Mea Culpa

Mea Culpa

Way too many religions in the world threaten their believers with going to a bad place if they misbehave. Let’s call it Hell. Or maybe Purgatory, if there’s a chance you might leave and go to a good place at some point. Think about that what you will. But in the Middle Ages, one religion went a step further than usual with this belief: the Catholic church offered their believers a way to buy themselves free from eternal punishment. With the purchase of a papal Indulgence, they advertised, your soul will go straight to heaven, all your sins forgiven. And as a side effect, the money will pay for a shiny new basilica in Rome. This practice was not universally popular. It was so unpopular, in fact, that a German priest and theologian rallied against it and caused a schism in the church that was never mended. And that’s why we get Mea Culpa, a game about indulgences, this year, exactly 500 years, after Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

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Kilt Castle

Kilt Castle

From haggis to caber toss, Scotland is full of traditions that seem odd to an outsider. But the oddest tradition has recently been discovered by Günter Burkhardt: when the Scots build a castle for their clan, it’s not a collaborative effort like you would expect. Every builder wants floors in his or her own color to top of all the tower. The resulting castle is neither very hospitable to live in nor does it have great defensive value, but it is a home for your clan, and someone made a lot of money building it.

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Pickomino

Not every game can be a brain-twisting, deeply strategic game. A gaming evening/weekend/vacation needs the fillers, the quick, light games that nevertheless everyone enjoys. And that’s where Pickomino, a game that you wouldn’t expect to show up in a serious gamer’s play time, has its niche.

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Master Thieves

In an age of boardgames made of cardboard, some games stand out for their material. But a real wood cube as game “board” is not the only thing Master Thieves has to offer: you will also find a good amount of strategy and the greatest challenge to your memory and sense of direction I know about in any recent game.

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Mord im Arosa

Mord im Arosa is a very, very unusual mystery game. There is no deduction element at all and neither are you supposed to hide your identity. Instead, the whole game is about listening where the clue cubes land in the tower when they are dropped in.
Unusual? Yes. Fun? Find out.

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