The current trends

How Corona has changed the world of games

The big play festival attracts visitors to the Austria Center Vienna on June 15 and 16.

(Bild: Ludwig Schedl)

After a one-year break, the Vienna Games Festival is taking place this weekend at the Vienna Austria Center. Hundreds of new products - analog and digital - can be tried out. Corona has changed the way we play, says an expert who explains the hottest trends.  

On June 15 and 16, the cards will be drawn, the dice rolled and the consoles booted up at the Austria Center Vienna. The Vienna Game Festival is back. Visitors can try out hundreds of analog and digital games, take part in competitions (up to 1000 euros in prize money) or purchase the latest hits on site.

Organizer Kevin Trau explains what's hot right now and how the pandemic has changed the world of games:

Kevin Trau has turned his hobby into a profession. The Viennese manages the gaming lounge Area 52 and organizes Spielfest Wien.

(Bild: Area 52)

• Cooperative games: People no longer play against each other - as they did before coronavirus - but try to solve tasks together. Or to achieve a goal together as a group. As an example, Trau mentions "5-Minute-Dungeon" (from manufacturer Kosmos), where the participants have to free themselves from a dungeon within five minutes and have to survive many adventures in the process. The opponent, if you like, is time, not people. Or "Witchstone Kids" (Huch) where children mix magic potions. But before the best potions can be created, the right ingredients are needed! These are well hidden and must first be found and revealed.

• Legacy games: These are board games whose rules and components change with every game. Everything depends on the outcome of each individual game and the decisions made by the players. The players often have to make changes to the game: e.g. marking the cards, attaching stickers, opening sealed envelopes. One example is "Dorfromantik" (Pegasus), where the players are always building new landscapes. Of course, orders have to be fulfilled here too. These games usually have no end and can be played over and over again. 

Pilot a Jumbo, mix magic potions or build beautiful landscapes: These three and hundreds of other games can be tested at the WIener Spielefest.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kosmos, Huch, Pegasus)

• Analog and digital combined in one game: the party game "Hitster" is one such example. The music game contains 300 cards with the greatest hits of the past 100 years. Players scan a card, listen to the song on Spotify and have to answer questions about the song they have heard.
• Formerly model railroad, now tabletop: This refers to games with miniature figures that are placed on a surface (usually tables). The figures are collected by the players, usually assembled from kits and painted. Example: "Warhammer 40k" from Games Workshop. The principle: two armies fight, the players make moves with the figures, but must also follow certain rules. 

Games have become more expensive
And something else has changed since the pandemic. "Selling prices per game have risen by around five to ten euros since corona," explains Trau, who has turned his hobby into a profession and now runs a gaming lounge.

The "pain threshold" for newcomers who want to buy a game is between 30 and 40 euros. You only know if you like it after you've bought it. That's why it's not a bad idea to try out games beforehand. This is possible at the Spielfest in the Austria Center. Online ticket prices: Adults 18 euros, children under 12 6 euros, schoolchildren, students, civil servants and those on military service pay 14 euros. 

All information: https://spielefest.wien/