by W. Eric Martin

Max J. Kobbert's Labyrinth has sold more than 30 million copies since its debut in 1986, with 20+ variant games released along the way, and for the game's fortieth anniversary Kobbert is working with Carcassonne designer Klaus-Jürgen Wrede on a crossover project that in retrospect is the most obvious game crossover possible: Carcassonne Labyrinth.

The game was announced at a Ravensburger press event during SPIEL Essen 25, and no gameplay details were revealed — only a 2026 release date.

Moritz Brunnhofer from co-publisher Hans im Glück told me that the designers have been collaborating for some time to ensure that Carcassonne Labyrinth will be more than a cool concept: "We didn't want to sign the contract right off, then work on the design and be committed to publication no matter what it was."

Max J. Kobbert (fourth from left) and Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (fifth) at this press event
As usual, my time at SPIEL became consumed with as many meetings, photos, and notes as possible, which left no time for evening reports as I opted for sleep instead. I'll start those reports this week and continue for far too long...