In an attempt to gain some sort of foothold in the board game industry, I attended my first ever board game convention this month – the Berlin BrettspielCon! I was a little worried that it might be super business-y and stiff or that I might have trouble striking up interesting conversations or finding groups to test the games since I was attending alone.
All these worries evaporated within the first couple of hours. I had a fantastic time for the entirety of the con and felt… strangely at home sometimes. Thanks to my fellow attendees for contributing to such a relaxed atmosphere! I can’t wait to do this again. Luckily, I already have plans to attend the SPIEL in Essen as well as the Spielwiesn in Augsburg later this year. The SPIEL, in case you haven’t heard of it, is the largest board game convention in the world. My partner and I are planning to bask in its glory for the full four days with a group of friends. I’m excited to see how it will compare to this, which was only a weekend by myself – 9 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday.
Though it might seem like an appetizer of a con to hardcore gamers, Berlin had me thoroughly exhausted – in the best way – by the end of it. I managed to play a total of 9 games (the longest being a 2+ hours introductory session of “Shadows of Brimstone”, a tactical dungeon crawler), check out a bunch more, and even have a couple of inspiring chats with designers. And of course I took home a wealth of flyers and business cards that I spent the largest part of yesterday sifting through – and striking gold a couple of times!
But let’s talk about the most important part – the best games I got to play during my 2 days at the con. Conveniently for this format, exactly 3 of the 9 games I played excited me enough to make me instinctively reach for my wallet – despite intentionally not having brought an additional backpack for loot. I did not want to buy anything. These were just that good.
3. Paco Ŝako
Paco Ŝako (speak: Patso Shako, Esperanto for “Peace Chess”), has been around since 2017. It is chess turned into a dance; instead of capturing, pieces embrace each other. To win, one of your pieces must dance with your opponent’s king. So despite the title, it is still played against one another. If not exactly peaceful, it does feel softer than regular chess though. Not like open battle but more like a medieval ball as a front for political drama. I can’t help but picture the kings as shy kids constantly hanging around the buffet and toting half-full cups of wine or full-mouthedly waving hors d’oeuvres whenever someone offers them their hand.
What makes Paco Ŝako both very interesting and, in my limited experience of 8 or so games, much shorter on average than a game of regular chess, are the chain moves. See, a pair of united pieces cannot move onto other pieces, but a single piece can cut into a unit, freeing the previously bound piece of its color, which must then immediately move on from that square. This allows for crazy multi-step finishing moves (which can even include loops in the middle) and gives you that insane combo feel usually reserved for TCGs.
Every match I’ve played so far has been fun. Whether this is a short-lived gimmick, the start of an obsession or something in between remains to be seen. The game does seem to have accumulated a cult following. You can play it online and even follow the streamed matches each Monday on Twitch. The main reason, then, that this remarkable game remains in third place for now is its price. A physical copy as shown above, with all the pieces (which, to be fair, look and feel excellent) and a paper board, is listed on the game’s homepage for close to 40€. The cool metal board I so lousily photographed at the booth but looks spectacular in real life will set you back another 30€. I didn’t get one, but I did buy an 8€ booklet of Paco Ŝako puzzles to make sure that I keep practicing. If you’re interested, maybe try this one out online first.
2. Ito
Ito (Japanese for “Thread”) came out in 2019 but is new on the German market this year. It’s a simple party game for 2-8 players about rating things. Each round uses a different random category like “Famous person I’d like to meet” or “Animal I’d like to ride”. Once the category is established, every player draws a card with a number between 0 and 100. You then try to think of an example for the round’s category that matches your number. I.e. you ask yourself “On a scale from 0 to 100, what famous person would be a 47 in terms of me wanting to meet them?”. You declare your example to the group and put your card down face-down, as does everyone. Next, you collaboratively try to arrange the numbered cards in the right order based only on the examples given. If you manage to do that, you all win and get to move on to higher difficulties, where players draw more cards. Or you just play another regular round. It’s not really about winning.
Ito was an absolute banger at the con. So much so that by the time I got around to it on the second day, it had sold out. I’m still waiting for a copy (which you can get for under 20€ in most places), so I can’t attest to the replayability, but I suspect it’s there. It’s also rather portable. Not pocket- but about handbag-sized.
1. Eye2Eye Duel
Eye2Eye is another two-player game, but otherwise nothing like Paco Ŝako – in fact, I’ve found that playing these two in a row offers a delightful contrast. Eye2Eye mimics a classic western movie standoff. It’s quick, it’s mean, and it’s tense.
Essentially, you stack up four mystery piles in the middle of the table by playing cards from your hands face-down and occasionally moving cards around. Once the round is over, you slap down your hand on one of the piles to claim it. Then you compare piles poker-style to determine who got shot. So it’s a bluffing and a dexterity game. The big twist: For the entire game, you have to stare straight into each other’s eyes.
At 6€ (according to the publisher’s website at the time of writing), this one’s really cheap. It’s also still fun after the 10 or so times I’ve played it so far, and since it’s pocket-sized and takes less than 10 minutes to play, I see myself coming back to it a lot in the future. The only weakness here is the deluxe metal box available at around the same price as the actual game, which doesn’t close properly. Also, the original packaging looks cooler. Just don’t get that box.
Those were my favorite games! Thanks for reading. I should mention that I’m not affiliated with any of the publishing companies or designers beyond lending someone at the Smart Flamingo booth my phone charger. Have you played any of these games? If you were at the con, what genius exhibit did I miss out on? Are you gonna be in Essen or in Augsburg? Let me know!