October 2024, SPIEL Essen, one day before the convention opens. I’m browsing through the novelty show, a press-only event that’s basically all new releases cramped into one convention hall. Each game has about 30-40cm of table width, maybe less, and the hall is buzzing with representatives of the publishers pitching their games as well as …
Read more “Review of Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom – Honey, I Shrunk The Kingdom”
Lately, I’ve gotten a bit tired of the typical modern Euro: mechanically solid, great art, but no real theme or story being told. In the last years, I found myself wondering more and more often “why should I even be playing this?” as combo-heavy, low-interaction games kept coming to my table that wouldn’t produce any …
Read more “Table Talk With Tomáš Holek – Galileo Galilei, SETI, Tea Garden”
I guess I’m inventing a new-for-me format here: “Table Talk” 😀 While my usual interview format Origin Stories is based on 90-120 min conversations that are well researched and in-depth on a single game or topic, Table Talk will be shorter 20-30 min conversations to catch up with interesting people in the hobby. While being …
With SPIEL over and me on a long train ride, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the whole trip and answer a number of frequently asked questions. What Did It Cost? For trips like this, that’s always the big one. Well, it depends on various factors: How expansive is it for you to travel …
And here we are already: the final day of SPIEL Essen 2024. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve attended SPIEL on a Sunday. I would usually just do my shopping/gaming Thursday and Friday and avoid the weekend in favour of playing my new acquisitions. But this year there were more people to …
Saturday at SPIEL Essen started lovely for me: with a cloudless sky and the sun shining. The weather this year is a bit unusually chilly for SPIEL as most years the convention somehow manages to have good luck and nice weather. I can’t really remember a single SPIEL where there was rain going on … …
Read more “SPIEL Essen 2024 – Day 3: Tea Garden, Roads & Boats, and Meeting Lovely People”
It’s a good day if you unexpectedly meet people you don’t really know and they are happy to see you! Welcome to day 2 of SPIEL Essen 2024. The doors of SPIEL have closed and I’m back at the laptop before doing a little bit more gaming in the hotel. Having booked a hotel room …
Read more “SPIEL Essen 2024 – Day 2: Steam Power, Raas, and a Big Surprise”
And we’re back! Hello everyone to the first official day of SPIEL. I was a bit anxious what would await me with tickets being sold out and the German unification day coinciding with the first day of SPIEL, but it turned out to become a pretty great day. When I reached the Messe at around …
Read more “SPIEL Essen 2024 – Day 1: World Order, Landmarks, and a Sold Out Show”
Well, if you want to meet people you know from YouTube, let me tell you: the press conference for SPIEL Essen is the place to be! 😀 Hi everyone and welcome to Day 0 of my Essen 2024 coverage! Things kicked off today with the press conference and new games show. This was the first …
Read more “SPIEL Essen 2024 – Day 0: Press Conference, Novelty Show, and Making New Acquittances”
Another year, another Essen season is upon us! I just thought I’d make the most of my train ride to Essen by once again sharing what my approach for this year will be. A lot seems to be different this year, so should be fun! 😀 Pre-Fair Coverage, Pre-Orders & Demo-Only It’s quite noticeable how …