Probably the biggest digital innovation in the world GAME in Essen is the company's own smartphone app with which fans can put together their game lists at home or plan a tour of the exhibition halls. The organizers at Friedhelm Merz Verlag already succeeded in debuting the smart program last year, and some useful features will be added in 2023.
The signs at SPIEL in Essen point to modernization – that has been clear since the introduction of the adapted logo and the mascot “Meeps”. Since last year, the International Games Days have also included an app for devices with Android or iOS as a virtual guide through the halls and the program.
Games app for SPIEL in Essen
The application was already good in 2022, this year the organizers, together with the developer Eyeled, took it up a notch. What you notice at first glance: “Fancy” guys in the header image who really celebrate playing. Colorful, flashy, eye-catching. In any case, it puts you in a good mood.
Otherwise, fans have access to various information behind the menu items, of which the hall plan in conjunction with the list of new products is extremely practical. The board games can be filtered by age, number of players, genre or even mechanism - this should make it easy to plan your personal tour of the trade fair in advance. And that is necessary given the large number of new games that are presented in Essen every year. It is almost impossible to spontaneously get an overview on site. There are two strategies: Either you go with the flow and absorb what information you can about games, or you rely on planning and pick out the new products that you would like to take a closer look at at the Essen trade fair. In any case, the app helps with both strategies.
The division into categories combined with the restructuring of the halls as “theme worlds” is no less practical. Role-playing fans will quickly find their central point of contact for visiting the trade fair, as will fans of miniature games or families.
Various activities can be organized using the “Program” menu item GAME in Essen show, some autograph sessions with authors, challenges and tournaments or special demo rounds of various new games.
The digital information offering is rounded off with useful information about the trade fair organization itself: tips for getting there, opening times and tickets or direct contact with the publisher if any questions arise.
You can download and use the app GAME in Essen already:
What's still missing are some new features. The list in the app is currently not fully available. And the first users are already making their first suggestions for improvement, such as a function that would allow markings to be inserted directly on the map of the hall plans. Synchronization between two devices is also required, as is importing lists from “Tabletoptogether”. However, the general response from fans to the new app version is consistently positive.
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