2019 was the last that I visited Spiel in Essen at the Messe together with Rick. Back then the original Dice Daniel Podcast trio was complete, as we hit the trade show floor together with Chris. In 2020, Europe’s largest game fair took place exclusively digitally because of the pandemic. In 2021, I went with Chris, helped Gam’inBIZ with their booth, and there was also the release of my own design Victory Tank. Due to conflicting schedules, I had to wander around the exhibition hall all by myself in 2022. Because of the many appointments, I was not exactly lonely that day, but when you are joined by a comrade, Spiel as an experience is worth twice as much. You can share your opinions and experiences right away, you are twice as alert and a good duo also complements each other well in the crowded fair hall. In addition to that, as I will also describe later below, Spiel in general is as much about people as it is about games.
People and memories
In 2019 we rode with Chris in his old-fashioned Saab with croissants and coffee in our hand and little room for extremely large purchases. This time around Rick and I had the pleasure of beating the German highway together with Sjoerd and Eva to get to the fair on time and having a cup of coffee along the way. Due to work being done on the German railroad, Essen was difficult to reach by public transportation for many visitors from the Netherlands, so there were requests to carpool in various groups, forums and chats where game lovers congregate. So where Essen is a gathering place for players, gaming is a clear way for people to get together and help each other celebrate their hobby. It is therefore good to see that people were well prepared to transport other (sometimes complete strangers) to Spiel. So this is the first argument that Spiel is as much about people as it is about games.
As I revisited this German games fair for the first time in 4 years with Rick, it was also time for us to reminisce about the 2019 fair. Back then, the convention was owned by a different owner, it was slightly smaller in scale, it was the times before COVID-19 happened and Dice Daniel was just starting up (under a different name). In the first episode of our podcast we looked back on our trade show experience back back in 2020, but this year we also thought back fondly as we remembered the pickle lady, halls full of games, first meetings with game authors and other bloggers, and the crowds that would only get more intense.
Large crowds and (un)availability of games
Those aforementioned crowds are the “elephant in the room”. Spiel has a new owner for some time now, and because of this, the set-up and expected attendance for this 2023 edition was bigger and grander than ever. Nearly 200,000 visitors visited the exhibition hall this year and visitors traveled to Essen from more than 81 different countries. Extra space had been freed up so that more stalls and publishers could be present and there were larger aisles so that visitors could better maneuver between the stalls and halls of the fair floor. The layout was different to cluster games aimed at different audiences (especially in complexity and targeted at certain ages) together and would also potentially reduce the need for audience members to move between halls.
Despite the measures and new layout, the fair was more crowded than ever before, at least this was true in our experience. When the fair halls opened to the regular public the halls quickly filled up. Hall 3 was particularly popular. Despite the different layout, this was a hall where many larger publishers had gathered.
The fair was crowded, but still very cozy. It wasn’t oppressive, but there were enough boxcars, strollers and backpacks that would be the envy of many a preschooler. There was room at the checkroom to store your acquisitions, but not everyone took advantage of this opportunity. Several years ago the organization “banned” so-called Cajon bags because of the great danger of hitting someone with this pack on your back. The wagon carts may suffer the same fate as far as I am concerned.
The gallery is an elongated space between the halls, ideal for a break from all the impressions with plenty of food and drink. This gallery was a bit more crowded than we remembered! By the way, the food offerings were basically similar to other years, but new food trucks were added. The beautiful weather and the various food trucks made Spiel almost feel like a festival at times; without tokens or pills (I think!).
The larger crowds may also have been unexpected for some publishers. Or at least: the popularity for their game perhaps. Every year there are certain titles that are overtly very popular and even sell out, but it seemed that more games had sold out compared to prior years. In fact, many publishers had to deal with sold-out titles. On the one hand, something to definitely be proud of, but on the other hand, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to disappoint anyone.
Korean publisher Mandoo games had already sold quite a lot of their stock on Thursday. Some publishers learned from other years and made a maximum quantity available each day to give visitors on Saturday and Sunday a chance to purchase a title as well.
In several places we encountered “sold out” signs. In terms of promos for existing games, things were also going fast and publishers often had to sell ‘no’. Another form of unavailability of games had to do with a growing number of games each year that will not be available until later (through crowdfunding platforms) or titles that got stuck at customs. The Belgium publisher Sit Down! had their new crown jewel, Redwood, available after long toil during the Thursday. Let’s review it soon!
2023 trends
We saw a number of other trends during our visit in addition to the crowds. Cat-themed games are a continuing trend: cat games remain immensely popular. The trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and this year we again saw the release of many new games with a kitty and feline aspect as a result. It seems like more and more titles with dogs starring in a main role are appearing as well.
Besides cats, Cthulhu is also still very popular, and sometimes titles appear that combine all the themes that fit into the zeitgeist along with the game mechanics of other recognizable card games. It was almost as if certain games were A.I. generated. Incidentally, A.I. artwork was also a real trend and topic that was sometimes skillfully avoided. There were a lot of (unknown and/or new) publishers advertising their games with artwork that blatantly walked straight out of Midjourney. Some publishers put it honestly, some mentioned A.I. enhanced artwork and others not refuting that they used A.I. This remains a sensitive issue for an industry where artists have always been very important, especially since A.I. sometimes commits copyright violations or at least lives in a gray area. Shoutout to the upcoming game Art Society, which is a title on which more than a hundred different real illustrators worked (coming soon!).
One positive trend was the amount of foreign exhibitors. We mentioned earlier the borderless aspect of Spiel, but this year it was well confirmed by the exhibitors from all countries around the world. English is clearly starting to become the language of communication at this originally very German fair. So there were publishers from North America to Europe and from Hong Kong to Iceland. This gives you a good opportunity to meet loads of new people with different backgrounds to expend your horizons.
Lots of new games
Dutch and Dutch-language publishers were also well represented at the fair and presented a lot of new titles. Jolly Dutch and Formula Games shared a “booth” this year. Formula also featured an immense inflatable Robot that rolled straight off the assembly line from Robo Factory. Jolly Dutch presented several new titles including the auction game Odd Shop. Michiel de Wit of Gam’inBIZ shared the booth with HOT Games and H-Town Games. Both H-Town and Gam’inBIZ showcased new titles.
As past years have, this edition for us was mainly about different publishers who were happy to show us their latest titles, so that we could also share these titles with you. The various publishers we spoke to were bursting with enthusiasm about their games and, based on our experience, we can say that these people really enjoy their work. Despite the long tiring and social days, the various exhibitors take the trouble to chat and explain a game and are so incredibly cheerful in the process.
A nice thing about speaking to publishers more often or meeting them for the first time is that sometimes you get to know each other better and also nice traditions develop. For example, every year we bring snacks from the Netherlands to hand out and this year we even got snacks back from other countries!
In the morning, we first met Twitch streamer Banzainator in person. Banz was at the booth of indie publisher Sunrise Tornado by Ta-Te Wu. I had arranged with Ta-Te to trade some snacks, and he provided us with coffee sweets from Hong Kong for some much-needed caffeine during the day. Ta-Te’s trick taking game FORK is doing well and in terms of novelties he presented the family game 1-2-3-Cheese, soon to be offered via crowdfunding, and his micro game Cat’s Gambit .
Hong Kong-based ICE Makes, which publishes Jeffrey CCH’s games, gave us a demonstration of the 4X game Epochs and showed us the production version of Terrorscape that we had the pleasure of reviewing earlier.
Eveline from Mighty Board gave us an update on Fateforge, a manageable dungeon crawler with RPG influences that has little intentional time, and Art Society, an auction game where players purchase art and puzzle a tableau together. Both titles garnered high praise for their excellent production quality. We were stressed to take a moment to touch the Art Society game box because of the different layers in the cover art. By the way, this was not the only publisher who asked us to touch their “box” on the day.
After lunch, we spoke with Joanne from the Polish publisher Rebel. We also had to feel a game box from Joanna, namely that of MLEM: Space Agency. Joanne’s infectious enthusiasm, immediately made us also excited for the game MLEM a new title by Reiner Knizia. In this push-your-luck title, players send their cats into space. Fortunately, cats have 9 lives, as Joanne explained that some rockets don’t always arrive safely…. The title MLEM refers to a meme about the sound cats make. Learned something again (Daniel then, Rick knew this!).
In the afternoon, we visited Sophie from the Belgium publisher Sit Down! This publisher is distinctive for its innovative and sometimes gimmicky game concepts. Unique game techniques, materials and applications. Their big draw was Redwood, where players use plastic templates to move their figures across a board to create pictures of animals, flowers and nature scenes. Players move their pawn forward similar to so-called Wargames, but applied to a very different caliber of game (mechanism). In this innovative and intuitive game, it is clear at a glance how the game will progress. Maps of Misterra is an equally innovative and interactive puzzle game in which players collectively discover a world, but they have to figure out the map themselves with tiles and in the process can thwart their opponents with wrong “information.
Sweden’s ION exhibited a lot of titles including their usual complex historical and science-fiction games. Recently, ION has also been expanding their range of family-friendly games. Recently they published, among other things, Stegegets x Moomins, a roll-and-write based on the classic Finnish jeugd heroes where players share a score sheet. Dawn on Titan is a 5X (4X plus explosion) where even less experienced players can be introduced to 4X games.
Besides board games, you can also see and buy a lot of different accessories related to games at Spiel. You can buy mugs and shirts, but also accessories that increase your gaming enjoyment. Think of inserts for game boxes And all kinds of trays to arrange game parts. One maker of various accessories (including inserts) is Laserox.
Dodo of this Hungarian company welcomed us enthusiastically as always to show us their new products. Laserox works with Dispel to make accessories for role-playing games including trays to keep your dice safe and also a wooden character sheet for Dungeons & Dragons on which you can keep track of your stats with magnets and dials. The dice and character sheets were on display as if you were picking out your wedding ring at an exclusive jewelry store. Pure Laserox luxury!
In conclusion
Spiel is getting bigger, more international and therefore busier. This is due to a justifiably rising popularity of Spiel and board games. Despite the crowds, the atmosphere is cozy and convivial. It is abundantly clear that people come together here to celebrate their hobby. There are more publishers present than ever and people from all corners of the world, in all smells and colors, come together driven by a lot of cardboard, wood, plastic and meeples. Play connects and (in a good sense) crosses borders. Young, old, expert and casual: there is something playful for everyone and Spiel therefore also attracts multiple and large target groups.
Not only games bring together but especially the people behind the games. The publishers, authors, press, content creators and of course the players. Games are about people and Spiel is also about people playing.
Also in 2023 we enjoyed ourselves tremendously and had great conversations and came into contact with all kinds of great new titles. Unfortunately, we were only there for one day this time, but hopefully we will be able to attend all four days next year, because there is so much to experience and discover at Spiel.
