The board games fair Spiel Essen takes place from October 5th, this year with a new hall concept and its biggest ever exhibitor attendance.

The gates will open at 10 am on October 5th, when visitors will find space at gaming tables in the exhibition halls, browse through new titles and meet friends from all over the world. This year, Spiel Essen is set to welcome exhibitors and players from over 50 nations to Essen, Germany.

With around 32,400 sqm of booth space in six halls, the 2023 fair is the biggest Spiel ever and has surpassed the previous record set in 2019. 850 exhibitors from 55 nations will present their current games, and well over 1,500 new titles will be on display. The games can be tried out directly at the publishers’ booths, with demonstrators who will introduce the new games, explain the rules and accompany visitors while they play.

A modernised logo, an up-to-date website and a mascot, Meeps the Cat, have been unveiled to celebrate the fair’s 40th birthday, plus the fair has a new hall concept this year. Friedhelm Merz Verlag will group the exhibitors according to thematic categories as follows:

• Halls 2, 4, 5 and 6: Family games
• Hall 3: Connoisseur games and expert games
• Hall 1: Role-playing, TCGs and miniatures games.

The significantly expanded and improved Spiel app will help visitors find their way around the fair, offering interactive hall plans with zoom function; indoor navigation from booth to booth; new releases list with search filters and favourites list; exhibitor list with booth numbers and a programme overview of exhibitors and the fair.

In addition to the publishers’ exhibition areas, Spiel offers special areas for aspiring artists, new game designers and crowdfunding platforms. The board games fair in Essen also offers a varied supporting programme for visitors and trade visitors, with lectures, discussion rounds and panels, plus an Educator’s Day.

Merz Verlag will stream all contributions live on its YouTube channel, where the videos will also be available after the fair.

The Deutscher Spiele Preis, which is awarded in an open vote by the gaming community in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, will be announced for the first time this year at the press conference on the day before Spiel Essen and awarded at the subsequent  show. Merz Verlag will broadcast the award ceremony live on its YouTube channel.

The fair will be open from Thursday, 5th October, to Sunday, 8th October, from 10-7 and until 6pm on Sunday. Visit the website here for more info.