We are looking for your topics for our SPIEL.talks formats at SPIEL 2025!
Do you have exciting projects, are you doing research in the field of board games or are you an expert in our industry? Then get in touch with us and take part in our SPIEL.talks. These will take place during SPIEL from 23 October to 26 October 2025 at the exhibition center in Essen, Germany.
As d'Or de l'Année 2025 awarded
The French game of the year honours title in four categories
In a golden shower of confetti, the winners of the most important French game prize cheered on the Côte d'Azur on Thursday evening as the As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année were awarded. The award ceremony is part of the major international games festival that takes place annually in Cannes and is the biggest games event in France.
Golden Demon Europa 2025
World-famous miniatures painting competition returns to SPIEL Essen
The ultimate Warhammer painting competition returns to the world's largest board game fair this year: The European edition of the Golden Demon 2025 will take place at SPIEL Essen from 23 October to 26 October. This means that all miniature artists from Europe and around the world can keep their diaries free and get their brushes ready.
Parliamentary Gaming Night 2024
Would you have thought that German politicians are also real board-game fans? Sure, computer games have been discussed quite a lot in the German Bundestag, but board games? They have long been overlooked in politics. The association Spiel des Jahres wanted to change that and invited guests to the first Parliamentary Board Game Evening in the Bundestag last Wednesday. Around 60 attendees came to play together, including Bundestag President Bärbel Bas as well as representatives from the SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, and FDP. We, as SPIEL Essen, were also invited so that our managing director, Carol Rapp, could talk about the fair and the significance of playing games in general.
Survey about SPIEL Essen 2024
We want your feedback on the fair and you have the chance to win tickets for 2025.
Discover Glass Cannon Unplugged - Dying Light
Glass Cannon Unplugged is bringing the GCU Outpost to Spiel Essen with a critical mission: secure the outpost and protect a prototype of Dying Light: The Board Game, enhanced with photoluminescent components that glow under UV light. The safe haven is under threat, and the task falls to you to recruit a trusted ally, investigate what happened in the darkness, and retrieve evidence to ensure the outpost’s safety.
Discover Global Dominance with World Order
As the countdown to Spiel Essen 2024 begins, we invite you all strategy enthusiasts and board game aficionados! Join us at booth 3S-411 for an exclusive first look at World Order, the definitive board game for aspiring world leaders.
Geeknson bring special tables to SPIEL
Essen Spiel has always been a special event for Geeknson, giving a unique opportunity to present the high-quality hardwood gaming tables to board game lovers. Thats why they bring special tables to the show.
Fun for the whole family with Piatnik
Piatnik is in the business of producing joy for exactly 200 years with classics such as Activity, Tick Tack Bumm & Smart 10! These will be joined by our autumn novelties at Spiel in Essen. Come and try them out at the new, enlarged Piatnik anniversary stand in Hall 5 E211! A large moving box (full of prize games for our lottery) and daily bargain offers are also waiting for you there.
Highlights from Games Workshop
Games Workshops brings a ton of highlights to SPIEL Essen this year. Find out about their amazing games, the Golden Demon and give-away in this article.
Meet CGE (Czech Games Edition) at SPIEL 2024
Meet CGE (Czech Games Edition) at SPIEL 2024 and be among the first to try our new games: SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a strategic space eurogame, and Little Alchemists, a family-friendly deduction game.
NEW: POINT OF VIEW
Cooperative-communicative riddle game series with different points of view
The Artist Alley at SPIEL Essen 2024
There are many artists presenting their work again at SPIEL this year.
SPIEL app 2024 is online
The update for the SPIEL app is online and you can now get the free app to plan your visit for the largest board game fair in the world. Check the novelties and exhibitors for SPIEL 2024, create lists of your favorite games and plan your route through the halls.
A whole day about the Finsterwacht
Finsterwacht is a great project in which music, novels and role-playing games are intertwined and complement each other perfectly. And we are dedicating an entire day to this fantastic project at SPIEL Essen as part of the SPIEL.talks - Finsterwacht.
Top 10 of the Deutscher Spiele Preis are here
The German-speaking board games world voted and together as community chose the most popular games of the year. Now they've been decided, the Top 10 of the German Games Award 2024!
Without further ado, today we show you the games that have made it into the top places in your hearts.
Hall plans for SPIEL Essen 2024 are here!
You can now get a first impression on how SPIEL Essen will look this year: The hall plans for the 2024 show are online!
With our interactive plans you can now virtually wander around the fair, click from hall to hall, and discover exhibitors (the list of the exhibitors will come later this month).
As usual at this time, the plans are not 100 per cent final and there might be some smaller changes yet to come.
Get your ticket for SPIEL 2024 now!
The ticket shop for the fair is online and you can buy your tickets.
Secure your ticket and enjoy 3 months of expectation looking forward to SPIEL. Since July 1, 2024 you can buy your tickets for SPIEL Essen in our online ticket shop.
There are good reasons to get your tickets early for the fair from October 3 to 6. This year we are again offering the early bird discount until August 31.
Loot – The official game for SPIEL
This year you can get our cute mascot Meeps as stuffed toy. In collaboration with Heunec, the well-known plush-toy manufacturer from Neustadt near Coburg, we bring the cuddly, soft toy to you. You will be able to preorder Meeps soon in our merch shop or get it directly at our booth at SPIEL.
Meeps soon as plush toy
This year you can get our cute mascot Meeps as stuffed toy. In collaboration with Heunec, the well-known plush-toy manufacturer from Neustadt near Coburg, we bring the cuddly, soft toy to you. You will be able to preorder Meeps soon in our merch shop or get it directly at our booth at SPIEL.
Star guest at SPIEL Essen 2024: „Saltatio Mortis“-lead-singer Alea is the face of SPIEL
A real rock star is showing his face at SPIEL Essen 2024, quite literally: Alea, lead singer of the well-known German rock band Saltatio Mortis, is this year's face of the world's largest public fair for board games. Dressed in his personal original Geralt of Rivia armor from The Witcher 3, the musician, who is an enthusiastic gamer himself, will be inviting people to play on posters, on banners, and online even before the fair begins. In addition, he and the band, together with other star guests on site, will offer a special program relating to their cross-genre project Finsterwacht.
SPIEL Essen 2024: Record – Space for exhibitors completely sold out for the first time.
For the first time in its history, SPIEL Essen will occupy the entire space for exhibitors in six exhibition halls from October 3 to 6 and is therefore sold out. Never before have so many exhibitors wanted to enlarge their booths at SPIEL and at the same time so many new publishers wanted to present their titles to around 200,000 visitors. With this growth in exhibition space, Merz Verlag is setting a new record this year even before the start of the fair: for the first time, the world's leading fair in Essen will occupy a total area of 68,528 square meters.
We are looking for topics for our SPIEL.talks and Educators Day!
Do you have exciting projects, are you doing research in the field of board games or are you an expert in our industry? Then get in touch with us and take part in our SPIEL.talks or Educators Day. We still have a few slots available for your talks, panels or best practices.
Boardgames recognized as cultural heritage
The "German board game culture" has made it: the UNESCO Commission in Thuringia has placed it on its state list of intangible cultural heritages. This shows the state's appreciation for the 50-year-old culture of board game meetings, designer days and many other ways of experiencing board games in Germany. Thuringia will also propose the topic for inclusion in the Federal List of Intangible Cultural Heritage to further emphasize the importance of our tradition.
Tolerance is vital also at SPIEL Essen
The world of boardgames is colorful and not brown. At the board, we don't care about skin color, gender, identity or orientation. Playing brings everyone together, it's for everyone. This is also what the "Spielend für Toleranz" initiative stands for, which we wholeheartedly support at SPIEL.
Especially today, it is important to hold up the flag and stand up for respectful, polite and equal treatment - not just at the gaming table. That's why we at SPIEL Essen take a stand against racism, xenophobia and hatred and join all those who feel the same way. Because play builds bridges where words might fail. Play connects across all levels and differences and creates shared worlds full of emotions.
With the logo of the initiative, which was founded in 2018 by Spiel des Jahres members Udo Bartsch, Martin Klein and Harald Schrapers, we are joining a large number of games media professionals and other supporters who, like us, have long stood for fair and equal cooperation. We are delighted to be able to support our rules at SPIEL with the use of the logo.
