About Spiel Doch!

Spiel Doch!

Spiel Doch! (styled SPIEL DOCH!) is a German consumer magazine for board and card games, published twice a year by the W. Nostheide Verlag in Memmelsdorf, Bavaria. Launched in autumn 2015 as the beginner-friendly sister title to the long-running hobbyist magazine spielbox, it addresses casual players and the game-curious with reviews, portraits, celebrity and industry interviews, and tips on popular games. The brand extends beyond print into one of Germany's significant public board game fairs, the SPIEL DOCH! Messe in Dortmund, which draws well over 14,000 visitors each spring.

Overview

Spiel Doch! appears twice a year, in March and September, as a general-interest magazine for board and card games. Its editorial concept deliberately differs from its older sister magazine spielbox: where spielbox serves the dedicated hobbyist with in-depth criticism and specialist discourse, Spiel Doch! speaks to the occasional player, the family gamer, and anyone curious about modern board games. The content mix includes game reviews written for newcomers, portraits of games and designers, interviews with celebrities and industry insiders, and practical tips on well-known titles. The sold circulation was reported at 22,000 copies as of 2021. Distribution runs through subscriptions, game stores, railway station and airport kiosks, selected game mail-order retailers, and as an e-paper, giving the title a presence wherever the game-curious might encounter it.

The publisher is the W. Nostheide Verlag GmbH, a mid-sized family business founded in 1979 and based at Bahnhofstrasse 22, 96117 Memmelsdorf, on the outskirts of the World Heritage city of Bamberg in Upper Franconia. The company is led by managing directors Jens Nostheide and Tim Nostheide, with the third generation of the family now involved. The founding editor-in-chief was the long-time spielbox staffer Udo Bartsch; the current editorial team includes spielbox editor-in-chief Andreas Becker alongside journalists Stefan Gohlisch and Karsten Grosser, and Jan Fischer is designated as editor-in-chief. The magazine's website is spiel-doch.de (the Wikipedia entry lists spiel-doch.eu as a weblink).

The SPIEL DOCH! fair, organized by the same publisher, has become a significant public event for board and card games in Germany. Held annually in spring, it moved from Duisburg, where it took place in the Kraftzentrale of the Landschaftspark Nord, to the Messe Dortmund. The 2023 edition drew well over 14,000 visitors, with more than 100 publishers and retailers, a large play area with game lending, panel discussions, workshops, a flea market, and tournaments. A second edition, SPIEL DOCH! am Bodensee in Friedrichshafen, was added in 2023. Together with the Berlin Brettspiel Con, the fair ranks among Germany's most important public board game events after the giant Spiel in Essen.

History

The first issue of Spiel Doch! appeared in autumn 2015 as issue 1/15, positioned by the publisher as a more accessible counterpart to spielbox. The timing reflected the board game renaissance of the 2010s: modern board games were reaching ever wider audiences, but the specialist press spoke primarily to hobbyists. Spiel Doch! was conceived to welcome the newcomers, explaining the hobby's pleasures without assuming its jargon. The founding editor Udo Bartsch, a veteran of the spielbox newsroom, gave the new title editorial credibility from the start.

In March 2018 the publisher extended the brand into live events with the first SPIEL DOCH! fair in Duisburg, aimed at connoisseur players, the game-curious, school classes, and families. The second edition in March 2019 drew just over 14,000 visitors, far exceeding the previous year's 11,300, with nearly 100 exhibitors and brands, and the fair established itself as the spring event for new releases in the board game calendar. After the pandemic interruption, the fair moved to Dortmund, where the 2023 edition again drew well over 14,000 visitors and the 2024 edition continued the growth, prompting the organizers to plan further expansions of the exhibition space.

The magazine itself has maintained its twice-yearly rhythm of March and September issues, with the 2021 circulation reported at 22,000 copies. In June 2023 the publisher added the Friedrichshafen edition at Lake Constance, creating a two-fair brand. The 2027 exhibitor terms for the Dortmund fair, published by the Nostheide Verlag, confirm the event's continued planning and growth, with the organizers announcing further enlargements of the exhibition area in response to strong demand.

Coverage and Content

Each issue of Spiel Doch! combines game criticism for beginners with the human stories of the hobby. Reviews introduce new and classic games in accessible language, explaining rules concepts and the feel of play rather than assuming familiarity. Portraits present games, designers, and publishers, while interviews bring in celebrities who play and insiders who make the games. Tips on well-known games help readers get more from the titles they already own. The editorial voice is welcoming rather than gatekeeping: the magazine's premise is that anyone can enjoy modern board games, and its job is to lower the threshold, one explained mechanism and one inviting table at a time.

The fair coverage and the magazine reinforce each other. The SPIEL DOCH! Messe gives the brand a physical meeting place where readers can try the games they read about, meet publishers and designers, borrow games from the lending library, and participate in tournaments and workshops. The magazine in turn reports on the fair and on the spring release season, creating a yearly cycle of discovery: the March issue and the spring fair introduce the year's novelties, while the September issue looks toward the autumn season and the Essen Spiel. The 2023 Dortmund edition's record attendance, with halls at times bursting at the seams and many publishers nearly sold out by Sunday, showed how firmly the brand has anchored itself in the community's calendar.

Organization and Ownership

Spiel Doch! is published by the W. Nostheide Verlag GmbH of Memmelsdorf, a family company founded in 1979 that publishes consumer magazines and specialist media primarily in the toys and family sector, with circulations between 2,000 and 80,000. The managing directors are Jens Nostheide and Tim Nostheide, and the third generation of the family is now involved in the business. The magazine's editorial leadership includes Jan Fischer as designated editor-in-chief, with contributions from the spielbox newsroom and freelance journalists. The fair is organized by the same company, with press contact Jan Philipp Nostheide. Financial details are not publicly disclosed.

Digital Presence

The magazine's website at spiel-doch.de presents the brand, current issues, and subscription information, and the title is available as an e-paper. The SPIEL DOCH! fair operates its own web presence at spieldoch-messe.com with exhibitor information, programs, and press materials. The Nostheide Verlag's main site at nostheide.de documents the company's full portfolio, including spielbox, the Spielböxchen children's game magazine, the Spielmittel toy magazine, and the Branchenbrief International toy industry newsletter. Social media channels support the magazine and the fair with announcements and community engagement. Podcast offerings specific to Spiel Doch! are not publicly confirmed; the spielbox podcast, running monthly since 2023, serves the sister title.

The Welcome Mat of Board Gaming

Spiel Doch! has carved out its place as the accessible face of German board game journalism: a twice-yearly magazine for the curious, backed by a fair that lets readers touch the hobby. In the Nostheide family's portfolio it complements the specialist authority of spielbox with the inviting tone that the board game boom's newcomers need, and its growth since 2015 shows how wide the audience for modern board games has become.