SPIEL Essen 2026: Day 1

Hello everyone!

This year I’m at SPIEL Essen for the very first time, and it’s amazing! Let me take you along on a tour of my three days at the fair, starting with Day 1.

Getting there

Today was the big day. I was super excited and a bit anxious at the same time, because I really didn’t know what to expect.

We started the day in Bochum, where we’ve been staying for a few days. From Bochum, it’s about a 20 minute train ride to Essen, then a short metro trip to the Messe. But when we arrived at Essen Central Station, surprise: a huge queue for the metro! We were waiting patiently, already resigned to a 30 minute wait, when a really nice person came up to us and asked if we wanted to share an Uber. We said yes, and we reached the Messe in 10 minutes. So thank you to that wonderful person whose name I unfortunately didn’t ask. 😞

That’s how our journey began: as a real adventure.

Crowds of visitors walking towards the entrance of Messe Essen — Arriving at the Messe, along with half of the board game world!

First impressions

In front of the Messe, crowds of people were already heading inside, but getting in was quick and easy. Thank you to everyone organising and working at the event!

My first thought when I walked in was: oh my God, this is BIG. We started wandering between the booths, taking photos and trying not to collapse with so many things to look at, when someone asked us in French if we wanted to join a table to play Moustache. We said yes straight away, even though my boyfriend doesn’t speak French. 😛

A yellow cat mascot walking through the halls of SPIEL Essen among visitors — We weren’t the only ones excited to be there!

Moustache

Designed by Alexandre Aguilar and Jules Messaud · Illustrated by Manu Gorobeï · Published by KODAMA · BGG page

Moustache is a trick-taking game with four animal colours. Each colour has a different strength, from green (the weakest) to blue (the strongest), and some cards have stars, which are the points you count up.

The fun part is that you play in teams, but the teams change every round and are randomly assigned. On top of that, a new rule card is revealed each round and stays active until the end, so the game keeps changing under your feet. The winning team of each round takes trophies, and after four rounds, the player with the most points wins.

We had the pleasure of playing with Vanessa and Leticia, a lovely Belgian mother and daughter. Before we even started, Vanessa announced, in a really funny way, that she was going to win. And guess what? She did! 😄 We laughed a lot and had a really great time. Thank you both, you were brilliant! The game really shone with you two, and thanks to that I can say I’d recommend Moustache to anyone who likes quick games.

The Moustache box on a blue table at the Kodama booth — Moustache, a quick trick-taking game full of laughs and surprises

Marta, her boyfriend, Vanessa and Leticia smiling around a game of Moustache — The best table of the day: Vanessa, Leticia, my boyfriend and me (and yes, Vanessa won!)

After that perfect moment, we carried on exploring and talked with lots of people. Here are the moments that stood out most.

Gorilla Games: Chopstick Tightrope

Published by Gorilla Games

Thank you to Oda By for the enthusiastic presentation of Chopstick Tightrope. It’s a dexterity game where you build patterns on an elastic band, placing the pieces with chopsticks. It’s so much fun! I haven’t played a full game yet, but I already know it’s going to bring a lot of laughs. In fact, I couldn’t resist and it was my first purchase of the fair, and I was even offered Cat Days with it!

We also had a really interesting chat with Oda about board games and how important player feedback is. Thank you for your time, Oda!

Chopstick Tightrope on display, with coloured pieces, chopsticks and an elastic band — Chopstick Tightrope: patterns, elastic bands and very steady hands

Marta, Oda By and Marta's boyfriend smiling in front of the Chopstick Tightrope booth — With Oda By, who showed us Chopstick Tightrope with so much enthusiasm

Black Beacon Games: Era of Tribes

Designed by Arne Lorenz · Illustrated by Marc Exner, Radosław Jaszczuk and Arne Lorenz · Published by Black Beacon Games · BGG page

At Black Beacon Games, we got a presentation of the rules of Era of Tribes, and I have to confess, it won me over much more than I expected. It’s a civilisation game, and the box marks around 30 minutes per player.

The first thing that grabbed me was the big map of Europe. Then came the chance to really deploy your troops and go into battle. The actions feel realistic too: taxes, diplomacy, expansion, trade, revolution and more.

Era of Tribes set up on a table at the Black Beacon Games booth, with its big map of Europe — That big map of Europe that won us over

My boyfriend, who isn’t that much into board games, was completely won over. He prefers games with a real theme, and this one sounded like an actual civilisation coming to life. That says a lot! I’ll most likely be digging deeper into this one.

Ice Makes: Epochs: Course of Cultures

Designed by Jeffrey CCH · Published by Ice Makes · BGG page

At the Ice Makes booth, we discovered Epochs: Course of Cultures, another civilisation game that really appealed to me, especially its theme. It plays in around two hours at two players, which is really nice for me. I loved the look of it, with beautiful cards and a player board that reminded me a lot of Age of Civilization. And no wonder: both games are by the same designer, Jeffrey CCH!

Epochs: Course of Cultures set up, with its hexagonal map and player boards — Epochs: Course of Cultures

Devir: 7th Seal

Designed by Julio Falagán · Illustrated by Will Kirkby · Published by Devir · BGG page

I was expecting Gaudí to be the game that grabbed me at Devir, but no, it was 7th Seal! It’s a solo game where you fight several bosses and their minions using dice. I got to try it until I beat the first boss, Teskatlipoka, and I was completely hooked.

A game of 7th Seal in progress, with boss cards, minion cards and dice on the table — My first fight in 7th Seal. Teskatlipoka didn’t stand a chance!

The game was wonderfully explained by one of the demonstrators at the booth. I’d love to thank him by name, but I can’t remember it. (Note to self: start writing down names tomorrow!) Either way, thank you so much, I had a great time.

Pektis Studio: Battle of the Knollen and Fintastic Sea

Published by Pektis Studio · Battle of the Knollen on BGG · Fintastic Sea on BGG

At Pektis Studio, we met Echo and Julian, two of the three people behind this indie studio.

Echo presented Battle of the Knollen, a trick-taking game about potatoes designed by Julian. 😛 She showed it with so much passion, along with the beautiful illustrations she created, that it was hard not to fall in love with it. I’ll be following the Gamefound campaign closely and waiting impatiently for its release.

Cover art of Battle of the Knollen, with heroic potatoes facing each other — Battle of the Knollen, potatoes have never looked so epic

Echo also showed us Fintastic Sea, a game she co-designed with Mahmoud Abdelwahab and illustrated. You set off on a scientific voyage to explore the depths, collect marine life and build lush, diverse ecosystems. I found it beautiful and I’ll probably give it a try.

Colourful fish cards from Fintastic Sea laid out on a wooden table — Fintastic Sea, collecting marine life to build thriving ecosystems

And thank you to Julian for presenting the print and play roll and write based on Battle of the Knollen. I’ll print it at home and test it, and I promise I’ll be back with a review soon!

InterHuman: Badgers and Fear of the Dark

Published by InterHuman

Last but not least, InterHuman. It was a pleasure to discover Badgers, designed by Boris Malvic and Davor Vizintin, a lovely game for one or two players with gorgeous illustrations by Mihaela Prizmic. Thank you for the explanation and for making me want to play it!

Cover art of Badgers, showing a badger peeking out of a green forest — Badgers and its gorgeous illustrations

I’m also curious to learn more about Fear of the Dark, designed by Damir Debanic, so I’ll probably come back tomorrow.

Thank you to Endi Oblak for showing us your fantastic work. The map cards on display are wonderful, and what a surprise to spot Santa Tecla on your Iberian maps! It’s so close to my home and so unexpected. It was a real pleasure talking with you.

My favourite of the day

Without hesitation: Moustache. It was so light and fun, and it gave me so much happiness. Sometimes the best moment of a giant fair is simply sitting at a table with strangers and laughing together.

End of Day 1

All in all, it was a great day. I’m tired, but I wanted so much to share it with you that I just couldn’t wait.

Tomorrow I’ll be back for more adventures: Fear of the Dark is on my list, along with more demos, and hopefully a notebook full of names this time!

And a small confession: if you noticed that some games in this post are shown with pictures from BGG instead of my own photos, it’s because I got so carried away talking and playing that I completely forgot to take pictures. Lesson learnt: tomorrow, phone in hand! 📸

Have you ever been to SPIEL Essen? And if you’re here this year, which game has caught your eye so far?

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