The world’s largest consumer board game fair is bigger than ever this year, with the opening of Hall 8 and new B2B networking opportunities
Spiel Essen, the world’s largest consumer fair for board games, is set to be bigger than ever this October with the addition of Hall 8 bringing the event across the entire exhibition centre for the first time.
This year’s Spiel Essen is open from Thursday 22 October to Sunday 25 October. It is the fourth year in a row the event has grown in scale and will be set across a 81,200 m² show floor, allowing the release of additional ticket allocations. Up to 230,000 visitors are expected – a new record – while 921 companies from 53 countries will exhibit their new products.
“At its core, Spiel is a public fair for board game fans, but it has also become a genuine industry meeting point,” said Florian Hess, Managing Director of Spiel. He said the in response, organisers have made efforts to increase the business and networking opportunities for representatives from retail, publishing, editorial, authors and illustrators at the show. To make networking at the fair more targeted, simpler and more effective, the official Spiel app has been improved this year with a B2B matchmaking tool.
Several significant awards in the games industry will also be presented at this year’s SpielEssen. These include the Deutsche Spiele Preis, a public award for board games, which will be presented at the fair on the Wednesday. Brand new this year are the TCG Awards, the world’s first global industry awards for trading card games. Here fans were able to vote in nine of the 13 categories and choose their favourites. The remaining winners will be determined by an expert jury. The ceremony will take place in an exclusive setting on the Thursday evening and will be broadcast via live stream.
In addition, the world‑renowned miniature painting competition Golden Demon, organised by Games Workshop, will once again be held at Spiel Essen. Awards across the 14 categories will be presented on the Sunday on stage in Hall 4.
