Fridays at Spiel tend to be busier than Thursdays and today was no exception. Today really seemed as crowded as any other Friday, but I suspect that while there are more people moving around the aisles, there are less places for them to play, Nevertheless, all the tables in all the popular booths were full to bursting with people playing or watching.
Today I had a good look at some of the games in my “to check” list. This included: Continue reading
As 2021 comes to a close, I’m still mostly stuck in my basement – unfortunately unable to make the trip to Essen this year. However, I was still able to get a decent stock of SPIEL 2021 games, including a nice bundle of games from Capstone. Imperial Steam was one of the first to hit the table (in fact, getting its initial play prior to the start of the fair) – and at least in this way, I was able to travel back in time to mid 19th Century Austria.
I was standing near the entrance this morning at 09:45 when they let the punters in and as usual at Spiel there was a healthy buzz of noise and a rush of air as people jogged to find a space on their favourite tables. There was a queue at various booths to buy games with limited copies or which had the most hype – this year definitely made more noticeable by the problems of getting games to Essen on time. Notable long queues were for Arche Nova at Feuerland (only 20 copies in English); Devir for Bitoku (excuse the incorrect accents); Golem even though this year Cranio are in Hall 5; and Kosmos (no idea what they were queuing for though!).
Helvetiq is one of the game companies that I think are not as well known as they should be. Based in Lausanne, this Swiss company makes games on the lighter/family side, and as such, I think that “gamers” often overlook them. In the past few years, I’ve been happy to give their games a try. We recently tried out a prototype of Save Patient Zero which was a fun team-based deduction game.
Dice Trip – Germany is billed as a roll-and-write game where you will travel through Germany. Your goal is to create the longest possible continuous route on your way through the 25 different cities shown on the map. The components are fairly simple; you get a pack of 50 one sided map sheets, pencils, and 4 colored dice.
HELP! Is one of this year’s traditional card games that always appear at the SPIEL convention. There are usually two to four games in this little double deck box, and when I’m at the fair, I routinely come home with one or two of them each year. This year, I am not at the fair, but the great folks at Amigo sent me at least one to play.
My First Advent Calendar
So, I grew up as a Catholic in the Midwest, so I’m quite familiar with Advent Calendars. As it turns out, it might not be as common a phenomenon in other parts of the country. As my travels thru Germany have shown, Advent Calendars are a big part of the holiday season, and most of my trips through toy stores and department stores provide me plemty of choices for my Advent Calendar. enjoyment.
