A Eurogame, also called a German-style board game, German game, or Euro-style game, is a class of tabletop games that generally has indirect player interaction and multiple ways to score points. Eurogames are sometimes contrasted with American-style board games, which generally involve more luck, conflict, and drama. They are usually less abstract than chess or Go, but more abstract than wargames. Likewise, they generally require more thought and planning than party games such as Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit.
The Spiel des Jahres is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the purpose of rewarding family-friendly game design, and promoting excellent games in the German market. It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award was one of the major drivers of the quality of games coming out of Germany, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. A Spiel des Jahres nomination can increase the typical sales of a game from 500–3,000 copies to around 10,000, and the winner can usually expect to sell as many as 500,000 copies.
Klaus Teuber was a German board game designer best known as the creator of Catan. Originally working as a dental technician, he began designing games first as a hobby then as a full-time career.
Reiner Knizia is a prolific German-style board game designer.
Reinhard Mohn was a German billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Under his leadership, Bertelsmann, once a medium-sized printing and publishing house, established in 1835, developed into a global media conglomerate. In 1977, he founded the non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung, which is today one of the largest foundations in Germany, with worldwide reach.
Wolfgang Kramer is a German board game designer.
References to the fictional kraken are found in film, literature, television, and other popular culture forms.
The Zoch Verlag is a Munich-based publisher of games. Its pivotal point is games of skill made out of wood - or with a high proportion of wood — for children and families. In addition, it has games in which the tactical skills of the players are demanded.
Rüdiger Dorn is a German-style board game designer who is married and has three children. He lives in Pfofeld near Nuremberg.
The kraken is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear in the sea between Norway and Iceland.
Mississippi Queen is a German board game published by Goldsieber Spiele in 1997 that simulates a paddlewheel race down the Mississippi River in 1871. The game was also published in English by Rio Grande Games, and won several awards including the Spiel des Jahres.
Cephalopods, specifically pertaining to octopuses, squids, nautiluses and cuttlefishes, are most commonly represented in popular culture in the Western world as creatures that spray ink and latch onto things with their tentacles without releasing.
Blue Orange is a French board game company based in Pont-à-Mousson, France. Often called Blue Orange international or Blue Orange Europe and mistaken for Blue Orange Games.
Ursula "Ulle" Schauws is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens party.
Kingdomino is a 2016 tile board game for 2-4 players designed by Bruno Cathala and published by Blue Orange Games. In this 15-20 minute, family-oriented game, players build a five by five kingdom of oversized domino-like tiles, making sure as they place each tile that one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type already in play. The game was critically successful and won the 2017 Spiel des Jahres award, and was followed by several spin-offs and expansions.
Heinz Meister is a prolific board game designer from Germany. He is credited as the designer of over 150 board games or game items. Only a few game designers from Germany such as Reiner Knizia, Wolfgang Kramer, and Michael Schacht are known to have more tabletop game design credits. Meister won the Kinderspiel des Jahres award for best children's game in 1995 with Karambolage and in 1992 for Galloping Pigs.
Loopin' Louie, is an interactive electronic board game designed by Carol Wiseley and published by Milton Bradley in 1992. It was given the Kinderspiel des Jahres award in 1994. Although the game is designed for a maximum of 4 players, unofficial modifications were made by modders to increase the maximum number of players to eight. A Star Wars variation called "Loopin' Chewie" was produced by Hasbro in 2015.
Dragomino is a children's tile-laying board game designed by Bruno Cathala, Marie Fort, and Wilfried Fort and published by Blue Orange Games. It is based on Kingdomino.
Franz Mack was a German entrepreneur. He is the founder of Europa-Park.
