A diversified programme was held on the newly designed stage. In the photo a panel with Carol Rapp (2nd f.t.r.), Managing Director of Merz Verlag, organisers of the event.
D – 220,000 people from all over the globe poured into the Spiel Essen from October 23-26, 2025. The biggest board game fair in the world was sold-out on all days and thus exceeded the record attendance figure from the year 2019 prior to the pandemic. Spanning 77,500 m², the exhibition space was also bigger than ever before after adding a seventh hall to accommodate the, according to official sources, 948 exhibitors from 50 countries and over 1,700 novelties.
The Stuttgart-based publishing company, Kosmos, also set a world record with a Catan game in the neighbouring Gruga Hall: To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the traditional game, 1,170 fans traded, built and settled in the largest simultaneous game of all time.
The lecture programme didn’t take place in the trade fair’s conference rooms this year, but instead on a big stage directly in Hall 4. This ensured that the talks and panels on diverse themes attracted more attention and were well-attended. Over the course of four days, business, education and all conceivable aspects of gaming were discussed. A cosplay catwalk, a live role-playing game with actors and the award ceremony of the Gold Demon miniature painting competition also took part on the stage.
Mascots, T-shirts, bags and co: Beside the games themselves, merchandise was in high demand as a trade fair souvenir.
The board game community is part of a pop-cultural gaming culture that extends across all social classes. Adaptions of digital games like Slay the Spire and board games with an app connection like Wandering Galaxy show that there is no longer a strict separation between digital and analogue gaming. Popular IP worlds from the Lord of the Rings and Marvel, through to One Piece were omnipresent in the halls – whether as themes in games, as cosplay characters or on T-shirts and caps. In addition to board games, card games and co., a wide selection of accessories and merchandise was on sale.
With its record-breaking results, Spiel Essen impressively demonstrated once again that analogue games are booming and that there is still the need for presence, community and haptic experiences.
// Andreas J. Haller
Photos: Andreas J. Haller, © WA Media
