h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There have been a number of games mostly released by German designers that have taken the serious gaming world by storm. Although they're fairly recent, they have heavy emphasis on strategy and are considerably more 'meaty' than most popular board games. In fact, 'German' games have become a style of board game in their own right. The good news is that they're still fun to play.

Some examples I would recommend are:

Puerto Rico (Andreas Seyfarth pub. Alea/Rio Grande 2002)
Carcassonne (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede pub. Rio Grande/Hans im Gluck 2000)
Tigris and Euphrates (Reiner Knizia pub. Mayfair Games/Hans im Gluck 1997)
Lords of the Rings (Reiner Knizie pub. Kosmos/Hasbro/Parker Bros. 2000)

I might also point board game fans towards and excellent web resource:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com

I may be wrong but the capacity of German companies to release award winning games is nothing new - possibly due to the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) - http://kumquat.com/cgi-kumquat/funagain/sdj?K4f4CWkX;;60

This prize first awarded in 1979 has long rewarded innovative games:

"Founded in 1978 by a group of German game critics to promote awareness and to increase the cultural value of games, the award recognizes outstanding games based on:
originality, playability, and educational value of the game idea;
organization, clarity and understandability of rules;
packing and layout of the gameboard and the game rules;
and functionality and overall quality of the game materials included"

It is worth noting that the first winner, Hare and Tortoise F126415?thread=296750 , was by a British designer, but it was the German version that came to the attention of the judges, and the prize that gave it the impetus to become much more popular.

Is publishing innovative board games in Germany easier or more lucrative than elsewhere? Do Germans play games more?

Pimms

I guess those funky Germans must play board games more; if so many games are released there must be a market. After all, it used to be a great family thing in the UK, too, before the predominance of TV, the lack of free time and things like computers and games machines.

I'd kinf of class twenty years ago as 'recent'. Things like Scrabble and The Game of Life have a grand history.

Of course, now there's a genre for these types of games, it's easy to put games in it. Of course, it's heartening to see good board games designed elsewhere. The biggest support for these 'designer' games seems to be German language. There are German web servers that allow you to play games like Puerto Rico and Carcassonne on-line. I haven't tried them out, but they look entertaining.

After a few designers games, somehow games like monopoly lose their appeal, I find.

As far as German games go, you're correct. Ther's one game that's a little older, but not on the list, that I would also reccomend, although it's been published widespread under an American label. It's called 'The Settlers of Catan', and it puts 1-4 players into the perspecitve of a colonizer, emphasizing proper use of trade and resources to win. The 'board' itself is instead a group of carboard 'hexes', making the island that the players settle, as well as the surround ing ocean and ports. Strategy was greatly involved in the game, as resource production was determined by the active player's dice roll at the start of every turn, making players trade for the resources to build their roads and settlements. It won German Game of the Year in 1995, then Mayfair Games grabbed a piece of it, and made it the US Game of the Year in 1996. I have a Mayfair version, myself, and find the game quite intruiging.

Aah, Settlers. Long afternoon spent with a double set and eight players. Joy.

Yes, and there is even another one, the settlers in space, of all the settler games that's my favourite

Takes an age to play, though.

Well, as the summer is short and the winters are long, it doesn't matter, does it?

Unless you prefer playing two games of Carcassonne and one of Puerto Rico with the time you save...

I know Carcassonne, which is great, but don't know Puerto Rico

It's another Spiel Des Jahres winner. It's got a nice central mechanic and quite a bit of player interection given you develop your islands more or less independently.

Sounds interesting, will look for it next time I go shopping

Or look for it on http://www.boardgamegeek.com