Enlarge image
"Juicy Fruity"
Photo:
Deep Print Games
If you want to put a party game under the Christmas tree for your loved ones this year, you should take care of the gifts early on.
Global production downtimes and disruptions in supply chains are also causing problems for the board game industry.
Some popular titles are already sold out and will not be available again until spring 2022, other games are likely to become scarce in the next few weeks.
So that you can delight your friends and family with an exciting game, we are already introducing ten successful titles for Christmas.
We present the game, connoisseur game and children's game of the year 2021 as well as all the games nominated for the award here. Most of the awarded games should still be available in sufficient quantities in stores:
MicroMacro: Crime City - Full House
Enlarge image
"MicroMacro: Crime City - Full House"
Photo: Edition Spielwiese
It feels like “MicroMacro: Crime City” has just been voted “Game of the Year 2021”, and there is already an independent successor with the somewhat cumbersome title “MicroMacro: Crime City - Full House”.
The newcomer is also based in the crime capital, and as in part one, the players solve 16 criminal cases together.
It is determined by looking closely and making logical combinations on the 75 by 110 centimeter large city map "hidden object".
Question cards indicate the direction of the investigation, and as in part one, the complexity of the cases ranges from "easily solved in 10 minutes" to "just concentrate for an hour".
Who is it for?
"MicroMacro" fans get their money's worth here, because the game offers more new cases that feel like the old ones.
If you are new to the Crime City, you should go for "Full House" first, as it is editorially better prepared.
»MicroMacro: Crime City - Full House« by Johannes Sich, Edition Spielwiese / Pegasus, for 1-4 people from the age of twelve. (Most cases are suitable for ten year olds as well.)
Formula fun
Enlarge image
"Formula Fun"
Photo: franjos Spieleverlag
With the deluge of new board games that hit the market every year, many good classics that deserve attention are simply overlooked.
Fortunately, some publishers are making the effort to reissue these "old" games.
Franjos Spieleverlag has excelled in this segment.
With »Formula Fun«, a very family-friendly racing game has now appeared, which was last available at the end of the 1990s.
The racing drivers race around in a circle and play cards with which they drive either the recommended speed or the maximum speed, depending on where they are on the course.
One car is eliminated every lap until there is only one left.
Who is it for?
For racing fans and their families.
Children from the age of eight can already "ride", and it is also suitable for large groups.
That might be something for New Year's Eve.
"Formula Fun" by Terry Goodchild, franjos Spieleverlag, for 2-7 people, ages eight and up.
Compromate
Enlarge image
"Kompromat"
Photo: Helvetiq
In times of pandemics, a pure two-person game should not be missing.
»Kompromat«, which looks fantastic in a kind of retro-Soviet style, is less thematic than one would assume when looking at the material, but it is really playful.
You duel and try to conquer victory point cards in every round by placing your own cards partly face up and partly face down.
As with »Blackjack«, the aim is ideally to invest 21 points without overbidding.
This is of course not easy, so bluffing and tricking can help.
But be careful, the other player is not stupid and tries to fool you for her part.
Who is it for?
»Kompromat« is a fast-paced gaming game that doesn't have much to think about.
Tension arises from "Push-Your-Luck" (how far can I stimulate?) And bluff elements (how can I confuse my counterpart?).
You can easily play the game in half an hour.
»Kompromat« by Rob Fisher and Adam Porter, Helvetiq, for exactly two people aged eight and over.
Qwixx Longo
Enlarge image
"Qwixx Longo"
Photo: NSV
»« In many groups, light dice games are simply part of a successful game evening.
If there is no classic tweaking, »Qwixx« should also be on the table, after all, over a million copies of the game have already been sold.
Now there is a new variant in which eight-sided instead of the usual six-sided dice are used.
This means that results between two and sixteen can occur, the game block is a little longer, hence "Longo".
There are also one or two small rules that experienced Qwixxers can do in a minute.
Everyone else learns the game in five minutes.
Who is it for?
»Qwixx Longo« is of course something for »Qwixx« fans of all stripes.
The game is a simple, fun all-rounder.
"Qwixx Longo" by Steffen Benndorf and Reinhard Staupe, NSV, for 2-5 people aged eight and over.
So Kleever!
Enlarge image
"So Kleever!"
Photo: Repos_Asmodee
Whether this game name is really particularly clever (rather not) or just silly is likely to be a matter of opinion.
Meanwhile, word has got around in the gaming scene that “So Kleever!” Is a good play on words.
The aim is to combine keywords such as "shirt" and "lamp" with a freely selectable reference word, eg "night light".
The other players then try to guess which two keywords go with it.
This is not so easy because four word pairs have to be connected, but there are many more possible word combinations.
Everyone plays together and tries to crack a high score, similarly "Just One" from the same company has already become a great success.
Who is it for?
"So Kleever!" Is a clever and not too difficult play on words.
In contrast to "Codenames", for example, everyone should always come up with very good hints, and the game is played cooperatively, nobody loses alone and embarrasses themselves.
»So Kleveer!« By François Romain, Repos / Asmodee, for 3-6 people aged ten and over.
Inspector nose
Enlarge image
"Inspector Nose"
Photo: NSV (
Word association games are actually more for older players.
“Inspector Nose”, however - the name of the game might give it away - works extremely well with children from the age of seven.
It's about identifying one picture out of five that are on display.
Only the inspector knows which one it is.
Now he throws five dice with symbolic pictures and chooses one of them, which goes best with one of the cards on display.
A pair of binoculars on the cube can stand for a card with a lighthouse.
Or for the television?
Or is it more of a lonely island?
It's a bit tricky, and children are fully involved.
Who is it for?
"Inspector Nose" is best played in a family group with children aged seven to ten.
The little ones are very proud when they give the right tips or guess the solution, and the big ones are very proud when the children again contribute to the solution of a case with astonishing creativity.
"Inspector Nose" by Reinhard Staupe, NSV, for 2-5 people from the age of seven.
Juicy Fruits
Enlarge image
"Juicy Fruits"
Photo: Deep Print Games
When you hear this name, you think of a piece of chewing gum that no one has chewed since the 1980s.
But this game has nothing to do with that.
Rather, it's about juicy fruits.
These are harvested and shipped on island maps and thus earn points.
The central mechanism is the pushing of harvest tiles on the islands.
The further they are moved in a straight line, the more fruits are harvested.
Loading ship tiles frees up space, but businesses clog the island again.
Moves are easy and a game never lasts more than three quarters of an hour.
One could imagine that the sliding mechanism goes back to app games like "Unblock Me".
If so, it would be transferred well to a board game.
Who is it for?
"Juicy Fruits" is a quick and easy game that offers enough challenges for families with children aged eight and over without experienced players getting bored.
"Juicy Fruits" by Christian Stöhr, Deep Print Games / Pegasus, for 1-4 people, ages eight and up.
Free ride
Enlarge image
"Free ride"
Photo: 2F games
Along with »Catan« and »Carcassonne«, »Ticket to Ride« is one of the most popular strategy games in the world.
So it's no wonder that game authors take their inspiration from the classic.
This year Friedemann Friese tried his hand at a railway game that is at least visually reminiscent of "Ticket to Ride".
However, it plays differently.
The players build their routes on a map of Europe, on which their own, foreign and - thanks to a special trick - state routes are created that can be used to travel routes (e.g. from Budapest to Seville).
The routes can be created using an innovative selection mechanism.
Thanks to these new ideas, "Free Ride" feels very fresh, especially with more than two people.
Who is it for?
The game is not just a "train-by-train" variant, but it is a train game that is reminiscent of the classic.
To do this, it implements some new ideas without making the game too complicated.
If you like to drive around on a large game plan with trains, you should definitely take a look at "Freie Fahrt".
"Free ride" by Friedemann Friese, 2F games, for 1-5 people aged ten and over.
Rajas of the Ganges
Enlarge image
"Rajas of the Ganges"
Photo: Yikes
Delivery problems for board games have not only existed since Corona. Games keep disappearing from the market for long periods of time, simply because it takes a few months to manufacture games, ship them to Europe and transport them to stores. "Rajas of the Ganges" was published four years ago, but was sold out over Christmas and then disappeared from the scene, which is a shame for a strategy game of this quality. Even if the players use dice like workers, earn money and accumulate prestige points like in many other games, "Rajas of the Ganges" feels different. This is because there are two scoring bars that run around the board in opposite directions. Whoever manages to get their own scoring markers to meet first wins.This turns a more classic optimization game into a really exciting race.
Who is it for?
»Rajas of the Ganges« is more complex than most of the games presented here, but still easily accessible for somewhat experienced players.
The mechanics are known, the feel of the game is special.
A strategy game that feels like a racing game.
"Rajas of the Ganges" by Inka and Markus Brand, Huch !, for 2-4 people aged twelve and over.
The Red Cathedral
Enlarge image
"The Red Cathedral"
Photo: Kosmos
All that's missing is a game in a historical setting, in which a well-known building is built.
So a game that fulfills all the stereotypes about board games.
Fortunately, there is »The Red Cathedral« for which we are traveling in Moscow in the 16th century and building St. Basil's Cathedral for Tsar Ivan IV (the »Terrible«!).
Of course we need resources and building materials and want to get more fame points than our fellow players.
That's not unusual.
What makes "The Red Cathedral" a recommendation is a new type of cube roundabout through which the resources are distributed.
There is also a solo version.
Who is it for?
"The Red Cathedral" is a classic strategy game that is convincing both in families with older children and on a game evening for adults.
"The Red Cathedral" by Shei S. and Isra C., Kosmos, for 1-4 people aged twelve and over.