If you like tabletop games you have probably heard of Spiel. This convention is the biggest of its kind and is held in Essen, Germany once a year. 2024 Was my first ever visit there and I would love to share my experience and give others an idea of the event. Hopefully this blog, with my experience and tips, will be helpful for new visitors in the future.
SPIEL Essen
What is Spiel Essen? Is it for me? What should I think about before going and what to expect?
These are all questions I want to answer in this blog. There are some things I am really happy I knew up front, as well as things I wish I knew beforehand. Let’s start with the basics, what is Spiel?
Spiel Essen is the biggest event there is in tabletop games of all kinds. Yearly there’s 200.000 visitors. Hundreds of new games are being released, it’s possible to play games, get demo’s, meet publishers, enter tournaments, acquire limited editions and of course buy games. There are lots of in development and kickstarter games as well. I cannot begin to tell you everything you can experience at Spiel Essen but these are the biggest things.
The event area that Spiel is being held at is Messe Essen. Spiel covers 6 filled halls for you to explore. And, another hall for entrance, bag and coat storage and more.
My first time at Spiel
As most boardgame enthousiast probably want, I wanted to experience Spiel at least once. So, I went there with some friends and was at Spiel Essen for two days. The event is open for four days total, and there is one extra day for press. I definitely recommend going at least two days, except maybe if you are only interested in some specific genre or a few games.
We visited Spiel Essen on Friday and Saturday. On the first day we had seen most of the event, but not all. On the second day we also had a little time left for trying different games we were interested in. If you want to participate in tournaments or try more games I recommend going longer then we did. Although, this is not the only thing to take into account. Seen as Spiel has lots of visitors, the halls are packed. Sensory overload will be a thing, especially if you are sensitive to this.
All in all, I have had an amazing time. I have met some great creators, played and looked at amazing games and made notes about great games or publishers to follow. I have also brought some loot and backed a kickstarter.
Practical tips for Spiel Essen
Here are some tips for your preparation. Furthermore, I will make a cost breakdown for Spiel Essen for whoever wants an example later in this blog.
Steps to prepare for Spiel Essen
- Book your accommodation in time
If you are on time, there’s still some choice - Get your tickets ahead of time
Spiel will probably sell out - If by car, check out Parking info on Spiel website
- Check out vendors/games on Spiel
Maybe you can make a top 10 or 20. There is so much to see that it is easy to miss things. Kn owing your favorites or musts can help navigate so you won’t miss them
On spiel: - Wear layers
Germany in october can be cold, but the packed halls won’t be - Visit your favorites first
Otherwise they will be full, or maybe even sold out - Yes, things sell out. Lots of them do.
Some vendors will have more the next day, because there is a selling limit. But some games just sell out in the first one or two days and won’t be available anymore. I had 2 of my top 10 sold out on Friday already. - Know that there is a wardrobe but also a bag drop-off.
This costs €3,- for A bag a day. Bring big shoppers or a travel bag - You can send your games home
Just know, there is a service that sends you all your games. Its probably expensive but might take a load of your shoulders
Parking and entrance
An event the size of Spiel Essen, means you will do well to prepare your journey for. I have been to events where half my day was waiting in lines, traveling and delays, followed by frustration. For Spiel I was afraid this would be a disaster, which it was not. So, let me explain this experience. If you are going to Spiel, please check out their website, they’ve got information on there about which parking lots will be open.
How much time should I plan?
Parking lots P2 and P10 would be open on the days of Spiel 2024. Do not just drive to the venue but prepare to drive to one of the parking lots. Parking is €8,- per day and the pendelbus to the venue is free. Once you’re on the parking lot, there will probably be a long line for the ticket office and pendelbus. There are enough busses driving and the line moves faster then you may think. However, it helps to bear in mind the waiting times and pendel times. The pendel for the most faraway parking lots takes 15 to 20 minutes. It took us around 13 minutes. On the second day, we were especially early. Spiel Essen would open on 10:00 a.m. and we were at the pendelbus a little before 9:30. There was already a line, but way shorter then it was the day before.
Even though Spiel Essen opened at 10:00 a.m. it is possible to enter the venue way earlier. You cannot enter the event yet, but you can scan your ticket already and get rid of your coat and excess bags. Toilets and a restaurant are accessible as well. So, its totally fine to be a little early. By doing this, and because they have lots of entrances and people there, there are rarely any lines or real relays here. A really big plus if you ask me.
- Navigate to parking lot and drive there
- Go to the little ticket office to get your parking ticket
- Get in the line for pendel bus
- Enter the venue and in the first hall, show your Spiel ticket to enter
- Enjoy!
Just know this, because I did not
There are some other things I feel I need to share. As I mentioned earlier some games I was interested in were sold out for this event. If you really want something, go there first. And if anything you want is sold out, ask if there will be more the next day. Sometimes a vendor has reached its selling limit but will restock on the next day.
Now, other things that bothered me or stood out to me, or I just would have wanted to know. There are vendors form lots of different countries and not everyone speaks English well or at all. So, there can be mixups. We’ve seen games advertised for Spiel Essen that turned out not to be for sale, or not to be there at all. For example, a publisher has made 10 games, of which 4 are playable and 3 are for sale on Spiel Essen. Its possible that all games, or just the 4, are on the list of games. This did not happen a lot but was a bummer though.
Also, there were demo games you could play that are not for sale on the event. Lots of kickstarters or early previews. This can be really cool, but is something to keep in mind.
Besides amazing publishers there are some big shops here as well. Some have an English and a German version, but some do not. There are also lots of sales and cheap games, most of these are German as well. Just know this, so you can check it. Sometimes is obvious, but the name of a game can be English with the rest of it being German. I have skipped lots of shops because they were all German. There are lots of other things to see, do and buy so it did not bother me much. It did however stand out that lots of things are not translated. I did not expect this of an event this size, since most vendors and visitors come from outside Germany.
Costs breakdown
Everyone has a different budget. I cannot look into yours but I can explain a bit about my costs and general costs. What or how much you buy, eat and drink and where you’ll stay might be totally different, but I hope this gives you an idea. Fill in your own to give an idea of a budget. I recommend making a games budget for yourself. I rarely buy food at events because I hate the long lines and rather eat a little healthy (on one of the evenings we almost always eat something fat and unhealthy). This changes the budget a lot. For the rooms, we booked 4 months in advance and searched for a shared room. This lowers the cost a lot. Same goes for the parking and fuel costs
For my two days, with one night stay
- Tickets €64,-
A day ticket is €22,- and I had a lootbag for one day, which was €20
Loot bag was a big spiel shopper with the roll and write game loot and a spiel keychain - Getting there €25-70,-
Calculate your fuel and add a parking ticket a day
I went there with two others and split costs. We drove from Zwolle to Essen and from our stay to the venue. Fuel was around €50,-. We had 2 parking tickets which are €8,- a day. - Stay €63,-
One night, shared costs in a different area of Essen - Food, around €35,-
I brought store water bottles and sandwiches. Ordered takeout on Friday
Example; you can get a taco for €8,- and poke bowl for €12 at the venue - Games €190,-
I have only bought some small games, but did back a kickstarter that was pretty expensive but really cool.
Enjoy!
If you are going to visit Spiel Essen, I wish you the best of times! I hope I could be of help with these tips and a general idea of Spiel and my experience there. If you have any questions or want to share your experience, do not hesitate to send me a message. If you like boardgames, maybe you will like these games I wrote blogs about (I really like them):
Betrayal at house on the hill and
Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion
Have you tried Board Game Arena? You can play and learn all kinds of board games there online.