SWR Kultur: “First Mainz BrettSpielZeit: Modern board games are about a sense of community”

SWR Kultur published an article about the BrettSpielZeit at the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) on 3 February 2025.

Among other things, the article states:

It’s a bit absurd that of all games, [Mensch ärgere Dich nicht] is one of the most popular in Germany. “It doesn’t reflect what I see in games: the place of encounter. It’s a game that exposes you, showing: you’re not cognitively capable, you haven’t been lucky.” Who doesn’t have memories of tantrums at the family table while chasing the coloured figures? With modern games, it’s about collectively figuring out the system. And the goal is to avoid suffering from winning or losing as much as possible.

Tilmann Reiffen speaks of a boom in board games. The fear that computer games would push out board games has proven false. The enormous visitor turnout at the first board game weekend in Mainz clearly supports his view.

You can listen to the full article on swr.de.