Road to SPIEL 2026: Diables by Salt & Pepper Games

There are safer ways to earn prestige than running through crowded streets dressed as a devil while fireworks explode from your mace, but they are probably considerably less spectacular.

Diables, from Salt & Pepper Games, turns the Catalan tradition of the Ball de Diables into a medium-heavy Eurogame about organising your own colla: the troupe of devils, drummers, characters and fire-breathing beasts responsible for creating an unforgettable correfoc.

Designed by Dani Garcia, with artwork by Amelia Sales and graphic design from Dossom Studio, it supports 1–4 players and combines worker placement, multi-use cards, resource management and timing across a parade that is constantly moving forwards.

What is it?

The Ball de Diables, or Dance of Devils, is a long-established Catalan tradition also found in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and parts of southern France.

During modern performances, diables carrying pyrotechnic maces dance and run among the crowd accompanied by tabalers playing drums, while large fantastic bèsties can join the procession carrying their own fireworks. Hundreds of colles now participate in festivals across the region.

In Diables, you are responsible for one of those groups.

You'll organise its performers, distribute different types of fireworks and decide where members of your colla should appear during the correfoc. The crowd is watching throughout, taking photographs and recording videos of the most impressive moments, while additional performances provide further opportunities to build your reputation.

The objective is straightforward: Put on the most spectacular show and finish with the most Fame.

How does it play?

A game lasts three rounds, each divided into four phases: Performances, Passage of Time, Advance the Parade and Attract the Crowd.

The Performance phase is the heart of the game.

Players send different members of their colla into the streets using a worker-placement system with different worker types. Diables, characters, beasts and tabalers don't all behave in the same way, while the pyrotechnics available on your cart determine what some performers can accomplish.

You aren't restricted to the main parade either. Four additional shows - the carretillada, ball parlat, trobada de bèsties and tabalada - offer immediate benefits and scoring opportunities. Sending performers to these spectacles can be valuable, but those performers remain there for the rest of the game.

Timing also matters because the parade doesn't wait for you.

During Passage of Time, the marker advances, intermediate scoring occurs and firework carts are replenished. Then the parade itself moves forward: crowd cards advance along the streets and most performers return, before new spectators arrive for the following round.

The spectators are also more than scenery. Successful performances can excite the crowd, generate followers and create opportunities for photographs and videos that appear on the game's social-media wall. Apparently even centuries-old folk traditions eventually have to worry about engagement metrics.

After the Passage of Time phase in the third round, final scoring is completed and the colla with the most Fame wins.

Why we’re watching it

Firstly, because this may be one of the most distinctive themes among this year's heavier Euros.

Diables isn't simply using Catalan folklore as attractive artwork. The performers, drums, pyrotechnics, crowd movement and different types of public spectacle all appear directly in the mechanisms.

Dani Garcia, the designer of Barcelona, Arborea, Windmill Valley and this year's Gaudí (which also featured on our Road to Essen) has developed a reputation for finding variations on familiar Eurogame mechanisms, and Diables appears to do something particularly interesting with worker placement: some performers return as the parade moves on, while those committed to the major shows can be gone permanently.

Players have clearly noticed. The Gamefound campaign reached its €15,000 target in just 69 minutes and finished with €96,466 from 1,353 backers. Subsequent preorders pushed the total beyond €125,000.

It has also become one of the more anticipated titles heading into Essen, sitting at 16th among the most-watched standalone games in one recent analysis of the BGG SPIEL preview.

The Game at SPIEL Essen 2026

Diables will be available from Salt & Pepper Games in Hall 3, Stand A400, with the SPIEL preview listing a show price of €75. The first edition supports Catalan, English and Spanish and is scheduled for October 2026.

There is one important distinction for Gamefound backers: Salt & Pepper has confirmed that crowdfunding pledges cannot be collected at Essen. The publisher says the logistical demands of organising hundreds of individual pickups would interfere with its ability to demonstrate and present its games during the convention. Copies being sold normally at the stand are separate from backer fulfilment.

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

Diables at a glance

Publisher: Salt & Pepper Games

Designers: Dani Garcia

Artists: Amelia Sales

Players: 1-4

Ages: 14+

Playing Time: 45-120 minutes

Type: Worker placement / different worker types / multi-use cards / resource management / trak mvoement

English Edition: Yes

Expected release: October 2026

SPIEL: Hall 3, A400

More information: Salt & Pepper Games - Diables

Tomorrow on Road to SPIEL 2026: King of Tokyo Duel: Tokyo Bay - Richard Garfield's monsters return for another head-to-head battle over who really deserves to be King of Tokyo.