Friedberg, Dec. 22, 2023: Christmas is just a few days away and the end of the year is rapidly approaching. 2023 was an extraordinary year for Pegasus Spiele with its 30th anniversary, the Spiel des Jahres award for Dorfromantik – The Board Game, and many gaming highlights.
The story of Pegasus Spiele began 30 years ago with a small game store in Hesse, Germany. Since then, the company expanded into distribution, and finally evolved into a publisher with international reach. Our 30th anniversary year was crowned with the Spiel des Jahres award for Dorfromantik – The Board Game, by the designer duo Michael Palm and Lukas Zach. Our next release in the world of Dorfromantik is expected this January: Dorfromantik – The Duel is for two players or teams who compete against each other to create the most beautiful (and highest scoring) landscape. Pegasus Spiele received other awards in 2023: the expert game Carnegie by Xavier Georges was awarded the Golden Geek Heavy Game of the Year, and the intergalactic action game Spaceship Unity by Ulrich Blum and Jens Merkl won the innoSPIEL in October.
Other gaming highlights this year include Werewolves Big Box and Istanbul – Choose & Write. In Werewolves Big Box, after the sun sets and the villagers go to sleep, werewolves hunt for a fresh victim every night... Werewolves Big Box is a limited anniversary edition of the ultimate hidden role party game. This edition contains two promo cards, all the cards from Werewolves and Werewolves - Night of the Vampires, plus all the cards have been manufactured with a shiny metallic foil effect. This game supports large groups between six to 50 players, ages ten and up.
Istanbul – Choose & Write, is Rüdiger Dorn's newest design in the Istanbul family. Like the 2014 Kennerspiel des Jahres winner Istanbul, players act as merchants racing to acquire goods and Lira to trade for precious rubies, but while the theme may be familiar, the game mechanics are new. This novel flip-and-write game gives each player a personal Game Plan sheet on which they mark their visited locations, in addition to goods, Lira, and permanent improvements. And for the first time in the Istanbul series, solo rules have been included so everyone can experience the busy Turkish bazaars for themselves!
The year also introduced a new game for experienced players: Djinn by Benjamin Schwer, the latest release from Pegasus Spiele partner Hall Games. As promising members of the Magic Guild, players must capture and remove the invading Djinn before they cause irreparable harm to the Magical Source upon which the town relies. Who will be celebrated as the Savior of the Magical Source? Djinn offers an entertaining and atmospheric gaming experience that requires both forward planning and flexibility. Multiple modular components during setup means each game of Djinn presents a new puzzle to decipher and explore.
Pegasus Spiele wishes everyone happy holidays with many fun hours of gaming, and all the best for 2024!
