On the train to Gatwick Airport things were getting truly desperate on the food front but fortunately Oggie obliged with some snacks to keep us going and at the airport we rushed to McD to sample their breakfast delights. After breakfast, Paul and Tel both went on a random walk and it was at this point that I realised that we (a) had a long walk to get to the flight and (b) needed to leave 2 minutes ago.

We did make it on time to our flight and arrived at Cologne in Germany with just time enough for me and Tel to play a quick 2-player game of San-Juan on the plane. I clearly must have been distracted by the total lack of free food on the flight and easily lost to Tel! At the end we connected a train which led to what seemed like the longest train journey ever. At Essen a quick underground ride saw us at the Jung hotel and after dumping our bags we hit the streets questing for an afternoon snack.

The snack was provided by the local fast frikadellen shop around the corner from the Yung and on the way to the Messe. I have to say that it made a nice alternative to the kind of junk food we get over here although the curry sauce I had with my frikadellen and chips reminded me of my great currywurst disaster from 2002. Despite my trepidation I am glad to say that no ill effects ensued for which I am quite glad as I would not have enjoyed Essen at all by being parked on a toilet all day long.

In the evening, following a quick game of Tonga Bonga (one of Paul's flea market purchases - and what great one), we then headed off to the Irish Pub - one of the traditional Essen eating places because it serves the black stuff (Guinness) and has nice food. The only downside of this place is that it can be a bit slow but it was also the closest thing to British style pub-grub that we found all trip. Knowing that the German people have a massive affinity for (a) salt and (b) meat, I took the opportunity to sample the only healthy option of Salmon along with some vegetables. The good thing is they don't mind gamers, and during our meal, Tel and I took the opportunity to whip Paul and Oggie in a team game of Jeckle and Hyde.

We went back to the hotel and had a quick game of Geschenkt and afterwards had a demo game of Struggle of Empires with one of the Warfrog guys (their stock having eventually arrived). None of us are really wargamers but a copy did find it's way back to the UK and I am genuinely keen to play it again as it is often the case that views on a game often change over time. This is especially true of Martin Wallace games as they tend to get better with repeat playing once the strategies come out and you fully understand the sometimes cryptic rules.

Post-breakfast we did the usual queuing for tickets and queuing for the big door rush. This came and amid big girlie Germanic screams which I swear came from Paul and Tel's direction as we squeezed through the 3 foot aperture (known as a door) along with 20,000 other people. I did try to moon the TV camera in revenge for the ridiculously small entrance but the pressure from the crowd to move on was just too much! At least I know what champagne feels like when the cork is popped.

The plan at Essen is generally to get onto as many demo tables as you can and actually play games rather than spend all the time shopping and generally we have a fair amount of success at this.

I can't remember exactly what I purchased that day but I do remember not learning my lesson from the day before and AGAIN got ripped off by the SAME guy in the flea market - much to everyone's amusement, but I did manage to find a cheap copy of Royal Turf elsewhere and got to it just ahead of Tel. One of the challenges at Essen is getting the best deal you can and prices can and do vary a lot so shop around is the rule. It's also worth remembering that you can haggle at many of the stands - especially when buying multiple copies or several different games.

The evening meal was spent at the Croatian Restaurant just around the corner from the Jung with a number of the Warfroggies (plus guests). Now the Istra is better known as The Meat Place and just so that you are sure, all of the food at this restaurant is heavily meat based, so much so that the Warfrog crowd have a meat eating challenge based upon three or more people eating enough meat from a platter fit for about 6. The rules are simple, one of the three people must have already completed the challenge and acts as referee and they can eat a little or as much meat as they like to help out. Players can go for 1st, 2nd or 3rd Dan depending upon whether or not you add in a starter and/or dessert and it's great fun watching people sweat as they try to complete this task. This year Paul and Oggie attempted and survived the challenge although Oggie should get a special merit award as Paul eats about as fast as a Sea Cucumber. Still, next year either of them can act as referees for future challengers - just make sure you get Oggie and not Paul to be your referee.

1. bring a bottle of water with you as it's crowded and hot (we got ours from a supermarket near the Jung - but you can buy some from the shop in the Messe foyer).
2. bring a bag to put your purchases into - stands often carry the same games, generally don't give receipts or bags and you don't want to be accused of stealing.
3. with the exception of second hand games, If you are going to be there all day, buy stuff later in the day to avoid carrying it around.
4. do your research up front and have a good idea of what you want to look at before you get there. Some demos can be booked in advance.
5. most, if not all transactions are in cash (there are cashpoints outside of the Messe).
6. join up as a group if you can - it's easier to get demos that way.
7. if you are looking for something second hand and rare - go to the flea market first, desirable and rare games sell fast.

Knowing when to go for freebies is also quite important - as some of these are worth having (like the orange dice from Railroad Dice which were given out at 4pm each day). Above all being friendly and patient is quite important too - especially since the German ethics on queuing is practically non-existent. It's also worth supporting the smaller games designers if you can as they often produce great games in limited quantities (e.g. Oltramare). For example the guys on the Argentum Verlag stand spent a lot of time with us and we bought quite a bit from them in the end.

Food at the Messe is plentiful although healthy options are very limited, so you should bring your own if you don't like or can't eat what's on offer (I'd at least recommend bringing some fruit). If you bring your own then it's common sense to avoid sticky foods as you will be handling games/components quite a bit. Typically foods available include frikadellen, schnitzel, sausages, hot dogs, pancakes, ice cream and also some kind of fried potato and onion hash. Generally I stuck with the frikadellen as they are much nicer than burgers. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the pick n mix stands although much to everyone's amazement I did not partake of these this year!

The Jung is a pretty good place to be in the evening as due to the gamers who stay there, there are always lots of games being played and it's easy to pick up views on the new releases. You also find that several of the designers turn up (e.g. Martin, Bruno and Maureen) and you can always play game designer bingo to see who can tick the most off your card. Regardless chatting to the designers (or even playing games with them) is often fun. Pretty much the plan is to gather there, play a game or two, go eat and then come back & play games until late.

Friday evening we were again invited to go out to eat with a large group of gamers and again at the Istra. I believe that this was an organized event and there must have been about 50 of us. The Istra by the way is a large restraint and seems to be able to accommodate many people, it's even rumored to have a bowling alley and secret passages below ground! One of the difficulties being Germany is that vegetarians are not very well catered for and it's also worth bearing in mind that you may need to get to some places early to get a seat as they are not all as large as the Istra.

Saturday night we decided to do our own thing and visited a traditional German ale-house where we all enjoyed superb fresh pretzels (of the giant variety) followed by some very Germanic food (pork and sauerkraut in my case) washed down with several huge flagons of beer. In fact I guess we were all a bit tipsy following on from this and the games we played subsequently at the Jung were played in a very robust Piddinghoe style including a second game of Tonga Bonga where Tel almost died laughing at one point. The good thing is that people are generally quite forgiving of us and it's a good job as I think that we are not your typical gaming group.

Was it worth going. I'd say yes but don't go there expecting to save tons of money because any saving you make is offset by the cost of travel, hotel and eating out. In fact I would say that the trip was actually quite expensive but then I treat it more as a mini-break/holiday more than anything else. This was a good thing because this year was nothing exceptional in terms of new games although there were a couple of good finds which we would not have seen otherwise. Worries over our luggage allowances also proved unfounded as none of us went over the limit.

Finally, I would be extremely remiss if I failed to mention the beard challenge at this year's Essen. For many years now we have been trying to persuade Oggie to wear a bell in his beard and for reasons that we can't quite fathom, he has been very reluctant to do so. We figured that Velcro would be the best form of attachment and Anne had spent many hours sewing ornamental bells onto pieces of Velcro. It's to Oggies credit that due to his lightning reflexes and the slowness of Paul's digital camera to take pictures that we went away without any evidence of this phenomenon but I am glad to report that for at least 1 millisecond, Oggie did indeed wear a bell in his beard!

Anyway, I promised a list of games I bought at Essen:

New games

• Sole Mio - I have Mama Mia, the expansion was a must buy but ufortunately it has a different design on the backs of the cards from my edition :-(
• Oasis - been on the list for some time, bought untried.
• Garden Gnome Society - fresh & a bit odd given that gnomes must procreate differently from us humans!
• Metalurgie - ok card game.
• Clocktowers - ok, but expensive for what it was, needs 2 or 3 players not 4.
• City & Guilds - nothing that new but quite a solid game.
• Druids - ok card game.
• Razzia - nice re-theme of Ra but as a card game.
• Oltramare - nothing that new, but well designed and one of the better Essen purchases.
• Geschenkt - nice card game
• Wings of War (Famous Aces) - look different, wanted to try, unplayed.
• Railroad dice expansion - bought along with the original game, not tried.
• Freebie Railroad dice expansion (orange dice) - not tried.
• Puerto Rico expansion - a must-buy.
• Ticket to Ride expansion.

Royal Turf, Verbanque, Wyatt Earp, Don, Trias and Railroad Dice