NARUTO CARD GAME at SPIEL Essen 2026: free tutorials and CP-001

Bandai now has a page for the NARUTO CARD GAME at SPIEL Essen. It is titled SPIEL Essen Event Information, it is dated September 4, 2026, and it replaces what was, when this page was first written on September 2, a single line on the roadmap. The roadmap line, Spiel Essen 2026 (Germany / October 22 to 25, 2026), now has an Event Information link beside it.

The page settles what participants receive and what is on sale. It does not yet say how to get a seat.

At a glance

The session

Bandai's description is the one it uses at every stop: "Join our Tutorial Session, and learn how to play in a fun, immersive way." Admission to the session is free. Entry to the fair is not: "participation in any of the activities will require entry to SPIEL Essen."

The part a visitor needs most is missing. In place of a sign-up method the page says:

Information on how to participate in the Tutorial Sessions will be announced at a later date. Please stay tuned for further updates.

That sentence was still on the page when we read it on October 5, seventeen days before the fair opens. The conditions that are printed:

• Demo decks are not available to take home.
• One session per person. "You may only participate in 1 tutorial session throughout SPIEL Essen."
• One prize per person, "regardless of the number of tutorial sessions reserved or attended."

No session times, no session length and no capacity are given.

The gift: CP-001, and the condition on it

The Participant Gifts list for Essen has one item: the CP-001 Chakra Card. The condition is printed directly under it:

Only participants registered to the "NARUTO TCG UPDATES CHANNEL" on TCG+ and who complete a survey after the Tutorial Session are eligible to receive the above items.

BANDAI TCG+ is Bandai's card game app. Bandai's own page for the channel says it "is not for event participation at a venue" and exists for receiving the latest updates, and that logging in needs a BANDAI NAMCO ID. Registering it before travelling is free.

The card is named without a version suffix, as it is on the New York Comic Con and PAX Aus pages, and the sample image on all three pages is the same file. The printings are tracked in the CP-001 guide.

The sticker does not need a session

Under a separate Giveaways heading, Bandai offers a Logo Sticker: "Follow any of our social media channels from the links below, or register for the 'NARUTO TCG UPDATES CHANNEL' on BANDAI TCG+, and receive a free sticker!" The channels listed are Instagram, Facebook and X.

This is where Essen differs from the two stops before it. On the New York Comic Con and PAX Aus pages the Logo Sticker appears twice, once as a participant gift alongside CP-001 and once as a giveaway. On the Essen page it appears once, as the giveaway. The page does not say where at the fair the sticker is handed out.

The playmat

The NARUTO CARD GAME Official Playmat -Arriving in 2027- is listed under Merchandise at an MSRP of $35 (+tax), "Limited to one item per person. Available in limited quantities each day." The price is printed in US dollars. The page gives no euro figure.

How to buy one was published by October 14, 2026: "All Tutorial Session participants will receive purchase eligibility for a playmat. This eligibility is valid only on the day of their Tutorial Session." Only participants are eligible. Registration for the sessions themselves is "over an online shop", first-come first-served from 06:00 PM CET on Wednesday October 14, one event per player, with exclusion from all demo events for anyone who tries to get around the limit.

Where in the fair

Bandai's page now gives the booth as H5 J500, matching the fair's exhibitor list.

Bandai's page gives no hall and no stand number. The New York Comic Con page, by contrast, names two booths, #2705 for the sessions and #3001 for session tickets.

SPIEL's own exhibitor list is a separate source. When we read it on October 5 it carried an entry named Bandai TCG at stand 5J500 in Hall 5. The entry does not mention the NARUTO CARD GAME and has no description. Bandai has not said that the Tutorial Sessions take place at that stand, so treat it as where the fair lists Bandai's card games, not as a session location. SPIEL says its list is updated regularly and that changes can still arise.

Still unannounced

• How to participate. Advance booking or on the day, and through which system.
• Hall and stand, on Bandai's side.
• Session times, length and capacity.
• How to buy the playmat, and a price in euros.
• The language of the sessions. The page does not say.

Bandai's homepage schedule still labels October 22 to 25 "Tutorial Sessions planned", and the event page closes with its standing notice: "Please be aware that the contents of the activities may change without notice."

The fair: hours and size

Everything in this section and the next comes from SPIEL Essen's own site, not from Bandai.

SPIEL describes itself as "the world's largest public fair for board games". Its pitch to visitors is a table, not a stage: "discover new titles from all over the world" and "play as much as you want". A tutorial session, where a visitor sits down and is taught a game, is the ordinary activity of the fair.

Tickets

The fair's tickets and opening hours page lists these categories, early bird until 04.08.26 and standard from 05.08.26:

The early bird window has closed, so the standard column applies. Children under 4 enter free. In the fair's words, "to test the games costs nothing extra". There is no re-entry unless you collect a re-entry wristband at the exit before leaving the grounds.

Where this sits

SPIEL Essen and Paris Games Week run on the same four days, October 22 to 25, and Bandai has a page for each. Lucca Comics & Games follows from October 28 to November 1. The three pages are compared line by line in our write-up of the European stops.

Before them come New York Comic Con, October 8 to 11, and PAX Aus, October 9 to 11. After them the next European date on our calendar is BANDAI CARD GAMES Fest 26-27 in London, January 15 to 17, 2027, ahead of the June 2027 worldwide release.

The events page carries the full calendar, rules covers how the game is played, and the pre-orders guide explains why the June 2027 products still have no price.