Pre-Essen gear up and slow down

Summer is a very strange time for game publishers. By June, they're pretty much done figuring out what their Essen Spiel lineup will be, and they are either (1) hammering out the production details and setting up print runs or (2) panicking because they haven't started on those same production details or print runs. For the last few years, due to limited game components and materials, I've waited way too long to even determine what will be Essen releases, let alone all the nasty details. Of course, two years ago I was only in another publishers' booth for a few hours, and last year I shared a booth with Warfrog. There's less pressure, it seems, when you've got a booth buddy.

A few months ago I posted to a list or two about maybe having a booth buddy, but nothing really worked out, and so I have my own booth at Essen. It's a really great number: 5-100. That's right, 100. Cool. And while it's along the wall, it's at the end of an open aisle, and since I was in the same area last year, I know that it's a very heavily-trafficked area. And it's Hall 5, which kind of rocks. Hall 5 and Hall 9 are the two Euro publisher halls, and tend to have, for lack of a better term, my "people" in them. People who are predisposed to the games I'll have in my booth. I suppose halls 10, 11 and 12 would be fine too, but it would be easy to be overshadowed by Rio Grande, Days of Wonder, Hans Im Gluck, Kosmos, and all the other BIG publishers who make their homes there. It's definitely more German-centric in those three halls too, and a little more family-game oriented. In Hall 5 last year there was JKLM, Warfrog, Valley Games, and a whole bunch of smaller publishers. Note that those three publishers are from English-speaking countries: UK, UK and Canada.

This year, knowing I would have my own booth, I've spent the last few months of weeknights and weekends gearing up for my Spiel '08 offerings. In fact, all of my non-working, non-gaming, non-doing-stuff-with-kids time has been Essen preparation. Getting a handle on it early seemed necessary. Not just for the booth, but because this year is going to be the biggest yet for Bezier Games in terms of how much stuff I'm going to have that's brand new, and how much stuff I'm going to have overall.

Starting with the booth, I've gotten a few banners posted, but still have several signs to make. But the banners are out of the way...including a brand new Bezier Games banner for the top of the booth that's pretty sweet, and two game banners: one for Rapscallion and one for another new game that will be announced later this summer. I've got to figure out the furniture thing for the booth too, which is kind of annoying due to the show being in Germany. Most folks in the know buy stuff at IKEA (there's one in Essen, I've actually been there on a Quest for Breakfast a few years ago) and then store it someplace (I can do that, since LudoPackt offers that service). My best friend and his girlfriend have graciously offered to help in the booth this year, so I have all the help I need (including a booth babe, that's never a bad thing).

For the games, I've got AoS expansions as well as another new game (and Rapscallion, while it won't be brand new, will be on display for the first time at Essen Spiel). The AoS expansions are all done, rules, board design, translation, and the production is underway on all of them. I'm way ahead of the curve here. For the other new game, it just was sent out to production a week ago, and that's a little more iffy, but I'm still feeling pretty good about it.

So at this point I only have to announce the games, take preorders, follow up with all the different production houses on the progress of the games, and tend to all the other little details critical for the show. But I have FOUR months to do it all. And since I've been to Essen three times already, there's really very little I don't know, which helps a lot in the planning process. I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic about it!

And that's not saying anything about the new games and expansions, which absolutely rock. Really. Good stuff!