I came across two new games I haven’t heard about yet. Verflixxt is a new game from Kramer and Kiesling, but far from their earlier work together. The board of this roll and move game is made of cards with number values from -10 to +10. The last piece to leave each card (each player has several pieces) must take the card. In the end, the player with most point (or least negative points) wins the game. The game has very few rules and lots of luck. Very basic family game, that is, but hopefully with enough twist in it.

Labyrinth — Die Schatzjagd is already in the Geek. The latest addition to the Amazing Labyrinth family is a surprisingly interesting game. Here’s what I wrote in Geek:

It’s a speed game. A labyrinth card is turned up. Players start making their way through the labyrinth to find out how many treasure chests they can reach. Some are behind closed doors, some are behind deadly traps — those must not be counted.

When someone gets the total, they say it out loud and then check behind the card if they got it right. I’m not 100% sure, but I think that correct guesses are rewarded with keys, which open doors on the maps — players with keys must look for more treasures, balancing the game a little. I’d guess that once someone has all three keys and finds another treasure, the game is over.

I’m intrigued. Die Schatzjagd is similar to Ricochet Robot, only easier. It’s fairly small and short, so it’ll probably make a pretty good filler for those who like Ricochet Robot. I’m certainly looking forward to get this one!

I also took a look at Australia — looks nice, but I sure wish it had the Franz Vohwinkel art the mask trilogy has. It’s probably a good idea to have low expectations here — it’s not a heavy thinker, but a lighter family game. Perhaps something like Knizia’s Africa. We’ll see.