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You can't see too much in the way of games in the publisher booths right now because most booths are still in a state resembling this:
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Zoch Verlag
The walls and banners might be in place, but that's about it. Heading out to Hall 6, you'll find this group getting ready:
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Yu brothers Brian and Dale at right
Unlike all the game publishers at SPIEL '17, BGG's convention opens on Wednesday, Oct. 25, with us starting to broadcast livestream game demos at 10:00 (GMT +2) and continuing until 18:30. (Yikes, that's less than four hours from now. Type faster, Eric!)
Our broadcast schedule is packed for five days, yet we can't even begin to cover ever single new game at SPIEL '17 as I'm still learning about some of them, such as Across the Iron Curtain, a new game from Kolejka's Karol Madaj that's co-published by Czech Board Games and Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Kolejka's original publisher). Across the Iron Curtain is a cooperative game for 1-6 players in which you're trying to help characters escape from Communist countries to the West. CBG's Jakub Tesinsky told me that game originated from an effort to give kids and teenagers an idea of what life was like for some families when Europe felt divided decades ago between East and West.
I just added this title to our SPIEL '17 Preview, and now I can't get that to fully load for me. Great timing! I'm sure that Scott has nothing else to prepare for in the next couple of hours and will fix that soon...
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Forest Fire was the CBG surprise at SPIEL '16
Games are also lacking with some of the vendors, including Japon Brand, which has had all of its games held up in customs. In mid-2017, convention organizer Merz Verlag sent notes to all of the vendors to remind them that the products they sell must meet certain packaging guidelines. An excerpt from one such letter:
Quote:
Please note that we were required to point out that all products presented at fairs in Europe need to fulfill the conditions of the Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the council of 18 June 2009 on the safety of toys.
This Directive shall apply to products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age.
Therefore only toys/games can be sold to the public, if
1.) the toy/game is provided with a recognizable and durable serial number,
2.) the producer and his contact details are indicated on the toy/game (European address required)
3.) required safety notes in German language are declared clearly visible and understandable on the toy, the label or on the box,
4.) the CE marking is indicated clearly visible on the toy, the label or on the box.
This list is not conclusive, you will find the full text of the directive via the following link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0048
This Directive shall apply to products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age.
Therefore only toys/games can be sold to the public, if
1.) the toy/game is provided with a recognizable and durable serial number,
2.) the producer and his contact details are indicated on the toy/game (European address required)
3.) required safety notes in German language are declared clearly visible and understandable on the toy, the label or on the box,
4.) the CE marking is indicated clearly visible on the toy, the label or on the box.
This list is not conclusive, you will find the full text of the directive via the following link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0048
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What's more, another note that I've seen mentions that if these standards aren't met, then "no sales (also no advanced sales) is allowed in any way". Thus, paying ahead of time outside of SPIEL and still acquiring the game at SPIEL would be prohibited. I'll be visiting multiple publishers on Wednesday to find out who else might have their games go missing and whether these problems can be resolved in the next couple of days.
[Update, Oct. 25, 14:33: Japon Brand's games have now been cleared and will be available at SPIEL '17.]
Right now, though, the only place you might find games available on Tuesday are at some of the used game vendors, many of whom already have their mountainous stacks ready for gamers to paw through.
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This vendor is near BGG's booth, so we'll have to keep checking to see whether any treasures pop up as the owner keeps organizing the stacks. Me, I'm just curious to see how many copies of Lotti Karotti move by the end of Sunday...
Speaking of moving, some publishers have really upped their game in their display booths for SPIEL '17. KOSMOS has multiple backlit display banners in their open-air booth, and AMIGO Spiele has these as well, with the banners projecting only about 4 cm from the thickness of their normal walls. (I used to write for trade publications in the 1990s and early 2000s, and I did many articles about advancements in sign and banner technology, with the creators of that technology being as eager to talk about their work as the game designers and publishers that I interview today. It's great to speak with people who are passionate about their job, whatever it might be, as they give you a new perspective on some aspect of the world you might never have considered previously.)
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KOSMOS
The real convention game-upper, however, is Asmodee, which has unveiled a new logo:
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Shadow of my head not included in all versions
And spent a kajillion dollars on a series of displays that resemble booths from E3 and PAX more than SPIEL. You can't get the full effect in this image from midday Tuesday when its booths covering 40% of Hall 1 were still being constructed:
But this video will give you a better feel for how SPIEL attendees will be bombarded once Thursday arrives and the doors open onto this spectacle:
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