I have attended Essen Spiel a few times and had an amazing time and learned a lot about visiting the event.
It’s a huge event and can be quite costly with a lot to do in 4 days. So in this post, I want to cover as much as possible with a focus on saving time and money where possible.
So here are my tips for visiting Essen Spiel, a ‘Survival Guide’ if you will so you can master Essen Spiel.
Update: I’ve now been 9 times and updated the article for 2025.
1 – Buy Essen Spiel tickets online
2024 sold out! So ignore my previous advice of buying them online as it’s cheaper and get them as soon as you know you’re attending!
2 – Dusseldorf Airport
Everyone is going to travel to Essen differently, I’m going to look at arriving (and departing) by plane because that’s how I do it from the UK.
When arriving, look for signs for the Skytrain and take it to Dusseldorf Railway Station. From there, you can take a train to Essen for 15-20 Euros per ticket.
Inside the airport, there are quite a few options for food and drink. In Departures, you can take a lift down to arrivals to find much more options including a KFC and my favourite, Asia Gourmet. There is also a full-blown supermarket down there but I didn’t check the prices.
Once through security, it’s actually pretty small with not much seating or things to do until you get to your gate where there is usually plenty of seating.
3 – Research your Hotel
Have a look for a decent hotel, these can be big-time and money-savers.
Hotels along the Underground (look for U11 on a map) are a bonus. The U11 runs straight to the event hall and runs all the way out to Gelsenkirchen. (The Underground is more reliable than the overground trains too). Also, look for hotels down the overlapping U18 line which means you can swap lines to he U11.
Also, Essen is building a tram system which looks to be ready in 2026 that has a stop outside the train station which could be interesting and extend the hotel options.
I always pay extra for Breakfast and Wi-Fi access. Having a buffet breakfast was another cost reducer as I ate as much as I could which would last until the early afternoon.
This means I don’t need to spend too much on the fairly expensive convention hall food and as I eat later I skip those huge food queues around dinner time.
I’ve stayed in various locations, always wanting to experience something different each trip. This is a quick look at each hotel and what it has to offer…
2013, 2015, 2016 – Ibis Hauptbahnhof, Essen
A short walk from Essen Train Station which takes you on the U11 tram straight to the event hall. The best buffet breakfast and Wi-Fi were available.
Great nightlife as the restaurant is FULL of gamers. So, after a day of gaming and walking (endless walking!), It’s nice to get back to the hotel to relax. But getting back to the hotel and sharing it with 50+ other gamers all playing their new games is always a highlight of the trip.
It’s also a way to play games outside of the halls without buying them or waiting for a table 😉
The hotel was in a good location next to the train station which is packed with eateries and supermarkets so I saved a lot of time and money on food and travel. It was a short walk to the underground which takes you straight to the convention hall.
But, the base price is much more expensive than other similar hotels, especially for a solo traveller…
2014 – Hotel Lindenhof, Essen
Very near the Limbecker Platz shopping centre and a couple of tram stops before Essen Train Station. Huge rooms but no real nightlife on the weekend we stayed.
The advantage of getting on the tram before Essen Hauptbahnhof is that you can get a seat before everyone at the main station squeezes on!
2017 – Novem Hotel Ambassador
VERY central to Essen right in the town centre. The rooms were big and the breakfast was good. It was across the road from a small shop that sold snacks and drinks VERY cheap which was really handy.
2018 – Airbnb
These will obviously differ from person to person.
In 2018 I stayed in a lovely Swedish/German home in Gelsenkirchen but the trains were a little unreliable so I lost a bit of time in the morning and evening on travel.
2019 – Good Morning Gelsenkirchen
Big room and an excellent breakfast with no gaming nightlife in the hotel despite there being quite a few from the convention staying there at the time. There are issues with the trains running between Essen and Gelsenkirchen that I have had problems with 2 years in a row. I’ll probably stay away from Gelsenkirchen in the future.
2020, 2021, 2023 – I didn’t go!
I’m also going to add reasons why I didn’t go in some years.
2020 was obviously cancelled for Covid. 2021 was open, but there were rumours of international travel being shut down by the UK government so rather than risk paying for flights/hotels and not being able to go, I took the stress-free option and stayed home.
2023… I went to Japan in July (Check out my Tokyo board game shop tour video) so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to afford to go to Essen. By the time I got back and decided I could go, all the cheap hotels were booked! I already booked the flight which I managed to get pushed forward to 2024 so I will book a hotel for next year earlier this time!
2022 – ibis budget Essen Nord
This was booked for 2020 but they have moved my booking to 2021 and then to 2022 which was very generous of them. This hotel is a 10-minute walk from a station on the U11 track which takes you straight to the venue. That station also has an Aldi and a Bakery next to it so you can top up on cheap (but great) meals. However, the hotel no longer serves breakfast, the rooms were really basic and it wasn’t staffed a lot of the time. This is important as the machine guarding the door was unreliable.
2024 – Premier Inn Essen City Centre
This hotel is right on top of the train station, I don’t think you can get closer. However, I took the 7-minute walk to the next stop to avoid squeezing on with everyone else at the Essen station underground stop.
The room was nice big and clean, the breakfast was really nice and there was a fair bit of activity in the foyer in the evening. You have the train station shopping centre and the city centre nearby so lots to like.
4 – Take Train Times with a Pinch of Salt
The tram to and from the venue is really good. It’s cheap and super reliable. Trains in to and out of Essen however, are not.
I stayed in Gelsenkirchen in 2018 and the train into Essen in the morning only ran 2 out of 4 days making me late to the event. This is a regular thing.
The same thing happened in 2019 when the Gelsenkirchen/Essen train didn’t run from Saturday to Monday for no apparent reason. Stick to the tram…
Also, they go on strike quite a bit so keep your eye on the news, especially when you need to get back to the airport.
5 – Hit the Supermarket
One issue when visiting Essen Spiel is once you’re in the hall, you’re held hostage by the food and drink prices. Food is about £10 per meal with drinks upwards of £4 a bottle so it’s a good idea to go to the Supermarket beforehand.
Note that single bottles will cost more at the checkout compared to the shelf price due to the recycling procedure they have in place with plastic bottles in Germany.
It’s also worth taking a snack or two to keep you going.
There is a Lidl supermarket in Essen Train station that is VERY good value, worth a trip.
6 – Underground to the Venue
The underground trains get VERY busy. Trains can be full pulling into the main Essen train station as early as 9.30. The further out from the station you are the more room you’ll have to get on.
7 – Entering the Venue
Getting off on the final stop of the underground leads you to the entrance to Hall 3. This has a lot of big publishers with many English-language games. However, you now have to queue outside so check the weather!
Getting off the second to last step leads you into Hall 6 with many big publishers but a lot of games in German only. The advantage here is that Hall 7 is used as a ‘holding pen’ for people waiting to get in so you queue indoors.
I prefer the Hall 3 entrance and Hall 6 seems to be insanely busy and can take a lot longer to get in
8 – Form an Essen Spiel plan
The details of games on the show and floor plans are made available a long time in advance. You can start to form a plan for the games you want to play very early if you want.
I, however, quite liked zig-zagging each hall one at a time until I came across something interesting or spotted an empty table. It worked quite well and I got a lot of gaming done which also meant I didn’t miss anything.
If I spot a VERY busy game or something interesting I’ll make a note of the location on my phone to come back to it later.
9 – Research popular games
Games can sell out in 30 minutes so you can miss out on getting it at the event. It’s worth asking because some companies stagger stock over the whole weekend or maybe have a delivery delayed and it comes later. Follow the publishers on social media and they usually announce what they are doing with their stock.
In 2022, I spent all 4 days trying to get Ark Nova maps for a friend but they were selling out before the halls had even opened!
So if you think a game is going to be THAT popular and they don’t appear to have much stock and you MUST have it, get it ASAP.
Having said that…
10 – Remember: You’ll get that game eventually
You know that game that you want? You don’t need it now. A lot of games were available in retail in the UK the week after Essen Spiel so it can wait. The games at the convention are generally the same price or more expensive than online retail stores in the UK.
I do understand that some Essen releases are not available in North America until the new year so obviously this all depends on where you live.
If it does well at Essen it will be reprinted (and probably upgraded/errata’d/otherwise updated) so you won’t miss out.
Quite a few times I’ve played an early version of a game when visiting UK Games Expo and wanted to pick it up on release at Essen.
I don’t like buying too many games so I have a few rules…
- It must be from a small publisher (Usually those in Asia), so probably not freely available in the UK.
- Or, it must come with a promo, freebie or something exclusive to sweeten the deal
- Or, it must be on a huge sale/offer or otherwise cheaper than UK online prices if available.
If not, I’ll just wait and get it when I get home.
Nothing worse than a suitcase and backpack straining under the pressure of games on your way home only to find out you overspent just to get them a week or two earlier.
11 – Consider skipping Essen Spiel on Sunday
It’s a 4-day event and each day is a fun-packed day of gaming. But you may only need 3 days and going 1 day less is a HUGE saving.
If you leave on Saturday afternoon you have one less night in the hotel and other expenses which would be 100+ Euros. Also, on Sunday night the hotel is usually half the price of Friday and Saturday if you do decide to stay until Monday.
Having said all that, Sunday afternoon is much calmer and Saturday night gaming into the early morning in certain hotels is a lot of fun. If you’re lucky you can be in Germany on the weekend the clocks go back and get an extra hour!
Also, late on Sunday, you can get a LOT of bargains in the halls as publishers discount their older games so they don’t have to take them back
For full disclosure, I always stay until the end of Sunday and go home on Monday. Yeah, it costs more but that last 4-5 hours on Sunday is half empty and you can really get some gaming in!
Something worth adding I noticed in 2021 is that at the event you can check in your suitcase for 3 Euros. So you could check out your hotel, travel to the event, check in your case and leave straight for the airport on either Saturday or Sunday. Be sure to check the closing times of the cloakroom first.
There are also suitcase-sized lockers available for 1 euro on a first-come, first-served basis. I would say that if your suitcase is expanded by its contents it may not fit! But you could also put some of it in a second locker.
12 – Learn the language (If you want)
Almost everyone in Essen especially in the convention hall speaks some level of English. Learning German isn’t required at all.
But, and this is a personal opinion if you go to a foreign country you should learn the basics. Please, Thank you, Excuse me, Sorry, etc etc. There are loads of places to learn this if you want.
13 – Cardio!
So it’s a long weekend with a lot of walking. I usually buy new trainers for the event as well as ramp up exercise the weeks before it to get in shape!
This is to make sure I not only have the energy to survive but also so my back doesn’t give out. I have a bad back so strength training and stretches are key here!
You’re also carrying heavy bags so a bit of strength conditioning might help too!
14 – Beware the Bathrooms
UPDATE: The bathrooms are better maintained and don’t smell as bad anymore!
For the Men’s room, there is often a queue for a cubicle. If you need to use a urinal you can usually squeeze by.
15 – Know the Essen Spiel Peak Times
There are a few times of day that are CRAZY busy, Here they are in my opinion:
Thursday 10 am-2 pm – These are gamers coming in to buy all the games they want, then leave. Also, families.
Friday 11 am-3 pm – This seems to be when a bulk of the people turn up.
Saturday 10 am-2 pm – Same again, but those that could only come on a weekend. There are also a lot of families there in the morning.
Sunday 10 am-2 pm – Families and bargain hunters!
15 – Use the Fast Travel Routes!
OK, so not a serious one here. But the halls creak under the pressure of the number of people and getting from one place to another can take ages.
The halls are connected by large outdoor areas with big white doors. Once you learn where these are you can save a load of time by walking outside where there are no crowds.
Also, it’s refreshing to get a bit of air every so often. Like a lot of people, I go outside to eat. No real seating to speak of but the floor is OK. There are also railings that are a nice height and are popular for people to sit on.
Just be careful sitting on or in front of certain objects or doors, even doors that are locked shut like the big shutters. Security will come and move you on and they’re not always polite about doing so.
16 – Plan for Cancellations
I’m adding this in due to Essen 2020 and COVID-19.
Hopefully, it’s a one-off but when booking, consider flexible hotel bookings so they can be moved/refunded. Also, pay on a Credit Card if possible. Check your rights for flights and book travel insurance as early as possible.
It’s important to note that airfares are very rarely refunded and a refund usually does not include airport tax which is about 75% of the cost of a ticket. So if you book, make sure it’s flexible so you can move the date, but don’t assume you can get a full refund if you change your mind.
In the UK, check out Money Saving Expert for expert advice but look for similar sites in your local country.
17 – Check the website for new rules!
I’m not just talking about the mask and vaccination rules they used in 2021/22.
They also banned the Cajon-style bag in 2021 and it was really quite hidden so it would have been easy for people to miss.
In 2022 you had to wear a medical-grade mask… But they only enforced this on Sunday. Thursday to Saturday any face covering would do. It caught me out and I nearly didn’t get in but I managed to source one, I was very lucky.
So give the website and socials a check to see if there are any new rules or announcements you should be aware of.
18 – Prepare Well!
I carry a small sling bag with me after getting tired of hitting people with my backpack. Also, I got hit in the face by a big YouTuber with their backpack once, they did not apologise.
So with such a small bag, I have to maximise my space and I figured I’d let you know what I take to the halls.
Firstly, a protein bar in case I get hungry which I usually do just before closing time.
I have a slimline flask I fill with water. It’s plastic and see-through but the shape always makes me feel like I’m drinking from a hip flask!
I have a slimline charger and power cable to keep my phone going, purely because I vlog my Board Game convention weekends.
I have Paracetamol and Ibuprofen for headaches and backache. Now I also make sure I have a medical mask in case the rules change, you never know!
Finally, I also take my passport because I don’t like to be without it in a foreign country.
19 – Ask for more Essen Spiel tips!
Want to know anything else? Email me at rob@jestatharogue.com or on Insta @JestaThaRogue
Hope this helps whenever you are visiting Essen Spiel! If you have any tips feel free to comment!
Jesta ThaRogue