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I walk into my favorite board game store. And here the usual feeling comes, the same one that the children must have felt when visiting the Chocolate Factory. I look around, I get excited for the colors, covers, miniatures, tokens, cards, advice for purchases from the shopkeeper… My moment of pure enjoyment.
And here comes, leaning on my left shoulder, a three-meter-tall orangutan gesticulating in a completely casual way and its only throaty verse sounds like… “Buy! Buy! BUY!”. The right shoulder is empty, I look carefully and I see a small creature peeking out in the form of a lawyer from the 1800s, complete with a monocle, pocket watch and waistcoat. He looks at the orangutan with an air of contempt, opens a small book and begins “So, according to your personal accounting that I recorded on page 6a, you have 60 euros to spend on games today. By making a small calculation, you could come back in three years with enough money to satisfy the orangutan. Or you can listen to me!” I do some quick math and, nodding, I impatiently start to listen.
How difficult it is to choose. Satisfaction and frustration, all at the same time, the brain going into a psychedelic loop not knowing what to say. Fortunately, they are there to save me. My safe haven. The Authors.
Oh yes, because when the orangutan begins to beat its chest, the only banana you can give it to calm it down is the rationality one, and you can only give it after reading past the title and images of a board game; or better, after checking the author of the game.
The experienced table player knows their tastes, and knows that, sometimes but (unfortunately) not always, the name of the author of a board game can be a guarantee. Especially in the Eurogame field, names like Stefan Feld (Castles of Burgundy, Bonfire among the titles we organize), Uwe Rosenberg (Agricola, Caverna, Hallertau, Patchwork among the titles we organize) or Simone Luciani (Barrage, Lorenzo il Magnifico, The Voyages of Marco Polo among the titles we organize) written on the lid of a box are one of the main reasons which secure the purchase.
The author is main cog, he is the heart of a board game: everything he writes about the rule of a game has been first checked by his mind, and often some game dynamics are repeated from title to title, giving continuity in the substance of the various games. For example, if worker placement dynamic is one of your favorites, you will be delighted by a Uwe Rosenberg’s game. But these naturally eclectic characters are always full of surprises: just think of Kwapiński who, after several titles including Lord of Hellas, was able to reinvent his style, albeit on a purely “American” soul, with Nemesis, with new mechanics, totally original.
Of course, no one can exempt to consider the “new generation” of authors, and the little-known names: let’s mention one, like Dennis K. Chan, a theoretical physicist who invented one of the most positively discussed board games of 2022, Beyond the Sun.
And therefore, in conclusion, we cannot only allow ourselves to listen to the lawyer of the 1800s who keeps the accounting for us, going exclusively to make safe bet on established authors’ titles; but from time to time, we should also listen to the orangutan who, shouting “buy! Buy! BUY!” in our heads, could surprise us with new titles of new authors who, perhaps, could become the new milestones of the future of the board game. Beat your chest, look at your wallet but above all… Play!
Discover also the other games in our catalog and contact us for any request or question!
