Internationale Spieltage 2013

So despite a hurricane and a rapidly dwindling bank balance, I have returned from the gaming event of the year; Internationale Spieltage 2013! And I absolutely loved it! Three days just wasn’t enough to see, play and buy everything I’d have wanted. Almost every facet of Geekery was represented, from board games and card games, through comics and anime all the way to LARPing and steampunkers; literally something for everybody.

So here is a breakdown of my three days at Spiel ‘13, looking at the highs and lows of Gaming Mecca!

Day One - The Walkthrough
With so much to see, we spent the whole of the first day just wandering. The Spiel was split over three enormous halls, packed to capacity with rows of stalls, demonstration tables and even a giant Settlers of Catan bus! Hall 3 was the largest, and contained the majority of the big-wigs in board gaming: Queen Games, Mayfair, Mattel, Hasbro, AEG, the list goes on. Each had set up enormous play areas for their games, plus all those crazy peripheral collector’s items you can’t find anywhere else, like giant Takenoko and a Jenga set I couldn’t see over!

Not everywhere had the deals you’d expect. A few stalls were definitely on the scalp, charging over the RRP without any additional incentive like promo cards or exclusive models. But these were in the minority. All in all, everyone was friendly and kept their deals fair; so fair in fact, I had to take a pitstop at midday to run my purchases to the car, so laden down was I after the first 3 hours!

Day 2 - the Play-through
So with most of my money already gone by Day one, Day two was used to sit down and get some playing done! Some of the games I had my eye on from the first day were quite expensive; I didn’t want to splurge €50-60 on a good looking game only for it to turn out naff. With this in mind, we managed to hit the new Firefly board game (very cool, but needs a very big table), a couple of games from Spanish company Artipia Games (both games were…. OK, but in both demos the staff took us through the rules, then wandered off) and a new deck builder from AEG called Trains (looked a bit dull, but turned out to be a brilliant game).

The demos sort of highlighted the quality of the company they were linked to. The games we most enjoyed were shown by enthusiastic and knowledgeable people who showed firm grasps of their games’ rulesets and loved what they were doing. The flip side, bored-looking blokes in company polo shirts being distracted and sighing constantly can make even the best game seem run-of-the-mill. Again, this was the exception to the rule; many games are launched at Spiel, and those designers know they need to sell the game to make it a success.

Day 3 - the Roundup
So with the final day, we dashed in and grabbed all those last minute purchases we missed in the first two days. We also stumbled upon a hidden gem: a Polish game called Boom Boom involving quick fire reactions and bell-dinging (not a euphemism!). After two rounds, I was hooked and €15 poorer! Other games of note were Ortus, a chess-like strategy game with some very pretty meeples, and the gorgeous prototype of the upcoming Krosmaster Quest with its chibi-style figurines and RPG-lite gameplay.
Special mentions need to be made to those elements outside the remit of board and card gaming. Throughout the show were a slew of cosplayers, all of whom showed incredible skill and diversity in their costumes, and eternal patience with a wayward cornish man running up to them excitedly, exclaiming loudly and waving a camera in their face as they smiled in bewilderment. This really was the icing on the Spiel cake for me; the legions of Geek Peeps showing off their love of the geek culture, from a samurai in authentic bamboo armour, a Techmarine and Space Marine scout pair and a cheeky Naruto pro who managed to photobomb me despite my best attempt to catch him out!

Lastly, the inclusion of Comic Action to the mix was actually very clever. It gave the show a more ’rounded’ appeal, and brought in other geek fanatics from different genre camps that may have never normally met; geeks aren’t known for their social skills, but they are known for acceptance, and the chance for two specialisations to mingle and exchange was a smart move. Plus I got see R2D2 booping his way across the arena hall!

What I did feel was missing were the competitive play and the wargaming. Whilst there were a couple of championships (Settlers of Catan for example), I really would have expected some more space given over to competitive play and to table-top wargaming. If it was present, it wasn’t overt and certainly not easy to find.

So, poor, tired and grinning, Spiel has left me feeling inspired and accepted. Rolling dice and flipping cards is on the grow, with more people picking up a board game outside of Monopoly, plus the rise in budding designers has brought diversity and a strive for quality that shows growth. As a budding games designer myself, Spiel has been essential in keeping me enthused and updated with what can be done and what needs to be done to make this dream come true. So whether you like board games, card games, comic books, cosplay or simply wondering amongst your fellow geek nibbling a german sausage in a bun; Spiel will appeal!