Ward Batty, writing for Gamasutra, attended the recent Essen International Game Days event in Germany. The beating heart of German board games culture, it's equivalent to Origins or Gen Con here in the US. Batty got to see firsthand what the future will bring for tabletop gaming - and how that might impact the videogames of tomorrow. He also offers up a few words looking back at the history of boardgames in the EU: "What distinguishes a Eurogame from a typical American board game? Unlike many American games which are net sum (you gain by taking directly from other players) in Eurogames players are generally competing against the game itself. They may compete for limited resources or the best action, but rarely do the spoils come directly from an opponent, but instead from the game itself -- usually in the form of victory points. German games are generally shorter to play, ranging from 20-90 minutes. There is usually a good social aspect to the game as well. Players are almost never eliminated from the game, for example."

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