SPIEL ESSEN 2026 ⋅ 22 TO 25 OCTOBER 2026
Panda is at SPIEL Essen for all four days: four seminars, an open house, meetings every day, and a booth full of games we helped make.
Here is what is on, and how to book time with us.
SPIEL ESSEN 2026 ⋅ DAY BY DAY
The booth is in Hall 5, booth 5G111 for all four days.
The Thursday seminars run in Conference Room L, over in the Congress Center Süd, a walk from the exhibition halls.
12:00 TO 18:00
Seminar day
Four sessions, from localization to a hands-on file workshop.
Conference Room L,
16:00 TO 17:00
Open House
Meet the team, see what we have printed, ask us anything.
Hall 5
Booth 5G111
A full day at the booth. Come and handle the games we have printed, and stay as long as you like.
Hall 5
Booth 5G111
Last day of the show. Nothing on the schedule, so we have time to talk.
Private rooms at the booth, Thursday to Sunday. Tell us what you are working on and we will put you with the right person.
SPIEL ESSEN 2026 ⋅ SEMINARS
All four sessions run in Conference Room L, which is in the Congress Center Süd rather than in the exhibition halls. Seats are limited, so come a few minutes early, and check the directions below before you set off.
11:30 TO 13:00
How do you make your game successful in other markets? Renée Harris, Panda’s Director of International Partnerships, introduces the new Localization Program, which connects publishers with vetted international partners. She’ll explain how it works, who it’s for, and what publishers and partners each get out of it. Bring your catalogue and your questions.
13:30 TO 14:15
Join us for a special presentation exploring the tabletop manufacturing landscape in Brazil, including opportunities, key considerations, and what designers and publishers should know when exploring production there. Following the presentation, we’ll open the floor for a Q&A, giving you the opportunity to ask questions and gain practical insights directly from industry experts.
14:30 TO 15:30
Have a prototype and no idea what happens next? The Panda team walks through how a board game goes from finished design to boxed copies: components, quotes, proofs and timelines. It’s built for designers heading toward publishing, and for anyone who has wondered what goes into the box.
16:00 TO 17:00
Catch file problems before they cost you time and money. This session covers how to set up art for mass production printing (bleed, colour profiles, dielines, fonts, and more) and the common mistakes that slow a project down. For designers, artists and publishers’ art teams.
17:00 TO 18:00
An open hour with Panda’s Prepress team. Bring the file you’re stuck on, a question about your workflow, or a proof that came back wrong, and get an answer from the people who handle these files every day.
Please bring your laptop with your files saved locally, as there will be no internet access.
⋅ Head toward the south end of Hall 1, following signs for “Congress Center Süd / Entrance South”.
⋅ Leave the main exhibition area into the Congress Center South foyer.
⋅ Conference Room L is on the ground floor in the conference-room area; follow the signs for “Konferenzraum L / Room L”.
SPIEL ESSEN 2026 ⋅ OPEN HOUSE
Curious about how your favorite board games are manufactured? Join us for a friendly open house at Panda Game Manufacturing!
Meet our team, learn more about who we are, and discover how we bring games to life. Explore some of the top 100 titles on BoardGameGeek that we’ve helped produce, and see a selection of games on display to experience the quality and craftsmanship firsthand.
If you’re an indie designer looking to publish your own game, you can also learn more about our P20 Sponsorship Program and the support and opportunities available for aspiring creators.
Whether you’re a gamer, designer, or simply curious about the world of board game manufacturing, we’d love to welcome you and share what we do!
SPIEL ESSEN 2026 ⋅ BOOK A MEETING
We have private meeting rooms at the booth for all four days. Tell us what you are working on and we will put you with the right person: a project manager, our prepress team, or someone from sales.
Book ahead if you want a guaranteed time. If nothing free suits you, come to the booth anyway and we will find you a gap.
p20 is Panda’s 20th-anniversary contest: 20 winning designers share $110,000 in manufacturing credits.
Submit your game, talk it through with our team, and winners are selected every quarter.
The first four are already in.
Coming to Essen? Bring your questions to the booth and talk it through with the people who run it.
Where to find us
The booth is in Hall 5, Booth 5G111, all four days. The Thursday seminars are not in the halls: they are in Conference Room L, Congress Center Süd.
Bring your files
For the Thursday workshop, save everything to your laptop first. There is no internet in Room L.
Not going to Essen?
Send us your project anyway. Request a quote and we will pick it up from there.
Panda now offers full service custom board game design and development for existing brands through Bamboo Design Studio
