Report by Knut-Micheal Wolf and Ken Tidwell.
There is a games trade fair at Nuremberg every year about this time. There is a new tradition developing that new games are introduced or, at least, demonstrated at Nuremberg. Publicity then builds to the crescendo that is Essen Spiel. This looks like a very good year at Nuremberg, judging from first reports.
F.X.Schmid has published Reibach & Co by Alan Moon and 'Mick Ado'. I believe that this is a train card game involving the building of melds. Certainly not like any other popular Alan Moon game much coveted on rec.games.board. Nope. Certainly not. Not even similar. Nope. You didn't hear it was anything like that other game from me, that's for sure.
Ravensburger has Vegas by Reiner Knizia. They have also launched a line of card games packaged in the popular (not!) Amigo format. There are six small games to start, including Kuhhandel (the game which Wrott and Swindlers resembles) and Hol's der Geier (which, I believe, resembles High Society or vice versa).
ASS is releasing a new edition of Niki Lauda's Formel 1. The new edition is titled Top Race (reportedly due to licensing problems) and includes a new betting rule. Die Wikinger and Barbarossa will also be reissued.
Blatz has a new Reiner Knizia boardgame, Members Only, and two new card games.
Hans im Glück have Yucata, which, on first report, appears to be a nice, small, but over produced, abstract game.
The Die Siedler von Catan expansion set has been released (and Elvis has left the building). You can download the rules from Knut Wolf's home pages. In German, of course. There are rumors of a a CD-Rom version, as well.
Goldseiber continues to flex their financial muscle with 8 new release - 4 for children and 4 to add to their adult line. Carabande is about car racing, but is played like Carrom! I have no information about Ab die Post! and Saludos Amigos but Knut Wolf reports on Entdecker, the new Klaus Teuber game:
Entdecker obviously has the same roots as Die Siedler, but is completely another game. It's about exploring an unknown region in an ocean and placing settlers, forts and villages on the isles you explore. If an island is completely explored (which depends on the cards you're laying on the board) the "strongest" player gets the highest reward, the second player gets half, the third gets half of the second. If Players build great big islands, the strongest player will get a big lead which will be hard to catch up with. I've only played it once, but it seems to be a great game.
Eurogames were showing prototypes of Kings of the Middle Sea, a game that looks like Minos but apparently has very different play. I have yet to find anyone that has actually played it, however.
Piatnik has published a new game by Jean Vanaise (Shark, Minos) entitled Ostindien Company. Siggins will be hot on the heels of this game of sea travel and trade, I'm sure.
eg Games have Ponte Vecchio, a game about building stands on the famous bridge and getting income by selling goods to one single man who walks on the bridge. Knut reports that it seems to be an interesting game.
Knut also offers the following report on Muenchhausen:
It is a great little card-game by Abacus, which I've played in Nuremberg. All players offer one of their cards to one player. He has to accept the highest offer and take that card without looking on the front side. But if he thinks he didn't get the card he was offered, he turns it over. Naturally it depends, whether he was right or wrong, what happens next. The game ends as soon as one player has no hand. All the cards you've collected, count as plus. Remaining cards in your hand count minus. Great game!