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Reiner Knizia is a German game designer with a doctorate in mathematics and more than 900 published games, which makes him one of the most prolific designers in the history of the hobby. Reiner Knizia games are known for short rules, sharp scoring, and decisions that feel simple until you try to make them. If you want one to start with, pick Lost Cities for two players, Ra for a group, or the cooperative Lord of the Rings for a table that wants to play together.
The quick answer: Knizia designs games where the rules fit on a card and the tension never lets up. Start with Lost Cities, Ra, or L.A.M.A., then move to Tigris & Euphrates when you want his deepest work.
Who is Reiner Knizia?
Knizia was born in 1957 in Illertissen, in Bavaria. He earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Ulm and spent years working in finance before turning to game design full time in the late 1990s.
The output since then is hard to take in. His own website describes him as the designer of more than 900 published games, from family card games and children’s games to deep strategy titles and licensed games.
The awards line up with that range:
- Spiel des Jahres, 2008: Keltis, a family game.
- Kinderspiel des Jahres, 2008: Whoowasit?, a children’s game.
- Kennerspiel des Jahres, 2026: Rebirth, a tile-laying game about rebuilding Scotland. With it, Knizia became the first designer to win all three Spiel des Jahres awards: the Spiel, the Kinderspiel, and the Kennerspiel des Jahres.
- Deutscher Spiele Preis: four wins, including Modern Art (1993), Tigris & Euphrates (1998), Taj Mahal (2000), and Amun-Re (2003).
- Spiel des Jahres special prize, 2001: Lord of the Rings, for its use of literature in a game.
Many more of his games, including Medici, Through the Desert, Ingenious, L.A.M.A., and My City, earned places on the Spiel des Jahres recommendation or nominee lists.
What makes a Knizia game feel like a Knizia game?
Fans often say they can spot a Knizia design within a few turns. A few fingerprints show up again and again.
Scoring that creates the tension
In many Knizia games, the scoring rules are the game. In Ingenious, you score in six colors, but only your weakest color counts at the end. That one rule turns every turn into a choice between growing your best color and rescuing your worst. Tigris & Euphrates uses the same idea. You cannot win by being great at one thing; you have to be good enough at everything.
Auctions where money hurts
Knizia is a master of bidding games. In Modern Art, you sell paintings to the other players using several different auction styles. In Ra, you bid with numbered sun tiles, and the winner trades their bid for the tile in the middle, which changes what they can bid next time. In High Society, the player who ends with the least money cannot win, no matter how many luxuries they bought. Each design asks the same question in a new way: how much is this really worth to you?
Push your luck with a clean exit
Lost Cities and L.A.M.A. both ask when to stop. Start an expedition in Lost Cities and it costs you points until it pays off. Hold too many cards in L.A.M.A. and they count against you. The rules are tiny. The decisions are not.
Theme as a light coat of paint
Knizia’s themes are often thin. Camels, samurai, and Renaissance merchants could be swapped for almost anything. That is a feature for many players: the games teach fast, and the mechanics, not the story, carry the fun. The cooperative Lord of the Rings is the big exception, and one of the most thematic games he has made.
What are the best Reiner Knizia games to start with?
Here are 14 Knizia board games worth knowing, from five minute card games to his deepest strategy titles. Player counts and play times are the publishers’ listed ranges.
Lost Cities
Lost Cities (1999) is a two-player card game about funding expeditions. You play cards in rising order into colored expeditions, and every expedition you start costs points until it earns them back. It is one of the most loved two-player games ever made.
- Players: 2
- Play time: about 30 minutes
L.A.M.A.
L.A.M.A. (2019) is a quick card game where you try to empty your hand, or fold before your leftover cards cost you too much. It was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2019.
- Players: 2 to 6
- Play time: about 20 minutes
High Society
High Society (1995) is an auction game about buying luxuries, with a twist: the poorest player at the end is out before scoring. It takes minutes to learn and makes every bid feel risky.
- Players: 3 to 5
Schotten Totten
Schotten Totten (1999) is a two-player duel over nine boundary stones. You build poker-like card formations on your side of each stone and win by claiming five stones, or three in a row. It was later rethemed as Battle Line.
- Players: 2
- Play time: about 30 minutes
Ra
Ra (1999) is an auction game set in ancient Egypt. You bid with numbered sun tiles for sets of goods, and the winner swaps their bid for the sun tile in the middle, so every win reshapes your future bids. Many players call it his best auction game.
- Players: 2 to 5 in current editions
- Play time: about 45 to 60 minutes
Modern Art
Modern Art (1992) puts you in the art market, buying and selling paintings with five different auction types. The values of each artist are set by what the table chooses to buy. It won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 1993.
- Players: 3 to 5
- Play time: about 45 minutes
Medici
Medici (1995) has merchants bidding on lots of goods to fill their ships. Take too little and you fall behind; take too much and your ship fills before the good loads arrive. It made the Spiel des Jahres recommendation list in 1995.
- Players: 3 to 6
- Play time: about an hour
Ingenious
Ingenious (2004) is an abstract tile game played on a hex board. You place double hex tiles to score in six colors, and only your lowest color counts. It is a perfect gateway to the way Knizia thinks.
- Players: 1 to 4
- Play time: about 45 minutes
Through the Desert
Through the Desert (1998) has players placing pastel plastic camels to build caravans, reach oases, and fence off parts of the desert. It looks gentle and plays like a quiet knife fight.
- Players: 2 to 5
- Play time: about 45 minutes
Samurai
Samurai (1998) is a tile-laying game set in feudal Japan, where players compete for influence over three kinds of pieces. It completes a loose trilogy of Knizia tile games with Tigris & Euphrates and Through the Desert.
- Players: 2 to 4
- Play time: about 30 to 60 minutes
Tigris & Euphrates
Tigris & Euphrates (1997) is often called his masterpiece. Players grow civilizations along two rivers, and kingdoms clash when tiles join them together. Scoring counts only your weakest color, so you can never ignore a part of your empire. It won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 1998.
- Players: 2 to 4
- Play time: about 90 minutes
Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings (2000) is a cooperative game where the hobbits carry the Ring toward Mordor while corruption creeps closer. It is often cited as one of the first modern cooperative board games, and it won a special Spiel des Jahres prize in 2001.
- Players: 2 to 5
Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon (2018) is a two-phase island game. You spread settlers across an archipelago, collect resources, and then play a second phase from wherever your villages stand. Short, abstract, and very satisfying.
- Players: 2 to 4
- Play time: about 30 to 45 minutes
My City
My City (2020) is a legacy game played across a campaign of short sessions. Each player builds a city with polyomino tiles, and the rules change as the story moves on. It was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres in 2020.
- Players: 2 to 4
- Play time: about 30 minutes per game
Which Knizia game should you play first?
- Two players: Lost Cities, then Schotten Totten.
- A family table: L.A.M.A. or Blue Lagoon.
- A group that likes to bid and bluff: High Society, then Ra.
- A group that wants to work together: Lord of the Rings.
- A group that wants depth: Ingenious first, then Tigris & Euphrates.
- A group that wants something to come back to every week: My City.
If tile games are your thing, our guide to tile placement board games has more. For more on how bidding, scoring, and other systems work, see our field guide to board game mechanics.
Our guide to the Rebirth board game teaches it step by step.
FAQ
Who is Reiner Knizia?
Reiner Knizia is a German game designer with a PhD in mathematics from the University of Ulm. He has published more than 900 games, including Lost Cities, Tigris & Euphrates, Ra, and Keltis, which won the 2008 Spiel des Jahres.
How many games has Reiner Knizia designed?
His own website lists more than 900 published games. The count includes card games, children’s games, licensed games, and strategy games, many released in several editions.
What is the best Reiner Knizia game?
Tigris & Euphrates is the usual answer from strategy players, and Ra from fans of auctions. For most new players, Lost Cities or L.A.M.A. is the better first step.
What is “Knizia scoring”?
Fans use it for scoring where only your weakest category counts, as in Ingenious and Tigris & Euphrates. It forces you to balance your efforts instead of piling everything into one strength.
Has Reiner Knizia won the Spiel des Jahres?
Yes. Keltis won the Spiel des Jahres in 2008. He also won the Kinderspiel des Jahres in 2008 with Whoowasit? and the Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2026 with Rebirth, making him the first designer to win all three.
Find your next Knizia
Knizia’s games are proof that a short rulebook can hold a lifetime of decisions. Use our Card Catalogue to find more games by how they feel, and sign up for Ludarium Letters just below for more guides to the designers and games that shape the hobby.
The game is the reason. The people are the point.
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