The Spiel

A chat with Rudolf Ruhle, President of the European Society of Board Game Collectors and a tour of their Cars & Games exhibit.

We chat with designer Vlaada Chvatil about his newest title, Dungeon Petz from Czech Games Editions.

Wine, water, and garbage! A talk with designer Gil d'Orey about three new games from Portugal: Vintage, Agua, and Lixo.

Prost! We return from Germany and provide an account of our experience at Ludo Fact and the International Spieltag in Essen.

Come fly the Zeppelin filled skies. We review Fortune & Glory a game of spine tingling pulp adventure and look at other games where story is king.

Dial "L" for Latin. Vulgar Latin, that is. We review De Vulgari Eloquentia, an eccelectic but compelling medieval game where players help create the Italian language.

Wake up! We review Uluru, a crafty customizable puzzle game about granting wishes to cosmic Dreambirds. Plus, we take a look at the new dice-building game Quarriors.

Meet the people behind the games. Conversations with publishers of games for kids and families as well as games for players interested in deeper strategy and high adventure.

Geeks in the Heartland. We bring you over a dozen interviews with publishers, designers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs, each a different slice from the great gaming pie.

Ginnungagap! Team up with your fellow Norse gods in Asgard to protect the nine realms hanging from the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Dig into our in-depth review of this cooperative game from Z-Man.

Where gaming begins. Join our tour of the trade show which includes 23 interviews with publishers, designers, and writers and information on over 50 games.

Mind games. From pyramids and guild halls to the fields of Agincourt, we review nominees for the "expert" category of gaming's Oscars, the Kennerspiel des Jahres, and predict the winner.

Kids at heart. From magnetic wizards and sliding monsters to racing worms, we review the nominees for the most prestigious award for children's games, the Kinderspiel des Jahres, and try to predict the winner.

There can be only one. Winner, that is. We review the nominees for the most prestigious award in gaming, The Spiel des Jahres, and try to predict the winner.

The secret is butter. We whet our appetites with an in-depth review of The Secret of Monte Cristo, followed by a look at two games first published in magazines.

True Colors. Grab your brush, step up to the easel and join us for a review of Pastiche, a game about mixing paints to create famous works of art.

From Hell. Slip into the foggy gaslit streets with us for an in-depth review of Letters from Whitechapel, a game where players try to plan or prevent Jack the Ripper's killing spree.

Unleashed. We celebrate 5 years of The Spiel by wagging The Long Tail of gaming, reviewing 9 old obscure and off-the-wall games.

It's not easy being green. We delve into a treasure trove of fantasy themed games including Defenders of the Realm and Thunderstone: Dragonspire.

What's the rumpus? We dive into the dark waters of international smuggling for a review of Cargo Noir plus three other brand new titles: Nightfall, Chronicle and Shake 'n Take.