Being environmentally friendly

From the games I bought at Essen this year, I noticed a new trend. Maybe it isn't new, just that I don't buy many games and I hadn't noticed it. Some game publishers have stopped using plastic in their games. There is no more shrink wrap. Cards are not wrapped in transparent plastic. Being environmentally friendly is a good thing. 

Fifty Fifty comes with no shrink wrap. The box top and bottom are held together by two pieces of sticky tape, one on each side. 

You don't need to worry about carefully removing the sticky tape. There is no need to worry about tearing the box surface due to the glue being too strong. Nor is there to worry about leaving some residue on the surface of the box. There is a line drawn across the sticky tape, and you are supposed to cut it there.  

Cards are wrapped in semi-transparent paper. 

Another game Allegra Grande has the same treatment. I notice that games which no longer have plastic are published in 2024. That is why I am guessing it's a new trend. 

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is here!

My third game is now released - Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. I have been very busy with work, and have not had much time to work on marketing and distributing the game. There is still a lot I need to do. The first region I was able to distribute to was Penang. I had a work trip scheduled, so I took the opportunity to make appointments with boardgame cafes up north to show them the game and to see whether they are interested to stock the game. Now I need to work on the KL / PJ area. 

I checked my records, and found that I have been working on Ali Baba for more than two years. It has undergone many changes and adjustments. Holding the final product in my hand was a sentimental moment. 

The Ali Baba box is much thicker than Snow White and Dancing Queen, because it comes with many coins. 

Mock-up of game in progress

One unexpected bonus is the box opening experience. When packing the game away, if you place the rulebook and the cards at the bottom and the coins on top of them, the next time you open the box to play it will be a nice experience. You will feel like you are opening a chest of gold coins. It's like discovering treasure. I did not explicitly plan to create such a feeling. I realised it only when experienced it myself. It was a happy unplanned perk. 

More details: https://www.cilipadigames.com/ali-baba

Piazza

The Game

Piazza comes in a tiny metal box which looks like it's for sweets. It is an abstract game and a card game, for 2 to 4 players. The square cards are tiles you lay to build a plaza. These tiles come in different colours and patterns. The colours belong to players. You have your own draw deck. You take turns laying tiles. When you form a bracket, i.e. two of your tiles sandwiching other tiles, you score points. You score for your two tiles and for each tile you sandwich. The rules for laying tiles are simple. The new tile must be placed next to an existing tile, and adjacent tiles must not have the same colour or pattern. The whole plaza is limited to an 8x8 grid. The game ends after everyone has exhausted their decks. 

You have a hand size of three. You may play one or two cards on your turn. You may play two only if those two form a bracket. At the end of your turn you draw back to three cards. 

The Play

You keep planning to create good scoring opportunities for yourself, and you need to remember not to create the same for your opponents. The colour and pattern restrictions create some challenge, so your options are limited somewhat because of them. Overall you do still have many choices and can plan strategically. 

The Thoughts

Piazza is simple and easy to grasp. It is highly portable and suitable for traveling. It's an abstract game so it can feel a little dry. However it is short and doesn't overstay its welcome. It does present some challenge as you need to think from your opponent's perspective. 

Essen 2024 scrapbook

Here are the other photos I took at Essen 2024.

The mascot for the Essen Game Fair, Meeps, was first introduced in 2023. This one I took a photo with was just a static statue. It was not a suit with someone inside. Well, unless that fellow was so good at staying still for a long time. 

Giant poster of the event hanging outside the convention centre. 

Arnaud Charpentier of Matagot. We are holding a working copy of the upcoming international edition of Dancing Queen. 

I was introduced to Germany-based designer Hilko Drude online, and I had sent a copy of Dancing Queen for his review. We arranged to meet at Essen. He had a booth to take care of so I met him at the booth. He gave me a copy of his game Mission Impractical, and I gave him a copy of Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs too. 

Salt and pepper shakers

Mugs

Dro Polter is a dexterity game. Everyone holds five objects in their hands. Flip over a card, and it will tell you which objects to drop. You have to manage it without using your other hand. The first person who manages this scores a point. Points come in the form of those tiny golden bells, and you have to add those to your hand. This means the more points you have, the more difficult the game will be for you. You win by getting your fifth bell. 

You know how to play after reading those four instruction cards. 

There were several publishers from Thailand, and they shared a large booth. They were supported by their government ministry. 

Characters from Thai games

At the fair there were booths selling merchandise other than boardgames. This one sold wooden boxes. 

I saw Martin Wallace, but he was busy and I didn't want to interrupt him for a photo. His booth showcased Steam Power. It looks similar to Age of Steam and Steam. 

One difference is you have contracts to fulfil. 

Formosa Tea from Taiwan

La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War is a game about the Sicily mafia. The colour scheme looks joyful and more like a farming game. 

My game Dancing Queen will be part of Matagot's line of microgames. The third character in the poster behind me is from Dancing Queen. I am thrilled anticipating the release in 2025. 

P'achakuna is a 2-player game with llamas. Each hex in the game is partly mountains and partly plains. One player's llama only moves on mountains, and the other only on plains. You compete to collect and deliver goods to the villages in the corners of the board. Your llama can move as far as you want it to. It is only restricted by terrain. The twist is you can rotate the hexes, creating new paths for your llama, and breaking up paths of your opponent's llama. 

Black and white

This game is called Tuned. At first I thought those were candle sticks. The blue part is the candle holder, the grey part the candle itself, and the orange part the flame. It turns out these are animal musicians which can be stacked on top of one another. This is a 2-player abstract game. You can bring pieces in. You can move pieces, including stacking them on top of others. Your objective is to create three in a row. For the purpose of creating a winning row, you only consider the topmost animal in a stack. 

Light Seeker is beautiful. This too is a 2-player abstract game. Each side of a cube can be light, dark or half of each. On your turn you can tilt and move cubes. You must increase the total light in play. Otherwise you'd lose. To win, you need to create a connected group of at least three and a half light sides. 

Meeple decorations

These handicraft products look good on book shelves and game shelves. 

Japanese theme

Puerto Rico 1897 Special Edition, successfully crowdfunded and coming out in 2025.

World Order is from the team who made Hegemony

It has tanks! 

Those 3D tanks might be for the deluxe edition only, or maybe just for their demo set.  

Galaxy Postman from Hadari Spiele is now out of print. If you are interested in a reprint, contact them. 

Player board

The main playing area is built from multiple tiles. You explore space and create the play area by placing tiles. 

Speakeasy

The game board is a map of New York

Rock Hard 1977, a game about rock music

I love the dials on the player boards

You even have guitar picks!

Deluxe version of Food Chain Magnate

SETI was one of the hot games. 3000 copies all sold out. 

It does look intriguing

My Life Be Like by Mizo Games from Taiwan. Four languages in one game. 

You play as a person with a specific Zodiac sign.

Torii is pretty

Great to see Regicide Legacy. Regicide is one of my favourite games in recent years, so when they launched Regicide Legacy on Kickstarter, I supported it. I look forward to receive the game next year. 

The hotel where I stayed provided free gaming rooms during the fair period. They provided two rooms, and they were large. I didn't use the facilities. I just went to take a look. 

This was late afternoon and the fair hadn't ended yet. I left the fair before closing time. There were already guests playing in the rooms. 

There is a reason I took this photo when in Germany. I like Power Grid, and the back of the cards show exactly this power outlet. 

The Chronicles of BERG is still under development. Once ready it will be crowdfunded on Gamefound. The art is great! 

Hall 1 had many booths dedicated to miniature wargames. Lots of pretty miniatures. 

Another one

This was an open space between exhibition halls. This was Sunday around 10am. The show had just started and this area was still deserted. People were in the halls. I needed to go from Hall 5 to Hall 1, and this was the best shortcut, because the halls were busy with people. Around noon there would be people here having their lunch. 

The Yu-Gi-Oh booth had these head bands. 

One of the Dune boardgames

Cat drawings and merchandise

I thought this was a crochet booth. Younger daughter Chen Rui likes crocheting, so I took photos to show to her. After the fair I realised they were actually selling a game. The crochet handicraft was just accessories they also sold. The game was Chonker Party. I completely missed that and I have no idea how the game plays. 

I thought they only sold these

I adored the art in Joyride Turbo and took many photos. 

Tea Garden is another one of the hot games this year. Designer Tomas Holek from Czech Republic is new, but has three big box games being released this year. All three are hot games. That's amazing! 

Tea Garden

Xylotar is a highly unconventional trick-taking game

The card backs are different. The colours have different number ranges. Players must arrange their cards in ascending order. Based on the colours and the order of the cards, you will be able to guess your opponent's cards. As more and more cards get played, you will be able to guess more accurately. 

The number range is specified on the card back

There was an artist area at the fair. At first I thought this was a showcase for famous game box and game components illustrators, but it was not so. This was a section for artists in general to sell their products. There was a lot of great artwork, just not related to boardgames. 

I like how this play area was set up. It looks cramped, but there is actually enough space to play games comfortably. Most games here are short, so you can stand and play a complete game without feeling tired. In fact I played four different games back to back. 

Luthier is about making musical instruments. I love this box cover. The game will be out in 2025. 

The game has worker placement and secret bidding

There is a concert hall on the game board

Player board

Some stalls sell game components. These would be useful for making prototypes when designing games. However I found them a little pricey, so I didn't get any.