This year's GAME in Essen is looking forward to strong visitor numbers: The organizers have issued a warning in light of the large number of visitors. People should be careful not to fall victim to scammers.
The organizers of SPIEL 200.000 in Essen are expecting just over 2024 visitors. If the fans themselves have their way, there will probably be even more who will stroll through the halls on one of the four days of the fair - but the limited ticket quotas prevent this. For good reason, as the organizers explained: for security reasons, among other things, the number of available tickets per day had to be limited. Anyone who looks at the full halls and sometimes several meters long lines in front of the stands can understand this.
The season tickets for SPIEL'24 were quickly sold out, and the day tickets for three of the trade fair days also ran out: sell-outs were reported for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
SPIEL: Overpriced tickets in circulation
The success of this year's trade fair presents the organizers with an unprecedented problem: not only are board games in demand, but the tickets themselves are also apparently becoming a sought-after commodity.
The tickets for the SPIEL in Essen are transferable, as the organizers confirm: Tickets can be passed on to "family, friends and acquaintances", but you will need a power of attorney and a copy of your ID card. You should make sure that all information is clearly legible. Then nothing stands in the way of transferring the trade fair ticket.
At the same time, however, SPIEL warns: "Please be careful, because there is a high risk of falling victim to fraudsters. Protect yourself and your tickets!" According to the organizers, many overpriced offers are being distributed. What has long been known from the area of sold-out board games or, for example, concert tickets that are sold on a secondary market at sometimes horrendous prices, now also applies to tickets for the Essen Games Fair. This has never happened before.
In front of the trade fair, it is clear from time to time how popular the tickets are. Fans even stand in the entrance area with cardboard signs reading: “Looking for a ticket”.
Fans are already calling for changes on social media. Some are suggesting that quotas should be kept free and only offered at the box office on site. This would also enable fans to visit spontaneously. This is especially true as the payment methods are being criticized at the same time. You have to use Paypal or credit card to order the trade fair tickets online in advance. Even though these types of payment methods are very common these days, this does not apply to everyone.
Other fans are discussing whether it makes sense to offer personalized tickets. Generalized tickets are easier to pass on, but also easier to sell at high prices - possibly even in large quantities. "Personalized tickets are now available everywhere and that's a good thing to put a stop to the profiteering and to ensure the safety of visitors," praises one user on Facebook.
The current situation shows how popular the board game fair in Essen is among German fans, but also tens of thousands of visitors from abroad. Every success has its ups and downs - the organizers have already announced that they will consider possible changes after the fair. SPIEL boss Carol Rapp has stated several times: "We can only do that after the fair."
The fact that the aisles have been significantly widened shows how good changes can be. Although visitor numbers are at a similar level to previous years, it is much more relaxed to make your way through the halls. There are bottlenecks here and there, mostly in the most popular halls (Hall 3, for example) or around particularly popular publishers.
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