Geeky Destination Files: Essen Spiel

Essen Spiel

Well it's been about a month since I hopped on a plane for what would be my first vacation away from the kids in 5 years!  Aside from getting a heck of a lot of sleep, my husband and I planned out a 2 week trip that combined both business and pleasure.

   The first leg of the trip was to Essen, Germany for the annual Internationale Spieltage.  While this was a working vacation for us, it would be a great destination for anyone who loves board games.  There is nothing quite like walking into the Messe Essen and seeing the sea of people playing board games.  The best part, a lot of them are families!  SPIEL is the largest convention for board games and it attracts a multitude of exhibitors, publishers, authors, illustrators and distributors who flock to the event to showcase their newest games, toys and comics.  This year an overwhelming 786 exhibitors traveled to ‘SPIEL’ in order to launch new products, meet with press and to meet the people who love playing their games.

Game Salute to Host Dozens of Preview Events at Gen Con 2012!

Want the chance to try out some great new games BEFORE they hit the market?  This year, Game Salute will feature dozens of New Games in the Gen Con Event Hall along with many other titles.  Below is a list of all the Game Salute Preview Events you can attend at Gen Con 2012.  To get your tickets visit GenConReg.com.  Get them before they're gone!

Click on a picture to read more about each game :o)

Gladiators

Hero Mages 

Vici: The Die is Cast

PAX East Cosplay Mini Gallery and My Convention experience with a Toddler

This year I was lucky enough to make it to all 3 days of PAX East!  Trouble is, I was pretty much glued to our hopping Game Salute booth.  Amongst managing the volunteers, teaching demos, and getting photos of our team there was not much time to see the halls.  I did manage to get a few nice shots of some of this year's Cosplayers, though.  Enjoy!

A Very Busy Game Salute Booth!!

Also, since this year we celebrated PAX Easter, I had the unique experience of bringing my 2 year old son to the show. (no one wants to babysit on Easter!) He was an angel the entire day! Spending a large amount of time in the ergo and the rest of the time running around the wide open space of the food court next to us, he never really complained.  Why would he?  There's so much to see and observe.  Needless to say, I got a great work out and he got to experience his first real Con! :0) He even spent some time playing his own version of BEARS! by Fireside Games.  Can't wait till he is old enough to really experience the true spectacle of gaming conventions.

Logan, tired after a LONG day at PAX East.