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Rules assistance for ESSEN: The Press Room
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–8 players
- 45 min
- 12+
Rules assistant for ESSEN: The Press Room
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
ESSEN: The Press Room is an expansion for ESSEN released in 2014 for 3–8 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Robin Lees and Harry-Pekka Kuusela and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Commodity Speculation, and Action Queue.
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About the game
ESSEN: The Press Room is one of the ESSEN bonus tiles When playing with the bonus tiles, players have one additional action during the Action phase. By placing their player token next to the bonus tiles, a player is allowed to either place a bonus disc on to a tile, or move one disc from one tile to another. If a disc is moved away away from a track, all progress made on that track is lost. The bonus tiles are all intended for games with at least 3 players. When the players are using one or two bonus tiles, use 1 bonus disc per player. When the players are using three or four bonus tiles, use 2 bonus discs per player. ESSEN: The press room In ESSEN, the local and international board game press comes to check out all the new games that publishers have. The publishers must visit the press room, and spend time to promote their games. However, the more crowded it is, the less attention they each get. At the end of the game, the bonus points of the press room will be divided among the players with discs on the tile. Only 1 disc per player is allowed. If points can not be divided equally, any surplus points are lost. For 3-4 players there are 4 spots available, and the total bonus is 12. If 1 spot is taken at the end of the game, then that player will receive 12 bonus points. If 2 spots are taken at the end of the game, then those two players each get 6 bonus points. If 3 spots are taken at the end of the game, then those three players each get 4 bonus points. If all 4 spots are taken at any point during the game, all discs are immediately removed. With 5 players, one more spot is added, and the total bonus is 15. With 6 players, one more spot is added, and the total bonus is 18. With 7 players, one more spot is added, and the total bonus is 21. With 8 players, one more spot is added, and the total bonus is 24.
Designers
Publishers
- LudiCreations
Questions and answers
ESSEN: The Press Room supports 3–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for ESSEN: The Press Room is 45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists ESSEN: The Press Room for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
ESSEN: The Press Room belongs to these categories: Humor and Economic. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Commodity Speculation, and Action Queue. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of ESSEN: The Press Room are: Robin Lees and Harry-Pekka Kuusela. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists ESSEN: The Press Room as an expansion for ESSEN. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need ESSEN to use it. Check that your edition of ESSEN is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.