German-style board game
German-style board games are a sub-genre of
board games that generally feature simple rules, attractive components, modest length and a tangible theme. The games also highlight strategic decision making and planning, eschewing
dice and other components that add randomness. Because of this the games designed to appeal to both older children and adults. They are also variously known as
Euro games,
designer games,
family strategy games and
hobby games.
Early examples of German-style board games, such as
Acquire, appeared in the 1960s. However the genre as a more concentrated design movement began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in
Germany. Germany publishes more board games than any other country per captia, hence the name. Today the phenomenon has spread to other
European countries such as
France and
The Netherlands. While many games are published and played in other markets such as the
United States and the
United Kingdom, they occupy a niche status there.
Settlers of Catan, first published in 1995, paved the way for the genre in the United States and outside Europe. It was not the first German game, but it quickly became much more popular than any of its predecessors. It quickly sold millions of copies in Germany, and in the process brought money and attention to the genre as a whole.
As far as generalities can be made about such a huge and diverse group of games, German games are usually designed as a vehicle to underpin a social gathering, rather than to play as an end in themselves, as
wargaming titles and classic
strategy games like
chess and
go often are. Despite this, many titles (especially the strategically heavier ones) are enthusiastically played by "gamers" as a hobby, but the publishers are for the most part aiming their products at "everyman" social play. Bearing this social function in mind, designers have found various characteristics tend to support that aspect well, and these have become quite common across the genre. Generally German games do not have a fixed number of players like chess or bridge (though two-player exceptions exist). Six player games are somewhat rare (or they require expansions, such as
Settlers of Catan or
Carcassonne). Each player plays for himself, rather than in a partnership or team.
German games have themes instead of being abstract - like
Clue, rather than go or
backgammon. While economic themes and mechanics are common, direct accumulation of wealth as a game goal is not. Combat themes are uncommon and player conflict is often indirect, for example, competing for a scarce resource. While they often have a simulation-like theme, they do not attempt to simulate, like
Kriegspiele (war games),
Risk, or
Monopoly.
A wide variety of mechanics are used, many innovative, and commonly used mechanics like rolling dice and moving, capture, or trick taking are avoided. If a game has a board, the board is usually irregular rather than uniform or symmetric (like Risk rather than
chess or
Scrabble); the board is often random (like Settlers of Catan) or has random elements (like
Tikal). Some boards are merely mnemonic or organizational and contribute only to ease of play, like a
cribbage board; examples of this include
Puerto Rico and
Princes of Florence. Random elements do not usually dominate the game:
Bridge and backgammon have more randomness than all but a few German games, Settlers of Catan having a large degree of randomness for a German game. While rules are light to moderate, they have depth of play, usually requiring a shift of tactics through the game and often with a chess- or backgammon-like
opening game,
middle game, and
end game.
These games are designed for international audiences, so they are not
word games and usually do not contain much text outside of the rules. In keeping with their social orientation, numbers are usually low in magnitude, often under ten, and any math in the game is trivial. Great care is taken with the look and feel of the game. They commonly have wooden pieces. Playing time varies from a half hour to a couple hours.
Another prominent characteristic of these games is the lack of player elimination. These games are intended to be part of a social gathering, and eliminating players before the end of the game is seen as counterproductive. Most of these games are designed to keep all players "in the game" as long as possible, so that it is rare to be certain of victory or defeat until relatively late in the game.
Although not relevant to actual play, the name of the game's designer is often prominently mentioned on the box, or at least in the rule book. Top designers enjoy considerable following among enthusiasts of German games. For this reason, the name "designer games" is often offered as a description of the genre.
Designers
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Reiner Knizia is probably the most famous and prolific of the German game designers, having designed over 200 published games. Recurring mechanisms in his games include auctions (
Ra and
Modern Art), tile placement (
Tigris and Euphrates) and intricate scoring rules (
Samurai). He has also designed many card games such as
Lost Cities,
Schotten Totten and
Blue Moon, and the cooperative game
The Lord of the Rings.
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Wolfgang Kramer, unlike Knizia, often works with other game designers. Some of his most well known titles include
El Grande,
Tikal,
Princes of Florence and
Torres. His games often have some sort of "action point" system, and include some geometric element.
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Andreas Seyfarth (
Manhattan,
Puerto Rico)
Publishers
There are many German companies producing board games, such as
Hans im Glück and
Goldsieber. Often German producers will try to establish a line of similar games, such as
Kosmos's two-player card game series or
Alea's big box line. The rights to sell the game in English are often sold to separate companies. Some try to change the game as little as possible, such as
Rio Grande Games. Others, including
Mayfair Games, substantially change the visual design of the game, and sometimes the rules as well.
Awards
The most prestigious German board game award is the
Spiel des Jahres ("game of the year"). The award is very family-oriented. Shorter, more approachable games such as
Ticket to Ride and
Elfenland are usually preferred by the committee that gives out the award. In contrast, the
Deutscher Spiele Preis ("German game prize") is often awarded to games that are more complex and strategic, such as
Puerto Rico. In many years, however, there is one game with broad enough appeal to win both awards.
The German-style genre of board game has been so influential in Western game design theory as to have set in place new, and more stringent, requirements to which players hold games. Although still commercially successful, old favorites such as
Monopoly and
Risk have fallen out of favor as game-players become more aware of the other options that are available.
Magic: The Gathering, released in the USA by
Richard Garfield, was a landmark game that emerged in 1993, shortly before the popularization of German design concepts. Because nothing like
Magic had been done before on such a large scale, many of the cards were not well-balanced with one another and the game required adjustment. The German school of design was heavily influential on the evolution of this dynamic game, which evolved into what would later be termed a "resource game".
Many related card games exist, designed with similar goals in mind. However, because card games usually involve luck incidental from
shuffling they are often considered lighter in nature, even though many of them involve quite a bit of skill. Among the most famous of the German card games is
Bohnanza, a game which relies on trading to introduce a strategic element.
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List of game designers*
Spiel des Jahres *
BoardGameGeek*
Brettspielwelt
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Brett and Board with information on German-style games (has not been updated in some time)
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rec.games.board usenet newsgroup
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Luding.org - boardgame database with over 15000 English and German reviewed games
