Spiel Essen 2026: This year’s best talks and panels for board game industry professionals

The global tabletop gaming industry descends on Germany once again next week for the world’s biggest board game fair, Spiel Essen – bringing together thousands of publishers, designers, distributors, retailers and other industry professionals for four packed days of new releases and networking.

This year’s SPIEL.talks programme of panel discussions will be on the main show floor for the second year running, with sessions in Hall 4 covering everything from artificial intelligence and game localisation to emerging tabletop markets, careers in the industry and the process of bringing a board game from prototype to store shelves around the world.

BoardGameWire has rounded up some of the most interesting-looking sessions for current and aspiring tabletop game industry professionals from across the four days.

Thursday, October 22

Your World, Your Rules, Your AI: Why It Should Come From Europe (German)

11:10am – 11:50am

HillcrownAI founder Oliver Mauckner lays out why he thinks artificial intelligence could be used to support tabletop gaming without replacing the physical experience – from interactive rulebooks capable of answering questions in seconds to tools for introducing new players and expanding game worlds. He will also discuss the potential benefits of publishers retaining control over their own AI systems, including technology hosted on European servers and trained to respond using official game rules rather than generating potentially inaccurate information.

Discovering Careers in Tabletop Game Industry (English)

11:50am – 12:20pm

GAMA vice president and Critical Role integrated marketing manager Ross Thompson explores the wide range of careers available in tabletop gaming beyond game design and marketing, drawing on 17 years of industry experience. Thompson, who also helps run the Tabletop Game Jobs Facebook group, returns to the SPIEL.talks stage after delivering a similar session last year.

Why Translation is not Localization (yet) and Where AI Can Help (English)

12:20pm – 1:10pm

Former Asmodee localisation head Sebastian Rapp joins a panel of experienced board game translators and localisation specialists to discuss the challenges of bringing games to international markets, from adapting rules and cultural references to the growing use of AI in translation. The panel will explore the pitfalls of localization, the need for cultural adaptation in the process, and why translation alone does not equal localization.

Media Literacy & Editorial Policy in the Boardgaming World (English)

1:10pm – 1:40pm

Board game podcaster Kenny Katayama examines some of the thornier issues surrounding tabletop gaming media, including paid partnerships, review copies, bias, AI disclosure and politics in the hobby. The session will explore how publishers, reviewers, influencers and audiences can navigate an increasingly complex media landscape, following several controversies over the past two years.

50 Years of Board Game Designer Networks – A Data Analysis (German)

2:40pm – 3:10pm

Social scientist and board game critic Johannes Blumenberg presents the findings of a study examining 50 years of board game designer networks, drawing on BoardGameGeek data covering more than 132,000 games and almost 60,000 designers. His research found that women have accounted for just 9% to 10% of board game designers since around 2020, and examines how differences in professional networks and collaboration patterns could help explain persistent gender inequalities in the industry.

Why India is the World’s Next Big Tabletop Market (English)

5:00pm – 5:30pm

Phalgun Polepalli, co-founder of Indian tabletop convention TTOX, explores the potential for the country to become a major growth market for board games, highlighting its young population, rising disposable incomes and growing gaming communities. He will discuss consumer behaviour, gaps in the country’s retail infrastructure, localisation challenges and what international publishers often misunderstand about the Indian market.

Board Games Insider… We Make You… The Insider! (English)

5:30pm – 6:30pm

Spiel Essen managing director Carol Rapp joins industry veterans Ignacy Trzewiczek of Portal Games, former Stronghold Games president Stephen Buonocore and Corey Thompson for a special live edition of the Board Games Insider podcast. The session promises a look behind the scenes of the world’s biggest board game fair, drawing on Rapp’s experience running SPIEL and her previous senior roles at Kosmos and Asmodee.

Friday, October 23

Game Studies – Why Is It Needed as an Independent Academic Discipline? (German)

12:10pm – 12:40pm

Institute for Ludology director and German Society for Game Studies board member Jens Junge explores the case for establishing game studies as an independent academic discipline, and what greater recognition of games in education and cultural policy could mean for the tabletop industry. Junge, who has worked in the board game sector since 1984, will discuss the newly founded German Society for Game Studies and its efforts to raise the profile of games in academic research and public policy.

Teaching Game Design: What We Know and Where We’re Going (English)

6pm – 6:30pm

NYU Game Center associate professor Basil Lim and TU Dublin lecturer John Healy explore how game design education is evolving to prepare the next generation of designers for an industry being reshaped by technological advances and changing demographics. The session will examine how universities can balance practical industry skills with creative and critical thinking, and how teaching across both analog and digital games can equip aspiring designers for careers in an increasingly interconnected industry.

Saturday, October 24

From Player to Leader: Building a Career in Tabletop Through Community (English)

12:20pm – 12:50pm

A panel of senior industry executives including Asmodee US commercial distribution head Julien Sharp, former Funko Games and Moose Toys executive Deirdre Cross, and ACD Distribution marketing director Danni Loe explore how networking, mentorship and professional communities can help build careers in tabletop gaming. The discussion, organised around Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment, will examine how professional relationships have helped shape the panellists’ paths into industry leadership.

From Prototype to Store Shelf — How a Concept Makes Its Way Through a Global Studio (English)

3:50pm – 4:50pm

Designers from major tabletop publishers including Asmodee studios Zygomatic and Libellud, LEGO board game partner Dotted Games and Star Wars: Unlimited developer Fantasy Flight Games explore what happens after a game prototype is accepted by a publisher. The panel, which also features prolific freelance designer Matthew Dunstan, will examine why promising designs get rejected, how games change during development and the challenges of preparing a title for release in 15 languages.

No Extra Lives Needed; Inclusion by Design (English)

5:20pm – 5:50pm

Blood on the Clocktower creator and Pandemonium Institute CEO Steven Medway explores how board game design choices can make games more inclusive and encourage players to return. Drawing on his experience developing the hit social deduction game, Medway will discuss how components, rules, strategies, artwork and presentation can help create welcoming social experiences without making inclusivity feel like an overt design feature.

Sunday, October 25

Analog Meets Digital: What Connects Games and What They Can Learn From Each Other (German)

2:10pm – 3pm

Spiel Essen managing director Carol Rapp and Ubisoft Europe head Ralf Wirsing lead a panel exploring the similarities and differences between board games and video games, and what the two industries can learn from each other. Joined by game researcher Jens Junge and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences professor Stephan Jacob, the discussion will examine differences in game design, business models and player experiences, as well as the opportunities emerging from hybrid games and closer collaboration between the analog and digital sectors.

The full schedule of panels, which run from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October, is available here.