America (Ted Alspach and Friedemann Friese)

I'm not a fan of trivia games in general, but this one is terrific. No surprise, given the pedigree of the two designers. While players get points for the correct answer, they can also score for being close to the right one. This gives opportunities for tactical play and piggy-backing on other players' answers. And, despite the title, the questions are accessible to non-Americans: £30.00 £22.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Area 51 (Stefan Alexander)

Set in 1950s America, this game is about the storage facilities at Area 51. Well, all those alien bodies have to go somewhere. Players build and expand bunkers on the triangular site and fill them with alien artefacts. All the artefacts have to be stored, so players have to help their opponents while they're competing: £38.00 £25.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

The Arrival (Martin Wallace)

Players are Irish tribes taking over the Emerald Isle from the evil Fomori. They play their own pieces to occupy more territory and Fomori pieces to knock back the other tribes. However, they can't afford the Fomori to do too well. It's a clever, medium-weight game and these copies come with the two "Fate Stones" that were available at Spiel: £40.00 £25.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Barking up the Wrong Tree (Ragnar Brothers)

An entertaining and surprisingly subtle card game from the veteran British designers. Players use their dog (and cat) cards to collect sets of trees. The first round is simple, but the game gets increasingly complex as it goes on. Amusing artwork adds to the entertainment: £10.00 £7.50 (or make me an offer...).
 

Bomarzo (Stefano Castelli)

The intriguing visuals of this game reflect the grotesquerie of the real-life Bomarzo park. Representing gods and monsters, the statues are key to the game. Players make offerings to the statues to be able to use the action they provide. Neat mechanisms and fine artwork make for an excellent game: £30.00 £22.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Carpe Astra (Ted Cheatham and Jackson Pope)

An entertaining tile-laying game with a science fiction theme. The aim is to build your powerbase through the networks you connect: £18.00 £10.00 (or make me an offer...).
 

Chelsea (John Ede)

Thought-provoking family game of matching colours – though some colours just don't go together. there's enough of a challenge to interest gamers and the game looks great: £20.00 (or make me an offer...).
 

Colony (Ted Alspach, Toryo Hojo and Yoshihisa Nakatsu)

A card-based development game with players adding buildings to their colony. The challenge is managing the volatile resources required – represented by dice, using the pips to show how much players hold. I'm looking forward to playing it myself: £50.00 £28.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Duel: Once Upon a Game in the West (Jorge Piñan and Ignacio Sánchez Usera)

Each round plays quickly as a deadly gunfight – last one standing gets the point, first to five wins the game. The game becomes more subtle as players work out who's likely to play what: £6.00 £3.85 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Employee of the Month (Alan Moon & Aaron Weissblum)

Everybody can get Brownie Points, but can you avoid the suspicions of your co-workers when you curry favour with your boss? It's a card game of quickfire bidding. Clearance price: £5.00 (or make me an offer...).
 

The Foreign King (Javier Garcia)

This is a clever, entertaining game that, despite the small box, really makes you think. It's set around the industrialisation of Belgium under its first king, who was imported from Germany: £22.00 £15.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Fruit Fair (Kris Gould)

Lovely little game of collecting fruit with some tactical options that make it more subtle than initially appears. Large, bold artwork makes it visually appealing, too. And it has a raccoon! £15.00 £7.50 (or make me an offer...).
 

Game of Blame (Richard Wolfrik Galland)

A highly entertaining card game of trying to ensure other players carry the can. It's set in a mediæval court, so the penalty for taking the blame can be drastic – especially when the peasants are revolting! Highly tactical and great fun: £9.00 £6.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Heads of State (Peter Hawes)

Players draft cards to make sets that will let them establish their nobles in the major countries of western Europe. Heads of State provides players with a competitive challenge over three centuries: £15.00 to clear or make me an offer...
 

Jane Austen's Matchmaker (Richard Wolfrik Galland)

This is a hugely entertaining card game featuring characters from half a dozen Jane Austen novels. Players' aim is to form mutually advantageous marriages between the gentlemen and ladies. Brilliant! £6.00 (special offer).
 

…with Zombies (Richard Wolfrik Galland)

Love, marriage and … brains! This expansion for Jane Austen's Matchmaker brings the undead to the world of Austen. One player has the challenge of being undead and trying to infect the others. Great fun! £6.00 (special offer).
 

Junta (Eric Goldberg, Ben Grossman and Vincent Tsao)

A wonderfully cynical view of a banana republic as players compete to get the most cash stashed in their Swiss bank account. Assassinations abound and every now and then the Presidential palace will take a pounding as a coup starts: £30.00 £24.00.
 

Key to the City – London (Sebastian Bleasdale and Richard Breese)

A new game from the duo who gave us Keyflower – and one that owes something to the earlier game. However, it is a distinct, indeed distinctive, game with players using familiar landmarks to develop their own borough of London. It looks terrific: £32.00 £26.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Kings Progress (Steve Kingsbury)

Influence courtiers and persuade the King to favour you in this subtle strategy game: £25.00 £15.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Legacy (Aaron Billingham and Ken Nicholson)

Legacy is a game of competing ideologies as well as territory grabbing. The theme is political – players are gaining the support of the regions, not conquering them. Plus establishing their 'ideologies' to score points. Good, chaotic fun: £25.00 £20.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Lords of Creation (Martin Wallace)

A reprint of Martin Wallace's excellent first game. Players are Gods trying to attract and civilise followers – and convert other players' of course. A game that requires strategic thinking and a bit of diplomacy: £30.00 £20.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Manhattan TraffIQ (Dirk Arning)

If it didn't play so quickly, this would be a game that required lots of thought. As it is, it's a pleasant challenge of grabbing taxi and truck routes as you expand Manhattan. And nobbling the other players, which just adds to the fun: £15.00 £10.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Massilia (Alain Epron)

In Roman times, Marseille (as it's now known) was an important trading port and this is the setting for the game. Players are competing merchants, using dice to buy goods, curry favour with the consul and seek the favour of the Gods. It's entertaining stuff and comes with the "Bacchus" and "Thief" mini-expansions: £20.00 £15.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Master Builder (Wolfgang Kramer and Hartmut Witt)

A game where the players construct model buildings. The tricky bit is hiring (and firing!) the right workers to get your buildings done without running out of cash: £30.00 £22.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Mogul (Michael Schacht)

Set in 1920s America, this is a stock market game of railroad companies, where players can use their holdings to expand the railroad network as well as manipulating the stock market. Definitely not an 18xx game, it's Michael Schacht's development of his original game from 2002. Special purchase: limited stock.

For 3-5 players, aged 13+, playing time 45 minutes: £23.00 (£19.17 net of tax outside the EU).
 

Namibia (Brian Robson)

A game of blatant exploitation as players race to mine the country's minerals, sell them and ship them out. A clever mechanism for the market prices means this is not straightforward. Players need to keep an eye on what everybody else is up to as well: £28.00 £22.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Nefarious (Donald X Vaccarino)

A chance to play the mad scientist: construct your greatest invention and take over the world! Before the other players have a chance to build theirs and do the same... It's wonderful fun deploying your 'Igors' to best effect: £20.00 £12.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Niña & Pinta (Ragnar Brothers)

Billed as "the first Quantum game", this has players exploring and developing three parallel versions of the New World – one for each of the ships in Columbus's expedition. And each player has their own version of the three ships! Plenty to think about and lots of decision making in another excellent game from the Ragnars: £33.00 £24.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Old Town Robbery (Günter Cornett and Peer Sylvester)

This is a memory and communications game that requires quite some mental concentration. First, players devise a story as they track a robber; then they use the story to retrace his steps. It's hard work being sheriff: £10.00 £7.50 (or make me an offer...).
 

The Oracle of Delphi (Stefan Feld)

A Stefan Feld game has to be worth a look and this one looks interesting. It's set in Ancient Greece, of course, with the players racing to complete the tasks Zeus has set them. To do these, they've got to get round the islands, whose configuration is different each game: £36.00 £27.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Palmyra (Bernd Eisenstein)

This fascinating tile-laying game sees the players expand the ancient city of Palmyra. The trick is knowing when to stop collecting tiles and start using them to score points. It's quite abstrac, but I've been enjoying it: £18.00 £12.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Panthalos (Bernd Eisenstein)

The titans are coming! Emerging from the underworld in the Ancient Greek city of Corinth, they are a threat players must counter. However, the way to win is to acquire goods and trade or export them. And manage your resources. It's good, challenging fun: £30.00 £24.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Phalanxx (Bernd Eisenstein)

The latest from Herr Eisenstein is this intriguing game about the struggle for succession in Alexander the Great's empire. The game contains a board, meeples, cards and, most importantly, dice. These are key to the game as players' options depend on the combinations of dice available to them. The trick is changing your dice to get the combinations you need. Another one I'm looking forward to: £28.00 £17.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Porta Nigra (Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer)

Latest from this great design duo: a game of city building in Roman times, centred around the "Black Gate". Stacking the building pieces makes it look like a city, too: £35.00 £24.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Porto Carthago (Bernd Eisenstein)

Set around the port of ancient Carthage (Rome's great trading rival), this is such a clever game. Players have to think carefully about positioning their 'servant' pawns to gain the right goods, deliver them to the right ships and get these safely to their destinations. Great stuff: £40.00 £25.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

ROME: City of Marble (Brett Myers)

Intriguing game of developing the city of Rome, using diamond-shaped tiles and wooden sticks. Players have plenty of options and thus decisions to make: £30.00 £22.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Rome: Rise to Power (Elad Goldsteen)

Scheme your way to the top in the declining Roman Empire. Players' actions are both powered and constrained by their initial dice roll, so adapting your tactics is key: £25.00 £18.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Scotland Yard (various)

Yet another classic, this is the original hidden movement game. Master criminal Mister X dodges around London, avoiding the detectives who try to work out where he's got to. A terrific family game and still a challenge for gamers: £22.00 £18.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Sheepdogs of Pendleton Hill (Max Michael)

This game from the Stratamax collective is professionally produced to a high standard. It is a simple game with brightly coloured wooden pieces: small sheep and tall shepherds for each player and a black, black wolf! It's an entertaining game that isn't as light as you might think: £30.00 £20.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

UFOs! Fries from Space (UFOs! Fritten aus dem All) (Petra Brandenburger)

Fast food joints are really a front for aliens taking over the Earth – and you're one of them! Sell the most fries and conquer the planet. (German edition with English rules). Clearance price: £10.00 (or make me an offer...).
 

Ultimate Werewolf (Ted Alspach)

The ultimate party game for anywhere from a few friends to dozens of people. Each player has an agenda: as a villager, hunt down the werewolves; as a werewolf, convince the villagers that you're innocent, while secretly dining on those same villagers each night. Great fun: £11.00 £8.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Ultimate Werewolf Inquisition (Legend Dan Hoffman)

A deduction game that takes Werewolf as its starting point, but doesn't knock players out of the game. Players are inquisitors investigating werewolf attacks, but have themselves been infiltrated by the werewolves... clever stuff from the Legend: £16.00 £12.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

Undercover (Daniel and Doris Danzer)

The theme is 1960s espionage, each player running a team of agents for their country (colour). They use these to uncover 'secrets' – tokens that are worth points. To do this, they need to manipulate the different colours and identify double agents. Clever stuff and my copies come with re-printed components: £20.00 £14.50 to clear (or make me an offer...).
 

What's He Building in There? (Sean Scott Garrity)

I just couldn't resist the title of this game! It looked good when I saw it at Spiel, too. Players are mad scientists in Victorian London, each building a doomsday machine – and coming up with an escape plan! They have to work quickly as Scotland Yard is on the trail. It's good fun: £30.00 £22.00 to clear (or make me an offer...).