Mille Fiori
Ideas are nothing. Execution is everything. You heard this a thousand times already. You nod, you agree, but let’s face it – do you really understand it? Do you know what exactly it means?
I’ll give you an example. It’s called Mille Fiori. It’s been done by Reiner Knizia.
Mille Fiori has no single new idea in it. It’s a well done family eurogame. Each year hundreds of games like that are published in Germany. Most likely Reiner designed it during a lunch break, between his other bigger projects. It’s a simple play a card, put your piece on a board and score points. There are 4 unique areas on the board, therefore four unique ways of scoring. There is literally nothing new. I bet, and I am dead serious, most of you could play the game without reading a rulebook. I’ll give you your cards, your pieces, and you’d start playing.
And yet, Mille Fiori is one of the most discussed light eurogames of last months. And yet, Mille Fiori has a strong 7.4 rating on BGG. And yet, I already have five games in, and more to come.
Mille Fiori is an example of perfect execution. Your action in the game is always playing a tile on the board and scoring what the space shows. The spaces on a board create various shapes, they are part of different regions and groups – you need to have a good look at the situation and what already has been covered to score smart.
Hence, the tiles are transparent.
Each time you put a tile, you score and the board is as clean and as easy to read, as it was before. You secured the space, and you got your points, but the board doesn’t feel crowded, the tiles don’t cover important information, and what is more, the board looks more and more pretty with these glass-looking tiles.
The game looks appealing. The game is easy to understand. The game is easy to navigate in-game. On top of that, tokens are cool when you play with them in hand. Everything here is right.
Mille Fiori has no single new idea. And yet, five games in. And more on the horizon. Perfect execution.
P.S. Photo by my friend Henk Rolleman.
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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.
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