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So who was in Essen?
What did you play? What did you buy? Who did you meet? How did you get there? Where did you stay? What shenanigans did you get up to? Tell us all about it!
What did you play? What did you buy? Who did you meet? How did you get there? Where did you stay? What shenanigans did you get up to? Tell us all about it!
A friend and I was there just three days, as we needed all of Sunday to get back home. Stayed in a hotel in Duisburg, which was much cheaper than in Essen, but meant about an hour of bus in the mornings and evenings. That was fine though, as the bus was full of board game geeks. Played Black Stories with some random Germans on one bus trip. Talked to a guy from Wisconsin another bus ride, who told us about the instrument he helped make for the James Webb Telescope.
Played so many cool games; Fjords, Block and Key, The Ingenious 8, Colour My Critters. Bought the same, and many more. Plus some foamcore inserts for Dominion, so I can finally organise it. Played a really cool push-your-luck crafting game named Vendarla which is coming to Kickstarter soon. Played an engrossing prototype geography game that didn't even have a name yet (in the cafeteria, when the Swedish designer and a Chilean publisher joined us at our table).
Met Tom Vasel. Seems like a great guy. Taller than you think! He was recording everyone he met at the fair telling their favourite thing about it, so maybe I'll show up in a supercut video on their YouTube channel. Met a bunch of different game designers. Got a few of the games I bought signed.
So yeah, that was pretty great. :-D
This was my third pilgrimige and it gets better every time!
I also stayed in Duisburg but was dismayed to find the S-Bahn system was shut down. My friends and I opted to use a car share service and drive into Essen, that and the parking was no fun to pay but we weren't really looking to spend an hour plus navigating replacement busses after an almost full day at conventions. I've only ever spend a maximum of three days at the Messe but I've promised myself four at next years'.
My philosophie, much to the dismay of my friends, is to avoid making a list of games to see. The obvious games that fit my tastes would probably be explored anyway outside of the Messe, so instead I happily play what's on my friends' lists or whatever happens to catch my eye. If there were any big games I failed to play because of too-long-lines (Apiary, MLEM, Expeditions, etc.) I catch them the next year if I haven't managed to buy or play them in the meantime. I find that this helps expose me to games I normally wouldn't buy or play and I always walk away with some interesting finds.
This years' treasures were: Next Station London and Tokyo, Art Society, Artemis Project, Triqueta, The Fox Experiment, Match of the Century, and (extemely surprisingly) a nominee for the Kids Game of the Year: Cafe Del Gato. None of these games would have piqued much interest if I was just browsing online or in a store.
Otherwise, I got to see some good friends that we really only see at the Messe and played some games with some pretty cool attendees. Unfortunately, no new good friendships were made this year but I always remain open. One of the highlights was getting to watch my friend meet his personal idol, Robert Knizia. Just the look on his face made the whole thing worth it
How was The Fox Experiment? My wife and I like Wingspan from the same designer, and the theme of the game looks really interesting, so we're tempted.
I would certainly say interresting. The rest of the guys I played with came away with more meh or okay reactions. I really like the concept of rolling dice to try and change the genetic profile of your offspring and then using the next generation of foxes to continue the experiment and naming the foxes was a lot of fun but that probably gets old pretty quickly. I liked it but didn’t buy it but my friend who said it was okay picked it up for a trade. Tbf the themes of toying with the genes was really cool to me, without that the game play would probably not have wowed me as much. It’s a 6.9 on BGG and I’d say that’s pretty fair
That's disappointing, but good to know, and good to hear your experiences. I might see if I can get a chance to play it soon. Thanks!
Went there with my family by car. It's not too far from where I live.
Overall it was an interesting experience, because I normally don't go to conventions or so. Unfortunately we didn't really play that much, because we walked around a lot... :D
One of the games I've played and really liked was Shape Invaders. Very simple, but engaging. It was a lot of fun! Another one is "If it fits" from Jolly Dutch, which was kinda complicated, but also pretty cool (think about buying it when it comes out).
A game I actually bought was Paco Sako. A chess variant that is actually a ton of fun and really turns the game on its head. I love chess in general, so the buy was a no-brainer, haha. Especially since the guy who explained it to me was convincing too (he explained it really well).
We then looked around a lot and eventually also played Timeline Twist, which is a rather basic, but nonetheless fun game (I enjoy basic/casual games a lot if they're not too luck based).
What I didn't like is how expensive it was to enter. We also forgot to take something to drink with us... big mistake! The drinks there were terribly overpriced.
Didn't really "meet" anyone. I did play one round of Shape Invaders against a guy from Thailand though.
My sister went there before us too and bought a few cool games (can't remember the names, but played them at home). She also bought a starter kit for Dungeons and Dragons, which means that's what I will soon have to learn. :P