An Impossible War: The First Carlist War in the North, 1834-1838 from Bellica Third Generation is a block wargame that recreates the First Carlist War in the North of Spain which was a civil war between the Carlists who supported the succession of the late king’s brother Carlos de Borbón and the progressive and centralist supporters of the regent Maria Christina acting for Isabella II of Spain who were referred to as the Liberals. The game uses blocks representing units but also includes counters and uses cards. I was able to play the game about a month or so ago with Francisco Ronco who owns the publishing company Bellica Third Generation and very much enjoyed the game and how it represented this interesting struggle.

In this series of Action Points, we will first take a look at the Game Map, discussing the point-to-point movement configuration, the various spaces and the delineation of the Carlist versus the Liberal Zones, as well as explain the use of the Rest of Spain smaller map, examine the units available to both sides and cover the importance of Supply, take a look at the Carlist Uprising Phase and what it means for the game, take a look at the activation system and the use of Action Point Markers, and cover some examples of Battle, focusing on the tactical aspect of combat with the use of the Battlefield Board, as well as an example of a Siege.

Main Game Map

There is a Main Game Map, which is commonly referred to as the Northern Map, shows the northernmost tier of Spain along the coast of the Cantabrian Sea including Navarre, the Basque Provinces and part of Cantabria, Burgos and La Rioja, and a small secondary Game Map that reflects the regions of the rest of the country, where Carlist uprisings break out and the expeditions sent from the North may operate.

The Main Game Map contains various elements including named settlements, such as Towns and Cities, and also identify key Carlist Refuges and has a clear demarcation of Carlist and Liberal territory. There are locations identified by the name of a settlement or area, which can be of greater or lesser importance and size. There are four types of spaces including Cities, Main Towns, Carlist Refuges and Other Spaces.

Cities

Cities are represented on the Game Map by an octagonal shape and the name of the city is capitalized. If the City is Liberal it will be colored turquoise and if it leans Carlist it is colored red. There are five Cities on the Game Map including Bilbao, San Sebastián, Vitoria, Pamplona, and Logroño. All of them have a permanent Fortress as well as an Intrinsic Garrison marker indicating the controlling side. Also, the Bilbao space has a Port, identified by the anchor symbol, because it is connected to the Cantabrian Sea via the River Nervión. If the Carlist player is besieging Bilbao, or controls or is besieging either of the two spaces located next to the river (Portugalete or Guecho), the Port of Bilbao is cancelled for the purposes of naval transport and supply.

Supply is also determined based on 2 things, a Region and then each of the Cities within that Region. A Region can supply up to 6 Liberal Infantry and Cavalry units. But, a Region does not supply any Carlist units, which must obtain supply from a Supply Train or Knapsack in the Region. Without a Supply Train or a Knapsack, in order for Carlist units to get supply they then must attempt to forage. Each space can supply a certain number of units, depending on whether the space is located in the Carlist or Liberal Zone, the type of space, and the side the units belong to. We will cover this a bit more in Action Point 2 when we discuss units.

A player will gain +3 VP’s for capturing a City during the game. These are the most important ways to score in the game and protecting them is vital to either side. It is also important to keep in mind that if the Carlist player ever gains control of 2 Cities at the same time that were initially held by the Liberal player, that player will immediately gain an automatic victory.

Connecting the various Cities and Towns are the Roads. Units can move along these roads and there are 2 types of Roads including Main Roads and Secondary Roads. The Main Roads are indicated by a continuous thick black line while Secondary Roads are indicated by dashed brown lines. The cost of moving along a Main Road is 1 Movement Point and along a Secondary Road is 2 Movement Points. I found it very important to properly plan out your movements to maximize the distance that you can gain with a single action. These roads are somewhat of a spiderweb connecting points and you can reach all points eventually but finding the best and most efficient route is important. Studying the Game Map and the layout of the roads is key to playing the game well as you can block off the use of certain Main Roads and force your opponent ot move much slower on Secondary Roads frustrating their plans and efforts.

Main Towns

Main Towns are generally populated areas that have some political, economic or strategic importance and are identified on the board with a hexagonal shape that is of a similar size and proportion as the Cities. Also, the name of the town will be capitalized the same as the Cities. If the Main Town is Liberal it will be colored turquoise and if it leans Carlist it is colored red.

A player will gain +1 VP for capturing a Main Town that was held by the other side. These are not as valuable as the Cities but there are more of these on the Game Map than the Cities with 13 Main Towns as compared to only 5 Cities. Prioriting their capture and control is important for many purposes such as Supply, movement and being able to avoid interceptions and

Carlist Refuge

There are 2 Carlist Refuges identified on the Game Map including Améscoas and Baztán. These are spaces where the Carlists are particularly favored by geography and local popular support. Neither player may construct fortresses in these spaces. These Refuges are identified with a square with an X at the top and a dashed brown line.

Carlist Zones and Liberal Zones

The Carlist Zones take up a considerable portion of the Game Map which is denoted with a red shaded background and a dotted red line. All locations within it are considered to be in the Carlist Zone, while all locations outside of it are considered to be in the Liberal Zone. Also, spaces adjacent to the Carlist Zone are spaces belonging to the Liberal Zone, but that are connected via a road to any space within the Carlist Zone.

The Carlist units in the game are tied to specific localities—Navarre, the Basque Provinces, or “Castilians”—rather than a standard, monolithic national army and are numerically outnumbered by the Liberals. As such, they have a clear need to be nimble and move around the board causing difficulties. One of the ways the Carlist player scores Victory Points through the increase in Prestige is by is controlling at least 4 spaces with at least 4 units. If there are at least four Liberal infantry or Cavalry units in the same space in the Carlist Zone 1 is subtracted
from the sum of besieged Cities and active Expedition.

Essentially, the zone embodies the “Impossible War” by forcing the Carlist player to maximize localized, high-quality forces in their home territory against a numerically superior foe. The Carlist player increases their Prestige by besieging cities and launching expeditions. They also benefit from the growing Carlist uprising in the rest of Spain. The Liberal player will be busy countering Carlist Prestige, putting down uprisings, and hunting down expeditions. They have the advantage that, in the long run, war fatigue will affect the enemy.

The terrain is simple with each space containing rough or open terrain, depending on the relief of its area. Much of the northern geography was rugged, which played an important role in favor of Carlism, as it mitigated three of the advantages of government troops: their superiority in numbers, cavalry, and artillery.

The spaces at the western, southern, and eastern ends of the map have connections to regions on the map of the rest of Spain, which can be used to move from one map to another.

Finally, the Game Map includes various game tables (Year, Turn, Initiative, Victory Points, Carlist Prestige, etc.), as well as a lot of information about commonly used rules, so players don’t need to consult the rulebook that often.

Rest of Spain Smaller Map

The map of the Regions of Spain is smaller and simpler. It consists of nine large regions that cover large territories. This map’s purpose is to record the spread of the Carlist uprisings, to enable Carlist expeditions to operate and for the Liberal player to hunt them down. We will take a closer look at the Carlist Uprising Phase in a later post but I wanted to show you the map so you understand its layout.

I very much enjoyed An Impossible War, even though I played just a few turns of a smaller scenario with Francisco Ronco. He was a master at the game, as obviously as the publisher and a playtester he is intimately familiar with the rules and strategies, and I learned a lot from him about how the game should be played. I am looking forward to future plays as the game is just very good and has some interesting aspects that create a very tense and interesting game of maneuver and strategy. The Game Map is very well done, from an aesthetic perspective as well as functionally, and the board makes playing the game easier.

In Action Point 2, we will examine the units available to both sides and cover the importance of Supply.

-Grant

Roll and Move, justifiably, gets a lot of hate from hobby board gamers. Games like Chutes and Ladders are pretty bad with a lack of player agency, as that roll of the dice is the only mechanic in the game. Today, I’m going to list 10 games that use that tired and true mechanic but […]

Source

So who is Paul? No, I’m not referring to Paul Dennen (Dune Imperium/Uprising), Paul Salomon (Honey Buzz), or Paul Peterson (Smash Up), though I’m sure I could find gaming disagreements with each of these fine designers. Rather, I am referring to my wonderful husband Paul, the man who introduced me to the strategy board gaming […]

Source

This is a list for the true cardboard creeps out there. The ones who keep those little Silica Gel packets in their games. Just in case. The ones who could go out and join a game night. But they stay in. And play their own damn games. By themselves! In silence! Solo gaming is perhaps […]

Source

The history of the board gaming hobby is something I’ve paid close attention to over my 10+ years in the hobby. Remembering the hype of the past, understanding why certain games were so popular in their time, and identifying why certain games are lost to time are just some of the factors that keep me […]

Source

I don’t think I knew what I was getting into with this hobby. At first, it seemed like an interesting way to spend some free time. There’s more here, though. A lot more. It didn’t take long to figure out the biggest pitfalls: FOMO, expense, and loss of shelf space. I expected those. Five years […]

Source

The long-running Cardboard Edison Award, which aims to celebrate the best in unpublished board game designs, has revealed its latest finalists after whittling them down from a record-breaking 396 entries.

This year’s 20 finalists include a magnet-based vertical castle-building game, a medium-weight strategy title centred around wedding planning, and a Persian folklore-themed action selection design which sees players use astrolabes to read stars and hunt demons.

Cardboard Edison’s annual entry numbers have soared since the first competition attracted 109 designs in 2016 – almost doubling to 192 within the next two years, and more than doubling between the pandemic year of 2020 and this year’s contest.

Part of that growth has been down to the competition’s growing pedigree of winners that have gone on to be published by well-known studios.

They include Winter, published by Devir, Castell from Renegade Game Studios and Umbra Via from Pandasaurus Games, as well as 2023 champion Diatoms, which followed a successful Kickstarter campaign with retail publication by 25th Century Games in partnership with Ludoliminal.

The rising numbers of entries has also been boosted by the international growth of the award, which attracted submissions from designers in 34 different countries this year.

Just over half of the submissions were from the US, about 8% from Australia, 6% from Canada and 4% from the UK, with “a decent number” from Germany, Spain, New Zealand and The Netherlands.

Cardboard Edison was launched in 2012 as a board game design studio and hub, which has since expanded from a well-read industry blog into a vast repository of information for board game designers.

Suzanne Zinsli, who created the award a decade ago with the help of fellow Cardboard Edison founder Chris Zinsli, told BoardGameWire it was “crazy” how it had grown globally, adding that she was “humbled that people from so many different countries trust us with their games and want our feedback”.

She said one of the major challenges around the award’s rapid growth was bringing in enough judges to properly assess the rising numbers of entries.

More than 80 judges took part in this year’s award process, including The Search for Planet X and Fromage designer Ben Rosset, Elysium and Next Station: London creator Matthew Dunstan and High Tide designer and Diana Jones Emerging Designer award winner Marceline Leiman.

Zinsli said, “Honestly, finding enough people to judge all the entries has probably been the toughest part of running the Cardboard Edison Award every year.

“It’s a big ask, and we’re very particular about who we invite. We want judges we can trust to be objective, provide great feedback, and who have the experience to back it up.

“That was our biggest hurdle this year, but it actually worked out great. We had enough judges, they were almost all able to hit their targets, and it ended up being one of our smoother years overall.”

When asked if any particular trends or themes were noticeable among this year’s cohort of entries, Zinsli told BoardGameWire, “I definitely noticed a few! For mechanisms, I saw several trick-taking legacy games, which is so cool. I love trick-taking and I like legacy games, so seeing them paired together felt brilliant.

“I was excited when I saw the first one, then I saw a second, and then a third! It’s something I haven’t really seen in the past, and now suddenly there were at least three entries, and there might have been more, since I only personally judged about 60 games. I love it – I’m totally here for it.

“As for themes, I wouldn’t say there was one ‘big’ topic, but I saw a lot of games that felt very personal, things based on the designers’ own lives or lifestyles.

“It felt like more games than ever had a message to send or a story to tell. It was really nice to get a glimpse into the designers’ lives and see what’s important to them through their work.”

The 2026 Cardboard Edison Award is its second since the organiser revealed it was changing its judging process, after a backlash over a colonisation-themed winner from 2024.

Suzanne and Chris Zinsli said it “became clear there was a blind spot in our judging process” after the response to the prize being given to Crowded Frontier, which was themed around the rush to colonise the American West.

Speaking to BoardGameWire this week about the impact of those changes, Suzanne Zinsli said, “I’m going to cautiously say I think the changes have helped, since we didn’t see any similar issues last year.

“As for the future, I’m sure things will continue to evolve. There’s nothing on the books right now, but as the industry and society change, we want to keep up.

“I’m also realistic, and I’m sure we’ll mess something up again at some point. But when we do, we’ll course-correct. We’re ready to change as needed.”

In terms of advice for potential future applicants, Zinsli told BoardGameWire, “If I had to pick one thing to focus on: have your game blind (or unguided) playtested.

“Every year, I read rulebooks where I simply can’t figure out how to play. That really hurts your chances! You might have a fantastic game, but if I can’t play it without you there to teach me, I’ll never know how good it is.

“On the flip side, the biggest thing to avoid is ignoring the three-minute video limit. We ask for three minutes, but we often get videos that are seven, 10, or even 20 minutes long. Also, don’t send us a video from five years ago.

“If the video hasn’t changed in five years, it makes me think the game hasn’t made any progress either. We want to see the current version of your work!”

This year’s finalists will now enter a second round of judging in order to crown the winner, with a champion usually announced in May of each year.

Last year’s award was won by Dot Com, an economic strategy game which uses an app to run players’ money supplies down in real time.

The game, designed by former Ravensburger game development intern Sammy Salkind, puts players in the shoes of startup founders battling to build their internet startups during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

—

Cardboard Edison finalists 2026:

Astrolabe by Yasaman Farazan
2-5 players
45-90 minutes
Players are exorcists in a Persian folklore world, using astrolabes to read the stars, hunt
demons, and bind them into artifacts. Each round, players secretly rotate their astrolabe to
choose an action, a number, and a time of day, then reveal and resolve actions in ascending
order.
Pitch video

Black Ruth of Dogtown by Keith DeViere Donaldson
1-4 players
30 minutes
Black Ruth of Dogtown is a procedural oracle system driven by a circular mancala drafting
mechanism, where players construct a three-by-three grid to optimize set collection and
speculative scoring in service of a final narrative divination resolution.
Pitch video

Braggin’ Wranglers by Luke Wolyncewicz
2-8 players
15 minutes
Braggin’ Wranglers sees players catching animals to score points using a unique adjustable
lasso—but there’s a twist! Turn order is decided by your lasso size, which you secretly set at the
start of each round!
Pitch video

Catacombes de Paris by Nicholas Henning
2-5 players
70-110 minutes
In Catacombes de Paris, players take on the solemn duty of transporting the remains of millions
through the bustling streets of 18th-century Paris to build their personal ossuary in the famed
Catacombs. This highly thematic experience combines a strategic pick-up-and-deliver system
with an engaging polyomino mini-game for building out your ossuary board.
Pitch video

Deductive Seasoning by Eric Ledger
2-5 players
20-40 minutes
Deductive Seasoning is a family-friendly deduction card game where you are a food scientist
who has concocted a dish using a secret ingredient from the Periodic Table of Flavor. You must
figure out other players’ secret ingredient through careful play and observation.
Pitch video

Goa Kranti by Andy Desa
2-4 players
60-90 minutes
A cooperative game about an overlooked chapter in history: Goa’s struggle for independence
from Portugal (1932-1961). Players embody historical freedom fighters choosing between
violent resistance and peaceful satyagraha. Core mechanisms include push-your-luck resource
gathering, deck improvement, and bag-building for a pivotal mid-game check when India gains
independence.
Pitch video

Hatchlings by Alan Leduc
2-5 players
30 minutes
You’re a Nature Spirit with one job. Get your baby sea turtles out of their comfortable nest,
across the beach, and into the water where they belong, thus earning praise from Mother
Nature. It would be easy if it weren’t for the relentless bully Steven Seagull and the other Spirits
competing for glory.
Pitch video

Hybrid Hijinks by Jena Keesee
3-5 players
60 minutes
A competitive game, creating hybrid creatures and utilizing variable, configurable player powers
to impress visitors and earn the most approval for shifting prowess.
Pitch video

Ladybugs by Michael Posada
1-4 players
30 minutes
Push your luck by rolling dice that represent a colony of ladybugs flying over a field of flowers.
Your rolls determine which flowers you add to your garden, which scoring conditions you unlock,
and how many points you earn.
Pitch video

Limelight by Cameron Fleming
3-6 players
45 minutes
Limelight is a push-your-luck deckbuilder about staging a Broadway show. Over three Acts,
you’ll audition talent, hire crew, and rehearse your show, trying to achieve the perfect mix of
cards on Opening Night.
Pitch video

Match Patch by Jack Rosen
3-5 players
20 minutes
Match Patch is a game about the benefits of farming using companion planting methods.
Mechanically, it is a card-matching race game where players try to diversify their harvested
crops.
Pitch video

Midnight Spawn by Jayson Farrell
1-4 players
60 minutes
Midnight Spawn is a game about the mysterious and incredible deep sea. In this game you’re a
researcher in your deep-submergence vehicle, or DSV. You’ll discover strange creatures and
observe them eat or move other creatures, manipulating the shared board. You can also
upgrade your DSV with tech cards or boost your score with research cards.
Pitch video

Moonforge by Pawel Owsianka
1-4 players
90 minutes
In Moonforge, players command large space facilities capable of capturing asteroids, extracting
valuable resources (energy, metal and minerals), and upgrading their operations with new
modules and functions. Resources can be sold for currency points, while depleted asteroids
contribute material toward the creation of a new moon.
Pitch video

PiramiDuel by Guillermo Viciano
2 players
20-30 minutes
A game for two players where you will explore Ancient Egypt, fighting to claim the most
influential pyramids.
Pitch video

Possessions by Dan Nichols
2-4 players
60-90 minutes
Possessions is a competitive strategy game where you play as ghosts with one hour to finish
your unfinished business and fulfill your final wishes. As the clock ticks down, strive to get the
most value from your secret ambitions by possessing your family’s last living heirs.
Pitch video

StrongHolds by Nelson de Castro
2 players
40-60 minutes
StrongHolds is a competitive castle-building game featuring magnetic tiles that allow players to
build vertically unlike any other game. Harness your creativity and vision as a Medieval
Architect, while sabotaging your opponent by tossing and sliding siege tiles to topple their
progress.
Pitch video

The Leftovers by Larry Ted McBride
2-4 players
25 minutes
The Leftovers is a cooperative trick-taking game of community deck-building, resource
management, strategy, and story. With your party of magical foodfolk, you will work together to
complete objectives and avoid vicious food fiends as you explore the abandoned halls of the
Enchanted Ladle.
Pitch video

The Roots of All Evil by Dean Burry
2-4 players
15-20 minutes
Be the first animal cultist to summon the tree demon Blackthorn by creating ever-expanding
rings of root cards in which to place your sacred offerings.
Pitch video

The Wedding Planner by Jose Lema
2-4 players
60-90 minutes
You just got engaged! Now you have 12 months to plan the wedding of your dreams. The
Wedding Planner is a medium-weight strategy game that captures the authentic pressure of the
process: an overwhelming workload, finite resources, and the constant tension between vision
and reality.
Pitch video

Wunderkammer by Rosco Schock
2-4 players
45 minutes
Wunderkammer is a set collection style game with a unique simultaneous silent auction
acquisition mechanism. Each curiosity that you collect also has two attributes so the scoring of
your collection is scored in each dimension.
Pitch video

The post “It’s crazy how it has grown globally”: unpublished designs award Cardboard Edison unveils new finalists as entries more than double since 2020 first appeared on .

While I’ve never been too into the boss battler genre of video games, I love them on the tabletop. You and your friends, working together, to take down a powerful enemy. And there are actually a LOT of unique choices in this genre. So many that it was actually really hard narrowing down the list. […]

Source

You love board games. You probably also like music. Let’s combine the two into an immersive playlist for Imperial Struggle (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games). Have it gently play in the background during your next session of Imperial Struggle for the full period immersion!

First things first: Here’s the playlist!

Before we dive into the content of the playlist, some general observations:

• Of course, there was no music recording in age of Imperial Struggle, so all the songs in the playlist have been recorded in the 20^th or 21^st century.
• The playlist is only 1:45 hours long, so you might need to listen to it several times during your game… unless France stomps over Britain in the first turns.
• The playlist is thematically sorted. That helps you find similar songs, but makes for somewhat monotonous listening (until you come to the next group of songs). I therefore recommend you turn shuffle on.

Now, what awaits you in the playlist?

#1-3: Religious (classical) music

Imperial Struggle begins after the age of the great confessional wars in Europe, but religion still played an important role in people’s lives, from the lowliest peasants all the way up to kings. Their week culminated in a Sunday service and their year was interspersed with religious events. Composers wrote pieces specifically for a religious holiday (like Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” from which #2 is taken), or were dedicated to comprehensive religious teaching (like Händel’s “Messiah”, premiering on Easter 1742 in Dublin, from which #3 is taken).

#4-12: Secular (classical) music

The Baroque saw music as universal. Religious and secular followed the same conventions, and thus the same composers wrote pieces for the church and for worldly courts, like Baroque grandmaster Johann Sebastian Bach (Toccata and Fugue in D minor, #4 and Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, #6) or Georg Friedrich Händel (Sarabande from Suite No. 11, #5). The classical (in the narrower sense) music from the mid-18^th century on left this universal view behind. Composers now focused on either one or the other, with most of them following the more fashionable and more lucrative secular path.

Some composed for a court whose lavish entertainments always required music (like the 1773 wedding of the French prince Charles Philippe, the later king Charles X, for which François Francœur arranged the music from which #9 is taken – thus the title Symphonie du Festin Royal (Symphony of the Royal Feast)). Others became freelance musicians (like Mozart, who could (for some years) live of the proceeds of his concerts and operas, #10-12).

#13-16: Folk songs

Not everyone went to a church where the latest compositions were played on Sundays, and of course most people were far removed from attending any court festivities, let alone royal weddings. But people made and listened to music. The easiest, most affordable way to do so was to sing. The 18^th century is rich with folk songs, some originally written at the time (like Frère Jacques (“Brother James”), #15 or “Ye Jacobites by Name”, #16), others older, but first put down to paper at the time (Au Claire De La Lune (“By the Light of the Moon”, #13, and Over the Hills, and Far Away (#14)).

#17-23: Patriotic songs

We’ve heard in #16 already how political events seeped into popular songs. Others were written specifically to rouse patriotic feeling, an emotion which came into its own in the 18^th century: “Rule, Britannia” (#17) expressed confidence and pride in the Royal Navy to protect British freedoms, “The British Grenadiers” (#18) praised the courage of their counterpart by land.

That these songs could be re-interpreted and turned against their original intent shows “Free America” (#19), written in 1770, which uses the same tune as “The British Grenadiers”, but its lyrics extol America’s freedom (which turned out to be freedom from Britain).

Finally, national anthems also came first into existence in the 18^th century: Brits sang “God Save the King/Queen” (#22 – I took the liberty of choosing a not-quite-traditional version). France only got its first anthem (La Marseillaise, #23) with the French Revolution which bookends Imperial Struggle… at least until Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews get around to do a Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars expansion!

Thanks to Jason for suggesting songs #5, #14, and #21!

If you like immersive playlists, I’ve done one for Weimar: The Fight for Democracy (Matthias Cramer, Capstone Games/Skellig Games/Spielworxx)!

If you want to dive a bit deeper into the times of Imperial Struggle, here’s a book recommendation.

And if you’re looking for strategic direction in Imperial Struggle, I’ve also got you covered.

What’s your favorite song from this playlist? Let me know in the comments!

You love board games. You probably also like music. Let’s combine the two into an immersive playlist for Imperial Struggle (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games). Have it gently play in the background during your next session of Imperial Struggle for the full period immersion!

First things first: Here’s the playlist!

Before we dive into the content of the playlist, some general observations:

• Of course, there was no music recording in age of Imperial Struggle, so all the songs in the playlist have been recorded in the 20^th or 21^st century.
• The playlist is only 1:45 hours long, so you might need to listen to it several times during your game… unless France stomps over Britain in the first turns.
• The playlist is thematically sorted. That helps you find similar songs, but makes for somewhat monotonous listening (until you come to the next group of songs). I therefore recommend you turn shuffle on.

Now, what awaits you in the playlist?

#1-3: Religious (classical) music

Imperial Struggle begins after the age of the great confessional wars in Europe, but religion still played an important role in people’s lives, from the lowliest peasants all the way up to kings. Their week culminated in a Sunday service and their year was interspersed with religious events. Composers wrote pieces specifically for a religious holiday (like Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” from which #2 is taken), or were dedicated to comprehensive religious teaching (like Händel’s “Messiah”, premiering on Easter 1742 in Dublin, from which #3 is taken).

#4-12: Secular (classical) music

The Baroque saw music as universal. Religious and secular followed the same conventions, and thus the same composers wrote pieces for the church and for worldly courts, like Baroque grandmaster Johann Sebastian Bach (Toccata and Fugue in D minor, #4 and Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, #6) or Georg Friedrich Händel (Sarabande from Suite No. 11, #5). The classical (in the narrower sense) music from the mid-18^th century on left this universal view behind. Composers now focused on either one or the other, with most of them following the more fashionable and more lucrative secular path.

Some composed for a court whose lavish entertainments always required music (like the 1773 wedding of the French prince Charles Philippe, the later king Charles X, for which François Francœur arranged the music from which #9 is taken – thus the title Symphonie du Festin Royal (Symphony of the Royal Feast)). Others became freelance musicians (like Mozart, who could (for some years) live of the proceeds of his concerts and operas, #10-12).

#13-16: Folk songs

Not everyone went to a church where the latest compositions were played on Sundays, and of course most people were far removed from attending any court festivities, let alone royal weddings. But people made and listened to music. The easiest, most affordable way to do so was to sing. The 18^th century is rich with folk songs, some originally written at the time (like Frère Jacques (“Brother James”), #15 or “Ye Jacobites by Name”, #16), others older, but first put down to paper at the time (Au Claire De La Lune (“By the Light of the Moon”, #13, and Over the Hills, and Far Away (#14)).

#17-23: Patriotic songs

We’ve heard in #16 already how political events seeped into popular songs. Others were written specifically to rouse patriotic feeling, an emotion which came into its own in the 18^th century: “Rule, Britannia” (#17) expressed confidence and pride in the Royal Navy to protect British freedoms, “The British Grenadiers” (#18) praised the courage of their counterpart by land.

That these songs could be re-interpreted and turned against their original intent shows “Free America” (#19), written in 1770, which uses the same tune as “The British Grenadiers”, but its lyrics extol America’s freedom (which turned out to be freedom from Britain).

Finally, national anthems also came first into existence in the 18^th century: Brits sang “God Save the King/Queen” (#22 – I took the liberty of choosing a not-quite-traditional version). France only got its first anthem (La Marseillaise, #23) with the French Revolution which bookends Imperial Struggle… at least until Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews get around to do a Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars expansion!

Thanks to Jason for suggesting songs #5, #14, and #21!

If you like immersive playlists, I’ve done one for Weimar: The Fight for Democracy (Matthias Cramer, Capstone Games/Skellig Games/Spielworxx)!

If you want to dive a bit deeper into the times of Imperial Struggle, here’s a book recommendation.

And if you’re looking for strategic direction in Imperial Struggle, I’ve also got you covered.

What’s your favorite song from this playlist? Let me know in the comments!

Every new year brings about a fresh start, a chance to improve oneself with new year’s resolutions (spoiler: they’ll be broken by President’s Day), and looking forward to a new year (spoiler: that’ll be a different post from our most anticipated games). It’s also a time to reflect back on the year that was. And […]

Source

Hi! My name is Cate. This is my selection of my favorite ten games from last year.

#10. Katmai: The Bears of Brooks River

Katmai is about these bears that you get to put in different places, and they have to survive and catch fish. The bears can compete for territory and food. With the bears your goal is to put them in places to make a pattern to score points. And all the bears have these fun little names that I like, and they’re all real bears from Alaska. I think it is a good game for all nature lovers.

#9. Hot Streak

Hot Streak is a good funny game that kids can play. It’s really funny because the characters fall down while they’re racing. The game is about these silly characters that are mascots for different restaurants or stores, and they’re racing to compete to see which mascot is best. You don’t exactly control the characters. Instead, you have cards you draw to see which one falls, which one is ahead, and which one travels the farthest. You win by voting which mascot you think will win and if that mascot wins you will earn money. There are three main races in Hot Streak and whoever has the most money from voting on their favorite mascot wins the game.

#8. Magical Athlete

Like Hot Streak, Magical Athlete is a racing game. But instead of moves played by cards, the characters walk by rolling a die. We do a big snake draft to see which characters we’re going to get. There’s a very big variety of characters. A normal round is four races. There are also these things on the racing track that can move you up a space, give you a point, or move you backward. There are some characters that have good abilities like an extra roll or moving an extra space, but there are some who are not as good, with defaults such as not being able to land on the finish space unless you get the right roll. It is a good game to play with a big group and see how this silly race turns out.

#7. Thunder Road Vendetta

Thunder Road is about these racing cars. Sometimes they run into difficulties on the road that slow them down or crash them. You play as the cars themselves, and the racetrack is different almost every time. Some racetracks are hard and some are easy; there’s one racer that is a helicopter that flies over the cars and drops bombs on them to slow them down, and there’s a car that’s so long, and that’s both an advantage and a disadvantage. There’s a lot of action and excitement, and cars that have a bad course on the tracks won’t make it through.

#6. Tic Tac Trek

Tic Tac Trek is like Tic Tac Toe, but once you score the game isn’t over. Instead you place a campfire. Oh, and instead of a board that’s just normal Tic Tac Toe, there are tiles you put out. Tiles can be stuff like forests or mountains. It has to touch another of its kind, and it can’t go diagonal. Rivers are rare and can touch anything. They don’t even have to touch other rivers, they can touch anything and anything can touch them. But if a token cannot touch one of its own kind, you can place it anywhere, but if it’s possible to touch a river, then you have to make it touch a river. Scoring isn’t about how many lines you make with the tokens, it’s how many free spaces are around your campfires. That makes it kind of tricky because you might be good at scoring points in Tic Tac Toe, but you might not see your opponent coming to block your free spaces. I like the little campfires and the cool little nature spaces.

#5. Ichor

Ichor is about these battling Greek Gods and Greek Monsters, like a minotaur or Aphrodite. They each have special powers that make them unique, and the goal is to go really far on the board. Whenever you move on a space, you place a token to show that the space is yours. But whenever someone else goes over your tokens, they replace them with one of their own tokens. Whoever places all of their tokens first wins. A lot of special powers can mean jumping over opponents, or blocking them, or mimicking them, so you can place the most tokens. I really like Greek myths so it’s fun to play to see the monsters and gods fighting like that. The game doesn’t end with death or execution, but is just a quick little game about their rivalry.

#4. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders

Tidal Blades is this fun game about these characters that are half-people half-animal. They live on floating islands on the ocean. The game is based on what might happen in the future. It has different dimensions, a big world, and monsters to beat, many missions, and portals to different worlds. And it is a really fun game for people who like imaginative things. There is this one big monster at the very end [minor spoiler] that you fight with everybody, whether you are them or not. It just has a lot of character and fun in it. It isn’t only about the heroes’ adventures, it’s also about them relaxing in their hometown and stuff. I really like that it’s this big adventure that people can go on.

#3. Agent Avenue

Agent Avenue is basically this small little board with these small little spaces that the characters go on. Whoever catches the other person’s character wins. There are little cards that show how much you move by. There are even these little mice [in the expansion] that can go either way to catch your rival for you. It has very many tricks and a lot of things that you might not see coming. For your turn, you will put out two cards, one face up and one face down; your rival takes one card and then you take the other. It’s hard because you don’t know which one your rival will take, and some cards can be things that make you win or lose the third time you get it. So whatever cards you pick out for yourself or your rival, they can either defeat you themselves or make it really easy for you to win. I like the little animals that we play as in Agent Avenue and all the twists and turns.

#2. March of the Ants

March of the Ants is about these little ants and you can create your own type of ant with these different cards to see what will be best for you. It is all about taking over territory and finding different dens, finding worm holes, and beating centipedes. The ants in the game must spread popularity, find food, and keep pressing forward and laying eggs to survive. There is a winter in this game and it’s all about how the ants have to survive through it, and how they prepare for it. Whoever has the most points through all the winters in the game wins. I like the different species of ants you can make up, and I just like the game, because that’s normal nature, to learn to survive.

#1. Tag Team

Tag Team is about these different sides that are fighting. You pick two characters and they have these different powers and abilities they can use against your rival. They have hit points, and you have these planned attacks in your deck. New cards have to slide into your deck; you can’t swap your deck’s order. It is hard because you kind of know what attacks are coming, but not exactly, and we each do our attacks at the exact same time, so you can block them or defend yourself, which makes it really tricky but really fun. It makes me feel smart because I always beat my daddy.

Those are my favorite games from last year! Daddy said I couldn’t pick Compile because he didn’t write about it last year, but I have the new Compile, too. It’s my favorite game.

 

(If what I’m doing at Space-Biff! is valuable to you in some way, please consider dropping by my Patreon campaign or Ko-fi. Right now, supporters can read about which films I watched in 2025, including some brief thoughts on each. That’s 44 movies! That’s a lot, unless you see, like, 45 or more movies in a year!)

Like any self-respecting person(s), we only do anything if it gets us Credit on the Internet. Or if our boss tells us to. Either way, if the play wasn’t logged, if the run wasn’t recorded, if the calories weren’t counted, then obviously it never happened. Hang on, I think I just found a cookie loophole… […]

Source

Another turn of the Wheel. 2025 was a banner year for board games, which by extension means it was a banner year for Best Week. Down below, you’ll find an index of the year’s picks. Click on any of the images to be whisked to the corresponding article. To the old year! To the new year!

Day One! Picture Perfect!

Day Two! Heart of Darkness!

Day Three! Beatrixmania!

Day Four! The D.T.R.!

Day Five! All My Children!

 

(If what I’m doing at Space-Biff! is valuable to you in some way, please consider dropping by my Patreon campaign or Ko-fi.)

New Year’s Eve is today, and as we get ready to say goodbye to 2025, it’s time for our annual top 10 list. As is tradition here at BGQ, I’ll be teaming up with fellow reviewer Brandon to list off our Top 10 Board Games of 2025. We always pair up for these lists to […]

Source

In those now-unreachable years before my daughters came along, I remember balking at certain statements. “Some things you simply can’t understand until you have children,” someone would say. Now that I’ve had kids, I’m adult enough to admit they were right… but still juvenile enough to believe they were drafting their offspring into props to prove a point.

And what, exactly, have my daughters taught me? The unnamed emotion of putting an infant to sleep on my stomach. The mind-blanking terror of sitting beside a hospital bed. The way even the simplest of board games can become profound shared experiences. What follows is a list I never thought I would write: the games that transformed my year not because they were innovative or philosophical, but rather because they let me pass a few meaningful minutes with my girls.

#6. Tic Tac Trek

Designed by Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert. Published by Alley Cat Games.

The third in Alley Cat’s line of mint-tin games, Tic Tac Trek initially seemed like the afterthought of the group. For one thing, unlike its predecessors Tinderblox and Barbecubes, it isn’t a stacking game. For another, it’s a riff on Tic Tac Toe, the worst way to pass time in church. (Besides actually listening to the sermon, obviously.)

I should have known better than to doubt Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert. Tic Tac Trek is as smart as they come. Your goal is indeed to make three in a row, but here your marks are tiles drawn from a bag, injecting tension and doubt into every move. What’s more, you hope to ignite your campfires on the edges of the play space, earning points for every uncharted territory around them, but risking subtractions as the game progresses. It’s a masterclass in shared incentives and painstaking blocking — but on a more relevant level, you should have seen me beam when my elder daughter absolutely swept my dad with a series of clever placements.

Review: Fire Hazards

#5. Ichor

Designed by Reiner Knizia. Published by Bitewing Games.

Look, I agree that Iliad, Ichor’s companion title, is the stronger of these Knizias. But Ichor is the one my elder daughter fell in love with, and by extension the one we played time and time again, her monsters sweeping across the foothills of Mount Olympus. As a game, Ichor feels tailor-made to appeal to chess-loving children. It’s basically the answer to the question, “What if every piece could move like a rook?” The answer is silly at times, especially when somebody leaves a lane unattended.

Of course, Reiner Knizia knows better than to let one of his games fall apart just for the sake of some silliness. Ichor stands apart because its objective isn’t to capture opposing pieces. Indeed, most pieces can’t capture at all. Instead, you’re here to scatter all your tokens across the board, a task made all the harder because your opponent also has a stable of their own rooks for replacing your tokens with their own. It’s only through careful play, including cautious use of your team’s special abilities, that you can get ahead. My daughter can beat me over half the time now. I couldn’t be prouder.

Review: She’s a Grisly Monster, I Assure You

#4. Magical Athlete

Designed by Takashi Ishida and Richard Garfield. Published by CMYK.

The surest sign of a board game’s success comes when my parents, relative agnostics for the form, ask excitedly if I brought it to Christmas brunch. Magical Athlete is one of the best board games ever designed, and I say that without reservation. Low player agency? Fart noise. Who cares. This is one of those rare games that can be played by four-year-olds and octogenarians with equal delight.

And the recent CMYK edition is more or less the game’s platonic ideal. Everything has been touched up: the character abilities, the extra racing circuit, the way racers are drafted, even the wooden miniatures. Ever seen a giant baby take up an entire space? The game is packed with little jokes, some ludic and others visual. I have yet to encounter a bad play of this thing. Or, crud, even an average play. My kids now insist we pack this thing to any sufficiently large family gathering. It’s that good.

Review: Chariots of Frickin’ Fire

#3. A Gentle Rain

Designed by Kevin Wilson. Published by Incredible Dream Studios.

Designed during the doldrums of a global plague, A Gentle Rain technically released in 2021. But in a testament to the format’s timelessness, it emerged as a household regular only this year. As a game, I was initially reluctant. The play consists of matching tile edges to create blossoms. Not much to it. There’s a win condition, but it’s squishy. To be frank, the entire project initially struck me as indulgent and patronizing.

I was wrong. Oh, so wrong. My younger daughter has always struggled with the largeness of her emotions. Being able to sit and undertake simple, soothing, repetitive actions has been a blessing. She cheats at the game; since it’s cooperative, nobody cares, and she also insists I cheat as well. It’s short enough that we can squeeze it in before school. And it’s calming enough that it has been become a reliable staple for helping her gain some space from an overwhelming task. As an exercise in mindfulness, A Gentle Rain exemplifies the strengths of tabletop games.

Review: A Mindful Rain

#2. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders

Designed by Tim and Ben Eisner. Published by Druid City Games.

Over the past year, we’ve tackled a number of campaign games. Most of them have quickly proved tiring. I won’t list examples; Best Week isn’t for downers. But the one title that consistently brought us back to the table, charmed us with its bright palette and upbeat characters, and kept us turning pages despite some rather, ah, expressive writing, was Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders.

What are Unfolders? I could tell you, but it wouldn’t make any sense. Like most board game adventures, Tidal Blades 2 is a bit of a mush. But it’s a lovely mush. Even the monsters are worth seeing. We spent many nights poring over the game’s scenarios, my older kid tinkering with her character while my younger one perched on my lap for a side battle between her own hero and some spare creatures. This is the first board game that my kids could tell you about the lore. It helps, too, that I was also invested, not only because of the kiddos, but because the game’s world is so vibrant that even this weathered sack of bones found something worth defending.

Review: Wet Behind the Gills

#1. Hot Streak

Designed by Jon Perry. Published by CMYK.

It’s unthinkable that two goofball racing games came out this year, both with limited player agency, wacky characters, and broad appeal, and that the best of them wasn’t Magical Athlete. In our house, we were already Jon Perry fans. Between Spots for the kids and Scape Goat for the bigguns, there’s no denying his range and talent. Hot Streak bridges the gap with a Golden Gate of remarkable craftsmanship. Also, it’s a useful inroad to the topic of gambling. Look at what DraftKings did to these poor addicts, now reduced to wagering on the outcome of underground mascot races. Is this the future you want for yourselves, kids? Betting your life savings that a hot dog will eat asphalt?

Maaaybe. Above all else, Hot Streak is a scream. It captures the thrill of spectation, breaking down the barrier between play and passive observance. But, look, that’s grown-up talk. The real takeaway is that this is a perfect game because you can bet big on an angler fish running backwards across the finish line. We love it.

Review: Ready Set Brat

There you have it! Don’t hesitate to go all mushy on me. What were your favorite family/kid/dog games of the year? Share them below.

 

(If what I’m doing at Space-Biff! is valuable to you in some way, please consider dropping by my Patreon campaign or Ko-fi.)

You love board games. You probably also like music. Let’s combine the two into an immersive playlist for Weimar: The Fight for Democracy (Matthias Cramer, Capstone Games/Skellig Games/Spielworxx). Have it gently play in the background during your next session of Weimar for the full period immersion!

First things first: Here’s the playlist!

Before we dive into the content of the playlist, some general observations:

• All of the songs in the playlist were popular during the Weimar Republic (1918—1933). Yet as music recording was still in its infancy at that time, many of the songs in the playlist are later recordings (and some rare ones were recorded even before 1918!).
• As the playlist is only 2:21 hours long, your Weimar game will probably last longer (if you don’t crash the republic on the first or second round), but there’s no reason not to listen to these songs two or three times – they’re fascinating historical documents.
• The playlist is thematically sorted. That helps you find similar songs, but makes for somewhat monotonous listening (until you come to the next group of songs). I therefore recommend you turn shuffle on.

Now, what awaits you in the playlist?

#1: The National Anthem

It seems like a no-brainer to include the German national anthem of the time, yet it’s not so simple: The Lied der Deutschen (Song of the Germans) had been written in 1841, but had since then only been a patriotic song among many – until the first president of the republic, Friedrich Ebert, declared it the national anthem in 1922. The song’s three stanzas were variedly popular: Ebert favored the third stanza with its liberal ideals of unity, justice, and freedom, his right-wing opponents preferred the “Deutschland über alles” (Germany Above Everything) first stanza. I have included an instrumental version. If you feel patriotic, you can sing along.

#2-9: The Old World

The Weimar Republic did not come into existence in a vacuum. It inherited German cultural traditions like folk songs (“Wem Gott will rechte Gunst erweisen” (Whom God Wants to Favor), song #2).

And, of course, the Weimar Republic succeeded the German Empire with its national feeling (“Die Wacht am Rhein” (The Guard on the Rhine), song #2), dominant Protestantism (Martin Luther’s classic “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), song #5), and monarchy (“Heil dir im Siegerkranz” (Hail to Thee In the Victor’s Crown), song #7 – the quasi-anthem of the German Empire).

The republic’s midwife was the First World War – whose experience shaped its veterans and provided the cultural context even for those who had not been adults during the war yet (“Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht” (Wild Geese Rush Through the Night), song #8, written in 1916, was immensely popular among the Weimar Republic youth movement). The war also cast its shadow over Weimar Germany as many had lost their husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, and friends in the war (“Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden” (I Had a Comrade), song #9, the traditional German soldiers’ lament).

#10-15: Satirical Coping

The liberal republic proved fertile ground for satirical treatments of the new developments: Otto Reutter made fun of the big and small war profiteers with “Seh’n Sie, darum ist es schade, dass der Krieg zu Ende ist” (See, that’s why it’s a pity that the war is over, song #10), and Claire Waldoff called for replacing the men in power with women in “Raus mit den Männern aus dem Reichstag” (Kick the Men Out of Parliament, song #11), playing on masculine anxieties after the introduction of women’s suffrage.

#16-25: Pop!

Even in a time and place as politically charged as the Weimar Republic, not everything was politics. The average Hans and Gretel may have cared less about their preferred ideology and more about how to have good time on a Saturday night… and the new cultural scene, especially in the big cities like Berlin, provided ample opportunities.

The more sophisticated artists like the Comedian Harmonists succeeded with witty wordplay and erudite vocal harmonies. Others played on the classics – alcohol (“Wir versaufen unser Oma ihr klein’ Häuschen“ (We Blow Grandma’s Little House on Booze, song #19) and sexual innuendo („Fräulein, Woll’n Sie nicht ein Kind von mir“ (Miss, Don’t You Want a Child By Me, song #22). There was even the equivalent of a (generalized) diss track: “Du bist als Kind zu heiß gebadet worden” (You Have Been Bathed Too Hot As a Child, song #23) indicates that this neglect of bath safety led to lasting brain damage in the interlocutor.

#26-33: Film, Theater, and Opera Music

The Weimar Republic’s vibrant cultural scene led to cross-pollination between diverse forms of artistic expression. The new medium of film was pioneered in Germany, and once it had left its silent infancy behind, movie songs became hits. Marlene Dietrich, starring in The Blue Angel, enticed with “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt (I’m Set to Love From Head to Heel, song #26), but warned “Nimm dich in Acht vor blonden Frau’n“ (Beware of Blonde Women, song #27).

More traditional art forms like the theater also adapted. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)’s acerbic critique of capitalism would not have been as successful without its catchy songs, the most famous of which is the “Moritat of Mackie Messer” (Ballad of Mack the Knife, song #31).

Even the most classic and highbrow form of entertainment modernized: “Jonny spielt auf” (Jonny Plays It Big, song #33) introduced jazz into the world of the opera… which brings us to our next category.

#34-41: Jazz and Blues

Traditionally, the United States had received and emulated European fashions, not the other way around. Yet by the early 20^th century, America had become the largest economy in the world, its war entry in 1917 tipped the scales of the war further in favor of the Allies, and the increased presence of Americans in Europe meant that the United States turned from an importer to an exporter of culture. Jazz took Europe by storm – both in the form of American (and nascent European) bands and by the new medium of the music record. The Weimar Republic was no exception. Jazz fueled the parties in any larger city of 1920s Germany.

Of course, not everyone loved jazz, and the controversy over its unorthodox dissonances, the more expressive, individualistic, and eroticized dancing style accompanying the music, and, of course, the race of its performers entered the contemporary culture wars – exemplified by Weimar’s double use of Louis Armstrong, illustrating both the SPD’s “The New Rhythm” and the DNVP’s “Nicht Deutsch” (“Not German”) event cards.

The “Tiger Rag” (song #41) is also used in The Tin Drum, German writer Günter Grass’s epic about the rise, fall, and persistence of Nazism: The youthful protagonist Oskar Matzerath who always carries his eponymous tin drum plays the Tiger Rag at a NSDAP rally in his hometown Danzig. The mesmerizing rhythm has the audience sway and dance, exposing the Nazis to ridicule.

#42-47: Workers’ Songs

The aggressive ethno-nationalism of Nazism was one of the two most dynamic political movements of the Weimar Republic (at least once the 1929 crash had plunged vast parts of the German population into a crisis of material and identity). The other was the workers’ movement, both in its reformist Social Democratic and its revolutionary Communist form. As the workers had been traditionally excluded from the public in imperial Germany, dominated by aristocracy and bourgeoisie, they created their own political parties (SPD, later USPD and KPD), economic associations (the trade unions), and social and cultural associations – from workers’ sport clubs to workers’ singing societies. Their milieu was bound together not only by their shared economic experience, but also by this cultural connection, of which the workers’ songs formed an important part.

Classics from imperial times like “Die Internationale” (The Internationale, song #42) remained important, but the movement also adopted new songs written by the numerous socialist poets and composers like Bertolt Brecht, Hanns Eisler, or Ernst Busch. Whereas some of these became new classics (like the “Solidaritätslied” (Solidarity Song, song #46), others aged badly: “Der Marsch ins Dritte Reich” (The March to the Third Reich, song #47) poked fun at the alleged inability of the Nazis to take power after their electoral setback at the Reichstag election of November 1932. First recorded in December 1932, the song was horribly overtaken by events just a month later when Hitler was elected chancellor in January 1933.

Thus, we conclude our playlist. It contains the traditional and the modern, entertainment and politics, left and right – except for the very right, but I don’t want to listen to Nazi songs while playing board games, and I’m sure that neither do you.

Do you like to play music in the background while playing board games? What’s your favorite song from this playlist? Let me know in the comments!

You love board games. You probably also like music. Let’s combine the two into an immersive playlist for Weimar: The Fight for Democracy (Matthias Cramer, Capstone Games/Skellig Games/Spielworxx). Have it gently play in the background during your next session of Weimar for the full period immersion!

First things first: Here’s the playlist!

Before we dive into the content of the playlist, some general observations:

• All of the songs in the playlist were popular during the Weimar Republic (1918—1933). Yet as music recording was still in its infancy at that time, many of the songs in the playlist are later recordings (and some rare ones were recorded even before 1918!).
• As the playlist is only 2:21 hours long, your Weimar game will probably last longer (if you don’t crash the republic on the first or second round), but there’s no reason not to listen to these songs two or three times – they’re fascinating historical documents.
• The playlist is thematically sorted. That helps you find similar songs, but makes for somewhat monotonous listening (until you come to the next group of songs). I therefore recommend you turn shuffle on.

Now, what awaits you in the playlist?

#1: The National Anthem

It seems like a no-brainer to include the German national anthem of the time, yet it’s not so simple: The Lied der Deutschen (Song of the Germans) had been written in 1841, but had since then only been a patriotic song among many – until the first president of the republic, Friedrich Ebert, declared it the national anthem in 1922. The song’s three stanzas were variedly popular: Ebert favored the third stanza with its liberal ideals of unity, justice, and freedom, his right-wing opponents preferred the “Deutschland über alles” (Germany Above Everything) first stanza. I have included an instrumental version. If you feel patriotic, you can sing along.

#2-9: The Old World

The Weimar Republic did not come into existence in a vacuum. It inherited German cultural traditions like folk songs (“Wem Gott will rechte Gunst erweisen” (Whom God Wants to Favor), song #2).

And, of course, the Weimar Republic succeeded the German Empire with its national feeling (“Die Wacht am Rhein” (The Guard on the Rhine), song #2), dominant Protestantism (Martin Luther’s classic “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), song #5), and monarchy (“Heil dir im Siegerkranz” (Hail to Thee In the Victor’s Crown), song #7 – the quasi-anthem of the German Empire).

The republic’s midwife was the First World War – whose experience shaped its veterans and provided the cultural context even for those who had not been adults during the war yet (“Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht” (Wild Geese Rush Through the Night), song #8, written in 1916, was immensely popular among the Weimar Republic youth movement). The war also cast its shadow over Weimar Germany as many had lost their husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, and friends in the war (“Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden” (I Had a Comrade), song #9, the traditional German soldiers’ lament).

#10-15: Satirical Coping

The liberal republic proved fertile ground for satirical treatments of the new developments: Otto Reutter made fun of the big and small war profiteers with “Seh’n Sie, darum ist es schade, dass der Krieg zu Ende ist” (See, that’s why it’s a pity that the war is over, song #10), and Claire Waldoff called for replacing the men in power with women in “Raus mit den Männern aus dem Reichstag” (Kick the Men Out of Parliament, song #11), playing on masculine anxieties after the introduction of women’s suffrage.

#16-25: Pop!

Even in a time and place as politically charged as the Weimar Republic, not everything was politics. The average Hans and Gretel may have cared less about their preferred ideology and more about how to have good time on a Saturday night… and the new cultural scene, especially in the big cities like Berlin, provided ample opportunities.

The more sophisticated artists like the Comedian Harmonists succeeded with witty wordplay and erudite vocal harmonies. Others played on the classics – alcohol (“Wir versaufen unser Oma ihr klein’ Häuschen“ (We Blow Grandma’s Little House on Booze, song #19) and sexual innuendo („Fräulein, Woll’n Sie nicht ein Kind von mir“ (Miss, Don’t You Want a Child By Me, song #22). There was even the equivalent of a (generalized) diss track: “Du bist als Kind zu heiß gebadet worden” (You Have Been Bathed Too Hot As a Child, song #23) indicates that this neglect of bath safety led to lasting brain damage in the interlocutor.

#26-33: Film, Theater, and Opera Music

The Weimar Republic’s vibrant cultural scene led to cross-pollination between diverse forms of artistic expression. The new medium of film was pioneered in Germany, and once it had left its silent infancy behind, movie songs became hits. Marlene Dietrich, starring in The Blue Angel, enticed with “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt (I’m Set to Love From Head to Heel, song #26), but warned “Nimm dich in Acht vor blonden Frau’n“ (Beware of Blonde Women, song #27).

More traditional art forms like the theater also adapted. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)’s acerbic critique of capitalism would not have been as successful without its catchy songs, the most famous of which is the “Moritat of Mackie Messer” (Ballad of Mack the Knife, song #31).

Even the most classic and highbrow form of entertainment modernized: “Jonny spielt auf” (Jonny Plays It Big, song #33) introduced jazz into the world of the opera… which brings us to our next category.

#34-41: Jazz and Blues

Traditionally, the United States had received and emulated European fashions, not the other way around. Yet by the early 20^th century, America had become the largest economy in the world, its war entry in 1917 tipped the scales of the war further in favor of the Allies, and the increased presence of Americans in Europe meant that the United States turned from an importer to an exporter of culture. Jazz took Europe by storm – both in the form of American (and nascent European) bands and by the new medium of the music record. The Weimar Republic was no exception. Jazz fueled the parties in any larger city of 1920s Germany.

Of course, not everyone loved jazz, and the controversy over its unorthodox dissonances, the more expressive, individualistic, and eroticized dancing style accompanying the music, and, of course, the race of its performers entered the contemporary culture wars – exemplified by Weimar’s double use of Louis Armstrong, illustrating both the SPD’s “The New Rhythm” and the DNVP’s “Nicht Deutsch” (“Not German”) event cards.

The “Tiger Rag” (song #41) is also used in The Tin Drum, German writer Günter Grass’s epic about the rise, fall, and persistence of Nazism: The youthful protagonist Oskar Matzerath who always carries his eponymous tin drum plays the Tiger Rag at a NSDAP rally in his hometown Danzig. The mesmerizing rhythm has the audience sway and dance, exposing the Nazis to ridicule.

#42-47: Workers’ Songs

The aggressive ethno-nationalism of Nazism was one of the two most dynamic political movements of the Weimar Republic (at least once the 1929 crash had plunged vast parts of the German population into a crisis of material and identity). The other was the workers’ movement, both in its reformist Social Democratic and its revolutionary Communist form. As the workers had been traditionally excluded from the public in imperial Germany, dominated by aristocracy and bourgeoisie, they created their own political parties (SPD, later USPD and KPD), economic associations (the trade unions), and social and cultural associations – from workers’ sport clubs to workers’ singing societies. Their milieu was bound together not only by their shared economic experience, but also by this cultural connection, of which the workers’ songs formed an important part.

Classics from imperial times like “Die Internationale” (The Internationale, song #42) remained important, but the movement also adopted new songs written by the numerous socialist poets and composers like Bertolt Brecht, Hanns Eisler, or Ernst Busch. Whereas some of these became new classics (like the “Solidaritätslied” (Solidarity Song, song #46), others aged badly: “Der Marsch ins Dritte Reich” (The March to the Third Reich, song #47) poked fun at the alleged inability of the Nazis to take power after their electoral setback at the Reichstag election of November 1932. First recorded in December 1932, the song was horribly overtaken by events just a month later when Hitler was elected chancellor in January 1933.

Thus, we conclude our playlist. It contains the traditional and the modern, entertainment and politics, left and right – except for the very right, but I don’t want to listen to Nazi songs while playing board games, and I’m sure that neither do you.

Do you like to play music in the background while playing board games? What’s your favorite song from this playlist? Let me know in the comments!