This year, in 2024, the Dice & Mystics Fringe Event returned to full capacity after the pause we all remember too well, along with the necessary precautions that remained in place in the following year. The sheer joy of seeing all those wonderful people streaming in through our door was overwhelming! So many faces of those whom we have come to regard as good friends, so many new faces, too!
We had every single seat in the house occupied by gamers who could happily huddle together over an exciting new purchase from Spiel and simply put another chair in to invite just one more to share in the experience.
Although the house was full to the brim, everybody agreed that, miraculously, there seemed to be more space and freedom of movement than ever.
You had the chance to meet publishers and creators, talk, play games with their makers, and also:
Our industry donors outdid themselves again, and we had our hands full giving away all the precious goods to lucky winners.
The game Ito by Arclight Games went first to somebody who had just discovered how entertaining the gameplay was.
Extremely popular were the goodies from Rathskellers again, and the unanimous clamoring for “BAGS!!!” (if you were there in 2023, you will know why) did not go unheard …
One of the most fascinating small games, Propuh by InterHuman, where you send Grandmother around the house to check for ghoulies, ghosties, and things that go bump in the night, exchanged hands from the designer to its new owner.
Speculaas, not just for the winter season but for all year, was donated by Ummaramma and will guarantee the winners a taste of real fun.
You might like to relax over a cuppa and a bickie to prepare, though, because Terrorscape by ICE Makes might require a resolute and courageous player—just like this one—to keep his nerve throughout.
Who knows whether entering the ring with the fair folk is less hazardous, though. But Fairy Ring by Repos Production looks fair enough, and the winner of the game and also of a set of four signature curved card holders by Rathskeller’s certainly looks in very good spirits!
Inori, published by Space Cowboys, and a luxury Rathskellers dice set would put smiles on many faces, like on that of this lucky lady who could carry them both away in one of Rathskellers’ new game bags.
Riotminds has a new roleplaying game named World of Kensei. Here, the winner is receiving a copy of the book by one of its authors, Alexander Urbanek.
For The March Against the Tyrant by Scribabs, a bag was definitely in order for this lucky individual. It wouldn’t do to march ahead without an item so essential!
The roleplaying game Brancalonia by Acheron Books from Italy will take this adventurer on a wild ride through one of the most colorful and dazzling worlds ever created! The Rathskellers’ component pouch, together with other lovely goodies, might help him to keep his things together when the story gets turbulent.
Published by Open Borders Studio and given to our raffle by Ivan Lashin, the game Neodreams, complete with promo, got bagged by a true game enthusiast, as you can judge for yourselves.
A truly beautiful prize: The RPG, After The Moonfall, set in the wonderful world of Tsukuyumi Full Moon Down by game designer and author Felix Mertikat, published by King Racoon Games, and in addition, two small component bags by Rathskellers.
2070: Your Choices. Your Adventure. Your Story. This cooperative graphic novel adventure game by Van Ryder Games has found its hero. And the hero has found his Rathskellers’ plushie and component pouch to take along on this exciting journey into the yet unknown.
There were also games that came in their own bags, complete with many attractive extras, such as Witchcraft, designed and donated by Maxine Metzger.
Luck alone will maybe not solve cases in real life, but being blessed by Lady Luck is definitely a bonus for this future investigator and his new partner: Detective: City of Angels, plus two promos, kindly given by Van Ryder Games.
Sadly, the photo of the lucky draw did not turn out, so we can only offer our deepest apologies and show you the kindly donated prize on its own. Well, not quite—Roaring 20s by Deep Print Games came with a lovely bag as well!
A set of the much-coveted 2024 Rathskellers’ component bowls and one of the great game bags accompanying the ingenious card game The Band is Even Better—donated, designed, and with art by Paolo Vallerga, published by Scribabs—made this splendid game even better than it already was, with these special cherries on top.
Another epic treasure fell to this lucky individual: Tiny Epic Kingdoms by Gamelyn Games. Maybe one does not really need a bag for this huge game in a small box (“It’s bigger on the inside”), so one of the excellent limited 2024 sets of component bowls by Rathskellers was, no doubt, a most welcome and highly appreciated addition.
And yet another chance for some truly epic gameplay was opened up to the winner of the core rulebook of Lex Arcana, another roleplaying experience graciously donated by Acheron Books. A set of high-quality Rathskellers’ dice goes very well with this beautiful RPG.
A little luxury every now and then adds to one’s overall contentment, so this splendid edition of The Revenant Society, given by Van Ryder Games, is sure to greatly enrich its winner’s life with hours of entertainment and fascination.
This strong-nerved Duelist has already succeeded: He won The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth by Repos Production, and also a Rathskellers’ component bag and even more nice goodies, and, last but not least, a voucher to goshopping at InMyBox at their stall or online.
A beautiful new dice tray by Rathskellers and also Tiny Epic Dungeons Deluxe Edition and Tiny Epic Stories may be easy to carry in your bare hands. Yet, they are anything but tiny prizes if you consider the mountain of gaming fun you get out of them all.
There’s nothing like a little taste of some delicious dim sum. The winner of this lovely game by Hot Banana Games can now make his own, with Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum, anytime. Enjoy!
Carnival Zombie, with promos, donated by Albe Pavo, is already a well-loved classic, and in the face of a brutal onslaught of the undead, it is always good to have yet another gamer on our side. This gentleman proudly presents his brand-new Rathskellers luxury dice set, accompanied by a selection of other goodies, and a voucher to purchase quality accessories at the InMyBox shop.
Not all that glitters is gold, and there is even “black gold” with a very special shine. This lady has discovered an oil field that the whole family can profit from in Schwarzes Gold, a family game published by Mücke Spiele.
Rathskellers’ cardholders are nice to hold, it seems, and will be even nicer to use during gameplay. With Rathskellers’ wristbands, all the family get a nice present, too.
This beauty of a branded wooden chest by InMyBox will be a worthy home for this winner’s Lost Ruins of Arnak.
Talking about well-loved games: Another Oathsworn has joined the ranks! This copy of the highly immersive and fascinating game by Shadowborne Games will never fail to captivate and delight at many an eventful game night.
This breathtaking copy of Andromeda’s Edge by Cardboard Alchemy came with a very special bonus. Look closely! Indeed, it was especially signed by one of the designers, Luke Laurie, for the very occasion.
This special prize required a little imagination from the winner’s side: Dark Blood by Big Game Theory and Meeple Pug was not yet physically present at the Fringe Event. He was given an all-in pledge of the then-current and funded Kickstarter project.
Here is a sneak peek of the amazing production value of this upcoming game:
A successful treasure hunter found his prize: Gems of Iridescia was entrusted to its winner by its designer Roberto Panetta himself.
Space Bureau, with promo, by Hobby World already came with a bag of its own. By the way it looks, this SciFi space exploration game for the family will jump right out of it, though, into a space-ious shelf.
And, yay, this last nice Rathskellers’ bag of the day for the winner of Raiders of the Cariddean and Expansions of the Cariddean by Top Notch made the last of 2024’s winners rejoice.
The raffle was over. Everybody was happy, either because they themselves had won, or else for those who jumped with joy at the delightful things they were taking home from the event, and happy having been at the event. Prizes were admired, game rounds were completed, and slowly, the 2024 Dice & Mystics Fringe event came to a close.
We were – and still are – happy of having had you with us, sharing the fun and excitement of our shared hobby.
We would like to give our humble thanks to so many, like the Priest of the Parish of St. Franziskus who again allowed us to use the community center of St. Engelbert, to all members of the community that planned their own ventures around the Fringe, and to all the good people from the industry who give their hearts’ blood to create all those amazing games and who graciously donated a treasure trove of beautiful prizes to the raffle for you to win and take home.
And, of course, our untiring helpers, without whom setting this up, running everything smoothly, making coffee, refilling the water, cleaning cups and glasses, handling the food orders, and transporting all those wonderful donations for the raffle to our place for you would have been plain impossible.
We also want to say thank you for your lovely and extremely yummy gifts, too!
Finally, we thank all of you lovely people who came, played, and were such good company. Without you, this great, colorful, joyous, and exciting event would have been but an empty building.
So, take care, stay safe, and game on until we meet again at the upcoming Dice & Mystics Fringe event on October 25th, 2025!
Good play – better day!
Your Dice & Mystics