Road to SPIEL 2026: Medico

Need a haircut? See the barber.

Need a tooth pulled? See the barber.

Need a wound treated, some blood let, or possible an entire limb removed? … yep, apparently still see the barber!

Medico, the latest game from prolific German designer Stefan Feld, takes us back to medieval Europe when travelling barber-surgeons handled a surprisingly broad range of medical duties.

Published by Hall Games and Pegasus Spiele, with artwork from longtime Feld collaborator Dennis Lobausen, Medico is a 2-4 playe strategy game about travelling from town to town, developing your skills and building enough knowledge and reputation to become a respected physician.

What is it?

Players begin with modest skills and plenty to learn. During your travels you’ll collect rare remedies to sell at markets, deliver letters for the Church, search monastic libraries for medical recipes, acquire instruments and arrange training for your apprentices at bathhouses. You can also treat important local figures and, if you’re fortunate, encounter an established Medicus willing to share some of his knowledge.

Success depends on deciding which opportunities are worth pursuing and how efficiently you can fit them into a very limited number of journeys.

In other words, Medico is less about individual medical procedures than about building a career. Which, given medieval medicine, may be reassuring.

How does it play?

At the heart of Medico is route planning combined with simutaneous action selection.

At the beginning of each round, every player secretly chooses one of seven destinations. When your turn arrives, you reveal where you’re travelling and move towards it. The destination provides your main action, but getting there is just as important.

Along the route are waypoints offering secondary actions, so choosing where to travel becomes a question of not only what you want to do when you arrive, but what useful opportunities you canpick up along the way… and you don’t have much time.

Depending on the player count, the game lasts only eight of nine rounds, making every journey significant. By the end, players compare their achievements across areas including medical recipes, instruments, apprentices and other measures of professional development.

Why we’re watching it

The simple and obvious answer is Stefan Feld.

Designer of games including The Castles of Burgundy, Trajan, Bora Bora, Notre Dame, and Civolution, Feld remains one of the most recognisable names in modern Eurogame design. Medico is also his fourth collaboration with Hall Games, Dennis Lohausen and editor Ralph Bruhn, following earlier titles Luna, AquaSphere and Bonfire.

The mechanisms are also of an interest. and also quite Feld-like, limited time, multiple scoring opportunites, and the persistent suspicion that whatever you choose to do, there are probably atleast three other things you really should have done instead.

A medieval medical career simulator might not immediately sound like the most obvious or interest crowd pleasser, but one thing I’ve learnt over almost 40 years of playing German boardgames is that subject matter rarely really matters and the mechanics make or break the game and determine it’s replayability. The idea of playing a barber-surgeon is certainly a more interesting idea and theme than some of the games I’ve played over the years - I always remember people being amazed there was a game about potato farming (Dicke Karoffeln published by Abacus Spiele in 1989).

The Game at SPIEL Essen 2026

Hall Games don’t have a stand at SPIEL this year, but Pegasus Spiele do and that’s where you will be able to find copies of Medico. Pegasus usually have more than one stand at the show, but the game should be available on their main stand in Hall 3, Stand M120. The game is available in English, with a retail price of €59.99, and should be available through retail shortly after SPIEL finishes.

SPIEL Essen runs from 22nd-25th October 2026.

Medico at a glance

Publisher: Hall Games / Pegasus Spiele

Designers: Stefan Feld

Artists: Dennis Lohausen

Players: 2-4

Ages: 12+

Playing Time: 60-90+ minutes

Type: Route planning / pick-up and deliver / simutaneous action selection

English edition: Yes

Expected retail release: 31st October 2026

SPIEL: Hall 3 Stand M120

More information: Hall Games - Medico

Tomorrow on Road to SPIEL 2026: Gaudi - Dani Garcia turns the architecture of one of barcelona’s most famous sons into Devir’s next heavyweight Eurogame.