SPIEL 2024: Day 0 hype!

Those who know me or have followed my instagram for some years will be aware of my fond relationship with the annual event in Essen, Germany, known as SPIEL. For the uninitiated, SPIEL is one of the biggest board game conventions in western Europe, gathering thousands of people every year in the Messe Center Gruga, just short outside central Essen. 

 

From the outside, there's not much indicating how huge this is.

 

For many, especially if you're from countries that already harbor these massive events, this is likely nothing special. I guess that compared to huge conventions in the UK or the US, SPIEL is not much to write home about; but it holds an extremely special place in my heart for many personal reasons. 

To provide a bit of (condensed) backstory, I have lived in the NRW area of Germany for quite a while, but never really got around attending SPIEL. In the early days I was too busy getting settled in Germany, and then there was that world-spanning pandemic thing which kinda threw a wrench in the machine too. So for me, it wasn't until 2022 I had my first SPIEL experience, and that was even on a whim in which I went with my better half on the Sunday for a "quick visit to see what's the fuzz about" - I was severely blown away with pure awesomeness and thrill, as I for the first time got to visit such a place with such a magnitude of things, stalls, cool nerdy options and just getting lost in this world that is everything you love and stand for.

There is a certain elegance to how invested some stalls are

 

SPIEL is a place where I get lost. It's a micro-cosmos of its own, that for four days allows you to take escapism to the next level. It is the magnum opus of fleeing this reality for a spell and surround yourself with like-minded people, submerged in an environment that affords you to become inspired, thrilled and engage with new aspects of your hobby that you didn't think of before.
And, of course, a vast opportunity to shop.

Already on my first year, I got so many nice books for d&d, as well as custom-printed miniatures, and it became absolutely clear to me that I had to attend in 2023 again, at which I bought the all-days-inclusive pass. And yes, went there every day. 

 

I know that people from bigger conventions will laugh, but I love the scope of how you can just explore and find new things. Keep walking and see what awaits.

 

I could talk long and very hard about how much SPIEL means to me. But the simplest way to put it, is that it simply makes me so incredibly happy and peaceful to be there. I usually hate crowds, but maybe in this regard, being in a country in which I feel so little at home with its people, creates an immensely sharp contrast to being in an environment for four days with people that just get you. And while last year I got a lot of very nice things, such as my ever beloved foldable gaming-table, terrain and a few nice board games, it's the feeling of just thinking "...let's try and go to hall 3 and walk randomly and see what I find" that really makes me feel so excited. You find stalls you could swear weren't there before. You walk past someone that build a little grotto in which they are now playing a tabletop rpg. Next to them is a fully decorated living room from Bridgerton, showing off a boardgame set in the series, and watching people play are two stormtroopers taking a break from the massive FFG play area in the middle. Walk further past and down a side-alley, and you find a sweet British family-business peddling their newly designed "whodunnit?" card game and you fall into a long talk about how they are trying to break through. They are competing with the guy on the other side who sells a game where you have to shape up a duck from wooden bricks, but you get random instructions such as standing on one leg. Next to him comes two amazing guys from Bulgaria selling Warhammer terrain they made themselves and if you buy enough, you enter a competition in two hours, so you have to make it back and better remember how to get there. You continue for a little while and suddenly it's like you entered a high-class jewelry store selling magic cards (for around the same price) with professional staff meeting you. They add up to the other side of the alley where a big American company are selling deluxe-gaming tables of wood, with multiple drawers and even build-in monitors to cater to all your ttrpg needs. And this is just from one walk. In one hall. Of which there are six. I am sure you're starting to see the picture.

 

 

 

 

SPIEL is not just an event, it's a yearly pilgrimage for me. It's the time when I more than anything feel at home, and like I belong and can engage with people that are so passionate that it's invigorating. Everything is alive and so energized, there is so much to see and it just makes you realize how very much alive our hobbies are, and how extremely passionate the various produces and companies are to introduce us to it, whether they're big or small business.

At this time of writing, it is 1.10.2024, with the first launching day of SPIEL 24 being two days away, and I am of course extremely excited. Last year was such a blast, even though I had my trepidation whether getting a four-day pass would end up being a bit much. Turned out to be just fine, though, as I went there two days alone and two days with my better half; during these we mainly tried out different board- and card games together, ranging from a random board game in which we were Greek gods trying to establish a city (and the designer of the game, incognito, approaching us for our opinion afterwards) to a simply little card game about collecting seashells and mermaids. It was a great time, and I will likely strive for something similar this year.

One of the main complaints I made last year was that I didn't document it to look back on, so this year, I want to try and take a more active approach. At least make this little warm-up post, followed by my project update, so I know what to actually look for when there. Last year was a bit ad hoc with my purchases; which is all great, but this year, entering a bit more prepared is probably a good idea.

Yes, that's a whole showcase of painted Discworld miniatures

 

As much as I've hyped the project, I also do have some reservations which I will look back on and reevaluate once done.

First, I can not help wondering how much of the novelty factor will have worn off this year. Last years was my first real plunge into it. It was very much the honeymoon phase where everything is amazing. Other people have mentioned that the magic does wear off; you see the same stalls and recognize more and more. That's life for you, of course. I still hold optimism that the sheer magnitude of it is enough to fulfill the hype.

Second; although a small thing, this year it opens on a German holiday, meaning there will likely be a ton of people there from the very first day. I had my reservations whether I should go or not, but then again, it would be a real shame to let that deter me. Instead, I am wondering whether to either show up earlier, like an hour before the doors open and wait, or rather do the 13:00 or so, when the biggest rush has completed. I will likely do the former. Not that I am rushing to see anything though, and the big influx will be huge no matter what. But we will see.

Third, but this a not a bad reservation, this is the first year to my knowledge that SPIEL will officially allow/endorse cosplayers. That should be interesting. I hope the occasionally cramped floors won't break off too many anime-staffs or Overwatch-wings.

 Overall these are minor issues. I know it will be an amazing time and I am so excited for it. I found my trusty big bag to carry everything, the boots are set and the app loaded with my tickets.

So before I start my next post about projects and things to get; what am I excited to see this year?

I went over the different options and I think dominantly this year, I will be looking for things to compliment my Old World projects. Last year was a weird bit of mixed bag with Old World being on the way and me still being involved with Age of Sigmar (I recently sold all my armies except Sons of Behemat) which did mean I got to buy a lot of Ironjaws and things to support them. This year, I will be skipping on the Age of Sigmar scene entirely, possibly expand to a star player or some stuff for the Blood Bowl hobbyism, but SPIEL never really offered much in that regard anyway, except the GW store ofc. 

I have a huge fascination with super expensive Magic cards. It's also a nice remind why I proxy.

 Terrain is also always huge thing for me; you can get some very nice stuff there, but the trick is to find it for the right price. The quality can swing a lot. Furthermore on that note, as I have gotten more into 3d-Printing over the last year, I will likely not be throwing much after custom-made minis there, as they do tend to be on the pricey side compared to what you know they actually cost to make (it's a terrible eye-opener to have, honestly) - But again, keep an open mind.

Ironically, we got so many board games now that I am not even sure whether I'll get any. My first year was a grand quest for Hero Quest in English; but tradition true, Germany has a very hard time understanding that there is a whole globe out there that doesn't speak German and that, no, we don't necessarily want to play our board games in German either. It is still a thing that baffles me about this convention that some retailers end up having 50+ boxes of high-trending board games in German left on the last day, but being completely sold out of the English one on the second day; now scratching their head with a puzzled "...Warum?"

But I digest. We did talk about getting the Bridgerton board game because we love that show; but unless I find a store magically selling the last monster-packs I need for Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd edition, I don't have anything too crazy on the list of board games. I tend to find some that look super fun with a great concept (there was this one last year, in which you play against each other as various dictators around the world in a very satirical way) - but again; leider nur auf Deutsch.

When it comes to books, I am always on the "surprise me!" wagon. I originally planned to get the new D&D 2024 player's handbook, but I found a copy in an Austrian hobby store some time ago. Most of my impulse buys involve books. I love those little stalls where you can search around for hidden gems and suddenly find this random Kobold Press publication you always wanted. Since books also tend to be very heavy, they're also the ones I tend to be the most critical about buying.

There is, of course, always dice!

 

Finally there are the accessories, like bases and terrain decoration, which I will likely go through after this post in private and make little notes about. These are luckily always not on peoples' eyes right away, and tend to be things I just go "Oh yeah, I need some 50mm actually!" I just need to be aware before what to aim for.

 

With that being said, the countdown starts and I am as excited as ever to see how things will go. I don't know whether I have it in me to post daily updates about my visits there, although it would certainly be nice. Maybe I'll do a later catch up on it. But I wanted to, for sure, have this little diary thing as something to look back on later, as I hopefully had an amazing journey at SPIEL 2024!