By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
If anyone thought the days of board games were numbered, they haven’t been to SPIEL Essen recently.
SPIEL Essen is the world’s largest public, business-to-consumer fair for board games, and for the first time the event was completely sold out every day.
Over the four-day show approximately 204,000 people from around the world filled the Messe Essen, for an average of more than 50,000 per day; more in line with the numbers you’d see at a major sports or concert event. “From 3 to 6 October, the heart of the Ruhr region buzzed with play, laughter, shopping and conversation,” said organizer Merz Verlag.
This year Spielwarenmesse said attendees came from more than 80 different countries, as the 923 exhibitors showed off more than 1,500 new products. The exhibitors themselves came from 52 different countries, and from every continent on Earth, other than Antarctica, showing the global appeal of the genre.
“Even before the fair started, SPIEL Essen achieved an absolute first,” Merz Verlag said, as it noted that, for the first time ever, all of the tickets for Thursday and Friday were sold out, so no walk-ins could even get in. All tickets for Saturday and Sunday also sold out during the fair, with the final tally of 204,000 people significantly exceeding last year’s figure, said Carol Ramp, managing director of Merz Verlag.
“This year, we worked with a ticket quota for the first time to create a pleasant experience for as many people as possible and to comply with safety regulations,” said Rapp. “There were never allowed to be more than about 50,000 people on site at any one time.”
There were other indicators of the popularity of both board games and the SPIEL Essen event in particular. For example, all of the space for exhibitors was sold out by June this year, even though the space for exhibitors was expanded.
This year the board game fair filled 68,500 square metres in the six halls used at Messe Essen, making it the largest SPIEL of all time.
“When we had to open a waiting list in June because we couldn’t immediately accommodate all the demand from exhibitors, we knew that this year there would again be a need for more space,” Rapp said. “We had to do a lot of puzzle-solving to coordinate the requests for more playing space and the wishes of new exhibitors.”
Enthusiastic Exhibitors
The results were lauded by exhibitors, who said the event wasn’t overcrowded, despite the record attendance numbers.
“It was an impressive and successful fair,” says Yasin Ates, Director for the DACH region at Ravensburger. “The halls were full, yet it still felt comfortable. It was great to see so many people playing with such enthusiasm.”
For Ravensburger, one of the world’s largest producers of board games and puzzles, SPIEL is also an important indicator of how a new title for autumn and winter will be received, Ates explained.
The publisher and distributor Asmodee similarly confirmed how successful the fair was. “This year again, SPIEL was a fantastic fair. What a pleasure to see so many people here, discovering so many great games from such a wide range of publishers,” said Asmodee Group CEO Thomas Koegler.
SPIEL Essen Continues to Modernize the Annual Fair
Organizers some of the success of the event is due to a modernization program undertaken last year, which included changes to the hall planning, a significantly improved app, a new logo and a mascot.
The thematic hall structure was retained this year following positive feedback in 2023, and further improved. The app acquired user-requested features such as a filter to display newly added games and the ability to integrate specific games into route planning. The Meeps mascot was also more fully integrated into SPIEL. Visitors could meet the playful kitten as a walking act in the halls and take photos with major exhibitors in the foyers. A plush toy and the game Loot with Meeps as the principal character were available for the first time to purchase at the fair and online.
More Fun on the Show Floor
Merz Verlag has been working on adding fun events and programs to the fair, reasoning that an event dedicated to gaming should be entertaining for attendees.
This was the first year in which there was an official face for SPIEL: Alea, the frontman of the rock band Saltatio Mortis. The enthusiastic gamer is part of the cross-genre project Finsterwacht, which combines music, fantasy novels and role-playing games. The fair dedicated an entire day to this unique interplay of three cultural forms as part of the ‘SPIEL.talks – Finsterwacht’.
Another premiere at SPIEL was the Golden Demon, the renowned competition for painted miniatures, hosted by Games Workshop and comprising over 1,000 entries of impressively painted models. On the Sunday, a ceremony crowned the winners in various categories and awarded the Slayer Sword as the grand prize.
The fair program also included the SPIEL.talks – Sustainability, where experts from the board game world presented various aspects of sustainability in and around gaming.
The Educators Day again took place, attracting around 500 people from education, research, child-raising and other pedagogic fields to the international presentations.
On the Wednesday before the fair, the German Games Prize was presented. First place went to Mischwald (Lookout Spiele), second place was claimed by Sky Team (Kosmos), while third place went to Die weiße Burg (Kosmos/Devir). The Best Children’s Game award went to Die magischen Schlüssel (Game Factory/Happy Baobab).
Planning for 2025 Already Underway
For Merz Verlag, it’s that time of year again, organizers say, as “post-SPIEL is pre-SPIEL.” They say the team will take a short breather before collecting feedback, evaluating responses, and planning for 2025 to ensure that the next fair will be even more successful.
“This year’s SPIEL was a complete success and again shows how closely the team works with the community and how well it copes with the many challenges of a leading global fair,” said Florian Hess, Managing Director of Merz Verlag and board member of Spielwarenmesse eG. “The fair is heading in a fantastic direction and we have great plans ahead to keep SPIEL up-to-date and attractive to exhibitors and visitors from all around the world.”
The next SPIEL Essen will take place from October 23 to 26, 2025.