by Justin Bell

I’m a huge movie fan; before kids showed up on my doorstep, I used to see 50-100 movies in theaters every year, including 160 flicks in 2013. Part of my junkie status is tied to film festivals; I have attended the Sundance Film Festival twice, including the fest in 2007 when prices were not completely ridiculous. (Fun fact: when I went in ‘07, a Sundance single film ticket cost $15, about $24 in today’s dollars. The 2027 Sundance Film Festival price for a single ticket is $37 a pop. I love movies, but I don’t love movies quite that much any more.)

Sundance is a blast, mainly because there are hundreds of movies being screened and you get to escape with other cinephiles, enthusiasts who wouldn’t dare do something like pop open a phone or have a full volume conversation with two friends during the trailers. (In part, that’s because films at Sundance don’t begin by showing 25 minutes of previews.)

At Sundance, you get movies from all over the world, and all genres—documentaries, art-house dramas, a few mainstream movies, and animated films seeking a distributor. You’re there with film junkies like me, sure…but you are also at Sundance to sit side-by-side with other industry players, studio heads, PR types, and actors, trying their best to hide their celebrity status by wearing sunglasses, knit caps, and heavy jackets (all indoors).

But the main reason why I love going to Sundance is because I get to see a bunch of flicks before (almost) anyone else. Many of the movie rights at Sundance are negotiated and sold at the show, with some popping up the following summer or fall in theaters or on streaming platforms thanks only to their appearance at the festival.

And I think that’s why I love going to SPIEL Essen, the biggest tabletop convention in the world kicking off this Thursday, especially as an American. I love the chance to get some of those games before anyone else. If Gen Con kicks off games season here in the US, SPIEL Essen is what makes fall the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s the reason why I always play the Andy Williams holiday song of the same name on my flight over to Dusseldorf.

I love the term “world premiere.” And SPIEL Essen has a whole lot of world premieres, making the convention my personal favorite.

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.”

That line from 1999’s The Matrix still resonates…especially when I think about attending SPIEL.

“What’s it like at SPIEL Essen?” someone will ask when they want to know more about the show.

I usually respond with something like this: “Have you been to Gen Con? SPIEL Essen is like Gen Con, but with an expo hall space five times bigger.”

Now, that’s not completely accurate; in terms of expo hall square footage, SPIEL Essen is “only” about three times the size of Gen Con’s expo hall, not five. SPIEL Essen is spread across eight separate expo halls in a single building in Essen. (That building, Messe Essen, isn’t exactly a looker. I’m still not sure I love Essen, the city, as a place to visit. But the chance to be surrounded by other hobbyists, games in every direction, collectibles, and apparel for four days? Count me in.)

There’s something special about attending a global trade show that features such an exceptional mix of large publishers and many much smaller businesses from anywhere you can think of. SPIEL Essen is the opposite of a “play con”, with no dedicated play area and demo tables serving as the only spaces you can find to sit down and play games on site. So, I almost never play any games at the show, with days that stretch into the 12-14 hour range because of transit to and from the Messe along with parties that run into the night.

The months leading up to SPIEL Essen are such a thrill. That’s because the hype machine is in full effect!

“When do you fly to Germany?” dozens of friends will ask in the weeks leading up the late October show. “I’m seeing a lot of news about some of the new games debuting at the show. You must be getting pretty hyped, right?”

Guilty as charged; I’m pretty fired up. That said, I get pretty excited in the lead-up to Gen Con too, in part because it’s such a short stroll to get down to Indy from Chicago. But for someone coming from North America, SPIEL Essen is a bigger endeavor. Flights aren’t cheap (flights aren’t cheap anywhere any more, right?), hotels aren’t cheap, Germany is a distant journey, etc. So, there’s a minor amount of mental fatigue as I imagine the process I need to take to get all the way to my Essen accommodations.

But then the game news starts to flow, with updates every single day. The SPIEL Essen Preview here on BGG builds every day for months, and watching new titles enter the preview gets me more and more excited to arrive. About a month before the show, I start reaching out to publishers for meetings, industry contacts for breakfast, and other creators for dinner.

A week before I fly out, I start prepping all the things I need, from board game shirts (ahh, THERE’S my bright red EXIT: The Game—CATAN t-shirt that I only wear at shows) to board game business cards to board game-themed meeple skull caps to board game pins to board game convention pass badge holders. Geek prep is vital! I chuck it all in the luggage, with enough bags to ensure I can haul as many games home as I can.

The people part is probably why I get most excited about SPIEL Essen, because some of my friends in places ranging from Tokyo to Budapest to London to…well, even Chicago are hard to catch between shows. But, I know I can count on seeing them in Germany. (Yes, one of my Chicago friends is a guy I’m going to see at the show but I can never seem to find in Chicago! Life is crazy.)

The games are the reason we all show up in Essen. And I’m excited to share more about some of those games in the weeks ahead.

The day this post went up, I wrapped up all my game tracking plans. I loaded up my SPIEL Essen app with the booth locations for the 140-ish games on my personal SPIEL Essen preview list, all the publishers I want to visit, all the after-hours booth parties, and all the special events I want to experience during the show.

Like many of you, I’ve got all of the most thumbed games on my hit list too, from Queen Alice to -60° to Kingdom Come: Deliverance—The Board Game, the game I will likely table first when I get back to the US. But because it is the most wonderful time of the year, all the games I bring home from SPIEL Essen are going to be great because it is just like opening presents for the holidays. Some friends have “SPIEL Day” game events already set up for the days immediately following their return home, and I’m hoping to host a couple game nights back home in the days just after I return, to get those treasures onto the table.

I’m fired up to just walk around the eight halls of the Messe to soak it all in. (And I WILL be inside, because the weather for SPIEL week looks atrocious.) Board games, everywhere. I know some people hate crowds; I’m the opposite. Bring on those massive crowds full of nerds. I love watching people make a run to get in line for the game they most want to bring home from the fair.

(I learned recently that the German word for nerd is…”nerd.” I validated this with a German co-worker, and I’m still bummed that there’s not really another word for this. Then I asked this same co-worker what the German word for “geek” is. “Geek,” she said. This is a travesty.)

The huge signs at each booth with the hot games and the fantastic box art? Can’t wait to share the pictures. Promo cards that you can only get at conventions? I already have a list. Running the halls on the final day of the show to try and score a deal or three? My track shoes are ready. German convention hall chow in the Galleria breezeways? Obviously.

Let’s have some fun folks! It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!