The Opinionated Gamers

Here we are! Essen Messe day 1. Thousands gamers gathering in the north of Germany, despite the bad weather and the terrible food. Thousands of gamers crushing their pigs full of money to buy almost everything publishers and designers are promoting in stand every year more appealing. Does the nice looking girls and the expert gamers, with long beards, demonstrators succeed in getting a sold out before Saturday of a small print-run game no one will remember in two years from now ? Who will be the stars of the 2015 edition ? Will be BGG Buzz or Fairplay a good thermometer of what’s going on ? The man selling the spiral potatos will be able to survive the horde of hungry people at his small barrack ? We will be able to resist to the compulsive desire to buy everything is looking more than average in the fear of not getting home the hottest games ? (Probably no!)

Keep reading Father in the Messe report if you want to know something more but remember, the only real answer is always 42!

Everything started in the press office where me and Caterina were suggesting to the girl working there a nice Italian restaurant with very good “gnocchi al tartufo” sadly discovering, later in the evening, it doesn’t exist anymore …

It was 9:45 when we met Dale in the hall 3. It was a very nice beginning. I’m always surprised how it is possible to meet each other ever year without any appointment.

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Essen Day One: Thoughts from a First Time Attendee

Note: This is my first time attending Essen, so in my entries this week I’m discussing the convention from the perspective of a first time attendee.  I’m also providing snap reviews of games: below I talk about Ticket to Ride United Kingdom and Skyliners.  These are just first impressions: I’m sure the OG will follow-up with full reviews in the coming weeks.  

If I had to pick one word to describe the first day of Essen, I would go with “overwhelming.”  The halls have hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of games for sale.  Every kind of game is available, often in several different languages, with options spanning three or four decades.  At least 800 new titles were released leading up to today and today.  Tens of thousands of gaming enthusiasts flooded into the building at 10:00am this morning, and by noon, one of the biggest buildings I’ve ever been in was packed and teeming with excitement for board games. Continue reading →

Posted too soon.  Forgot to take a pics of the games.

Sorry for the flash flare. In a hurry because it’s time to run back to the show. 

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Dear Opinionatedgamers’s readers, me and Caterina are back in Essen. Someone probably again tried to prevent us reaching the Messe but we succeed! Last year was a second world war bomb and a strike and this year a fire that put the trains connecting Koln and Essen out of action. We need the help of a well payed Taxi driver but we reached the Jung Hotel and we are ready to play games!

We haven’t study any rules (not really true, indeed) and we have no plan. We will play whatever cross our path and we will be excited by good games and depressed by bad ones.

Looking back our report and the top lists I discovered that
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I have not previously attended Essen, and since I suspect many readers of this blog haven’t either, I wanted to provide some insight into the experience.  Of course, I’m also going to talk about the games I’ve played.  

Arrival, German Trains, and German Food

I’ve never been to Europe before, so this was my first transatlantic flight.  In the end, it wasn’t bad: the plane was actually more comfortable than its domestic counterparts.  After landing, going through German customs was a breeze: the customs official saw my luggage tag (which has game insignia) and asked if I was in town for the “tabletop convention.”  He stamped my passport and told me which train went to Essen.  

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More news from the press conference

Odyssey from ares did not makr the show. Only here in prototype form. 

The advent calendar is in a huge box. Which obviously you cannot break down to nest if you want to keep it as a calendar.

Dr knizia dressed up as Captain Black this year

Wits and wagers has a German version and a new game. 

Found a new  game that I am now trying to figure out if I have enough space for.  Www.flickball.dk

Sat down for my first full demo. Internal affairs from capstone hk. An interesting game of deduction with just enough chaos thrown it to keep it interesting.

Also got quick demos of play jeju and aqua park. They also look quite nice.

The annual zoch event was next. A fine spread of food and drink and a really nice chance to sit down and try some of the new games. The big news for me from the event is that Zoch will be moving their headquarters from the Munich area to Nuremberg in 2016 as it has been bought by Noris. It was also very nice that the speech was also simulcast in English.

And here is a basket of the pretzels that I wait all year for.

This is for my son. I get weisswurst for lunch!

Another interesting tidbit is that I learned that I have been eating my weisswurst like a barbarian – or at least like a non-Bavarian.

When you eat weisswurst, you’re not supposed to eat the casing. You cut it longways and then peel the tasty tasty meat out. . Who would have known?

And if you were a manly man bavarian, you’d not even need a knife and you’d suck the meat out of the end. Zuzeln is the verb that actually describes that meat sucking action.

When you search Zuzeln on Google.dr this is what you get.

Also, you will get derisive looks if you spread sweet mustard on your pretzel. It’s butter or nothing baby.

So one guess who is wearing these shoes.

That’s right, pizza and Slimer.
Hint. He’s got green hair.

Now I’m off to get my buzz on. A beer with sausages at Zoch followed by the beer barrel at Eggert, mead at the fragor booth and then more day days of wonder. Prost!

Oh, at the days of wonder booth, I did discover that Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the models for the new ticket to ride game.

Dinner tonight. Another doner pide. Hey, I know what I like. And fwiw, I didn’t have to order. Just showed up, got a smile from the nice guy behind the counter and doner pide was thrown in the oven.

Also got one of my favorite abd unique German beverages, apfel schorle. Half apple juice and half mineral water.

Time to start punching games to save weight!

Until your next appointment
The gaming doctor