Spiel 2026 Release
Last week at Spiel 2026 in Essen was everything we hoped for: busy lanes, excited players, familiar faces, new discoveries, and the kind of energy only a major board game convention can create. We came home tired in the best possible way, with pre-orders shipped, our small Spiel stock almost gone, and the second wave now moving into the next part of its journey.
All pre-orders are out the door, the limited Essen batch is nearly sold out, and there are currently 24 games still available from the first allocation. Orders can still be placed, but new copies will ship only after the remaining pre-orders have safely arrived and stock from the second wave is ready, expected around the end of November or mid-December.
With Halloween knocking at our door and all the nightmares this project endured so far, let me tell you a story about a close call, a lot of help, and a very welcome early delivery.
Almost too close
Getting the first copies to Essen came down to timing that was much tighter than anyone would like.
The first shipment came by air freight so that we could have copies ready for pre-orders and visitors at Spiel. That should have given us enough room. In practice, customs changed the picture.
The boxes were held at customs until the Friday before Spiel. Their planned arrival at our depot was Thursday, which was far too late for comfort. If that timing had held, the situation would have become very difficult.
The backup plan was not pretty. I would have had to return to Belgium with the trailer, collect the boxes myself, and then drive back towards Essen. That would have meant losing time, energy, and most likely the strongest sales window of the whole convention.
Anyone who has prepared for a fair knows how costly that kind of last-minute detour can be. The stand has to be set up. Stock needs to be counted. Display copies need to be ready. The team needs to be on site and awake enough to talk to visitors properly. A long drive back and forth with a trailer is the opposite of a smooth convention setup.
Then, on Wednesday, the call came.
We were already more than an hour into the drive to Essen when my trading partner called back. The boxes had arrived earlier than expected.
That one call changed the whole convention.
Instead of turning around and losing precious time the next day, we could continue towards Essen after a minor detour knowing the first copies had made it. What had looked like a possible disaster became a close call with a happy ending.
Pre-orders on their way
The most important update comes first: the pre-orders have all left our side and are on their way to the players who supported the game early.
That is a big moment for any project. Pre-orders are not just orders in a system. They are the first real promises you make to the people who believed in the game before it was sitting on a table in front of them. Getting those copies packed, sorted, and sent out safely has been our main focus.
Because of that, we are being careful with the remaining first-wave stock. Even though a small number of boxes are still available, we do not want to rush the next shipments until the pre-order copies have safely arrived. That gives us room to handle any delivery issues if they happen, without creating extra stress for players who ordered early.
At the moment, there are 28 games still available from the limited batch that reached us for pre-orders and Spiel visitors. We also have a bunch of miniture boxes left. The online stock count will be refreshed as soon as possible.
You can still order a copy now, but new orders will not ship immediately. Current expectations are:
Orders from the remaining allocation will be handled only after pre-orders have landed safely.
New copies are expected to ship around the end of November or mid-December.
That timing depends on the arrival of the larger second wave.
It is a careful approach, but it is the right one. The early supporters should be looked after first.
Spiel was busy from the start
Spiel always has its own rhythm. The first day tells you a lot.
Thursday was our best sales day at the convention, which did not come as a surprise once the doors opened. The die-hard hobbyists came in fast, moving through the halls with purpose, looking for new releases, small print runs, and the games they had marked on their lists before arriving.
There is a special kind of focus in those first hours. People know what they want. They compare notes in the lanes. They point at boxes, scan tables, ask direct questions, and make quick decisions. For a smaller publisher or project team, that first day can make a real difference.
That is why having copies at the stand mattered so much.
If the shipment had missed Thursday, we would not simply have lost one day of sales. We would have missed the most important sales day of our convention. More than that, we would have lost the chance to put the game directly into the hands of the people most likely to seek it out early.
Spiel is about more than just selling stock. It is also about making connections and having conversations. It is where rules questions turn into memorable play stories, curious visitors become backers, and players can pick up a box, explore the components, and experience the game in a way that no update post can ever fully replace.
Every single day, Vicky's demo sessions were fully booked. Whenever someone cancelled, their spot was quickly claimed by another eager player. At one point, I even freed up a table for two more players to accommodate the growing interest, hosting additional one-on-one demos myself. The enthusiasm was truly rewarding, and I even ended up signing a few copies along the way!
This year, those conversations happened because the boxes made it.
The limited Spiel allocation is nearly gone
Because the first copies arrived in time, visitors at Spiel were able to pick up the game directly at the convention. Together with the pre-orders, that limited allocation has now nearly disappeared.
At the time of writing, only 28 games remain available from the first batch.
That number is small enough that we want to be clear about expectations. These copies are part of a careful fulfilment process, not a large open stock pile. We are holding back on shipping the remaining orders until the pre-order copies have safely reached their destinations.
That means there are two different things happening at once:
Pre-orders: Already shipped and on their way.
New orders: Can be placed now, but shipping waits until the late November or mid-December stock window.
This may feel slower than simply sending everything at once, but it avoids a bigger problem later. If a pre-order parcel needs attention, we want to be able to solve that first.
The first batch had one job: get the earliest copies into the hands of pre-order customers and Spiel visitors. It has almost done that job completely.
People who helped bring the game to life
One of the best parts of Essen was not only seeing visitors react to the game. It was meeting the people who helped make the finished version possible.
A game is rarely the work of one person. By the time a box reaches a player, many hands have shaped it. Rules are checked and rewritten. Components are tested. Production issues are solved. Miniatures or physical pieces need their own process. Every part has someone behind it.
At Spiel, we had the chance to meet and reconnect with several of those partners.
That included Miguel Conceição, who worked on the rulebook editing. A good rulebook can make the difference between a game that gets played once and a game that returns to the table. Editing rules is not only about correcting language. It is about clarity, flow, examples, and making sure players can find answers when they need them.
We also met the Board Game Wizard team. Their help has been part of bringing the game rules into an interactive app that players can rely on during play. They have showed me the next version in beta and it looks amazing. A lot of the aesthetics, personal shelf access and UI have beren enhanced. In the future voice generated answers and images related to specific rules questions will be included.
The Unicool Games factory team was there as well. Production is where ideas become physical things, and that process always includes practical choices. Materials, tolerances, packaging, timing, samples, approvals, and transport all matter. Meeting factory partners face to face adds a human layer to a process that can otherwise feel like emails, spreadsheets, and tracking updates.
We also met Jan from the RPG Guild miniatures team. Miniatures and detailed components bring their own challenges. They need to look right, feel right, and survive the realities of production and shipping. The final result depends on many small decisions that players may never notice directly, but they will feel them when they open the box.
Seeing all those partners at Essen made the project feel complete in a different way. The game did not only arrive at a convention. The people behind different parts of it were there too.
The second wave on the move
The next major update is the big one for everyone waiting for wider availability: the second wave shipment has arrived in Shenzhen and is preparing to board for its sea journey.
This is the larger shipment that will support the next round of availability after the small first batch. Sea freight takes longer than air freight, but it is the normal route for larger volumes. It also means the project is moving from emergency timing into a more stable supply phase.
Once that shipment arrives and is processed, we expect new orders to move out around the end of November or mid-December. That window gives room for the sea journey, arrival handling, and the normal practical steps that happen before boxes can ship to customers.
I am preparing a list of conventions to go to and also looking at the BGG shop, Amazon and other options to broaden availability in 2027. Purchasing directly from the website will still be the fasted to get a copy before Christmas.
Shipping timelines can still move a little, especially with international freight. Ports, carriers, customs, and local delivery all play their part. We will keep the process clear and avoid promising a date that depends on too many outside pieces.
For now, the key point is positive: the second wave is no longer waiting at the factory. It has reached Shenzhen container check-in and is preparing for the sea leg.
Distribution orders are now open
We are also opening up for distribution orders.
Retailers, distributors, and partners who want to discuss availability can contact us directly at contact@astronavigators.com.
For distribution, it helps to include the basic details in your first message:
Company or shop name
Country or region
Estimated order volume
Preferred delivery window
Any specific invoicing or logistics needs
That gives us enough context to reply properly and avoid a long back-and-forth before the useful part of the conversation starts.
What happens next
The next few weeks are about safe arrivals and careful timing.
The first priority is still the pre-order customers. Their copies are already out the door, and we want to make sure they reach their destinations safely. Once that stage is stable, we can handle the remaining first-batch stock and prepare for the arrival of the bigger second wave.
For anyone still hoping to get a copy, the situation is clear:
28 games remain from the limited first allocation.
50% of the limited miniature stock is still available
Orders can still be placed now.
Shipping for new orders is expected at the end of November or mid-December.
The larger second wave has reached Shenzhen and is preparing to ship by sea.
Distribution enquiries are open through contact@astronavigators.com.
Spiel 2026 gave us a close call, a strong Thursday, and a lot of good conversations. Most of all, it gave us the chance to hand over the first copies in person after a difficult final stretch.
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered, visited us in Essen, asked questions, picked up a box, or helped us bring the game to this point. The tiny first wave is almost gone, the big second wave is on the way, and the next chapter is already moving across the sea.
Talk to you on the next blog,
Ad Astra!
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