Dorfromantik:The Board Game (German: Dorfromantik: Das Brettspiel)[a] is a 2022 board game by Lukas Zach and Michael Palm and published by Pegasus Spiele based on the 2022 video game of the same name.[1][2][3]Dorfromantik is a cooperative board game in which players lay hexagonal tiles to create a rural landscape and follow tasks to gain points.[1][4][5][6]Dorfromantik also has a campaign mode, and players open boxes as they play games to continually increase their scores.[2][7] It has won several awards, including the 2023 Spiel des Jahres German board game award.[2][8][9]
As of April2025[update], two mini-expansions for Dorfromantik have been released, The Great Mill and The Wetterau.[10][11][12][13] There have also been 2 subsequent Dorfromantik games, Dorfromantik: The Duel and Dorfromantik: Sakura.[14][15][16]
Background and development
Dorfromantik was developed in Berlin by Toukana Interactive, a German indie game studio which was founded in 2020 as part of a master's degree program at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences.[17][13][18][19] The video game version of Dorfromantik was inspired by board games, and designed to look like one.[19][20] The first prototype of the video game was released in April 2020 during the game jamLudum Dare 46, and released into early access in March 2021.[3][17] The game was released in full on 28 April 2022, and has since sold around 1.5 million copies.[3][21]Dorfromantik: The Board Game is based on and named after this video game.[3][5][20]
In the early 2000s, Lukas Zach and Michael Palm published their first game together, Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg.[5][22] They have been working at the board game studio Pegasus Spiele since at least 2012.[23][24][25]
When the video game Dorfromantik was nominated for the Deutsche Computerspielepreis (English: German PC Game Award), a game from the studio where Zach worked was nominated as well. This drew Zach's attention to the video game, as the video game was similar to a hex-placing board game that he and Palm had been working on for several years. They soon started communication with Toukana to begin collaboration on a board game version of Dorfromantik. After much playtesting the two teams first met at Essen SPIEL.[19]
Dorfromantik: Das Brettspiel, the German version of the board game, was originally released in November 2022, with an English-language version of the game releasing in October 2023.[2][13][17]
Gameplay
Dorfromantik consists of a basic game and a campaign. In the basic game, players place hexagonal tiles (hexes) to create a landscape with wheat fields, forests, villages, meadows, railroads, and rivers while trying to complete tasks to gain points. At the conclusion of a game, players advance along a campaign sheet, and eventually unlock smaller campaign boxes which contain new material for future games.[5][6]
Basic game
In the basic game of Dorfromantik, there are two main types of tiles and six terrain types. The two main types of tiles are Landscape tiles and Task tiles. There is also a third type of tile that comes in the campaign boxes. On every tile, there are six sections that can each contain one terrain type. The six terrain types appear on both Landscape and Task tiles, but only five terrains have corresponding tasks. The five terrains with task tiles are wheat fields, forests, villages, railroad tracks, and rivers, and the remaining "neutral" terrain type is meadows. Neither landscape nor task tiles may be placed in such a way that a railroad or river tile edge does not continue on to the next tile. Except for the very first tile, all tiles placed must be connected by at least one edge to the rest of the game map.[5]
When a task tile is placed, a random task marker of the same terrain type is drawn. On the back, task markers have a terrain type, and on the other side is a number from four to six. The number on the front of the task marker is how many tiles of the terrain on the back must be connected by hexsides in order to score points. This connected area of one type of terrain (except for meadows) is called a territory. The greater the number on the front of the marker, the more points are scored by that task.[5]
Flags on tiles score more points for large territories, as long as the territory has been closed off (i.e., no tile edges with the type of terrain that is the flag's colour are open to the edge of the map).[5]
To start, players draw three task tiles and place them down to start the map. After these three original tasks are drawn and placed, landscape tiles start being drawn. These landscape tiles are used to expand territories, and therefore complete tasks for points. Once a task is completed, the players draw another task tile and corresponding task marker to always bring the number of tasks to three.[5]
Once the task pile is exhausted and no task tiles remain, the game ends immediately and scoring begins. In the basic game, points are scored based on completed based on tasks, flags, and the longest railroad track and river.[5]
Dorfromantik is a cooperative game, so player order does not particularly matter, although the rulebook recommends playing in a clockwise order. All players contribute to the hex map of tiles, and points are not distributed individually.[5]
Campaign
After scoring is complete, players may start or continue a campaign. On the campaign sheet, players round their score down to the nearest ten, then consult the campaign sheet.[5]
On the campaign sheet, players match their rounded score to the campaign sheet and consult the number of circles on the sheet that they can fill in. The number shown corresponds to bubbles on the sheet, which are filled in by the players to unlock campaign boxes and achievement cards.[5]
The campaign consists of six boxes which are closed at the beginning of the campaign. These boxes, which are not randomised, contain other ways to score points such as tokens, tiles, or achievement cards.[5][7]
While there is no definitive end to Dorfromantik, the campaign does eventually run out of boxes and achievements to unlock. Following this (as well as the unlocking of all achievements), the game does not have any more content remaining. Players can either start the campaign again or keep playing without unlocking any more campaign content.[5][7]
Mini-expansions and other games
The Great Mill
In October 2023, a mini-expansion for Dorfromantik was released called The Great Mill (German: Große Mühle).[10][13][26] It contains a standee of a windmill which is used to score extra points in field tiles, as well as two new cards.[10] The German version of The Great Mill released in October 2023, however the English version of the mini-expansion released in November.[26][27]
The Wetterau
In June 2024, another mini-expansion, The Wetterau (German: Die Wetterau), was released consisting of three new tiles depicting landmarks in the Wetterau.[12][13] The 3 tiles depict the Adolfsturm tower, the Pegasus, and the Winterstein and Steinkopf TV tower.[12][28] Pegasus Spiele, the board game company that publishes Dorfromantik, is based in Friedberg in the Wetterau.[12]Dorfromantik: The Wetterau was created for a board gaming convention in Friedberg on 30 June 2024.[29] The German version released in June 2024, with an English-language version being produced simultaneously.[12][30][31]
Dorfromantik: The Duel
Also in October 2023 and during the SPIEL Essen Game Fair, a new competitive game based on Dorfromantik was released called Dorfromantik: The Duel (German: Dorfromantik: Das Duell).[9][19][32]Dorfromantik: The Duel is similar to the original Dorfromantik, however Dorfromantik: The Duel is competitive.[14][32] It introduces two new task types as well as a tile-matching system between the two players.[33] In Dorfromantik: The Duel, one player draws a tile and the other player then finds a matching tile, then both players place their tiles in their playing area.[33] With the two modules that come with the new game, it is possible for 4 players to play in Dorfromantik: The Duel as well.[14][13] The two modules also include two new types of tasks as well as other new features.[19] It is the only standalone Dorfromantik game that does not contain unlockable content in the form of a campaign.[13] The German version of Dorfromantik: The Duel released in October 2023, and the English version released in February 2024.[b][14][32][33][34]
Dorfromantik: The Duel comes with several new tiles, counters, and cards for the base game of Dorfromantik.[13][35] The base game component of Dorfromantik: The Duel released in 2023 with the new game, and the expansion comes in the same box as Dorfromantik: The Duel.[35][36] The tiles and counters have no language dependence, however the new cards are exclusively in German.[35]
Dorfromantik: Sakura
About a year after the release of Dorfromantik: The Duel, a new stand-alone Dorfromantik game, Dorfromantik: Sakura, was released in September 2024.[37][38] It is based on the original design of Dorfromantik, and it is set in a Japanese landscape.[37]Dorfromantik: Sakura retains the campaign system from the original game, with six boxes and 40 achievements.[39] The rules of Dorfromantik: Sakura are incredibly similar to the original, although the terrain types are greatly changed.[11] In Dorfromantik: Sakura, cherry trees replace forests from the original Dorfromantik, rice fields replace wheat fields, and roads replace railroads.[11][13][38] However, the campaign part of the game is modified to fit the new theme, with a new campaign sheet and new achievements which unlock new game material unique to Dorfromantik: Sakura.[11][40]
Reception
Dorfromantik has received overall positive reviews. On the board gaming forum and database BoardGameGeek, the base game of Dorfromantik ranks #357 with an average rating of 7.63 out of 10.[1][41]IGN has said that the game "only gets more addictive the more you play".[42]PC Gamer included it in its list of the best cooperative board games, with Dorfromantik winning the "Best Co-op Puzzle Board Game" category.[1]Dicebreaker has described the game as "charming" and a "relaxed, satisfying experience from beginning to end".[20] The Tabletop Gaming magazine described Dorfromantik as "the board game equivalent of a warm bath with candles and relaxing music, followed by a lovely cuddle" and that it was "the perfect game if you want a relaxing, laid-back experience without any competitive pressure or heart-breaking failures".[43] Following its announcement as 2023's winner, Dorfromantik was described by the Spiele des Jahres jury as "idyllic" and a "feel-good game" that "takes the pressure out of everyday life".[44]
After one year, by November 2023 Dorfromantik had sold 500,000 copies.[45]
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