Events in Germany on October 24 and 25, 2026 run from Essen to Altötting. SPIEL Essen lets visitors try board and card games at thousands of tables on site.
Thousands of tables wait for players. They stand in the halls of Messe Essen, where SPIEL runs on October 24, 2026. Events in Germany on October 24 and 25, 2026 run from Essen to Altötting. SPIEL Essen lets visitors try board and card games at thousands of tables on site.
SPIEL in the halls of Messe Essen
SPIEL Essen is the world's largest public fair for board, card and parlor games. It began in 1983 as a small trade meeting with a handful of publishers. Today it gathers more than 220,000 visitors from over 40 nations and 1,200 exhibitors from 50 countries.
The fair runs from October 22 to 25, 2026. On Saturday, October 24, it is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every game at the stands can be tried on the spot. Publisher staff and even the game designers explain the rules, sit down and play along. Playtesting is included in the ticket, and hundreds of new releases are on show. Adults paid between €22.50 and €23.50 for a day ticket in 2025, and family passes and discounts for students, people with disabilities and cosplayers exist as well.
The German Games Prize rests on a public vote and counts, next to the Spiel des Jahres, as the most renowned board game award in Germany. The innoSPIEL Innovation Award honors new game mechanics and creative publishing work.
Trolleys, backpacks and games brought from home are allowed, free loan boxes are on hand, and every hall has catering. From Essen main station, tram line 107 runs every ten minutes to Messe Süd/Gruga and takes about 15 minutes.
From the Kirbe to the marathon
The Degerlocher Kirbe takes over the fairground on Große Falterstraße in Stuttgart on Saturday from 2 to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with rides and a traders' market, catered by the Degerloch-Hoffeld volunteer fire brigade. In Altötting, about 200 stalls of the Altötting Tillymarkt stretch on Sunday, October 25, from Neuöttinger Straße across Kapellplatz to Bahnhofstraße, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the town's shops open at 1 p.m.
Pumpkin and potato take center stage at the Pumpkin and Potato Festival at the Mill Museum in Gifhorn: potato pancakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin carving for children and mill demonstrations, on Saturday and on Sunday.
On the market square in Wadern, about 40 stalls at the Waderner Herbst- und Wildmarkt offer wild boar sausage, fine spirits, mushrooms and honey. It is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., hunting-horn players perform, and a falconer shows native birds of prey. On Sunday the shops in the town center open too. The Mayschoss Wine Festival pours the wines of the WG Mayschoß-Altenahr, one of the oldest winegrowers' cooperatives in the world, on the festival ground in Mayschoß on Saturday and Sunday from noon, with free admission.
Master craftsmanship fills the cathedral square in Merseburg: at the Herbst-Rabenmarkt, full-time workshops show pottery, jewelry, textiles and wooden toys, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free. The duo Liedfass plays folk. In the Neuer Lustgarten in Potsdam, the Oktobervolksfest ends on October 25, with a Ferris wheel, roller coasters and beer tents, open daily from 2 p.m. with free admission.
42.195 kilometers through Sachsenhausen, Westend, Höchst and the city center: the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon starts on Sunday at 10 a.m., the finish lies indoors in the Festhalle, and about 80 music hot spots line the course. With only 27.8 meters of elevation, the route counts as the third-fastest marathon course in the world. A relay, a mini marathon and the Struwwelpeter run belong to the day. In Leipzig, the Lachmesse, a festival of cabaret, comedy and small-stage art, begins on October 25: about 90 ensembles and artists spread across 14 venues until November 1.
In the night to Sunday, daylight saving time ends, and at 3 a.m. the clocks read 2 a.m.