You can sponsor a game from Spiel. Just go to the Messen Discord and look for a channel called ‘sponsor a spiel game’.

• Pick a game released at the 2024 Spiel Essen convention.

• Talk to the Messen Mule, Tom G., on Discord about the game(s) you are interested in*.

• You pay for the game + contribute to shipping**.

• The Spiel Mule will pick up the game from Spiel & bring it to Messen library for general play.

• At the end of Messen, you take the game home, it’s yours. It always was.

• All hail, Mule.

Cut off is 8 pm (U.S. Pacific) on 20 September 2024 as the mule needs to plan.

*The Fine Print…

• If you don’t personally attend Messen, you cannot sponsor a game. You may not sponsor a game and have someone attending pick it up.

• This is not a service, but more a friendly offer to enhance the Messen experience with games you are excited for. Please don’t game the system for personal gain, advantage, or for bulk orders. Messen is not charging a fee for this offer, just asking you pay for the game and contribute to the associated shipping costs**.

• Ideally pre-ordering & pre-paying the game directly from the publisher for Spiel pick up under your name. Let the publisher know the Mule will pick up if possible. If not, work with the Spiel Mule.

• Cannot guarantee every game can be picked up; the Spiel Essen chaos monkey is real and there are many factors outside Mule control.

• Largely Messen won’t purchase multiples of a game. If you see a game already on the Tabletop Together “Need” list, please consider a different game or get excited to play that game at Messen because it is already coming.

• Often publishers have games at Spiel already available in retail channels. It’s good marketing to be at Spiel. Please don’t request games from Spiel that are or will be generally available before Spiel (3-6 Oct 2024). It will save you $ and get you the game you want earlier than Messen. The game’s Boardgamegeek entry and the website Boardgame Oracle are great places to check for this type of info.

• Since sponsored games go into the Messen library, someone may play your game! Exciting and the point of the Messen annual event/convention! The game you sponsored may be play loved before you take it home.

  **Shipping: Games purchased at Spiel Essen will be boxed up and shipped to Seattle. In 2023 shipping cost varied from $3.50 - $14 per game depending on the size of the game. You will be asked to contribute to the overall shipping cost for each game you sponsor. Expect that request sometime after Spiel (Oct) but before the Messen convention (Nov 2024).

• A note on shipping. Spiel offers a basic shipping service: a box and an address label. No professional bubble wrapping as one may expect from an online retailer. Games may be damaged in shipping. Will take steps to minimize this, but options are pretty limited. Last year there were several dinged corners & smushed lids. A minority of games thankfully, ~3-5%. If you are expecting pristine games at the end of the shipping roller coaster, don’t sponsor, there is no way to guarantee the box will arrive in perfect condition.