Naturelich Games

The classic board game Die Macher is being reprinted by Valley Games. Why is Die Macher a classic? Maybe it's because it was the first game to be added to BoardGameGeek and therefore bears the unique BGG identifier with number 1? Perhaps the fame is influenced by Scott Nicholson's epic review of the game? In his video review he takes 56 minutes and 35 seconds to explain the game (where on average his shows last for about 15-20 minutes). Maybe, although I watched and listened carefully I did not quite understand all the rules. So I am not sure whether it is a monster or not. The theme certainly struck me as being interesting (given the current political situation in Germany with the rise of the left wing party) and Mike Doyle's brilliant home-made box design spiked my interest, too. Perhaps it is the aftershock of the FIFA Worldcup? On secod thought, I really believe it is all about the theme. Maybe I am just tired of all the renaissance games or the medieval-based games (Hansa, Thurn und Taxis, ...). Those themes have worked pretty well in Germany as they did not touch anything of recent German history.

What did you just think when I wrote "recent German history"? Probably something that is thematically captured in games like Memoir '44, Europe Engulfed, Ardennes '44, Rommel in the Desert? And those are not that popular around here. Can we somehow please adjust to the idea that there is more to German history than WW I and WW II? What about games dealing with the Cold War (okay, there is Twilight Struggle, but it does not focus on the special German situation)? What about games dealing with other recent events in our history? Can someone please create a game about the Stasi (= Department of Homeland State Security) and their "dealings" in the 60s, 70s and 80s? Maybe those topics do not fit all too well into board games. But I think Die Macher touches something interesting: Probably (and hopefully) Germany is build on a stable political democratic system now. How does this system work? Who are the players? What are the strategies to win this game? Can you play around the democratic rule set (I think in the game you can't)? Hopefully, Germany will learn to cope with the social problems it is currently facing. Is there a mechanism for this in Die Macher.

Those of you who know how to play Die Macher are in a great position. For me, it will be interesting to see how a game about the political system works. Thus, bring on Die Macher and let's see what this game tells us about democracy!? Is it really about media control? Can you manipulate them? How far can one go to win?