Congratulations JULY - Mr. Huu Thinh, winner of the Road to Essen 2025 competition.
Competition, podcast, and a Vietnam board game booth at Spiel Essen 2025.
The "Road to Essen" board game competition aims to discover and nurture Vietnamese board game design talents from around the world, offering a total prize pool of up to 200 million VND and a chance to exhibit their game at Spiel Essen 2025.
A podcast series of 7-10 episodes, featuring interviews with top board game creators from around the world and Vietnam, aiming to share valuable experiences and inspire the Vietnamese game design community.
Listen hereA Vietnamese board game pavilion will be organized at Spiel Essen 2025 in Germany, welcoming over 250,000 international visitors in late October 2025. With a design rich in Vietnamese cultural identity, the pavilion will not only showcase board games but also present impressive cultural products from Vietnam, including consumer goods, handicrafts, and gifts from notable local brands.
The competition aims to discover and celebrate innovative board game concepts created by Vietnamese designers, while serving as a launchpad for culturally distinctive Vietnamese board games to reach international markets, particularly at SPIEL Essen 2025, the world's largest board game fair, scheduled to take place in Germany in October 2025.
In its first season, Road to Essen received an enthusiastic response from both Vietnam's creative community and overseas Vietnamese, with 137 qualified entries and participants ranging in age from 11 to 55, making this one of the largest board game design contests ever held in Vietnam. Beyond competition, the contest provided a valuable learning environment where contestants refined their design thinking, strategic mindset, and professional presentation skills.
A closer look at the award stage, prototype tables, game demos, and showcase moments from the campaign.
Explore the standout board games selected to compete for a spot at Spiel Essen 2025.
