Archon Studio at Spiel Essen 2025

Every year, our Archon Studio team heads to Spiel Essen — the biggest board game trade show in Europe, and one of the most exciting events for tabletop fans worldwide. It’s the perfect place to meet players, showcase our latest projects, and celebrate the love of gaming together. And of course, this year was no exception! What a trip it was! Our team of twelve brave adventurers set out on October 20th at 5 a.m. from Piła, Poland, heading all the way to Essen, Germany. Sounds simple enough, right? Well… not quite.

Our journey involved three trains, and everything went smoothly — until it didn’t. The train from Poznań to Berlin got delayed by more than two hours, which meant we missed our next connection to Essen. No worries, we quickly switched plans and took a FlixBus instead. Unfortunately, traffic decided to join the fun, so we still arrived late. After a long day full of travel plot twists, we finally reached our hotel around 9 p.m. Safe, sound, and ready for the big event ahead.
 

Setting Up the Booth

The next morning started bright and early with a team breakfast and a trip to Messe Essen. We arrived around 10 a.m. and immediately got to work setting up our stand. Everyone jumped in to help, from unpacking boxes to arranging displays, teamwork at its best!

The following day was more of the same — building, decorating, fine-tuning every detail. After two days of effort (and a few coffees later), our stand was finally complete.

The Big Opening

When Spiel Essen officially opened, the energy was unreal! For the first time ever, we launched sales of our very first StarCraft Tabletop Miniatures Game model, and it was a special one: Zeratul, the exclusive promo miniature available only during trade shows.

As soon as the gates opened, people literally ran toward our booth (you can see it in our reel here). The line formed quickly, and Zeratul became the absolute star of the show. We couldn’t have been prouder seeing fans so excited to get their hands on it!

Meeting the Fans

It wasn’t just about Zeratul, though. Throughout the fair, we met so many fans who stopped by to say hi, chat, and check out our products. Our Dungeons & Lasers terrains and miniatures were a massive hit, and German fans showed a lot of love for Masters of the Universe: Battleground, especially the promo figures we brought along.

Demo Madness!

Of course, no Archon booth would be complete without game demos! This year’s highlight was definitely the StarCraft TMG demo area. We had five tables running at all times, with guests lining up to try out the game. Overlooking the area was a massive (and functional!) Terran Marine suit that became one of the show’s favorite photo spots.

Our team ran demos, explained beta rules, and showcased detailed Zerg and Terran miniatures. The feedback was incredible — players loved how the game felt and looked. Their comments will help us make the final release even better.

But StarCraft wasn’t the only star of the show.

We also had seven more demo tables, including:
- World of Tanks: The Card Game, which had its physical premiere at Spiel Essen! Visitors could play, enjoy, and then grab their own boosters, display boxes, and starter sets right at our stand. (Available online here too!)
- Masters of the Universe: Battleground,
- Heroes of Might and Magic: The Board Game,
- Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game — fresh off a successful Gamefound campaign that raised over 1.4 million euros!

Wrapping Everything Up

By the last day, we were exhausted, but also thrilled. As soon as the final announcement came at 6 p.m. and applause filled the halls, we knew we’d made it. After packing up our booth, we got ready for the long trip home. Thankfully, the return journey went smoother (well, except for one cancelled train, which meant standing for a bit… but after everything, that was nothing!).

Spiel Essen 2025 was an incredible experience for all of us. We got to meet fans, talk to journalists and partners, and share our passion for tabletop gaming with thousands of people.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by, supported us, or grabbed one of our products. Your enthusiasm keeps us going and helps us grow every single year.

Here’s to more adventures, more games, and more unforgettable moments ahead!