![Spiel 2015 XV: Das Geheimnis der Zauberer, Among Nobles, Achaia, Billionaire Banshee, Karnivore Koala & PitRush](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/AOdDmbelibdGh_cf6b5GpQ__thumb/img/J7fZioTAWJ3e8_70HG5dLd_Iuv8=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic2624934.jpg)
• Kickstarter has been spreading around the world, with Among Nobles originating from Danish publisher Among Meeples and making a public debut in Essen. Co-designer Troels Vastrup, one of five designers credited on the game, presents an overview of this release from Among Meeples.
• Krzysztof Wolicki's Achaia from REDIMP GAMES is set in a world similar to ancient Greece, and players try to use both historical forces and magic in order to seat themselves as ruler of Troy.
As an aside, I'm baffled about something related to the Polish name of the game, "Achaja". "Achaia" is the name of a region in Greece, and "Achaja" is both the Polish version of this name and the title of a fantasy trilogy from Andrzej Ziemiański published in the early 2000s. "Achaja" has a third meaning, however, as a search for images of that title — which I undertook to try to locate a flat cover of the game for use in the thumbnail image — leads to numerous shots of nude and clothed models. What's the Polish connection between the name and the models?
• U.S. publisher/game facilitator Ad Magic proved to be a rich source of material at Spiel 2015 when we ran ahead of schedule. They were located just over our back wall in Hall 7, and they hosted a lode of designers who could jump on camera with little notice to fill a few minutes and introduce their creation, as with designer Steven "Razlo" Bailey who here explains party game Billionaire Banshee.
• I know practically nothing about André Schillo's Karnivore Koala from Voodoo Games, but I can appreciate the beauty of the pun in this card and dice game being "set in a post-eucalyptic world" in which the koala kings (the players) must hunt for mutant animals.
• At the press room on Wednesday, I surveyed the landscape to take pics of as many games as possible and discover anything that I hadn't known about ahead of time, a category which included the disc-flicking game PitRush from Hungary manufacturer Cogitate Games.