Spielwarenmesse 2024: I was there!

The Spielwarenmesse visitor portraits provide a brief overview of the motivation behind people travelling to Nuremberg from near and far. Part 2 shows how "The Spirit of Play" connects all of them.

By Peter Budig

Jana Blauwitz

from Berlin

Jana Blauwitz believes that "toys are ideal for 3D product visualisations." That's why the former editor for toddler products and current producer at the Berlin 3D animation studio PRODUCT TALES wants to bring the two sectors together at the Spielwarenmesse. "Our work is ideally suited to toys because the products can be presented in a lively way with 3D videos for social media, e-commerce and trade fairs." She networks at the fair and is delighted with the many inspiring products.

Irene and Hartono Karnadi

from  Indonesia

Company founder Hartono Karnadi specialises in the sale and distribution of children's toys for young children. The couple live in Jakarta and run shops and an online shop with a total of 50 employees. For them, the trade fair, for which they calculate one day each for travelling to and from, is "the big market for new products and attractions" for their product group. "We arrive with a whole catalogue of contacts that we make here," says Irene Karnadi.

Raimund and Michael Krug

from Nuremberg

Father and son Krug belong to a long-established Nuremberg showman family. In Franconia, they are known from the Nuremberg fairs, where they run a lottery booth and candy stands. "What ticket buyers find attractive when it comes to prizes changes quickly. Feature films, series and tiktok trends influence tastes. At the toy fair, you can track down these trends when it comes to the best cuddly toys, new toys, figures ... for the coming season."

Arnaud Perez

from France

Arnaud Perez is a qualified electrical engineer. As such, he worked in the automotive industry for Peugeot for a long time, including around eight years in Shenzen, China. There he discovered his love for toys and worked as a project manager for "Pure Arts", an exclusive manufacturer of action figures. He also attended university to learn Chinese. The impulse to develop new themed figures led to the idea of publishing the action game Assassins Creed as a board game. This was the founding moment for his company No Loading Games. Since then, he has been operating from Montreal/Canada: „The Spielwarenmesse is my place to discover board game authors, to inspire sales partners in Europe for my new board game and to get to know new potential partners.“

Sieglinde and Heiner Wöhning

from Usedom, Baltic Sea

Sieglinde and Heiner Wöhning, married for 34 years, have dedicated their professional lives entirely to games. Originally trained in the field of education, Heiner was also a board game author (for Ravensburger). Today, both are developers and designers of creative game worlds for guests and residents of the island on the beach on Usedom or on behalf of the three imperial spas. They also work as a team of consultants, introducing schools, libraries etc. to the latest new games. "I have been a regular guest at the Spielwarenmesse since 1980, my wife since 2009. For us, maintaining contacts is the most important thing, only then come the new products."

Sarah Ulrych

from Graz, Austria

Sarah Ulrych leads the team at Ludovico in Graz. Ludovico is more than just a games library with games hire, games evenings and workshops - also for companies, by the way. The association, supported by the City of Graz and the Province of Styria, is a real social centre. Every year, Sarah Ulrych and her team organise two renowned festivals, one for electronic games and one for board games. "In Nuremberg, we visit board game publishers, have meetings with marketing representatives, scan the new products and meet special personalities from the scene," says Ulrych. "This year, for example, we met the multi-award-winning author Arno Steinwender, whose quiz game 'Smart 10' is now a hugely successful TV programme in Austria. The Austrian family business 'Piatnik' is celebrating its 200th birthday this year, a Viennese board game publisher in its sixth generation, and we also paid a visit here."

Bianca Schulz and Melanie Morsbach

from Hagen

Bianca Schulz and Melanie Morsbach, mother and daughter, run the "Schaukelpferdchen" in Hagen together with senior Eckhard Schulz. "Dad looks after my daughter, who is 1 ½ years old, during the fair," says Morsbach. "We scan the entire range of games and toys for our shop; board games, plush, wooden toys, books, children's clothing, dolls, artistry, gift ideas ...", explains Bianca Schulz. Shortly beforehand, she had her photo taken with the "robber Hotzenplotz" ("a hero of my childhood"), who walks around the fair dressed up alongside other characters.

Robber Hotzenplotz

from the robber's forest

It has to be said, even if we had some good, very good encounters at the Spielwarenmesse 2024, there were also some bizarre characters. Like this classic children's book published by Otfried Preußler in 1962. "I'm reformed," repeated this robber called Hotzenplotz time and time again. "I no longer steal." And what is his desire? "I'm looking for gold and first-class snuff." He also added: It's a great pity that his companion Petrosilius Zwackelmann didn't come with him to Nuremberg. Where everything here is so beautiful and the sausages so delicious.

About the author

Peter Budig studied Protestant theology, history and political science. He worked as a freelance journalist, headed up the editorial department of a large advertising paper in Nuremberg for ten years and was the editor of Nuremberg’s Abendzeitung newspaper. He has been freelancing again since 2014 as a journalist, book author and copywriter. Storytelling is absolutely his favourite form.