Top 17 Upcoming Games to *Buy, Try or Spy* at Essen Spiel 2022
ThinkerThemer
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Are you headed to Essen Spiel this week? Or are you like us, and living vicariously through everyone else?? Either way, we hope you enjoy this very casual chat about some games that caught our eye. These are upcoming titles we’d be on the lookout for…. but for now, we’ll just be coveting them from our couch 😂
Safe travels and wishing everyone who’s attending a wonderful con!
A&M x
Safe travels and wishing everyone who’s attending a wonderful con!
A&M x
Note: all B-roll in this video is credited to game publisher and/or designer of the game
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:24 Joint pick 1
06:49 Joint pick 2
09:21 Joint pick 3
11:06 Joint pick 4
16:10 Joint pick 5
21:18 Amy’s pick 1
25:18 Maggie’s pick 1
26:41 Amy’s pick 2
29:22 Maggie’s pick 2
32:18 Amy’s pick 3
35:49 Maggie’s pick 3
37:50 Amy’s pick 4
41:52 Maggie’s pick 4
44:27 Amy’s pick 5
46:25 Maggie’s pick 5
48:47 Amy’s pick 6
52:45 Maggie’s pick 6
56:40 Wrap up
04.10.2022
2016 – Terraforming Mars2021 – TM Ares Expedition2023 – TM the dice game2024 – TM duel2025 – TM kids2026 – TM party
Unconscious Mind artwork looks absolutely beautiful!
Coming back to this video to stay on-topic haha one of the break out stars from Essen was Gay Sauna The Board Game which not only went wayyyyy above its funding goal… But just hit #4 in the BGG hotness!Good news too, on feedback they're working on more inclusive (racially diverse, gender diverse, and body positive) characters! Very exciting and a real surprise!!!
Thanks for the great video. And I really hope to meet you at Essen next year! I’ll be wearing my thinker themer shirt at Essen this year 🙂
I thought I was the only one that watched YouTube videos on 2x speed! I always wonder if it is bad for the content creators though 🤔
At Uhrwerk Verlag you can try a new Uwe Rosenberg coming up ("portals").
I am so glad you guys are talking about Unconsious Mind! I haven't heard a lot about it from other creators, but I am 100% going to back it!! I'm curious about Revive and Woodcraft, but my top pick is certainly Unconscious Mind!! That theme is right up my alley.
Revive looks quite interesting to me.
I have backed Terraforming Mars The Dice Game. And since I haven’t played TM the original yet and I love dice I think I’m going to love it.
9:52 Well, first they had Ganz Schon Clever [1]; then Twice [2] as Clever; then something Clever with 3 in the title; and now Clever 4 Ever… I wonder what #5 will be next!?
10:45 Language Independent, except for the rules regarding how to play…
I would have thought that Come Together was pretty solidly in your wheelhouse.
20:55 The only thing is is that if you try a particular strategy at the wrong time – when one of your opponents is doing something, it might not work because of that 🤔
Just back from Germany means I am also only at Essen via videos like this one from you. So, thank you very much for this review. JotL is definitely a good way to get a feel for Gloomhaven/Frosthaven. The last one will eventually be a good pickup from Retail. If I ever make it to the BG-BBQ here, I could bring JotL along. (The big brother would be tooo heavy!) I have similar feelings about TM: The Dice Game. And also would rather play the big one. You made me intrigued about the video-game Dorf Romantik. Never heard of it. Sounds (and the BG-cover looks) a bit like The Witness, which I absolutely love.
I will be in Essen and I'll pick up Revive there. I'll definitely take a look at Earthborne Rangers, Frothaven and Atiwa. Other games on my list are: Buru, Oros, Forest of Radgost, Oltréé and Evergreen. Looking forward to finding games, that will surprise me.
Oh darn, so Take a Seat really needs 4 players like the shared boards in Between Two Castles from Stonemaier Games does?
What were the people thinking who came up with the Atiwa theme and then the art? Let’s make a game that has the least appealing theme and art possible. Come on people.
I have been living vicariously through Essen goers for years now. If I were there though, I only have 3 games on my list. I'm primarily a solo gamer, so that limits my choices.
1 – Come Together (love the theme and the designer is an avid solo player and currently creating a solo campaign)
2 – Starship Captains (I've enjoyed many CGE games throughout the years, I hope this one with its dedicated solo mode lives up to the companies standards)
3 – King of Monster Island (Co-op King of Tokyo!)
Essen season = Gamer X-Mas 🤩
Great video as always! Essen is only about a one hour drive from here so I'll be going there for a couple of days. Definitely excited! For some reason I don't have a lot of 'must try/buy' this year. Have a great week in Australia and take care! 🙋 Cis
25:23 That's funny! After I saw that Maggie's #1 wasn't on the joint list, I so thought that it would be on Amy's list – because it is a Euro game – and so I thought it would very much be in Amy's wheelhouse.
Amy, is there a reason why or want on your list too, which would have made it as a joint entry?
Thanks.
Great video! I won't be at Essen, but if I was, Deal With The Devil and Clever 4 Ever would both be high on my list to check out.
Love this video! Great breakdowns. I’m very much looking forward to War of the Ring card game. Though similar situation as Deal with the Devil since it’s listed as 2-4p, but designed as a 2v2 experience in mind.
Very excited for Earthborne Rangers! Agree they probably should change the cover back
So sorry that we won't get a chance to meet up at Spiel this year. Hopefully I'll be going again next year, or if not that you'll add Helsinki to your Europe trip! I have to say that we align so much that most of your games were already on my list, but Arborea was something that passed me by and I'll now be looking out for because I love that mechanic that's in Tzolk'in where you leave your worker to "mature" into a more powerful action (even though it hurts at the same time). Also Dorf Romantik looks really light and fun, though it's only in German at the moment. Guessing it won't matter for the actual gameplay though. Hope you're both doing well and Maggie that your mom is well recovered. See you in the next video!
Thanks for the video. Super excited for Woodcraft. I'm happy that Atiwa is based in Africa with actual Black people being portrayed. It is near impossible to find a non-White imperialist game based in Africa (not counting Egypt). Box art is not as attractive though, it looks like a sad bat lol Lacrimosa is interesting, will look up playtrhoughs cause I wonder how repetitive it might get over time to keep replaying Mozart's life). You got me interested into Earthborne Rangers.
I'm not going near Unconscious Mind myself. Too PTSD! I have chronic pain and spent a lifetime of being told 'it's all in my head' by doctors (until finding good specialists). But this attitude towards saying 'it's all in your head' can be traced back to Freud's crazy (drug-induced) analysis and believes that women were hysterical and such. Untold suffering for so many and still going on today (sadly still strong in Francophone countries).
I can highly, highly recommend giving Jaws of the Lion a go before delving into full blown Gloomhaven/Frosthaven. The much quicker set up and tear down alone make it worth the price of entry. But the most important thing JotL does is introduce you to the gameplay concepts of the haven games gradually rather than overwhelming you with every tiny bit of detail right from the outset. Plus, when you finish the shorter campaign, if you're still interested, you'll be much better set up to deep dive into the big boxes of the franchise. As another alternative, the Gloomhaven PC game is a very good, immersive version of the board game that does all the hard work for you. Admittedly it doesn't have the tactility of the physical cardboard and plastic, but it is still quite satisfying.
Woodcraft looks pretty and the mechanics sound very interesting. Will be looking out to play that in the future.
Hi Amy and Maggie! FYI, the Lacrimosa is a movement in a Requiem (a Mass for the dead). Mozart was composing this piece when he passed, and the last notes in the manuscript in his handwriting were for the beginning of the Lacrimosa, thus the name of the game. I was really interested in this game, but after seeing a lot of the game play overviews and explanations, I was disappointed. The mechanisms seem really interesting, and potentially fun, but as far as the theme, it seems pretty weak. To me it seems they used a lot of music terminology for flavor and not real substance. Hopefully my opinion will change with a play or two. 🤷♂
Been following the updates for Unconscious Mind RELIGIOUSLY because Rich similary ADORES the theme and I think the art and mechanics look really interesting. The SECOND it comes to kickstarter, we will be all in! Also: as a classically trained musician/composer, Lacrimosa is one I REALLY need to track down. I've actually studied some of Mozart's final sketch scores that he left; the Lacrimosa movement was only partially orchestrated when he died, but he had completed quite a bit of the rest in fragmentary short score. What's interesting with this game thematically, is it is true to life in teh sense that there have been many and varied "reconstructions", beyond the original completion by Sussmayer (one of Mozart's students)–some as recently as a few decades ago!–and also a bit of controversy and shady dealings by his widow at the time as part of her desire to preserve his legacy. I'm a big fan of more euros with a classical music theme, so I'm really hopeful it'll be available stateside at some point.
56:01 What is it called? How can I find it on Switch? Thanks.
I am fully in the “blueberries is the best possible form of currency” camp. Can’t wait for woodcraft!
OK, since Maggie brought it up, I have a confession to make: I watch most board game content on YouTube at 1.5 speed (and sometimes higher, depending on time constraints). There, I said it. Whew, I feel better. 🤣 As for games: 1) I, too, am curious about Unconscious Mind and have clicked on their KS pre-launch page (so I can get notified when they go live in November). 2) I've never played Terraforming Mars, mainly because it feels like a lot to take on and I don't really have anyone to play it with. After watching a couple of playthroughs, I've backed TM: The Dice Game. I love the different resources on the dice and I like how you can get the game up and running easily and the turns are quick. If I end up liking it as much as I think I will, I'll look into learning one of the harder versions of the TM series. 3) Finally, I had not heard of Arborea before. The art for that game looks nuts (in a good way–love all the colors). I see that a Dicebreaker article has described the game as "Ghibli-esque." Off to learn more! (Thanks for another great video. It definitely perked me up on a gloomy Monday morning here!)
This was great! So many of the games you mentioned are on my list and you added a few more to my play list.
Sadly I'm not going to Essen, however I am planning on going to PAX Unplugged this year for the first time and I'm hoping some of these releases will be available there even if they are not necessarily full retail availability by then.
Essen is across the country for me unfortunately, so I can go, either. I really want to try out Septima, I hope they're at Spielwiesn in Munich in November, too.
Atiwa is my most anticipated game! Africa setting and nature-themed AND educational. I love it. Cool to see greats such as Uwe seeming to be influenced by Hargrave's nature/educational board games 🙂 great list you two
"Dorfromantik" was quite well pronounced, my girlfriend and I have not played the video game, but will try out the boardgame version. I will keep you posted.
Last year I already saw the beautiful "unconscious mind" box, but there was nothing to try out, we will see what's there this time.
But we are most hypted for "bonsai", "fish&cats" and "age of galaxy"
If I were going, I'd want to see the premiere of Flamecraft for sale at the Lucky Duck booth. I have my copy, but am curious to see the response at the show.