Table of Contents
- Preparatory Playing
- Setting the Stage
- Spielwiesn Day 1
- Spielwiesn Day 2
- Spielwiesn Day 3
- The Awful Aftermath
You may recall me writing about the annual Spielwiesn in Munich once before (see Book III ~ Chapter 12 ~ A World of Games), and I wouldn't want to repeat myself here buuuut...
...as it so happens, this year, it's different, and as a matter of fact, there's a bit of a theme going on this year it seems: For you see, just like the EF moved from Berlin to Hamburg this year because there were some irreconcilable differences with the old venue (see Book V ~ Chapter 20 ~ The Happy Hamburg Happening), the Spielwiesn also found itself in a position where staying at the old place was no longer an option, so this year also features the first year of the Spielwiesn at its new location, namely the expo of Augsburg!
It's roughly twice as long to get there from my place as the old venue, but being the curios fox that I am, I naturally want to check it out at least once. Maybe it'll be worth the commute. But before the main event, there's some...
Preparatory Playing
As a helper, one of my tasks is explaining games. And since there's quite a lot of games coming out each year, there's quite a lot to learn. For that purpose, there are meets where us helpers can get together to learn new games.
Even with regular meets, there's no way I can learn the whole stack of new games that is on offer, but that's not the point. Since there's quite a bunch of us helpers, it's okay if each of us learns a few games, and between all of us there's a good chance there'll be at least one helper available to explain any particular game.
I for my part make a point to attend such a game-learning meeting once per week after work in the weeks leading up to the Spielwiesn, trying out at least one game each night, or more if time permits. My personal highlight from that time is clearly "Helden müssen draussen bleiben" ("Keep the Heroes out!"), if only for the cute Gnolls that you can play as, though the game "Unfair", where you build up an amusement park (and sabotage your opponents) is also pretty interesting.
Before long, the preparatory playing period has passed, and come November the day arrives on which us helpers get busy...
Setting the Stage
2-Nov-2023
Getting to the expo in Augsburg is just a little bit of an Odyssey: First I have to take the bus to Pasing, then the train from there to the Haunstetterstraße ("Huno's Place Street") station in Augsburg, and from there, I have a few options for getting to the expo, which is only about 10 STEPs away from the station. Now, I know that this is also a distance that I can and in the past have already covered by bike (see Book V ~ Chapter 15 ~ Project Petal Part 9 ~ Augsburg and Around), but since that would take quite a bunch of day out of the days that I intend to spend helping out, I figure I'm better off taking public transport. Especially since by now there's a quite affordable nation-wide subscription for regional public transport that I also have for my commute to work, so the trips back and forth don't even cost me any extra money.
As I said, the first part of that is a bus ride to Pasing...
That bus route is quite adventurous in an on itself, and there's a reason behind that: You see, originally, the route of the bus number 162 was four different buses: One running from Moosach to the (former) Bunker, the next from there to the Amalienburgstraße ("Amalia's Castle Street"), the next running from there to Pasing, and the last one from there to the Eichelhäherstraße ("Oak Jay Street" = "Eurasian Jay Street"). On the upside, the fusion of those routes means that I can get to Pasing without having to change buses, but on the downside the route is quite zig-zaggy and takes roughly as long as it would take me to get there by bike. However, in this whimsical November weather I figure the bus is the safer option.
Approximate Distance: 8km (direct: 4km)
Average Speed: 15km/h
From Pasing, I find out that the regional train running to Augsburg is rather modern. It goes without saying that this is not a train of the hopelessly deprecated Deutsche Bahn ("German Railroad"), but rather a private railway company known as Go-Ahead.
The interior is quite modern as well, and at this time there aren't even many people occupying the modern seats. And despite the direct distance being over ten times that than between Pasing and the Fox Loft, the train only takes a little longer than the bus to Pasing to get to the Haunstetterstraße Station all the way over in Augsburg.
Ride Duration: 39min
Approximate Distance: 53km (direct: 48km)
Average Speed: 82km/h
With now being mid-autumn, the train ride to Augsburg takes me past harvested fields and colorful forests, many of which I am actually at least roughly familiar with by now, courtesy of my bike rides around the landscape these last few years (though only two of those took me past Maisach).
(Click here to view the video directly if this website fails to display it)
Once in Augsburg, I walk over to the relatively nearby bus stop, only to learn that I just missed the bus, and naturally the next one is not due for another half an hour.
So I figure I might as well walk. After all, this is a part of Augsburg that I haven't been through yet. It's a more or less straight way, though interestingly, the expo is farther away from the station than the Airbnb in which I stayed during the Wolf Petal.
Ascents: 20m
Duration: 45min
On the way I walk mostly through the urban avenues of Augsburg, where fallen leaves speckle the sidewalks in the colors of autumn...
...but also past an artfully designed wall. And shame on whoever put graffiti on that!
Eventually, I arrive at the new venue of the Spielwiesn, where I am one of the first people on premise. As of now, there's not much here yet. Only a lot of space to fill, and a lot of boxes to unpack.
As the people who're organizing the tasks that need to be done are themselves only just arriving and still need some time to get everything started, I take the time to explore the new venue. Apart from the big space what catches my eye are the garbage bins which sport German puns that unfortunately don't really translate.
Afterwards I start making myself useful by stacking crates of drinks into the corner of drink storage...
...and then I start getting busy with my main task for the morning: Unboxing and sorting games. Sounds easy, right? Well, here's the twist: The games are not sorted in the crates to begin with, there's several hundred of different games, and in the end you would like to have one stack for each game. Also, your sorting space is limited, so you can't just take an adequately large row of tables for each letter. How would you go about that?
My approach ends up being to just play it by ear. For example, I end up putting similar games - such as all the Labyrinth games - on one table, and have another row of tables for all the small games, and a section for all the kid games. In the end, however, it happens more than once that I realize I opened up more than one stack for each game, and I have to merge them.
However, my diligence eventually pays off, and I end up with rows upon rows of reasonably well-sorted games.
After that I have definitely earned a wholesome lunch. Unfortunately, all there is are some sandwiches, which is just a little bit underwhelming. Oh well...
The next thing that needs to be done is tearing the plastic wrap of those games that are still brand-new (and Dragon are there a lot of those)...
...followed by putting the "Property of the Spielwiesn" stickers on all the new games, ideally on a position where it doesn't cover up essential parts of the box, such as the freaking title - easier said than done on some of the really small card games where the title takes up most of the cover.
Afterwards, there's a second round of lunch featuring sausages, which while not epic is at least a warm meal that is very welcome right now. Did I mention it's November and the big halls are actually kinda cold?
Next up, there's the indexing of the games where each game receives a letter stating where it will be sorted in. Again, easy you might think, but answer me this: Where would do you for example put "Die Siedler von Catan"? Under "D" (which would result in that section being the largest because all the games starting with an article would end up there), "S" (because that's the first letter after the article) or "C" (because that's the biggest word on the cover)? Those are decisions that need to be made here, and that's why we've got Spielwiesn-veterans to advise us how to best label the games so we can quickly find and also re-sort them in action. And again to make the point of the labeling clear: Imagine someone returns an unlabeled "Die Siedler von Catan", where is the person who puts it back gonna put it in the few seconds they have? Without a label, these games would end up being fairly evenly distributed under "D", "S" and "C", which is something that actually happened in the past before the labeling was introduced. Hence this is why we do this.
And once that is done, we need to stow the games away in the shelves, which again takes quite a lot of time and brings with it the challenge that you can only estimate in advance how much space each letter is going to need. Of course if only a handful of people were doing this and all the games were pre-sorted in alphabetical order you could simply start working from A to Z and then meet in the middle, but there's many people working on this all at once, and we only have a single day to get it all done, so it ends up being a bit of an action puzzle with impromptu reorganization wherever necessary along the way. But in the end it all works out,and we end up with a nicely stacked Spielothek ("Gamebrary").
Meanwhile all the other exhibitors are in various stages of getting their stalls prepared. Some are already done, some are halfway through, some will do it overnight, and others tomorrow morning at the last minute. Well, whatever works for them, I guess.
And just like that, the whole day is already over. I've been busily working away all this time, and leave with a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, by now it's not only cold outside, but also rainy.
In that dark, cold rain, I make my way over to the next tram station, which is thankfully only about 4 STEPs away. It also features a little rain shelter where I can wait until the next tram arrives, which fortunately doesn't take too long.
The tram is actually quite full, but I still find a place to sit. And even if I hadn't, that would have been okay since it's only 4 stops until the Haunstetterstraße station.
From there, I take the next train to Munich (they fortunately run every 30 minutes), and then return home by bus via the same route I took to get here, only in the dark.
And that's all the preparation taken care of. With that, we're all set for...
Spielwiesn Day 1
3-Nov-2023
Again, I get to Augsburg by bus and train, and since there really only is that one route I'll just leave it at that.
I only want to mention that these modern trains also have really modern displays, showing among other things your location in the train as well as which doors are out of order (not that I've ever seen a door out of order in these modern trains).
This time around I take the tram to as close to the Spielwiesn as it gets...
...and then walk the remaining 4 STEPs along the road from there. Actually, there's a tram stop right in front of the expo, but apparently they only run a line there for special events, and it seems like the Spielwiesn is just not special enough for that. Well, maybe once we're the biggest board game expo in southern Germany... oh wait, we already are.
Today, the Spielwiesn opens up in the afternoon, so there's still some time for final preparations. By now, most of the stalls are up and ready, but some exhibitors are still busy setting things up.
In addition to the main hall, which houses all the exhibitor stalls and also features some space for playing, we also have the majority of a second hall dedicated entirely as a gaming hall. And also, instead of the ratty old beer benches and tables that we had back at the MOC in Munich, we now have proper tables and chairs. It certainly is a lot of space, but with our move from Munich to Augsburg we really have no idea about how many people to expect. Will it be mostly empty? About right? Or too full? These next few days will tell.
Since the organization is a bit chaotic, and finding the way to the entrance of the Spielwiesn (which is a back entrance of the expo), I take it upon myself to hang up posters all the way from the road and parking lot, and add arrows pointing people into the right direction. Here's hoping that both the posters and the tape I used are waterproof enough to weather three days of November rains.
Back inside again, I help out with transferring a few games from the Spielothek in the main hall to the game exchange point in the gaming hall...
...before having a little light lunch. Once again, that's only a sandwich, but on the upside I also get a free muffin today.
And then, it's time for the grand opening, yet even though it looks like a lot of people in the lobby...
...the throng is quickly watered down by the copious amount of space we have at our disposal this year.
With such a lazy start, I take the opportunity to learn and play another game. This one should turn out to be quite popular this year: It's called "Next Stop: London" and is about building a bus network.
However, as the day progresses, more and more people show up, and before long what seemed like ample space at first is slowly but surely getting crowded.
As such, I get to engage in my personal favorite activity: The eternal fetch quest! Manning the Spielothek, asking people what they want to play, looking if that game is available, and coming up with alternatives. It's always fun and engaging, and I could do it all day. Meanwhile others are more into roaming the halls and explaining the games, which is also something I should do now and then, but not as often as desk duty.
Every once in a while, when the throng of people slows down a bit and the desk is over-staffed with helpers waiting for people they can service, I take a stroll through the halls, making myself available to be intercepted by people asking for help or explanations. I happily note that the the extra space in this new venue causes the walkways to be a lot less crowded.
Taking a look over into the gaming hall, I notice that clearly the occupancy rate is more on the high end, which is great on the one hand, yet on the other hand it's only Friday, and more people are expected on Saturday and Sunday. I wonder where they're all supposed to fit.
Dinner that day comes in the form of coconut cream soup, which is not something I have tried before, and turns out to be quite good, even if it once again does not feel like a full meal.
Tonight is the long night of games, which means people can stay and play until 23:00, and while there's not many that take full advantage of that, there's still a good number of people who stay late.
Of course, with me staying this late, transportation home becomes a problem. Fortunately, the MPA - the organization running this event - did offer to organize a shuttle service between Munich and Augsburg for the days of the Spielwiesn. And with "the days of the Spielwiesn" I mean just tonight actually. And with "shuttle service" I mean just a taxi van. And with "organize" I mean next year I'm leaving early and taking the train.
And just like that, the first day of the Spielwiesn is over. Time to sleep and get ready for...
Spielwiesn Day 2
4-Nov-2023
The next day, I once again approach the Spielwiesn by bus, train and tram. However, this time I take a different tram line. You see, there are two tram lines running south from the Haunstetterstraße, running alternatingly and forking towards the south, and the extra distance between the two at the latitude of the expo is faster to walk than waiting for the next tram of the closer line (about 2 more STEPs).
And thus it happens that on this third day I take a third way to the Spielwiesn, which takes me past colorful foliage. Today, it's thankfully not raining, but there's a fierce, cold wind blowing, and the temperatures are only a few degrees above freezing.
Incidentally, this route also takes me along the tracks of aforementioned special expo tram that does not run for us. However, I do note that the tracks are in good condition, so clearly this line is in service sometimes.
Once at the Spielwiesn, I see that the organization has taken note of the high occupation yesterday and initiated the first gaming hall expansion, which is great! However, on a sorry note, it appears that we have already claimed all the tables and chairs in the entire expo, and as such are stuck going back to beer benches and tables for this impromptu expansion.
And a good thing that this expansion was triggered, because before long, there's scarcely a seat left anywhere in the whole Spielwiesn, including this impromptu expansion space.
Today is clearly the most busy day of the Spielwiesn, which is why it's only right that today's lunch consists of a wholesome dish of pasta with cheese.
And boy does it get busy today. There's barely a time when there's not a long line in front of the Spielothek. The good thing is that we've got plenty of eager helpers like myself, which results in the interesting situation where the limiting factor is the physical size of the Spielothek, because there's only so many helpers who can run around there without stepping on one another's feet.
Tonight, I leave significantly earlier, around 18:00. Of course, with it being November now it's already dark, plus it's raining again, and that should only be the start of my troubles tonight.
The next is that the train just randomly decides to stop for over half an hour just outside Pasing, and on the open track no less! If it had at least stopped in a station I could have gotten off and taken the 162 bus, which due to its convoluted track also passes by some stations on the track towards Augsburg on its way to the Eichelhäherstraße.
And naturally, when the train finally arrives, it arrives with such timing that I manage to just miss the bus and have to wait for another 20 minutes in the cold.
Those things combined make my planned 2-hour return trip into a 3-hour return trip, which means I miss the time at which my cats normally get dinner, which in turn prompted them to raid the living room snack shelf and chew on some biscuits.
Fortunately, that's all pretty quick to clean up, after which I make some quick dinner for myself, have a relaxing bath and go to be in preparation for...
Spielwiesn Day 3
5-Nov-2023
Today, I take the exact same way to the Spielwiesn as yesterday. Yet there's one thing that I note today that I missed the last time around: An intelligent pedestrian street light! Outfitted with a camera, this one automatically detects when there are pedestrians waiting to cross, as well as how many cars are present, and switches the light accordingly. In my case, that means it switches to green right away, which is quite convenient. No more pressing the button and waiting in front of an empty road!
Back at the expo, I am happy to find that both the posters and my hand-drawn arrows on it have weathered the rain of the last few days well, and the tape also still holds. Awesome!
Today turns out to be a bit of a lazy day. It's not empty, but there's still significantly fewer people around than yesterday, to the point that the gaming hall barely gets half full.
That means I've got some time to look around and while doing so find a hand-crafted marble run that some kids put together over the last two days.
Also, I stumble across a manual of the aforementioned game Unfair where someone has made a definitely not sanctioned edit to the rules, changing the rule for determining the starting player from "whoever last rode a roller coaster" to "whoever shouts 'ME, ME, ME!' the loudest".
Today I also skip the provided lunch in favor of a chocolate crepe from one of the many food stalls, which is kinda a tradition for me to do once during the Spielwiesn.
In the afternoon, I get to explain the game Robo Rally to a group of players, which is also a learning experience for myself since I find that they've apparently made a new edition of the game, which not only has some modifications to the rules, but oddly looks older than the old edition in terms of design.
Another fun game that wins the price for best packaging in my eyes is this one. In fact, this has become a sort of a running gag for me this year: Whenever people were looking for a certain quick small game that we was out right now I'd grab one of these (if present) and go tell them: "I'm sorry, but we're out of [...] right now, how about A Bag of Chips instead?"
Come closing time in the evening, there's still quite a few people in the main hall that we have to usher out...
...and then it's cleanup time! This is the final all-hands task where we work together to tear down the place again in record time.
Likewise, the staff of the convention centre is packing up all the tables and benches, and with the food trucks clearing out there's quite a lot of garbage on the floor that now becomes apparent.
Fortunately, that's not our task. We're busy enough sorting the games into stacks of equal base area, which is not as easy as it sounds because many game boxes vary in size ever-so-slightly, and while you can at least make a row for the square game boxes, you'd need an array for the rectangular ones, which is not an option because we don't have that sort of space, and no one would be able to get to the games in the middle. So, we just to our usual stuff and play it by ear, which is really the only way that works with this many people and this little time.
The next part is the palette Tetris, where we need to stack the games on the palettes that we have as space-efficiently as possible. And again, the stacks should ideally consist only of games that are exactly the same size, because otherwise the lids may end up getting dented during a full year of storage.
Some games also go in cardboard boxes, especially the smaller ones. Though honestly, why we don't just put all of the games into cardboard boxes is beyond me. At any rate, we end up with a lot of empty cardboard boxes (where the new games were stored) in the end.
Finally, once all the pallets have been neatly stacked, they get wrapped in a black plastic wrap that just gets thrown away the next year. Not very environment-friendly, but that's not my call to make.
Now, traditionally, the MPA invited all helpers who stayed for teardown to a delightful dinner in a local restaurant. This time around, instead of a restaurant dinner we just get more sandwiches for our trouble, which is quite underwhelming.
At least I manage to hitch a ride with one of the other helpers, who take me as far as Maisach...
...from where I can subsequently take the S-Bahn.
Still branded from the Pasing-debacle yesterday, I decide to get out in Lochhausen ("Hole Housing"), and take the X80 bus, which conveniently runs straight from there to Untermenzing. Inconveniently, however, I learn that it does not run on Sundays, and so I am forced to walk over to the other side and wait for the 162, the twisted route of which also takes it past this station.
And so, it happens that on this last leg home I get to enjoy almost the full run of the 162 bus route, with the Eichelhäherstraße being only 4 stops past Lochhausen, and my stop being only 7 stops short of Moosach. That leaves me with a whooping 40 stops to get from here to my home. By contrast, the X80 would have taken the direct route and had 3 stops along the way.
Well, at least I get to sit at the very front and enjoy this bus ride through the night, and even with the extra delay the way home does not take me any longer than the standard 2 hours for tram, bus and train.
And that's the end of the Spielwiesn this year, which brings us to...
The Awful Aftermath
So, apparently some things did not run so smooth this year. To get a better understanding about that, here's a short overview of how this whole event is organized:
- The MPA is small PR company that runs this whole thing
- Between the MPA and us helpers, there's a layer of volunteer organizers
- And finally, there's us helpers
Now, it is a known problem that the MPA is not always quite as diligent in the organization efforts, which always requires the organizers to pick up the pace in their place. This has happened before and is also one of the reasons why despite it appealing to my Flirial nature, I've never considered becoming an organizer myself.
However, this time around it has apparently been really bad, with the shuttle service and after-teardown dinner fail just being the tips of the iceberg. Apparently, there were also mixed messages where the organizers were first told to do one thing in very loosely defined terms and then yelled at for not doing it exactly the right way, among other things. And apparently this was the last straw, and after that all the organizers collectively quit.
So, how will the next Spielwiesn look like? I honestly don't know. I'll be sure to volunteer as a helper again, but I sure as Dragon won't offer to become an organizer after this debacle. As for how it will work out, only time will tell.
And that's it for this chapter of the Travelling Fox Blog. Stay tuned for the next chapter in which I'll talk about the last final petal of the Petal Project, and until then, be of great cheer! =^,^=
