SPIEL in Essen is the perfect trade fair for fans of board and card games.
Here, you can try out and even purchase all the latest releases. The games are usually explained by staff, and you can try them out with friends or other trade fair visitors.
Those who buy a lot can store their purchase at the cloakroom for a small fee or have them mailed to their home.
The exhibition hall 2024Notes
The SPIEL Essen is open from 10:00 to 19:00 o'clock.
We chose Friday since Thursday the fair is usually very crowded and the weekend it tends to be crammed.
The exhibition ticket you get when booking the event is valid all day - the event here is "officially" just one hour so that there is not time clash with other events should you intend to not spend all day at the exhibition but head elsewhere after an hour or such.
Important notes
Please note that you need to book the ticket(s) for "SPIEL Essen" yourself - due to this this event booking is free of charge!
Booking opens mid July on
www.spiel-essen.de/en/visit/tickets-opening-hours and if you purchase your ticket in July it is 22,50€; after that it will set you back 23,50€.
Directions (from IBD Hotel)
Travel time is about 70 minutes
- If you're on the ground floor where the hotel’s reception is take the stairs or elevator up to first floor, the conference level
- On the first floor of Maritim Hotel - with IBD meeting room, organisation office, board game room, etc. - head for the large hall
- At the end of that hall between the two bars (Galeriebar and Morley’s Bar) is the exit to the elevated footpath towards Düsseldorf Airport – go for it
- After taking the footbridge follow the signs for "Departures" and once entering the airport building turn right
- Follow the signs to SkyTrain and "Flughafen Bahnhof/Airport station"
- Take elevators or escalators up to the SkyTrain station
The SkyTrain is free of charge, runs every 5 minutes and takes 7 minutes to the final stop "Flughafen Bahnhof/Airport station" - Get off and head for the railway station "Düsseldorf Flughafen"
- Take the regional train RE1 towards "Hamm (Westf) Hbf"
- Or the regional train RE2 towards "Osnabrück Hbf"
- Or the regional train RE6 towards "Minden (Westf) "
- Get off at Essen central station "Essen Hauptbahnhof"
- Take the subway U11 towards "Essen Messe W.-Süd/Gruga" up to "Messe Ost/Gruga"(4 stops)
- Walk in the direction the subway took for some 100m along "Norbertstraße"
- The exhibition centre "Messe Essen" is on the right-hand side.
Directions (from Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof)
Travel time is approx. 80 minutes
- Pretty much the same as above with the regional train RE1 or RE6 but getting on them at "Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof"
- Then proceed as indicated above
See
Directions and Times for general information on directions.
