Last modified October 28, 2025 by Jarjar

From October 23rd to 26th, 2025, the world's largest board game fair, "Spiel Essen 2025", took place! With over 1,700 new products on display, 950 exhibitors from 50 different countries. Up to 220,000 visitors were expected (pending official figures!)
I didn't go there physically (we're aiming for the 2027 edition for a first visit with friends!), but I followed it very closely via social networks and several participant blogs. In fact, a blog that blew me away with the quality and quantity of information shared was bordgame.de, I wonder if he had time to sleep!

So here is my virtual report!

BEFORE THE SHOW (October 20-21)

A first video circulated on social networks on October 21, showing some kiosks under construction:
https://www.threads.com/@boardgamescience/post/DQEu3gWCUCy/media?hl=fr

And some photos:

On DEUTSCHE PIEELE PRIIS are an award given by players for players, the largest community award in Germany. Announced just before the Essen event. Here are the results:

Rank	Board Game	Designer(s)	Editor(s)
#1	SETI: In Search of Extraterrestrial Life	Tomáš Holek	CGE/Heidelbär
#2	Endeavor: The Deep Sea	Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray	Frosted Games/Board Game Circus
#3	Bomb Busters	Hisashi Hayashi	Pegasus Spiele
#4	Castle Combo	Gregory Grard and Mathieu Roussel	Kosmos
#5	Faraway	Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat	Kosmos
#6	Civolution	Stefan Feld	Deep Print Games/Pegasus Spiele
#7	Blood on the Clocktower	Steven Medway	fun tails
#8	Slay the Spire: The Board Game	Gary Dworetsky, Anthony Giovannetti, and Casey Yano	Nice Game
#9	Apiary	Connie Vogelmann	Tierra del Fuego games
#10	Dune: Imperium Uprising	Paul Dennen	Asmodee

DAY 0 – Wednesday, October 22, 2025

It's press day, several games have already been presented, and the atmosphere is slowly heating up!

Concept that is intriguing and looks like fun in the game Pulitzer
https://www.threads.com/@tranjisgames/post/DQHtEp6jAo5/media?hl=fr

A little train game from the creator of Bomb Busters et Yokohama, further developed by Simone Luciani! Railway Boom, I'm definitely keeping this game on my radar!

Being a cryptocurrency enthusiast, this photo caught my eye! Game expected next year, Age of BitcoinIn this economics-based game, players take on the role of individuals from various professions, seeking to accumulate wealth through investments in a variety of assets including real estate, businesses, collectibles, contractual assets, gold, and Bitcoin. Players will primarily achieve this by buying and selling assets, hoping to time the market and outsmart their opponents. Sounds like a very interesting game!

The Cat and the Tower, a game of dexterity reminiscent of Villa Paletti.

Asmodée's very colorful stands!
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1aE61yJ7hr/

Queen Games booth, they seem to keep producing boxes that are too big, he should talk to Graphill Games!

DAY 1 - Thursday October 23 2025

And here we go!! 🎉 A crowd of a magnitude you don't see every day!
Have a good show everyone!

7 Wonders Dice presented for the first time at this show! The game would be light and fun without reinventing the genre.

Oink Games has a very colorful booth again this year!

Phew, the queue at the CGE kiosk!! Probably for the extension of SETI.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1509100373744681

A madness has taken hold of Feya's Swamp As soon as it opened, the game sold out at 10:05! There was even a fight in the queue.

Astronomical Clock, my #1 games to watch out for is sold out too!

Will this version live up to its big brother and bring enough variety? Luc Rivenord, who was present at Essen, mentions the game The White Castle Duel :

"Pleasantly surprised! You play with stacking pieces instead of dice. A game consists of 12 turns (6 pieces added, then 6 pieces removed). Better than playing White Castle with 2 players, although I prefer the original with more players."

A first expansion pack for The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth. A game that was a hit last year at the show.

Magnificent area dedicated to gaming Pergola ! A game that I only tried on BGA, light and zen, it definitely makes you want to play it =)

Raas: A Dance of Love, An abstract and colorful dice game that would be engaging and make us want to dance =). Campaign on Gamefound in progress !

Another game sold out on the first day, Tax the Rich, also nicknamed in the community: MAGA the trick taking game. A trick-taking game with particular twists like stealing from the player who has the most tricks (tax the rich), playing with the reversed value of the cards if a particular condition occurs (class revolution) or playing with bonuses on certain cards (feminist revolution).

DAY 2 - Friday October 24, 2025

Sold out day for a few days already!

The Stonemaier Games and Inside Up Games booth.

The game Koi looks very cute! From the creators of Bonsai, a game in which you build a 3D koi pond, the challenge is to bring your tank to life and create something beautiful. The Japanese term "Koi" means multicolored carp, known as "swimming flowers", considered living jewels and a symbol of perseverance and virtue.

This Friday, the first results of the Fairplay ranking are out!

For those unfamiliar with this ranking, it's designed to reflect the public's and players' opinions on the new games presented at the show. It's not a jury of experts, but a survey open to visitors.
Showgoers can vote for the games they played at the show. They usually give a rating (often from 1 to 6, or in the form of a ranking; the top 10 games). The results are compiled regularly during the show and then published. The ranking changes daily, and the final ranking is published at the end of the SPIEL.
Although it has no official value, Fairplay is closely followed by gamers, publishers and the media, as it reflects word of mouth about the show, in other words, which games are the most talked about or excite visitors.

We therefore find in the category of games for experienced players: First Contacts et take time in the family games category, taking the top spot after the first day of activity.

This ranking in digital format: https://www.scoutaktion.de/rankings

Upcoming releases from publisher Devir here

Nice setup at Portal Games!

Another very nice kiosk! This game is on its way, by the way, I should receive it soon. I can't wait to play it!

Movers and Shakers, a new game from the designers of Madeira and Asian Tiger that looks very colorful with a complexity level of 4/5. One to watch!

Badflix, in this dice game, you play as eccentric horror movie villains who use the Badflix streaming platform to sneak into living rooms and terrify viewers. Players compete in a frantic race through horror movies, seeking to collect souls by reaching the screen at the end of each film. The first player to collect 3 souls triggers the final round. A game that seems like a lot of fun to me!!

Games mentioned a few times today with good feedback:
– Kingdom Crossing
– Compile
– Thebai
– First Contacts

While these have received mixed reviews
– Forestry
– Thesauros
– 7 Wonders Dice

I picked up Take Time and Compile last night in a store =)

DAY 3 - Saturday, October 25, 2025

Another very busy day!

Saturday Fairplay Ranking: Map Masters climbs from 5th to 2nd place!
Two games from Friedemann Friese have made it into the top 10: Fearless and Formidable Farm!
The gap between the first, Druids and 1st Contacts, is narrowing!

Open the box: Orloj The Prague Astronomical Clock , moreover new copies were available today! According to a user on BGG, 900 copies are available per day.
Open the box: Feya's Swamp

GOA is set to return in deluxe format on Gamefound next year! I haven't tried this classic yet.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of this classic game, a world record was set in Essen with the board game. Catan. 1,170 fans played simultaneously for nearly two hours. To ensure the simultaneity of the games, the dice rolls were clearly displayed on a large video screen.

Facts about SPIEL 25 according to Captain Kultz on Bluesky :
– About 1 in 20 games uses or retouches AI-generated artwork
– The average game on display is mechanically much more complex than I expected
– There are far more small/medium Asian developers here than American ones
– No free play area
– Less than 1% of people wear a mask

Games mentioned a few times today with good feedback:
– Baghdad
– 12 Rivers
– Kingdom Crossing
- Dirt and Dust

DAY 4 – Sunday, October 26

Bunny Kingdom Town, a two-player version, planned for next year, was presented as a grand premiere at the show.
Video explanations of the game in French

We often put the emphasis on games but there are also plenty of accessories like Essen =)

Sunday's Fairpay rankings. Take Time, I can confirm the buzz, we must have played 19 games online yesterday, very addictive game. Nice comeback for Compile in second place!

Fossilium, a game that had caught my attention before Essen.
As the director of a natural history museum specializing in paleontology, in this game your mission is to transform your establishment into the most popular destination for fossil enthusiasts. An attractive theme!

The Druids of Edora, Stephan Feld's latest game! Another dice game, where you have to roll 13 dice and optimize everything.

Each year, a new tile for Carcassonne is presented at this fair. Here is the one for the 2025 edition and those from previous years.

FINAL FAIRPLAY RANKING

Advanced Games (with more than 24 notes)

#	Play	Author (s)	Editor	Footnotes
1	Compile	Michael Yang	Pegasus Spiele	4.5
2	The Last Droids	Fabien Gridel	Blue Cocker Games	4.4
3	First Contacts	Michael Munoz	explore8	4.3
4	Artengarten	Mathias Wigge	Feuerland Spiele / Super Meeple	4.3
5	Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor	Kosh	Lookout Games	4.3
6	Am Goldenen Fluss	Keith Piggott	KOSMOS	4.2
7	Kavango	Matt Brown · Zara Reid	Schmidt games	4.2
8	Kuldhara	Glenn Dejaeger	Jolly Dutch Productions	4.0
9	Flossenschlag	David Gordon (I) · Michael O'Connell (II)	Tierra del Fuego games	3.8

Family Games (with more than 24 ratings)

#	Play	Author (s)	Editor	Footnotes
1	Boss Fighters QR	Michael Palm · Lukas Zach	Pegasus Spiele	4.1
2	Map Masters	Ian Sebastian Bach · Cédrick Caumont	Captain Games	4.1
3	Rebirth: Aufbruch in a new time	Reiner knizia	Frozen Games	4.0
4	tag Team	Gricha German · Corentin Lebrat	KOSMOS / Masked Scorpion	4.0
5	Ghost Lift	尾根ギア (Ridge Gear)	Engames	3.9
6	take time	Alexi Piovesan · Julien Prothière	dragonfly	3.9
7	Amazing!	Friedemann Friese	2F games	3.8
8	Fearless	Friedemann Friese	2F games	3.8
9	Ghostbumpers	Inka Brand · Markus Brand	Deep Print Games	3.8
10	Light Speed ​​Arena	Leonardo Alese · James Ernest · Tom Jolly · Emanuele Santellani	Pegasus Spiele	3.8

EXTENSIONS PRESENTED DURING THE SHOW

A short list of the expansions presented at Essen, in no particular order, as they came.

• SETI : Space Agencies
• The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth – Allies (Expansion Pack)
• Arnak, Twisted Paths
• Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette! 
• Underwater Cities: Data Era 
• Clans of Caledonia: Industria
• Faraway: Under a Sky of Stars
• Civolution: Acceptance Letter
• Tea Garden: Puerh
• Agent Avenue: Division M
• Galileo Galilei: Luna
• Pirates of Maracaibo: Bermuda Triangle 
• Windmill Valley: Blooming Sails
• Inferno: Plutus & Phlegyas
• The Vale of Eternity: Curse
• Minos: Dawn of Faith
• Distilled: Cocktails 
• Galactic Cruise: Advancements
• Galactic Cruise: Accommodations
• Terra Mystica: Fan Factions 
• Galaxy Trucker: Do What?! 
• Concordia: Mare Nostrum (!!)
• Rats of Wistar Clans and Portals , presented but it was not possible to play it

RANKING OF THE GAMES THAT CATCHED MY ATTENTION THE MOST

Footnotes (based on interest in playing)	Games
10/10	Feya's Swamp, Orloj, Thebai, Kingdom Crossing, Compile, Baghdad, Sweet Lands, Ants, Recall, Ayar, Coming of Ages, Age of Bitcoin
9/10	Railway Boom, Extension SETI Spaces Agency, Tax the Rich, 1st Contact, The Last Droids, Movers and Shakers, Dirts and Dust, The Druids of Edora, Covenant, Echos of Time, Sanctuary, The Voynich Puzzle, Forestry
8/10	Pulitzer, The White Castle Duel, Raas: A Dance of Love, Fossilium, Extension UnderWater Data Era, Aquaria, Badflix
7/10	Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: Duel, Koi, 12 Rivers, Bunny Kingdom Town

CONCLUSION

And there we have it, curtains on the 2025 edition! Four intense days of discoveries, new features, and wonderful surprises. For my part, I had my eyes glued to the screen longer than usual, sometimes even in the middle of the night, since the show opened at 4 a.m. where we live! =)

I wasn't there this year, but seeing the pictures... phew, the amount of people in the aisles! The atmosphere must have been incredible, but surely exhausting too with all that ambient noise.

As many have noticed, we haven't had a game that created as much buzz as SETI last year. However, lots of titles piqued my curiosity and I'll tell you more about them very soon here on this blog!

Tonight the plans are Sweet Lands =)