This galaxy ain’t big enough for the five of us ESSEN is not one of Germany’s better-known cities. But for the world’s growing band of board-game devotees, it is paradise. Each October it plays host to Internationale Spieltage, or Spiel, a board-game convention that is half fan-club gathering, half trade show—and, alongside America’s Gen Con, one of the biggest gaming festivals in the world. This year the organisers expect more than 160,000 visits over the festival’s four days.