If you put a gas in a container, it will expand to fill that volume. In much the same way, this year’s Essen Spiel seemed just as packed to the rafters with visitors as last year’s show, despite having three entirely new halls to spread into. This is probably thanks to the evergrowing popularity of Europe’s biggest gaming event, which saw a record-breaking 174,000 fans return to Messe Essen in October to check out the latest the tabletop world has to offer.
And, boy, what an offering it was. There were more than 1,200 new releases and world premieres across the four days, not to mention the thousands of previously-released games on display that you might have missed since the last show. Everything from hardcore strategy titles to five-minute party games proved a hit – we don’t think we saw an empty stall the entire time we were there, and the doors to the show were actually opened early on all four days to cope with the crowds.
This year’s show also seemed to be a much more kid-friendly affair, with the corridors in-between the halls stuffed with trampolines, sweet shops and all sorts of other fun. Of course, adults are welcome to take part in all of that, too, but they would have to wait their turn behind the many children we saw having a blast both on those attractions and the many, many demonstration tables set up for games across all seven halls.