(Note that this tile set is for American mahjong, not Chinese mahjong. While the games are similar and share the same roots, the tile sets required to play each are slightly different.)
Editor: Please read to the bottom for a discount code on Monet's Garden Mahjong set.
Mahjong is a traditional game that’s having a modern moment. Like chess, it’s a game that has long had its followers but has never quite become part of the mainstream hobby scene. Now both games are experiencing renewed popularity.
In the tabletop world, we saw a big boom in gaming during and after Covid. The need for entertainment and escape, coupled with a need to engage in-person after being isolated drove renewed interest in modern board games. The same is true of role-playing games, chess, and, yes, mahjong.
Suddenly mahjong is everywhere. Social media is bursting with pictures and meetups. I don’t even live in a major city and I see flyers advertising mahjong classes, playgroups, and tournaments all over town. Hallmark even made a mahjong movie and matching Christmas ornament!
With all of this interest comes a flood of products designed to capture every possible dollar. Mats, racks, lamps, tile sets, tables, carrying bags and more are all…
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I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Small local board game fairs and conventions are great. You get board gaming fun in a manageable dose of one day, without long trips and expensive accommodation. In many cases, they’re also not quite as full – which means no waiting times and instead just 100% of the good stuff. In that spirit, I attended Spiel doch! in Friedrichshafen (Germany). Here’s how it went.
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Spiel doch! [Just play!/Why don’t you play?] is a new-ish affair: Its western German original was first held in 2015 in Duisburg (and has since moved to Dortmund). It has branched out to the south in 2023 (Friedrichshafen). The name of the fair also indicates who the target audience is – casual gamers who might not have sold their soul to board gaming entirely (yet). That means the focus is on playing – a good part of the fair grounds is dedicated to tables at which you can play ganes (either your purchases r copies from their ample library of games (which you get to check out for free).
Of course, there are also opportunities for publishers and local board game stores to present their goods (and even some new designs). There’s a lot of variety between the sellers – some focus on the bestsellers, others have a more eclectic collection where you might find a rarer gem. For example, I got a copy of A Battle Through History (Erik Burigo/Pär Sundström/Marco Valtriani, Pegasus) as a gift for a friend who is a big Sabaton fan.
In addition to the games, you’ll also find a lot of board game accessories and other items of interest to the nerdy crowd drawn by a board game fair.
As said, though, the heart of the fair is the big free play area. We had the chance to give Dungeon Legends (Przemek Wojtkowiak, Rebel Studio) a try: Our team of knight, scout, and smith cleared the underground of monsters, kept the castle safe, and eventually extinguished the fire which was the main challenge of our legend.
We enjoyed the straightforward deck building and the visual style of the game – but I must say that learning the rules was a bit of a challenge. Whose idea was it to list the actions you can take in the middle of the rule book and then describe how you perform them in an icon overview on the second-to-last-page of the scenario book?
The best thing about Spiel doch!, however, may be that it goes beyond buying and playing games, as two particular highlights for me attest: The booth of the European Society of Game Collectors presents rare games through the ages – this year, all of them aerospace-themed.
And the Fondation Suisse de Déminage (Swiss Foundation for Demining) sells donated board games at reasonable prices with all proceeds going to demining efforts in Ukraine. I picked up a copy of Versailles 1919 (Geoff Engelstein/Mark Herman, GMT Games) – sunflower table mats not included in the game.
Have you been to any cool local fairs or conventions recently? – Let me know in the comments!
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