Jens' Essen 2007 Games To Watch list
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Like last year, I am putting together a list of games, released at (or at least around) Essen, that I think sound interesting, based on descriptions, pictures, the theme alone, etc.
I generally prefer heavier euro boardgames with a historical theme, so very light games, card games, pure abstracts, and plastic bit/big box fantasy games will probably be quite underrepresented here. I do like wargames, though - traditional, old-fashioned wargames that is; with cardboard counters or at the very least wooden blocks - so you might find one or two of those here as well.
The games on the list are not all "Essen games", in the sense that the they necessarily become available for purchase at the show. Some games on my list are already out, some might only be demo'ed at the show, and it is not impossible that I might have included games that I think will be sold at Essen, but which really don't come out until much later! 
Have you played any of the following games, been involved in development and/or playtesting, or are you just dying to voice your opinion, please leave a comment. And if you think I am missing a potential gem, feel free to add it.
For much more complete lists of games (used as the input for this list), see the excellent Essen 2007 Canonical List here on BGG, as well as Spielbox's great Essen game list.
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1.
Board Game: Agricola
[Average Rating:8.25 Overall Rank:2]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Lookout Games, stand 9-40.
Lookout Games impressed me with The End of the Triumvirate. Now we have a Uwe Rosenberg-designed game about being a farmer! Hardly language-independent though, with a lot of German on the cards used in the advanced version. Still, I have my sights set on this one.
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2.
Board Game: Amyitis
[Average Rating:7.10 Overall Rank:314]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Ystari, stand 9-38.
The latest from Ystari. This time we're transported to ancient Babylon. Mechanically and component-wise, we're in well-known Euro territory, with wooden cubes, resource tokens, several types of cards, not to mention the fact that players get to build stuff while striving for prestige points.
UPDATE: Amyitis page at ystari.com including English rules PDF can be found here.
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3.
Board Game: Brass
[Average Rating:8.08 Overall Rank:8]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Warfrog, stand 5-95.
Admittedly, I never seem to really enjoy the Wallace/Warfrog games I try, despite invariably being thrilled by the idea of those games. Struggle of Empires, Byzantium, and Perikles all sound like games I should love, but in reality I never seem to do.
Brass seems like a welcome return to the economic game genre, a genre Wallace generally does very well. The concrete theme chosen is unusual, and therefore by its very nature intriguing.
I fully expect to be at the Warfrog booth Thursday morning to get this.
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4.
Board Game: Caylus
[Average Rating:7.97 Overall Rank:11]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Ystari, stand 9-38.
I am not generally the type to become obsessed with the various limited edition collectors' items available at the show. I have pre-ordered the limited edition of Caylus, though - it's just so darn pretty.
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5.
Board Game: Cuba
[Average Rating:7.30 Overall Rank:161]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Eggert-Spiele, stand 12-02+84.
Pretty eurogame from Eggert-Spiele. Comparisons have been made to Puerto Rico (and not just geographical ones).
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Rio Grande Games, stand 10-33.
Appearently, Rio Grande Games is coming out with this remake of Stephenson's Rocket by Reiner Knizia. Set in the United States this time and with a few changed rules, I don't really know what to expect from this. I liked, but wasn't blown away by Stephenson's Rocket, but the promise of a likeable theme (railroads) from the hand of Knizia keeps my hopes up.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Eggert-Spiele, stand 12-02+84.
Another Eggert-Spiele game here: Hamburgum is the third game (after Antike and Imperial) from designer Mac Gerdts.
Unlike his earlier games, here we have no combat. Instead, players build and gain influence and majorities in the city of Hamburg during the Thirty Years War.
UPDATE: Game website, including English rules PDF can be found here.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Gen Four Two, stand 4-14.
Small expansion for Hive. I have the base game (and like it, even if I don't really get it!), so picking up the expansion seems like a no-brainer.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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alea, stand 11-1 (Ravensburger).
Here we have another Stefan Feld game published by alea. Set in medieval China, players perform actions and play their characters. Mechanically, we're firmly in Euro territory, and since I didn't much like Feld's earlier Notre Dame, I think I will wait and see with this one.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Kosmos, stand 12-17+20.
I admit it, Teuber's Entdecker was enjoyable but I haven't played it in years and don't really miss it. Now, with The Jade Goddess it seems we have a somewhat modified, completely rethemed new version of Entdecker. The theme sounds fantastic, but do I really need another Entdecker game in my collection - are the changes significant enough to warrant getting this one as well?
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Histogame, stand 5-91.
After Friedrich, Histogame seems to gone for a classic euro area-influence game, although with a few twists. The theme is refreshingly, well, fresh, and the game certainly looks interesting.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Truant Verlag, stand 5-03, 9-110.
This medieval-ish/fantasy game seems to center on resources, production, building of structures and training of troops. In a tribute to the last few years' popular trends in eurogaming, not only do players win by pleasing the King (!), it seems cathedral-building is an option too.
Still, definitely worth a look.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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MoD Games, stand 12-76 (Bambus).
This two-player game from Andreas Steding, set in England in the 5th century, features the Saxons and the Celts battling for control of the country. Surprisingly, military control is only one aspect of conquest, with magical control being equally important.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Hans im Glück, stand 11-45+46.
The publisher alone (Hans im Glück) makes this worth a look. Incluence in China during the Ming dynasty.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Valley Games, stand 5-51.
This new big-box Knizia game to be published by Valley Games will only be at Essen in prototype form. Players try to gain influence in an ancient Roman settlement.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Ystari, stand 9-38.
I absolutely adore Mykerinos, and it is without doubt my favorite Ystari game so far (but I am hoping Amyitis can give it a run for its money ). Get the expansion for Mykerinos? Oh yes.
UPDATE: English rules (and don't they look ever so yummy... ) can be found here.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Simmons Games, stand 5-91.
Not really an "Essen game" (it's already been published), this Bowen Simmons designed game has me intrigued. I liked his Marengo but felt it might be a bit too, well, "chess-like" for my wargaming taste. Appearently, Napoleon's Triumph, while built on the same foundations as Marengo, should improve on this aspect. I will certainly keep an eye out for this and see if I can spare the money and luggage space for it!
UPDATE: Rules, pictures, descriptions, design diaries, you name it, can be found at www.simmonsgames.com.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
-
Kosmos, stand 12-17+20.
I enjoy the basic game, so will probably get the expansion. A bit more variety as well as the possibility of playing with 5 or 6 players sounds irresistible.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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A Tom Lehmann designed science fiction card game to be published by Rio Grande Games.
Comparisons have been made to San Juan - here's hoping I will like this one better!
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Vendetta, stand 4-114.
This lighter 18xx game sounds good. I am a big 18xx game fan already, so this may be worth a look.
UPDATE: Game website including preorder form can be found here.
Preordered.
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Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Matagot, stand 9-68.
"The rich king of Utopia invites princes from the greatest known civilizations (Persia, China, Maya, Greece and Egypt) to come to live in his city. Princes bring all the diversity of the architectural style of their civilization."
The game has nice artwork and theme and I was easily impressed enough with last year's Khronos to at least give this year's game a look.
UPDATE: Images of the various components used can be seen here. I am not usually a fan of plastic figures, but the ones for Utopia are gorgeous.
UPDATE: English rules can now be found at the above link too.
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22.
Board Game: Horus
[Average Rating:5.83 Overall Rank:4245]
Jens Hoppe
Denmark
Frederiksberg
What are you, like 80?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
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Yeah, I had this one on my list for last year as well.
But here's hoping this will be the year Mayfair sees fit to publish it! I won't hold my breath, though.
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Tom Rosen
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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You covered most of the upcoming Essen releases I have my eye on, but missed Breese's upcoming new release. I don't know much about it yet, but I'm definitely eager to give Key Harvest a try
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Tom Rosen
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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In addition to the Mykerinos Expansion, this is the other upcoming expansion that I have my eye on for sure!
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Tom Rosen
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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Oh yes, and of course this one too
I enjoyed Twilight Struggle a lot more the second time I played it, so am now interested in seeing how this one turns out. I've downloaded the rules but haven't had a chance to read them yet, hopefully soon.
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Killeen
Texas
Copenhagen N
EU
This doesn't make sense!
It is when you travel by air - you have to be careful.
Frederiksberg
It is when you travel by air - you have to be careful.
Mik, you're right! I just have to be really, really careful.
Sutton Coldfield
Still, his healthy dose of realism has saved me from spending a few Euros in the past.
BC
Be interested in hearing about which of the games you actually buy, and what your impressions (positive and negative) are of the games you try at Essen.
Have to live vicariously through all the lists and Essen reports, so keep the information coming!