Thank you, Mr. Delonge
Our hobby is developing in a great way. Year after year games are produced with better components, with better artwork, with better rulebooks and what is perhaps most important, with better rules. Games get better, year after year.
If you take any game that was published 10 years ago (perhaps except Days of Wonder boxes) you will see how huge step our industry and our hobby made. The artwork of modern games is just phenomenal. The components amazing, with all these custom wooden pieces, plastic figures, huge boards and… You know all that.
The games themselves? Amazing. Look at Doom and then look at Descent 2…
But!
Once a while I stumble upon a old gem. El Grande. Samurai. Tikal. Games that last. They were, they are and they will be brilliant.
This weekend I stumbled upon a game called Big City. Published in 1999 by Goldsieber Spiele (Rio Grande in US). Designed by Franz-Benno Delonge. This is one of these games. One of these that stay fresh, entertaining and simply brilliant even though published 15 years ago.
Best sim city type game I have ever played. Puts Suburbia and all other sim games in shadow and shines. Great, smart city building game.
This weekend, when I was researching about the game and its designer I learned that Franz-Benno Delonge passed away in 2007. I learned that he designed Manila (what a cool bidding game!), TransAmerica (3 years before Ticket to Ride!), and many other great games.
Mr. Delonge, you put your mark on our hobby. I wish you are with us and design more great titles. Thank you for those you left us. Big City is a gem in my collection. I salute you.
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
Benno was not only a great designer, but a true gentleman and proponent of the hobby.