Overview
- Three of the four show days are sold out, with Thursday tickets gone on Wednesday night and only limited Sunday availability reported Thursday morning.
- Heavy opening‑day crowds strained local transport, with the platform toward Messe Essen repeatedly closed and road traffic backing up around the venue.
- The fair expanded to 77,500 square meters by adding Hall 7, hosting about 948 exhibitors from 50 countries and well over 1,700 new titles.
- Industry data point to robust demand, with Germany’s games and puzzles segment up about 18% year to date versus roughly 4% for the toy market overall.
- The audience‑voted Deutscher Spiele Preis honored SETI as top game and Die kleinen Alchimisten as best children’s title, as app‑supported, cooperative and sustainability‑focused designs draw attention.