Jost Schwider and his Giro d' Italia Ludico, host of Angelo Porazzi Games booth, and Manfred Rohmkopf of magazine Spielerei, both dear friends and great communicators of games. Warangel 10 Years Edition and WrestAngel (played by Simone Colombo and other gamers on the right), are the two novelties I prepared for Essen 2006. And see what else I had at my booth:

All the Italian Games that partecipated in the Giro d' Italia Ludico, offered as prizes by authors and companies. Never before has such a large number of Italian games gathered together to be communicated and known together to Essen audience. Great result: thanks to Jost from all games I see here, from above:

WrestAngel and TATATA! by Angelo Porazzi, Esagek by Claudio Gelosa, Krumble by Piero Cioni, Mamma by Mario Papini, Daymio and Snake Lake by Piero Cioni, BauSquitMiao and High Voltage by Post Scriptum, Shark Park by Piero Cioni, Ur by Paolo Mori, Marvel Heroes and Warof the Ring Expansion by Di Meglio, Maggi, Nepitello, Histerycoach by Walter Obert, Maestro Leonardo and Figaro by DaVinciGames, FastMindstalkers by Lorenzo Marchetto, Bolide and expansion tracks by Alfredo Genovese.

Jost from Soest in Germany, Gunther from Austria, Angelo from Italy, Gavin and his Wife from South Africa, all gathering together thanks to games. Gavin is an incredible guy: it could be my dad and still has the energy of a boy, wonderful. Thank you my friends, to me is always a pleasure to meet people like these thanks to games I love to create and illustrate. Many thanks too to Gunther who is one of the most helpful in rewriting the new A4 format, full color Reference Sheets of Warangel 10 Years Edition and 2nd, and 3rd and 4th Generations.

Nick Medinger of Funagain USA, one of my distriubutors in the US together with FairPlayGames, BoardsandBits, GamesinaBox, BoulderGames, ToughHammer. Here he is picking up for his huge online store the newest WrestAngel, appreciated and picked up by all gamers that knew and played it here in Essen.

Nick also saw the newest prototype of HappyAnimals, a children-family game I created and illutrated for wonderful wooden pushpuppets of Italian SilToys, for first time at Essen with his booth, right in front of mine.

Siam is another game that uses huge wooden figures, here of Rhinos and Elephants, moving mountains out of the game field! Abstract game with great appeal, picked up by Simone that here you see in his best "Mystic" look:) Note also the HUGE beers we picked up by Brauhaus Zwiebel in Soest, hometown of Jost, that friendly hosted us.

Jost and Simona right in front of this Beer-factory that is also a highly suggested restaurant, believe me:) The Beer is the best I ever tried, ever. We also have been in Italian Restaurant Da Tino, always in Soest, another moment I will never forget for the good food and kindness of the owners. Visit Jost and his wonderfull town of Soest, not far from Essen!:) Did you know that Essen in German means Food? Now I understand why:)

ESSEN 2006

WARANGEL 10 Years Edition SOLD OUT (in two days)!

On Saturday morning only the demo copy of this game remained :) But a french gamer arrived having Warangel 10 Years Edition as 1st game on his wish list: how could I resist?:). I gave him the very last copy and next gamers on Saturday and Sunday took the game following the idea Create YOUR Warangel, just choosing some "ready to play" races already mounted on painted woodenblock, some hexed maps of any sector of Earth and having the possibility to experiment this 10 year old game. I never expected suh a success after so many years, thanks to all gamers that knew and communicated my games in these years!:)

Giacomo Sottocasa of Rose&Poison, editor of my firts book Warangel i Primi Ricordi, written to celebrate first 10 Years of this fantasy universe. Of course available in Italian for the moment, but people outside of Italy sometimes know italian : this is the case with Gordon Lamont co-author of Hameln that came to take TATATA! and WrestAngel, and just read the italian book "in real time" in english and picked it up as well... Incredible:)! My compliment for your knoweledge of Italian and for your sold out, last year with Shear Panic and this year of Hameln!

Here we are at the conference press of 18 October, before the fair opened to gamers from 19-22 october. The brothers Fraser and Gordon Lamont from Fragor Games show their 2006 novelty Hameln, always dressing in their scottish way and with typical friendly talking. Differently from ShearPanic that is quite more light, Hameln has all elements of a typical "German Style" game, conserving funny stile characters, last years sheeps, this time mice!. We was very close at Halle 9 so had time to meet several times: very nice people:)

Here Jost, Angelo and Piero Cioni at the presentation of Warangel 10 years Edition and WrestAngel during the press conference. Both, dear friends indeed, Piero was first in italy awarding Warangel in his city at Ludex 2000 Bologna. If Warangel is what is now, it is thanks to gamers like Piero.

Tenky Games and Piero Cioni with their two novelties for 2006: Krumble and Snake Lake. Daymio and Shark Park are fromf 2005. Now Piero has the satisfaction after years of work to have 4 games he created, published by same company: my copliment dear friend:).

The Kraken! And the Sea Dragon!!! Wonderful in my opinion the boardgame from Wizkids Pirates. I have always appreciated this game with his semplicity and design of ships you can mount. Me and my three daughetrs, when I returned from Essen06, passed the evening mounting this little pieces of art.

Simone in one of the hundreds of demos of WrestAngel we did in these 4 days, here with Martin from Germany, his brother and their girlfriends: faithful friends I always enjoy meet each year:)

Our fourth dinner in Essen was organized together with demonstrators of Days of Wonder who brought and plaied in the Restaurant their novelty miniature fantasy boardgame BattleLore of designer Borg, the same of BattleCry. Same concept adapted first in BattleCry, Then in Memoir 44, now in BattleLore, all of same designer. And now my friends, get ready for the next one: LuccaGames, 1-5 november: see you there in Indipendence Bay:)

Like last year, kind Knut Michael Wolf linked this PhotoReport on SpielBoxOnline . I had the honour and pleasure to meet him in person before the press conference and thank him for the great work he does to communicate so many people and games. Thank you Knut! And thank you Frank Gartner of HALL 9000 another huge german site, another friend i knew this year who linked my Report as well on his Report of Essen 06... Wunderbar!:)