- Spiel
Internationale Spieltage SPIEL, often called Essen after the city where it is held, is an annual four-day game
trade fair held in October (Thursday to the following Sunday) at the Messe Essen exhibition centre inEssen . Manygerman-style board game s are released at the fair.Unlike the other major German game fair, the
Nuremberg International Toy Fair , Spiel is open to consumers as well as publishers and designers.cite web
title=Four Days In The Center Of The Board Game Universe
url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2007/four_days_in_the_center_of_the_.php
work=Gamasutra
author=Batty, Ward
date=2007-11-07
accessdate=2007-11-08] The fair often has over 130,000 guests with 151,000 in 2006, although numbers were low in 2007 due to a German rail strike.The
Deutscher Spiele Preis , theInternational Gamers Awards , andEssen Feather are presented at the fair.It is currently the biggest gaming convention for board gaming, RPG, ect. in the world, followed by Gen Con Indy in Indianapollis, Indiana. It is reputedly the biggest and best public show for boardgames, card games and CCGs, with designers and publishers demonstrating their newest games, retailers selling games at discount, and a large fleamarket with a wide range of new and used games. In addition, there is usually a hall of comic book sellers, and one or two halls with RPGs and live action material, and a hall of large inflatables and activities for kids. The show sometimes has computer games, but these are unusual.
The exhibition centre is called the Messe Essen. It is in an area of Essen called Margarethenhöhe, in the South of the city.
See also
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Spellenspektakel , a similar but smaller fair in theNetherlands References
External links
* [http://www.merz-verlag.com/spiel/ Spiel homepage]
* [http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/convention_preview_essen_2006/ Essen 2006 preview] byRick Thornquist
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