Board Game Night at the Schnütgen Museum

On December 3, 2026, the second Board Game Night will take place at the Schnütgen Museum—Medieval Art in Cologne. In 2025, the first Board Game Night attracted 850 enthusiastic players, exceeding all expectations.

For its second edition, this special event—featuring free admission—will once again be presented in collaboration with Mittelalter Digital from Münster, the Boardgame Historian project from Bonn, and, most recently, the Cologne Museum Service.

Fans of modern board games with a “Medieval” theme—both young and old—can try them out right in the museum, choose to explore the collection, listen to lectures, or visit the booths of board game publishers.

Games on offer include: The Builders of Cologne, Carcassonne (Junior), Media Aetas, Castle Combo, Catan, Dominion, The Hardships of the Middle Ages, Fantastic Realms, and many more.

Thanks to highly motivated volunteer game experts and board game publishers on site, you can skip the tedious process of studying the game instructions and jump right in with other eager players.

In “The Builders of Cologne,” for example, up to four players work together to construct Cologne’s twelve great Romanesque churches. Fittingly, St. Cecilia’s—now home to the Schnütgen Museum—is included. Through play, you’ll get to know Cologne’s 12 Romanesque churches, including St. Cecilia’s Abbey, and can take (malicious) delight in throwing a few wrenches in your fellow players’ works.

The game night will kick off with short presentations by Lukas Boch (Boardgame Historian) and Tobias Enseleit (Mittelalter Digital), and the Schnütgen team will offer a preview of the year 2027, which will be all about dragons.

Historical board games such as backgammon, chess, and nine men’s morris will also feature prominently this evening.