During the 2022 edition of the largest games fair in Europe (and maybe even the whole world), Spiel in Essen, I came across the leather games and game accessories made by the German company Melia Games. Their leather and roll-up chess set caught my attention, as I was still looking for a nice and fancy chess set. A roll-up edition is obviously perfect to take with you on vacation to play a game in a beautiful location with a robust chess set. I bought one; it is a real conversation starter for people who see the chess set. In addition to chess sets, Melia also makes leather travel editions of other classic games such as Backgammon, as well as accessories for card games and even for role-playing game and dice lovers. Melia gave me the opportunity to test some of these wonderful products to share with you.
Principles
For Melia, craftsmanship is very important and the products are designed by hand. The components are also selected with quality in mind. The pouches, cases and mats are all made from authentic leather. Playing pieces are made of wood, metal or paper, and the products are packaged in cloth carrying pouches and cardboard boxes. Melia has an eye for detail and component quality.
Most of the products of have the same basic principles: in a leather zippered pouch you can safely store the different game components. Sometimes you have to puzzle a little but with the available space to accommodate all the playing pieces, but it does make for a compact storage system. Attached to the pouch is a leather roll-up play board or mat – kind of like a flap. You can roll this flap around the pouch and use two leather straps with metal snaps to fasten the whole thing.
The roll-up games are compact and can be placed anywhere, making it ideal for the traveler who likes to play in unique locations. Whether it’s atop a mountain, a perfect white beach with a clear blue sea in the background or that one hidden book cafe, you can take the games anywhere. Leather is a robust material and can therefore take a beating. In addition, you can also just treat this product as you will treat all your other leather products (such as shoes and bags) to ensure that they will last a very long time.
But enough swooning over the products in general, since it’s almost starting to look like an advertising pitch. But I do have to admit, I am genuinely impressed and still happy with the chess set I bought in 2022. Let’s take a look at some specific products.
Playing Cards Holder
Inside this product – a zippered leather pouch with several compartments – there is room for a pencil or pen, a notepad and two standard pack of French-style playing cards. With straps/straps, all the parts – which you need to play a card game and keep track of the points right away – stay in place. No more arguing when scoring Gin Rummy. With this product, by the way, you receive all these parts right away so you can play right away. By the way, some standard dice also easily fit into this bag so you can easily have your favorite dice games such as Yahtzee on hand.
With just two decks of cards you can play a whole world of games. If you have your own favorite set of playing cards, you can also easily carry them in this the Playing Cards Holder by Melia. Are you a fan of card games, but not so much of the world of card games you can play with a standard set of cards? Your favorite commercially available card games with standard-sized cards will also fit in the holders.
As with Melia’s other products, you can choose from different leathers and even a wide range of different colors so you can select the style that suits you best.
Roll Up Leather Chess Set & Backgammon Set
A chess set generally needs no introduction. Are you completely unfamiliar with chess or Backgammon? In this blog, we share our thoughts on the classic game of chess and elaborate on Melia’s roll-up chess set, and in this blog we take a closer look at Backgammon.
Melia’s roll-up games include beautiful wooden chess pieces or other playing pieces in addition to the case for the playing pieces and a roll-up playing board. Multiple options are also available as far as this roll-up chess set is concerned. There are multiple leathers as well as multiple colors and styles available. By the way, there is also an edition available with magnets that will ensure that the pieces stay in place better when playing. This offers even more opportunities to play in unique locations!
The roll-up Backgammon set also includes all the parts: pebbles, dice for both players and a die to keep track of the stakes. As for Melia’s Backgammon sets, again, there are different styles available. There are even very colorful sets available alongside more traditional and more conservative color schemes.
By the way, for those who love a game of checkers, there is also a roll up checkers set.
Roll Up RPG Dice Mat
Any lover of role-playing games knows that you can never have enough dice and you never have enough dice trays. Many an RPG lover has a bag to hold dice and folding dice trays. Melia also has and solution: a pouch for your dice and a roll-up dice mat.
This set is ideal for the traveling RPG’er: it is compact, you can easily hang it a your game fan or carry it under your arm, and there is room for a hefty set of dice plus some extra. You can roll and dice on the mat without making too much noise and there is more than enough room to display several sets. The “naughty” dice you don’t roll high enough with? You can put those in the pouch as a sort of de facto dice prison. Zipper up and you’ll have very few natural 1’s during this gaming session.
I had received a set with a set of metal dice and I must say: these dice are very cool. They are heavy and plop down wonderfully on the dice mat. You can buy different dice mats and different colors with or without dice. By the way, would you prefer a dice tray? Melia had got you covered. In fact, they also make leather dice trays.
