I think it should be Flussfießer which would be written more like Flussfiesser if you don’t use the ß.

Flussfieber means “river fever,” and that’s what was written in the press release (along with words that did contain the “ß” character), so I think the title just contains a fun pun for German speakers.

Eric

That’s possible too. Not that my German is any good, but it sounds weird if you pronounce it with a B :)

This seems to be the fair of Race Games:
Flußfieber
Leader 1
Formula D
Speedboats
Snow Trails
...

With a metarace to come in the Fairplay poll, no doubt. (There’s also Hurry’cup from Hurrican/Asmodée.)

Eric

2008 seems to also be the year of modular boards (Snowtails & perhaps Powerboats?) and the great outdoors theme (Timber Tom). 

What happened to all of the pirate games? (LOL)

Sigh.  I guess I’m going to have to start considering my prototype sessions with Friedemann at the Gathering to be one-time opportunities instead of previews of what he’ll be publishing.  For the past two years, I’ve played prototypes with him that I really enjoyed (along with all the other players) and which he was very confident would be released at Essen.  It didn’t happen last year and so far, there’s been no announcement this time around either.  He told me that he’d discoverd a flaw in the design of last year’s Fortuna and he hadn’t been able to work it out yet.  I don’t know if something similar happened this year, but because of the opportunity to brand the game, I really thought it would make the cut.  There’s still time for a last minute announcement, but it’s getting awfully late.

I will say that in both instances, games which appear to be considerably lighter than my favorites have been released instead (I haven’t played Flussfieber, so I’m just going by the description; last year it was Felix).  Given the mood of the German game-buying public, this is understandable, but still disappointing for a fan of meaty games like me.  When Friese is creating heavy games, he’s among my favorite designers in the world; I just hope he hasn’t given that side of the industry up.

Hey, Racing IS the new Pirates :-)

The game is correctly named Flussfieber with b - and Eric is correct by translating it with “river fever”.

And even being a light light gateway game, also gamers like the mechanisms they get with this game.

Henning

The French title is also a good one: Rivière d’Enfer, or “River of Hell.” Here’s hoping Jay has something similar in mind…
Eric

He has, but Maura still tries to figure out, if and how it works with the cover illustration. So stay tuned for another update…

How about “River Death Race 2055”?  I like the way that one rolls off your tongue… ;)

pk

Or for the geek crowd, Captain’s Log?

Eric