Board game industry ticker 2023
What happened in the board game industry in 2023? You’ll find out in this ticker. Here you’ll get summaries of selected articles as well as brief news items for which we haven’t written our own articles. Under Spielebranchen-Ticker you’ll find news from previous years. You can also find more industry news in the Podcast Branchennews by Brettspielbar.
Bernward Thole dies
22 December – Personalia: On 18 December, Bernward Thole passed away at the age of 87. Among his many contributions to the recognition of board games as a cultural asset was co-founding the world’s most important critics’ award, the “Spiel des Jahres”, in 1979. Most recently, he accompanied the jury as honorary chairman. In 1985, he also founded the Deutsche Spiele-Archiv in his hometown of Marburg. In this article you’ll find an in-depth interview with Thole.
Table Top Game Designer Association (TTGDA) announced
8 November – Industry: In North America, game designers are preparing to establish the “Table Top Game Designer Association” (TTGDA). It is an interest group for designers. The launch is planned for Q1 2024, and the website is already online. The initiative is led by Geoff Engelstein, Sen-Foong Lim and Elizabeth Hargrave. The German Spiele-Autoren-Zunft (SAZ) welcomes the move. On the SAZ homepage, it states: “The SAZ board has supported this initiative over the past few months and will continue to be happy to assist the TTGDA with advice and support in the future. An independent organisation in North America will help better and more effectively represent designers there and their interests. This is also a good and important step given the different legal systems regarding copyright and copyright laws.”
Skilled Events and New Media takes over Wiener Spielefest
5 November – Events: The board game fair Wiener Spielefest is set to take place from 15 to 16 June 2024 alongside the computer and video game event A1 Austrian eSports Festival. The Austria Center Vienna (ACV) is planned as the venue. The Vienna-based event agency Skilled Events and New Media is responsible for the organisation. It has taken over the Spielefest from the previous organiser, the Austria Center Vienna. The Spielefest did not take place in 2023.
193,000 visitors at SPIEL Essen
10 October – Events: From 5 to 8 October 2023, 193,000 people from 85 countries visited SPIEL Essen, according to the organisers. With this number and a total area of 62,500 square metres, the largest SPIEL of all time took place. This statement refers only to the total area. In 2019, before the corona pandemic, 209,000 people attended the fair. In 2023, there were 935 exhibitors from 56 nations presenting 1,700 new releases, according to the organisers. In the previous year, there were 980 exhibitors from 56 nations.
It was the first fair organised by the new seven-member team led by managing director Carol Rapp. Together, they designed a new logo and mascot, revamped the website and revised the hall concept. For the first time, the halls were thematically divided into family games, expert and connoisseur games, and role-playing, collectible card and miniature games. More on this in our interview with Carol Rapp.
Planet Unknown wins Deutscher Spielepreis 2023
5 October – Awards: Planet Unknown by Ryan Lambert and Adam Rehberg (Strohmann Games) has won the Deutscher Spielepreis 2023. Mysterium Kids by Antonin Boccara and Yves Hirschfeld (Libellud/Space Cow/Asmodee) has won the Deutscher Kinderspielepreis 2023. The other placements in the Deutscher Spielepreis went to Dorfromantik by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach (Pegasus Spiele) and Heat by Asgar Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen (Days of Wonder/Asmodee).
NSV: Christian Hildenbrand successor to Reinhard Staupe
27 September – Personnel: Christian Hildenbrand will start working as a games editor for Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag (NSV) from 1 October. “The NSV programme targets exactly the audience I’ve always focused on as an editor,” said Hildenbrand. “I want to continue this feel-good factor when helping to shape the NSV programme.” Hildenbrand has been rooted in the gaming scene for over 25 years and has worked as an editor for more than 18 years, including at Amigo and Huch!. Hildenbrand is the successor to Reinhard Staupe, who ended his eleven-year editorial collaboration with NSV on 31 December 2022.
Evergreen wins Graf Ludo 2023 for game artwork
20 August – Awards: Evergreen has won the Graf Ludo 2023 in the Best Family Game Artwork category. For the first time in the history of the award, which was founded in 2009, no winner was crowned in the Best Children’s Game Artwork category. This was announced by Leipziger Messe as part of the Online-Expo of Spiele-Offensive.de. Evergreen was designed and illustrated by Wenyi Geng, with Hjalmar Hach as the author. It was published by Heidelbär Games/Horrible Guild. In its verdict, the jury wrote: “The vision of the game is: We create a fertile, evergreen world. The trees in it may not grow as tall as the one on the strikingly designed box. But the size of the trees plays an important role in the game. How much shade do they cast when the sun is high in summer, where does the shadow fall in winter? Each player has well-tempered colour areas on the game board that radiate warmth, heat, coolness or icy cold. With a delicate touch, Wenyi Geng depicts a sensitive nature in its dependence on the sun. At the same time, she manages to illustrate in a richly detailed yet poetically relaxed way.”
InnoSPIEL 2023 for Spaceship Unity
8 August – Awards: Spaceship Unity by Ulrich Blum and Jens Merkl, published by Pegasus Spiele, has won the InnoSPIEL 2023. In its verdict, the jury wrote, among other things: “There’s never been a game like this: the whole flat, the whole house becomes the playing area, no object is left unused to be part of this silly fun. The nonsense the game demands of us unleashes enormous creativity and brings our own world of experience to the gaming table.” The InnoSPIEL awards innovative games. The award was established in 2017 by Merz Verlag, organiser of the International Spieltage SPIEL, together with the city of Essen.
Over 15,000 visitors at Berlin Brettspiel Con 2023
19 July – Events: According to the organisers, more than 15,000 people visited Berlin Brettspiel Con 2023 and were able to check out games from over 80 exhibitors. The event took place from 14 to 16 July, for the last time at Station Berlin. Next year, the event is set to be held at the Estrel Convention Center.
Dorfromantik is Spiel des Jahres, Challengers! Kennerspiel des Jahres
16 July – Awards: Dorfromantik: Das Brettspiel by Lukas Zach and Michael Palm (Pegasus) is the Spiel des Jahres 2023. Challengers! by Johannes Krenner and Markus Slawitscheck (1 More Time Games/Z-Man Games) is the Kennerspiel des Jahres 2023, and Mysterium Kids by Antonin Boccara and Yves Hirschfeld (Libellud/Space Cow) is the Kinderspiel des Jahres. A special prize was awarded to two games from the Unlock series: Unlock! Game Adventures – Zug um Zug · Mysterium · Pandemic by Cyril Demaegd (Space Cowboys) and Unlock! Kids: Detektivgeschichten – Auf dem Bauernhof · Die Burg von McUnlock · Chaos im Park by Cyril Demaegd, Marie Fort and Wilfried Fort (Space Cow). More information about all the winners and the nominated games can be found on the Jury homepage.
New SAZ group founded in the Netherlands
13 July – Industry: A new international group of the Spiele-Autoren-Zunft (SAZ) has been founded in the Netherlands. It is called SAZ Nederland and is the second international group of the SAZ. The first, SAZ-Italia, was founded in 2017. SAZ Nederland is building on the proven structures of the Spellenmaakgilde, which was founded in 2015 by Arjan van Houwelingen. He is now also the spokesperson for SAZ Nederland. In recent years, the Spellenmaakgilde has been active in organising playtests, weekend meetups, pitching conventions, game jams and design awards. With the founding of SAZ Nederland, these activities are to be taken to a new level.
Berlin Brettspiel Con to be held at Estrel Convention Center from 2024
19 June – Events: The Berlin Brettspiel Con will be held at the Estrel Convention Center, Sonnenallee 225, from 2024 onwards. This was announced by the organiser. In previous years and in 2023, the event has been and will be held at Station Berlin, a former railway station hall on Luckenwalder Straße. According to the organiser, the new location’s direct connection to the largest hotel in Berlin, with over a thousand rooms, enables a new convention experience. Participants and exhibitors could spend the weekend under one roof. In terms of content, there will be no major changes. The Berlin Brettspiel Con is to retain its core elements, including the free play area, game nights, flea market and exhibitor area.
New SAZ board elected
12 June – Personnel: The general meeting of the Spiele-Autoren-Zunft (SAZ) elected a new board on 2 June in Göttingen: Hartmut Kommerell was re-elected as chair for the next two years. Markus Hagenauer was also re-elected as deputy chair. Katrin Abfalter did not stand for re-election and left the board. Newly elected to the board is game designer Rita Modl.
Spiel des Jahres: Michaela Poignée and Tobias Franke join the jury
3 June – Personnel: Michaela Poignée and Tobias Franke will join the jury for the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres from August 2023.
The traffic engineer and father of two Tobias Franke, born in 1977, lives in Darmstadt. On his website www.fjelfras.de, he initially collected interesting facts about the wolverine. In 2016, the domain was reactivated as a private blog, with the content quickly focusing on board game topics. Since the beginning of this year, Tobias Franke has also been running the board game podcast Cocktails for Meeples together with Jenny Konrad. Michaela Poignée, born in 1975, lives with her husband and two children in Bovenau, Schleswig-Holstein, near Rendsburg. She works in the credit risk management department of a savings bank. Since 2009, she has been reviewing games together with Christian Poignée and a friendly couple on spiele-podcast.de. In 2017, Michaela and Christian Poignée additionally launched the YouTube channel Die Brettspieltester. Since then, numerous rule videos, reviews and reports on the topic of board games have been created there.
Hutter Trade distributes Queen Games and Funtails
17 May – Companies: Hutter Trade is now distributing selected games from Queen Games and, from 1 June, all games from Funtails. In 2023, Hutter Trade wants to focus primarily on strategy games from Queen Games and will, among other things, distribute the Essential Edition of Marrakesh. Queen Games is also known for games such as Alhambra (Spiel des Jahres 2003) or Kingdom Builder (Spiel des Jahres 2012). Funtails has Glen More II and Feed the Kraken in its programme. In collaboration with Hutter Trade, Funtails will also publish the game Comet by Peter Prinz in autumn 2023 under the Huch! label.
The distribution company Hutter Trade was founded in 2004. At the same time, the publishing brand Huch! was established, which is also distributed by Hutter Trade. Hutter Trade also distributes products from Iello (including the children’s game brand Loki), Laurence King, Megableu, Gmeiner, Heye, Auzou, Helvetiq, Sit Down, Chefclub, MM-Spiele and now also Queen Games and Funtails.
SPIEL Essen with new logo and new website
11 May – Events: SPIEL Essen has a new logo. The tangram shape in the familiar colours has been retained but is now slightly tilted. The colours appear more vibrant. The font has been changed. New is that the name of the city Essen appears in the logo. According to the trade fair organiser, this is a clear commitment to the city in the Ruhr region where the trade fair has been held for forty years. “It was important to us to bring the SPIEL logo into the 21st century while retaining what makes it special,” says Carol Rapp, managing director of Merz Verlag.
From 15 May, the new website for the trade fair should also be accessible at www.spiel-essen.de. It is not a completely minimalist business site, but a playful one that is fun, clear and easy to navigate. At launch, not all sections will be filled yet, as content such as new releases lists or hall plans will only be finalised later.
spielbox-Special to be distributed again at SPIEL Essen entrances
9 May – Companies: The spielbox-Special will be distributed again at the entrances of SPIEL Essen. This was announced by w. nostheide Verlag, which publishes the magazine. The Spiel-Guide by Friedhelm Merz Verlag will not be continued. The move suggests a easing of tensions between w. nostheide Verlag and Friedhelm Merz Verlag, the organiser of SPIEL Essen.
14,000 people attend Spiel Doch! in Dortmund
30 April – Events: Around 14,000 people attended the board and card game fair Spiel Doch! in Dortmund from 28 to 30 April. This was 2,800 more than in 2022 and as many as before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019. This was announced by the organiser, w. nostheide Verlag. The fair took place in Duisburg in March 2018 and 2019. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the fair was postponed to July and took place in Dortmund. “Next year, we will once again expand the exhibition space due to the already strong demand,” said organisers Jens and Tim Nostheide. In Dortmund, Spiel Doch! is scheduled to take place from 26 to 28 April 2024. In addition, a Spiel Doch! is also planned to take place at Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen from 2 to 4 June 2023.
Helvetiq takes over Steffen Spiele
19 April – Companies: The Swiss company Helvetiq has taken over Steffen Spiele. Author and graphic designer Steffen Mühlhäuser founded Steffen Spiele in 2003. He has now handed over the company for age-related reasons. Steffen Spiele is based in Rhineland-Palatinate and is known for abstract wooden games. “Steffen Spiele’s commitment to producing beautiful, eco-friendly wooden games aligns perfectly with our own values and ambitions,” says Hadi Barkat, CEO of Helvetiq. Helvetiq wants to optimise production, marketing and distribution. The wooden games should not only remain available in Germany but also internationally in the future.
Klaus Teuber dies
4 April – People: Klaus Teuber died on 1 April at the age of 70 after a short but serious illness. This was announced by Kosmos Verlag.
Teuber shaped the board game industry like few others. His greatest success as a game author was and is Catan: The Game (formerly: Die Siedler von Catan). With Catan, he inspired millions of people around the world to play board games. After his A-levels and military service, Teuber studied chemistry. After his intermediate diploma, he joined his father’s dental laboratory for family reasons. To balance out the often stressful work life, he began developing games in the early 1980s. His debut work, Barbarossa, was already named Spiel des Jahres in 1988. In 1990 and 1991, his games Adel verpflichtet and Drunter & Drüber were also awarded Spiel des Jahres. In the 1990s, Teuber founded TM-Spiele together with Reiner Müller, Peter Neugebauer and Wolfgang Lüdtke. The company initially managed the Goldsieber programme (Simba Toys) and later moved to Kosmos. In 2002, Teuber founded the family business Catan GmbH together with his wife Claudia and his sons Guido and Benjamin, whose task is to develop, market and license the games he created. Until the very end, Teuber worked on the third volume of his Catan romance trilogy, which tells the story of Catan and its inhabitants.
Kendi Games founded
7 March – Companies: The Kendi GmbH (stylised as KENDi GmbH) is a new game publisher based in Cadolzburg. The owner is Franz Jurthe, the former long-time managing director of NSV. Reinhard Staupe, who also worked for NSV for a long time, is responsible for editorial work and programme development. Other employees from the former NSV environment include Oliver Freudenreich and Christian Opperer, responsible for design and illustration, and game author Steffen Benndorf (editor of Steffen-Benndorf-Spiele). “The Kendi Games team was responsible for the programme of Nürnberger Spielkarten from the beginning of 2012 until the end of 2022 and has set itself the goal of continuing exactly what has been the top priority for so long with Kendi Games: simple rules, little material, fast and innovative, fun for the whole family,” states the press release on the foundation of the publisher. The first game from the new publisher is scheduled to be released in spring 2023.
Robin de Cleur becomes press spokesperson for Internationale Spieletage Spiel
2 February – People: From March, Robin de Cleur will be responsible for press and public relations at Internationale Spieletage Spiel. This was announced by de Cleur at the Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg. Previously, Dominique Metzler was primarily in charge of media work for the SPIEL Essen fair. However, the long-time managing director of Friedhelm Merz Verlag retired at the end of January. Most recently, de Cleur worked as a press spokesperson at Asmodee Deutschland. His tasks included answering press inquiries, active media work and strategic communication planning.
Dominique Metzler leaves Internationale Spieltage Spiel
12 January – People: Dominique Metzler is retiring from the industry. As of 31 January, she is no longer the managing director of Internationale Spieltage Spiel in Essen. Metzler announced this on Facebook. Her successor is Carol Rapp (see industry ticker 2022, entry from 14 November). Metzler wrote on Facebook: “After around 40 years, it’s time to say: goodbye, dear SPIEL fans. Because on 31.01.2023, I am stepping down as managing director of Friedhelm Merz Verlag and thus leaving the active business. Until the end of the year, I will only be available in an advisory capacity in the background.” SPIEL Essen can look back on an almost 40-year history: since 1983, the event has developed from a small meeting for players into what the organiser claims is the world’s largest consumer fair for board, card and role-playing games. This is also thanks to Metzler. The organising Friedhelm Merz Verlag was taken over by Spielwarenmesse eG in 2022 (see Spielwarenmesse eG takes over board game fair SPIEL Essen).
Reinhard Staupe ends editorial work for NSV
12 January – People: Reinhard Staupe ended his eleven-year editorial collaboration with Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag (NSV) on 31 December 2022. The publisher announced this on Thursday, 12 January. In the future, the editorial work will be led by the NSV team. At the end of December, there was also a change in management. Tobias Husch has been NSV managing director since January 2023 (see industry ticker 2022). Since 2012, Staupe has built a new author programme for NSV as an editor, including games such as Qwixx and The Game by Steffen Benndorf and The Mind by Wolfgang Warsch. “Without Staupe, Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag would not be the NSV and would not be where we are today,” said Husch at the farewell.