I just spent a delightful weekend at Geekway Mini here in St. Louis playing tabletop games–including several play-and-win games–with a variety of wonderful people. Among some new-to-me favorites, I also taught and played Origin Story, Viticulture with the new expansion board (subscribe here for more info), and an epic 7-player game of Scythe on a friend’s stunning custom board.
With many game conventions big and small happening around the world in 2026, I thought this might be a good opportunity to shine the spotlight on the amazing play-and-win system that originated with Geekway many years ago. Also, tickets for the bigger version of Geekway will be available starting this Friday–I’d love to play a game there with you in May if you decide to attend!
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My favorite way to market our products is to facilitate and encourage them to get to the table more often. Your table, my table, the tables of reviewers, ambassadors, etc–any table will do. The more our products get to the table, the more they’re exposed to people, and hopefully the more fun people can have with them.
This is a big part of the reason why we support our products with reprints, expansions, and ongoing reviews, as well as focusing on accessibility (Watch It Played videos, ability to teach to new players on the fly instead of frontloading rules, etc). Our goal is to bring joy to tabletops worldwide, but a key element is that our games must actually get to the table.
One of my favorite ways to accomplish this goal is through play-and-win donations for game conventions and 100+ person events.
Play-and-win is a convention concept where people can check out a game, play it, and then enter their name in a lottery to win that specific game at the end of the convention. If I donate a play-and-win game to a convention, it can be experienced by dozens and dozens of people in a short amount of time. Only one of those people will win it, so if other people liked the game, they’re now informed in their decision to purchase it later.
I’ve been talking about play-and-win on this blog for a while after discovering it at St. Louis’ own Geekway to the West (which I’m attending again this year–I highly recommend it), and I’ll post those links at the bottom of this entry. Stonemaier Games sends dozens of games each month to support conventions around the world.
Today I’m going to focus on the play-and-win Google Doc that I created and maintain, as well as my current approaches to maximizing the potential of play-and-win for publishers, conventions, and gamers.
Publishers
If you’re a publisher who likes the play-and-win system, but you don’t like getting solicitations from hundreds of conventions, the Google Doc is for you. You can simply enter your information on this tab, which communicates to the participating conventions that you’re in the know and don’t need to be contacted individually.
As a publisher myself, my process for sending out play-and-win games is that I have a calendar alert late each month to remind me to check the Google Doc for conventions happening 2-3 months in the future. For example, today (mid-January) I’m looking at conventions happening in March and April. Conventions have told me that this advance notice is really helpful, particularly so the coordinators can tell vendors which games are coming in time for them to stock up via distributors.
The number of games I send to a convention depends on the size of the event. Sometimes the play-and-win coordinators enter their information on the Google Doc and forget about it, so I help to remind them of what the package is by including the words “play-and-win” as part of the address label.
I try to keep our ambassadors informed about the various conventions that feature our play-and-win games. If any of them attend those conventions, they can make sure to drop by from time to time to see if players have questions. Otherwise, you don’t need to be worried about having teachers present–people who use play-and-win are usually comfortable to learn the game from the rulebook, and random fans of the game often stop by to help out.
Last, while we donate our games to play-and-win sections for free, it’s perfectly reasonable for you to offer a convention a discount instead of a free game. This can actually be helpful to the convention, as it lets them buy exactly what they think will be the most exciting for their attendees (instead of letting you choose).
Conventions
If you’re completely new to play-and-win, read this blog entry about the core details (or these instructions on the Geekway website). Then take note of the following:
There are other tips from specific conventions on this tab of the play-and-win Google Doc.
Gamers
If you like the idea of play-and-win, feel free to check out the conventions listed on the Google Doc. You might discover a nearby game convention that you haven’t heard of.
If you’re new to game conventions, you might be pleasantly surprised by them–especially the type of convention where you just play lots of games for a few days. I’m an introvert who does not get excited about big events, but my experience at Geekway is consistently amazing. I really appreciate people who have invited me to join their game or when someone teaches a new-to-me game, and I’ve tried to be just as welcoming to others. If you attend Geekway in May and you see me, please say hi–I’d love to play a game with you!
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What are your thoughts on play-and-win?
Also see:
If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog.
Before the fall fair and convention circuit is coming to an end, I had the opportunity to attend Süddeutsche Spielemesse (Southern German Game Fair) in Stuttgart. As when I went last time, it was a pleasant, laid-back experience.
The game fair is part of a conglomerate of hobby and leisure related fairs which are all held over the same long weekend in neighboring fair halls. As the ticket covers all fairs, you are free to explore everything. That’s great if you go as a group or family with differing interests: Your creative-minded daughter can get all inspired at the arts & crafts fair, your animal-loving son will try to make friends with the cats, rabbits, and camels at the animal fair, your gourmet spouse samples their way through the food fair, and then everybody meets at the game fair because you all love board games. Right?
With that setup, Süddeutsche Spielemesse’s target audience is broad, from the hobbyist to the very casual gamer. Consequently, you’ll find a lot of games outside of the hobby board game niche – from classics like chess and go over sports games to role-playing games. The exhibitors are usually either vendors (game test opportunities are rare), clubs looking for new members (like many of the role-playing clubs), or, my favorite, the big gaming island run in the middle where you can just borrow a game and play it free of charge which gives Süddeutsche Spielemesse a certain convention feel.
At this point, it is tradition that the gaming island remains open until 10pm on Friday, allowing for a beautiful evening of gaming. I met with a friend there and we played three different two-player games:
Northern German cities Hamburg and Altona try to outdo each other – yet while the usual victory point collecting occurs, these only matter if the game runs its full seven rounds. And it is much more likely that one of the cities will decisively outdo the other in one of the four areas of competition (alliances, ships, lawsuits, and prestige) and score an instant victory. With such a plethora of instant victory conditions, you will always feel the thrill of chasing one yourself and being threatened with another by your opponent.
In our game, we both started conservatively, getting a little bit of everything. Then my friend made a play for the alliances and was only one of them short of victory… but I could stave off defeat and counter-punch with ship dominance. I guess more experienced players would be at each other’s throat from the get-go which should make for exciting gaming and high replayability (at a very moderate complexity).
Two players chart their path up a mountain built from a shared supply of tiles, each of which has a unique combination of a color (indicating its row) and number (indicating its file). Thus, you always know that a tile you took cannot be accessed by your opponent – and vice versa. This kind of very abstract game with almost-perfect information is usually not up my alley, and Solstis proved no different. We were both unenthused by its mix of logical planning and high randomness in the rare case of placing a nature spirit. However, each play only took 10 minutes, so we didn’t spend much time to gain the valuable knowledge of what’s not our jam.
Maybe our highlight of the fair: Agent Avenue pits its two players against each other as retired secret agents trying to catch each other. To unveil the other’s identity, they enlist their suburban neighbors, all of which are anthropomorphic animals, from daredevil wolves over codebreaker owls to double agent vixens. The recruitment comes by “I cut, you choose” – but as one of the two cards the active player offers to their opponent is face-up, the other face-down, there is a spy-appropriate amount of bluffing and deduction. Pair this with a varied, but not overwhelming amount of instant victory/defeat conditions and card effects, and you have a light, but tense contest which resolves in no time at all (we played three times in 40 minutes).
Any games of these that sound like your cup of tea? Have you attended any cool local conventions or fairs recently? Let me know in the comments!
Before the fall fair and convention circuit is coming to an end, I had the opportunity to attend Süddeutsche Spielemesse (Southern German Game Fair) in Stuttgart. As when I went last time, it was a pleasant, laid-back experience.
The game fair is part of a conglomerate of hobby and leisure related fairs which are all held over the same long weekend in neighboring fair halls. As the ticket covers all fairs, you are free to explore everything. That’s great if you go as a group or family with differing interests: Your creative-minded daughter can get all inspired at the arts & crafts fair, your animal-loving son will try to make friends with the cats, rabbits, and camels at the animal fair, your gourmet spouse samples their way through the food fair, and then everybody meets at the game fair because you all love board games. Right?
With that setup, Süddeutsche Spielemesse’s target audience is broad, from the hobbyist to the very casual gamer. Consequently, you’ll find a lot of games outside of the hobby board game niche – from classics like chess and go over sports games to role-playing games. The exhibitors are usually either vendors (game test opportunities are rare), clubs looking for new members (like many of the role-playing clubs), or, my favorite, the big gaming island run in the middle where you can just borrow a game and play it free of charge which gives Süddeutsche Spielemesse a certain convention feel.
At this point, it is tradition that the gaming island remains open until 10pm on Friday, allowing for a beautiful evening of gaming. I met with a friend there and we played three different two-player games:
Northern German cities Hamburg and Altona try to outdo each other – yet while the usual victory point collecting occurs, these only matter if the game runs its full seven rounds. And it is much more likely that one of the cities will decisively outdo the other in one of the four areas of competition (alliances, ships, lawsuits, and prestige) and score an instant victory. With such a plethora of instant victory conditions, you will always feel the thrill of chasing one yourself and being threatened with another by your opponent.
In our game, we both started conservatively, getting a little bit of everything. Then my friend made a play for the alliances and was only one of them short of victory… but I could stave off defeat and counter-punch with ship dominance. I guess more experienced players would be at each other’s throat from the get-go which should make for exciting gaming and high replayability (at a very moderate complexity).
Two players chart their path up a mountain built from a shared supply of tiles, each of which has a unique combination of a color (indicating its row) and number (indicating its file). Thus, you always know that a tile you took cannot be accessed by your opponent – and vice versa. This kind of very abstract game with almost-perfect information is usually not up my alley, and Solstis proved no different. We were both unenthused by its mix of logical planning and high randomness in the rare case of placing a nature spirit. However, each play only took 10 minutes, so we didn’t spend much time to gain the valuable knowledge of what’s not our jam.
Maybe our highlight of the fair: Agent Avenue pits its two players against each other as retired secret agents trying to catch each other. To unveil the other’s identity, they enlist their suburban neighbors, all of which are anthropomorphic animals, from daredevil wolves over codebreaker owls to double agent vixens. The recruitment comes by “I cut, you choose” – but as one of the two cards the active player offers to their opponent is face-up, the other face-down, there is a spy-appropriate amount of bluffing and deduction. Pair this with a varied, but not overwhelming amount of instant victory/defeat conditions and card effects, and you have a light, but tense contest which resolves in no time at all (we played three times in 40 minutes).
Any games of these that sound like your cup of tea? Have you attended any cool local conventions or fairs recently? Let me know in the comments!
Kaum begonnen, ist die SPIEL 2025 auch schon wieder Geschichte. Für vier Tage war Essen der Ort, an dem die weltweiten Brettspiel-Begeisterten sein mussten, oder wo der Brettspiel-Plus der Welt schlug. Und jetzt, gut eine Woche später, nachdem der Staub der neuen Brettspiele sich etwas gelegt hat, wird es auch einfach mal Zeit, einen Rückblick zu wagen. Viel Spaß beim Lesen.
Der Beitrag Wieviel SPIEL darf es denn sein? erschien zuerst auf Brettspiel Reviews, Empfehlungen und Podcasts von Brettspielerunde.
Once more, the SPIEL fair at Essen has come to an end. It’s been a few intense days of looking, meeting, and, of course, playing – for me and 200,000+ other attendees. Even though the fair has expanded to another hall now, tickets for the busiest days (Friday and Saturday) were sold out a week before the event, and I also had the impression that more of the games sold out (at least that was my experience at several booths). Thus, I went home with zero purchases – which is fine! I travelled with a light suitcase on my way back, and I’ll be able to catch up on purchases via the usual local and online vendors.
Something you cannot catch up on, however, is meeting the people who mean something to you. I’ve always enjoyed going to the fair with a friend or two, and over the years, my SPIEL schedule has been enriched by more and more meetings with my fellow friends of board games and history whom I’ve met over the internet. In that regard, this year’s SPIEL has been exceptional: Not only have I gotten to dinner with my Boardgame Historian colleagues (a great way to start off the fair experience with some sparkling conversations on history in board games from a research and museum perspective) and to play a few games with Michal from The Boardgames Chronicle (more on that below) – both are almost traditions by this time – but I (and Michal) also got to meet Grant and Alexander from The Players’ Aid on their very first trip to SPIEL! I think that we all had a blast, and many plans to meet again are already in the making… and maybe play more games together!
Speaking of games: I’ve gotten around to play a grand total of 13 during the two days of the fair (ranging from very short demos to full games). Here are my highlights:
Bohemians had attracted my attention with its beautiful artwork and its intriguing fin de siècle Paris art scene setting. After giving it a test drive at SPIEL (with Michal, my friend A., and another fairgoer), I can also attest that it has sound mechanics (a mix of long-term deckbuilding and short-term pattern building from the cards in your hand):
You arrange your day as an aspiring artist with activities like “Wander the streets aimlessly” or “Practice a new technique.” The activity cards have symbols on the left and right, which, if matching, give you inspiration. You can imagine that there are some power combos – for example “Get in the mood for composing” and “Compose without stopping” have four matching symbols!
It gets even better if you acquire more inspirational activities (by spending inspiration) or if you don’t do activities alone, but have a muse with you (also to be gotten into your hand by spending inspiration).
In the end, your goal is to make artistic achievements which range from “A mildly positive review in the local newspaper” over “Your family’s quiet acceptance of your new life” to “Establishment dismayed by your work” which – you guessed it – are also acquired by spending inspiration.
As you need quite a lot of inspiration for the achievements (and they get ever more “expensive” as the game progresses), you’ll probably have to arrange for artistic activities in all four slots of the day… which means you cannot work, another (much less exciting) way to spend your time. Every player has a disreputable profession (street musician, beggar, journalist…) which they can use instead of an activity – and, if they do not, they will gain a hardship card into their deck. You know, all the bad things in life that only orderly labor keeps at bay. Abject poverty. Shame. Syphilis.
Ideally, activities, muses, achievements, and hardships come together narratively. For example, I had a great day in which my activities linked up and I could meet with not one, but two muses right after another! That gave so much inspiration that I gained an achievement… but as I hadn’t worked, I gained a hardship – hypersexuality! Apparently, I had frolicked a bit too much with the muses.
Bohemians is a nice light deck-builder which should work especially nicely for casual audiences. I had a very good start at the fair with it and have acquired it since.
And now for something completely different! Neither King Nor God takes players to the European power struggle in the Age of Reformation. Four of them will fill the shoes of England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Papacy in their quest to spread their trade, conquer new territories, and convert cities to their religion. For this task, they send out courtiers to the great cities of Europe. As the courtiers are placed face down, you know where your rivals sent one to, but not what kind of courtier it is – a merchant to plop down trade barrels, a general to move armies, an assassin to murder or a traitor to take over another courtier?
As the courtier stacks in cities will be resolved only when all courtiers have been placed (top to bottom – so the courtier placed last goes first), there’s a lot of tactical finesse in placement: Do you go where everyone seems to go to partake in the bonanza or do you try to carve out your own little domain in less popular cities? Will you place your merchant first so that he’s on the bottom of a stack and will resolve after any general who could raid his trade barrel placement or do you place him last so he can go before anyone tries to murder him?
That makes for very little downtime and great mirth both in assembling and resolving those courtier stacks. Given that everyone’s victory conditions are secret (to be drawn randomly at the start of the game), there is a lot of guessing and bluffing. However, if no one has fulfilled their victory condition by the time the plague hits Europe, different victory conditions will apply.
Despite its length (three to four hours for a full game), the game plays briskly from the first turn on. And while it is involved, it’s not a complicated game – in fact, as the friendly Sound of Drums guy who had explained the game to the group before us had to demo a game at another table, we successfully self-taught the game from the rulebook!
Neither King Nor God is a pilot for a bigger five-player version that is to be published next year.
I’d been eyeing Verdun for some time now, but never got around to play it. Good thing I could remedy that at SPIEL! As Michal and I randomly bumped into each other at the DDP booth, we could try the game together (each accompanied by a team mate).
Verdun is one of the many “trick-takers with a twist” that are released these days – and definitely one of the better ones! Two or four players (in teams of two) fight the World War I battle of Verdun. Whoever has the initiative selects an objective to attack. If their side – Germany or France – wins the trick by at least the (hidden) strength of the objective, they’ll gain the objective and its victory points. As all players draw from a shared deck of cards, that means that anyone will have both German and French cards in their hand.
That leads to all sides of interesting decisions: If you’re defending as France, are you going to play a French card to try and win the trick? Or are you playing a German one to get rid of it, either hoping that you’ll win anyway, or that the Germans win by so much that another German card doesn’t do them any good?
It gets even trickier when you consider that all cards have skull icons on them, indicating how many negative points they’ll confer on their respective side if they end up in the casualty pile. After every trick, one card per side (sometimes more) ends up as a casualty. If you can sneak in a skull-heavy card of the opponent side, that might undo all the points they’ll gain from winning the objective.
Consequently, scores will likely be negative in the end. Maybe you’ll win a few objectives, maybe not. But certainly, you will have suffered appalling losses. The question is not if you’ll win big, but if your enemy is losing even more painfully than you. The grim logic of the war of attrition on the Western Front.
Our short test game also showed the importance of keeping initiative, so you can attack and at least have the chance to win objectives and offset some of the losses: In the end, France had gained two objectives (Germany none), which, as losses were pretty evenly spread, was enough for victory (-7 to -13).
Verdun is testament to what relatively simple games can do, and how games which stray far from wargame standards (hexes, counters, combat resolution tables…) can capture the essence of a conflict just as well.
Self-balancing dragonflies (in Vietnamese: Chuồn Chuồn), often made out of bamboo, are popular toys in Vietnam. They have now made their way to the board gaming world in this charming, gorgeous game.
Players will attempt to attract dragonflies of varying sizes and colors to their bamboo trees to match the patterns on their objective cards – for example, to have a small yellow dragonfly on the highest bamboo, a large purple one on the middle, and a small blue one on the lowest. As everyone takes dragonflies from the same pool and there’s only one in each size/color combination, you will soon run out of dragonflies and will have to use the magic cards at your disposal to re-arrange the flies, shake them off someone’s tree, etc.
I found the game enjoyable and its production values outstanding. The finely crafted dragonflies are guaranteed to catch the eyes of observers, which makes the game also great for introducing new players to board gaming (everyone likes pretty things, and everyone likes to place self-balancing dragonflies!).
The game will be released next year.
My recommendation for this game comes from Dave who just published his 1000th post over on his blog Dude! Take Your Turn – a rockstar if ever I saw one!
As I started the fair with a game about aspiring artists, it was most fitting to end it with another about this subject. The single-minded pursuit of artistic achievements which was abuzz in fin de siècle Paris has by 1977 given way to the much wider notion of… victory points! These you may get for a variety of pursuits and objectives, from perfecting your musical skills over becoming addicted to drugs candy to going to bed early.
Rock Hard: 1977 is a worker placement game, just that you only have one worker – yourself, the aspiring rockstar. You’ll divide your activities between day (say, practicing your craft or giving a radio interview), evening (playing gigs), and night (hanging out with the cool kids at the club). Every once in a while, you’ll also have to work your square job as a veterinary assistant, truck driver or what have you. Unlike in Bohemians, that is not a moral corrective on your life, but fulfils the simple economic need of making some money with which you rent those rehearsal studios, pay for your demo tape recording, or buy drugs candy.
Ideally, your skills will improve, you’ll play at ever greater venues, and your royalties will cover the cost of your rockstar needs. We didn’t get quite that far at the fair – I had to catch a train and another of my fellow players a pre-scheduled game. Until then, we had only dipped our feet in the waters of musical glory, but it was a very thematic affair!
Rock Hard: 1977 has been released in English last year already (by Devir), but the fair showed off the new German edition.
What do you think of these games? Anything up your alley? And if you’ve been to SPIEL or would have liked to go – what are your highlights?
I’m incredibly grateful for my coworkers (Dave, Susannah, and Alex) for traveling across the world to Essen for the Spiel festival this past week, along with the many incredible members of our demo team who made the trip from Iceland, England, Belgium, and a variety of other locations. Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to learn about our newest products: Vantage, Origin Story, Wyrmspan: Dragon Academy, and more.
Last year we tried a secret experiment at Essen that resulted in some fun for the team and customers; I think a variation of it was implemented this year as well. I asked my coworkers if they tried anything new at Essen Spiel this year that other creators and publishers might be interested in, and Alex shared the following:
Combined Sales Counter at a Shared Booth: While Stonemaier and Inside Up have shared a booth the two previous years, this is the first time we had a single combined sales counter. It was really cool how the intermingling of stock led to people coming to the booth looking for games from one company and walking away with games from both. It really exemplified the synergy we’ve built up with the partnership between the two companies.
Great Lighting: It’s really amazing what good lighting does to make a space feel friendly and welcoming. I’ve personally experienced this in the difference between retail stores as well but at Essen we add quite a bit of extra lightning to our booth and it makes the space quite literally shine as a standout beacon next to the booths around it.
Quick Pitch Tables: This year we added a row of “pitch tables” at the front of the booth, with demo tables to do full playthroughs in the space behind it. This is similar to the tables at the Gen Con booth. It’s really cool to be able to have different ways to share our games depending on the different needs of the people coming by. We also had lots of people coming up to the game shelves, picking up the boxes and reading the backs. I was really glad for the sheet on Origin Story for this and it was fun to see people pick up Vantage and realize just how heavy that box is!
All three of these are about trying to serve customers. If you’re buying products from two companies at the same booth, it’s more effective for your time to check out once instead of twice. Great lighting is crucial for inviting people into a booth and encouraging them to hang out for a while. And not everyone wants to sit down for an extended demo–they might prefer just to briefly look at a game.
If you’ve attended a convention recently, what have you seen (or implemented) that makes the experience welcoming and memorable?
Also read:
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Nur noch zwei Tage bis zur Spiel! Wir sind schon mega aufgeregt, wegen all der spannenden Events. Und natürlich sind wir auch vorfreudig auf ganz viele Spiele von FLINTA*-Designer*innen.
Hier ist unsere kleine Vorfreudeliste.
Von: Sherria Ayuandini
Verlag: Ion game Design
Standnummer: 3T215
Kartini – from Darkness to Light ist inspiriert von der Briefbuch-Autorin Raden Adjeng Kartini, deren Werk als Eckpfeiler im indonesischen Unabhängigkeitskampf von der niederländischen Kolonialherrschaft galt.
Um diesen Kampf und damit auch das Spiel zu gewinnen, wird Bildung als radikaler Akt des Widerstands genutzt. Solo, im Team oder gegeneinander gilt es als Leitung von Mädchenschulen erfolgreich und strategisch in den Fächern Politik, Lehramt, Kampf und Förderung Schülerinnen auszubilden und gewinnbringend einzusetzen.
von Nele
Von: Maxine Metzger
Verlag: self-published
Standnummer: 4G225
Das sieht nach einem sehr cozy Spiel mit schönem Artwork aus. Flip and Write Spiele für zwischendurch haben immer einen Platz in unserem Spieleschrank. Noch besser, wenn es dann auch noch mit so fantastischem Artwork einhergeht.
von meeplemiez
Von: Emily Vincent
Verlag: Flatout Games
Standnummer: 5A700
Katzen und Stricken – muss man noch mehr dazu sagen? Der Nachfolger von Calico kommt wieder mit tollem Artwork und einem Puzzle-Mechanismus, der den Kopf zum Rauchen bringt.
von meeplemiez
Von: Paloma J. Pascual, Abraham Sanchez Hermida
Verlag: Perro Loko Games
Standnummer: 3U115
Bunt, opulent und voller Details. Das ist Orloj von Perro Loko Games. Das komplexe Expertenspiel, an dem mit Paloma J. Pascal und Amelia Sales erfreulicherweise auch zwei Frauen mitgearbeitet haben, bietet einen hochverzahnten Mechanismenmix gepaart mit wunderschöner Grafik. Zusammen mit dem Setting des Baus der Prager Rathausuhr hat es sich sofort auf Platz 1 meiner Wunschliste für Essen 2025 gesetzt!.
von Sepiroth
Von: Julia Thiemann, Christoph Waage
Verlag: Giant Roc
Standnummer: 2E450
Ich freue mich als Dinofan seit Kindertagen natürlich riesig auf Fossilium von Julia Thiemann und Christoph Waage, da mir ein Dinospiel in meiner Sammlung tatsächlich noch fehlt. Die Prämisse ein möglichst attraktives Museum für Besucher*innen zu kreieren mit Exponaten, deren Teile man nach und nach bei Ausgrabungen findet, gefällt mir sehr gut. Ich finde weiterhin die diverse Gestaltung der Besucher*innen toll. Eigentlich fehlt nur noch das Deluxe Upgrade mit im dunklen leuchtenden Dino-Skeletten, so wie damals in den Heftchen am Kiosk.
von Andreas
Von: Stefania Niccolini, Marco Canetta
Verlag: Sorry We Are French
Standnummer: 7C311
Jaja, mit niedlichen Tieren kriegt man mich einfach. Und wenn sie dann noch mit nem berühmten mathematischen Problem verknüpft sind, bin ich gleich ganz Feuer und Flamme. Auch wie im Spiel Engine-Bau mit Programmierung kombiniert ist, hört sich extrem spannend an. Da schaue ich auf jeden Fall vorbei.
von Rosa Lila
Von: Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Shawn Stankewich
Verlag: Flatout Games
Standnummer: 5A700
Schon Point Salad hatte es mir mit dem so einfachen wie cleveren Punktemechanismus angetan. Die neuen Ziele und Wertungsmechaniken klingen nach genau der richtigen Würze für den kleinen Filler.
von Rosa Lila
Von: Rita Orlov, Chelsea Stark, Mark Larson
Verlag: PostCurious
Standnummer: 5J415
Ich liebe ja Rätselspiele. Aber so richtig gute zu finden, ist gar nicht so leicht. Auf Rita Orlov ist glücklicherweise Verlass. Und in Ministry of Lost Things stellt sie einen nicht nur vor spannende Rätselaufgaben, sondern erzählt nebenher auch noch eine wunderschöne, herzerwärmende Geschichte.
von Rosa Lila
Der Beitrag Vorschau Spiel Essen 2025 Teil 2: FLINTA*-Spiele auf der Messe erschien zuerst auf flintastisch.de.
You say „board game fair“, I say “SPIEL” at Essen. It’s the Mecca for the tabletop gaming faithful. Four days of playing, trying, and buying. 200,000+ visitors. I’ve been there a few times over the last years for two days each and found it an intensive board game experience. I’m looking forward to going again this year!
As always, this is not meant as a „must buy“ list or whatever other consumptionist term some people use. It is likely that I will buy only one or two of these games. Why? Because I have quite some good games already, and I like to make them count before I plunge into new adventures. Generally, there are no musts in buying. And there are no musts in attending board game fairs or conventions – obviously those can come as pretty big expenses for travel and accommodation. Bottom line: No musts. You do you.
One note beforehand: Board gaming is getting ever more international, and this list shows it: The six designers come from six different countries, and, for the first time in the nine years I’ve been making this list, none of them is from Germany or the United States.
Without further ado, on to the games! They are sorted by location on the fairgrounds.
1-6 players, 60-150 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 50.00 €
Many games have great nations compete on the global stage. Yet Limit is different. Few games of this kind have a robust section of domestic affairs beyond the usual political-economic-military competition. Fewer dare to zoom out so much that the game spans not years, but generations over two centuries. And barely any are based on a model that neither promises eternal improvement for everyone nor zero-sum competition between the powers, but rather the limits of industrial development. If you think you have heard of the latter before: Yes, this game is based on the World3 model of the Club of Rome’s The Limits to Growth. All of these uncommon features combine into a game which I expect to feel unique.
Designer Alexandre Poyé will be at the booth to teach the game (not all around the clock, but you have a reasonable chance to meet him there).
1-4 players, 60 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 40.00 €
Archaeology is a popular setting for board games, and I’m here for it. While I love the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean as much as the next person, I’m happy to see games shedding light on less-known cultures – like the Marajoara from the Amazonian island of Marajó (in modern-day Brazil), famous for their distinctive style of pottery. You will excavate, restore, and display vases while maintaining the finances of your museum. Mechanically, the game combines inspiration from (peg) solitaire with dice movement. I would have loved the game to lean a bit harder on the unique visual style of the Marajoara pottery (mostly limited to the cover art and the large vases), but I’ll take what I can get!
3-6 players, 45-60 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 35.00 €
If your main takeaway from watching Conclave was how exciting it would be to elect a pope, Pako Gradaille has you covered. Habemus Papam puts you in the Roman curia at the time of a papal election which you aim to influence according to your public (an old pope! An innovator! Someone from the New World!) and private (finish the election early! Have a pope who is exactly like yourself!) goals. You will expend your curial influence to advance the cause of candidates whom you like (or hamper those you don’t), but conserving influence is also valuable in its own right. Whoever balances their competing interests best takes the victory. Sacramental wine and vapes are not included in the box.
1-4 players, 45-60 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 35.00 €
We turn from the wealth and austerity of the Catholic Church to the poverty and indulgence of fin de siècle Parisian artists! You chase the inspiration for artistic achievements by living life to the fullest, crafting exquisite days by skillfully combining activities as varied as wandering aimlessly through the city, discussing philosophy, meeting a muse, or losing yourself in your work. Speaking of work: You’ll have to do some of that, too – mean labor to support yourself lest you avoid the hardships which come with the life of a free spirit (which range from poor hygiene over abject poverty to syphilis). Bohemians is a mechanically light, but thematically rich deck-builder, and, as befits a game about artists, is strictly gorgeous.
2 players, 90-150 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 69.00 €
In 1920, the old world of European empires had been shattered. What the new world would look like was still up for contention, as in this struggle of two nascent states: On the one hand, new nation-states came into being – like the (Second) Polish Republic, the first independent and united Polish state in over a century. On the other hand, ideology transcended nations, and the Soviet Republics (of which the Soviet Union would spring soon after) were emboldened by their success in the Russian Civil War against the old monarchist forces. As Poland reached for the east, the World Revolution got ready to spring to the industrial centers of western Europe. The two sides were to clash in one of the most mobile conflicts in history.
1920: Nest of Eagles is a re-implementation of Rok 1920 (published in 1995 by Encore) which has received the typical Phalanx treatment of pairing wargame mechanics with euro production quality.
2 players, 10-25 minutes, for sale, MSRP: 20.00 €
I’m a sucker for a Faustian bargain… literarily speaking, I mean. My soul is still mine. Why would you even ask me that? – Anyway, Faust vs Mephisto takes the man and his devil and puts them on even ground (maybe like in the Study II scene of Goethe’s Faust): Mephisto tries to dominate by winning all tricks in a given round – or tempt Faust by winning none of them. Anything in between is a success for Faust. If Mephisto manages to pull it off twice in four rounds, he wins, otherwise Faust has proven that “A good man, through obscurest aspirations // Has still an instinct of the one true way.” Faust vs Mephisto seems like a snappy little card game to play before or after a more involved game – or whenever you have a little bit of spare time with a fellow gamer.
What are the games you are anticipating most eagerly? Let me know in the comments!
Bald geht es los und wir sind schon ganz gespannt, das erste mal die Messe in Essen aus FLINTA*stischer Perspektive zu erleben.
Zwar haben wir dieses Jahr noch keinen Stand auf der Messe, trotzdem wird es einige coole Aktionen und viele Möglichkeiten geben, mit uns in Kontakt zu treten.
Wann: Samstag von 14:00 bis 18:00
Wo: Saal Europa
Triff uns und viele andere Content Creator am Samstag ab 14:00 im Saal Europa. In gemütlicher Atmosphäre können wir da plaudern, Fotos machen und vielleicht sogar irgendwas Kleines spielen. Und ein wenig Merch haben wir sicher auch dabei.
Wann: Sonntag von 12:40 bis 13:20
Wo: Bühne in Halle 4
Gemeinsam mit Ms. Foxy Bless, Yori Gagarim und Thomas Moder redet unser Vorstandsmitglied Rosa Lila Layer über Safer Space Spieletreffs und was es braucht, um die Szene sicherer und zugänglicher zu machen.
Wann: dauerhaft
Wo: Pegasus Spieleverlag, Halle 3 3M120
Der Pegasus Spieleverlag veröffentlicht zur Messe den limitierten Sonderband Die Umstürmten für das Rollenspiel-System MIDGARD – Legenden von Damatu. Alle Einnahmen aus dem Verkauf des Werks gehen direkt an Spende an uns. Wir freuen uns riesig über diese tolle Aktion des Verlags und hoffen, dass das Buch schnell ausverkauft sein wird. Für 10€ könnt ihr es euch am Stand von Pegasus holen. Dort findet ihr auch eine Spendenbox, über die ihr noch zusätzlich unsere Projekte unterstützen könnt.
Wann: Freitag, 18:00 bis 19:00
Wo: Pegasus Spieleverlag, Halle 3 3M120
Der Pegasus Spieleverlag stellt uns außerdem noch einen Slot in der Creators Corner zur Verfügung. In einem gemütlichen Q&A zum Ende des Messetags könnt ihr uns Fragen stellen und Erfahrungen austauschen.
Wann: jeden Tag bis 14 Uhr
Wo: Giant Roc, Halle 2 2E450
Ihr wollt unser Vorstandsmitglied Julia Thiemann und ihr neues Spiel Fossilium kennenlernen? Dann schaut beim Stand von Giant Roc vorbei, wo es das Spiel zum Testen und Kaufen gibt und vom Autor*innen-Duo höchstpersönlich erklärt wird.
Der Beitrag Vorschau Spiel Essen 2025 Teil 1: FLINTA*stisch auf der Messe erschien zuerst auf flintastisch.de.
Am Samstag, den 16. August 2025, um 13 Uhr startet das KeyForge Creator Turnier live auf Twitch. Gemeinsam mit NerdstarTV, den Spezialisten für Events im Influencer-Bereich, bringen wir acht bekannte Content Creator aus der deutschen Twitch- und Gaming-Szene zusammen – alle an einem Ort, um epische KeyForge-Duelle auszutragen und den Schmelztiegel zum Glühen zu bringen!
Mit dabei sind LVCIA, Solaris (Sol4r1s), Zornkoenigin, TazzDingo, TakiHS, Dennsen86, Minakeks und MTGMalone. Manche sind erfahrene Archonten, andere lernen KeyForge gerade erst kennen – und genau das macht die Matches besonders spannend.
Das Turnier wird komplett live auf twitch.tv/nerdstartv gestreamt und zusätzlich von den teilnehmenden Creator-Kanälen restreamt. Durch den Tag führt Leonard König, ein erfahrener Kommentator, der bereits große Turniere für bekannte TCG- und Gaming-Franchises moderiert hat. Er sorgt mit Fachwissen, Humor und spannenden Insights dafür, dass ihr kein Highlight verpasst.
Gespielt wird im Sealed-Format: Jeder Creator erhält zu Beginn drei brandneue Archon-Decks, wählt eines davon aus und spielt damit das gesamte Turnier. Zusätzlich kommt ein Double-Elimination-System zum Einsatz – eine für KeyForge eher unübliche Kombination, die für noch mehr Spannung bei Spielern und Zuschauern sorgt.
Schaltet am 16. August 2025 ein und erlebt das KeyForge Creator Turnier live auf Twitch. Freut euch auf packende Duelle, strategische Spielzüge und jede Menge Unterhaltung aus der deutschen KeyForge-Community.
Der Beitrag KeyForge Creator Turnier 2025 – Live am 16. August auf Twitch erschien zuerst auf Elznir Games.
Was für ein Event! Für uns war die BerlinCon nicht nur irgendeine Messe, sondern unser allererster großer öffentlicher Auftritt als FLINTA*stisch. Für uns ein toller Meilenstein!
Unser Stand war für viele ein Anlaufpunkt, zum Quatschen, Nachdenken, Mitmachen…und zum Shoppen (aber dazu gleich mehr). Wir haben unglaublich viel positives Feedback bekommen, tolle Gespräche geführt und gemerkt: Ja, da bewegt sich was in der Szene. Und trotzdem gibt’s noch einiges zu tun.
1. Toller Merch mit Haltung
Unsere T-Shirts und Jutebeutel waren restlos ausverkauft, was vielleicht auch an den Sprüchen lag: „Board Game Feminist“, „Inklusion ist kein Bonuslevel“ oder „Patriarchat? Ich passe!“ kamen einfach gut an. (Merch-Nachschub ist schon in Planung, versprochen.)
2. Buttonstation zum Selbermachen
Unsere Buttonmaschine lief heiß: Pronomen, Pride-Meeples, feministische Zitate oder einfach eigene Designs: Ihr habt kreativ losgelegt und euch eure Haltung an die Brust geheftet.
3. Die Wall of Bullshit
Ja, wir haben sie aufgestellt. Und sie hat sich (leider) schnell gefüllt. Die Wall of Bullshit war unser Raum für Sprüche, Kommentare und Situationen, die FLINTA*s in der Brettspielwelt erlebt haben, von übergriffig bis „ist doch nur ein Witz“.
Viele haben auch gesagt: „Mir fällt grad kein konkreter Satz ein, aber so in der Art hab ich schon viel gehört.“ Genau darum ging’s: sichtbar machen, was sonst weggelächelt wird. Und: daraus ableiten, was sich ändern muss
4. Umfrage zu Diskriminierungserfahrungen
Wir wollten es genauer wissen und haben euch gefragt: Wie erlebt ihr Diskriminierung in der Szene? Die Auswertung folgt bald, aber schon jetzt ist klar: Wir brauchen mehr Safer Spaces, mehr Sensibilität und konkrete Maßnahmen. Denn Diversität entsteht nicht von selbst.
5. Gespräche über feministische Spielkultur
Am Stand wurde nicht nur geschaut und gekauft, sondern auch geredet: Über Safer Spaces auf Brettspieltreffs, unser Projekt Play Forward, über Feminismus, Inklusion und darüber, wie ihr uns unterstützen könnt. Danke an alle, die mitgedacht, mitgefragt und mitgemacht haben – und natürlich an alle, die Mitglied im Verein geworden sind.
Und: Zum ersten Mal wurde eine Autor*innen-Auszeichnung, die Goldene Tatze, verliehen! Besonders toll finden wir, dass es auch einen Preis für Spiele gab, die noch im Prototyp-Stadium sind. Aber auch hier zeigt sich wieder das alte Muster: Unter den 6–8 Nominierten pro Kategorie war keine einzige FLINTA*-Person. Die Einschätzung aus unserer Sicht: Gezielte FLINTA*-Förderung ist kein nice to have – sie ist dringend notwendig.
Lobend erwähnen möchten wir an dieser Stelle die komplett weibliche Jury der Berliner Tatze. Das war ein richtig gutes Signal.
Hast du noch weitere Ideen, was wir nächstes Jahr anbieten können? Schreibe uns gerne einen Kommentar dazu.
Der Beitrag BerlinCon 2025: Was wir erreicht haben und was noch zu tun ist erschien zuerst auf flintastisch.de.
KeyForge ist zurück auf der ganz großen Bühne – und Deutschland ist mit dabei!
Vom 12. bis 14. September 2025 findet die KeyForge Vault Tour Deutschland in der Eventkirche Bochum statt. Drei Tage lang dreht sich alles um Archonten, Aember, epische Duelle und die Chance auf einen Platz bei der KeyForge World Championship 2025!
Ob du ein erfahrener KeyForge-Veteran bist oder zum ersten Mal in den Schmelztigel eintauchst: Die Vault Tour 2025 bietet das perfekte Event für alle Fans dieses einzigartigen Kartenspiels. In drei Turnieren an drei aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen kannst du dich mit anderen Spielerinnen und Spielern messen und dein Können unter Beweis stellen.
Um an der KeyForge Vault Tour 2025 in Bochum teilzunehmen, musst Du Dir ein Ticket kaufen und Dich registrieren. Alle Infos dazu findest Du auf unserer Eventseite, die ständig aktualisiert wird.
Schau am besten immer wieder mal vorbei und bleib auf dem neuesten Stand!
Wir hoffen dich im September in Bochum begrüßen zu dürfen.
Der Beitrag KeyForge – Vault Tour 2025 in Bochum erschien zuerst auf Elznir Games.
In wenigen Tagen ist es soweit: Wir sind dieses Jahr zum ersten Mal auf der DoKomi in Düsseldorf vertreten. Die DoKomi zählt zu den größten Messen für Anime, Japan und Popkultur in Europa und zieht jedes Jahr zehntausende Besucher aus ganz Deutschland und darüber hinaus an. Für uns ist das ein besonderes Highlight und ein großartiger Ort, um mit unserer Community in Kontakt zu kommen.
Ihr findet uns vor Ort in Halle 9, Stand 9C03. Dort könnt ihr nicht nur stöbern und euch einen Überblick über unser Sortiment verschaffen, sondern auch zwei unserer aktuellen Spiele direkt ausprobieren: KeyForge Discovery und das charmante Kartenspiel Tanuki stehen für euch bereit. Wer Lust auf eine Partie hat, ist herzlich eingeladen mitzumachen.
Außerdem veranstalten wir passend zur Messe ein Gewinnspiel, das über unseren Instagram-Kanal läuft. Zu gewinnen gibt es ein exklusives Yokohama-Bundle, bestehend aus dem beliebten Strategiespiel Yokohama sowie dem passenden Premium-Token-Set. Das Spiel entführt euch ins historische Japan und kombiniert taktische Tiefe mit wunderschöner Gestaltung.
Die Teilnahme ist ganz einfach: Ihr müsst Follower unseres Instagram-Accounts (@elznirgames) sein, den Gewinnspielbeitrag liken und kommentieren. Wer den Beitrag zusätzlich in seiner Story teilt und uns markiert, erhält eine Extra-Chance auf den Gewinn.
Das Gewinnspiel läuft bis zum 8. Juni 2025 um 18:00 Uhr (MEZ). Im Anschluss wird unter allen gültigen Teilnahmen ausgelost und der Gewinner oder die Gewinnerin über Instagram benachrichtigt.
Wir freuen uns auf euren Besuch an unserem Stand auf der DoKomi. Kommt vorbei, spielt mit uns und entdeckt gemeinsam mit uns die Welt der Animes und Mangas!
Der Beitrag Zum Messeauftakt auf der DoKomi haben wir ein Gewinnspiel vorbereitet erschien zuerst auf Elznir Games.
Die Jury hat nun bekannt gegeben, welche Spiele nominiert sind zum „Spiel des Jahres 2025“. Wir stellen euch in unserer kleinen Übersicht die nominierten Brettspiele in den Bereichen "Spiel des Jahres" und "Kennerspiel des Jahres" vor.
Der Beitrag Spiel des Jahres 2025 – Die Nominierten erschien zuerst auf Brettspiel Reviews, Empfehlungen und Podcasts von Brettspielerunde.
Gleich zwei großartige Spiele-Events erwarten euch an diesem Wochenende – und ELZNIR GAMES ist natürlich dabei! Trefft uns auf den Ratinger Spieletagen und bei Konstanz spielt! und entdeckt spannende Neuheiten sowie beliebte Highlights aus unserem Sortiment.
Die beliebten Ratinger Spieletage sind ein Treffpunkt für Spielefans jeder Altersklasse und finden in der Stadthalle in Ratingen statt. Euch erwarten zwei Tage voller Spielspaß, vielfältiger Spieleangebote und geselliger Atmosphäre. Egal, ob ihr neue Familienspiele kennenlernen möchtet, komplexe Strategiespiele bevorzugt oder einfach Spaß mit Freunden sucht – hier seid ihr richtig! Besucht uns an unserem Stand B4 im großen Saal und entdeckt, welche Spiele wir diesmal für euch mitgebracht haben. Mehr Infos zur Veranstaltung findet ihr auf der offiziellen Website der Ratinger Spieletage.
Ebenfalls am Wochenende findet mit Konstanz spielt! eines der größten Spiele-Events der Bodensee-Region statt. In den Räumen der VHS Konstanz (Katzgasse 7, 78462 Konstanz) könnt ihr in einer riesigen Spieleausleihe mit über 400 Spielen stöbern, an Workshops und spannenden Turnieren teilnehmen oder Spieleneuheiten der Verlage kennenlernen. Neben einem bunten Rahmenprogramm mit Manga-Zeichnern, Rätselräumen, Rollenspielrunden und speziellen Angeboten für Kinder ist für jeden Spielebegeisterten etwas dabei. Auch hier erwarten wir euch jeweils von 10:00 bis 18:00 Uhr an unserem Stand, um mit euch gemeinsam spannende Spielmomente zu erleben. Mehr Informationen zur Veranstaltung findet ihr auf der Website von Konstanz spielt!.
Wir freuen uns auf euren Besuch – spielt mit uns, entdeckt Neues und genießt die einzigartige Atmosphäre auf diesen großartigen Veranstaltungen!
Der Beitrag Besucht uns auf den Ratinger Spieletagen und bei Konstanz spielt! erschien zuerst auf Elznir Games.
Wir freuen uns darauf, euch in wenigen Tagen auf der SPIEL DOCH! Dortmund unsere neuesten Spiele präsentieren zu dürfen!
Die Messe findet vom 28. bis 30. März 2025 in der Messe Dortmund (Halle 4) statt.
Öffnungszeiten:
Freitag & Samstag: 10:00 – 19:00 Uhr
Sonntag: 10:00 – 18:00 Uhr
Ihr findet uns an Stand A.01. Bereits zum zweiten Mal präsentieren wir uns dort als ELZNIR GAMES.
An unserem Stand erwarten euch spannende Neuheiten und beliebte Titel zum Anspielen und Kaufen:
Kommt vorbei, wir freuen uns auf euren Besuch!
Der Beitrag Besucht ELZNIR GAMES auf der SPIEL DOCH! in Dortmund! erschien zuerst auf Elznir Games.
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