Gen Con Pit Stop – Ravensburger Games

If you missed my big bad Gen Con recap, just know—I’m an avid tabletop gaming fan. Strategy gaming, RPGing, you name it, I’m there. So, when I tell you that Gen Con is my Mecca, that’s an understatement.

Out of all of the glorious, wonderful moments of Gen Con 2025, my favorite part was getting to meet and greet with some of the companies I’ve been following for years. When I had the chance to snag an interview with Ravensburger, let me tell you I didn’t just jump at the chance, I catapulted myself clear into that Google Calendar invite. If you don’t know Ravensburger, they are the brains behind some of the best games that are currently on the market. Disney Villainous is one of the first games that I pull out when someone comes over for a game night. Even the non-strategy gamer can fall in love with Villainous, because you’re tapping into the Disney realm, and the graphics and objectives align with the villain we all know and love—but I’m getting ahead of myself! More on that one later…

In the midst of the sheer chaos that is Gen Con, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Amiekay from Ravensburger to get an up-close look at all of their 2025 Gen Con releases, and they did not disappoint! In no particular order… 

The Sandcastles of Burgundy is a scalable family-friendly game based on Castles of Burgundy, that introduces younger audiences to strategy gaming. This fun little beach-themed board game is played with sandcastles that hide various decorations under them. Using your memory, it's your job to uncover them and work towards reaching the Queen Crab's beach party. This is a classic dice rolling game and allows for two different versions, depending upon the abilities of your youngest players. The theming is fun, and as I said, it’s scalable, so this is definitely one I’m looking forward to checking out with my little one! 2-4 Players, Ages 5+.

Horrified: Dungeons and Dragons. Holy Moley, this Gen Con drop was one of the items that created quite the lineup outside the booth. This new release lives in the Horrified family of games and allows adventurers to play cooperatively as they work together to battle one of four monsters, ranging in difficulty. If you have a working knowledge of the D&D universe, these monsters will not be new to you, as they are common staples of the world. Players will also get to choose to be the wizard, rogue, fighter, cleric, or bard, of course, all with their own specific abilities. 1-5 Players, Ages 10+.

Gloomies is a beautiful, dare I say cozy, game I simply could not pass up. This is basically a 2-in-1 game. In phase 1, you start with planting a garden of glowing flowers. Using strategy and a bit of luck, you’ll start building your deck throughout phase 1 to use in phase 2, which is where you harvest your plants. Gain points along the way as you harvest your flowers and completed decoration orders. The graphics in this game alone will pull you in, but that’s truly the Ravensburger way. Amiekay and I even talked about the talented illustrators they have—these games are gorgeous, and Gloomies does not disappoint in that arena. It’s easy to judge this book by the cover. 2-4 Players, Ages 10+.

Villainous Unstoppable (I told you we’d circle back to Villainous) is a new spin on their hit Villainous system. In the classic version of Villainous, you play as a Disney Villain with your own objective in your own realm, vying for your chance to be the baddest baddie of all time. What makes Villainous unique is that every player has their own objective, building their own strategy to win. This means you’re not only considering your own gameplay but also unraveling the strategies and objectives of those around you. If it seems intense, it is—my brother walked away 10 minutes in. But alas! Villainous Unstoppable was created to ease some of that, allowing for more open hands, making it easier to track. They also amped up the board in the best ways making for yet another gorgeous game. 2-4 Players, Ages 7+

Bonus announcement: Sweet Victory is another new release from Ravensburger but wasn’t featured at Gen Con. This is a speed-stacking game where you can only use one hand to grab one piece, racing against your opponent to stack the perfect tower to match the pulled card. Whoever completes it first will race to grab the trophy and thus earn the points. First one to 12 wins. This sounds like a very fun interactive game that could be great at parties. I’m laughing considering it, and it may make a stop in my shopping cart when I’m done writing this article. 2-4 Players, Ages 8+.

So that’s a bit about just a few of the Ravensburger games, but I’ve hardly touched the surface. There are so many games available at various levels of difficulty. If you can’t find the perfect game for you from Ravensburger, I’ll be shocked, because there genuinely is a game for everyone. If you’re new to strategy gaming, it can be extremely overwhelming to start finding the games you love—but Ravensburger is definitely a company to check out. If you’re at Gen Con 2026, make sure they are on your list of booths to visit. I’m so happy I did!