Toy manufacturer Schmidt has presented some new board games for the new year. Find out what they are here.
Running away from a farting duck? Create a work of art from shimmering cards? Or play "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" without annoying other players? Schmidt has announced some new games for children and adults for spring 2025.
Card game "Out of the Mousetrap", suitable for 2-4 players aged four and up
The mouse cooks, rides a bike or builds a snowman. The aim of the game is to put her adventures in the right order with a little luck of the dice. But you mustn't fall into the mousetrap... According to the manufacturer, "Raus aus der Mausefalle" is an easy-to-understand card game for two to four people aged five and up to complement the classic children's game "Mausefalle".
Children's game "Pupsparade", suitable for 2-4 players aged four and up
The chicks and their dad have just had a hearty breakfast and now it's all about escaping Papa Duck's poops as quickly as possible. Two to four players aged four and up try their luck with the dice. Anyone who is unlucky is swept off the board with a loud fart from Papa and has to start all over again. According to Schmidt, one round takes about 15 minutes.
Children's card game "Blubbern", suitable for 2-4 players aged five and up
For the children's birthday party "Benjamin Blümchen: Party fun with Törööö!"
Legacy game "Ziggurat", suitable for 2-4 people aged eight and over
The game can be played with two to four people and is recommended for ages eight and up.
Party game "One Round?", suitable for up to 12 players aged eight and over
Party game "Hilo - your kingdom", suitable for 2-4 players aged six and up
"Mensch ärgere dich nicht" for one person
Other games in the "For One" series include these:
Family game "Crystalla", suitable for 2-4 people aged eight and over
Card-laying game "Atua", suitable for 1-6 players aged eight and up
There are also optional game components such as inhabitant and fate tiles. And the solo version can be played against the imaginary opponent Tahuma in four different difficulty levels.
Will you be trying out one of the new games? If so, which one? Let me know in the comments.
A true local journalist with a secret soft spot for German pop music. Mum of two boys, a dog and about 400 toy cars in all shapes and colours. I always enjoy travelling, reading and go to concerts, too.
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The game "Blubbern" has 78 water cards, each depicting three of a total of eight different underwater creatures, and 32 scoring cards, which are used to form a row of animals during the course of the game. At the start of the game, each player receives four water cards. The rest of the cards are placed in three face-down draw piles in the centre of the table. The players take it in turns to draw more water cards and place them on top of their own cards. Whoever manages to collect four cards with the same sea creature on their own piles may take one of the animal's scoring cards. The game ends when someone collects all eight animals in their row or when there are no more water cards left. Then the person with the longest row of animals wins. The game is recommended for two to four people aged five and over.
This game can be used for children's birthday parties or other events with little party guests aged four and over. The games can be adapted to different group sizes and difficulty levels. Introductory games for warming up include a balance competition, a Benjamin the Elephant hide-and-seek game, a zoo with stickers and an animal guessing game. Parents can see in advance whether simple household utensils are needed or which game ideas will provide a lot of movement, including the games "Tohuwabohu im Zoo", "Zuckerstückchenlauf", "Elefanten-Wettlauf" and many more. The set also includes classics such as stop dancing, "Who am I?", pot knocking and chair dancing.
The set includes a total of 21 different games. Source: Schmidt
This game by authors Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau centres around an old temple tower that has been abandoned for centuries. In six chapters, the players have to face challenges that can influence the course of the game. Each chapter has new rules, additional game material and its own game objective. In order to successfully complete this and thus reveal the next part of the plot, the players must work together. At the beginning of each section, an envelope is opened which briefly introduces the plot and explains the framework of the respective chapter. The players move across a game board consisting of six levels, on which ladders to climb up and various action fields and dangers await. Each turn, all players receive a face-up movement card. They can use this to move not only their own figure and the Ziggurat fire spirits, but also their fellow players.
What is the connection between the terms "work" and "fruit"? The answer could be "farmer" or "harvest". In the game "One Round?", you are presented with such a challenge as a team, card by card. What counts is how quickly you find the solution. The game is played with 100 consecutively numbered cards that can be written on individually. At the beginning, three starting cards are laid out in a circle and labelled with a starting word of your choice. Twelve of the remaining cards are placed in a face-down pile in the centre of the table. The aim of the game is to place these cards in the correct position in the circle. The person whose turn it is looks at the number on the top card and quickly thinks of a word that indicates their position between the cards on display. The more cards there are, the narrower the gaps between the numbers and the more difficult it is to categorise them correctly. Up to 12 players can take part, "One Round?" is recommended for ages eight and up.
The aim of this card game is to collect as many cards as possible. It is a variation of the existing game Hilo by Schmidt and is designed for two to four players aged six and up. At the start, each player receives twelve cards face down and lays them out in front of them. A face-down draw pile and a face-up discard pile are placed in the centre of the table. On each turn, you have to decide which pile to draw from and which card from your own display to give away or turn over. Depending on their choice and card image, players must repeatedly reveal parts of their own deck. Whoever combines their cards in such a way that they end up with as many complete star talers as possible in their kingdom wins.
In the "For One" series published in autumn 2023, Schmidt presents games that you can play all by yourself. This is now being expanded to include the classic game "Mensch ärgere dich nicht". One player has to face various challenges in twelve consecutive levels. The opponents are not the other players, but various building options and tasks with increasing levels of difficulty. The game is recommended for ages eight and up and, according to Schmidt, a round lasts around 20 minutes.
In the game "Crystalla", you have to put together an overall picture from seven different types of crystal. But your fellow players also want to create a work of art with lots of points. At the beginning, all participants receive a tableau to which they place twelve crystal cards. These are each divided into two shimmering segments and show different coloured types of gemstones. Each crystal is scored in a different way. The tile-laying game by the author trio Yoel Sayada, Renaud Libralesso and Pierrick Libralesso is suitable for ages eight and up and is designed for two to four players.
In "Atua", one to six players have to create an island. At the start, each player receives a village card, which they place face up in front of them. This forms the starting point around which their own island landscape is created within nine rounds. Four face-up island cards and three face-down draw piles form the building material. Each card is labelled with certain symbols and characteristics which, in combination with each other, form different sources of harmony and can influence the value of an island. On your turn, you choose one of the visible cards from the row and place it on your own island cards as you wish so that individual symbols are covered. You have to estimate distances wisely and collect the various symbols by skilfully placing them on top of each other to make the growing island more and more harmonious. Over the course of the game, there are three intermediate scores and players can choose which sources of harmony they convert into points and when.
