The Essen Spiel preview season is my favorite time in board gaming. The leaks, the designer diaries, the first look videos, the BGG preview lists — it creates an anticipation that I find genuinely exciting even in years when nothing on the list ends up being something I want.

My acquisition discipline during preview season: put games on the BGG wishlist and do not buy until they have reached retail and received reviews from people whose tastes I understand. The Essen hype cycle inflates expectations in ways that honest post-play reviews deflate. The game that looks incredible in a preview video sometimes plays fine and nothing more.

Games I have bought based purely on preview hype and regretted: more than I care to admit. Games I waited on and later bought with accurate expectations: most of the games I love.