In 1666 a terrible fire raged through London, destroying most of the medieval city and consuming more than 13,000 houses, churches and monuments. It is estimated that at least 70,000 of the city’s 80,000 residents had their homes reduced to cinders. In the ashes of this tragedy, London needed to be rebuilt, creating myriad problems and opportunities.



This massive rebuilding effort is the theme of Martin Wallace’s board game, London, which is set in the immediate aftermath of the fire and encapsulates 250 years of ensuing history. Players must decide what and where to build, and deal with poverty and paupers – all with the aim of rebuilding the great city district by district.

Many modern board games tell a story, and increasingly they are leaving behind fantasy-based staples for historically influenced settings – including simulating how real cities operate. Often this setting is simply akin to a movie set, with the game itself bearing little relation to the city where it is cast. For example, the award-winning game Carcassonne has the famous medieval French city as its backdrop, but aside from building multiple towns with walls, the game has absolutely nothing to do with the French landmark. Other games, however, are based on history and attempt to teach players at the same time.

“I’ve designed many games with historical themes and in each case the aim is to deliver something which is as historically accurate as possible within a reasonably simple rule set,” Wallace says. “There always has to be a degree of abstraction, so the challenge is to encapsulate some of the main characteristics of the theme. If people learn something from the game, then that is a happy by-product.”

Merchants of Amsterdam, which traces the city’s golden age. Photograph: Jumbo & Rio Grande Games

Perhaps one of the best history lessons is offered in Reiner Knizia’s Merchants of Amsterdam. The game is set in the 17th-century city during the Dutch golden age, when its power and influence was traversing the world, establishing colonies, trading and plundering, and bringing home merchandise and resources that helped make it a financial powerhouse. In the game, players assume the role of merchant families attempting to expand their influence in Amsterdam and across the globe.

As the game progresses, it tells the story of the rise and fall of the city. Each space the time marker traverses represents a significant event in history, including the establishment of the Union of Utrecht in 1579, the founding of the United East Indies Company in 1602, the moment Rembrandt’s studio moved to the city in 1632, and the English invasion in 1664. Each of these events is explained in detail and plays a relevant and significant role in the game.

“I use readings and research on the game setting for inspiration when designing a new game,” Knizia says. “The end result is not a predefined target, as the game develops through a long and iterative process of design and testing. The end product is very often far from what I initially visualised.”

New York 1901, the game about the city’s building boom. Photograph: Blue Orange

Wallace, the designer of London, uses a similar approach to incorporating history. “That is always the hardest part of the design process,” he says, “where you strip down the history of a period to the bare bones, and then try to simulate that in as elegant a manner as possible.”

One recent release, Ulm, by Günter Burkhardt, highlights the German imperial city’s rise to prominence during the 16th century. Players will assume the roles of ambitious families as they vie to gain influence, recruit the aid of prominent citizens and build the famous cathedral. While not as historically detailed as Merchants of Amsterdam, the game does provide a feel for the city’s development.

New York 1901, by designers Chénier La Salle and Vincent Dutrait, recreates the building boom at the turn of the 20th century which resulted in the concrete jungle of skyscrapers that we know today. Players acquire land and construct famous landmarks such as the MetLife, Woolworth, Singer and Park Row buildings. Incentives provide motivation to build in certain historical districts, and there is constant deconstruction to make room for the latest innovations – a process that continues to define New York City.

Don’t rely on board games for real-life city planning, however. Although many community planning projects use models to encourage participative decision-making, game designers are “not convinced that board games are the right way to teach or model effects,” says Wallace. “They are far too abstract in nature to be able to impart useful lessons, apart from a sense of geography and history.”

Greg J Schloesser is the editor of Counter magazine

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