Ruins of Arnak (deck builder), Under Falling Skies (solo space battler) and Anansi (trick-taker). I haven’t included them above, as they’re already on the way. It’s going to be another busy winter…