Spiel preview 2026 | Games I'm excited for
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Transcript
It's almost time for spiel. Who's excited? I'm excited. It's almost time. We need to do a list of games that I'm excited for. So, let me show you. I'm going to dive right in because the list, as always, is long and I don't want to take up too much of your time. So, I'm going to go through the list quite quickly, and then at the very end, I will be talking about some of the games that will be at Spiel that I've already played or maybe already have in my collection because I also went to Gen Con and to UK Games Expo. So, I'll do those at the very end. But, let's first talk about the games that I'm excited to check out because that's the most fun part. Let's go. The first game that I have here is Fadenfro Feden Fenfro. I think that's how you say it. Jennifer, if you're watching, my friend from Germany, please correct me on how to say this cuz I have no clue. Um, but it is German. It is a like um needle point themed game, which sounds absolutely right up my alley. It's like giving Calico vibes. Um, it looks really pretty, I have to say. Um, look at that.
So, I'm very curious about this one. This might be my most anticipated one um to at least check out and see what it's what it's like. It's set collection open drafting. I mean, it looks really really fun. Next, we have Buried Memories, a one to six player game. This just looks very very intriguing. Um it's a smaller game, I'm pretty sure, in size. Um, it's push your luck and set collection where you are trying to like dig through these like burial sites. Um, and you're excavating ancient relics. Um, and then it has this push your luck element. Um, how far you're willing to push your luck before hidden creatures force you to stop. So, it's very Japaneseesque.
It's giving studio giblly. I don't think it is a Japanese game, but it that it is giving that vibe to me personally. Um, but yes, this is looking very interesting. I think it's going to be quite unique uh in its gameplay maybe. So, I want to check it out, see what it's like. Next, we have Compile 3. Um, I have played Compile before, but it is a two-player game, and I don't really play a lot of two-player games, so I never really had the need to get it, but I did really enjoy it, and I was very sad that it was only two players, but now they've added a solo mode. How exciting. So, I'm very excited. This was already out at Gen Con and I tried to get it there, but they were sold out.
So, I'm trying to get it at Spiel because this is just sounding absolutely perfect for me. I'm So, I have no idea how the solo plays. I tried to get some info on that as well when I was at Gencom, but the people that were working there just did not know. I think it they were just selling it. Um, not really demoing it, but um so they were just like, "Sorry, we don't we have no clue." Um, but I'm very excited because I, as I said, I really enjoyed playing um, Compile when I did. So, I'm curious to see how they've adapted a solo mode for this and how it will play. Next, we have Defenders of the Dictionary. Now, I love a word game. Uh, but most of them are party games like alibis or just one code names. But I love a game with like words and letters. Um, so this being a one to four player game is very interesting to me. Very I'm very excited to to check it out. It's looking very scrabbly. Um, the way that you have these like letters apparently you have cards as well and then there's these boards where you're going to put down your letters. So, I have no clue how exactly it works, but obviously it is a Scrabble inspired type of game by the looks of it. So, I really want to try this. Next up, we have Time of Your Life by Alleycat Games. This is
their newest game or one of their newest games. Um, it is two to six player. It is a smaller like lighter card game. Um, so as I said, I don't play a lot at two players. I play mostly solo or with a bigger group. Um, so I really wanted to check this out. I don't know how it plays, but I love the theme of this time of your life, and I really like the look of the artwork. So, I'm just curious to see how it will look uh in the cards themselves. Here we have a little more. Um, and I think this might just be a fun one to try. I don't know if I'll need this for the collection, but I do want to know what it's going to be like. Um, and it might be amazing and I might need it. So, we'll see.
Then we have Seaggrass, a two to four player game. Again, um, this is really giving me like loot vibes. I don't know if it's going to play anything like loot, but it is the same grid style and it has tile placement where I guess we're placing down stuff into the sea. um trying to make patterns perhaps or groups of things. So, I'm very curious to see what the game play for this will be like. I think this could be a game that I absolutely love. So, I really wanted to try and see if I can give it a go. Um because I love a tile placement, especially like a grid tile placement.
And looking at the game, it's looking perfect for a holiday or to just bring with you because it's very small. Uh, and it has a cloth board, which love that. So, they might have a normal version and a travel version. I have no I have no idea. Next up, Terra Vista. This is by Chile Fox Games, who have published one of my all-time favorite games, Spectacular. So, when they announced a new one to six player game, I just have to check it out. I'm very excited. It is a roll and write. I think there is at least dice rolling going on. Um, and we have this like grid that we're drawing on. So, it's looking right up my alley to be honest. It's looking cozy. It's looking cute. It might be a little bit too easy even, but sometimes that's what you need in life. And this is just looking really, really cute. And it includes 12 unique maps.
So maybe the replayability is actually pretty good. We're going to find out. Next, we have Wild World, another one to four player game. This is multi-use cards. Love that. Worker placement and asymmetric player powers, which sounds all really, really fun. Um, and it looks beautiful as well. So, look at this. Stunning. Stunning. What does it say? Let's see. It says, "Worldworld is a dynamic one to four player strategy game that blends worker placement, multi-use cards, engine building, and tactical monster combat into one seamless combo-driven experience. Set across five elemental realms: forest, ocean, fire, frost, and magic. Players gather fantastical creatures, explore vivid regions, evolve their champions, and brew powerful potions as they race to score the most points over three rounds. Sounds like a fun time. Next, we have Grow Sky. One to four players. Again, this is a smaller game. Um, I'm pretty sure the box is is isn't that big. Um, but it's looking like and it's Japanese, so I'm excited. And it just looks beautiful. Look at this.
Very pretty. I'm excited to see what the game play is going to be like because again, I don't know much about it. Um, dice rolling, pattern building, race, resource to move. We'll see. We'll see what's going to going to go. Each round, players roll and draft dice to determine their ship's actions, some combination of flying to gain resources and medals, developing their ship for more effective future actions, or going on standby to gain resources. Most actions have a mechanic of their own, from the polyomino filling of engine room development to upgradeable rondelle. Great. Sounds absolutely amazing. We need to check it out. Next we have Kingsport Travel Guide. Now this is sounding very unique because it is like set in a Lovecraftian world, but you're a tour guide.
So it says um it's the third game in the Travel Guide series. I've never heard of this, so if you have, let me know what it's like and if you recommend it. Um, but it says that you become a tour guide leading visitors through one of Lovecraft's most iconic towns. Draw a route through the misty streets of Kingsport, making sure that tourists will visit attractions they want to earn victory points. At the same time, influence the movement of cultists performing a mysterious ritual trying to keep them away from your tourists. That's just who thought of this because that sounds so unique and so fun. There aren't really any images, so we're going to have to wait and see what it looks like. Next, we have rooms and roomies.
This just sounds like a crazy fun time. It is kind of like a puzzle game. Love it. I love a puzzle game. Um, set collection, tile placement, say less. And it's kind of giving like IKEA. It's like an IKEA game where you're shopping for furniture and there's like people wanting to move in with you, but they have requirements. This sounds really like a like come sail away vibe almost, which for me is perfect. So, we're going to see what this is going to be like. Next, we have Chrono Critters, one to four players. This again is a theme where you're like, who is thinking of these themes for games because it's crazy. So, we're on Earth in the year 2526 62. Sorry, can't read numbers. Following a cataclysmic event, time and space are ripping apart at the seams. Players must help save the world by rediscovering ancient technologies, enlisting the help of robotic, timetraveling, portal building animals known as chrono critters.
That's the theme of the game. What are you talking about? Look at the art as well. That is just wild. It's looking intense, but I have to see this. I have to go at least and and look at it with my own eyeballs because that's crazy. That's absolutely crazy. Yeah. So, we're gonna check this out. Let's look at this designer. Has he done anything else? No, a new designer on the market. So, very excited. Next, we have minus 60 below 60 degrees, however you would pronounce this title. Um, again, a heavier game, but it looks so cool and I love the artwork.
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. I've seen multiple people also talk about this. Um, look at the little little That's That's so cute. We're all cozy in comfory clothes because it's cold, obviously. Look at that. That looks very fun. So, I'm curious to play this as well. Push your luck, hand management, worker placement. Let's see what it's all about. Next, we have Walking in Kamogawa. This is just in the Walking series. I'm pretty sure there is multiple games in this series, and I just want to see this. This might not be that great. I don't know. Uh, but I love the walking games, uh, the ones that I've played. So, I really want to try this one and see what it's like. It looks very, very cute with the card layering, animals.
We're spotting animals. I think um the Kamogawa River in Kyoto has shaped seasonal scenery that reflects Kyoto's culture since ancient times. Clear water, long river banks, traditional town houses, and elegant bridges. It is a cherished strolling place for both locals and visitors alike. So, we're going to see what that's about. I feel like I'm repeating myself so much. I'm so sorry. Next, we have Midnight Mail. This is just all based on vibes because look at this. That's so cute. A perfect game for Halloween. Um, and you are a cat, I guess. And we're delivering mail.
That's That sounds like a great time to me to be quite honest. Tile placement. Say less. I love tile placement. Let's go. We need to check it out. It looks great. Also, look at my mug. Isn't that stunning? It's Phantom Manor themed from Disneyland Paris. I love it. All right, I needed to show that. Back to games, we have Fragments Fungatai. There is also another one in this series, but I chose one of them to show. Um, one to four players and your brother is in danger. His pendant has been found in the heart of the ancient forest where ancient spirits and shaman sham shamans have lived in harmony for generations.
Will you dare to venture into the woods to search for him? Be careful. There might be many secrets lurking in the shadows. This is just looking like a very cool storydriven game where we play in chapters and I love games like this. I love storydriven games. I Something shiny is one of my all-time favorite games and I haven't really found anything like that since playing that. So, I'm always on the lookout for something story driven with chapters where you go through a story and, you know, let it develop, make choices. So, this could be potentially a great discovery. Next, we have Calypso, one to four players. This again looks so fun with these islands and its tile placement. Again, I love tile placement games. Um, beautiful art and we're stacking tiles and houses and I think it's going to be madness. Um, we have as mechanisms we have closed drafting. It's a co-op game. We love to see that. I love a co-op game from time to time.
Wildscape one to four players. This I mean the nature theme is always going hard. I feel like it's still so it is an oversaturated theme, but it just works. It just works really really well. And the tile placement looks beautiful. Very, you know, Cascadia inspired, I think. Um, but I'm curious. So, it's on the list and we're going to check it out. And last but not least, we have Brushwood, which is a two to four player game. The reason it's on the list is because look at this. Wow. How could I was debating putting this on the list or not because it is a two to four player game, but I just could not ignore how stunning this looks.
Oh my goodness. So, yeah, I have to at least try see what the game's about. It looks so cute. If you're like foraging for berries, I guess mushrooms in the woods, sign me up. Sign me up. I love a game like that. So, that is all the games that I have on my list. I'm now going to quickly go through some games that I have um already played, but that I want to tell you about. So, let me tell you about a couple games that, as I said, I've played already or I own them even. uh but they will be at Spiel and for some people these might be new games on the market. So let's dive right in.
First we have Night at the Zoo. This is a beautiful, beautiful tile placement game uh by Thomas Hollik. Very crunchy. It will melt your brain. You have animals that have escaped the zoo. They need to go back into the zoo before the zoo opens. But all the animals will move in different ways, making it a very puzzly experience in trying to get these animals back to the zoo in time for the zoo opening. Next, we have Fox Glove Farm. This is a game by Alicat Games, and it is a rebrand of the game Minecart Town, which was published a couple years ago. Alica Games has taken this game and all the mechanics are exactly the same, but they've made new artwork for it and republished it. Um, it is very fun tile placement. Again, quite puzzly where you're trying to have a lot of resource management going on, especially in a sense that resources can only be on certain tiles and you want to get them to different tiles to score points. and you're trying to make these roots that work out well so you can move all the resources where they need to go. Very fun. Next up, we have a couple games by All Play. They just I feel like All Play rarely misses. They do so many great titles and I'm always excited to see what they're going to do next. I have three games on this list. Um, the first
one is Enchanted Ivy, which is a solo campaign style game in a very small box. The amount of gameplay in this box is insane for the size of it cuz it's very small. It's like a like a small little box like this. Um, and you are running an inn and you're trying to accommodate all your guests so they like their rooms. And there's a story elements. There's stickers. It's a whole cozy a cozy vibe. I love it. We also have a jibberjabble which is more of a party game where again you this is like the word game again that I really love. Um where one player has to guess a word. The rest of the group knows which word the person needs to guess and then they need to give hints. But instead of giving the hints in a normal way, the group needs to spell out the hint without knowing what everybody's trying to spell. If that makes sense. Just go and can go and try it if you're at Spiel. If you like party games that are like quick and easy, see if you can go and try it at the Allplay booth and I swear you will not be disappointed. It is so fun. We also have Mountain Goats Legacy. This is a legacy game. They have a smaller mountain goats game as well that's not legacy style. That's just
like cute on the-go simpler version. And then the legacy game will keep adding new goals, new ways to score. Very fun. It's a dice rolling game where you're trying to go up the mountain with your goats. And when you're at the top of the mountain, you'll score the points associated with that mountain, but then another player will try to get to the top and knock you off, so they will score points. It's a whole thing. It's so I did not expect to like this as much as I did. And I had such a blast playing it with my friend Jennifer, and she has it. I don't, but I already want to play it again. Next up, we have Raindrops. I have a video of that on my channel as well. I also have Night at the Zoo and Fox Glove Farm. They're on my channel as well if you want to see more of the gameplay. Um, Raindrops is very cozy.
Uh, you're like watching raindrops on the window and you're trying to make these patterns to score points. Very cute, very cozy, very simple. I would say it's more of a family game that could be really fun with maybe kids as well. Um, it's not very crunchy, but it's beautifully made and very fun. Um, so check it out if that sounds interesting to you. Next we have Umegari Dream Shop by Lucky Duck Games where you run it's a tile placement game where you run your own like magic shop and you have these cute little critters that help you in the shop and you're trying to place out tiles depending on which goal cards are in play because there's a bunch of different goal cards and it has kind of the same scoring mechanism as it's kind of like tiny any towns if you've played that where it's like certain colors need to be in certain places for you to score points if that makes sense. It's hard to explain.
You're it's tile placement. You're running it's cute. The artwork is stunning and you're running a shop and trying to stock the shop with the best items. That's basically what you're doing. Next we have Kano, which is an absolutely stunning tile placement game with the most beautiful artwork. So beautiful. I could look at that box all day long. It's so beautiful. Um, and [snorts] very hard game solo. The solo is tough to beat. It's very crunchy. Um, and the game has a bunch of different goal cards as well that can really change the difficulty. So, you can make it easier or harder for yourself if you want to. The multiplayer is also just very fun.
Um, and in the multiplayer, you can even add a samurai mode that makes it even more difficult. So, you can go crazy with that one. Um, and it's just a really beautiful tile placement game where you're painting tapestries and it's beautiful. And that is the list that I have right now. So, I hope you guys enjoyed watching. I'm so excited to go to Spiel. I will be vlogging um as I usually do. So, there will be daily vlogs for Spiel. Can't wait. Um, and I will be signing at the Van Rider Games booth um, on Friday and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. So, if you want to come and say hi, uh, get a picture or just chat for a little bit, get my autograph even if you want to, um, you can come over to the Van Writer game booth at those times.
So, I'm hoping to see you there, and I'm hoping everybody's gonna have a lovely, lovely time. So, I'll see you soon. Bye.