Game Designers Convention in Goettingen 2025

The 43th Game Designers Convention take place in Goettingen on May 31st and June 01st 2025 in the Sheddachhall in Göttingen. Organizers are the Game Designers Association (SAZ) and the City of Goettingen – Culture Department. All game authors and publishers are cordially invited to participate. This event is a perfect platform where game designers can present their prototypes to representatives of game publishers. They receive direct feedback and the chance to find a suitable publisher for their newly developed games.

The admission fee can be paid for all participants aged 16 and over (including accompanying persons) by Paypal, bank transfer or at the entrance: Authors incl. table € 40,00 | SAZ members can receive a discount of € 20.00 with a Promotional Code | Companions of authors € 10,00 | Publishers representative € 40,00. Admission is free for children and young people under 16 years.

Further information you get clicking on the corresponding tab above including an application (only German) for the Award of the German Game Author Scholarship, the timetable and for some visual impressions some pictures of the years before.

Registration: Since Saturday is a closed event, registration is mandatory for ALL participants (authors, companions, publishers). For this purpose, you find until May 18th 10 PM an online form incl. immediate email confirmation.

Here is the current list of participating publishers and agencies:

(The list will continue to be updated until until the start event).

 

The Game Designers Convention in Goettingen has been founded 1983 by Karin and Reinhold Wittig (Edition Perlhuhn) and has become a steady institution. Since 2017, the SAZ – together with the city of Göttingen – has been co-organizer and continues this tradition. Below you will find detailed information about the meeting.

Event location: Sheddachhalle Göttingen, Annastraße 29, 37075 Göttingen: Google-Map

Deadline for registrations to the Convention is May 18^th, 2025. Later applications cannot be accepted, for organizational reasons. As soon as the maximum number of 157 tables has been reached, registrations can only be made on a waiting list. The number of free tables is shown on the application form.

Targeting publishers: From mid-May onwards, you will also find a list of all the publishers registered up to then. This is a good opportunity to find out in advance which publisher could be suitable for your own game prototypes. Nearly every publisher has one or more specializations and also certain types of games that do not fit into the program.

Once you have found the right publisher(s) for your games, you can get in touch with the relevant editors. There will also be an opportunity to drop off a short description of your game(s) into “Publisher’s Mail Boxes” of suitable publishers (please avoid filling everyone's boxes). You can find a WORD form for such short descriptions here. You can also try to make appointments in advance with specific editors sending them your game descriptions. However, please do not send unsolicited presentations or prototypes to the publishers!

For all newcomers or rather inexperienced authors, we strongly recommend taking part in the free online tutorial.

Anyone who does not yet have a game under contract can apply for the German Game Author Scholarship - sponsored by the Spiel des Jahres jury. Free participation is possible until April 14. Further information and the PDF application form can be found here.

The participation fee can be paid for all participants aged 16 and over (including accompanying persons) by Paypal, bank transfer or in cash at the entrance.  Authors incl. table € 40,00 | SAZ members can receive a discount of € 20.00 with a Promotional Code | Companions of authors € 10,00 | Publishers representative € 40,00. Admission is free for children and young people under 16 years. This contribution finances the GÖTTINGER SPATZ award, organizational expenses as well as a contribution to the hall costs. All participants will receive a name badge after showing their ticket (electronic or paper), which we ask you to wear during the meeting. Publishers' representatives and SAZ members can complete the formalities on the day before the editors' workshop or at the SAZ General Meeting. On Saturday, it is a closed event, where no admission is possible without a name tag or ticket.

Food and drinks: This year there will be no caterer on site. We therefore ask you to provide for your own catering. There are a few shops within walking distance of the hall (LIDL, REWE, snack bar, VIANI for Italian specialties such as panini and real Italian espresso directly opposite the hall).

Entrance and parking: There are no free parking spaces available at the Sheddachhalle. Please do NOT park in the LIDL parking lot, as this is subject to a charge and very expensive! Paid parking is available in the parking garage on Goßlerstraße and at the university. There are 50 parking spaces available, for which a parking pass can also be purchased when ordering tickets. Further information, including on public transportation, can be found here.

About lodging you should take care by yourself. If necessary, please contact Göttingen Tourism and Marketing: Altes Rathaus, Markt 9, 37073 Göttingen, Tel.: +49-551-49980-20, email contact.

Spaghetti dinner: On Saturday, May 31, 2025, Reinhold Wittig will once again be hosting the traditional spaghetti dinner from 8 pm. After last year's catering in the Stadthalle was quite a disaster, we are now going back to the Bistro-Keller of the Deutsches Theater, a very popular venue for our celebrations.

Please register for the spaghetti dinner at spaghetti@lidude.net, from where you will receive a confirmation. The cost of the meal is 14.50 euros, payable on arrival at the Sheddach-Halle. Drinks will be paid for in the bistro. Please note: the bistro has room for 100 people.

In memory of the spaghetti dinner at the world's first game designers' meeting in January 1983, this year there will be a small gift from Reinhold Wittig for everyone who attends.

For further information and as media contact, please apply to Hans-Peter Stoll, Manager of the SAZ: email contact, phone +49-6206 - 9123192.

Five more info’s and rules about our gathering:

1. If you have to cancel at short notice, please still let us know about it so we can update our participants' list, and, where applicable, assign tables to other participants.
2. Please note that on Saturday, our gathering is not open to the public but only to people who have signed in beforehand.
3. Please return the name tags after the gathering.
4. Please note the closing times of the halle: Saturday at 07.30 pm, Sunday at 2.00 pm. By then, everyone must have left the hall.
5. Please bring your own food and drinks.