Essen Spiel 2026 saw 230,000 pairs of feet tread its halls. The world’s biggest tabletop convention just keeps getting bigger, and that means there’s more than ever to see. I can’t tell you about everyboard game from Essen worth buying – I am just one puny mortal with a lot of con to cover. However, I can tell you which demos impressed me most.
Some of these may make their way into our best board games guide, after some more careful testing. For now, though, here’s my spiciest first impressions of Essen:
Mole Racing
These last few years, silly racing game fans have been eating well. The trend continues with Mole Racing, though this party game feels very different from the likes of Hot Streak, Magical Athlete, and Dino Racer.
Mole Racing presents a wonky race track and some mole meeples to zoom around it. It’s a race to the finish, but there’s a catch. On your turn, you must operate your mole racer blindfolded (these cute critters don’t have the best eyesight, after all). If your hand or meeple ever makes contact with something else, the rest of the table shouts ‘CRASH!’ Your turn ends, and you take a crash token, which you must skip a turn or spend a fuel token to discard.
It’s a dexterity game that guarantees giggles. Playable in under half an hour, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, though I do wonder if the novelty will wear off after a few repeat plays.
Kinsokuchi
Kinoskuchi is the latest title from Tokyo publisher Sugorokuya. I was first drawn into this forbidden place by the spooky yet charming cover art. I stayed, though, for the quirky deduction mechanics.
You must work together to escape a cursed location by, one by one, searching for the correct exit path. Every player bar one closes their eyes, while the one that remains starts flipping face-down cards on the table. Each card contains conditions, showing symbols that must be revealed or hidden at the moment that card is flipped.
Fail to meet the conditions, and you die. Your final act is to scrawl a dying message in your non-dominant hand. With ghostly clues and a bit of cleverness, you might just make it out of this alive. Kinsokuchi presents several scenarios to try, and I’m looking forward to sharing a proper review of this one later down the line.
Apocalypse
Apparently, I’m never going to get tired of trick-taking games. Apocalypse (formerly a 2023 game called Saika Banrai) offers a fun spin on the genre, plus phenomenal production value. Seriously, this teensy board game is gorgeous.
The goal here is to score the fewest points over three rounds. Standard trick-taking rules apply, at first – play a card, follow the lead suit if possible, and the highest value wins the trick. However, your cards represent horseman of the apocalypse, and a matching apocalypse token is flipped when they’re played. When all four tokens flip, the rules are turned on their head – suddenly, the lowest-scoring card wins the trick. Apocalypse is a delightful mix of chaos and tough decisions.
Hellbreak TCG
Releasing in January 2027, Hellbreak will enter a pretty crowded TCG market, but it pulls more than a few clever tricks to stand out. Firstly, it serves a dedicated and underserved market – horror movie fans. Hellbreak’s demo decks pit the Dracula and Jaws against the Headless Horseman and the Bride of Frankenstein. Future product already promises crossovers with Friday the 13th, as well as more modern IPs like Smile and A Quiet Place. It’s a true monster mash, and on first impression, it has the potential to be a graveyard smash.
Hellbreak shares DNA with Star Wars Unlimited and MTG’s Commander format, but it manages to feel distinct. You lead the charge as a famous monster, gathering blood and menace to summon minions, take control of iconic horror locations, and eventually transform into your most fearsome, bloodthirsty self. I particularly enjoyed Hellbreak’s bidding mechanics and action-by-action turn-passing – two mechanics blended seamlessly into the TCG’s head-to-head gameplay.
Greenwood
Greenwood was one of Essen Spiel’s hottest titles (second only, perhaps, to Queen Alice – a euro I simply wasn’t prepared to queue three hours to buy). Eager to learn if the hype was deserved, it’s the first demo table I ran to. My initial opinion is this: the game is smooth, plays seamlessly, and doesn’t ever waste space. It also doesn’t do much that feels unique. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t incensed to queue up and buy a copy straight after.
Greenwood is a competitive rescue mission. You run around a Druid’s grove, improving your strength and wayfinding skills, in order to be the best possible savior of woodland animals held here against their will. It’s a careful management game where you juggle skill tracks, action economy, and a Tetris-style submarine minigame. You can learn more in my full Greenwood preview.
Untitled Magpie Games prototype
This game is so new, it doesn’t technically have a name yet. Magpie Games (of Root RPG and Avatar Legends fame) is currently developing an asymmetric urban fantasy game. Here, supernatural factions – wizards, demons, werewolves, and even human monster hunters – battle for dominance over Los Angeles.
Each faction has its own playstyle, but you’re all racing to control four of LA’s six provinces, or, failing that, to have the most victory points after five turns. Taking actions involves playing cards from your deck and discarding others to pay their cost, so hand management is a layered, thinky endeavor. Play leaders, allies, and minions at locations to try and gain control, or play moves and events to disrupt your enemies. There’s a huge number of ways to influence the city, but the rules never feel overwhelming.
This is obviously a very early version of a game that’s not expected to be ready until 2027. Still, it was one of my favorite demos of the con. Magpie Games is doing interesting stuff with Root-style faction fighting mechanics, as well as storytelling through solid mechanics.
Those were just some of the games I demo’d at Essen – I brought even more home to test for full reviews. From Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Timespan to some truly obscure gems, I’ll be writing about them all in the coming weeks. If you’d like to keep up with our coverage of the latest hotness, why not join us in the Wargamer Discord?
Source: Wargamer
